Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

January 10, 2020

Mohawk Nation News 'Iran: Historic Supporter of Indigenous Rights'

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Arizona border wall contractor's parent company is among most polluting companies destroying the planet

Image result for ajo cactus border wall bulldozed
Saguaro cactus bulldozed by Southwest Valley Constructors near Ajo, Arizona, for illegal U.S. border wall.

 Arizona border wall contractor's parent company is among most polluting companies destroying the planet 

 Border wall contractor linked to Keystone Pipeline and Alberta Tar Sands

 By Brenda Norrell

AJO, Arizona -- The parent company of Southwest Valley Constructors -- now building the border wall, violating all federal protection laws, destroying endangered species and bulldozing the pristine Sonoran Desert --  is a global mining and construction corporation that is one of the most polluting companies in the world.

Southwest's parent company Kiewit, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is listed as one of the top 32 North American polluters killing the planet.

The border wall contractor, Southwest Valley Constructors  based in Albuquerque, is now violating all federal protection laws created to protect endangered species, water and sacred sites, as it builds an illegal border wall based on political ruin, xenophobia and the collapse of the US government.

The endangered pupfish is found nowhere else in the world but here near Ajo in a spring sacred to Tohono O'odham.

Nearby, the migration paths of endangered jaguar and pronghorn antelope are being destroyed.

Protected saguaros are being ripped from the earth with disregard for state or federal laws.

The federal government has waived 41 federal laws that protect life as it builds the border wall.

In its lawsuit, the Center for Biological Diversity points out the damage to human rights, as the pristine desert borderzone is turned into a militarized zone.

"Beyond jeopardizing wildlife, endangered species and public lands, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is part of a larger strategy of ongoing border militarization that damages human rights, civil liberties, native lands, local businesses and international relations. The border wall impedes the natural migrations of people and wildlife that are essential to healthy diversity," the Center said.

Southwest Valley Constructors received $646 million in U.S. Army funds for border wall work in the contract from the U.S. Defense Department, with the Army Corps of Engineers in Albuquerque operating the contract. The use of U.S. military funds to build the border wall is the subject of numerous ongoing lawsuits.

Kiewit was also awarded a border wall contract in Texas, along the Rio Grande. "The $42.8 million contract was awarded to Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. The project, according to CBP, includes the construction of "18-30 foot tall steel bollards, in addition to road construction, detection technology and lighting installation," CNN reported.

Kiewit's projects around the world polluting the planet include construction for Suncor's tar sands in Alberta, Canada; mining nickel in Quebec; mining diamonds in Yellowknife, NWT; mining iron ore in Western Australia; mining coal in Wyoming; mining phosphates in Idaho; lignite mining in Texas; and nickel mining in Voisey's Bay, NF., according to its website.

Keystone Pipeline is among Kiewit's construction projects, which include oil, gas and oil sands construction projects elsewhere in Canada, North Dakota, Texas and Western Australia.

In North America, Houston and Calgary are the top cities where corporations are killing the planet, primarily with oil and gas and tar sands industries. In 2017, Kiewit received a contract from Houston-based Wood Group Mustang to build Israel's Leviathan offshore gas field platform.

The border wall construction in violation of federal protection laws is part of a greater scheme of the U.S. government that is now violating international laws which protect migrant children, including the genocidal act of separating children from their parents and disappearing the children.

Migrant children are being imprisoned in US death camps where they are being sexually abused and dying of neglect and preventable infections, according to documented cases of migrant child deaths.

The United States now leads the world in the widespread disregard for human life and the Earth.

Read more about top corporations killing the planet:
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January 9, 2020

O'odham Voice against the Wall brightens holidays for children


O'odham children, Sonora, Mexico

by Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham
Censored News

Thank you from O'odham VOICE Against the WALL for all the toy donations and funds for the purchase of toys. Every smile and giggle of each child receiving a gift is an awesome experience. We appreciate every effort to bring this joy to the children. We wrapped gifts the night before, coffee and snacks for us. Cupcakes were made and the largest pizza was ordered. The parents arrived with their little ones. Cynthia an O'odham photographer took each child's photo and printed as another gift to each parent. We look forward to the end of the year when again we will be seeking your donations.

O'odham Voice against the Wall 
O'odham Solidarity Project
http://www.solidarity-project.org/
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Indigenous Elder Arrested in Court, Refuses Order to Stay Away from Trans Mountain Pipeline



Indigenous Elder Taken Into Custody After Refusing to Sign 500-Metre Stay Away Order from Trans Mountain Facilities

Two Indigenous elders are being targeted in a desperate attempt by Trans Mountain to stifle dissent, avoid accountability

COAST SALISH TERRITORIES (Vancouver) -- After a hearing in front of a packed courtroom, Indigenous elder and Mountain Protector Jim Leyden, 67, was taken into custody this morning for refusing to sign conditions that include he stay at least 500 meters away from Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) facilities. Leyden and his lawyer David Fai only found out today about the conditions, which were imposed this morning by BC Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick at the request of Crown Counsel Monte Ruttan. Leyden, who has suffered serious health issues over the past few months, could remain in jail until his next court appearance on January 29 at 9am.

On December 31, 2019, lawyers for Leyden and fellow Indigenous elder Stacy Gallagher, 57, were notified by the Crown that their clients were being charged with criminal contempt of court for alleged breaches of the TMX Injunction Order in November and December 2019. The Crown is charging the two elders after-the-fact using an affidavit of an RCMP official and video evidence. On the days of the alleged breaches--November 15, December 2, and December 18, 2019--the RCMP did not arrest Leyden and Gallagher, who were among many others near the Trans Mountain facility, nor did the police adhere to the "five step process" required by the TMX Injunction. Leyden and Gallagher have been the only ones charged so far from those dates. For now, Gallagher is also expected to abide by the 500-metre stay away order.

"This is a clear attempt to target those who are steadfast in monitoring the questionable activities of Trans Mountain," said Brandon Gosnell of the Mountain Protectors, a group formed in part to watch over the work of TMX to ensure the company is abiding by federal and provincial regulations. Leyden told Justice Fitzpatrick today that he was designated by Coast Salish Indigenous elders to play this role from the Watch House, an Indigenous-built structure that is explicitly excluded from the TMX Injunction. "The Crown, in lockstep with Trans Mountain, is trying to stifle any resistance to this pipeline and any efforts to hold Trans Mountain accountable," added Gosnell.

Leyden, Gallagher, and another Indigenous defendant were previously convicted of criminal contempt in October for arrests that took place in 2018, and they are currently awaiting sentencing on March 5 and 6. Leyden and Gallagher are fixtures at the Burnaby TMX facilities and in court, supporting those arrested for breaching the Injunction. Leyden and the Mountain Protectors have repeatedly raised safety, environmental, and regulatory concerns to federal, provincial and municipal authorities, but so far no action has been taken against TMX for the violations its been accused of.

The new charges represent a significant departure from prior TMX contempt cases in a couple of important ways. First, it appears the RCMP failed to adhere to Section 12 of the Injunction Order which lays out a "five-step process" for arresting "any persons who breach the Order." Second, neither defendant was arrested at the time the Crown alleges the breaches took place. Both defendants found out about the charges only after the Crown made contact with their lawyers. Mountain Protectors also argue that these new attempts to target Indigenous elders monitoring the company's activities are meant to chill any kind of resistance to and oversight of TMX.

Leyden is expected to be taken to the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, where he will likely remain until January 29."
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