Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

March 10, 2016

Native Lives Matter Justice for Lakota Gall Brightman

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Native Lives Matter Justice for Lakota Gall Brightman

By Quanah Parker Brightman
Censored News
Watch this video by Quanah Parker Brightman, United Native Americans, seeking justice for the murder of his brother, Lakota Gall Brightman. Their father, Lehman Brightman, Lakota, is the founder of United Native Americans.
Write a letter for justice:
#PreSentenceImpactStatement
#Template
Superior Court of California County of Contra County, A.F. Bray Courthouse/Court Annex, 1020 Ward Street, Department #8, Martinez, CA 94553
Case Number 5-151356-3
My name is , , , , ,
I am the (Family Member/Friend of Victim).
On July 3rd, 2015, Lakota Gall Brightman, was murdered by the defendant.  The facts of the case were proven beyond a reasonable doubt and your verdict was rendered guilty!
Words cannot express the pain and anguish our family and friends have endured since Lakota Gall Brightman's  murder. The defendant decision to take the life of a human being with no regard for the effects it has had on Lakota Gall Brightman Friends and Family is unimaginable.
The loss of Lakota Gall Brightman is beyond words. Lakota Gall Brightman was born on December 25th 1969 in Rapid City, South Dakota to parents Lehman and Trudy Brightman. He was the second of three children. Lakota attended Delmar Elementary School, Portola Junior High School, and graduated from El Cerrito High School in 1988. His earlier years were spent advocating for Native American Rights along with his family and the Organization founded by his father Lehman and carried on by his brother Quanah, United Native Americans. United Native Americans was and are still very active in Native american rights and the promotion of progress and general welfare of Native Americans. Specialist Lakota Gall Brightman served 6 years in the California Army National Guard, 235th Engineer Company (Sapper) as an Army Field Medic from August 11, 2007 to his date of separation on August 10th, 2013. Lakota was ordered into active service in 2007 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan. He is remembered as a genteel and kind hearted human being who wanted to help others and was a beloved son, brother, nephew, cousin, uncle, father, friend and hero. He is preceded in death by his mother Trudy Brightman and his older brother Lehman Brightman III. Lakota is survived by his Daughters, Phoebe (23) and Star (13) Brightman his brother Quanah Parker Brightman, father Chief Lehman L. Brightman, aunts Nancy and Lorelie Oldlodge and uncles, Anthony David Clairmont and Donald Oldlodge. Taken too soon, Lakota is warmly remembered and greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
There will be no more birthday parties, backyard gatherings, holiday celebrations or other family activities to share. The laughter, hugs, guidance/advice, sense of security and those opportunities to say, “I love you” are forever gone. Our family is forever “broken”.
To say the least, the financial affect on the family has also been devastating.
Compassion is a word commonly used for and by defendants. However, I ask, how much compassion the defendant considered when the decision was made to murder Lakota Gall Brightman?
It is the request of the family that the maximum penalty for the crime for which the defendant was convicted be imposed. On behalf of the family of Lakota Gall Brightman, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude for allowing this opportunity of expression.
Quanah Parker Brightman, Executive Director of, United Native Americans, qbrightman75@hotmail.com
(510) 672-7187

Calif. Delta smelt population plunges to a new record low







Photo of Delta smelt courtesy of Department of Water Resources


Delta smelt population plunges to a new record low


by Dan Bacher
Censored News


The population of Delta smelt, an indicator species that demonstrates the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, has declined to a new record low population level, according to the spring 2016 surveys conducted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).


The January Kodiak Trawl survey produced only seven fish, while the February survey yielded just six smelt. The Delta smelt once numbered in the millions, but have plummeted after decades of massive Delta water exports, combined with the impacts of declining water quality and invasive species.


"Once the most abundant species in the estuary, we can now name smelt rather than count them," said Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA).

March 9, 2016

Remembering the Women of Albuquerque's Mass Femicides



Women's/Human Rights News

Remembering the Women of Albuquerque's Mass Femicides

By Frontera NorteSur

Dr Irene Blea is one person who hasn't forgotten about the unsolved killings of 11 women and girls found murdered on Albuquerque's West Mesa in February 2009.  The author of a new novel based on the slayings, "Daughters of the West Mesa," Blea spoke about her book and the West Mesa case at a March 8 (International Women's Day) webinar sponsored by the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP).

A sociologist by training, Blea was drawn to the case back in 2009 when she ran across news of the murders one evening on television and "saw a woman with a look I had never seen before."

The revelations of mass murder with signs of gender violence sent Blea on a long journey as a participant observer. Along the way she met or talked with victims' relatives and friends, women bikers and Albuquerque Police Department (APD) detectives assigned to the murder investigation, including Ida Lopez, the now-retired APD officer who was tasked with probing the case for many years. Diving into the lives and deaths of the West Mesa women, Blea participated in prayer vigils, Aztec ceremonies and funerals.

March 8, 2016

Photos Peltier Honored with Frantz Fanon Prize in Paris


Sylvain Duez-Alessandrini, chairman of CSIA, Mustapha Boutadjine, artist, Mireille Fanon Mendès France, Frantz Fanon’s daughter and founder and chair of the Foundation, Edith Patrouilleau, vice-chairwoman of CSIA and translator, Lenny Foster, George Aguilar, Yaqui/Apache actor.
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Photos by Theo Koppen
copyright
Article by Christine Prat
http://www.chrisp.lautre.net
copyright
Censored News

PARIS (Sunday March 6) -- Leonard Peltier was awarded with the Frantz Fanon Prize 2016. It happened in the context of the Anti-Colonial Week. Many people attended. There were delegations from many countries and associations (Algeria, Morocco, Chiapas, Peru, Africa, homeless people, undocumented immigrants, against French policy in Africa (including uranium mining by AREVA), and many more). The prize was awarded by Mireille Fanon Mendès France, Frantz Fanon’s daughter and chairwoman of the Frantz Fanon Foundation, and the artist who designed the Prize, Mustapha Boutadjine, and received in the name of Leonard by Lenny Foster, Diné, member of the AIM, representing Leonard Peltier. Mireille Fanon Menès France talked about the goals of the Foundation, about Leonard Peltier and the other political prisoners they support. Poems by Leonard were read and translated. This time Leonard was not allowed by the prison’s authorities to record a statement, thus his statement was read by Lenny Foster, member of the AIM, representative of Leonard Peltier, and translated in French by Edith Patrouilleau, vice-chairwoman of the CSIA-nitassinan (Committee for Solidarity with the Indians of the Americas).


Copyright Christine Prat, Censored News