Secret talks emerge over San Francisco Peaks protection
As the Obama administration seeks an alternative for sewage water to make snow for tourists on sacred San Francisco Peaks, Arizona's Major Toxins Senators McCain and Kyl continue to fight against Indian Nations:
http://64.38.12.138/News/2010/018721.asp
AIM West San Francisco
Agenda for AIM West meeting tonight at the San Francisco Baha'i Center, protecting sacred places and Indigenous rights:
http://censored-news.blogspot.com/2010/03/aim-west-march-2010.html
Canada: Secrets of the dam: Aboriginal elders removed from court
Aboriginal elders removed from court on Hydro hearing
(MANITOBA) -- Dozens of First Nations elders were punted out of court this morning as lawyers haggled over flood documents Canada wants to keep secret.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/breakingnews/Aboriginal-elders-removed-from-court-on-Hydro-hearing-87118292.html
CENSORED NEWS Headlines: Illegal use of Native youths photo hate crime;' Timbisha Shoshone Urge Obama Pass UN Rights Declaration; Federal Court Upholds Environmental Genocide Targets Navajos; Haiti Aid: US Respect Sovereignty Without Militarization; Human Rights Crisis Phoenix; Racism in America: Katrina to the Borderlands
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
March 10, 2010
Illegal use of Native youths photo hate crime
Illegal use of March Point photo is hate crime
Native leaders in U.S and Canada demand protections for Native youth, following "extraction service" advertisement
From Tracy Rector
Longhouse Media
http://www.longhousemedia.org/
SEATTLE -- Longhouse Media Executive Director Tracy Rector today condemned the illegal useof a copyrighted photo of three teenagers from the Swinomish, Grand Ronde, and Lummi Tribes in Washington that was used in a hate crime against First Nations and Native American youth.
“We are appalled by the use of our image for such hateful and demeaning purposes,” said Rector, responding to an advertisement that appeared on a Canadian online news site. “The photo of the three adolescent boys was taken from promotional material for our film March Point,an award-winning documentary,” said Rector.
“The film was made with three young filmmakers and tells the story of their coming of age struggles in a Native American community in the U.S. That this image would be used for such deviant ends is deeply hurtful to these young men andtheir families, and to the Native community as a whole.”
The advertisement headlined "Free Native Extraction Service" was placed on the http://www.usedwinnipeg.com/website. The website is managed by Victoria-based company called BlackPress. They operate a network of websites (47 in total) under the UsedEverywhere.com brand.
Referring to Native youth, it began: "Have you ever had the experience of getting home to find those pesky little buggers hanging outside your home, in the back alley or on the corner???” It goes on to offer “free extraction services to relocate them to their habitat,” and continues with other offensive remarks.
“We condemn this as a hate crime, and will join with others to see the perpetrators are brought to justice,” said Rector. “This ad could intimidate and incite violence against indigenous youth in North America, and we are joining with Manitoba Chiefs to call for an end to hate crimes such as these. We must all stand together to protect our youth.”
Chairman Brian Cladoosby of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community said, “We are saddened by the fact that some people still harbor extreme hatred toward Native people as this advertisement demonstrates. But we are also encouraged that many more people recognize this as a racist attack on a generation of Native American youth who for the most part are law-abiding citizens striving to overcome generations of poverty and oppression, and live productive lives. We hope that calmer heads prevail and that the individuals responsible for posting this ad are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
"While not an act of physical violence, it is one of intimidation and threat. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, "a hate crime is committed to intimidate, harm or terrify not only a person, but an entire group of people to which the victim belongs. The victims are targeted for who they are, not because of anything they have done. Hate crimes involve intimidation,harassment, physical force or threat of physical force against a person, a family or a property." Section 319(1): Public Incitement of Hatred, Criminal Code of Canada
Author and poet Sherman Alexie, a founding board member of Longhouse Media from the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Tribes also spoke out, saying, "As much as the world has changed for indigenous people in good ways, there are still many violent and hateful folks out there who seek to harm us, and we must condemn them in print and in action, and we must do this together."
Links at Longhouse Media:
http://www.longhousemedia.org/
Native leaders in U.S and Canada demand protections for Native youth, following "extraction service" advertisement
From Tracy Rector
Longhouse Media
http://www.longhousemedia.org/
SEATTLE -- Longhouse Media Executive Director Tracy Rector today condemned the illegal useof a copyrighted photo of three teenagers from the Swinomish, Grand Ronde, and Lummi Tribes in Washington that was used in a hate crime against First Nations and Native American youth.
“We are appalled by the use of our image for such hateful and demeaning purposes,” said Rector, responding to an advertisement that appeared on a Canadian online news site. “The photo of the three adolescent boys was taken from promotional material for our film March Point,an award-winning documentary,” said Rector.
“The film was made with three young filmmakers and tells the story of their coming of age struggles in a Native American community in the U.S. That this image would be used for such deviant ends is deeply hurtful to these young men andtheir families, and to the Native community as a whole.”
The advertisement headlined "Free Native Extraction Service" was placed on the http://www.usedwinnipeg.com/website. The website is managed by Victoria-based company called BlackPress. They operate a network of websites (47 in total) under the UsedEverywhere.com brand.
Referring to Native youth, it began: "Have you ever had the experience of getting home to find those pesky little buggers hanging outside your home, in the back alley or on the corner???” It goes on to offer “free extraction services to relocate them to their habitat,” and continues with other offensive remarks.
“We condemn this as a hate crime, and will join with others to see the perpetrators are brought to justice,” said Rector. “This ad could intimidate and incite violence against indigenous youth in North America, and we are joining with Manitoba Chiefs to call for an end to hate crimes such as these. We must all stand together to protect our youth.”
Chairman Brian Cladoosby of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community said, “We are saddened by the fact that some people still harbor extreme hatred toward Native people as this advertisement demonstrates. But we are also encouraged that many more people recognize this as a racist attack on a generation of Native American youth who for the most part are law-abiding citizens striving to overcome generations of poverty and oppression, and live productive lives. We hope that calmer heads prevail and that the individuals responsible for posting this ad are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
"While not an act of physical violence, it is one of intimidation and threat. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, "a hate crime is committed to intimidate, harm or terrify not only a person, but an entire group of people to which the victim belongs. The victims are targeted for who they are, not because of anything they have done. Hate crimes involve intimidation,harassment, physical force or threat of physical force against a person, a family or a property." Section 319(1): Public Incitement of Hatred, Criminal Code of Canada
Author and poet Sherman Alexie, a founding board member of Longhouse Media from the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Tribes also spoke out, saying, "As much as the world has changed for indigenous people in good ways, there are still many violent and hateful folks out there who seek to harm us, and we must condemn them in print and in action, and we must do this together."
Links at Longhouse Media:
http://www.longhousemedia.org/
Timbisha Shoshone Urge Obama Pass UN Rights Declaration
Contacts: Shannon Rivers (480) 220-6766; Tupac Enrique Acosta (602) 466-8367
Email: chantlaca@tonatierra.org
7th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day
Nahn-coh-Mahss O'otham
Community Forum in Affirmation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Thursday March 11, 2010, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Memorial Hall - Phoenix Steele Indian School Park - 300 E. Indian School Road
PHOENIX – Representatives of Nations, Pueblos, and organizations of Indigenous Peoples from Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Canada will join with the Native American Heritage Coalition at Indian School Park on Thursday March 11thto take collective action implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The event is the 7th Annual proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day - Nahn-coh-Mahss O'otham and is being hosted by the Nahuacalli Neigborhood Association, the Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras, the Seventh Generation Fund and the ASU School of Law Indian Legal Program.
PRESS CONFERENCE 11:00 AM
MEMORIAL HALL, Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Road
The UN General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007. The US government has yet to endorse the declaration, although the Obama administration has signaled through the state department that a new policy is being considered.
Taking up the message shared at the Native Nations Tribal Summit in Washington, DC last November by Mr. Joe Kennedy of the Timbisha Western Shoshone Nation, a national call to President Obama to take immediate action and endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be made public at the press conference.
Agenda
Opening Prayer:
10:00am – 10:15am Welcome & Overview of agenda: Native American Heritage Coalition History of Indigenous Peoples Day, Presentation on United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Presented and Hosted by Shannon Rivers & Tupac Enrique Acosta
10:15am – 11:15 “Indigenous Rights and Mining”: Presented by Randall Gingrich; Mr. Gingrich is the co-founder of Tierra Nativa. Tierra Nativa is dedicated to biocultural conservation and community development in the Sierra Tarahumara region in Chihuahua Mexico. Randall will be discussing the impact on mining to the traditional O’oba Pueblo of Yepachi.
11:15am – 11:45 Press Conference
11:45 – 12:00 Aquinnah Wampanoag – “Cape Wind Development”, CWD on Nantucket Shoal, in Nantucket Sound, Mass.: Presented by Stephanie Duckworth; Ms. Duckworth is an author and founder of Wampum Books.
12:00 – 12:15 Presentation from the Sierra Club: updates on local and International events. Presented by Dan Millis, Grand Canyon Chapter
12:15 – 12:45 Lunch
12:45 – 1:30 Treaty of Teotihucan Challenges and Responsibilities: “Defense of the Buffalo Nation”: attacks from parks services in Yellow Stone National Park. Presented by Rosalie Littlethunder; Ms. Littlethunder is Chairperson of Seven Generation Fund and a Lakota educator in South Dakota.
1:30 – 2:15 “Southern Indigenous Peoples Movements”: Presented by Luis Fernando Sarango; Mr. Sarango is Rector of the Amawtay Wasi Intercultural University of Indigenous Nationalities and Pueblos of Ecuador, in Quito.
An international educational institution, that works with other Indigenous Universities in Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Bolivia and Chile.
2:15 – 2:45 “Rights of Mobility and the Western Hemispheric Travel Initiative (WHTI)” WHTI’s impact on the Yaqui Peoples of Southern Arizona. Presented by Jose Matus; Director of Alianza Sin Fronteras (Alliance without Borders)
2:45 - 3:00 O’otham Scared Sites (Baboquivari) Presented by Earnest Moristo and Dennis Manuel
3:00 – 3:15 Update on Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier: Presented by Ms. Billie Fidlin; Ms. Fidlin is a former acting chair of LPDOF Committee and founder of Whisper n Thunder online magazine.
3:15 – 3:30 Native American Heritage Coalition: Presentation by Mr. Ben Chee
3:30 – 4:00 Open discussion, closing comments and questions
4:00pm Closing Prayer
Links: http://www.nahuacalli.org/
http://www.tonatierra.org/
Email: chantlaca@tonatierra.org
7th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day
Nahn-coh-Mahss O'otham
Community Forum in Affirmation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Thursday March 11, 2010, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Memorial Hall - Phoenix Steele Indian School Park - 300 E. Indian School Road
PHOENIX – Representatives of Nations, Pueblos, and organizations of Indigenous Peoples from Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Canada will join with the Native American Heritage Coalition at Indian School Park on Thursday March 11thto take collective action implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The event is the 7th Annual proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day - Nahn-coh-Mahss O'otham and is being hosted by the Nahuacalli Neigborhood Association, the Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras, the Seventh Generation Fund and the ASU School of Law Indian Legal Program.
PRESS CONFERENCE 11:00 AM
MEMORIAL HALL, Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Road
The UN General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007. The US government has yet to endorse the declaration, although the Obama administration has signaled through the state department that a new policy is being considered.
Taking up the message shared at the Native Nations Tribal Summit in Washington, DC last November by Mr. Joe Kennedy of the Timbisha Western Shoshone Nation, a national call to President Obama to take immediate action and endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be made public at the press conference.
Agenda
Opening Prayer:
10:00am – 10:15am Welcome & Overview of agenda: Native American Heritage Coalition History of Indigenous Peoples Day, Presentation on United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Presented and Hosted by Shannon Rivers & Tupac Enrique Acosta
10:15am – 11:15 “Indigenous Rights and Mining”: Presented by Randall Gingrich; Mr. Gingrich is the co-founder of Tierra Nativa. Tierra Nativa is dedicated to biocultural conservation and community development in the Sierra Tarahumara region in Chihuahua Mexico. Randall will be discussing the impact on mining to the traditional O’oba Pueblo of Yepachi.
11:15am – 11:45 Press Conference
11:45 – 12:00 Aquinnah Wampanoag – “Cape Wind Development”, CWD on Nantucket Shoal, in Nantucket Sound, Mass.: Presented by Stephanie Duckworth; Ms. Duckworth is an author and founder of Wampum Books.
12:00 – 12:15 Presentation from the Sierra Club: updates on local and International events. Presented by Dan Millis, Grand Canyon Chapter
12:15 – 12:45 Lunch
12:45 – 1:30 Treaty of Teotihucan Challenges and Responsibilities: “Defense of the Buffalo Nation”: attacks from parks services in Yellow Stone National Park. Presented by Rosalie Littlethunder; Ms. Littlethunder is Chairperson of Seven Generation Fund and a Lakota educator in South Dakota.
1:30 – 2:15 “Southern Indigenous Peoples Movements”: Presented by Luis Fernando Sarango; Mr. Sarango is Rector of the Amawtay Wasi Intercultural University of Indigenous Nationalities and Pueblos of Ecuador, in Quito.
An international educational institution, that works with other Indigenous Universities in Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Bolivia and Chile.
2:15 – 2:45 “Rights of Mobility and the Western Hemispheric Travel Initiative (WHTI)” WHTI’s impact on the Yaqui Peoples of Southern Arizona. Presented by Jose Matus; Director of Alianza Sin Fronteras (Alliance without Borders)
2:45 - 3:00 O’otham Scared Sites (Baboquivari) Presented by Earnest Moristo and Dennis Manuel
3:00 – 3:15 Update on Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier: Presented by Ms. Billie Fidlin; Ms. Fidlin is a former acting chair of LPDOF Committee and founder of Whisper n Thunder online magazine.
3:15 – 3:30 Native American Heritage Coalition: Presentation by Mr. Ben Chee
3:30 – 4:00 Open discussion, closing comments and questions
4:00pm Closing Prayer
Links: http://www.nahuacalli.org/
http://www.tonatierra.org/
March 9, 2010
Federal Court Upholds Environmental Genocide Targeting Navajos
President Obama's new focus on nuclear power plants comes as federal courts uphold uranium mining which could poison the drinking water of Navajos. Already Cold War uranium mining has left behind generations of death, disease and tragedy for Navajos. Now, uranium mining is targeting the Church Rock, N.M., area, already the site of the 1979 uranium mill tailings spill, which flowed down the Rio Puerco.
-- Censored News (Photo: Warning of radioactive contamination in the Rio Puerco which flows southwest from Church Rock, N.M.)
-- Censored News (Photo: Warning of radioactive contamination in the Rio Puerco which flows southwest from Church Rock, N.M.)
Court denies review of uranium mining permit in NM
By SUE MAJOR HOLMES - Associated Press Writer - Associated Press
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A federal appeals court has upheld a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision that allows a company to leach uranium at an aquifer that supplies drinking water to thousands of Navajos in northwestern New Mexico.
A 10th U.S. Court of Appeals panel concluded in a 2-1 opinion Monday that the NRC took the "hard look" required by the National Environmental Policy Act and its decision to issue a license was not arbitrary.
Eastern Dine Against Uranium Mining, the Southwest Research and Information Center, and ranchers Grace Sam and Marilyn Morris challenged the NRC's approval of permits for Hydro Resources Inc. to do in-situ leach mining near the Navajo communities of Crownpoint and Church Rock.
The opponents contended the NRC violated federal law in issuing the permits.
Attorney Eric Jantz of the Santa Fe-based Environmental Law Center, which represents mining opponents, said his clients were disappointed, but it's not the end of the road.
"If this project is allowed to continue, the folks in the Crownpoint and Church Rock communities are going to be left holding a very toxic bag," Jantz said.
The opponents will evaluate their options, but "every one of them is committed to continuing to challenge the mining company in every forum available," he said.
Rick Van Horn, senior vice president of operations for HRI's parent firm, Uranium Resources Inc., said Tuesday the company is pleased by the court decision.
"It basically says the NRC's licensing is upheld in all respects. In all respects. That's the important part," Van Horn said.
HRI believes the mining is safe and environmentally friendly and will bring economic benefits to the Navajo community, he said.
Judge Carlos Lucero, who voted to review the NRC decision, said in a strongly worded dissent that the surrounding community was left "vulnerable to the ill effects of dangerous radiation." Lucero said his colleagues compounded the error by failing to adequately review the action.
The decision will compromise the health and safety of area residents, who presented evidence that HRI's mining "will ultimately produce radiation many times the permitted limit," Lucero wrote.
The Denver court heard arguments in 2008 in what lawyers called the first-ever challenge to NRC approval of licenses for an in-situ uranium mining operation.
HRI applied in 1988 for a license to mine at four McKinley County sites near Church Rock and Crownpoint.
The majority opinion concluded the NRC correctly interpreted the Atomic Energy Act to require consideration only of airborne radiation from the licensed operation. It also said the NRC's consideration of the cumulative impact of airborne radiation met National Environmental Policy Act requirements.
The court rejected arguments that the NRC violated NEPA by failing to adequately consider the impact if the company cannot restore groundwater quality at one site. The court said the project's environmental impact statement considered that possibility as well as contamination during mining and addressed how to contain and eventually remediate any contamination.
NRC regulations require restoration of groundwater quality once mining ends.
The impact statement acknowledged no operation has fully restored groundwater quality after in-situ mining. Nonetheless, the court said, the NRC was convinced based on pilot demonstrations and small-scale tests that Hydro Resources could restore the groundwater.
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