By SUZANNE GAMBOA Associated Press Writer(c) 2008
The Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5440647.html
WASHINGTON — The federal government is preparing to go to court toforce dozens of property owners in the southwestern U.S. to give itaccess to their land for possible construction on it of a U.S.-Mexicoborder fence.
The government is readying 102 cases to gain entry to lands along theborder owned by private individuals, local governments and others. Adeadline for many of the owners to grant entry passed Monday or shouldexpire in a matter of days.
Of the total cases, 71 are against Texas landowners, 20 againstCalifornians and 11 against Arizona landowners. No cases are expectedagainst New Mexico landowners.
January 9, 2008
Out of the Algonquin Frying Pan and into the Mohawk Fire
Out of the Algonquin Frying Pan and into the Mohawk Fire
[The following is a letter to the editor received on Jan 8, 2008]
From the beginning, the Crown, Ontario and agents wanted the farcical mediation meetings to be held behind closed doors. They wanted to isolate the Ardoch and Shabot Algonquin "leadership" to make secret $deals$ over a supposed uranium mine. According to Indigenous law, such meetings that concern the people should be open to the people as the Algonquins have repeatedly insisted.
Suddenly, Ontario says the meetings are open to the public but now they are to be held in Kingston, outside of Algonquin territory, two hours away from the affected community. Moving the mediation out of Algonquin territory is also a breach of Algonquin law.
However, this is a clear case of the proverbial, "Out of the frying pan and into the fire!" Kingston is in Mohawk territory!
Why, we must ask, would the meetings be moved to Kingston? For whose convenience? We hear rumours of Crown agents who need city night life and their accustomed type of "watering hole", not available in the remote areas of Sharbot Lake. The new location was certainly handy for the Mohawks, perhaps too handy. When they changed the venue, the mediation team knew Kahentinetha Horn of MNN was planning to attend - Randy Cota and Bob Lovelace had invited her!
(In July 2007, the Algonquins sent a wampum to the Mohawks seeking their help in the blockade against uranium mining at Robertsville. Nuclear development on Algonquin land would affect Mohawk communities downstream. This official nation to nation agreement is ongoing.)
The mediation team were all surprised anyway to see a large delegation of Ongwehoneh women and men from the four Mohawk communities of Kahnawake, Kahensatake, Akwesasne and Tyendinaga. I am very sorry I could not arrange transportation to join them.
The mediation team were even more shocked to hear Elder Kahentinetha speak in Mohawk to open the meeting according to Ongwehoneh customs and protocols. Ardoch Algonquin Negotiator, Bob Lovelace sought to ignore her and defer to one of the Mohawk men. Bob "the Great Pretender" is so accustomed to colonial and sexist ways that he could not accept a woman with such obvious authority. The Mohawks were not about to let the farce continue without exposing it for what it is.
From what I gather, the Monday meeting was a game of tag with it being moved to a secret location when Ontario's Cam Clark, Bob Lovelace and attorneys became so flustered at the Mohawks' asking uncomfortable questions that they fled. When they sought to hide in a restaurant down the street, the Mohawks found them, no problemo. Afterall, they were in Mohawk territory where even the birds speak Mohawk.
The details of the derailed meeting are best described by those who were there. MNN has published an informative report that can be accessed at www.mohawknationnews.com. The outcome will become more apparent in the days ahead.
One thing's for sure from where I sit. Mohawk people have tried to help us Algonquins over and over again since the uranium crisis began last June at the Robertsville mine site. From the Mohawk warriors who came to put their lives and liberty on the line at the mine site to Mohawk elders like Kahentinetha who publishes the MNN articles in support of the Algonquin struggle, they have given their time and resources to us. Yet people in this community have been warned not to talk to Kahentinetha and not to talk to me. This is colonialism, intimidation and outright gangsterism. This is not the Nishnaabe way.
Indigenous people all over Turtle Island are renewing their alliances. The Mohawks are our nearest neighbours down-river and long-time allies. They have much wisdom and expertise to share with us. They cannot take over our land or ways according to our laws. They simply want to stop any desecration of the Earth such as a uranium mine would be. Together we must protect the Earth for the future generations.
Gratitude is an essential Nishnaabe principle. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mohawk women and men who took the time and had the courage to stand up for our rights. Nia:wen and Chi miigwetch.
I urge everyone, Nishnaabe and settler alike to send a note of thanks to them.
Jennifer Tsun Nishnaabe Kwe,
McDonalds Corners,
Algonquin Territory
[The following is a letter to the editor received on Jan 8, 2008]
From the beginning, the Crown, Ontario and agents wanted the farcical mediation meetings to be held behind closed doors. They wanted to isolate the Ardoch and Shabot Algonquin "leadership" to make secret $deals$ over a supposed uranium mine. According to Indigenous law, such meetings that concern the people should be open to the people as the Algonquins have repeatedly insisted.
Suddenly, Ontario says the meetings are open to the public but now they are to be held in Kingston, outside of Algonquin territory, two hours away from the affected community. Moving the mediation out of Algonquin territory is also a breach of Algonquin law.
However, this is a clear case of the proverbial, "Out of the frying pan and into the fire!" Kingston is in Mohawk territory!
Why, we must ask, would the meetings be moved to Kingston? For whose convenience? We hear rumours of Crown agents who need city night life and their accustomed type of "watering hole", not available in the remote areas of Sharbot Lake. The new location was certainly handy for the Mohawks, perhaps too handy. When they changed the venue, the mediation team knew Kahentinetha Horn of MNN was planning to attend - Randy Cota and Bob Lovelace had invited her!
(In July 2007, the Algonquins sent a wampum to the Mohawks seeking their help in the blockade against uranium mining at Robertsville. Nuclear development on Algonquin land would affect Mohawk communities downstream. This official nation to nation agreement is ongoing.)
The mediation team were all surprised anyway to see a large delegation of Ongwehoneh women and men from the four Mohawk communities of Kahnawake, Kahensatake, Akwesasne and Tyendinaga. I am very sorry I could not arrange transportation to join them.
The mediation team were even more shocked to hear Elder Kahentinetha speak in Mohawk to open the meeting according to Ongwehoneh customs and protocols. Ardoch Algonquin Negotiator, Bob Lovelace sought to ignore her and defer to one of the Mohawk men. Bob "the Great Pretender" is so accustomed to colonial and sexist ways that he could not accept a woman with such obvious authority. The Mohawks were not about to let the farce continue without exposing it for what it is.
From what I gather, the Monday meeting was a game of tag with it being moved to a secret location when Ontario's Cam Clark, Bob Lovelace and attorneys became so flustered at the Mohawks' asking uncomfortable questions that they fled. When they sought to hide in a restaurant down the street, the Mohawks found them, no problemo. Afterall, they were in Mohawk territory where even the birds speak Mohawk.
The details of the derailed meeting are best described by those who were there. MNN has published an informative report that can be accessed at www.mohawknationnews.com. The outcome will become more apparent in the days ahead.
One thing's for sure from where I sit. Mohawk people have tried to help us Algonquins over and over again since the uranium crisis began last June at the Robertsville mine site. From the Mohawk warriors who came to put their lives and liberty on the line at the mine site to Mohawk elders like Kahentinetha who publishes the MNN articles in support of the Algonquin struggle, they have given their time and resources to us. Yet people in this community have been warned not to talk to Kahentinetha and not to talk to me. This is colonialism, intimidation and outright gangsterism. This is not the Nishnaabe way.
Indigenous people all over Turtle Island are renewing their alliances. The Mohawks are our nearest neighbours down-river and long-time allies. They have much wisdom and expertise to share with us. They cannot take over our land or ways according to our laws. They simply want to stop any desecration of the Earth such as a uranium mine would be. Together we must protect the Earth for the future generations.
Gratitude is an essential Nishnaabe principle. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mohawk women and men who took the time and had the courage to stand up for our rights. Nia:wen and Chi miigwetch.
I urge everyone, Nishnaabe and settler alike to send a note of thanks to them.
Jennifer Tsun Nishnaabe Kwe,
McDonalds Corners,
Algonquin Territory
January 7, 2008
Longest Walk San Francsico to Washington begins in February
Cross-country walk to make Inland stop
Download story podcast
Monday, January 7, 2008
By JAMIE AYALA
The Press-Enteprise
A five-month journey across America aimed at raising awareness about protecting the earth, sacred sites and the next generation will come into the Inland area in early March.
The trek by foot, which is called the Longest Walk 2, commemorates a similar walk from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., in 1978 by activists wanting to draw attention to American Indian issues.
This year's walk will take a more southern route than the original walk. It will kick off in Davis on Feb. 11, and head south to Yucca Valley and east along Highway 62.
Along the way, participants are set to pick up trash, recycle and visit sacred sites that communities are trying to preserve. The walk will culminate with a symbolic exchange from elders to youth, said Tashina Banks Moore, national communications coordinator for the event.
"There seems to be momentum across the country and around the world to bring attention to how we as humans are living in our own communities," Moore said. "More and more, it's important for us as individuals to be responsible."
About 200 people are signed up to walk the entire 4,400 miles, Moore said, but hundreds more are expected to join for shorter distances.
She said the group is working to get community support, such as providing places to stay, food or cultural exchanges.
Riverside resident Karen Wright, 55, is trying to boost local awareness about the walk. She cannot participate because she is caring for her elderly mother.
Instead, she purchased T-shirts and patches to give away to those who might be able to walk. She is also spreading the word on the Internet.
"The walk isn't just for Indians. It's for anyone who cares about Mother Earth," said Wright, who is not American Indian. "I see people not planning for future people and the future of the earth and that's not good."
Dennis J. Banks, a co-founder of the American Indian Movement, helped organize the 1978 Longest Walk.
It shed light on the movement and the people and helped defeat 11 legislative bills threatening American Indian sovereignty, according to event organizers. Moore said it was a huge catalyst for change, drawing the support of several thousand people, including boxing great Muhammad Ali and actor Marlon Brando at the end.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_walk07.34a4469.html
Photo: Longest Walk 1978
Download story podcast
Monday, January 7, 2008
By JAMIE AYALA
The Press-Enteprise
A five-month journey across America aimed at raising awareness about protecting the earth, sacred sites and the next generation will come into the Inland area in early March.
The trek by foot, which is called the Longest Walk 2, commemorates a similar walk from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., in 1978 by activists wanting to draw attention to American Indian issues.
This year's walk will take a more southern route than the original walk. It will kick off in Davis on Feb. 11, and head south to Yucca Valley and east along Highway 62.
Along the way, participants are set to pick up trash, recycle and visit sacred sites that communities are trying to preserve. The walk will culminate with a symbolic exchange from elders to youth, said Tashina Banks Moore, national communications coordinator for the event.
"There seems to be momentum across the country and around the world to bring attention to how we as humans are living in our own communities," Moore said. "More and more, it's important for us as individuals to be responsible."
About 200 people are signed up to walk the entire 4,400 miles, Moore said, but hundreds more are expected to join for shorter distances.
She said the group is working to get community support, such as providing places to stay, food or cultural exchanges.
Riverside resident Karen Wright, 55, is trying to boost local awareness about the walk. She cannot participate because she is caring for her elderly mother.
Instead, she purchased T-shirts and patches to give away to those who might be able to walk. She is also spreading the word on the Internet.
"The walk isn't just for Indians. It's for anyone who cares about Mother Earth," said Wright, who is not American Indian. "I see people not planning for future people and the future of the earth and that's not good."
Dennis J. Banks, a co-founder of the American Indian Movement, helped organize the 1978 Longest Walk.
It shed light on the movement and the people and helped defeat 11 legislative bills threatening American Indian sovereignty, according to event organizers. Moore said it was a huge catalyst for change, drawing the support of several thousand people, including boxing great Muhammad Ali and actor Marlon Brando at the end.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_walk07.34a4469.html
Photo: Longest Walk 1978
Attorney to Homeland Security for Apaches: Back off at the border
Updates on Apaches' resistance of land seizures at Censored blog:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Peter Schey
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
256 South Occidental Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Re: Texas Landowners’ Objection to Access for Border Fence
Dear Secretary Chertoff:
This office represents Dr. Eloisa García Tamez, a private land-owner in south Texas who has not and will not sign DHS’s “Right-of-Entry for Survey and Assessment.” Despite the Department’s express threat to sue Dr. García Tamez pursuant to its powers of eminent domain if she refuses, Dr. García Tamez will not allow her ancestral property to be surveyed for the erection of the highly controversial security border wall. Along with other property owners, as well as other Nde’ and Basque-Ibero American citizens adversely impacted by DHS’s ultimatum and intended actions, Dr. García Tamez will pursue all available legal avenues under domestic and international laws to protect her right to the full and uninterrupted enjoyment and use of her property. Dr. García Tamez’s resolve reflects a national network of entities, both political and civic, individuals and organizations, that supports the land rights of indigenous peoples and resolutely opposes the building of the militarized border wall.
Read full letter:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/01/apaches-attorney-to-homeland-security.html
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Peter Schey
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
256 South Occidental Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Re: Texas Landowners’ Objection to Access for Border Fence
Dear Secretary Chertoff:
This office represents Dr. Eloisa García Tamez, a private land-owner in south Texas who has not and will not sign DHS’s “Right-of-Entry for Survey and Assessment.” Despite the Department’s express threat to sue Dr. García Tamez pursuant to its powers of eminent domain if she refuses, Dr. García Tamez will not allow her ancestral property to be surveyed for the erection of the highly controversial security border wall. Along with other property owners, as well as other Nde’ and Basque-Ibero American citizens adversely impacted by DHS’s ultimatum and intended actions, Dr. García Tamez will pursue all available legal avenues under domestic and international laws to protect her right to the full and uninterrupted enjoyment and use of her property. Dr. García Tamez’s resolve reflects a national network of entities, both political and civic, individuals and organizations, that supports the land rights of indigenous peoples and resolutely opposes the building of the militarized border wall.
Read full letter:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2008/01/apaches-attorney-to-homeland-security.html
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