Blog Radio: Walking the talk, Miwok, Washo and Shoshone

Listen now: Longest Walk in Miwok, Washo and Shoshone country

Article by Brenda Norrell

Christmas Special: Listen to walkers on the Longest Walk northern route in the west, beginning with the Miwok at Shingle Springs, Calif. Walkers speaking include Marie Littlemoon, Willie Lonewolf, Antonio Ruiz and Weldon Austin, with Rockstar Ray. 

Chet Stevens, Western Shoshone and David Smith, Yomba Shoshone, describe the nuclear testing, radiation and gold mining on Shoshone treaty lands in Nevada. Western Shoshone Corbin Harney is remembered. Janice Gardipe, Paiute Shoshone, shares a Shoshone song of a little bird leaving its nest. Washo gathered near Cave Rock, speak on prayer and honoring Mother Earth. 

One Washo great grandmother said earlier she questioned, "Where are the warriors?" Then, she said, "I see from you warriors that we are alive. "I am so happy to be here." 

Near Cave Rock, Calvin Magpie, Cheyenne Arapaho, offers a song. From South Dakota, at the site of the hogfarm protest, Yankton Dakota offer a drum song.

"Starwalker" and "Universal Soldier" by Buffy Sainte Marie. "Going Back," by Floyd Westerman. Listener level: Everyone, 90 minutes http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/ Censored News Blog Talk Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell Photo: Longest Walk northern route in South Lake Tahoe in Feb. 2008. Second from left: Calvin Magpie; next Willie Lonewolf and Stella Magpie. Photo Brenda Norrell .

Colombia: Voice from the heart of the world

VOICE of the ELDER BROTHER, TAYRONA Original Peoples

Heart of the World, UMÛNÛKÛNÛ

(Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia)

We, the Wintukwa Peoples of Umûnûkûnû along with our other brothers of the Wiwa, Napeybu (Kogi) and Kankwamu who guard Umûnûkûnû, Heart of the World, demarcated under the Understanding of the Law of Origin or Linea Negra (Black Line) by Serankwa the Creator; we deliver now the clamor of Umûnûkûnû, the thundering demand of the Mountain:

We address you as our younger brothers, representing different nations who gathered in Poznan, Poland under the framework of the UN Climate Conference to negotiate climate issues. While you the younger brothers continue speaking and making decisions without recognizing the Rights of the Original Peoples and without a harmonious agreement with we the Elder Brothers who are the caretakers and translators of the knowledge of the Mother Earth of Umûnûkûnû and in defense of her, the Creator Serankwa continues and will continue to bring due to you brothers until the debt of destruction of the constitution of the Mother Earth is canceled.

Law that legislates the universe, whose constitution is made of harmony and balance by which Serankwa traverses on the ray of the sun, drawing close and piercing the sky from above to say no more marketing of the Mother Earth much less of the Sky because as the Grandmother Sea charges invoking a second tsunami or Mother Earth itself may call upon Brother Storm to bring global disaster, and so it is Brothers, representatives of different nations, especially the government of Colombia who must respect the Mandate of Serankwa because we the Tayrona Peoples are prepared to educate in the schools and with the University of Mother Earth as Emissaries of Umûnûkûnû that we are, we are ready to cooperate to halt the abyss that you the Younger Brothers are creating through economic and scientific development that is recklessly speeding the end of the world.

We are concerned about the path of destruction being invented by the scientific orientation and so we ask of the present governments: If the second tsunami or third hole appears in the sky, do your scientific advisers have the knowledge to avert this catastrophe?

We believe that your knowledge is that of an infant to respond in this regard, or is it that you understand fully one hundred percent the secrets of the land? Do you control the winds? Do you know the power of the waters? Please respond clearly and effectively to these questions, or if it is you can only present a hypotheses, then please listen, as we are not beings who over speak, much less when the subject is the caretaking of our universe. Be respectful of what you do not know and what you cannot dominate with your rational formulations.

Such is the VOICE of the MAMAS of UMÛNÛKÛNÛ.

Asdrubal Torres

Indigenous rights in a world context

Agenda item – “Analysis of the world context of the recognition of Indigenous rights”

BY THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ CAUCUS OF THE AMERICAS

December 2008

(Photo: Longest Walk northern route at vigil for Leonard Peltier and Native prisoners in Lewisburg, Penn.)

Indigenous peoples face a wide range of urgent human rights issues in all regions of the world, including in the Americas. They continue to suffer serious violations, if not atrocities, that sorely need to be addressed.
We, in the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus, hear of some of the issues both at the Organization of American States (OAS) and at the United Nations. However, the violations that are described to us in Caucus meetings reflect only a minute fraction of the suffering that is occurring in different parts of the globe. Most Indigenous voices are never heard.
Global support for UN Declaration
In light of this urgent situation, it is important to consider the world context of the recognition of Indigenous rights. A resounding achievement has been the historic adoption of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As a result, there is a strong feeling of hope among Indigenous peoples from the various regions of the globe. In the Indigenous context, the Declaration is the most comprehensive, universal human rights instrument in the world. It establishes a principled framework for addressing a wide range of human rights issues internationally and within States.
On 13 September 2007, the UN Declaration was overwhelmingly adopted by the General Assembly. Only four States voted against it – Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. No Latin American State, including those in the Caribbean, opposed the adoption of the Declaration.
Two weeks later, the Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people. This mandate now includes the promotion of the Declaration in carrying out the Special Rapporteur’s work.
Throughout the world, there is widespread support for the Declaration. The UN Secretary-General has urged that the Declaration must be a “living instrument”. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly expressed her support for this “universal” instrument. The African Group of States has indicated its support for implementation of the Declaration. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has highlighted that the Declaration will “strengthen the international human rights system … and will support the vital work that the … Commission … is undertaking for the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples rights” in Africa. Similarly, the European Union has emphasized its support.
It is important to note here the role of the Latin American States in realizing the adoption of the Declaration. In particular, the role of Mexico, Peru and Guatemala is acknowledged and deeply appreciated. They took the lead in reaching agreement with the African Group of States and others.
There are 31 UN specialized agencies in the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues that have expressed their favourable response to the Declaration. They are in the process of examining how each of them might implement the Declaration within their respective mandates. These specialized agencies represent a very diverse group that includes, among others: the International Labour Organization, World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO, World Bank, UN Development Programme, World Intellectual Property Organization and UN Environment Programme.
In particular, UNICEF is supporting the translation of the Declaration into 15 indigenous languages. It is also involved in the preparation of “child-friendly” translated versions. This is consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 29), which calls for the education of children to be “directed to the development of respect for human rights”.
In its May 2008 report, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues decided that it would use the Declaration as a “legal framework” for all its work – and the Permanent Forum covers a wide range of subject areas. In October 2008, at its inaugural meeting in Geneva, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples indicated that it “has an important role in promoting the rights affirmed in the Declaration, and in mainstreaming them into the Human Rights Council's overall efforts to promote and protect all human rights”.
Human rights education and other initiatives
In regard to human rights education, Indigenous peoples and human rights organizations have arranged the publishing of 100,000 pocket-sized copies of the English version of the Declaration. Similarly, 10,000 copies of the French version have been made available. These copies are being distributed in different regions of the world. Mexico and Bolivia have prepared Spanish versions of this human rights instrument.
The United Nations has also published small booklets of the Declaration in all of the UN official languages. Further, symposiums and workshops are being organized in Canada and other parts of the world to further the implementation of the UN Declaration.

This positive momentum globally is highly relevant to the regional context in the Americas. At the previous OAS Special Session for Reflection in November 2007, it was determined that the UN Declaration would be used as “the baseline for negotiations and … a minimum standard” for the draft American Declaration. As both the Chair of this current Special Session and the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus have emphasized, the draft American Declaration – as a regional instrument – must complement the universal UN Declaration and not undermine it.
Despite all of these positive initiatives to implement the UN Declaration, we must bring to your attention recent regressive actions – especially since two of the States concerned are also OAS member States. Yesterday, at the world meeting on climate change in Poland, the States of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States refused to include any references either to the term “rights” in referring to Indigenous peoples[5] or to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. [6] Indigenous peoples suffer some of the worst impacts as a result of climate change and yet these States continue to act in this substandard manner. Climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing humanity and merits a principled response.
In regard to the UN Declaration, it is worth noting that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is already making reference to this human rights instrument. The same is true in a recent judgment in Belize by the Chief Justice of its Supreme Court. To date, Bolivia is the only State that has implemented the whole text of the Declaration through its incorporation in domestic legislation.
It is important to remember that, without the collaborative actions of supportive States, we would not have realized the adoption of the UN Declaration. As repeatedly reflected in our Caucus meetings, Indigenous representatives are determined to work closely with OAS States in order to achieve a strong and effective American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

[1] Adaptado de la presentación oral.

[2] Posterior a la presentación oral en la Sesión Especial de la OEA, se obtuvo información que estos mismos cuatro Estados utilizaron la frase “pueblo indígena” en vez de “pueblos indígenas” con la “s” el cual es un lenguaje aceptado internacionalmente. Ver Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Directora Ejecutiva de TEBTEBBA y Presidenta del Foro Permanente sobre las Cuestiones Indígenas), Boletín de Prensa “Día Internacional sobre los Derechos Humanos 2008: Un Día Triste para los Pueblos Indígenas”. Polonia, 10 de Diciembre del 2008.

[3] Ver Documento (FCCC/SBSTA/2008/L.23), el cual es la versión final del Borrador de Conlusiones del Item. 5 de la Agenda “reducción de emisiones por deforestación y degradación de los bosques (REDD). Acciones para estimular la acción, de la 29va Sesión del SBSTA (Órgano Subsidiario para Asesoría Científica y Tecnológica).
[4] Adapted from oral presentation.
[5] Subsequent to this presentation at the OAS Special Session, it was learned that these same four States used the phrase “indigenous people” instead of “indigenous peoples” with an “s” which is the internationally accepted language. See Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (Executive Director, TEBTEBBA and Chair, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues), “International Human Rights Day 2008: A Sad Day for Indigenous Peoples”, Press Statement, Poland, 10 December 2008.
[6] See Document (FCCC/SBSTA/2008/L.23), which is the final version of the Draft Conclusions on Agenda Item 5: Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action, of the 29th Session of Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).

Censored News holiday gift, best free software

ree and really cheap: Software and equipment for virus protection and online audio production

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot/

This holiday season, I'm sending all Censored News readers a special gift, a list of the best free software on the web. After crossing America on the Longest Walk and the Earthcycles radio bus headed home, I began to search out free software for audios.
Before getting started with the free audio software, I want to recommend AVG free anti-virus software. It can save you a great deal of money each year and is recommended by PC magazine. If you're not always online, you will need to make sure you regularly update it, as there are constantly new attacks and new protections released. Free AVG download: http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html
All the software tips here are for beginners, PC users.
To edit audio, I've been using the free Audacity and it is great for beginners. I use it just to pick out clips and sections of long recordings. It is also a top recommendation of PC magazine. Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
One of the great finds, thanks to radio host Robin Carneen at NAMAPAHH radio, was the free Blog Talk Radio. It takes a little practice for beginners, but the switchboard if fairly easy. You will need a talk show host and to upload your own original recordings, but it is a great free source to broadcast a radio show. (The host telephone number to call in to do the show is not an 800 number. There's no 800 number for callin guests either, so regular phone charges apply.) http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
At Earthcycles radio, produced by Govinda Dalton, we use tiny digital voice recorders for interviews, purchased at Radio Shack (Olympus brand for about $85.) The sound quality is excellent and we never ran out of space. Sony also makes a superb digital voice recorder (about $100 at Target) which produces mp3 files. It is good to get the type voice recorder that plugs right into your computer's USB port to transfer the files. You also have to save each audio file individually on most computers.
The sound quality of these tiny recorders is superior to more expensive radio equipment that we tried out during our lengthy broadcasts in 2008.
If you are using a recorder that produces a wav format, you can use Free Rip free software,
to transform the heavy wav to the lighter mp3 (necessary to upload large files at Blog Talk Radio.) http://www.freerip.com/download.php
Now for online calls, there's Skype. I downloaded this many times and removed it before I actually started using it. It was a real lifesaver this week and allowed me to record the Lipan Apache 'No Border Wall' press conference for $1.80. Skype is free for computer to computer calls, but there is a small charge when your computer dials a regular phone (2 cents a minute or unlimited US for $2.95 a month.) Skype is another recommendation of PC magazine. http://www.skype.com/ww.skype.com/
For recording the press conference, I used the 30-day free trial of Callburner, which works great and produces the much needed mp3. http://www.callburner.com/
Callburner is pricey to purchase, so now I'm now searching for a high quality free recorder for phone interviews. Any suggestions?
When I first started out, I needed a place just to "park" huge audio files, so I went to the free Driveway. I discovered it makes widgets also, so those same recordings can play on the web by placing the code on a website. Widgets are just a bunch of code you can stick in the html box of your blog. (It is best to use mp3s for the Firefox brower's playback.) http://www.driveway.com/
If you receive pdf files for your website, and you can't post those, there's free software to switch those to jpegs at Soft Interface: http://www.softinterface.com/Convert-Image-To-PDF/Convert-Tiff-To-PDF.htm
If you are new to computers, it is best to have a friend explain downloads and the danger of viruses, because not all free downloads are safe for your computer. You can open the door to viruses if you are not aware of the dangers.
Also, if you are new to computers, have a friend show you how to clean your computer, by using the delete option under tools (Tools/Internet) to remove cookies and temporary files. If you're a new user, have a friend show you how to run the virus scanner to remove viruses, cookies and spyware.
If your computer is running slow, also run the "defragmenter" on your computer which puts everything back in place. You can usually find it by searching your own computer for "defragmenter."
Finally, if you want to buy a digital camera for about $150, but don't know where to begin, the Canon digital cameras in this price range score high on all consumer reports. (I use the Canon A570, but the Canons in the 900 and 1000 series are said to be even better.) Here's more great cameras recomended at CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camera-reviews/?filter=100021_10061970_&tag=centerColumnArea1.0
If you take a large number of digital photos, high quality rechargeable batteries will save you hundreds of dollars each year. To prevent hassles, get a one hour charger and a couple of sets of batteries (about $20 to $30 at discount stores.) I found the Kodak rechargeable excellent, but couldn't find those this time, so now I'm trying out Duracell rechargeables.
After Christmas the big computer chains usually run sales. I bought a great laptop computer, a Compaq Presario, the one I smashed after the Longest Walk, for $399 last December. So check the sales in the local newspaper. Here's five cheap laptops recomended by PC World:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/154358/top_5_netbooks.html
For all the best free software recommended by PC magazine, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2260070,00.aspmag.com/article2/0,2817,2260070,00.asp
Finally, if you have tips about free or really cheap software or equipment, please e-mail me, brendanorrell@gmail.com
Happy holidays! Brenda
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
PHOTO TOP: November 1940. Tehama County, California. John Frost and his daughter listening to the radio in their home. View full size. Medium format safety negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration.