Exhibit: I Didn't Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me

March 26, 2010
Contact: Bradley Pecore, 505.428.5912 (ph)
bpecore@iaia.edu

I Didn’t Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me

Exhibit Explores Arbitrary Boundaries Drawn in Native Communities
By Bradley Pecore

SANTA FE, N.M. – When the United States was founded hundreds of years ago, Indigenous communities were presented with new and arbitrarily drawn borders within their ancestral homelands. A group exhibit, I Didn’t Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me, at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts’ Museum Store and Lloyd Kiva New Gallery will investigate the impact these borders have had on Native people. The exhibit opens Saturday, April 17 from 12 noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in downtown Santa Fe (108 Cathedral Place) and will continue until May 23. As with all Museum Store exhibits, art work is for sale, and proceeds go to the artists and the Museum.

The physical and cognitive constructions of the United States/Canada and United States/Mexico border have created multidimensional divisions in society associated with nationality, physical borders, family, identity, sovereignty, regional attitudes, human rights, documentation and more. Gallery Associate, Institute of American Indian Arts’ alumnus and show organizer Bradley Pecore says the show will investigate these “…varied perspectives regarding traditional lands and current national boundaries in the modern day Indigenous reality.”

Participating artists include Kimberly Hargrove, Hector Ruiz, Mike Zillioux, Irvin Morazan, Fausto Fernandez, Keary Rosen, David Sloan, Luis Gutierrez and Bob Haozous. Terry and Autumn Gomez are creating a special performance art piece for the exhibit’s opening on April 17 from 12 noon – 2:00 p.m.


For more information about the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, a center of the Institute of American Indian Arts, please visit www.iaiamuseum.org. For more information about this exhibit, please call 505.428.5912.

The Museum of Contemporary Native Arts’ Mission

A leader in the acquisition and presentation of contemporary Native arts, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts advances scholarship, discourse and understanding through its innovative exhibitions, programs and dialog.
About the Museum
A center of the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts is home to the largest collection of contemporary Native art in the world. A premier shopping destination, the Museum’s store offers the finest selection of contemporary Native arts and gifts from both emerging and established artists. The Museum is a center of the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Museum hours are Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday: noon to 5 p.m. Admission has been waived while the main galleries are closed through July 2010.

Canadian immigration halts Cynthia McKinney enroute to Splitting the Sky trial

Former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was detained by Canadian immigration enroute to the trial of Splitting the Sky, Mohawk. Splitting the Sky was arrested as he attempted to make a citizens arrest of George W. Bush for war crimes. McKinney was unable to testify because of the delay.
YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNBgkZU5d9s
UPDATE ON TRIAL, VIDEO Interview with Splitting the Sky:
http://atomicnewsreview.org/2010/03/18/update-on-splitting-the-sky-trial/



Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zzFTI0xzfU

Splitting The Sky Meets Cynthia McKinney in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

By Anthony J. Hall
Professor of Globalization Studies
University of Lethbridge

A Note on a Major Event in the Worldwide Movement to Arrest the Organized Crime of War Profiteers

Hello friends, associates and supporters. Hello, as well, to those who are new to the case of Splitting The Sky versus George W. Bush.
I have no hesitation in asserting that the brilliant content of these videos will be transformative for multitudes of global viewers. These videos contain poetry in You Tube. They offer sophisticated political analysis of the kind that should strike fear in the heart of the criminal class who are currently running the global apparatus of so-called national security. These presentations are studies of effective communication. They embody joy, love and skilled articulation combining classical motifs of ballet-like performance with the free form creativity of hip hop. They highlight two individuals at the top of their form who are leading an accelerating global revolt against the lawless war machine's broadening onslaught. More than any other force, the organized crime of the war machine threatens all humanity-- indeed, all life forms-- with imminent oblivion. Please take the time to study this set of amazing videos and disseminate them far and wide.
The event took place on March 9 only hours after the premature termination of Splitting The Sky's Calgary trial. As the trial was being hurriedly shut down by the state, the legendary Cynthia McKinney arrived in Calgary from London to show solidarity with the veteran Mohawk activist. In an event hosted by my own academic unit, Globalization Studies, and by the University of Calgary's Peace Consortium, STS and Ms. McKinney met for the first time. As they shared stories and joined forces, they came to personify the best spirit of defiance rooted in many generations of resistance towards the forces of colonization, enslavement and resource theft. Together STS and the martyred but still-strong former US Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, reflect on what humanity must do now that the heritages of slavery in America and the militarized dispossession of Indigenous peoples have been globalized in the name of the fraudulent Global War on Terror.
As I see it, the case of Splitting The Sky versus George W. Bush will become in the future, even more than it has been in the past, a test case to prove the utter bankruptcy of the censoring mainstream media. This professional malfeasance in the CIA-infested mainstream media stands in contrast with the propensity of activist researchers, publishers, journalists, academics, broadcasters and media artists to use the Internet as a vehicle to advance the revolution that we do intend to televise on You Tube.
Of course, the STS story highlights the media cover up of the lies and crimes of 9/11. But that is only the beginning. STS's story starts with the big cover up of the reality that the New World Order of America began in 1492 with a massive genocide that continues to this day. Add to this monumental cover up the continuing obfuscation of the underlying dynamics that compelled the Attica prisoners, including STS, to revolt against their jailers in 1971.
Similarly, the interests of power have good reason to want to suppress understanding of STS's central role in the Gustafsen Lake Indian War in British Columbia in 1995. There, the Canadian Armed Forces, including Joint Task Force Two (which is centrally involved in special operations in Afghanistan) played a major role in the conflict. The accompanying state-sponsored disinformation and smear campaign was brought to light in a court ruling on an extradition proceeding in Portland Oregon in 2000 entitled USA versus Pitawanakwat. The Canadian and B.C. governments' systematic campaign of media disinformation on the Battle of Gustafsen Lake offers a revealing prelude shedding light on the Cheney-Bush regime's strategy of psychological warfare employed to give a false-impresion of legitimacy to the lawless resource grab advanced in the name of Global War on Terror.
The ongoing genocide that began in 1492 continues to advance the theft of natural resources from Indigenous peoples around the world. The founding of America on this primal original crime extends these days to the creation of new forms of appropriation, domination, murder and enslavement. It finds expression in the sweat shops, forced labour camps, torture chambers and assassination squads of the privatized terror economy. The Big Obama Psy Op is elevating and expanding the 9/11 wars of terror that the new president took over from the Cheney-Bush cabal of war profiteers. Please do yourself a favour and explore these videos while making sure that others are given the same opportunity.
Basta! Enough is Enough
Anthony J. Hall
Professor of Globalization Studies
University of Lethbridge
Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zzFTI0xzfU
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzDuXTFOR8g
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emO-EuF3-9Y
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMHiD8PWYzg
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iga_3f1kiWU
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L88fXyYtLMw
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ9UxPSxtaA
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y-_VFXS540
Part 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocqf0sTsW8
Part 9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsXdA606DY8
Part 10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dAp4kk5RZ0
Part 11: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV3AnyxcWEo
Part 12: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYhwbwpjxQA
Part 13: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2h5nteKLvA
Part 14: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wUl_wUDSGY

ROME: Aboriginal Elders Hold Pope Responsible for Residential School Abuse

AWitnesses to Murder in Catholic Indian schools to Protest at the Vatican, Testify before Italian Parliamentarians

By Hidden from History

http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/

Published at Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

 

Breaking News:

ROME ( Thursday, March 25, 2010) Aboriginal elders from Canada will offer prayers for their friends and relatives who died or were killed in Catholic Indian residential schools, at the institution in Rome responsible for their death. And they will name Pope Benedict, Joseph Ratzinger, as the one ultimately responsible.

Lillian Shirt of the Cree Nation and Charles Cook of the Anishinabe-Ojibway Nation will gather with Rev. Kevin Annett and other members of The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) and Italian supporters at a memorial service outside the Vatican in St. Peter's Square on Easter morning, Sunday April 4 at 11 am.

Both of the native elders survived incarceration in Catholic Indian schools in Canada, and witnessed the deaths of other students.

"Like Jesus, thousands of innocent children were crucified by religious fanatics in the Christian residential schools. We will help to resurrect them this Easter by naming what killed them, and holding their murderers responsible" stated the FRD delegation today.

"Pope Benedict is personally responsible for aiding and abetting pedophile priests, so this is not a crime that he can sweep under the rug or blame on others" stated delegation member Rev. Kevin Annett.

"As we asked the Pope in an unanswered letter two years ago, we want to know where his church buried the children who died at their hands, and have their remains surrendered for a proper burial. The buck stops with Joseph Ratzinger."

While in Rome, the FRD delegation will take their campaign to Italian politicians. On April 7, they will make a presentation to a human rights committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and ask them to endorse an international inquiry into genocide in Protestant and Catholic residential schools in Canada.

The FRD delegation will hold a press conference prior to these meetings, at 2 pm on Wednesday, April 7 outside the front entrance to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, at the Sala delle Colonne, Via Poli 19, in downtown Rome.

The FRD delegation will also speak at public meetings in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Turin, Genoa, and Florence. Their tour has been organized and endorsed by numerous Italian native solidarity groups - a complete list follows - with the support of the provincial government of Genoa.

For more information, contact the FRD through this email;

Elder Jeremiah Jourdain, convenor.

Further Information is below.

FRD International Media Advisory No. 2

.......................................................................................................

Itinerary and Other Information:

PROMOTERS, SUPPORTERS, ORGANIZERS

OF THE FRD TOUR IN ITALY

*(Note: political parties, groups and governments are listed for identification purposes only, and do not necessarily endorse all of the statements or positions of the FRD)

HUNKAPI (Genoa – Italy)
Cultural Association supporting Native Americans so that they can personally talk about their culture and history
Coordinator.
Supports, sponsors and partially finances the Delegation’s trip to Europe
It’s in charge for the event organized in Genoa, at the Provincial Government
KIWANI (Florence – Italy)
Cultural Association supporting Native Americans
Organizational and logistic support in Florence
It’s in charge for the meeting at the Baptist Church Headquarters in Florence
IL CERCHIO
Italian Network to support Native Americans
http://www.associazioneilcerchio.it/#gruppi
Organizational and logistic support in Rome
It’s in charge for some of the meetings to be held in Rome
NATIVI AMERICANI
Italian blog supporting Native American People
Organizational and logistic support in Florence
Main tool to spread information and communication on a national and international basis
MS. LARA CONGIU
Member of Hunkapi, she is connected to European Union Committee
Organizational and logistic support in Parma e Reggio Emilia
In charge for meetings to be held in Parma, Reggio Emilia and Turin
OTHER SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF GENOA
Main financial sponsor
Supporter
ITALIAN RADICAL PARTY
Organizational, logistic, financial support to the Italian tour
In charge for the meetings to be held at the Chamber of Deputies
MS. MARZIA
In charge for logistic support and lodging in Rome


DATES AND SCHEDULE
29th March
Kevin Annett, Lori o’Rorke, Lillian Shirt and Charles Cook arrive in Italy
30th March, Parma
Conference (schools)
31st March, Reggio Emilia
Conference (schools)
1st April, Turin - 09:00 p.m. (21,00)
Cafè Liber, Circolo Arci, Corso Vercelli 2.
Conference
2nd April Genoa - 04:30 p.m. (16,30)
Provincial Government of Genoa, Council Hall, Piazzale Mazzini 2.
Meeting & Conference with the Civil Authorities of the Provincial Government
3rd April, Florence - 04:00 p.m. (16,00)
Baptist Church Headquarters, Borgo Ognissanti 4.
Conference
4th April, Rome - 11:00 a.m. (11,00)
St. Peter's Square, outside the Vatican
Memorial Service
7th April, Rome - 02:30 p.m. (14,30)
Italian Chamber of Deputies, Sala delle Colonne, Via Poli 19
Unrepentant documentary: Conference & Debate will follow
8th April, Rome
Private meeting at the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
TO BE CONFIRMED
9th April, Rome
Kevin Annett will continue the European Tour with other Natives (names still to be communicated), Lori O’Rorke, Lillian Shirt and Charles Cooke will fly back to Canada

First Nations Given Tainted Bison Meat

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
Tel: (780) 697-3730
Toll-free: 1-888-420-7011
Fax: (780) 697-3500

FIRST NATIONS OFFERED TAINTED BISON MEAT WITH LEAD AT LEVELS ABOVE WHAT IS SAFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

First Nations have been given and offered tainted bison meat from a nearby Industry developer. The communities of Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan were given and offered Free Bison Meat, only to have the bison meat recalled for lead levels above what is considered safe for human consumption. They claim that the poisonous meat came from one animal and The Fort McKay First Nation, Health Canada, Alberta Health and Alberta Agricultural are suggesting that the rest of the meat is safe. Yet as a precautionary measure, Dr. Brent Friesen, Medical Officer of Health, Alberta Health Services, Fort McMurray, and Dr. Simon Sihota, Regional Environmental Public Health Manager, Health Protection Directorate, First Nation and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada, Edmonton, advise that any ground meat from the Dec 2009 harvest should be collected and sent for analysis for lead content.

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is now asking how this could happen. Why is our First Nation offered free bison meat that turns out to be unsafe for consumption? “Generating contaminated meat and offering it to the First Nations people is a cruel act of total disrespect to the dignity of the people of Fort Chipewyan” Chief Adam said. This contamination casts a dark cloud upon the claims that the oil sands companies are able to safely reclaim lands destroyed by oil sands mining. This contamination comes after the discovery of heightened rare cancer rates in a 2009 report released by the Alberta Cancer Board and a report released by Dr. Schindler2009 showing Athabasca River contamination is improperly measured.

On a related note, there is a free roaming herd of Bison near the ACFN Reserve lands which our members use for consumption purposes. Yet Alberta chooses not to manage this threatened bison herd in a manner to protect it from development. “The buffalo are not protected and industrial developers are running them off the lands scaring them with helicopters and planes” Chief Adam said. Drilling and Exploration continues where these herds of bison roam and live.

The ACFN members are afraid to hunt traditional foods and consume waterfowl birds for fear they may be contaminated by Development. We fear that ducks and geese which have landed on a tailing pond continue to travel north and are consumed by our members. What does ACFNs’ future hold with regards to health and wellness of our Membership? What does the future hold for ACFN’s continued existence in the face of Alberta’s plans for Development? There is great uncertainty with the safety of the Traditional foods we consume.

For Further Information:
Chief Allan Adam, ACFN, 780-697-3730.