US poisons Navajo river water in scorched earth campaign

After poisoning the river water of Navajos and farmers, the United States immediately began a dirty tricks campaign to get Navajos to sign waivers of liability

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

The United States has poisoned the Four Corners river water, and immediately began a dirty tricks campaign, attempting to have Navajos sign 'waivers of liability.'

When the power plants first poisoned the air, water and land of the Four Corners region, the United States declared the Four Corners region -- including this area of the Navajo Nation -- is a "sacrifice zone." 

This is because the electricity produced here is for distant US cities. Power plants, and the dirty coal mining it depends on, use lots of water.

Now, with the poisoning of the Animas River by the US EPA, with water from the Gold King mine -- whether it was intentional or accidental by the US -- the US has once again carried out a scorched earth campaign.

The US EPA has poisoned the water of those with the least financial resources to recover and survive: Navajos and farmers in the Four Corners region who depend on this river for water, livestock and crops. The US EPA admits it is responsible for this spill.

At the same time, the US and Arizona Congressmen have been using every trick possible to get Navajo area river water for power plant use, including trying to secretly steal it, as was revealed in attempts to steal the nearby Colorado River water by the US Interior and Arizona Congressmen for the Navajo Generating Station at nearby Page, Arizona. 

Now the US has poisoned the river water in the Four Corners region.

Not only has the US poisoned the Animas River water in this area of New Mexico and Colorado, but the US EPA immediately began a dirty tricks campaign, attempting to get Navajos to sign waivers of liability to release the US from financial liability, to prevent Navajos and others from recovering.

Already, the US has presented these forms to Navajos in Shiprock, N.M., and Aneth and Oljato in Utah, along the San Juan River, which is being poisoned from the heavy metals in the Animas River spill. These are remote areas where many Navajo elders still speak Dine' (Navajo.)

Navajo President Russell Begaye has warned the people not to sign these waivers of liability in this latest attempt by the US to continue genocide against Native Americans and America's poor.

Navajo President Russell Begaye said, "The U.S. EPA has been seeking signatures from the Navajo People on Standard Form No. 95 which, if signed, will waive future claims against the U.S. EPA.

"The Federal Government is asking our People to waive their future rights because they know without the waiver they will be paying millions to our People. This is simple; the Feds are protecting themselves at the expense of the Navajo people and it is outrageous," President Begaye said.

See President Begaye's statement and warning, with French and Dutch translations provided at Censored News 
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2015/08/us-epa-tells-navajo-people-to-waive.html

Wikipedia: A scorched earth policy is a military strategy that involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. It is a military strategy where all of the assets that are used or can be used by the enemy are targeted, such as food sources, transportation, communications, industrial resources, and even the people in the area. The practice can be carried out by the military in enemy territory, or in its own home territory. It may overlap with, but is not the same as, punitive destruction of the enemy's resources, which is done for purely strategic/political reasons rather than strategic/operational reasons.

Also see: Leaked doc: Interior Sec. Salazar and Arizona Congressman Kyl attempt to steal Navajo water rights http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/11/leaked-documents-mainstream-media.html

For permission to republish this article:  brendanorrell@gmail.com

Longest Walk 4: Climb into the Rockies begins

Canon City, Colorado Oct. 22, 2013 Photo by Long Walker Bad Bear Sampson

Sand Creek Massacre: Denver Post article 'slap in the face'

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

The filmmaker of The Sand Creek Massacre said an article in the Denver Post is a "slap in the face" to the victims of the Sand Creek Massacre in southeastern Colorado.

"The Sand Creek Massacre was the ugliest form of human depravity in American history, even transcending Columbine, Virginia Tech, Newton, Boston, and so on. Rape, mutilations, executions, murder and burning bodies of children, special needs people, elders, and women top the list of depravities," Donald L. Vasicek told Censored News.

Vasicek told the author of the article at Denver Post, Eric Gorski, that Indigenous Peoples continue to be treated with disrespect by the media.

"The only thing they ever wanted, as most of America's indigenous people, have always desired, simply respect and America's media and press continue to wipe their feet on them."

In response to the article in Denver Post, Vasicek wrote the following response.

Denver Post article: Sand Creek Massacre Descendants sue Federal Government for Reparations  http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23642176/sand-creek-massacre-descendants-sue-federal-government-reparations

Dear Mr. Gorski,

Although your article about the Sand Creek Massacre Descendants' Trust law suit for reparations regarding the Sand Creek Massacre is informative, I have to say that I was surprised to see that there were inaccuracies in it.

I wrote, directed and produced "The Sand Creek Massacre", a documentary film that featured Cheyenne and Arapaho descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre sharing their family oral histories with me.  Two Cheyenne and direct Sand Creek Massacre descendants, Southern Cheyenne Chief Laird (Whistling Eagle) Cometsevah and his wife, Colleen, an historian and genealogist, told me that over 400 Cheyenne were murdered at Sand Creek.  They based this figure on what has been known in their families for 150 years.  They also told me that the Arapaho always traveled and camped about 8 miles behind the Cheyenne, so the Arapaho were not at Sand Creek.

Many laugh at this and say the Cometsevah's did not know what they were saying.  Both of them passed on before they could finish their work.  They played an integral role in guiding and directing me while making my film.  The film won 3 best film film festival awards and was cataloged into the Smithsonian Institute Libraries, amongst other things.  Films Media Group has been distributing it in North
America and Asia.

Media and journalists have been using these inaccuracies for years.  It shows no respect for Laird and Colleen.  It's like slapping them in the face.  The only thing they ever wanted, as most of America's
indigenous people, have always desired, simply respect and America's media and press continue to wipe their feet on them.  Until that respect is genuinely exhibited by the media and press, America's indigenous people will continue to be looked upon as second class citizens by most others.

Best Regards,

Donald L. Vasicek
http://www.donvasicek.com
dvasicek@earthlink.net
303-903-2103