Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights
February 11, 2010
Cheyenne River Sioux Emergency Video
WIRE DONATIONS TO:
Cheyenne River Sioux 2010 Disaster Account
Direct to: United Bkrs Bloomington ABA # 091 001 322
Beneficiary Bank: Account Number 250 3373
State Bank of Eagle Butte
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
Final Credit: Account Holder @ UBB Customers Bank
Account Holder: CRST 2010 Disaster, Account Number 103173
MAIL CHECK DONATIONS TO:
TO: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/2010 Disaster Account
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office
Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Fund
PO Box 590
2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices)
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
SHIP SUPPLIES TO:
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office
Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Supplies
PO Box 590
2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices)
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX CONTACTS:
Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant c (610) 568-2101
Joe Brings Plenty, Tribal Chairman c (605) 365-6548
CRST Emergency Coordination Center (605) 964-7711 (7712)
Record Snowfalls Batter Indian Country
Record Snowfalls Batter Indian Country
California Tribes Come to the Aid of Plains, Southwest Nations
New America Media, News Report
By R.M. Arrieta
Posted: Feb 10, 2010
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=cff74a7bed2d870b2148b84e47950321
While all eyes were on Haiti after a devastating earthquake ravaged the country, another crisis was unfolding here in the midwest and southwest parts of the United States, where Native American tribes are getting hammered with unusually fierce weather.
Reservations across the northern plains, specifically in South Dakota and Nebraska, and in the Big Mountain region of Black Mesa in Arizona are fortifying themselves after enduring several weeks of snowstorms with little or no heat, water or food, and impassable roads.
In South Dakota, on the reservations of the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux on Pine Ridge, as well as the Omaha tribe in Nebraska, residents have been dealing with heavy ice storms since January 22. Since Sunday night, a wind chill advisory has been in place.
Among the hardest hit is the Cheyenne River Sioux, where the accumulation of ice brought down
3,000 power poles, broke water pipes and hampered efforts to get food and propane by blocking roads and creating unsafe driving conditions.
“It’s safe to say over 10,000 people and 4, 000 to 5,000 homes were affected. The power is back on but it’s very hard for people,” said tribal chairman Joseph Brings Plenty. “We’re dealing with the aftereffect of trying to get some lines going. The water tower there is frozen. We have to try to get that un-thawed, which might take another week or so.”
Local elder David Bald Eagle is settling in because “we’re snowed in again. There’s no transportation really. In our place the snowdrift is so high we can’t even get to the road. Luckily, we have a wood stove and wood. We don’t have water of course but we can always melt snow. The main water line to the tribe around Eagle Butte has been broken for two weeks. We’ve had no water since then.”
Throughout Indian Country, help has been coming from tribes who are financially stable to those with few resources. Among native nations, there exists a communications network that responds to situations that adversely impact the relatives of other tribes. This has been helped by such new technologies as the Internet, which are shrinking the distances between Native peoples.
“The moccasin telegraph has never been so strong. Even though we know that First Nations always had contact with one another, our communities, until very recently, were isolated by a certain regionalism, one that was perceived as much as it was physical, because, I think, in our collective mind we felt restricted by the reservation system,” explains statement on website CyberPowwow.net
Brings Plenty said had the tribe relied solely on help from the governor’s office they would have remained in dire straits. “We are probably better off trying to respond to these emergencies on our own,” he said. “We were a week into it and still dealing with the situation out here like it was the day after — but we were running out of resources and everything.” So Brings Plenty put out a call on the Internet for help throughout Indian Country. He got a quick response.
California Indians Send Help to the Great Plains
Tribes from as far away as California came forward. The San Manuel band of Serrano Mission Indians, through their special assistance fund, worked with the Red Cross to send help.
“It’s just overwhelming and very humbling to see that much care and concern. It was really good to see the human spirit being able to reach out and be supportive at this time,” said Plenty. "I think
you have less of a bureaucracy to deal with. I think that accounts in part, for the speed we are able to dispatch our resources and I think that’s a good thing,” said Jacob Coin, spokesperson for San Bernardino-based San Manuel band, who donated $220,000 to the midwest tribal communities struck
by the severe weather.
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation in California in Capay Valley, provided $100,000 to assist the Cheyenne River Sioux with disaster relief efforts.
“I think the tribe felt this was a situation that wasn’t very well known or well understood and hoped that by their actions they would be able to spread the word about the situation with the Cheyenne River Sioux and encourage other people to help if they possibly can,” said Brent Andrews, spokesman for the Wintun Nation.
“This is a time for our nation to come to the assistance of another tribe in desperate need. Our Tribal Council was deeply moved by the profound damage to the Cheyenne River Sioux people. We took immediate action,” said tribal chairman Marshall McKay in a statement. “
“We stand in kinship with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations in our commitment to help our... brothers and sisters out of this crisis.” stated chairman McKay.
The Archibald Bush Foundation provided two grants of $25,000 to match contributions made to emergency relief through The Native Americans in Philanthropy or South Dakota Community Foundation, with 100 percent reaching the tribe through support of GiveMN.org covering transaction fees.
The Oglala Sioux helped their brothers and sisters of the Cheyenne River, who were in even worse conditions than they were. The Oglala Sioux opened their health center on Pine Ridge and took in 35 dialysis patients from Cheyenne River. The Rosebud Sioux tribe sent road crews and water tankers to help out. The Navajo Nation, undergoing severe weather conditions of their own, dispatched a utility crew to restore electricity; the Santee Tribe sent drinking water; the Hochunk Nation sent in supplies.
Wal-Mart also provided emergency food and supplies, as did many other private individuals and corporations. Joe Kennedy from Citizen Energy, and Citgo Energy Assistance from Venezuela, provided funds for heating oil.
Trans Canada sent down electricians to help with the shelters.
The South Dakota National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and the South Dakota Department of Public Safety helped out with equipment and generators.
“They did everything that could possibly be done, and I know that the funding that some of the tribes sent us -– they’re not rich tribes, they’re struggling with and trying to make ends meet,” said Brings Plenty.
“We are part of a family of Indian Nations in this country and will be there in times of need,” said Chairman James Ramos. “When San Manuel hears calls from tribal nations for help, it hits close to home, and as Indian people, we are moved to respond.”
On Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux reservation, a state of emergency has been lifted but many residents still need help with foodstuffs and propane. The snow is melting but roads are extremely muddy and undriveable.
In the Southwest in Arizona in the communities of Big Mountain and Black Mesa, the same holds true where the snow has melted and extremely muddy roads are keeping some residents stranded.
Record Snow in the Southwest
George Howard with the National Weather Service branch in Flagstaff said, “The biggest problems have been getting food, water and medical care to those who may need it because they find the roads impassable due to large amounts of snowfall or even after the snow has melted, impassable roads due to the muddy and wet conditions because so many of the roadways on the Navajo nation and tribal lands are graded dirt.”
He said the winter storms have been unusually strong. “For instance here in Flagstaff our average annual, snowfall is 109 inches for a season. We’ve already had 107, and we still have two months of wintry season to go.
The San Manuel band also donated $50,000 each to the Hopi and Navajo Nations for emergency relief operations as they continue efforts to provide basic supplies. The Navajo reservation is 17 million acres and the Hopi reservation is 1.5 million acres. It is difficult to reach residents who live in the remote areas of these vast reservations in northern Arizona due to impassable roads because of the snow and mud.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as tribal, state and county offices responded to the crisis, as well as the National Guard, which dropped basic supplies to people living in remote parts of the reservations.
“This winter has brought difficulties and hardships on many of our people and communities on the Navajo reservation,” said Herman Shorty, chairman of the Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management.
San Manuel has always offered a helping hand to their Indian brothers and sisters in need.
“We have a long history of having helped other tribes when natural disasters befall them. About a year-and-a-half ago, when the Havasupai community at the bottom of the grand canyon in Arizona was flooded out by huge rains, and lost almost all of their economic resources which are tourism and river guides,” the band donated $1 million to fund an economic recovery plan,” said Jacob Coin,
spokesperson for the San Manuel tribe.
“When some of the Southern California tribes lost homes and other resources on their reservation to the wildfires of ‘06, and ‘07, the tribe was able to help restore some of the housing and economic support to those tribes,” he added.
Said Brings Plenty, “I’m just grateful to all of the individuals out there and on behalf of my people I want to say ‘Wopila Tanka’ for everything. It means ‘thank you greatly.’ ”
California Tribes Come to the Aid of Plains, Southwest Nations
New America Media, News Report
By R.M. Arrieta
Posted: Feb 10, 2010
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=cff74a7bed2d870b2148b84e47950321
While all eyes were on Haiti after a devastating earthquake ravaged the country, another crisis was unfolding here in the midwest and southwest parts of the United States, where Native American tribes are getting hammered with unusually fierce weather.
Reservations across the northern plains, specifically in South Dakota and Nebraska, and in the Big Mountain region of Black Mesa in Arizona are fortifying themselves after enduring several weeks of snowstorms with little or no heat, water or food, and impassable roads.
In South Dakota, on the reservations of the Cheyenne River Sioux and Oglala Sioux on Pine Ridge, as well as the Omaha tribe in Nebraska, residents have been dealing with heavy ice storms since January 22. Since Sunday night, a wind chill advisory has been in place.
Among the hardest hit is the Cheyenne River Sioux, where the accumulation of ice brought down
3,000 power poles, broke water pipes and hampered efforts to get food and propane by blocking roads and creating unsafe driving conditions.
“It’s safe to say over 10,000 people and 4, 000 to 5,000 homes were affected. The power is back on but it’s very hard for people,” said tribal chairman Joseph Brings Plenty. “We’re dealing with the aftereffect of trying to get some lines going. The water tower there is frozen. We have to try to get that un-thawed, which might take another week or so.”
Local elder David Bald Eagle is settling in because “we’re snowed in again. There’s no transportation really. In our place the snowdrift is so high we can’t even get to the road. Luckily, we have a wood stove and wood. We don’t have water of course but we can always melt snow. The main water line to the tribe around Eagle Butte has been broken for two weeks. We’ve had no water since then.”
Throughout Indian Country, help has been coming from tribes who are financially stable to those with few resources. Among native nations, there exists a communications network that responds to situations that adversely impact the relatives of other tribes. This has been helped by such new technologies as the Internet, which are shrinking the distances between Native peoples.
“The moccasin telegraph has never been so strong. Even though we know that First Nations always had contact with one another, our communities, until very recently, were isolated by a certain regionalism, one that was perceived as much as it was physical, because, I think, in our collective mind we felt restricted by the reservation system,” explains statement on website CyberPowwow.net
Brings Plenty said had the tribe relied solely on help from the governor’s office they would have remained in dire straits. “We are probably better off trying to respond to these emergencies on our own,” he said. “We were a week into it and still dealing with the situation out here like it was the day after — but we were running out of resources and everything.” So Brings Plenty put out a call on the Internet for help throughout Indian Country. He got a quick response.
California Indians Send Help to the Great Plains
Tribes from as far away as California came forward. The San Manuel band of Serrano Mission Indians, through their special assistance fund, worked with the Red Cross to send help.
“It’s just overwhelming and very humbling to see that much care and concern. It was really good to see the human spirit being able to reach out and be supportive at this time,” said Plenty. "I think
you have less of a bureaucracy to deal with. I think that accounts in part, for the speed we are able to dispatch our resources and I think that’s a good thing,” said Jacob Coin, spokesperson for San Bernardino-based San Manuel band, who donated $220,000 to the midwest tribal communities struck
by the severe weather.
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation in California in Capay Valley, provided $100,000 to assist the Cheyenne River Sioux with disaster relief efforts.
“I think the tribe felt this was a situation that wasn’t very well known or well understood and hoped that by their actions they would be able to spread the word about the situation with the Cheyenne River Sioux and encourage other people to help if they possibly can,” said Brent Andrews, spokesman for the Wintun Nation.
“This is a time for our nation to come to the assistance of another tribe in desperate need. Our Tribal Council was deeply moved by the profound damage to the Cheyenne River Sioux people. We took immediate action,” said tribal chairman Marshall McKay in a statement. “
“We stand in kinship with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations in our commitment to help our... brothers and sisters out of this crisis.” stated chairman McKay.
The Archibald Bush Foundation provided two grants of $25,000 to match contributions made to emergency relief through The Native Americans in Philanthropy or South Dakota Community Foundation, with 100 percent reaching the tribe through support of GiveMN.org covering transaction fees.
The Oglala Sioux helped their brothers and sisters of the Cheyenne River, who were in even worse conditions than they were. The Oglala Sioux opened their health center on Pine Ridge and took in 35 dialysis patients from Cheyenne River. The Rosebud Sioux tribe sent road crews and water tankers to help out. The Navajo Nation, undergoing severe weather conditions of their own, dispatched a utility crew to restore electricity; the Santee Tribe sent drinking water; the Hochunk Nation sent in supplies.
Wal-Mart also provided emergency food and supplies, as did many other private individuals and corporations. Joe Kennedy from Citizen Energy, and Citgo Energy Assistance from Venezuela, provided funds for heating oil.
Trans Canada sent down electricians to help with the shelters.
The South Dakota National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and the South Dakota Department of Public Safety helped out with equipment and generators.
“They did everything that could possibly be done, and I know that the funding that some of the tribes sent us -– they’re not rich tribes, they’re struggling with and trying to make ends meet,” said Brings Plenty.
“We are part of a family of Indian Nations in this country and will be there in times of need,” said Chairman James Ramos. “When San Manuel hears calls from tribal nations for help, it hits close to home, and as Indian people, we are moved to respond.”
On Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux reservation, a state of emergency has been lifted but many residents still need help with foodstuffs and propane. The snow is melting but roads are extremely muddy and undriveable.
In the Southwest in Arizona in the communities of Big Mountain and Black Mesa, the same holds true where the snow has melted and extremely muddy roads are keeping some residents stranded.
Record Snow in the Southwest
George Howard with the National Weather Service branch in Flagstaff said, “The biggest problems have been getting food, water and medical care to those who may need it because they find the roads impassable due to large amounts of snowfall or even after the snow has melted, impassable roads due to the muddy and wet conditions because so many of the roadways on the Navajo nation and tribal lands are graded dirt.”
He said the winter storms have been unusually strong. “For instance here in Flagstaff our average annual, snowfall is 109 inches for a season. We’ve already had 107, and we still have two months of wintry season to go.
The San Manuel band also donated $50,000 each to the Hopi and Navajo Nations for emergency relief operations as they continue efforts to provide basic supplies. The Navajo reservation is 17 million acres and the Hopi reservation is 1.5 million acres. It is difficult to reach residents who live in the remote areas of these vast reservations in northern Arizona due to impassable roads because of the snow and mud.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as tribal, state and county offices responded to the crisis, as well as the National Guard, which dropped basic supplies to people living in remote parts of the reservations.
“This winter has brought difficulties and hardships on many of our people and communities on the Navajo reservation,” said Herman Shorty, chairman of the Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management.
San Manuel has always offered a helping hand to their Indian brothers and sisters in need.
“We have a long history of having helped other tribes when natural disasters befall them. About a year-and-a-half ago, when the Havasupai community at the bottom of the grand canyon in Arizona was flooded out by huge rains, and lost almost all of their economic resources which are tourism and river guides,” the band donated $1 million to fund an economic recovery plan,” said Jacob Coin,
spokesperson for the San Manuel tribe.
“When some of the Southern California tribes lost homes and other resources on their reservation to the wildfires of ‘06, and ‘07, the tribe was able to help restore some of the housing and economic support to those tribes,” he added.
Said Brings Plenty, “I’m just grateful to all of the individuals out there and on behalf of my people I want to say ‘Wopila Tanka’ for everything. It means ‘thank you greatly.’ ”
February 10, 2010
Olympics: Showdown in Vancouver
The Olympic Industrial Complex Meets Gold Medal Resistance
Showdown in Vancouver
By JULES BOYKOFF
Upon arrival at Vancouver International Airport everything was smooth, suave, and sparkly. I immediately encountered colorful billboards splashed with 2010 Winter Olympic Games ad copy blending gold medals, commercial merchandise, and sports clichés. I was barraged with offers of assistance by friendly folks donning shiny nametags and chartreuse vests emblazoned with the official Olympic logo.
But as I took mass transit into downtown Vancouver—where the Olympic Games opening ceremonies will take place on Friday—I began to sense what activist Harsha Walia of No One Is Illegal and the Olympic Resistance Movement described as “the overall militarization of Vancouver, an encroaching police and surveillance state.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/boykoff02102010.html
Showdown in Vancouver
By JULES BOYKOFF
Upon arrival at Vancouver International Airport everything was smooth, suave, and sparkly. I immediately encountered colorful billboards splashed with 2010 Winter Olympic Games ad copy blending gold medals, commercial merchandise, and sports clichés. I was barraged with offers of assistance by friendly folks donning shiny nametags and chartreuse vests emblazoned with the official Olympic logo.
But as I took mass transit into downtown Vancouver—where the Olympic Games opening ceremonies will take place on Friday—I began to sense what activist Harsha Walia of No One Is Illegal and the Olympic Resistance Movement described as “the overall militarization of Vancouver, an encroaching police and surveillance state.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/boykoff02102010.html
The US is Now a Police State
Anyone Could be Next
The U.S. is Now a Police State
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
"The people who should have been on trial are the people who abducted her, disappeared her young children, shipped her across international borders, violated her civil liberties, tortured her apparently for the fun of it, raped her, and attempted to murder her with two gunshots to her stomach. Instead, the victim was put on trial and convicted."
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts02102010.html
The U.S. is Now a Police State
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
"The people who should have been on trial are the people who abducted her, disappeared her young children, shipped her across international borders, violated her civil liberties, tortured her apparently for the fun of it, raped her, and attempted to murder her with two gunshots to her stomach. Instead, the victim was put on trial and convicted."
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts02102010.html
February 9, 2010
MNN: Commander's crime should not be associated with Mohawks
CFB COMMANDER WILLIAMS' CRIMES SHOULD NOT BE ASSOCIATED WITH MOHAWKS
By Kahentintha Horn
Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com
The following story is dangeous b.s. meant to associate Mohawks with one of the most horrendous crimes in Canada. Who is this writer serving and what is the real story?
As an Indigenous person, I always look at "pat" stories with a critical eye. This story sounds like the kind of false propaganda that is always being put out about the Mohawks, that our women are prostitutes, are in the prison system, we are criminals, dealing in contraband, etc. These PR stories are put out about us to justify railroading us into jail for the rest of our lives and to demonize us. Often they don't have the right person or the facts. It's meant to scare us into towing the line.
Why is this writer trying to make us think they are native? Why is this writer connecting us with prostitutes being released into the streets of Kingston? Why is this writer trying to misrepresent the city of Belleville and the Mohawk women from Tyendinaga, as if we are displaying ourselves at the local bars to pick up soldiers? Is this association meant to look like this officer had a motive for picking up an indigenous looking person with dark skin and hair?
Something's seriously wrong here. This writer says that Indigenous are being released into the streets of Kingston. This is not true anymore. The Prison for Women was closed down about ten years ago [Arbour Inquiry Report]. A documentary was made and televised on it. Today Indigenous women are scattered throughout Canada and kept where they are arrested.
This story distorts the relationship between the Mohawks and the Trenton military establishment. There is no love between us. There is no overt underlying hatred between us either. We just don't like trespassers. We did stop that army convoy from going through our community a while ago. The impression being created is that a soldier was so racist that he might have picked her up because he thought she was native, killed her and left her body in the ditch in Tweed.
These kinds of rigged stories are meant to put our women in the position of victims and our men retaliate by terrorism.
Kahentinetha, MNN Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com www.mohawknationnews.com
MNN Commentary (above) on the following misleading story.
Subject: CLASSWAR: [eaglewatch] Trenton Military Commander Charged for Murders of Two Women: Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Another police/military goon serial killer... except this one got
hisself caught. Like his arrogant masters and other goons, he probably
started feeling invincible. The harder they come, eh?
I don't know when the working-class in North American will wake up to
the very real threat these organized killers pose to all of us -- and
not just to people in their colonies. But it won't be happening while
workers continue in their very mistaken support of the likes of the
NDP and Democratic Party, and various union and "community" dis-leaders
- -- who keep us in thrall to this class enemy and their murderous stooges.
Frankly, I hope they hang this guy. From the wing of one of his jet
fighters.
From: "Mrs. Stanley"
Date: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:19:00 -0500
From the Eagle Watch #28
When we first heard about 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd gone missing in
Belleville, we suspected she was dead. We further speculated that it
was a soldier at Trenton who killed her. Someone replied that we were
just saying that cause we're so against the military. We objected that
our speculation is not based on blanket hostility toward military people
but on analysis and observation of the military mentality.
Belleville is a small city in southern Ontario with a high rate of
unemployment. Young women go to Belleville to sell their bodies just as
women desperate for livelihood have done for centuries during hard
times. It's the only way they see to survive. The market for
prostitutes in Belleville is huge with the Trenton Air Base just 20
minutes away.
Soldiers living away from home and family have "needs". They also have
some income to pay for such luxuries and indulgences. It doesn't stop
there.
Soldiers are trained to develop a dehumanizing attitude and to have
contempt for women who are viewed as weak and inferior. The military is
a fertile breeding ground for a chauvinistic outlook that glorifies self
and despises others. War is anti woman and anti life. It is
dehumanizing to the soldiers themselves.
On February 9, 2010, the commander at Trenton, 46-year-old Russell
Williams was arrested and charged for two murders, the missing Jessica
Lloyd whose body was found at Tweed, north of Trenton and another 36
year old woman who herself was a soldier at Trenton. He was charged in
two more cases of sexual assault involving home invasion. In the news
coverage, Williams was not shown shamed and in shackles but chatting
with Defence Minister Peter MacKay who himself looks like a perv.
That's just our opinion but as eagle-eyed grandmothers we read people
like open books. You can bet that Williams will get kid glove treatment
by his peers.
How did this man think he could get away with such horrific antisocial
behaviour? The simple fact is: rape, sexual assault and abuse of women
by military men goes on all the time. It is only when women are
reported missing and dead bodies start turning up that police and media
become involved.
This case is just the tip of the iceberg. How many of Williams'
subordinates admire him and emulate him? What kind of sexist and
racist jokes do they constantly utter, endorsing this dehumanizing
brutality toward women? What goes on at various parties and bars where
alcohol brings out the beast?
Police themselves also feel they can act with impunity in committing
crimes against women. Statistics indicate that both demographics of
military and police commit more domestic violence than the average.
While some foolish women find the uniform "romantic", those in uniform
hide behind its authority. Who can a woman turn to for help under such
circumstances?
Now, with more and more Canadian military people going to war theatres,
this cynical and cruel mentality is becoming ever more widespread. It's
the proverbial chickens coming home to roost. These men are sick and
unfit for normal society and family life. They consider themselves to
be better than everyone else. The matter is hidden from public view yet
it is a growing stinking cancer in society that cannot remain hidden.
There are solutions. It is extremely urgent that we speak out to stop
the growing militarization of society. Too many people are not even
paying attention. The expansion of the Trenton air base now underway,
will double the military population there. What will it take for people
to see what is happening? What magnitude of scale must be reached
before people wake up?
Southern Ontario is on its way to becoming a militarized zone where
only the military have jobs. Kingston, east of Trenton is an
historical military city with another base and the same scenario of
prostitution, strippers and careless young women being victimized.
We are NOT saying that Jessica Lloyd was a hooker. We don't know
anything about her except that she is dead and someone is mourning her
now.
The other long overdue solution is the legalization of the sex trade
workers into safe houses. Known as the "oldest profession",
prostitution is not going away, even in times of permissive sexual
mores where favours are given away. Why not dignify the job and make it
safer for the women and even the young men who choose this line of work?
Kingston is also the site of several prisons where Indigenous people
are released to the streets with nowhere to go. Indigenous women under
the double stigma of gender and race, are especially vulnerable and at
risk. We have to take care of our own. We have to teach our daughters
the truth about the dangers of careless sexual conduct. We must also
teach our sons to respect women. We need better opportunities for
education and livelihood for our children. The military life is not
the answer.
By Kahentintha Horn
Mohawk Nation News
http://www.mohawknationnews.com
The following story is dangeous b.s. meant to associate Mohawks with one of the most horrendous crimes in Canada. Who is this writer serving and what is the real story?
As an Indigenous person, I always look at "pat" stories with a critical eye. This story sounds like the kind of false propaganda that is always being put out about the Mohawks, that our women are prostitutes, are in the prison system, we are criminals, dealing in contraband, etc. These PR stories are put out about us to justify railroading us into jail for the rest of our lives and to demonize us. Often they don't have the right person or the facts. It's meant to scare us into towing the line.
Why is this writer trying to make us think they are native? Why is this writer connecting us with prostitutes being released into the streets of Kingston? Why is this writer trying to misrepresent the city of Belleville and the Mohawk women from Tyendinaga, as if we are displaying ourselves at the local bars to pick up soldiers? Is this association meant to look like this officer had a motive for picking up an indigenous looking person with dark skin and hair?
Something's seriously wrong here. This writer says that Indigenous are being released into the streets of Kingston. This is not true anymore. The Prison for Women was closed down about ten years ago [Arbour Inquiry Report]. A documentary was made and televised on it. Today Indigenous women are scattered throughout Canada and kept where they are arrested.
This story distorts the relationship between the Mohawks and the Trenton military establishment. There is no love between us. There is no overt underlying hatred between us either. We just don't like trespassers. We did stop that army convoy from going through our community a while ago. The impression being created is that a soldier was so racist that he might have picked her up because he thought she was native, killed her and left her body in the ditch in Tweed.
These kinds of rigged stories are meant to put our women in the position of victims and our men retaliate by terrorism.
Kahentinetha, MNN Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com www.mohawknationnews.com
MNN Commentary (above) on the following misleading story.
Subject: CLASSWAR: [eaglewatch] Trenton Military Commander Charged for Murders of Two Women: Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Another police/military goon serial killer... except this one got
hisself caught. Like his arrogant masters and other goons, he probably
started feeling invincible. The harder they come, eh?
I don't know when the working-class in North American will wake up to
the very real threat these organized killers pose to all of us -- and
not just to people in their colonies. But it won't be happening while
workers continue in their very mistaken support of the likes of the
NDP and Democratic Party, and various union and "community" dis-leaders
- -- who keep us in thrall to this class enemy and their murderous stooges.
Frankly, I hope they hang this guy. From the wing of one of his jet
fighters.
From: "Mrs. Stanley"
Date: Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:19:00 -0500
From the Eagle Watch #28
When we first heard about 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd gone missing in
Belleville, we suspected she was dead. We further speculated that it
was a soldier at Trenton who killed her. Someone replied that we were
just saying that cause we're so against the military. We objected that
our speculation is not based on blanket hostility toward military people
but on analysis and observation of the military mentality.
Belleville is a small city in southern Ontario with a high rate of
unemployment. Young women go to Belleville to sell their bodies just as
women desperate for livelihood have done for centuries during hard
times. It's the only way they see to survive. The market for
prostitutes in Belleville is huge with the Trenton Air Base just 20
minutes away.
Soldiers living away from home and family have "needs". They also have
some income to pay for such luxuries and indulgences. It doesn't stop
there.
Soldiers are trained to develop a dehumanizing attitude and to have
contempt for women who are viewed as weak and inferior. The military is
a fertile breeding ground for a chauvinistic outlook that glorifies self
and despises others. War is anti woman and anti life. It is
dehumanizing to the soldiers themselves.
On February 9, 2010, the commander at Trenton, 46-year-old Russell
Williams was arrested and charged for two murders, the missing Jessica
Lloyd whose body was found at Tweed, north of Trenton and another 36
year old woman who herself was a soldier at Trenton. He was charged in
two more cases of sexual assault involving home invasion. In the news
coverage, Williams was not shown shamed and in shackles but chatting
with Defence Minister Peter MacKay who himself looks like a perv.
That's just our opinion but as eagle-eyed grandmothers we read people
like open books. You can bet that Williams will get kid glove treatment
by his peers.
How did this man think he could get away with such horrific antisocial
behaviour? The simple fact is: rape, sexual assault and abuse of women
by military men goes on all the time. It is only when women are
reported missing and dead bodies start turning up that police and media
become involved.
This case is just the tip of the iceberg. How many of Williams'
subordinates admire him and emulate him? What kind of sexist and
racist jokes do they constantly utter, endorsing this dehumanizing
brutality toward women? What goes on at various parties and bars where
alcohol brings out the beast?
Police themselves also feel they can act with impunity in committing
crimes against women. Statistics indicate that both demographics of
military and police commit more domestic violence than the average.
While some foolish women find the uniform "romantic", those in uniform
hide behind its authority. Who can a woman turn to for help under such
circumstances?
Now, with more and more Canadian military people going to war theatres,
this cynical and cruel mentality is becoming ever more widespread. It's
the proverbial chickens coming home to roost. These men are sick and
unfit for normal society and family life. They consider themselves to
be better than everyone else. The matter is hidden from public view yet
it is a growing stinking cancer in society that cannot remain hidden.
There are solutions. It is extremely urgent that we speak out to stop
the growing militarization of society. Too many people are not even
paying attention. The expansion of the Trenton air base now underway,
will double the military population there. What will it take for people
to see what is happening? What magnitude of scale must be reached
before people wake up?
Southern Ontario is on its way to becoming a militarized zone where
only the military have jobs. Kingston, east of Trenton is an
historical military city with another base and the same scenario of
prostitution, strippers and careless young women being victimized.
We are NOT saying that Jessica Lloyd was a hooker. We don't know
anything about her except that she is dead and someone is mourning her
now.
The other long overdue solution is the legalization of the sex trade
workers into safe houses. Known as the "oldest profession",
prostitution is not going away, even in times of permissive sexual
mores where favours are given away. Why not dignify the job and make it
safer for the women and even the young men who choose this line of work?
Kingston is also the site of several prisons where Indigenous people
are released to the streets with nowhere to go. Indigenous women under
the double stigma of gender and race, are especially vulnerable and at
risk. We have to take care of our own. We have to teach our daughters
the truth about the dangers of careless sexual conduct. We must also
teach our sons to respect women. We need better opportunities for
education and livelihood for our children. The military life is not
the answer.
Wells Fargo 'Just says No' to Sheriff Arpaio
Puente Press Release/Contact: Salvador Reza 602 446-9928 http://www.puenteaz.org/
Date: February 10, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
Wells Fargo serves Sheriff Arpaio notice of eviction
“If Well Fargo lets Joe Stay, We will be here everyday”
Chant sung everyday by daily protesters at Wells Fargo Bank
Press Conference
Date: February 9, 2010
Time: 12:00 noon
Location: Corner of 1st Ave and Washington
In Front of Downtown Wells Fargo Bank
After one year and a half of daily demonstrations Wells Fargo sent letter to Maricopa County evicting Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Wells Fargo Property on the 18th and 19th floor. This is the culmination of continuous daily pressure by PUENTE Movement Organizers.
“This is a great victory for the Puente Movement which was responsible for evicting Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Pruitts Furniture Store two years ago.” said Salvador Reza.
The Phoenix New Times reported that Wells Fargo Bank Vice President Leo Bauman sent a letter to Dennis Lindsey, Maricopa County Real Estate Manager, stating that the bank “needs the space for its own use … but Bauman says the bank will waive the contract penalty fee of 12 months’ worth of rent for early termination.”
Rob McElwain who has been demonstrating daily in front of Wells Fargo said, “This is only the beginning. We will continue demonstrating until we evict Sheriff Joe and Andrew Thomas out of Maricopa County Government where they can no longer abuse their power or intimidate Maricopa County residents.” County Attorney Andrew Thomas also occupies two floors in the same building.
The Puente movement had asked the Wells Fargo Bank not to renew Sheriff Joe’s contract but they refused to heed our advice. Now Sheriff Joe is a symbol of repression and intolerance and an embarrassment to Maricopa County and to Law Enforcement Nationwide. Wells Fargo seems to finally have seen the light. However County Attorney Andrew Thomas is equally guilty of abusing our community and should also leave the Wells Fargo Building before we stop targeting Wells Fargo Bank.
Date: February 10, 2010, Phoenix, AZ
Wells Fargo serves Sheriff Arpaio notice of eviction
“If Well Fargo lets Joe Stay, We will be here everyday”
Chant sung everyday by daily protesters at Wells Fargo Bank
Press Conference
Date: February 9, 2010
Time: 12:00 noon
Location: Corner of 1st Ave and Washington
In Front of Downtown Wells Fargo Bank
After one year and a half of daily demonstrations Wells Fargo sent letter to Maricopa County evicting Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Wells Fargo Property on the 18th and 19th floor. This is the culmination of continuous daily pressure by PUENTE Movement Organizers.
“This is a great victory for the Puente Movement which was responsible for evicting Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Pruitts Furniture Store two years ago.” said Salvador Reza.
The Phoenix New Times reported that Wells Fargo Bank Vice President Leo Bauman sent a letter to Dennis Lindsey, Maricopa County Real Estate Manager, stating that the bank “needs the space for its own use … but Bauman says the bank will waive the contract penalty fee of 12 months’ worth of rent for early termination.”
Rob McElwain who has been demonstrating daily in front of Wells Fargo said, “This is only the beginning. We will continue demonstrating until we evict Sheriff Joe and Andrew Thomas out of Maricopa County Government where they can no longer abuse their power or intimidate Maricopa County residents.” County Attorney Andrew Thomas also occupies two floors in the same building.
The Puente movement had asked the Wells Fargo Bank not to renew Sheriff Joe’s contract but they refused to heed our advice. Now Sheriff Joe is a symbol of repression and intolerance and an embarrassment to Maricopa County and to Law Enforcement Nationwide. Wells Fargo seems to finally have seen the light. However County Attorney Andrew Thomas is equally guilty of abusing our community and should also leave the Wells Fargo Building before we stop targeting Wells Fargo Bank.
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