Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

November 4, 2008

Traditional O'otham Annual River Run

Educational Lecture, Potluck, & Singing
At Komatke Service Center

November 28, 2008
7 PM – 11 PM
Join us as we come together in Komatke Village to hear about the annual River Run, and a lecture on the O’othham uprisings and revolts against the Spanish during our early contact with them. We will also sing traditional songs and share the good company of one another and prepare for the next day’s run. Bring your favorite dish to share with your relatives. All O’othham and our supporters are welcome to this gathering. For those that are going to run the next morning, you may stay overnight, so bring your gear!
Annual River Run
From Komatke to Sivan Vahkih
November 29, 2008
5 AM – 4PM
This one-day run will take place starting from Komatke Village and end at Sivan Vahkih (Casa Grande Ruins in Coolidge). It is an individual spiritual run commemorating our Akimel, as well as the 1751 Pima Revolt. This is a non-competitive ultra run and there are no distance requirements; all runners decide how far they want to run. Volunteers, donations and support vehicles are needed. Runners: please contact Adrian or Darius to find out what you need to bring; supporters, what you can donate. A celebration with singing, dancing and food will be held after the run (around 5 PM, location TBA).
To support these events, please contact Adrian at (Arizona: 602) 499-5793 or “oothham@yahoo.com”; Darius Enos at (520) 550-2225 or “d_3nos@yahoo.com.”

November 3, 2008

Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Alcatraz 2008


November 27, 2008
Everyone is welcome! Masters of Ceremonies: Morning Star Gali, Lakota Harden and Bill Means. Drum songs, Aztec dancers and Pomo dancers. Arrive before first light at Fisherman's Wharf, Pier No. 31. Ferry tickets are $14, under five years are free. Ticket booth opens at 4 a.m., last boat out at 6 a.m. Wear something warm. Limited parking, wheelchair accessible.
Please double click image to enlarge.

University of Arizona becomes spy central, coopted by dollars

University of Arizona using lasers on migrants, US spy dollars are a threat to human rights

By Brenda Norrell

TUCSON -- In Tucson, a community known for its human rights organizations setting global standards, the University of Arizona has been co-opted by dollars to become spy central.
The university is very proud of its new millions to spy on people, by way of the Internet, and develop "technologies," including lasers on migrants' arteries.
Under the guise of the war on terror, human rights activists, especially peace activists, have been targeted throughout the United States and the world by unbridled US spy technology and US government lawlessness.
Are the students who promote human rights safe writing on their Internet computers at the university? Many do not feel they are. Are peaceful protesters safe gathering and legally voicing their concerns? Many do not feel they are safe with millions of spy dollars pouring into the university.
The university and Homeland Security are promoting Dr. Hsinchun Chen, in charge of Internet spying worldwide and based at the university. He is on the lookout for "suspicious" behavior.
"Dr. Chen is the founder of the Knowledge Computing Corporation, a university spin-off company and a market leader in law enforcement and intelligence information sharing and data mining," according to a statement to publicize Dr. Chen's efforts.
The latest news is that the university is using lasers on migrants.
Jay Nunamaker, director of UA's Center for Management of Information in the Eller College of Management, said the university is using the laser doppler vibrometer on migrants.
"Nunamaker said the goal is to make the laser beam that is aimed at the suspect's carotid artery invisible and have it be accurate up to 100 yards," according to the Tucson Citizen. The lasers are an experiment to determine truth telling and lies.
Is it safe? Not everyone believes this laser is safe. But apparently the university feels it is OK to experiment on migrants with these lasers.
Homeland Security said, "The Center for Border Security and Immigration, led by the University of Arizona in Tucson and the University of Texas at El Paso, will develop technologies, tools and advanced methods to balance immigration and commerce with effective border security, as well as assess threats and vulnerabilities, improve surveillance and screening, analyze immigration trends, and enhance policy and law enforcement efforts."
The university is receiving $16 million from Homeland Security.
Because of the fear of an economic collapse in the US, university researchers are scrambling after the dollars.
The university announced a new center on campus, Center of Excellence, with Homeland Security agents present. Other centers include the Center for Maritime, Island and Port Security led by the University of Hawaii, the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events led by the University of Southern California and the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense led by Texas A&M.
The University of Arizona, focused on Internet spying, is collaborating with Arizona State University, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech, San Diego State University, the University of Texas-Pan American, the University of Minnesota, the University of Washington, West Virginia University, the University of Southern California and the University of Albany.
The assault on human rights at the University of Arizona follows the construction of telescopes on sacred Mount Graham and the university's total disregard for Apache and other Native Americans who have struggled for years to halt the desecration.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security dollars are also funding US intelligence training in Israel, according to Security Solutions International.
The security industry around the world, including intelligence, security guards and private prisons, became one of the most profitable industries in the world following 9/11.
The Homeland Security funded Israeli training follows the news that the same security corporations responsible for building the Apartheid Wall in Palestine, including Israel's Elbit Systems, were subcontracted for security work on the US Apartheid Wall on the US/Mexico border.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, of the Organization of American States, named the US Border Wall and Guantanamo as international human rights concerns, in a statement released last week. The Commission pointed out how the US has targeted Indigenous Peoples and the poor in discriminatory actions in construction of the border wall and urged the closure of Guantanamo detention facility, long known as a place of US torture, secret renditions and other violations of the Geneva Conventions.

November 2, 2008

Walkers remember migrants on Tohono O'odham land


By Brenda Norrell
Photos copyright Brenda Norrell
SAN XAVIER DISTRICT, TOHONO O'ODHAM NATION -- Walkers arrived at San Xavier District on the Tohono O'odham Nation on Saturday to remember the 183 migrants who died this past year in the Sonoran desert. Of those migrants, 108 were not identified. Nineteen could not be identified as male or female because so little of their remains were found. A large portion of those deaths were on Tohono O'odham land.
Walkers called out "Presente!" during the reading of the names at San Xavier, remembering those who died walking to a better life. The walk, organized by Derechos Humanos, was an 8-mile walk from Tucson, during temperatures that reached the mid 90s.
Although the elected leaders on the main section of the Tohono O'odham Nation, located to the west of here, have not welcomed humanitarian aid for migrants, the San Xavier District cohosted the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas in 2006 and 2007. The border summits were cohosted by the International Indian Treaty Council and organized by Tohono O'odham Mike Flores.
Photos: Walkers arrive at San Xavier. Crosses carry the names of the migrants who died this past year. Photos Brenda Norrell. Please e-mail for reprint permission: brendanorrell@gmail.com