Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

January 29, 2010

Cheyenne River Sioux Emergency Relief 2010

Cheyenne River Sioux Emergency Relief 2010
Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant: (610) 568-2101
Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman: (605) 365-6548
CRST Emergency Coordination Center: (605) 964-7711
Steve Abott, Harvard University Native American Program, steven_abbott@harvard.edu

Phone: 617/495-9058

January 28, 2010
Press statement
Photo Keloland TV
CAMBRIDGE, S.D. – Native American Caucus students at the Harvard Kennedy School are taking action in response to the inadequate national response to the crisis on Indian reservations in the Dakotas due to severe ice storms and freezing temperatures. Last weekend, a powerful snow and ice storm ripped through the region, felling power lines, and cutting off power and water to thousands of South Dakotans, many of them on the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Indian Reservations. When full power and water will be restored remains in question.

The ice storms cut off electricity in an area about the size of Connecticut. With no electricity, no heat, no running water, and a wind chill below zero, a crisis is mounting. The Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has declared a state of emergency for his community and is calling for immediate assistance.

The tribes are working hard to bring families in out of the cold into shelters. The South Dakota National Guard, the State’s Department of Public Safety as well as the Army Corps of Engineers have come to the reservation and supplied some emergency generators. Help also is coming in the Red Cross and other tribes. But even with this assistance these tribes, among the poorest communities in the United States, are not able to meet the overwhelming needs of their communities.

Outside the frozen plains of the Dakotas, this human crisis has received little attention. The Native American Caucus student organization at Harvard Kennedy School would be grateful to American citizens to give the spotlight to their fellow Native American citizens. They are in great need of your help and aid. The American People need to be aware of this emergency situation.

To assist the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Tribes, contact Stacy LaCompte at Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place at (605) 280-8588.

MEDICAL NEEDS: Dialysis Patients/Glucose Strips/Financial Support for Hotels

The dialysis patients have all been evacuated three hours away to Rapid City, SD. They are staying in hotels for at least a week and half, probably longer. Financial contributions are needed to help the families pay for their hotel expenses and food. An account has been set up at Wells Fargo to help with these expenses. You can contribute at any Wells Fargo or send to the Rapid City branch. http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_ec833f00-0a38-11df-a62b-001cc4c002e0.html


CONTRIBUTIONS:
Wells Fargo
Cheyenne Dialysis Patients (c/o Dew Bad Warrior)
Acct. #: 5815904338
1615 N 7th St.
Rapid City, SD 55701
Medical Items Need on the Reservation itself (shipping address below):
Glucose Strips
First Aid Kits
Children’s Tylenol
Children’s Cough Syrup

FINANCIAL DONATIONS:
The Tribe has depleted its emergency budget with the two blizzards that already hit the reservation since December. It needs funds to help buy food and supplies for the community and volunteers, to pay for gas and overtime for the workers, to replace the motor at the water pump station that was destroyed, etc.
WIRE DONATIONS TO:
Cheyenne River Sioux 2010 Disaster Account
Direct to: United Bkrs Bloomington ABA # 091 001 322
Beneficiary Bank: Account Number 250 3373
State Bank of Eagle Butte
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
Final Credit: Account Holder @ UBB Customers Bank
Account Holder: CRST 2010 Disaster, Account Number 103173
MAIL CHECK DONATIONS TO:
TO: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/2010 Disaster Account
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office
Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Fund
PO Box 590
2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices)
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
CHEYNNNE RIVER SIOUX CONTACTS:
Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant: (610) 568-2101
Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman: (605) 365-6548
CRST Emergency Coordination Center: (605) 964-7711

CNN & US Relief: Censorship and Scams

While CNN censors the emergency in the Dakotas, the US funnels relief dollars to the US military with George W. Bush taking the lead
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/brenda-norrell/2010/01/cnn-censors-dakotas-emergency-us-scams-dollars-relief
Posted by Brenda Norrell - January 29, 2010 at 11:37 am

Lakotas on Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Sioux Indian lands are suffering, while the United States focuses on Haiti. Today, Lakotas have organized a telephone campaign to demand CNN cover the emergency in the Dakotas, where people have been without power and water for up to six days. Many elderly and children are suffering without heat, water, medicine and food.

Alex White Plume, Lakota on Pine Ridge, S.D., is taking water to Cheyenne River Sioux. "We are starting a group to haul water to the residents on the Eagle Butte rez. They have been without water and electricity for six days today. My brother Percy is collecting fuel money to haul water to the people from Bridger, S.D. We have it hard here, at least we have water. We have to help our relatives."

Meanwhile, 33 cents of each US dollar to Haiti is going to the US military. Bill Quigley, human rights attorney sleeping on the ground with everyone else in Haiti, reports that very little food and water is reaching Haiti communities. This comes as little surprise to those who noticed that Obama selected war criminal George W. Bush to cochair the Haiti relief with Bill Clinton. Instead of being held accountable for war crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions, Bush is once again in a noble position, one which allows him to disappear US funds.

US Relief Scam: AP/Haiti Relief: "Each American dollar roughly breaks down like this: 42 cents for disaster assistance, 33 cents for U.S. military aid, nine cents for food, nine cents to transport the food, five cents for paying Haitian survivors for recovery efforts, just less than one cent to the Haitian government, and about half a cent to the Dominican Republic. "
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_haiti_us_aid

Bill Quigley in Haiti:
http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley01292010.html

CNN Censors Emergency in Dakotas

ONLINE ACTION FOR PINE RIDGE RESERVATION TODAY
FROM AUTUMN TWOBULLS:

Friends, Relative and supports of the Lakota Nations- Support us in this efforts to bring change.
To all my Relations, friends and supporters:

I have been told that your area news and the National news will not carry the story for my people unless and until CNN carries it. Each day someone has told me they have gone to CNN on Facebook, their website, or called into report our story, since the 12/20/09 State of Emergency was issued.

I am asking that we all come together TODAY, Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 6pm Atlantic; 5pm Eastern time, 4pm Central, etc. pick up your phone and call the direct line to the CNN News Room at 404-827-2658. Someone needs to post here all phone numbers into CNN. We want to inundate CNN with the voices of people who care and you must be relentless in your call. At the same time we want you to handle an email campaign listed below.

When you call, they will try to attempt to move your call to a computerized public info line.

First - tell them what state you are calling from and your name. Then ask them, When are you going to be reporting on the situation of the American Indians of North and South Dakota?

Second, do not let them try to forward you, let them know that you know that the National Guard and the Red Cross have been called into certain Reservations.

Lastly, when you hang up, pick up the phone and call again. The people of this country needs to let CNN know that while you empathize with the situation in Haiti and we know that many of you have rightfully done as the children on Pine Ridge had been doing and collecting food and money to be sent, that you are wondering why money is leaving this country while the only reporting on the AP wires has been from within the states of North and South Dakota AP Presses.

At the same time that those of you who can afford to call CNN are calling, to those of you who can multi-task or be online, please go now to cnn . com and click on the iReport button and register. If you are on or near one of the Reservations in South & North Dakota, please upload your pictures - but wait - lets all do this together for three full hours.

Do not worry about your grammar, do not worry about your spelling, simply tell the truth of the situation from your heart.
Wopila Tanka
Autumn Two Bulls
Lets Work Together!

Red Nation Film Festival Winners 2010

Congratulations to winners at the Red Nation Film Festival
Photo: Best Documentary Short: In the Footsteps of Yellow Woman, Camille Manybeads Tso, 13, interviews familoy about Longest Walk

Read article:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/01/red-nation-film-festival-winners-2010.html
Best Film: The Twilight Saga NEW MOON, Director: Chris Weitz
Best Director: The Ghost Riders, Director: V. Blackhawk Aamodt
Best Actor: Chaske Spencer New Moon /The Twilight Saga
Best Actress: Tinsel Korey New Moon /The Twilight Saga
Best Documentary Feature: Crude, Director: Joe Berlinger
Best Woman Documentary Feature: For The Next 7 Generation /The 13 Grandmothers, Director: Carole Hart
Best Documentary Short: In The Footsteps of Yellow Woman, Director: Camille Manybeads Tso
Best Editor: Red Nation Film Festival Short, Montano Rain
Best Music Video: Michael Jackson, Black or White
Red Nation Student Women Film Project Winners: Lumbini Park - Directed by Eve LaFountain (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
A Thousand Unsaid Words - Directed by Katrina Montoya (Sault St. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians)
The Hand Drum - Directed by Stephanie Painter (Shoshone/Washoe/Oneida)

A NIGHT OF TRIBUTE AWARDS CEREMONY recipients were:
• "Red Nation Vision Award” – In Loving Memory to Michael Jackson “Black or White”
• “Edward Albert Jr Indigenous Film Award” – Edward James Olmos, Actor
• “Brando Award” – Joe Berlinger, director of Crude
• “Lifetime Achievement Award” – Graham Greene, Actor
• “Best Network Award” – CBS Corporation
• “Television Heritage Media Award” – James Ramos, San Manuel Tribe
• “Red Nation Theatre Playwright Award” – Richard Montoya, Culture Clash
• “Red Nation Humanartian Award” – Leonard Peltier, Activist
• “Red Nation Activists Award” – Atossa Soltani, Director of Amazon Watch
• “Red Nation Community Award” – Christine Padilla, Community Volunteer
Lakota Nation