Monday, 24 October 2011
Boone, NC--Over the last two weeks, Forrest Yerman has sat in Plemmons Student Union during his lunch break behind a table and a trifold that read “Free Leonard Peltier.”
Yerman, an English graduate student, said his goal was to raise student awareness of the wrongful imprisonment of a Native American activist.
“Very few people know about him,” he said. “You don’t learn about him in high school classes or most college-level history courses. You have to be in a specific environment to hear about him.”
Yerman said he is trying to bring that specific environment to Boone by helping to promote the Free Leonard Peltier movement.
Read more >>>
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
White House Tribal Conference
WASHINGTON – For the third year in a row, President Barack Obama will host a gathering of tribal leaders in the nation’s capital to address concerns of American Indian citizens.
The White House announced today that a “White House Tribal Nations Conference” is scheduled to take place on Friday, December 2 at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“As part of President Obama’s ongoing outreach to the American people, this conference will provide leaders from the 565 federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with the President and representatives from the highest levels of his administration,” according to a statement from the White House. “This will be the third White House Tribal Nations Conference for the Obama Administration, and continues to build upon the President’s commitment to strengthen the nation to nation relationship with Indian country.”
As in the past, each federally recognized tribe is being invited to send one representative to attend the meeting.
The White House said additional details about the conference will be released at a later date.
NOTE: The LPDOC will establish a presence at the Department of the Interior on Leonard Peltier's behalf again this year. Stay tuned for further details.
The White House announced today that a “White House Tribal Nations Conference” is scheduled to take place on Friday, December 2 at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“As part of President Obama’s ongoing outreach to the American people, this conference will provide leaders from the 565 federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with the President and representatives from the highest levels of his administration,” according to a statement from the White House. “This will be the third White House Tribal Nations Conference for the Obama Administration, and continues to build upon the President’s commitment to strengthen the nation to nation relationship with Indian country.”
As in the past, each federally recognized tribe is being invited to send one representative to attend the meeting.
The White House said additional details about the conference will be released at a later date.
NOTE: The LPDOC will establish a presence at the Department of the Interior on Leonard Peltier's behalf again this year. Stay tuned for further details.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Stand Up for The People; Stand Up for Leonard Peltier
From Occupy Vancouver:
We, the Ninety-Nine Percent, come together with our diverse experiences to transform the unequal, unfair, and growing disparity in the distribution of power and wealth in our city and around the globe. We challenge corporate greed, corruption, and the collusion between corporate power and government. We oppose systemic inequality, militarization, environmental destruction, and the erosion of civil liberties and human rights. We seek economic security, genuine equality, and the protection of the environment for all.
We are inspired and in solidarity with global movements including those across the Middle East, Europe, and the Occupy Wall Street / Occupy Together movement in over 1000 cities in North America. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.
We humbly acknowledge that Occupy Vancouver is taking place on unceded Coast Salish territories.
We are committed to an inclusive and welcoming space, to addressing issues of oppression and discrimination, and to creating an environment where all the 99% can be heard and can meaningfully participate. We are also committed to safeguarding our collective well-being – including safety from interpersonal violence and any potential police violence.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a working statement that we know will evolve as #OccupyVancouver grows and flourishes. Our demands and our dreams are not limited to this statement as we have many ideas and solutions. As stated by #OccupyTogether, no one group, person, or website could ever speak for this diverse gathering of individuals.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Rally in SF: Tell Obama to Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline
The Keystone XL pipeline is one of the dirtiest and most dangerous projects on the planet. If built, it would be a fuse to the second-largest store of carbon in the world, the Canadian tar sands -- and potential spills along the pipeline route would threaten the largest freshwater aquifer in the United States. Indian Country will be affected in catastrophic ways--the Nations in South Dakota, in particular.
But here's the good news: we have a fighting chance to stop this pipeline. The decision to build -- or cancel -- the Keystone XL lies with President Obama alone. This time, he can't hide behind a dysfunctional senate or a broken political system.
The campaign is reaching a tipping point: in the last week there was a front-page article in the Washington Post, an amazing video op-ed from Robert Redford in the New York Times, and grassroots activists are taking a stand against the pipeline just about everywhere Obama goes.
In the San Francisco Bay Area
What: President Obama "YES YOU CAN Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline" rally
Where: 3rd St. and Howard St., across from the W Hotel
When: Tuesday, October 25th - 11:30 am
Why: Because Keystone XL isn't CHANGE!
For more information, visit TarSandsAction.org.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
UN Torture Investigator Calls on Nations to End Solitary Confinement
UN Torture Investigator Calls on Nations to End Solitary Confinement
October 19, 2011
by Jean Casella and James Ridgeway
The UN’s torture investigator, Juan Mendez, yesterday called on UN members nations to ban nearly all uses of solitary confinement in prisons, warning that is causes serious mental and physical harm and often amounts to torture. Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment, presented a written report on solitary confinement to the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee, which singled out for criticism the routine use of supermax isolation in the United States. He also gave a press conference and participated in a forum with American civil rights and human rights groups.
As Reuters reports, Mendez stated that solitary confinement “‘can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment, during pretrial detention, indefinitely or for a prolonged period, for persons with mental disabilities or juveniles.’” He continued, “‘Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, supermax, the hole, secure housing unit…whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by states as a punishment or extortion (of information) technique.’”
Mendez was precise in defining solitary confinement, and in outlining the limitations that should be placed on its use. He stated:
“I am of the view that juveniles, given their physical and mental immaturity, should never be subjected to solitary confinement. Equally, in order not to exacerbate a previously existing mental condition, individuals with mental disabilities should be provided with proper medical or psychiatric care and under no circumstances should they ever be subjected to solitary confinement. My recommendations are, first, to see if we can have a complete ban on prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement. And I more or less arbitrarily defined that as anything beyond 15 days of solitary confinement, meaning someone being confined to a cell for at least 22 hours a day.”
As Reuters reports, “Mendez told reporters he conceded that short-term solitary confinement was admissible under certain circumstances, such as the protection of lesbian, gay or bisexual detainees or people who had fallen foul of prison gangs. But he said there was ‘no justification for using it as a penalty, because that’s an inhumane penalty.’”
Mendez made reference to the case of accused WikiLeaker Bradley Manning, who spent after eight months in solitary at a military brig in Virginia before being moved to general population to await court-martial. Mendez said he “planned to issue a report on Manning and other cases in the next few weeks.”
Mendez also told reporters that he himself had spent three days in solitary in the 1970s in his native Argentina, then under military dictatorship, and they were “the three longest days in my life.”
October 19, 2011
by Jean Casella and James Ridgeway
The UN’s torture investigator, Juan Mendez, yesterday called on UN members nations to ban nearly all uses of solitary confinement in prisons, warning that is causes serious mental and physical harm and often amounts to torture. Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment, presented a written report on solitary confinement to the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee, which singled out for criticism the routine use of supermax isolation in the United States. He also gave a press conference and participated in a forum with American civil rights and human rights groups.
As Reuters reports, Mendez stated that solitary confinement “‘can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment, during pretrial detention, indefinitely or for a prolonged period, for persons with mental disabilities or juveniles.’” He continued, “‘Segregation, isolation, separation, cellular, lockdown, supermax, the hole, secure housing unit…whatever the name, solitary confinement should be banned by states as a punishment or extortion (of information) technique.’”
Mendez was precise in defining solitary confinement, and in outlining the limitations that should be placed on its use. He stated:
“I am of the view that juveniles, given their physical and mental immaturity, should never be subjected to solitary confinement. Equally, in order not to exacerbate a previously existing mental condition, individuals with mental disabilities should be provided with proper medical or psychiatric care and under no circumstances should they ever be subjected to solitary confinement. My recommendations are, first, to see if we can have a complete ban on prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement. And I more or less arbitrarily defined that as anything beyond 15 days of solitary confinement, meaning someone being confined to a cell for at least 22 hours a day.”
As Reuters reports, “Mendez told reporters he conceded that short-term solitary confinement was admissible under certain circumstances, such as the protection of lesbian, gay or bisexual detainees or people who had fallen foul of prison gangs. But he said there was ‘no justification for using it as a penalty, because that’s an inhumane penalty.’”
Mendez made reference to the case of accused WikiLeaker Bradley Manning, who spent after eight months in solitary at a military brig in Virginia before being moved to general population to await court-martial. Mendez said he “planned to issue a report on Manning and other cases in the next few weeks.”
Mendez also told reporters that he himself had spent three days in solitary in the 1970s in his native Argentina, then under military dictatorship, and they were “the three longest days in my life.”
Friday, October 14, 2011
Airing Tonight: Young Dreamers and Survivors of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Image via Wikipedia Diane Sawyer Takes an In-Depth look at the Young Dreamers and Survivors of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Fighting Against Decades of Neglect Airing Friday, October 14, 10 pm ET/9 pm CST on ABC.Diane Sawyer travels to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where some of the proudest Americans, living in unthinkable conditions, refuse to be defeated: a young girl filled with “American Idol” dreams, yet facing a life-changing reality; a high school quarterback whose strength and spirit knows no bounds; a magical little girl filled with hope. For over a year, as she has done with the poverty-stricken children from parts of Appalachia and Camden, New Jersey, Sawyer and her team followed young fighters and dreamers, this time from the Lakota Indian Tribe in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, living in the shadows of Mount Rushmore. A once-mighty people desperately trying to hold on, Sawyer finds that even with all of its grinding poverty and alcoholism, it’s a place from which warriors can still rise. Diane Sawyer Investigates – “A Hidden America : Children of the Plains” airs on “20/20″, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Read More… http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/10/diane-sawyer-reporting-a-hidden-america-children-of-the-plains-on-friday-october-14/
View trailer….
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439?tab=9482931§ion=1206833
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
My Life Is My Sun Dance: Harvey Arden and Leonard Peltier
Native American Music Awards (NAMA) 2011 winners were announced live on October 7.
BEST SPOKEN WORD RECORDING:
My Life Is My Sun Dance
Harvey Arden and Leonard Peltier
BEST SPOKEN WORD RECORDING:
My Life Is My Sun Dance
Harvey Arden and Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier Day: The Green Party of California
Yesterday, in Long Beach, CA, The Green Party of California celebrated Leonard Peltier Day. The Green Party of California has created an online petition in favor of Leonard Peltier's freedom for Party members to sign. A downloadable petition is also available on their website in the caucus group link. In addition, The Green Party of California has declared that Columbus Day henceforth shall be known as Leonard Peltier Day. See: http://www.petitiononline.com/greens/petition.html.
Occupy Denver endorses indigenous proposal, freedom for Leonard Peltier
Here it is:
An Indigenous Platform Proposal for "Occupy Denver"
"Now we put our minds together to see what kind of world we can create for the seventh generation yet to come." --John Mohawk (1944-2006), Seneca Nation
1. To repudiate the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, to endorse the repeal of the papal bull Inter Caetera (1493) to work for the reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court case of Johnson v. M'Intosh 1823), and call for a repeal of the Columbus Day holiday as a Colorado and United States holiday.
2. To endorse the right of all indigenous peoples to the international right of self-determination, by virtue of which they freely determine their political status, and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural futures.
3. To demand the recognition, observance and enforcement of all treaties and agreements freely entered into `between indigenous nations and the United States. Treaties should be recognized as binding international instruments. Disputes should be recognized as a proper concern of international law, and should be arbitrated by impartial international bodies.
4. To insist that Indigenous people shall never be forcibly relocated from their lands or territories.
5. To acknowledge that Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and teach their spiritual and religious traditions customs and ceremonies, including in institutions of the State, e.g. prisons, jails and hospitals,, and to have access in privacy their religious and cultural sites, and the right to the repatriation of their human remains and funeral objects.
6. To recognize that Indigenous peoples and nations are entitled to the permanent control and enjoyment of their aboriginal-ancestral territories. This includes surface and subsurface rights, inland and coastal waters, renewable and non-renewable resources, and the economies based on these resources. In advancement of this position, to stand in solidarity with the Cree nations, whose territories are located in occupied northern Alberta, Canada, in their opposition to the Tar Sands development, the largest industrial project on earth. Further, to demand that President BarackObama deny the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, proposed to run from the tar sands in Canada into the United States, and that the United States prohibit the use or transportation of Tar Sands oil in the United States.
7. To assert that Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. They have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.Further, indigenous peoples have the right to the ownership and protection of their human biological and genetic materials, samples, and stewardship of non-human biological and genetic materials found in indigenous territories.
8. To recognize that the settler state boundaries in the Americas are colonial fabrications that should not limit or restrict the ability of indigenous peoples to travel freely, without inhibition or restriction, throughout the Americas. This is especially true for indigenous nations whose people and territories have been separated by the acts of settler states that established international borders without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples affected.
9. To demand that the United States shall take no adverse action regarding the territories, lands, resources or people of indigenous nations without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples affected.
10. To demand the immediate release of American Indian political prisoner, Leonard Peltier, U.S. Prisoner #89637-132, from U.S. federal custody.
Read more at http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/10/occupy_denver_american_indian_movement.php
An Indigenous Platform Proposal for "Occupy Denver"
"Now we put our minds together to see what kind of world we can create for the seventh generation yet to come." --John Mohawk (1944-2006), Seneca Nation
1. To repudiate the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, to endorse the repeal of the papal bull Inter Caetera (1493) to work for the reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court case of Johnson v. M'Intosh 1823), and call for a repeal of the Columbus Day holiday as a Colorado and United States holiday.
2. To endorse the right of all indigenous peoples to the international right of self-determination, by virtue of which they freely determine their political status, and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural futures.
3. To demand the recognition, observance and enforcement of all treaties and agreements freely entered into `between indigenous nations and the United States. Treaties should be recognized as binding international instruments. Disputes should be recognized as a proper concern of international law, and should be arbitrated by impartial international bodies.
4. To insist that Indigenous people shall never be forcibly relocated from their lands or territories.
5. To acknowledge that Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and teach their spiritual and religious traditions customs and ceremonies, including in institutions of the State, e.g. prisons, jails and hospitals,, and to have access in privacy their religious and cultural sites, and the right to the repatriation of their human remains and funeral objects.
6. To recognize that Indigenous peoples and nations are entitled to the permanent control and enjoyment of their aboriginal-ancestral territories. This includes surface and subsurface rights, inland and coastal waters, renewable and non-renewable resources, and the economies based on these resources. In advancement of this position, to stand in solidarity with the Cree nations, whose territories are located in occupied northern Alberta, Canada, in their opposition to the Tar Sands development, the largest industrial project on earth. Further, to demand that President BarackObama deny the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, proposed to run from the tar sands in Canada into the United States, and that the United States prohibit the use or transportation of Tar Sands oil in the United States.
7. To assert that Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. They have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.Further, indigenous peoples have the right to the ownership and protection of their human biological and genetic materials, samples, and stewardship of non-human biological and genetic materials found in indigenous territories.
8. To recognize that the settler state boundaries in the Americas are colonial fabrications that should not limit or restrict the ability of indigenous peoples to travel freely, without inhibition or restriction, throughout the Americas. This is especially true for indigenous nations whose people and territories have been separated by the acts of settler states that established international borders without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples affected.
9. To demand that the United States shall take no adverse action regarding the territories, lands, resources or people of indigenous nations without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples affected.
10. To demand the immediate release of American Indian political prisoner, Leonard Peltier, U.S. Prisoner #89637-132, from U.S. federal custody.
Read more at http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/10/occupy_denver_american_indian_movement.php
Occupy Boston Ratifies Memorandum of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
The following resolution was passed by the Occupy Boston General Assembly on October 8th, 2011:
RESOLUTION: Memorandum of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
WHEREAS, those participating in “Occupy Boston” acknowledge that the United States of America is a colonial country, and that we are guests upon stolen indigenous land that has already been occupied for centuries, Boston being the ancestral land of the Massachusett people; and
WHEREAS, members of the First Nations have continued to resist the violent oppression and exploitation of the colonizers since they first arrived on this continent, and as a result have a great amount of experience that could strengthen this movement; and
WHEREAS, after centuries of disregard for the welfare of future generations, and the consistent disrespect and exploitation of the Earth, we find ourselves on a polluted and disturbed planet, lacking the wisdom to live sustainably at peace with the community of Life; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That we seek the involvement of the First Nations in the rebuilding of a new society on their ancestral land; and
As a signal to the national “Occupy” movement and to members of First Nations who have felt excluded by the colonialist language used to name this movement, it shall be declared that “Occupy Boston” aspires to “Decolonize Boston” with the guidance and participation of First Nations Peoples; and
Extending an open hand of humility and friendship, we hereby invite members of the First Nations to join us in this popular uprising now taking place across this continent. We wish to further the process of healing and reconciliation and implore Indigenous Peoples to share their wisdom and guidance, as they see fit, so as to help us restore true freedom and democracy and initiate a new era of peace and cooperation that will work for everyone, including the Earth and the original inhabitants of this land; and
We hereby declare that Columbus Day should be referred to as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”
Source URL: http://occupyboston.com/2011/10/09/occupy-boston-ratifies-memorandum-of-solidarity-with-indigenous-peoples/
RESOLUTION: Memorandum of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
WHEREAS, those participating in “Occupy Boston” acknowledge that the United States of America is a colonial country, and that we are guests upon stolen indigenous land that has already been occupied for centuries, Boston being the ancestral land of the Massachusett people; and
WHEREAS, members of the First Nations have continued to resist the violent oppression and exploitation of the colonizers since they first arrived on this continent, and as a result have a great amount of experience that could strengthen this movement; and
WHEREAS, after centuries of disregard for the welfare of future generations, and the consistent disrespect and exploitation of the Earth, we find ourselves on a polluted and disturbed planet, lacking the wisdom to live sustainably at peace with the community of Life; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That we seek the involvement of the First Nations in the rebuilding of a new society on their ancestral land; and
As a signal to the national “Occupy” movement and to members of First Nations who have felt excluded by the colonialist language used to name this movement, it shall be declared that “Occupy Boston” aspires to “Decolonize Boston” with the guidance and participation of First Nations Peoples; and
Extending an open hand of humility and friendship, we hereby invite members of the First Nations to join us in this popular uprising now taking place across this continent. We wish to further the process of healing and reconciliation and implore Indigenous Peoples to share their wisdom and guidance, as they see fit, so as to help us restore true freedom and democracy and initiate a new era of peace and cooperation that will work for everyone, including the Earth and the original inhabitants of this land; and
We hereby declare that Columbus Day should be referred to as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”
Source URL: http://occupyboston.com/2011/10/09/occupy-boston-ratifies-memorandum-of-solidarity-with-indigenous-peoples/
Friday, October 7, 2011
Indigenous Peoples Day: 10 October 2011
Commemorating 519 years of Indigenous Peoples Resistance and Resiliency on Alcatraz Island
The International Indian Treaty Council and American Indian Contemporary Arts cordially invite you to attend "Indigenous Peoples Day - Commemorating 519 Years of Indigenous Resistance and Honoring Struggles to Protect our Sacred Places". This event will be held at sunrise on Monday, October 10, 2011, on Alcatraz Island in the Ohlone Territory (San Francisco).
Why celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day? This celebration allows us to redefine what popular society now calls "Columbus Day" and change a celebration of colonialism and genocide into an opportunity to share and educate about the true impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples and express our solidarity with Indigenous struggles for rights and survival in California and throughout the continent. It is also an opportunity to honor the vibrancy and resiliency of Indigenous Peoples cultures and ways of life. This celebration of 519 years of resistance features Aztec and Pomo dancers, drummers, performers and speakers and an honoring of the defenders of Sogorea Te (Glen Cove).
The ticket box office opens at 4:15 a.m. and the first boat will depart Pier 33 for the island at 5:15 a.m. Tickets are $11 for adults and children under the age of 5 are free. This event is wheelchair accessible and we encourage you to dress warmly. You can purchase tickets in advance by clicking HERE. Local radio station, KPFA 94.1 will be simulcasting from 6-7 a.m. and online at: http://www.kpfa.org.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact Mark Anquoe by phone: (415) 641-4482, by email: Mark@treatycouncil.org, or visit http://www.treatycouncil.org.
No sales of any kind will be allowed at this event. No leafleting permitted. Absolutely NO alcohol or drugs of any kind.
The International Indian Treaty Council and American Indian Contemporary Arts cordially invite you to attend "Indigenous Peoples Day - Commemorating 519 Years of Indigenous Resistance and Honoring Struggles to Protect our Sacred Places". This event will be held at sunrise on Monday, October 10, 2011, on Alcatraz Island in the Ohlone Territory (San Francisco).
Why celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day? This celebration allows us to redefine what popular society now calls "Columbus Day" and change a celebration of colonialism and genocide into an opportunity to share and educate about the true impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples and express our solidarity with Indigenous struggles for rights and survival in California and throughout the continent. It is also an opportunity to honor the vibrancy and resiliency of Indigenous Peoples cultures and ways of life. This celebration of 519 years of resistance features Aztec and Pomo dancers, drummers, performers and speakers and an honoring of the defenders of Sogorea Te (Glen Cove).
The ticket box office opens at 4:15 a.m. and the first boat will depart Pier 33 for the island at 5:15 a.m. Tickets are $11 for adults and children under the age of 5 are free. This event is wheelchair accessible and we encourage you to dress warmly. You can purchase tickets in advance by clicking HERE. Local radio station, KPFA 94.1 will be simulcasting from 6-7 a.m. and online at: http://www.kpfa.org.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact Mark Anquoe by phone: (415) 641-4482, by email: Mark@treatycouncil.org, or visit http://www.treatycouncil.org.
No sales of any kind will be allowed at this event. No leafleting permitted. Absolutely NO alcohol or drugs of any kind.
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