Lakota Organization OWE AKU's Environmental Victory
Greetings from Owe Aku, the traditional Lakota (Sioux) organization advocating for Lakota peoples’ human, ecological and treaty rights from a proactive grassroots perspective. Owe Aku, on behalf of our communities and allies, is very pleased and humbled to express our gratitude for recent developments regarding the protection of our sacred Mother Earth. The United States Federal Atomic Licensing Board (ALB) has granted Owe Aku the opportunity to put forth its arguments why Crow Butte Resources, Inc. should not be allowed to expand their current mining interests in northwestern Nebraska.
“Petitioners Debra White Plume, the organizations Owe Aku/Bring Back the Way and the Western Nebraska Resources Council are admitted as parties in this proceeding and their Requests for Hearing and Petitions to intervene are granted…”
The land and water that Canadian-based Cameco/Crow Butte Resources, Inc. is trying to access is traditional Lakota treaty territory under the 1868 and 1851 Fort Laramie treaties. The 1868 Ft. Laramie treaty has been acknowledged as legal and binding by the United States Supreme Court (1980) and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Treaties (2000). In filing its petition with the NRC, Owe Aku submitted the treaty issue as a relevant part of the discussion along with the recently passed Declaration on the Rights of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, relying on provisions regarding Indigenous peoples’ rights to traditional land and resources, and free, prior, & informed consent. Prior to its decision yesterday, on January 16, 2008 the NRC sent a three judge panel to Nebraska to hear oral arguments and specifically requested additional information on the treaties and the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights. Although the ALB, in its written decision, mentioned the issue of international human rights and treaty law by stating they need not rely on these assertions for this particular decision, an entire section of their Memorandum and Order was dedicated to just that.
Debra White Plume, an organizer and strong force behind this action, stated:
“We are very, very happy about this decision. Now that Owe Aku and the Western Nebraska Resources Council has been granted “standing,” the Oglala Sioux Tribe, our traditional elders and chiefs from the treaty council and others will now be able to join the case. It was their blessing and encouragement that helped us in this EARLY victory, WHICH IS BASICALLY FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHT TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS. In this work we do what we have to protect our sacred water and our future generations.”
Late in 2007, Owe Aku was instrumental in driving colonial corporate interests from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Native American Energy Group (“NAEG” – despite the name they have nothing to do with Native Americans except to exploit our territory) came to Pine Ridge promoting in situ uranium mining in the vast aquifer that lies under the reservation and spans across many states in the west. Owe Aku, through its Director Debra White Plume, WORKING WITH the treaty council, filed an action in tribal court to BANISH NAEG FROM TREATY TERRITORY. In this victory, NAEG was driven from the reservation to ensure that there would not be further contamination to the aquifer, the land, the people and the totality of the environment. Pine Ridge continues to suffer from radioactive contaminants and arsenic in their groundwater in elevated rates of disease.
Owe Aku has experienced a variety of tragedies this winter, including the complete destruction of our headquarters by fire. Despite these serious challenges, with the support of individuals and organizations across the country, this victory shows that through our alliances we can continue to Unite to Fight. We send a special Wopila (thank you) to our allies, the AND our pro bono legal team.
CONTACT: Kent Lebsock, Owe Aku Intl Human Rights and Justice Program,
917-751-4239, iamkent@verizon.net
www.bringbacktheway.com
info@UraniumIsNotMyFriend.com
www.savecrowbutte.org
Kent Lebsock
Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way)
International Justice & Human Rights Project
917-751-4239
iamkent@verizon.net
South Dakota:
lakota1@gwtc.net
www.bringbacktheway.com
May 3, 2008
May 2, 2008
Indigenous Peoples: Carbon trading is permission to pollute
Indigenous Peoples Critical of Position on Carbon Trading of UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Juan Carlos, Amazon Alliance, 202-285-0153 (Spanish)Marcial Garcia, Kuna People, ariasmarcial@hotmail.com (Spanish)
Jihan Gearon, Indigenous Environmental Network, 218-760-1370 (English)
Photo: Florina Lopez, Coordinator of the Indigenous Women's Biodiversity Network/Photo by Ben Powless, Mohawk
New York City, NY – Indigenous Peoples attending the Permanent Forum are outraged that their rejection of the carbon market has been ignored in the final report of the 7th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII).
The final report of the PFII hails World Bank funded carbon trading, like the Clean Development Mechanism, as “good examples” of partnership despite the human rights violations and environmental destruction they have caused.
“Indigenous Peoples attending the 7th session of the Permanent Forum are profoundly concerned that our key recommendations on climate change are not being taken into account by the Permanent Forum. This Permanent Forum was created precisely to recognize, promote, and support the rights of Indigenous Peoples,” says Florina Lopez, Coordinator of the Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network of Abya Yala.
Throughout the two weeks of the Permanent Forum, Indigenous community representatives have consistently testified about the injustices associated with the clean development mechanism projects and have asked that the Permanent Forum not promote the projects. However, in the final report of the Permanent Forum (document E/C.19/2008/L.2) adopted today, these injustices have been ignored.
In response, many groups under the name of the Indigenous Caucus of Abya Yala took the floor today to express their concerns. Their statement affirmed that the recommendations of the Permanent Forum do not properly reflect their positions. They used the opportunity to affirm their rejection of carbon trading mechanisms and concerns over specific implementations. Over 30 organizations at the forum called for the final report to include a section outlining their concerns.
In the background paper for this session (Document E/C.19/2008/10), three projects are being upheld to illustrate the “clean development mechanism projects that are being implemented in indigenous peoples territories with good results.”
However, there are grave problems with each of these projects including violations of the rights enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
For example, the Jeripachi wind power project in Colombia did not get the free, prior, and informed consent of the Wayuu people to build this wind farm in a sacred territory of the Wayuu People.
Indigenous Peoples’ organizations contend the assassination of over 200 Wayuu People prior to the implementation of the project was to clear the area for this and other projects. Additionally, most of the energy generated from the wind farm is used to power the Cerrajon mine, the biggest open air coal mine in the world, which itself is known for numerous human rights violations and environmental damages.
Representatives of the Wayuu people who attended the Permanent Forum didn’t even know the project was being promoted as a good example.
“In promoting the clean development mechanism projects and carbon trading, the Permanent Forum is allowing oil companies who are the biggest emitters for greenhouse gases, to continue to pollute,” says Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “Promoting the commodification of the air is a corruption of our traditional teachings and violates the original instructions of Indigenous Peoples. ###
Indigenous Environmental Network
Indigenous Environmental Network
Native Energy and Climate Campaign
P.O. Box 2696 Flagstaff, AZ 86003
928.214.8301
Black Mesa Water Coalition: Voices ignored on carbon trading
Black Mesa Water Coalition members, Chelsea Chee (Climate Justice Organizer) and Enei Begaye (Co-Director) traveled with a North American Indigenous Delegation to participate in the recent United Nation's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in NYC the past couple of weeks. We pushed for a moratorium of mining fossil fuels on Indigenous Peoples' lands as well as the end of carbon trading markets (which do not address the climate crisis!) The below news release explains the disappointment of this meeting not only from us but many many Indigenous peoples through out the world! Many Indigenous Peoples gave testimony to the harm that these fossil fuel & carbon trading industries have done to our communities! However, our voices were ignored! This is very disappointing!
Enei Begaye
Executive Director
Black Mesa Water Coalition
Enei Begaye
Executive Director
Black Mesa Water Coalition
Live from Yankton, Dakota speaks on genocide and censorship
Live and uncensored from Yankton
By Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Listen at Earthcycles:
http://www.earthcycles.net/
YANKTON INDIAN NATION, S.D. -- During today's radio broadcast, Chris Mato Nunpa, Ph.D, associate professor in Indigenous Nations and Dakota Studies at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Dr. Mato Nunpa, Wahpeton Dakota from Upper Sioux Community near Granite Falls, Minn., is one of the supporters here for the Yankton.
Dr. Mato Nunpa speaks with Earthcycles radio about genocide, censorship and upcoming events:
Minnesota Statehood
150 Years of Hate, Murder and Lies!
Friday May 9: Mendota Bridge at Rush Hour
Saturday May 10: Ft. Snelling before the Sesquicentennial event
Sunday May ll: Mounds Park at 9:30 a.m March to the Capital
By Brenda Norrell
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
Listen at Earthcycles:
http://www.earthcycles.net/
YANKTON INDIAN NATION, S.D. -- During today's radio broadcast, Chris Mato Nunpa, Ph.D, associate professor in Indigenous Nations and Dakota Studies at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Dr. Mato Nunpa, Wahpeton Dakota from Upper Sioux Community near Granite Falls, Minn., is one of the supporters here for the Yankton.
Dr. Mato Nunpa speaks with Earthcycles radio about genocide, censorship and upcoming events:
Minnesota Statehood
150 Years of Hate, Murder and Lies!
Friday May 9: Mendota Bridge at Rush Hour
Saturday May 10: Ft. Snelling before the Sesquicentennial event
Sunday May ll: Mounds Park at 9:30 a.m March to the Capital
Earthcycles Radio live today from Fort Randall Casino Hotel in Yankton, S.D.
May 1, 2008
Racist holocaust denier maligns residential school survivors
Racist and Holocaust Denier maligns Residential School survivors and their advocate, Kevin Annett Eagle Strong Voice, in Tyee magazine
Statement by the Indigenous Elders of TheInternational Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide inCanada (IHRTGC)
For International Media Release
30 April, 2008Squamish Nation Territory ("Vancouver, Canada")
We are shocked and disgusted by an article that appeared this week in the west coast magazine "TheTyee", authored by Terry Glavin. This article isnothing more than a racist denial of the claims ofresidential school survivors that children died andwere buried in mass graves across Canada.
The article is also a scathing and unsubstantiate dpersonal attack on the one caucasian man who has fought consistently and with great self-sacrifice for residential school survivors in Canada, Reverend Kevin Annett, who has been given the sacred name Eagle Strong Voice by our elder and IHRTGC judge Chief Louis Daniels, and adopted by him into the Anishinabe Nation. We therefore consider any attack made upon Reverend Annett to be an attack on the Anishinabe people, and on us.
We consider The Tyee to have violated and dishonoured our people by printing this hateful and misleadingarticle, and we demand its formal retraction and thepublicc ensure of Terry Glavin by the magazine and byall concerned citizens.
Until The Tyee takes these steps, we call upon all people to boycott this publication.
For generations we have fought against the kind of ignorance and racism spouted by Mr. Glavin, who is basically calling our people liars.
For example, Glavin insultingly refers to eyewitnesses' accounts of residential school graves as"urban legends ... like alligators in New York sewers"(!).
In effect, Glavin is saying that there are no mass graves of native children, when the very body heclaims to support - the government's"Truth andReconciliation Commission" - has already citedevidence that children in these schools were buried"four or five to a grave".
This is not an "urban legend", as Glavin sarcasticallyclaims. This is the truth, as witnessed by SylvesterGreene, who personally buried an Inuit child at theUnited Church school in Edmonton in 1953; or William Combes, who saw a priest bury a child at the KamloopsCatholic school in 1964.
Is Glavin calling these men liars? Why has he no tinterviewed them, and given their story the sameexposure as he has his hatred against Reverend Annett?
And why does Glavin falsely claim that the RCMP have"investigated" these claims and "found nothing"? Thisis an outright lie, for on countless occasions, we have taken this evidence to the RCMP, who have flatlyrefused to investigate. For they, like Mr. Glavin, areactively concealing this crime of genocide against ourpeople.
With typical colonial arrogance, and speaking in thesame tongue as our church and government abusers,Terry Glavin states that all our claims are alreadyknown, and that the history of the residential schoolsis not hidden. What a lie this is! The real story ofthese schools has only begun to be told, as is evidentin Glavin's and The Tyee's refusal to reprint or comment on any of the evidence of murders, forcedsterilizations and mass graves that we have submitted to them over the past four years.
Rather than help our people, Terry Glavin engages in the worst kind of character assassination and yellow journalism by attacking Rev. Annett personally, belittling and mocking the physical attacks made against him, and subjecting him to the same kind of cruelty that has been inflicted on him by those inchurch and state who are responsible for the torture and death of our children in residential schools. Wetherefore must ask if Glavin is working for these samedestructive parties.
We are especially appalled that Glavin is posing as a"supporter" of our people while conducting such ahateful and destructive assault on our work and theword of residential school survivors. Lacking the honesty or courage to attack us directly, Glavintargets Reverend Annett, who he portrays as being the
author of the claims of murder and mass burials at residential schools.
Let this be clear: the claims that Glavin is attacking concerning the murder and burial of residential schoolchildren do not emanate from Kevin Annett, but from hundreds of eyewitnesses who saw these killings, participated in burying children, orpersonally experienced the brutalities documented soaccurately by Reverend Annett since 1996.ReverendAnnett is simply the messenger of these accounts.
In that regard, we stand by every statement made by Reverend Annett concerning crimes in Indian Residential Schools, and we challenge Mr. Glavin andThe Tyee to refute them with evidence of their own.
In addition, on March 16, 2008, Reverend Annett was appointed as the personal agent of hereditary SquamishChief Kiapilano, on whose land Mr. Glavin lives andThe Tyee is published. We therefore consider TerryGlavin and The Tyee to have violated their occupancyof Chief Kiapilano's land, and Chief Kiapilano's hospitality, and we call upon both Terry Glavin andThe Tyee to vacate Squamish territory immediately.
Let us conclude by saying that we consider Terry Glavin's article to be an outright assault on allresidential school survivors and their struggle to beheard and believed. Glavin and The Tyee have set backthe clock and added to the crushing burden on ourpeople by undermining that struggle.
We insist that, once it has relocated, The Tyee immediately open its pages to those residential school survivors who can speak of the murders they have witnessed, and the burial sites they know exist. If itrefuses to, we must assume that the Tyee endorses theracist and irresponsible garbage written by TerryGlavin.
We call upon the world to endorse our condemnation and expulsion of Terry Glavin and The Tyee, and to boycott this magazine and person.
Sincerely, we are
The Indigenous Elders of the IHRTGC, coming from theSquamish, Cree, Metis, Anishinabe, Lakota and SixNations under the traditional Land Law Jurisdiction ofTurtle Island.
Chief Louis Daniels, presiding elder
contact: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca
30 April, 2008
Statement by the Indigenous Elders of TheInternational Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide inCanada (IHRTGC)
For International Media Release
30 April, 2008Squamish Nation Territory ("Vancouver, Canada")
We are shocked and disgusted by an article that appeared this week in the west coast magazine "TheTyee", authored by Terry Glavin. This article isnothing more than a racist denial of the claims ofresidential school survivors that children died andwere buried in mass graves across Canada.
The article is also a scathing and unsubstantiate dpersonal attack on the one caucasian man who has fought consistently and with great self-sacrifice for residential school survivors in Canada, Reverend Kevin Annett, who has been given the sacred name Eagle Strong Voice by our elder and IHRTGC judge Chief Louis Daniels, and adopted by him into the Anishinabe Nation. We therefore consider any attack made upon Reverend Annett to be an attack on the Anishinabe people, and on us.
We consider The Tyee to have violated and dishonoured our people by printing this hateful and misleadingarticle, and we demand its formal retraction and thepublicc ensure of Terry Glavin by the magazine and byall concerned citizens.
Until The Tyee takes these steps, we call upon all people to boycott this publication.
For generations we have fought against the kind of ignorance and racism spouted by Mr. Glavin, who is basically calling our people liars.
For example, Glavin insultingly refers to eyewitnesses' accounts of residential school graves as"urban legends ... like alligators in New York sewers"(!).
In effect, Glavin is saying that there are no mass graves of native children, when the very body heclaims to support - the government's"Truth andReconciliation Commission" - has already citedevidence that children in these schools were buried"four or five to a grave".
This is not an "urban legend", as Glavin sarcasticallyclaims. This is the truth, as witnessed by SylvesterGreene, who personally buried an Inuit child at theUnited Church school in Edmonton in 1953; or William Combes, who saw a priest bury a child at the KamloopsCatholic school in 1964.
Is Glavin calling these men liars? Why has he no tinterviewed them, and given their story the sameexposure as he has his hatred against Reverend Annett?
And why does Glavin falsely claim that the RCMP have"investigated" these claims and "found nothing"? Thisis an outright lie, for on countless occasions, we have taken this evidence to the RCMP, who have flatlyrefused to investigate. For they, like Mr. Glavin, areactively concealing this crime of genocide against ourpeople.
With typical colonial arrogance, and speaking in thesame tongue as our church and government abusers,Terry Glavin states that all our claims are alreadyknown, and that the history of the residential schoolsis not hidden. What a lie this is! The real story ofthese schools has only begun to be told, as is evidentin Glavin's and The Tyee's refusal to reprint or comment on any of the evidence of murders, forcedsterilizations and mass graves that we have submitted to them over the past four years.
Rather than help our people, Terry Glavin engages in the worst kind of character assassination and yellow journalism by attacking Rev. Annett personally, belittling and mocking the physical attacks made against him, and subjecting him to the same kind of cruelty that has been inflicted on him by those inchurch and state who are responsible for the torture and death of our children in residential schools. Wetherefore must ask if Glavin is working for these samedestructive parties.
We are especially appalled that Glavin is posing as a"supporter" of our people while conducting such ahateful and destructive assault on our work and theword of residential school survivors. Lacking the honesty or courage to attack us directly, Glavintargets Reverend Annett, who he portrays as being the
author of the claims of murder and mass burials at residential schools.
Let this be clear: the claims that Glavin is attacking concerning the murder and burial of residential schoolchildren do not emanate from Kevin Annett, but from hundreds of eyewitnesses who saw these killings, participated in burying children, orpersonally experienced the brutalities documented soaccurately by Reverend Annett since 1996.ReverendAnnett is simply the messenger of these accounts.
In that regard, we stand by every statement made by Reverend Annett concerning crimes in Indian Residential Schools, and we challenge Mr. Glavin andThe Tyee to refute them with evidence of their own.
In addition, on March 16, 2008, Reverend Annett was appointed as the personal agent of hereditary SquamishChief Kiapilano, on whose land Mr. Glavin lives andThe Tyee is published. We therefore consider TerryGlavin and The Tyee to have violated their occupancyof Chief Kiapilano's land, and Chief Kiapilano's hospitality, and we call upon both Terry Glavin andThe Tyee to vacate Squamish territory immediately.
Let us conclude by saying that we consider Terry Glavin's article to be an outright assault on allresidential school survivors and their struggle to beheard and believed. Glavin and The Tyee have set backthe clock and added to the crushing burden on ourpeople by undermining that struggle.
We insist that, once it has relocated, The Tyee immediately open its pages to those residential school survivors who can speak of the murders they have witnessed, and the burial sites they know exist. If itrefuses to, we must assume that the Tyee endorses theracist and irresponsible garbage written by TerryGlavin.
We call upon the world to endorse our condemnation and expulsion of Terry Glavin and The Tyee, and to boycott this magazine and person.
Sincerely, we are
The Indigenous Elders of the IHRTGC, coming from theSquamish, Cree, Metis, Anishinabe, Lakota and SixNations under the traditional Land Law Jurisdiction ofTurtle Island.
Chief Louis Daniels, presiding elder
contact: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca
30 April, 2008
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