Longest Walk in Pueblo, Colorado

For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Aislyn Colgan
(831) 295-2555
Mano Cockrum
(720) 276-7452
www.longestwalk.org
Transcontinental Prayer Walk for Native American Rights and Environmental Protection Returns to Pueblo after 30 years

Colorado Governor Declares March 2008 "Longest Walk Month"
Community Events and "Pueblo Means 'the People'" March to Avondale scheduled

PUEBLO, CO- The Longest Walk 2 is a trans-continental spiritual walk for environmental protection and Native American rights. Participants are on a five- month journey on foot from San Francisco and will arrive in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008. The Northern Route of The Longest Walk 2 is following the original route of 1978 that resulted in historic changes for Native Americans.
On Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm Pueblo community members will join the walkers for a Sunset Ceremony at the Amphitheatre at the Colorado State University at Pueblo. Afterwards the group will gather in the University Library for a Café Cultura Collective, Red/ Brown Unity Open MIC featuring Café Cultura collective organizers and performers from Denver.

On Saturday, March 30th, the Northern Route of the Longest Walk 2 will hold a rally at Elizabeth St. Parkway Park at Elizabeth St. and 29th where walkers and community members will speak about issues of sacred site protection and environmental defense. The walkers recently received a proclamation from Colorado Governor Bill Ritter stating, "The State of Colorado recognizes the participants of the Longest Walk 2, welcomes them and encourages people around the state to take heed of their message that promotes peace, justice, environmentally friendly practices, and awareness of those in the Native American community that suffer. Therefore I Bill Ritter, Governor of Colorado do proclaim March 2008 Longest Walk Month in the state of Colorado."

The walkers passed through Cañon City Wed., March 26, where they stopped to pray at three prisons in the area. Marie Littlemoon Engle (Apache), whose son is held in one of the prisons, led the group in prayer. Engle expressed great sadness at the way her son is being treated inside. "They took his feathers from him, and they cut his hair. It hurts my heart to see his right to practice his traditions disrespected in this way."
The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, which secures the rights of Native prisoners to practice their traditions, was passed largely in response to the original Longest Walk thirty years ago. "Religious freedom is a right we are still being denied; it is one of the reasons we still have to walk today," states Jimbo Simmons, coordinator of the Northern Route.
A delegation from Big Mountain, Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona came to share their story of struggle against Peabody Coal company and the US Government's attempts to relocate their people. "I was on the walk 30 years ago," said Bahe Katenay, "My work since then has been routed in my experience thirty years ago. I have been working all this time supporting the elders on Big Mountain as they try to protect their land. We have done all that talking with politicians, walking is the way we express ourselves, it is the best way to carry our message. I am happy to see the youth here continuing that tradition."
The Longest Walk 2 is stopping in communities all across Turtle Island to listen to Native peoples concerns, document and deliver the concerns to US officials in D.C. They plan to bring the issues of sacred site desecration and environmental destruction facing all Native people to the US Government upon arrival in Washington D.C.
After their Pueblo visit, the Longest Walk 2 will continue to the Sand Creek Massacre Site where on November 29, 1864 the US Cavalry brutally slaughtered over 200 unarmed Cheyenne and Arapaho men women and children as they peacefully camped after surrendering to relocation to a reservation. The walkers will offer support to the descendants of the massacre and prayers for their ancestors. For a complete itinerary, specific directions and additional information please visit: http://www.longestwalk.org/.
*Media: High Resolution Photos of all events available upon request

Newmont calls police when Longest Walk arrives

Minutes after Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter declared March as "Longest Walk Month," in Colorado, Newmont Mining Corp. security called the police on the prayer walkers in downtown Denver. Photo Brenda Norrell

Mohawk Nation News: Coreshell Group, manure over Sharbot Lake

PRIVATIZING INDIAN AFFAIRS
“CORESHELL GROUP” DIGGING OUT FROM TIDAL WAVE OF MANURE OVER SHARBOT LAKE DEBACLE
By Kahentinetha Horn
Mohawk Nation News
Mar. 21, 2008. Coreshell is one of the mercenary private companies that Canada and its agencies use to settle any “domestic” problems or international issues with Indigenous nations and anyone else they may “need to deal with”. Why would a state be dealing through corporations? The bottom line is that the state has fiduciary duties. Corporations don’t! Their only duty is to their shareholders. These privately incorporated companies are the state’s way of doing an “end-run” around the governmental obligations they assumed by asserting sovereignty. This is how they are violating Indigenous sovereignty, land and resources.
In the middle of our investigation of a major crime taking place on Haudenosaunee Territory at Sharbot Lake, Coreshell almost pulled a fast one. They’re trying to cover their tracks by pulling most of their website off the internet. They didn’t want anything untoward to get out. They’re operations make it look too much liked the Canadian government is trying to “privatize Indian Affairs”. Canada wants to deal with us through private for-profit companies like Coreshell. This company is involved with all the skullduggery that’s been going on with virtual “Indians” at Sharbot Lake.
The point is to disguise colonialism, keep on doing the same old, but come out “looking clean”. Read article ...
Click on News & See Category: “ Sharbot Lake “[http://MohawkNationNews.com/news/singlenews.php?lang=en&category=58&newsnr=574]

First Nation Chiefs sentenced to prison

Chief Nelson joining Longest Walk southern route to expose Canada's genocide

Time for Action, not Talk

From Chief Terrance Nelson

Chief Terrance Nelson is taking the position that when Anishinabe people are sitting in jail for defending the resources of their lands from thieves, it is time for First Nations to take action. Today Rachel Ariss writes in the Globe and Mail "As of this week, Chief Donny Morris and five other band council members of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation sit in jail. They were sentenced on Monday to six months in prison by Mr. Justice Patrick Smith of the Ontario Superior Court in Thunder Bay."
Chief Nelson said "Now is not the time to talk about another National Day of Action, we must respond and respond immediately with clear intent to this act of aggression on the part of the immigrants." The Treaties signed with the immigrants were a framework of peaceful co-existence, we agreed to share our lands with the newcomers, we did not agree to impoverish ourselves by giving everything away to the immigrants. Make no mistake, jailing our people is an act of aggression, it is a clear breach of the treaty framework and we as Chiefs of all 633 First Nations in Canada must signal our willingness to go to jail in defence of our right to live in peace and to share in the wealth of our lands.
With crude oil prices at a $107 a barrel and the Alberta Tarsands holding 1.4 to 1.6 trillion barrels of oil, there is no shortage of resource wealth in Canada. We as indigenous people have encountered absolute greed on the part of the immigrants who continue to rob and pillage our people of the wealth of our lands and resources. Americans account for 72% of all foreign investment in Canada. The benefits of the 60 different metals and minerals mined in Canada flow to the immigrants without any regard to the rights of the original owners of the lands and resources. Americans are paying $1.4 billion a day for foreign oil, over half a trillion dollars a year, the fear for US National Security is that Americans paying $4 a gallon are financing future terrorist activity by paying trillions of dollars in the next decade to unstable countries. We as indigenous peoples in Canada must Wake up the Americans, we must collectively take the position that no Canadian oil will flow to the United States without some respect for the fundamental human rights of indigenous peoples north of the border and that must be made clear to the Americans.
The time for talk is over if Chiefs and council members are being jailed for defending their right to be consulted and accommodated. The Supreme Court of Canada has already decided in numerous decisions that development cannot take place without the permission of the affected First Nations. To jail our people is not only illegal, it is immoral and it is the first step to ending the peaceful co-existence that the Treaties have brought to Canada. For Canadians to idly stand by and watch a middle-east type of violence come to these lands is beyond stupidity, it is crime against our future generations to disregard the benefits of treaties.
Chief Terrance Nelson will take action by skipping the Treaty Conference in Saskatoon next week as a exercise in futility when the Minister of Indian Affairs has already stated that he has no ability to address the real issues of our people being in jail, joining American Indian Movement leader Dennis Banks in the Longest Walk II, the walk across America, where we will take the opportunity to directly tell the Americans what is happening in Canada, taking a position that no pipelines will cross Treaty One Territory until the Crown upholds the law as decided by the Supreme Court of Canada, on the need to consult and accommodate.
The annual $47 billion worth of crude meant for the American market on the Enbridge and TransCanada pipelines will not cross our territory without the Crown fulfilling its duty to consult and accommodate. -American companies doing business in Canada, exploiting our resources, will be forced to tell their share holders the truth of how much risk is involved in jailing the indigenous people. Investment stability in Canada is key to negotiations.
Burning cars on railway lines across Canada is possible. Last year in the National Day of Action, we as chiefs asked Canadians to take seriously the bitterness we felt. We don't want the white man's money, we want a rightful share of our wealth, the wealth of our lands and resources as agreed to in the treaties. We urge Canadians not to allow an end to peaceful co-existence.
Canada is in the "Trillion Dollar Club", the nine richest countries in the world that account for 68% of the world economy. We cannot and will not allow our people to continue to suffer at the 63rd level of the United Nations living index while our resource wealth flows south of the border and seems to benefit only the immigrants to our lands.
For Further Information Contact Chief Terrance Nelson
204-782-4827
chieftnelson@rrafn.com