Lakota Jean Roach's Speech in Paris

JEAN ROACH, LAKOTA, IN PARIS, TALKS ABOUT THE ROLE OF WOMEN, LEONARD PELTIER AND WATER PROTECTION

By Christine Prat
Censored News
Recorded on October 13, 2018

Published on October 22, 2018

The 38^th Annual Day of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, organized in Paris by the French Committee for Solidarity with Indians of the Americas, CSIA, celebrated over five centuries of struggles against colonialism, the 50^th Anniversary of the AIM and the 40^th Anniversary of the CSIA.

Jean Roach was one of the speakers representing AIM. She talked about the role of women in the struggle, Wounded Knee, the Protection of Water and Earth, and called for Leonard Peltier's release from prison.

Below is the transcript of the speech she delivered on October 13^th, 2018.

Christine Prat

"My name is Jean Roach, I am from the Lakota Nation. I live near the Black Hills, in South Dakota. I'd like to thank everybody for coming and be interested in our fights.

I represent a man, Leonard Peltier, who has been in prison for 43 years, also a part of the colonization process.

When our families are being attacked, whether it was in the 1700's or in the 1970's, the women have to take a stand too. Our children have been adopted out and taken to boarding schools, being killed, murdered. Our men have been taken to prison, or killed, or both. Since the first contact, we have had many casualties.

My Nation is the Miniconjou. My people were massacred at Wounded Knee [December 29^th 1890]. Part of the role of the women… So, people try to call us activists or militants, but we are just mothers and grandmothers. We protect our next generations, those are our actions right now, and we probably carry the DNA of our ancestors that were murdered. So, when we talk about Leonard Peltier, we should relate to the fact that his grandfather was one of the Dakota 38 [38 men hanged on Lincoln orders in Mankato, Minnesota, on December 26^th, 1862]. To our generations, Leonard represents the United States manipulations.

Some people call them political prisoners, but we are just all Water Protectors. At Standing Rock, they were attacked based on their beliefs, our beliefs of protection of the water. And they are political prisoners too.

Leonard Peltier has been a prisoner, as I said, for 43 years. He is the longest held political prisoner in the world. All we are asking for is justice. And the story should be told and not forgotten. We would like the international world to know that we suffer and we still have a prisoner inside the prison. And many more. Until he's free, our Nations are not free.

I have a lot of documentation, on this I am talking about. I urge everybody to take interest in Leonard Peltier. And I congratulate all the water protectors and Earth protectors. Thank you."

French version:

http://www.chrisp.lautre.net/wpblog/?p=4720

Water Protectors Resilience Tour in Paris by Christine Prat

WATER PROTECTORS' 'RESILIENCE TOUR' IN EUROPE: THE STRUGGLE AGAINST PIPELINES GOES ON

By Christine Prat in Paris
Censored News
In French at:
http://www.chrisp.lautre.net/wpblog/?p=4713

Two Water Protectors, who have been fighting and suffering a lot in Standing Rock, Nataanii Means and Tufawon, are now back to Europe for a "Resilience Tour". In Paris, they took part in several events, to celebrate AIM's 50^th Anniversary, and CSIA's (Committee in Solidarity with Indians in the Americas) 40^th Anniversary.

On October 12^th, in the afternoon, a gathering took place to honor the AIM and pay a tribute to the leaders who have passed to the Spirit World, and, in the evening, Raye Zaragoza (Akimel O'odham/Xicana), Nataanii Means and Tufawon had a show.

The evening started with beautiful songs by Raye Zaragoza.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/296193009?quality=720p " 

Then, Nataanii and Tufawon started with their hip-hop show. Nataanii presented himself and delivered a speech about the AIM leaders who left us, explained how complicated it was without the Elders, and said that their struggle to protect water is still going, now against the pipeline Line 3 of Enbridge.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/296205497?quality=720p " 

Nataanii Means presented himself, saying that he came from three different Nations: Oglala Lakota, Omaha and Dineh (Dineh being often known as Navajos).

Then Nataanii talked about the AIM:

"My father fought for a long time, alongside my auntie and my uncle here, Jimbo and Jean. They all worked together for a long time. Jimbo talked about how our past leaders are past away now, no matter whoever they grouped with. Jean said it too. Everyone they grouped with in the movement, they are gone now.

"I am a product of what they built. One day, I shall be an ancestor to one of my people. So are you. That's why we have to start thinking collectively as conscious people.

"We are fighting another pipeline, in Minnesota." It's called Line 3, and you can look it up on the Internet, at www.stopline3.org. On Facebook, look up Ginew Collective, g, i, n, e, w. [https://www.facebook.com/ginewcollective/] Look that up.

Nataanii said, "But a few weeks ago, me and Tufawon, we just came from that camp. "We're fighting that billionaire company, and I was sitting there, in a meeting, and I looked around, because a question came up. It was a really hard question, and I expected somebody else to answer it. I expected one of my Elders to be there to answer it. But they were not there, there was nobody there. There was us. And that was a new feeling for me, to be there without these people. But that's how life is, you understand that.

"You know, it's hard for me and Rafa [Tufawon] to both be here. You know that, leave those guys behind to do a lot of work.

"So, the least we can do for them is to ask you to go home and look up stopline3.org and Ginew Collective, and share with your circle, donate and spread the word," Nataanii said.

Excerpt from the info page of stopline3, there is much more info on this site – among others, several video interviews of Winona La Duke – thus look it up:

The existing Line 3 is an Enbridge pipeline that ships crude oil from Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. It spans northern Minnesota, crossing the Leech Lake and Fond du Lac reservations and the l855, 1854, and l842 treaty areas.  And it is a ticking time bomb. It was built with defective steel in l96l, has had numerous ruptures and spills, and is running at half pressure because of severe corrosion.  Instead of cleaning up this liability, Enbridge wants to simply leave it in the ground forever, and cut a brand new energy corridor through our best lakes, wetlands, and wild rice beds, and the heart of Ojibwe treaty territory.  They first proposed this new route for the Sandpiper pipeline in 2013, but years of fierce resistance in Minnesota drove them to cancel that project and buy a share of the Dakota Access pipeline instead. At $7.5 billion, the proposed new Line 3 would be the largest project in Enbridge's history and one of the largest crude oil pipelines in the continent, carrying up to 915,000 barrels per day of one of the dirtiest fuels on earth, tar sands crude. They call it a "replacement" but it is larger, with higher volume, in a new corridor.  First Nations, tribal governments, landowners, environmental groups, and communities across the Great Lakes have been fighting for 5 years now to stop this new corridor and #StopLine3.  We are here to protect the water and our future generations.

Then, Nataanii and Tufawon went back to playing music.
(Watch videos)

https://player.vimeo.com/video/295437726?quality=720p  
and

https://player.vimeo.com/video/295053817?quality=720p 

http://www.chrisp.lautre.net