Julie Cavanaugh-Bill, Western Shoshone Defense Project (775) 397-6726
Dan Randolph, Great Basin Resource Watch, (775) 348-1986
Barack In, Barrick Out!
On Inauguration Day, U.S. Court to Hear Shoshone Request to Stop Mine Expansion at Spiritual Mountain
By Western Shoshone Defense Project
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
RENO, Nev. -- At 9:00 a.m. this morning (PST), Tuesday, the Federal District Court in Reno, Nevada will begin a two day injunction hearing to protect the world-recognized Shoshone spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo from what would be one of the U.S.’ largest open pit cyanide heap leach gold mines. Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of the mine, wholly owned and operated by Canadian multinational mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch filed suit immediately and a partial temporary restraining order was put in place in early December. Mt. Tenabo is home to local Shoshone creation stories, spirit life, medicinal, food and ceremonial rocks and plants and continues to be used to this day by Shoshone for spiritual ceremonies and cultural practices. Over the years, tens of thousands of individuals and organizations from across the United States and around the world have joined with the Shoshone and voiced their opposition to this mine –in fact, the mine is being referred to as the “most opposed mine in the world”.
Barrick, the world’s largest gold mining company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, plans to construct and operate the mine, known as the Cortez Hills Expansion Project. The Project area is located entirely within the territory of the Western Shoshone Nation, recognized in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. The Mine would blast and excavate a new massive open pit on Mount Tenabo over 900 acres in size, with a depth of over 2,000 feet. It would include several new waste disposal and processing facilities (including a cyanide heap-leaching facility), consisting of approximately 1,577 million tons of waste rock, 53 million tons of tailings material, and 112 million tons of spent heap leach material. The Mine would include an extensive groundwater pumping system to dewater Mount Tenabo (in order to keep the open pit and mine workings dry during mining) and associated water pipelines that will transport the pumped water away from Mount Tenabo. In total, the mine would permanently destroy approximately 6,800 acres land on and around Mount Tenabo, over 90% of which is classified as federal “public” land.
“Martin Luther King had a dream, Shoshone people have a nightmare. Barack is being inaugurated, Shoshone are being intimidated. Shoshone religion lives not in a building, but in a clean environment..” Says Larson Bill, Vice-Chairman of the South Fork Western Shoshone. “Mt. Tenabo is a specific area of spiritual significance for thousands of years hopefully our new President will support a change in favor of protection. Barack In. Barrick Out.” “There are dozens of active gold mines on Western Shoshone lands already, there is no need for this one, which is clearly immoral and irresponsible. The public should be aware that Nevada is not a waste land, but is the home of ranchers, sportsmen, fishermen and homesteaders that have enjoyed the lands alongside the Shoshone people for generations. We have been clear in our opposition to this mine and while Barrick trys to cloud the real issues with gifts and money, we continue to oppose this project – they have not bought our people, the traditions nor the lands of the Shoshone.” he adds.
The proposed mine area has been found by the BLM, in repeated ethnographic studies, as being of extreme spiritual and cultural importance to the Western Shoshone. One report says: “Mt. Tenabo is one of a system of three mountains in the (Western Shoshone) homeland, … it is also considered a traditional locus of power and source of life, and figures in creation stories and world renewal. As the tallest mountain in the area – the most likely to capture snow and generate water to grow pinyon and nourish life – it is literally a life-giver. Water is to earth what blood is to the body, and these subterranean waterways are likened to the earth’s arteries and veins.”
Just before Thanksgiving, a group of Shoshone grandmothers came together and held a Day of Resistance at the mountain. “The whole area is a temple”. Stated one of the grandmothers, Mary McCloud. The grandmothers’ will be coming together again at 8 a.m. each morning before the Federal Court House in Reno. Religious leaders from different faith backgrounds will be joining the Shoshone in the public demonstrations. The address is the Bruce D. Thompson Federal Building, 400 S. Virginia St., Reno, Nevada.
While the hearings are held in Reno, back at the mountain, some of the Shoshone men have built an arbor where they will be holding a 24 hour encampment and watch throughout the court hearing.
The plaintiffs are being represented in court by Roger Flynn and Jeffrey Parsons of the non-profit legal firm, the Western Mining Action Project, which specializes in mining law.
For more information on the Western Shoshone land rights issues, Cortez Hills Project, Mount Tenabo, and the legal challenge go to www.gbrw.org.
WHAT YOU CAN DO AS WE AWAIT THE COURT’s DECISION: We need supporters and media at both of the following locations:
1. Attend the Public Demonstration to Protect Native Spiritual Areas and Human Rights in front of the Courthouse on S. Virginia Street beginning at 8 am on both Jan. 20th and 21st.
2. Attend the Mt. Tenabo encampment and Arbor Vigil which began Thursday Jan. 15th and is lasting through the following week of hearings at the gathering area on the Southeast flank facing Grass Valley, Nevada. (Contact wsdp@igc.org for directions and supplies needed) (Beowawe/Crescent Valley exit of I-80, then south through Crescent Valley, turn left before Pipeline mine – head towards Grass Valley through Cortez Canyon, after leaving canyon look for large green army tent about a mile after exiting the canyon). Please remember NO Drugs, Alcohol or Firearms and – Respect the Mutual Court Order to refrain from disturbing the mine employees as they refrain also from disturbing us – stay away from operations at a minimum of 200 yards. The Court hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday is important and we must respect the mutual temporary restraining order. Report in to Mike Miller upon arrival.
January 19, 2009
Angelou: Martin Luther King and the power of race unity
Maya Angelou: King and Malcolm killed once they included all races of oppressed people in the movement
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
In tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., on his day, Censored News quotes Maya Angelou, from an interview with Rosa Guy:
"There was a qualitative growth in Martin Luther King. To me, having just to see him grow from the American Civil Rights Movement, the passive resistance, the non-violent resistance, and to see him grow into one going to Africa, meeting with Nkrumah, return, broadening his sight to include all oppressed people (which is why he was killed, of course), so that his poor people's march said, 'I want Black people, poor white, native American, Mexican American, Asian American; I want everybody who is poor, downtrodden and oppressed, come. We will sit in Washington.' I believe this is why Malcolm was killed. When Malcolm said, 'I no longer believe that by nature a person is born evil. I have seen blue-eyed, blond-haired men who I can call brother with a straight face and an open heart.' The minute he said that, he had to be done. If he
had kept narrow, he would have remained, you know?"Angelou speaks of the movements that followed and how those movements became focused on being "safe," after the massacre of students at Kent State. The women's movement and the free student movement seemed to be safe movements, she said.
"If they were all white, if they were not involved with the Blacks, they thought they wouldn't be killed. And they were right."
From Writing Lives, Conversations Between Women Writers, edited by Mary Chamberlain, Virago Press, 1988.
January 18, 2009
Pyramid Lake protest, photos by Bad Bear
Paiutes and supporters protested at Pyramid Lake as a non-Indian leasee is holding cultural items hostage. Photos by Carl "Bad Bear" Sampson, Paiute/Western ShoshoneSpecial thanks to cellphoneographer Carl "Bad Bear" Sampson for providing Censored News with photos and video from the Paiute protest to protect cultural items at Pyramid Lake. Paiute said Pyramid Lake Marina operator Thomas Bobella is holding them hostage or even worse. "My concern is that Mr. Bobella or members of his staff are mishandling them, damaging them or even selling them," says tribal member Wayne Burke. Quote from KOLO TV coverage at: http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/37747474.html
Bad Bear has provided Censored News with coverage on the Longest Walk northern route, Peace and Dignity Run in Arizona and now the Paiutes action to protect Pyramid Lake. Thank you!
Demonstration to protect Western Shoshone's Mount Tenabo
Western Shoshone Defense Project
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
www.wsdp.org
Contact: Julie Cavanaugh-Bill (775-397-6726), wsdp@igc.org
Dan Randolph (775-348-1986), dan@gbrw.org
Hearing to Stop Further Mining at Tenabo
Demonstration and News Conference to Protect Native Religions
Where: Gordon R. Thompson Federal Bldg. (S. Virginia and Liberty)
When: Tuesday, January 20, 8:00 AM
On this day of the inauguration of a new president with hope for the future we are reminded that the founding fathers of the United States dedicated into our constitution freedom to practice religion as ones tradition required.
Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking an injunction to stop further destruction of Mt. Tenabo by Barrick Gold Corporation. The Federal Court in Reno has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 20th and 21st.
The peaceful and respectful demonstration will open with native drumming, song, and prayer. Western Shoshone elders will speak, and supporting local religious leaders will follow. Just before 9:00 AM the demonstration will close and all supporters will be invited to attend as much of the injunctive hearing as they can in support of religious freedom. There will also be a similar demonstration at the same time on January 21.
“Denabo (correct pronunciation) has special significance for Western Shoshone, it means the writing on the rocks walls of the mountain (White Cliffs) put there by our Creator. We go to pray to our Creator to give us strength to keep us going. How can we pray to our creator when the place is being blown up?” - Joyce McDade, Western Shoshone Grandmother
“When God makes a covenant to provide for human beings, the covenant always includes the land. Our well-being as a species is conditioned upon our capacity to love and care for the land. Native American communities and their spiritual practices have enlightened our way to this love and care.”– John Auer, Reverend First United Methodist Church, Reno NV.
Barrick Gold Corporation is the world’s largest gold company and operates mainly on Indigenous lands for the extraction of gold. This company has refused to accept its social responsibility to protect Indigenous peoples’ land, sacred areas, water, and air pollution.
This destruction of Indigenous spiritual areas must stop now.
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
www.wsdp.org
Contact: Julie Cavanaugh-Bill (775-397-6726), wsdp@igc.org
Dan Randolph (775-348-1986), dan@gbrw.org
Hearing to Stop Further Mining at Tenabo
Demonstration and News Conference to Protect Native Religions
Where: Gordon R. Thompson Federal Bldg. (S. Virginia and Liberty)
When: Tuesday, January 20, 8:00 AM
On this day of the inauguration of a new president with hope for the future we are reminded that the founding fathers of the United States dedicated into our constitution freedom to practice religion as ones tradition required.
Just two months ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved the construction of a massive open pit cyanide heap leach gold mine on the face of well-known spiritual area, Mt. Tenabo. Western Shoshone communities, the Western Shoshone Defense Project and Great Basin Resource Watch are seeking an injunction to stop further destruction of Mt. Tenabo by Barrick Gold Corporation. The Federal Court in Reno has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 20th and 21st.
The peaceful and respectful demonstration will open with native drumming, song, and prayer. Western Shoshone elders will speak, and supporting local religious leaders will follow. Just before 9:00 AM the demonstration will close and all supporters will be invited to attend as much of the injunctive hearing as they can in support of religious freedom. There will also be a similar demonstration at the same time on January 21.
“Denabo (correct pronunciation) has special significance for Western Shoshone, it means the writing on the rocks walls of the mountain (White Cliffs) put there by our Creator. We go to pray to our Creator to give us strength to keep us going. How can we pray to our creator when the place is being blown up?” - Joyce McDade, Western Shoshone Grandmother
“When God makes a covenant to provide for human beings, the covenant always includes the land. Our well-being as a species is conditioned upon our capacity to love and care for the land. Native American communities and their spiritual practices have enlightened our way to this love and care.”– John Auer, Reverend First United Methodist Church, Reno NV.
Barrick Gold Corporation is the world’s largest gold company and operates mainly on Indigenous lands for the extraction of gold. This company has refused to accept its social responsibility to protect Indigenous peoples’ land, sacred areas, water, and air pollution.
This destruction of Indigenous spiritual areas must stop now.
January 16, 2009
Mohawk Nation News: Showdown at the Western Door
SHOWDOWN AT THE “WESTERN DOOR”: SENECA V. NEW YORK STATE
Mohawk Nation News
Jan. 16, 2009. The Seneca Nation of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, Iroquois Confederacy, are demanding that the colonial state of New York stop illegally operating an unlawful business on our territory – which is the Interstate Thruway #90. It is an unlawful business on our land. At the same time NYS is trying to destroy a significant part of the Nation’s economy by imposing illegal taxes. They have no jurisdiction over Ongwehonwe or our territories which is all of New York State and beyond. Every inch of Onowaregeh, Turtle Island, is unsurrendered Ongwehone territory. The U.S. and Canada are colonies that have no land. They are illegal occupiers.
The trusteeship of the territory in the people is affirmed in the constitution known as the Kaianerehkowa, the Great Law of Peace, which is the true law of the land.
The Seneca Nation and New York State clashed back in 1992 and 1997 leading to civil unrest in the local Seneca communities of Allegheny and Cattaraugus. With a February 13th 2009 deadline looming for collection of taxes on cigarettes sold to Ongwehonwe communities by wholesalers, the Seneca Nation is preparing for another clash with NYS. Speaking for the Seneca of the “Western Door”, Barry Snyder says the people will take any action necessary to protect its people, economy and way of life. In the 1997 clash NYS spent $30 million to bring in heavily armed troopers and tactical squads into our communities. Physical assaults were committed against women, children and men. [Shades of Palestine!] Thruway #90 was closed. Tires were burnt. Charges were laid against some of our people. Then NYS Gov. George Pataki backed off and rescinded any enforcement efforts to collect NYS taxes or impose tax law on us and our land.
The Senecas are now devising a system to collect tolls on the NYS Thruway through Irving. People are being urged to stockpile basic needs. Up to $1 million of Seneca money is being set aside for emergency response. And the Seneca are petitioning U.S. President Obama for federal protection from NY State and respect for our jurisdiction.
To be legal the Thruway requires a license from the Seneca Nation whose territory it’s on. Billions of dollars that should be going to the Seneca are being poured into NYS’s economy. The landowners get nothing. In response to the latest affront to our sovereignty, on April 14, 2007 the Seneca rescinded the 1954 agreement with NYS to use Nation territory for its highway. Outstanding is the compensation for past land use which NYS refuses to pay. Since May 12, 2007, $1 has been assessed on each motorist using the Thruway, leaving NYS $20,247,557 in arrears.
As if that’s not bad enough, to put pressure on us to submit, NYS is once again taking illegal actions to impose an embargo on tobacco products. This is a direct threat to the people who are recovering from the economic devastation imposed on us by the state and federal governments. Since Sullivan destroyed the agricultural industry of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, tobacco has been one of the most successful economic endeavors of our people. It has emerged from our traditional cultivation, trade and commerce traditions. Our people have every right to take all actions necessary to protect and defend our freedom, economy and unsurrendered sovereignty and territories.
The $1 million being set aside for “emergency response personnel” is to provide access to medical care, ensure that children get to school, and that all residents can go about their daily lives without interference. People are stockpiling everything. The history of our relations with NYS has been troubled from the start. NYS has tried to interfere with our treaty rights to tax-free commerce twice in the last few years. The only responsible approach is to protect our people by preparing for the worst.
The people have instructed their Planning Department to build a system to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway. The Seneca also intend to increase the current per-car toll to $2. They also filed an action in the Seneca tribal courts to declare that the Thruway is an illegal invasion of sovereign Seneca territory.
The Seneca are asking U.S. President Obama to respect the provisions of the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 to provide protection for the Seneca from the crimes being committed against us by NYS. Obama probably does no know the history of our relationship with the British and U.S. invaders. We never agreed to become British subjects, or NYS or U.S. citizens. Our relations have been highly irregular especially since the American Revolution of 1776. It’s time to stop the abuse and set things right.
On December 15, 2008 NYS Gov. David A. Paterson illegally signed a law to subjugate the commerce of all Ongwehone communities under the authority of NYS. We don’t know what theory of legality he is operating on. You can be sure it’s not based on human equality or the principles set out in international law and the U.S. Constitution, for that matter. NYS would never abide by Canadian laws if Canada ever chose to colonize New York. By a temporary order of State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers, his law cannot be enforced. A hearing is set for January 27, 2009 to decide whether a permanent injunction should be issued against NYS to stop it from implementing illegal policies.
The actions by NYS Gov. Paterson look like a deliberate attempt to fuel anti-Ongwehonwe sentiment. He is drawing a line where none should be. He is refusing to respect legitimate Ongwehonwe jurisdiction and boundaries. There’s no sign that NYS intends to respect the law. NYS is on a collision course as before. NYS should know by now that the Seneca will not stand down. We will unite and fight for the right to support our families and to protect our homes and territories. [Send your comments to www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com]
Karakwine, MNN Mohawk Nation News Staff, www.mohawknationnews.com jmkane1220@aol.com Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “New York State” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Contact: NYS Gov. David A. Paterson 518-474-8390 www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/index.html; president@whitehouse.gov ; US Dept. Justice askdoj@usdoj.gov; European Union public.info@consilium.eu.int ; Mohawk Nat Council Chiefs mohawkna@slic.com; OAS multimedia@oas.org ; UN Comm Human Rights tb-petitions@ohchr.org ; IMF mschrader@imf.org; hotline@worldbank.org ; info@gatt.org; supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org ; prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr ;
Mohawk Nation News
Jan. 16, 2009. The Seneca Nation of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, Iroquois Confederacy, are demanding that the colonial state of New York stop illegally operating an unlawful business on our territory – which is the Interstate Thruway #90. It is an unlawful business on our land. At the same time NYS is trying to destroy a significant part of the Nation’s economy by imposing illegal taxes. They have no jurisdiction over Ongwehonwe or our territories which is all of New York State and beyond. Every inch of Onowaregeh, Turtle Island, is unsurrendered Ongwehone territory. The U.S. and Canada are colonies that have no land. They are illegal occupiers.
The trusteeship of the territory in the people is affirmed in the constitution known as the Kaianerehkowa, the Great Law of Peace, which is the true law of the land.
The Seneca Nation and New York State clashed back in 1992 and 1997 leading to civil unrest in the local Seneca communities of Allegheny and Cattaraugus. With a February 13th 2009 deadline looming for collection of taxes on cigarettes sold to Ongwehonwe communities by wholesalers, the Seneca Nation is preparing for another clash with NYS. Speaking for the Seneca of the “Western Door”, Barry Snyder says the people will take any action necessary to protect its people, economy and way of life. In the 1997 clash NYS spent $30 million to bring in heavily armed troopers and tactical squads into our communities. Physical assaults were committed against women, children and men. [Shades of Palestine!] Thruway #90 was closed. Tires were burnt. Charges were laid against some of our people. Then NYS Gov. George Pataki backed off and rescinded any enforcement efforts to collect NYS taxes or impose tax law on us and our land.
The Senecas are now devising a system to collect tolls on the NYS Thruway through Irving. People are being urged to stockpile basic needs. Up to $1 million of Seneca money is being set aside for emergency response. And the Seneca are petitioning U.S. President Obama for federal protection from NY State and respect for our jurisdiction.
To be legal the Thruway requires a license from the Seneca Nation whose territory it’s on. Billions of dollars that should be going to the Seneca are being poured into NYS’s economy. The landowners get nothing. In response to the latest affront to our sovereignty, on April 14, 2007 the Seneca rescinded the 1954 agreement with NYS to use Nation territory for its highway. Outstanding is the compensation for past land use which NYS refuses to pay. Since May 12, 2007, $1 has been assessed on each motorist using the Thruway, leaving NYS $20,247,557 in arrears.
As if that’s not bad enough, to put pressure on us to submit, NYS is once again taking illegal actions to impose an embargo on tobacco products. This is a direct threat to the people who are recovering from the economic devastation imposed on us by the state and federal governments. Since Sullivan destroyed the agricultural industry of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, tobacco has been one of the most successful economic endeavors of our people. It has emerged from our traditional cultivation, trade and commerce traditions. Our people have every right to take all actions necessary to protect and defend our freedom, economy and unsurrendered sovereignty and territories.
The $1 million being set aside for “emergency response personnel” is to provide access to medical care, ensure that children get to school, and that all residents can go about their daily lives without interference. People are stockpiling everything. The history of our relations with NYS has been troubled from the start. NYS has tried to interfere with our treaty rights to tax-free commerce twice in the last few years. The only responsible approach is to protect our people by preparing for the worst.
The people have instructed their Planning Department to build a system to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway. The Seneca also intend to increase the current per-car toll to $2. They also filed an action in the Seneca tribal courts to declare that the Thruway is an illegal invasion of sovereign Seneca territory.
The Seneca are asking U.S. President Obama to respect the provisions of the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 to provide protection for the Seneca from the crimes being committed against us by NYS. Obama probably does no know the history of our relationship with the British and U.S. invaders. We never agreed to become British subjects, or NYS or U.S. citizens. Our relations have been highly irregular especially since the American Revolution of 1776. It’s time to stop the abuse and set things right.
On December 15, 2008 NYS Gov. David A. Paterson illegally signed a law to subjugate the commerce of all Ongwehone communities under the authority of NYS. We don’t know what theory of legality he is operating on. You can be sure it’s not based on human equality or the principles set out in international law and the U.S. Constitution, for that matter. NYS would never abide by Canadian laws if Canada ever chose to colonize New York. By a temporary order of State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers, his law cannot be enforced. A hearing is set for January 27, 2009 to decide whether a permanent injunction should be issued against NYS to stop it from implementing illegal policies.
The actions by NYS Gov. Paterson look like a deliberate attempt to fuel anti-Ongwehonwe sentiment. He is drawing a line where none should be. He is refusing to respect legitimate Ongwehonwe jurisdiction and boundaries. There’s no sign that NYS intends to respect the law. NYS is on a collision course as before. NYS should know by now that the Seneca will not stand down. We will unite and fight for the right to support our families and to protect our homes and territories. [Send your comments to www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com]
Karakwine, MNN Mohawk Nation News Staff, www.mohawknationnews.com jmkane1220@aol.com Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “New York State” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Contact: NYS Gov. David A. Paterson 518-474-8390 www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/index.html; president@whitehouse.gov ; US Dept. Justice askdoj@usdoj.gov; European Union public.info@consilium.eu.int ; Mohawk Nat Council Chiefs mohawkna@slic.com; OAS multimedia@oas.org ; UN Comm Human Rights tb-petitions@ohchr.org ; IMF mschrader@imf.org; hotline@worldbank.org ; info@gatt.org; supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org ; prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr ;
Apartheid Borders: Palestine and Indian Country
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Julia Good Fox, Pawnee, describes the parallels between the ongoing genocide in Palestine, carried out by Israel with US support, and the genocide of Native Americans by the colonizers of the US. Good Fox describes the theft of land by the invaders, human rights abuses and complicit media.
Julia Good Fox, Pawnee, describes the parallels between the ongoing genocide in Palestine, carried out by Israel with US support, and the genocide of Native Americans by the colonizers of the US. Good Fox describes the theft of land by the invaders, human rights abuses and complicit media.
Good Fox, professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine as a member of the Third World Delegation, which was joined by a Quaker delegation. In this segment, rebroadcast with permission from American Indian Airwaves,
Good Fox describes her first reality in Israel and the militarization of the region, with young armed soldiers a constant presence.
Good Fox was a member of the Third World Delegation, which she describes as a delegation of color. She said people of color received different treatment from the soldiers.
"Our group was often singled out."
During the fact-finding mission, Good Fox was present at the Apartheid Wall, where every Friday, Palestinians protest. "We were tear-gassed," Good Fox said. Although there were European politicians present with her, the group was shot at with metal rubber-tipped bullets.
While there, Good Fox remembered her own Native American ancestors and what they experienced at the hands of the soldiers. She listened to the stories of the Palestinians who were forced from their villages and farmlands by Israel. In a wave of memory, she realizes that this is what happened to her own Native American ancestors. She realized what they would have felt when they were forced to leave their homes for the last time.
"We saw the similarities when we were in Palestine."
Good Fox said in the ongoing invasion of Palestine, she feels outrage "that Israel, with United States sponsorship, is allowed to get away with this."
The one-sided media in the United States is also responsible, she said.
While in Palestine, she watched as people were taking care of their parents, going to school and trying to live normal lives. They were defenseless against Israel, she said.
"It is the largest prison in the world. The people are just sitting ducks for this big show of military might."
While meeting with people forced to evacuate their villages, she listened to the stories of farmers and villagers now barred from their village by a fence. Where they once farmed, Israelis now picked fruits. In another community, she describes the destruction of a Palestinian village, in ruins now, where Israelis swim.
"It was the only time I broke down and cried." Walking on that trail, she remembered her own Native American ancestors as they were forced out of their villages and took one last look.
Good Fox describes the human rights violations being committed by Israel with support from the United States, including the murder of women and children, high fatalities, incarcerations and destruction of property. There is also a great deal of environmental damage.
Of Palestine and Indian Country, she said there are striking similarities of abuse. It centers on land theft. The shrinkage of Palestinian controlled land follows the pattern of the US seizure of American Indian lands. There is another similarity as well. Palestinians are discouraged from speaking Arabic in public, as Native Americans have long been forced to stop speaking their own languages.
Families have also been separated by the Apartheid Wall cutting through their own territories, in the same manner that the US/Mexico Apartheid Wall is now slicing through the Indigenous communities along the US/Mexico border, including the homelands of the Tohono O'odham. Both Apartheid Walls, in Palestine and the US, now violate Indigenous patterns of migrations.
Referring to Elbit Systems in Israel, she points out that the same corporation constructing the Apartheid Wall in Israel now has a contract for construction of the US/Mexico Border Wall.
Good Fox points out the media coverage of Palestinians has failed to report the struggle for self-determination and sovereignty. In a similar manner, the media has also been unsympathetic to Native Americans' struggle for self-determination. Another parallel between Palestine and Indian Country are the "unrecognized villages," in northern Palestine. In the same manner, some Indian Nations in the US remain unrecognized by the US government.
There are similarities as well between the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). In Palestine, she said common men and women distrust the PNA and said it is not serving the best interest of the Palestinians.
In Palestine, she said people wake up one day and there is a bulldozer at the door. Homes are being demolished and the homes are all gone within a week.
Good Fox hopes now, following the fact finding mission, there will be an exchange of information about cultures, with Native Americans sharing their own experiences with the ongoing colonization.
But it is clear that what is happening in Palestine is genocide, she said.
Good Fox also describes how the colonization continues in the United States, with American Indian children forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the US in schools. In Oklahoma, there is a movement by SPIRIT, which opposes elementary schools that compel Indian children to dress up like the pioneers who stole Native American lands. Meanwhile, in the US, schools continue to promote a curriculum of genocide and colonization.
Good Fox points out that Native Americans are taught to identify with the US and military. At the same time, many Native Americans know little of their own treaties and cultures.
"That is a form of genocide."
Although the United Nations has issued documents recognizing the rights of Palestinians, there has been no enforcement.
Good Fox encourages those who want to understand the parallels between the genocide in Palestine and Indian Country, to undertake research, become involved in human rights, read literature and become informed from sources outside the mainstream press. There are also internships and opportunities to volunteer in Palestine. Further, Native Americans can have dialogues with their own tribal councils and share facts.
In closing, Good Fox points out that the millions of dollars that the US is sending to fund Israel's military could be used at the university where she is a professor, Haskell Indian Nations University, and other schools. It could also be used to fund the Indian Health Service.
Pointing out the high rate of Native Americans joining the US military, she asked, "Why are we supporting the US military?"
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