Zapatistas Tour continues Yaqui Gathering

Traveling Seminar continues First Encounter of Indigenous Peoples, Yaqui Territory, Vicam, Sonora 2007

Comandante David, Marcos and Juan Chavez at Rancho el Penasco, Sonora
Photo 2007 Brenda Norrell

TRAVELING SEMINAR “TATA JUAN CHÁVEZ ALONSO"

Enlace Zapatista  

Spanish translation

June 2013.

We are the Indians that we are, we are peoples, we are Indians.
We want to continue to be the Indians that we are; we want to continue to be
the peoples that we are; we want to continue speaking the language we speak;
We want to continue thinking the words that we think;
we want to continue dreaming the dreams that we dream;
we want to continue loving those we love;
we want to be now what we already are;
we want our place now; we want our history now, we want the truth now.
Juan Chávez Alonso. Words presented at the National Congress,
March, 2001. Mexico.

Brothers and Sisters:
Compañeras and compañeros:
This is the word of a group of indigenous organizations, native peoples, and the EZLN. With this word we want to bring among us the memory of a compañero.
After one year without him, with his memory as company, we want to take another step in this long struggle for our place in the world.
His name is Juan Chávez Alonso.
We were and are the path for his step.
With him, the purépecha people became travelers amongst the people who gave birth to and who sustain these lands.
Tata was, and is, one of the bridges that we built with others in order to see ourselves and recognize ourselves as what we are and where we are.
His heart was and is the perch from which the indigenous peoples of Mexico look, even though we are not seen, from which we speak but are not heard, and from where we resist, which is how we walk through life.
His path and his word always sought to give voice and echo to the pains and grievances of that Mexico below (the “basement” of Mexico).
The National Indigenous Congress is one of the great houses that his hands helped to build.
The struggle for the recognition of indigenous rights and culture has, in him, in his memory, a reason and an engine to persevere.
Rather than fleeting condolences and a quick forgetting of his absence, we, a group of indigenous organizations and peoples, have looked for the way to extend his walk with us, to raise his voice with ours, to expand the heart that, with him, we are.
We, as the collective color of the earth, have agreed in our hearts and minds to build a space in which the word of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and this continent that we call “America” can be heard without intermediaries. This space will carry the name and history of this brother and compañero.
We have decided to name this space the “Seminar Tata Juan Chávez Alonso,” in order to emphasize how much our native peoples have to teach others during these calendars of pain that now shake all the geographies of the world. In this space we will be able to listen to the lessons of dignity and resistance of the native peoples of America.
As a continuation of the efforts that took shape during the “First Encounter of Indigenous Peoples of America” celebrated in October of 2007 in Vicam, Sonora, on the territory of the Yaqui tribe, the seminar “Tata Juan Chávez Alonso” will hold its sessions at different locations of indigenous America throughout the continent, in accordance with the geographies and calendars agreed upon by those who convoke this seminar and those who join along the way.
This seminar is meant to build a forum in which the indigenous peoples of the continent can be heard by those who have an attentive and respectful ear for their word, their history, and their resistance.
Indigenous organizations and representatives and delegates of native peoples, communities, and neighborhoods will have the floor.
In order to inaugurate this forum, we will hold the:

FIRST SESSION OF THE

TRAVELING SEMINAR “TATA JUAN CHÁVEZ ALONSO”

Here different native peoples, organizations, and communities will speak in their own voice about their histories, pains, hopes, and above all, their resistance.
This first session will have the following characteristics:
1. The first session of the Seminar “Tata Juan Chávez Alonso” will be held Saturday and Sunday August 17-18, 2013, at CIDECI in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México.
2. The organizations that have convoked this seminar now constitute the “Organizing Commission,” which will invite the participation of other indigenous peoples and agree upon all things related to the method of this first session.
3. The “Organizing Commission” will extend a special invitation to organizations, groups, and individuals who have consistently accompanied the struggle of the indigenous peoples.
4. Those who have convoked the forum and those indigenous peoples and organizations of Mexico and the American continent invited by the “Organizing Commission” will participate in this first session with their word.
5. The various sessions of this seminar will be open to the general public.
6. More information regarding the calendar and schedule of participation will be made public by the Organizing Commission at the appropriate time.
Within the framework of the Seminar “Tata Juan Chávez Alonso,” and with Don Juan’s gaze as our horizon, the participating indigenous organization and peoples will also meet on their own to propose (extending an even wider invitation) the relaunching of the National Indigenous Congress of Mexico, and simultaneously make a call to the indigenous peoples of the continent to resume our encounters.
For recognition and respect for indigenous rights and culture.
CONVOKED BY:
Nación Kumiai.
Autoridades Tradicionales de la Tribu Yaqui.
Tribu Mayo de Huirachaca, Sonora.
Consejo Regional Wixárika en Defensa de Wirikuta.
Comunidad Coca de Mezcala.
Radio Ñomndaa de Xochistlahuaca, (Pueblo Amuzgo), Guerrero.
Comunidad Zoque en Jalisco.
Organización de Comunidades Indígenas y Campesinas de Tuxpan (Pueblo Nahua), Jalisco.
Comunidad Nahua en Resistencia de La Yerbabuena, en Colima.
Colectivo Jornalero de Tikul (Pueblo Maya Peninsular), Yucatán
Comunidades Purépechas de Nurío, Arantepacua, Comachuén, Urapicho, Paracho, Uruapan, Caltzontzin, Ocumicho.
Comuneros Nahuas de Ostula.
Comunidad Nahua Indígena de Chimalaco, en San Luis Potosí.
La Otra indígena Xilitla (pueblo Nahua).
Comunidad Mazahua de San Antonio Pueblo Nuevo, Edomex.
Comunidad Ñahñu de San Pedro Atlapulco, Edomex.
Centro de Producción Radiofónica y Documentación Comunal de San Pedro Atlapulco (Pueblo Ñahñu), Edomex.
Comunidad Nahua de San Nicolás Coatepec, Edomex.
Ejido Nahua de San Nicolás Totolapan, DF.
Comuneros Nahuas de San Pedro Atocpan, DF.
Mujeres y Niños Nahuas de Santa Cruz Acalpixca, DF.
Mazahuas en el DF.
Centro de Derechos Humanos Rafael Ayala y Ayala (Pueblos Nahua y Popoluca), de Tehuacán, Puebla.
Asamblea Popular Juchiteca (Pueblo Zapoteco), Oaxaca.
Fuerza Indígena Chinanteca “KiaNan”.
Consejo Indígena Popular de Oaxaca-Ricardo Flores Magón, (Pueblos Zapoteco, Nahua, Mixteco, Cuicateco), Oaxaca.
Comité de Bienes Comunales de Unión Hidalgo, (Pueblo Zapoteco) Oaxaca.
Unión Campesina Indígena Autónoma de Río Grande (Pueblo Chatino y Afromestizo), Oaxaca.
La Voz de los Zapotecos Xichés en Prisión, Oaxaca.
Temazcal Tlacuache Tortuga de la comunidad de Zaachilá, (Pueblo Zapoteco), Oaxaca.
Colonia Ecológica la Minzita, (Pueblo Purépecha), Morelia, Michoacán.
Colectivo Cortamortaja de Jalapa del Marqués (Pueblo Zapoteco), Oaxaca.
Radio Comunitaria Totopo de Juchitán (Pueblo Zapoteco), Oaxaca
CIDECI-UNITIERRA, Chiapas.
CCRI-CG del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (Pueblos Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Chol, Tojolabal, Zoque, Mame y Mestizo), Chiapas.
Mexico, June 2, 2013.
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See and listen to the videos that accompany this text:
In memory of Don Juan Chávez Alonso. Produced by the Cooperativa de Condimentos para la Acción Cinematográfica.
El Comandante Guillermo, introduces Don Juan Chávez Alonso at the Festival of Dignified Rage (Digna Rabia), in CIDECI, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México.
Baile tradicional “Los Viejitos,” performed by students of the Casa del Estudiante Lenin, Michoacán, México.
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Traducción del Kilombo Intergaláctico.
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Lawsuit challenges first drill site inside Alaska Reserve

Lawsuit Challenges First-ever Drill Site Inside Alaska Reserve

Expansion Plan Threatens Region's Polar Bears, Birds, Seals, Caribou

By Center for Biological Diversity

ANCHORAGE, Alaska— The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today challenging its approval of an oil-industry proposal to build the first drilling site ever inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the first road into America’s largest roadless area. The lawsuit targets the agency’s approval of a destructive plan to expand oil development in Alaska's Colville River Delta.
“We’re deeply concerned that this project could kick the door open for industrial development in the reserve’s priceless habitat for caribou, birds and other wildlife,” said Deirdre McDonnell, a senior attorney with the Center.

Terrance Nelson: Time for economic sanctions against Canada

Terrance Nelson recommends a walk to New York from all parts of North America to demand economic sanctions against Canada

By First Nation Terrance Nelson
Roseau River Anishinabe
Censored News

If the Defenders of the Lands and Idle No More want to change how we are treated in Canada, we need to change our strategy and First Nations people cannot wait for AFN to lead the charge. The fight must be taken to AFN, by making those Chiefs who voted for Shawn Atleo stand up and be counted.  

 

The Government Ministers and Indian Affairs bureaucrats lobbied and made promises to Chiefs in the 2012 AFN election to vote for Shawn Atleo. The Government denied it but they wanted Shawn and he has proven that he is exactly what the Government wants, he cannot (or will not) leverage any of the protests to force Government to change.

 

The Governments understand economics, the First Nations still don't seem to understand how we finance all Canadians. Unless, the Defenders and Idle No More develop a strategy based on economics there will be no change of Government policies.

 

I have been called an "economic  terrorist" since 1993 because I used the Bond Rating Agencies to pressure Government on the Treaty Land Entitlement and Land Claims issue.

 

In 2007, as Chief of Roseau River, I would have used blockades on two rail lines going into the United States on the issues of unfulfilled TLE land. We forced Minister Prentice to the negotiation table. Over 100 First Nations "actions" took place on June 29 2007. It is the largest coordinated action that went all across Canada on a single day. We got 75 acres of land converted to reserve status near Winnipeg but also as a result of 2007, in Manitoba 450,000 acres of land have been converted to reserve status since 2007. Roseau River also got $80.6 million on a land settlement from 1903. It was deposited on July 29th 2011 on Friday morning.

 

Like Theresa Spence, I was targeted. They used a forensic audit, (which found no criminal activity) to label me with "mismanaged" $1.5 million money over six years of administration. Of course, they fail to admit we had unqualified audits in those six years or that mismanaged is simply a tag that means missing documents or just a need to ask our finance people for clarification. I will continue to face more accusations as we move forward, even if they have to manufacture the evidence.

 

The Conservatives are prepared for negotiation on Natural Resource revenue sharing with First Nation but the problem is Shawn Atleo and the AFN.

 

The go forward strategy this summer and for the next few years must involve Americans if you are to succeed in taking charge of the negotiations. I would suggest that an American boycott on British Columbia lumber be a goal for those of us who will use economics to hit the governments back for their actions. The next steps for me is pushing the boycotts on the American side. If you and Idle No More are to the lead in negotiations, you need American backers.

 

The Governments have used economics as a weapon. They have criminalized the Mohawk Tobacco trade and they will jail many of the people involved in tobacco. IF the Mohawks want to strike back, they need to hit the Government with economics, not politics.

 

Shawn Brant knows how Government uses economics to force First Nations to comply. In 2007, he organized a railway blockade. CN took him to court, sued him for millions of dollars and bankrupted him.

 

I organized about 60 people from AIM WPG and we blocked a major CN railway link in Manitoba on January 16, 2013. We got all the news media networks at the blockade. We only blocked it for six hours. It cost CN over ten million dollars. I am in court on June 24 2013 in Winnipeg to face motions from the Attorney Generals of Manitoba and Canada and CN will sue me for millions of dollars. I knew that this would happen but I am the only one that is fighting the CN injunction. I attach my court arguments but i don't expect to win in court. I stand alone in court as I had expected. Shawn Brant knows how that works. Economic blockades has consequences, blocking powerless people in the cities only angers people, it does not affect the economy. Until, we affect the economy, there will be no change in government policy.

 

APTN failed to get a freedom of information request, CSIS used National Security to block the application for information. That is how scared Government is of First Nations. IF APTN had succeeded in getting the information, it will contain the fear of government of First Nations using Americans to help us change things in Canada.

 

CN wants me to be scared. They want the courts to punish me and anyone who dares to use economics as a pressure tactic. The government can criminalize the Mohawks and jail all those in the tobacco trade but nothing will come of it because we are not using economics to hit back at the government.

 

I would recommend a walk to New York from all parts of North America to demand economic sanctions against Canada. We have to go the United Nations with more than paper. Going to New York cannot be about "begging" the United States government. It must be a strong statement on our commitment to change the way the immigrants treat us. AIM and many organizations in the United States would support us in this action. We have tremendous support across the world but as long as First Nations continue to limit their protests to Canada, we will fail to change the policies of government.

 

Trade between Canada and United States has been $4.5 trillion in the last ten years. Unless we seek international sanctions and get American media on these issues, there will be no change. Mayor Ford of Toronto has created a Media Firestorm in United States and if we organize an event in the United States this summer, we can force the government to take action.

 

On the CN injunction, I will not let them walk over me. The immigrants want us all to be scared. As long as we continue to play their game within their system and we never protest outside of Canada, we will fail. I have a lot of plans on how we can proceed after the court decision but I want to meet only with those who will not compromise and those who will not fear the immigrants. Idle No More lost the support of the people, because the people want more than just speeches from the Chiefs. We carried out the January 16 blockade and as our youth go forward, they will take more drastic action because they are already tired of talk.

 

CN thinks that a court decision against me and AIM WPG will solve their problem. The decision against us will simply move us to the states side to promote boycotts against the companies who use CN to transport stolen property to the United States. The Canadian products carried by CN that can be boycotted by Americans is a long list. BC lumber is a big one but by no means the only one that will force the immigrants to stop stealing our resources.

Lakota War Pony Races June 25, 2013