PINE RIDGE -- Celebrating Young Social Change Makers, Gathering on the Homeland

CELEBRATING YOUNG SOCIAL CHANGE MAKERS OF YESTERDAY and TODAY

PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION, South Dakota

The "Gathering on the Homeland: Solidarity, Decolonization and Celebrating Acts of Resistance" is a two-day event being held in the heart of native resistance in Indian Country, the Oglala Lakota Nation.

"Along with the beauty and power of 10,000 people coming together in 2016 along the riverbanks at Cannon Ball, ND we experienced the chaos that emerged, as it became apparent that the understanding of MOVEMENT was as diverse as the people gathered there. We have brought together folks from many Red Nations and allies from the four directions who have led, founded, and/or participated in movements in order to examine, explore, and discuss how their experience can teach young emerging social change makers, community leaders, students, families, and our youth," stated Debra White Plume, Co-Organizer and Director of Owe Aku.

The gathering, in conjunction with the 45^th Anniversary of the 1973 Liberation of Wounded Knee, is scheduled for February 24^th a25^th at Wounded Knee District School in Manderson. 

Surviving veterans of the occupation of Wounded Knee, along with the decendants of Wounded Knee veteran activists will celebrate 45 years of modern resistance against the injustices brought by colonial oppressors throughout Turtle Island. The annual Four-Direction Walk to the Wounded Knee Massacre Site will start at 10 a.m. on February 27^th.  The Independent Oglala Nation Powwow and meal will follow the walk at Wounded Knee District School in Manderson, SD.

"Native artists from California and Arizona will host a youth workshop to create art that teaches not only art skills, but the philosophy of art and the preservation of ancient life ways. There are also a number of native musicians coming to perform a free youth concert who promote an alcohol/drug free lifestyle as well as using music to inspire youth to reclaim their ancestral identities," added White Plume.

Dine'/Oglala/Omaha rap artist Nataanii Means, The Peace Poets of Bronx, NYC, Annishinabe singer/songwriter Tracy Bone and other artists to be announced are scheduled to perform. A range of activities are featured at the event. The schedule includes:

February 24th:

 Noon:                         "GuREALIa Media on the Frontline"

Panel includes: Rose Stiff Arm (Canada), Lorenzo Serna (Black Snake Killaz), Rosebud White Plume (Lakota Media Project)

                                    4 Film Reviews & 4 Film Makers

                                    Do's and Don'ts on the front line

                                    Discussions/Q&A

                                    Indigenous Resistance Media Caucus

                                    Native Artist in Action- Resistance Art Workshop for Youth

7 pm-11 pm:               "Sounds of Resistance" Youth Concert (free admission)

February 25^th:

Noon:                          "What is Movement?"

Panel includes: Nina Waste' (co-founder of Idle No More), Kim Smith & Nakai (Dine' Activists), Mark Tilsen (SR Oceti Sakowin Camp), Tyrell Iron Shell (Int'l Indigenous Youth Council), Deja Red Cloud (SR Oceti Sakowin Camp)

                                    Panel Discussion

                                    Indigenous Women's Caucus

The Peace Poets, Tracy Bone and other artists were confirming at press time. 

February 27^TH:           

10 am:                         Four Direction Walk, Horse Ride and Caravan into Wounded Knee

                                    Independent Oglala Nation Pow Wow @ W.K.D.S.

Gathering on the Homeland event is sponsored by Owe Aku and Red Robin Hood Fund.  Contact coordinator Olowan Martinez at (605) 407-1381, Debra White Plume at (605) 454-2105 or visit www.oweakuinternational.org for more information.

Four-direction walk & powwow, contact AIM Grassroots at (605) 381-3535 or Iva Black Elk at (605) 441-6657.

"The more dependent you become on centralized power, the more easily you are led around."- Russell Means (Oglala Lakota).

Willie Nelson, Neil Young honored for Keystone pipeline fight!

(Photo above by Michael Friberg / Bold Nebraska

Bold Nebraska
Censored News

Willie Nelson and Neil Young honored by the Rosebud, Oglala, Ponca and Omaha Nations for their dedication to family farmers, ranchers and native families. The buffalo hide was hand-painted by artist Steve Tamayo and volunteers called "Pipeline Fighters" with symbols to tell the story of people killing the black snake which in tribal prophecy is believed to be the Keystone XL pipeline, a threat to land and water.

The "Harvest the Hope" concert featuring headliners Willie Nelson and Neil Young took place on Sept. 27, 2014 at the Tanderup farm near Neligh, NE.

Proceeds from the event will go to Bold Nebraska, the Indigenous Environmental Network, and the Cowboy & Indian Alliance, to fund the ongoing fight against the Keystone XL pipeline, and small, community-based clean energy projects on farms and tribal lands.

Willie Nelson and Neil Young at the press conference prior to the Harvest the Hope concert on September 27, 2014 (Photo by J Grace Young / Bold Nebraska)

Two music legends — Neil Young and Willie Nelson — performed a benefit concert on Sept. 27 on a farm near Neligh, Nebraska that is on the route of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and also crosses the historic Ponca Tribe “Trail of Tears.”

Proceeds from the “Harvest the Hope” concert go to Bold Nebraska, the Indigenous Environmental Network and the Cowboy & Indian Alliance, to fund the ongoing fight against the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as a number of small, community-based clean energy projects on farms and tribal land. The afternoon concert will take place in a field on a farm owned by a family who are part of a strong collective of Nebraska landowners refusing to sell their land to TransCanada for the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, and a sacred tribal ceremony will be included in the day’s events.

The day-long event also featured performances from Native American hip-hop artist Frank Waln, performing with traditional hoop dancers the Sampson Brothers; Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real with special guest Micah Nelson (sons of Willie!); and the “Stopping the Pipeline Rocks All-Stars,” some of the local Nebraska artists who recorded a benefit album in the solar-powered barn built inside the path of the Keystone XL pipeline last summer: The Bottle Tops, Dr. John Walker, Jack Hotel, and McCarthy Trenching.

Details on the concert:
boldnebraska.org/concert

Photo Mitch Paine
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