Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

January 21, 2010

Archaeology Society Calls for Halt to Auction of Human Remains


UPDATE: Christie's auction house removes skull from auction

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

NEW YORK (January 21, 2010) -- Christie's auction house in New York said a skull ballot box from the Skull and Bones Society has been withdrawn from an auction that began today. A spokesperson said the skull was removed due to a title dispute of ownership.
The Society for American Archaeology joined the World Archaelogical Congress and called for a halt to a planned auction of human remains, which could violate the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The Society also refers to the theft of Geronimo's remains. (See letter below.) The sale began today, Jan. 21, and continues through Jan. 25.
In a separate interview with San Carlos Apache Councilman Raleigh Thompson, Thompson said the Skull and Bones Society attempted to give back a skull to a delegation from San Carlos. The Apache delegation attempted to retrieve the skull, which they were told belonged to Geronimo. Thompson was at the meetings in New York in the 1980s with Skull and Bones' attorney and Jonathan Bush. Thompson said the skull that Skull and Bones attempted to give them was not that of Geronimo, but was that of a child.
Skull and Bones attempted to silence the San Carlos delegation, comprised of San Carlos councilmen, the chairman and attorney. Geronimo had requested to be buried in the mountains of San Carlos in southern Arizona. (The interview was conducted by Brenda Norrell on Mount Graham during the Sacred Run.)
A logbook of Skull and Bones, a Yale secret society comprised of the Bush presidents and others who seek world domination, revealed that it was Grandfather Prescott Bush who led the army soldiers that robbed Geronimo's grave at Fort Sill, Okla.






World Archaeological Congress calls on Christies to halt sale of human remains used by Yale Skull and Bones Society.
The World Archaeological Congress calls upon Christie’s auction house to withdraw from sale a human cranium and two femora offered for sale as items once used by the Yale Skull and Bones Society. The Skull and Bones Society has long been accused of having the remains of the celebrated Apache chief, Geronimo, and WAC is concerned about the cultural origin of the remains being offered for sale, as well as the affront to human dignity resulting from the sale of human body parts.



"WAC asks Christie’s to cease trafficking in human remains and requests that all possible measures be taken to discover the cultural origin of this individual," stated WAC President Claire Smith. "We cannot overlook the possibility that it may be a skull of a American Indian, and the sale should be stopped in order to determine if federal laws apply." 



WAC also requests that US law enforcement investigate this proposed sale. If these remains are found to be Native American, then WAC urges Christie’s to comply with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and/or applicable state laws. Regardless of the origin of the remains, WAC urges Christie’s to act in accordance with standards of human decency and withdraw these remains from the auction. 



The World Archaeological Congress bases its objection to this sale on the WAC Code of Ethics, which includes the Vermillion Accord on Human Remains and the Tamaki Makau-rau Accord on the Display of Human Remains and Sacred Objects. 



Dr. Smith noted that the first principle of the Vermillion Accord declares "Respect for the mortal remains of the dead shall be accorded to all, irrespective of origin, race, religion, nationality, custom and tradition." She stated "The buying and selling of human remains can not be considered respectful treatment. And the transforming of human remains into a ballot box is poor taste, as well as unethical."



Yale skull and bones to auction in New York
(AFP) – Jan 7, 2010

NEW YORK — Grisly trophies from Yale University's mysterious Skull and Bones society, whose members include former president George W. Bush, are to go on auction in New York this month.

The human skull and two large bones are estimated to sell for between 10,000 and 20,000 dollars on January 22 at Christie's.

The auction house said the human remains were used as a ballot box by the secret society. The skull includes a specially cut lid in the top -- apparently for ballots -- and one of the bones is inscribed "THOR."

The auction lot also comes with a black book listing names of Skull and Bones members back in 1831-1877.

"The ballot box and documents offer a rare glimpse into an organization in which membership has evolved into a closely guarded secret," Christie's said.

Members, dubbed "Bonesmen," have included Bush and his father, who also served as president, Senator John Kerry, the late conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr, and a number of major businessmen such as Averell Harriman and H.J. Heinz II.

The society, joined by leading students at the university and which is said to maintain bizarre initiation rites, was founded at Yale in 1832. Women were admitted for the first time in the 1990s.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Obama oil drilling in Alaska opposed




Alaskan Natives and environmental groups file federal lawsuit to halt Obama administration's approval of oil drilling in the Arctic

Point Hope, environmental groups challenge Chukchi Sea drilling
APPEAL: Natives fear oil company will be careless, harm sea life.

By MARY PEMBERTON
The Associated Press

A North Slope village united Wednesday with some of the heaviest hitters in the environmental community to challenge a plan by Shell Oil to drill off Northwest Alaska this summer.
REDOIL and the village are joined by The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as several other environmental groups.
The legal challenge to Shell's approved drilling plan for the Chukchi Sea was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Groups recently filed a similar challenge to Shell's plan for exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's northeast coastline.
"They have never demonstrated the ability to clean up oil in the Arctic Ocean," said Robert Thompson, chairman of Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (RED OIL), a Native group that with the village of Point Hope hopes to stop Shell.
REDOIL and the village are joined by The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, the National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as several other environmental groups.
"Our culture is based on hunting and we see major species disappearing right before our eyes," he said. "What would the potential pollution do to the whales?"
Oceana, one of the groups requesting the review, said Shell proposes to bring icebreakers, a drill rig and other support vessels and aircraft to the Chukchi, an area already challenged by the impacts of climate change and the loss of sea ice.
"We all know ... that the polar cap is melting. No scientist in the world challenges that," said Jim Ayers, vice president of Oceana. "What is the potential impact of a spill in these sensitive areas?" http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/1101960.html

January 20, 2010

Bill Quigley: Ten things the US can and should do for Haiti

Bill Quigley: “Ten Things the U.S. Can and Should Do For Haiti”
http://www.democracynow.org

One. Allow all Haitians in the US to work. The number one source of money for poor people in Haiti is the money sent from family and workers in the US back home. Haitians will continue to help themselves if given a chance. Haitians in the US will continue to help when the world community moves on to other problems.

Two. Do not allow US military in Haiti to point their guns at Haitians. Hungry Haitians are not the enemy. Decisions have already been made which will militarize the humanitarian relief – but do not allow the victims to be cast as criminals. Do not demonize the people.

Three. Give Haiti grants as help, not loans. Haiti does not need any more debt. Make sure that the relief given helps Haiti rebuild its public sector so the country can provide its own citizens with basic public services.

Four. Prioritize humanitarian aid to help women, children and the elderly. They are always moved to the back of the line. If they are moved to the back of the line, start at the back.

Five. President Obama can enact Temporary Protected Status for Haitians with the stroke of a pen. Do it. The US has already done it for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Somalia. President Obama should do it on Martin Luther King Day.

Six. Respect Human Rights from Day One. The UN has enacted Guiding Principles for Internally Displaced People. Make them required reading for every official and non-governmental person and organization. Non governmental organizations like charities and international aid groups are extremely powerful in Haiti – they too must respect the human dignity and human rights of all people.

Seven. Apologize to the Haitian people everywhere for Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh.

Eight. Release all Haitians in US jails who are not accused of any crimes. Thirty thousand people are facing deportations. No one will be deported to Haiti for years to come. Release them on Martin Luther King day.

Nine. Require that all the non-governmental organizations which raise money in the US be transparent about what they raise, where the money goes, and insist that they be legally accountable to the people of Haiti.

Ten. Treat all Haitians as we ourselves would want to be treated.

San Francisco: No Olympics on Stolen Land!

From Mark Anquoe, Kiowa, AIM-West
Brothers and Sisters,

Indigenous Activists from Canada are on a West Coast speaking tour to raise awareness of the Native struggle against the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. They've been fighting the good fight north of the border for quite some time. Now is your chance to hear about the struggle from those at the front lines and get involved.

Wed Jan 20: SAN FRANCISCO at 7 p.m. Station 40, 3030B 16th Street (at Mission Street BART).
Hosted by the Institute for Anarchist Studies
Suggested donation: $5-10 sliding scale, to support tour (no one will be
turned away for lack of funds)
Why Oppose the 2010 Olympic Games
As part of a provincial and west coast speaking tour, join us in a series of events to learn more about the Olympic industry and its impacts, why opposition to the Games is growing, and how you can participate in and support the resistance. We will also hear about plans for a global Feb
10-15 anti-colonial and anti-capitalist convergence against the Games. No Olympics on Stolen Native Land!
in struggle,
Mark Anquoe
AIM-West
http://www.aimwest.info/
http://www.no2010.com/
http://olympicresistance.net/