Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

January 10, 2009

Russell Means: Breaking the silence on Obama 'American Indians are the Palestinians in the U.S.'

Russell Means: American Indians are the Palestinians in the US

Russell Means: Breaking the silence on Obama


By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Jan. 10, 2009

American Indian activist Russell Means said President-elect Obama was selected by the colonial powers as president to improve the US image globally in the aftermath of George Bush. Further, Means said Obama’s appointments show that he is a Zionist controlled by Israel. Speaking on Red Town Radio today, Means said what is happening now to Palestinians is what happened to American Indians.

“Every policy the Palestinians are now enduring was practiced on the American Indian,” Means said on the Blog Talk Radio show, hosted by Brenda Golden, Muskoke Creek. “What the American Indian Movement says is that the American Indians are the Palestinians of the United States, and the Palestinians are the American Indians of the Middle East,” Means said.

Further, he points out that the Zionists who control Israel now control the United States. “The power of the US in world politics diminishes every day.”

“Now they have found a house servant by the name of Obama.” Means said Obama was selected as a “man in charge to take the heat,” because of the “bad cop” image that Bush put forth in the world. “Now, all of a sudden, it is, ‘We’re so great. We elected a black man to be president.’”

Means added that Obama is a black man who was raised by his white grandmother and has appointed Zionists to key positions and that the US is headed for a new era of menial jobs. On Indian lands, Means reminds us, the only people who get ahead are those who sell out to the colonial system.

Now, there is massive and sophisticated propaganda by the Zionists and the U.S. Both countries, he said, are liars. In the US, American Indians have been shut out of history, philosophy and the arts, in a “total blackout.” The United States does not want to be reminded of the smallpox blankets, theft, colonialism and mistreatment of the American Indian, he said.

Means said most Americans do not realize that the financial collapse of this country is only beginning: “Americans cannot continue the lifestyles of consumers when there is no production. Low-income jobs and menial jobs are the only ones left.”

“Health care in the US reveals how the policies used in experimentations on American Indians became US policies. The US healthcare system is now stringent and calloused, with constant refusals of treatment. This has always been the case with the Indian Health Service. 

Now it is the policy of the HMOs. Family ranchers and family farmers are now in the way of progress, the same way the American Indian was once viewed. Now, family farmers and family ranchers are being gutted, because they function on massive credit. They are trying to pay back debts, which is not possible with manipulated agriculture prices. The family farmer and family rancher are now going to be extinct.”

Means points out that the federal government has also taken over and polluted the educational system; “Americans don’t even know their own history. Along with this federal control, came the passage of English-only laws in many states.

However, for Indigenous Peoples, it is positive to know many languages. If you speak two languages, you are speaking with two brains. That is the way it is to us. That’s how we look at life. In the mid-twentieth Century, US schools listened to the communities and local governing boards.”

“However, now the US educational policy has taken away local control and mandated federal guidelines. So now education has become a matter of money. Meanwhile, the real history is silenced. While the United States attempts to portray itself as a peace-loving nation, the fact is the United States is at war every year.

The United States breaks a host of international laws every year, which has been the pattern since 1946. American Indians were aware of what the US was doing because the US had already broken all treaties with American Indians; treaties guaranteed by the US Constitution,” he said.

About the American Revolution to throw off the British, Means pointed out how “his-story” has been manipulated; “There is a great deal of propaganda about why the US broke away from England. But the fact is that George Washington, the largest landowner, along with the slave owners, broke with England so that the original treaties of England with American Indians in the west would not have to be honored. The US broke with England, to invade the west and take the land. ”

The US was created to break international laws,” Means said, adding that it is obvious today that this is the pattern of the U.S.

Means said the United States was initiated as an outlaw and renegade nation and that “today, its imperial policies mean that Israel is a surrogate of the US, receiving aid from the U.S. With the combined US and international aid, Israeli receives $12 billion a year for its “military and the settlers in the West Bank.”

Means said 80 percent of the people in the West Bank are paid to stay there. “It is America who pays them to stay there. But even in Israel, where there is a free press and not everyone agrees with Israel waging war on Palestine. He said 20 to 30 percent of the people in Israel are against the war on Palestine. Like the United States, Israel has been at war every year of its existence.”

Means often refers to Israel as the 51st state, of warmongers and imperialists. “America and Israel are based on lies, resulting in the massive deaths in Iraq. Now, the US and Israel are focused on Iran because its oil reserves.” Means said Indian lands have become “open-air concentration camps.”

“If you chose to stay on the reservation, you are guaranteed to be poor, unless you are part of the colonial apparatus set up by the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” he said.

“On Indian lands, everyone fights to be part of the tribal governments because that is where the money is. Everyone fights to be part of the colonial system. The only way you can be part of the colonial system is to obey. Those returning home to Indian lands cannot ‘rock the boat,’ demand their treaty rights or their rights guaranteed by the US Constitution.”

Means said the American Indian Movement made people aware that the US Constitution was based upon that of the Iroquois Six Nations.

“However, the US Constitution only includes one-third of the Great Law of Peace. If all of the Great Law of Peace had been adopted, this country would be much different and much wealthier.” 

However, it was turned into a country of consumers. He said what you get with a country of consumers is greed.

“What is going on in Palestine is going on in America. The United States is taking away the homes of the people.”

Now in the United States, there is “communism from the left” and “right-wing socialism.” He said the problem with socialism is that it is bereft of consensus and spirituality.

Means, now 70, said he experienced the US when it reached its zenith in the world in the 1950s, “At that time, America was a productive country. In the years that followed, the ruling elite sold out the unions, as the labor movement was razor-thin close to taking over politics in America. The most watershed event was Brown vs. Board of Education, the US Supreme Court ruling that desegregated schools. The white male started losing his power. Then, in the social revolution that followed, white males lost control of their women and their women’s vote, and lost control of the workplace,"  Means said.

While civil rights were the chosen remedy of most social movements, American Indians remained dedicated to ‘sovereign rights,’ individual sovereign rights. We are the only ones that held on to the sovereign concept, he said. The other social movements were saying, “Please Mr. White Male let me be equal to you.”

Means said things will be different now, “Our grandmother Mother Earth is tired of the human race. She is going to eliminate it and I champion her, Mother Earth.” 

Means said matriarchy is what Indigenous people are all about. “We know that women are the givers of life and men are the takers of life. We have to follow the woman to gain balance.”

He said in a matriarchal society, there is a balanced society, as each celebrates their strengths together. “True individual freedom has to be done by consensus, otherwise it is mob rule.” In the US, now there are fake elections. “The people are convinced they are actually electing a president. However, it is the Electoral College that actually selects the US president.”

The charade is now coming to a close, as the ‘Patriot Act’ means that Posse Comitatus is dead and buried. Means said everyone has the responsibility to be free. “You are free to be responsible. That is the essence of freedom.” He said everyone should know their rights. Otherwise, they are guaranteed slavery.

“Einstein said, ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome,’” “That’s America, that’s the Indian reservation. That’s pathetic and an injustice to human beings.” He said, “human brains are doped up with all this ignorance and greed.”


Red Town Radio show host Brenda Golden, enrolled Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, and grew up in Clearview, Oklahoma. Golden attended Sequoyah Indian School in Tahlequah before joining the Air Force. Later, she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Oklahoma. She has worked in Indian Country as an educator, tribal liaison, grant writer, board member and volunteer since the early 1990's.

Golden said she is hosting Red Town Radio, on Blog Talk Radio, to offer a platform for Indigenous issues.

Listen to more of the show, including David Hill, who called in, and pointed out that while the US cut school funds and school lunches, the US increased aid to Israel.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/RedTownRadio
Russell Means' column 'Welcome to the Rez'
More on Obama's appointees at Lakotah Republichttp://www.republicoflakotah.com/
U.S. seeks to ship hundreds of tons of arms to Israel
By Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/usTopNews/idUKTRE50875320090109
The United States is seeking to hire a merchant ship to deliver hundreds of tons of arms to Israel from Greece later this month, tender documents seen by Reuters show. The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command said the ship was to carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as "ammunition" on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January. "Shipping 3,000-odd tons of ammunition in one go is a lot," one broker said, on condition of anonymity. Israel is one of America's closest allies and both nations regularly sell arms to each other. In September, the U.S. Congress approved the sale of 1,000 bunker-buster missiles to Israel. The GPS-guided GBU-39 is said to be one of the most accurate bombs in the world. (Click link above for article)

U.S. Rejected Aid for Israeli Raid on Iranian Nuclear Sitehttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/washington/11iran.html?hp
New York Times

By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: January 10, 2009
WASHINGTON — President Bush deflected a secret request by Israel last year for specialized bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran’s main nuclear complex and told the Israelis that he had authorized new covert action intended to sabotage Iran’s suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons, according to senior American and foreign officials.
(Clink link above for article)

January 9, 2009

Northern Alberta children protest Tar Sands


Fort Chipewyan children -- Mikisew Cree First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation -- in northern Alberta, Canada, organized their own protest of the Tar Sands, even though it was minus 35 degrees today. Photos by Mike Merc .
Read about destruction:
Indigenous to Obama: Halt Oil Sands demands an development
by Indigenous Environmental Network and Rainforest Action Network



Phosphorus Bombs, Slaughter of Innocents, Corporate Media Crimes


Phosphorus Bombs, the Slaughter of Innocents and Corporate Media Crimes

By Cyprus IndyMedia Collective

War in Palestine continues; almost 800 people killed, more than 3200 casualties with serious to critical injuries. Resistance to the Israeli invasion invasion continues by all means, including military defence by the armed population; diplomatic actions by progressive and revolutionary politicians; and with huge mobilizations for Peace by people all over the world.
Global Protests against the Israeli invasion of Palestine and slaughter of Gaza are planned for
~ Saturday, January 10th ~
Peace and Justice groups in all major cities in the world, including many in the US, the UK and within Israel itself have organized for demonstrations. More details, here:
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10187/index.php
~ In this report ~
More news from the battlefields; suppressed or under-reported news from the global political scene; and Corporate Media crimes.
The President of the United Nations General Assembly, Miguel Brockmann, has stated that in relation the Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli targets, the Palestinians have the right to defend themselves. He also denounced the UN Security Council's failure to take action to stop the Israeli aggression in Gaza. He specifically identified the United States for its protection of Israel which prevented the UN to force Israel to comply with the international resolutions.
President Hugo Chavez, head of the revolutionary Bolivarian Government in Venezuela has expelled the Israeli Ambassador in protest over the atrocities committed by Israel in Palestine. In response, Hamas thanked the Venezuelan people for this courageous act of solidarity, and noted that not a single Arab Government has yet interrupted diplomatic relations or taken any comparable step despite Israel's ongoing butchery. More here:
tinyurl.com/8fv4xm
Subcomandante Marcos issued a speech on the situation which among other things states:
"The underground rivers that crisscross the world can change their geography, but they sing the same song. And the one we hear now is one of war and pain.
"...to the Zapatistas it looks like there's a professional army murdering a defenseless population. Who from below and to the left can remain silent?" Please read his statement here:
"Of sowing and harvests: Subcomandante Marcos' speech on Gaza"
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/10168/index.php
On Thursday night on Jan. 9 the UN Security Council issued a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. The United States abstained from voting for the ceasefire. A whole day later the Israeli Government and its forces continue to ignore it and are proceeding with the slaughter of Palestine, unfazed.
In an incident that only now is coming to light through a UN investigation, Israeli soldiers forced more than 100 people into a house in Gaza and then shelled it, killing 30. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said:
“From 3 to 7 January, the Israeli Defence Forces prevented medical teams from entering the area to evacuate the wounded. In of the one gravest incidents since the beginning of operations, according to several testimonies, on 4 January Israeli foot-soldiers evacuated approximately 110 Palestinians into a single-residence house in Zaytoun (half of whom were children), warning them to stay indoors.
“Twenty-four hours later, Israeli forces shelled the home repeatedly, killing approximately thirty...":
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=34794
Read more at:
Phosphorus Bombs, the Slaughter of Innocents and Corporate Media Crimes




Subcomandante Marcos on Gaza

Of sowing and harvests:
Subcomandante Marcos
Speech on Gaza at Digna Rabia, Chiapas

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos
Two days ago, the same day we discussed violence, the ineffable Condoleezza Rice, a US official, declared that what was happening in Gaza was the Palestinians' fault, due to their violent nature. The underground rivers that crisscross the world can change their geography, but they sing the same song.
And the one we hear now is one of war and pain.
Not far from here, in a place called Gaza, in Palestine, in the Middle East, right here next to us, the Israeli government's heavily trained and armed military continues its march of death and destruction.
The steps it has taken are those of a classic military war of conquest: first an intense mass bombing in order to destroy "strategic" military points (that's how the military manuals put it) and to "soften" the resistance's reinforcements; next a fierce control over information: everything that is heard and seen "in the outside world," that is, outside the theater of operations, must be selected with military criteria; now intense artillery fire against the enemy infantry to protect the advance of troop to new positions; then there will be a siege to weaken the enemy garrison; then the assault that conquers the position and annihilates the enemy, then the "cleaning out" of the probable "nests of resistance."
The military manual of modern war, with a few variations and additions, is being followed step-by-step by the invading military forces.
We don't know a lot about this, and there are surely specialists in the so-called "conflict in the Middle East," but from this corner we have something to say:
According to the news photos, the "strategic" points destroyed by the Israeli government's air force are houses, shacks, civilian buildings. We haven't seen a single bunker, nor a barracks, nor a military airport, nor cannons, amongst the rubble. So--and please excuse our ignorance--we think that either the planes' guns have bad aim, or in Gaza such "strategic" military points don't exist.
We have never had the honor of visiting Palestine, but we suppose that people, men, women, children, and the elderly--not soldiers--lived in those houses, shacks, and buildings.
We also haven't seen the resistance's reinforcements, just rubble.
We have seen, however, the futile efforts of the information siege, and the world governments trying to decide between ignoring or applauding the invasion, and the UN, which has been useless for quite some time, sending out tepid press releases.
But wait. It just occurred to us that perhaps to the Israeli government those men, women, children, and elderly people are enemy soldiers, and as such, the shacks, houses, and buildings that they inhabited are barracks that need to be destroyed.
So surely the hail of bullets that fell on Gaza this morning were in order to protect the Israeli infantry's advance from those men, women, children, and elderly people.
And the enemy garrison that they want to weaken with the siege that is spread out all over Gaza is the Palestinian population that lives there. And the assault will seek to annihilate that population. And whichever man, woman, child, or elderly person that manages to escape or hide from the predictably bloody assault will later be "hunted" so that the cleansing is complete and the commanders in charge of the operation can report to their superiors: "We've completed the mission."
Again, pardon our ignorance, maybe what we're saying is beside the point. And instead of condemning the ongoing crime, being the indigenous and warriors that we are, we should be discussing and taking a position in the discussion about if it's "zionism" or "antisemitism," or if Hamas' bombs started it.
Maybe our thinking is very simple, and we're lacking the nuances and annotations that are always so necessary in analyses, but to the Zapatistas it looks like there's a professional army murdering a defenseless population.
Who from below and to the left can remain silent?
Is it useful to say something? Do our cries stop even one bomb? Does our word save the life of even one Palestinian?
We think that yes, it is useful. Maybe we don't stop a bomb and our word won't turn into an armored shield so that that 5.56 mm or 9 mm caliber bullet with the letters "IMI" or "Israeli Military Industry" etched into the base of the cartridge won't hit the chest of a girl or boy, but perhaps our word can manage to join forces with others in Mexico and the world and perhaps first it's heard as a murmur, then out loud, and then a scream that they hear in Gaza.
We don't know about you, but we Zapatistas from the EZLN, we know how important it is, in the middle of destruction and death, to hear some words of encouragement.
I don't know how to explain it, but it turns out that yes, words from afar might not stop a bomb, but it's as if a crack were opened in the black room of death and a tiny ray of light slips in.
As for everything else, what will happen will happen. The Israeli government will declare that it dealt a severe blow to terrorism, it will hide the magnitude of the massacre from its people, the large weapons manufacturers will have obtained economic support to face the crisis, and "the global public opinion," that malleable entity that is always in fashion, will turn away.
But that's not all. The Palestinian people will also resist and survive and continue struggling and will continue to have sympathy from below for their cause.
And perhaps a boy or girl from Gaza will survive, too. Perhaps they'll grow, and with them, their nerve, indignation, and rage. Perhaps they'll become soldiers or militiamen for one of the groups that struggle in Palestine. Perhaps they'll find themselves in combat with Israel. Perhaps they'll do it firing a gun. Perhaps sacrificing themselves with a belt of dynamite around their waists.
And then, from up there above, they will write about the Palestinians' violent nature and they'll make declarations condemning that violence and they'll get back to discussing if it's zionism or anti-semitism.
And no one will ask who planted that which is being harvested.
For the men, women, children, and elderly of the Zapatista National Liberation Army,
Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos
Mexico, January 4, 2009.
Listen to these words at: