Photos from Pine Ridge: Aaron Huey: Native Prisoners of War

VIDEO: Aaron Huey's effort to photograph poverty in America led him to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the struggle of the native Lakota people -- appalling, and largely ignored -- compelled him to refocus. Five years of work later, his haunting photos intertwine with a shocking history lesson in this bold, courageous talk from TEDxDU

Censored News/Earthcycles: Climate change, borders and forced relocation

Climate Change, Migration and Forced Relocation

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Climate change, migration and forced relocation can not be separated from human rights, especially for Indigenous Peoples.

During the US Periodic Review at the United Nations in Geneva, Bolivia joined countries from around the world, pressing the United States to halt its human rights abuses, halt its abuse of migrants, decrease its greenhouse gas emissions and adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The United States is now the last country in the world to either endorse or adopt the Declaration, already adopted by the United Nations.

Now, Indigenous Peoples from around the world are preparing for the UN Climate Summit in Cancun, to join Bolivian President Evo Morales, to carry the Cochabamba Declarations to the UN summit in Cancun, Nov. 29--Dec. 10.

In Tucson, Indigenous Peoples at the Southern Border will host a Roundtable, broadcast live on Thursday, Nov., 18, at Earthcycles, http://www.earthcycles.net/ The roundtable broadcast is hosted by the Indigenous Alliance without Borders/Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras.

The AIM International conference will be broadcast live by Earthcycles, with a focus on climate change and Indigenous Peoples rights, in San Francisco, Nov. 22--26.

On the Navajo Nation, Dine' on Black Mesa have spent the past three decades fighting and resisting forced relocation, because of Peabody Coal, the corrupt news media and the Navajo Nation Council which sold them out. Now, Navajos are battling the Navajo Nation Council again, which just voted to sell out Dine' water rights in Arizona. Navajos are urging the Navajo President to veto the water settlement. The Navajo Nation, through leases by the Navajo government, continues to have the dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the US.

Read more at Censored News: http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

TODAY: Protest Torture at Fort Huachuca Arizona

Sunday, November 14, Noon - 2 PM
Ft Huachuca, Main Gate, Sierra Vista, Arizona
Vigil of Peace and Demonstration Against Torture

Photo: Josh being carried away at protest 2009/Photo Brenda Norrell
Extending Peace Outward using presence, silence, speaking, song
Directions to Vigil at Ft Huachuca Main Gate, Sierra Vista, AZ
Head East on I-10 E ( ~42mins)
Take EXIT 302 for AZ-90 S, Turn RIGHT (~35 mins)
to Ft Huachuca, Sierra Vista
Continue onto E BUFFALO SOLDIER TRAIL
Turn LEFT @ N GARDEN Ave
Park in the area wherever it is legal to park. There is plenty of parking in the area. Walk East to Buffalo Soldier Trail & Fry Blvd.
We will hold the vigil / demonstration on the Southside of the intersection.
Owner of the empty lot refuses to let us use the lot. We'll walk, play music, stand, sing & speak along the sidewalk on Fry & Buffalo Soldier holding signs to witness for peace, for humane treatment of all people; and to
END TORTURE HERE,THERE, ANYWHERE

Read more at Counterpunch from human rights attorney Bill Quigley, providing pro bono services to human rights activists protesting torture here:

Why W should still worry

Bush Pens True Crime Book

by Bill Quigley

http://www.counterpunch.org/quigley11112010.html

Navajo Filmmaker Arlene Bowman's 'Graffiti' at French Film Festival

Congratulations to my longtime friend, Navajo filmmaker Arlene Bowman, and the success of her new film, "Graffiti" showing at the French film festival, Festival International Du Film D'Amiens. In this short narrative Graffiti, a woman rebounds from injustice by writing about racist graffiti targeting Indians and sprayed throughout Vancouver. Bowman's first film, as a graduate student, Navajo Talking Picture, also captured international success. Navajo Talking Picture shared the struggle of Bowman, as a young Dine' woman, returning to her grandmother's hogan in Greasewood, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. Her second film, on PBS, Song Journey, included an exploration of women drummers as she traveled the powwow highway north. She was born on the Navajo Nation, grew up in Phoenix and now lives in Vancouver B.C.
Bowman's powerful personal essays include memories of racist police in Los Angeles, where she received her MFA, and reflections on the film industry's barriers for Indigenous Peoples, especially women.
Congratulations Arlene, wish I was with you in France! --Brenda

Women Make Movies:
http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/makers/fm24.shtml
Arlene Bowman, Dine', completed her master's degree in film at the University of California at Los Angeles. An independent producer concentrating on Native themes, Arlene has produced, directed, and edited the award-winning "Navajo Talking Picture" (1986) and co-produced and co-directed "Drugs in the 90s: Coward Hunter". As media curator and instructor, Bowman programmed "The Native American Film and Video Festival" (1989, UCLA Film and Television Archive) and "Native Images Festival" (1990, Los Angeles) and has taught film production at California State University, Long Beach. (09/09)
Navajo Talking Picture
A film by Arlene Bowman, 1986, 40 min., Color
Song Journey
A film by Arlene Bowman and Jeanine Moret, 1994, 57 min., Color