Comcaac (Seri) holder of traditions passes to Spirit World

Comcaac (Seri) holder of traditions passes to Spirit World

By Brenda Norrell

Seri land on coast 

Censored News

DESEMBOQUE, Sonora, Mexico -- Amalia Astorga, Comcaac (Seri) and upholder of traditions, passed to the Spirit World after a long life of living and sharing Comcaac culture and traditions on Seri land, on the coast in Sonora, in northwest Mexico.

Alejandro Aguilar Zeleny, a longtime friend of Amalia in Sonora, said, "Amalia passed away with Odile, that big storm, or cyclone. It is sad because the roads were closed. So she didn't have any doctor first and then later they could not bring a judge to provide a certificate of her death to bury her. So it was also sad and difficult."

"Adolfo is very sad and saying he is not going to sing anymore in any fiesta because she use  to dance with his singing. Some days ago also passed away Cleotilde Morales. Her husband Alfredo passed away in May."

"So everybody is very sad because these old great people are no longer here."

Amalia Astorga is an internationally-renown herbalist of Seri and O'odham Indian descent. She and her husband, Adolfo Burgos, taught traditional songs and dances to the Seri children in Desemboque. In 1998, she was honored as a "Keeper of the Desert Treasure" by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for passing on to younger generations the herbal knowledge, as well as the songs and stories of the Seri people. Her father, Jose Astorga, began the world famous Seri tradition of making carvings of native animals out of ironwood and stone. It is a craft tradition which she maintained.

Amalia's words and stories are featured in Efraín of the Sonoran Desert, A Lizard's Life Among the Seri Indians.

The top photo shows Amalia Astorga and Adolfo Burgos, Comca'ac (Seri) being honored as Pillars of the World during the Second Reunion of the Spiritual Guides of the Region in Hermosillo in 201. Indigenous People in Sonora are struggling to maintain their language and culture. The discussions centered on the spiritual well being of Sonora, including water, land, medicines, and all that is part of the culture, said Sonoran Studies Professor Alejandro Aguilar Zeleny.

Navajo and Hopi governments release statements on sheep impoundments

Navajo Nation demands halt to livestock impoundment on Hopi Partitioned Lands

Navajo Nation press statement Oct. 30, 2014
Published at Censored News

President Ben Shelly and Speaker Pro Tem LoRenzo Bates are demanding that the Hopi Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs cooperate with a request issued by the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office to cease and desist from ongoing impoundment activities of livestock owned by Navajo residents in the Hopi Partitioned Lands.

In addition, Pro Tem Bates and President Shelly have issued an official request to Hopi Tribal Chairman Herman G. Honani for a meeting on Nov. 3 to discuss the ongoing livestock round-ups.
Numerous reports have surfaced from various HPL residents of ongoing livestock impoundments that have raised significant concerns for Navajo livestock owners in the area, several of whom have reported that authorities have brandished firearms during the livestock round-ups.

“Among many families, livestock is the main source of food,” said President Shelly. “Resolve is what we all want.”

“We have heard the concerns of our people, particularly those of elderly Navajos who rely heavily on their livestock for their livelihood,” stated Pro Tem Bates. “Impounding livestock of Navajo people is a deliberate violation of their rights to practice our culture and traditions and it must stop immediately.”

In an Oct. 24 memo from NHLCO executive director Raymond Maxx to Hopi Tribal chairman Herman Honanie, Maxx requested a ten-day grace period to allow for the opportunity to confer with residents to request removal of excess livestock from the HPL.

“If overgrazing is the major concern for Hopi officials, it is certainly an issue that we can address by sitting down and talking with one another,” added Pro Tem Bates.

The Navajo-Hopi Land Commission recently passed Resolution NHLCO-21-14, requesting the Hopi Tribe to accommodate livestock capacity for Navajo families living in the HPL.

NHLC members Council Delegates Dwight Witherspoon and Walter Phelps have met with Hopi and BIA officials and affected residents.
According to Delegate Witherspoon, further discussions between all parties are scheduled for this week.

Below: Hopi Nation press statement Oct. 31, 2014

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Dirty Money, Dirty Water: Nature Conservancy teams up with Big Oil and Wal-Mart

Photo of lower San Joaquin River on the "Delta Loop" by Dan Bacher 

By Dan Bacher
Censored News

Good Morning

Below are my latest three articles, all about the big corporate money behind Prop. 1, Governor Jerry Brown's Water Bond.

If you every had any doubts that the political process in California wasn't completely corrupt and driven by big money, please read the following articles about: (1) the Nature Conservancy's donation of $500,000 to the Yes on Prop. 1 campaign; (2) Big Tobacco and health insurance robber barons teaming up to fund the bond; and (3) a comprehensive, updated review of the massive influx of corporate and billionaire money into Jerry Brown's water bond campaign coffers.

Please circulate these articles widely and make sure that every one you know who cares about fish, water the environment and the people of California votes NO on Prop. 1!

Thanks, Dan

http://www.fishsniffer.com/blogs/details/nature-conservancy-contributes-500000-to-yes-on-prop.-1-campaign/

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/10/31/18763608.php

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/31/1340650/-Prop-1-Opponents-Call-Nature-Conservancy-s-500-000-Political-Contribution-Disturbing

http://www.calitics.com/diary/15642/nature-conservancy-contributes-500000-to-yes-on-prop-1-campaign

Nature Conservancy contributes $500,000 to Yes on Prop. 1 campaign 

by Dan Bacher 

The Nature Conservancy, one of the largest recipients of Walton Family Foundation money every year, has joined Big Oil, corporate agribusiness, the health insurance industry, tobacco giant Philip Morris and greedy billionaires in dumping big money into the Yes on Proposition 1 campaign. 
Opponents of Prop. 1, Governor Jerry Brown's State Water Bond, responded to the $500,000 political contribution to Prop. 1 from The Nature Conservancy by calling it “disturbing.” 

Video Etta Begay speaks on rangers impounding her sheep

Black Mesa Indigenous Support

Statement of Etta Begay of Red Willow Springs re: the recent livestock impoundments at her homesite.

Post by Black Mesa Indigenous Support.
Statement of Etta Begay of Red Willow Springs re: the recent livestock impoundments at her homesite.