Building Upon the Energy of #IdleNoMore

By: Matt Remle

“My friend, they will return again. All over the earth, they are returning again. Ancient teachings of the earth, ancient songs of the earth, they are returning again.” -Tasunka Witko

Mitakuyapi. Cante waste nape ceyuzapi pelo. My relatives. I shake your hands from my heart.

Beautiful, smiling, happy faces singing, drumming and round dancing or coastal jamming. Eyokipiya wacipi. They are happily dancing. Elders dancing, youth dancing, Mothers and Fathers holding precious babies dancing- all united in spirit and prayer.

I, like so many others around the globe, have been inspired by the Idle No More movement, and the incredible sacrifice of Chief Spence as well as the round dance revolution that has followed. We are witnessing a moment born out of our ancestor’s prayers and the unfolding of ancient prophecies- the eagle and condor flying together again, the return of the white buffalo calves, and the rising up of the seventh generation.

Idle No More has brought with it not only the urgency of standing up to multinational owned corrupt politicians and their corporate agendas to rape and pillage our beautiful Maka Ina (Mother Earth) while enslaving the masses to enrich themselves, but to do so from a spiritual center. In the 1970’s, the American Indian Movement helped bring about a shift in identity; one that brought a sense of Native pride to the masses stating that is was good and ok to be Indian. Idle No More, in its wake, promises to expand on this in that not only is it good to be Indian, it is good to be Indigenous. Indigenous and spiritual, connected again with all relations.

READ MORE HERE:  http://lastrealindians.com/building-upon-the-energy-of-idle-no-more/

#SpreadThis -> #Amazon tribe massacre alleged in Venezuela - #DGR

Massacre of Yanomami Feared in Venezuela
Village of 80 people was firebombed from the air, say activists, by illegal gold miners based in neighbouring Brazil


A massacre of up to 80 Yanomami Indians has taken place in the Venezuelan state of Amazonas, according to claims emerging from the region, prompting the government to send in investigators.

Blame is being placed on illegal garimpeiro miners who cross the border from Brazil to prospect for gold and have clashed violently with Amazon tribes before. According to local testimonies an armed group flew over in a helicopter, opening fire with guns and launching explosives into Irotatheri settlement in the High Ocamo area. The village was home to about 80 people and only three had been accounted for as survivors, according to people from a neighbouring village and indigenous rights activists.

The claims were presented to local authorities in Puerto Ayacucho, the capital of Amazonas state on Monday, asking for an immediate investigation of the site where the alleged killing took place, and for the expulsion of the garimpeiros. The event would have taken place during the first two weeks of July but due to the remoteness of the village it is only now been made public.

A spokeswoman at the public prosecutor’s office said the government could not yet confirm the attack nor how many people may have been killed.

Luis Shatiwe, a leader of the Yanomami group, told a Venezuelan newspaper that the survivors were hunters who had been out of the village at the time of the alleged attack. The hunters, he said, heard a helicopter and gunfire and said a communal hut in the village was destroyed by fire.

Survival International, a London-based organisation that seeks to protect native peoples, said in a statement that another Yanomami told the group that tribespeople had found bones and charred bodies in the village.


A member of the team that collected the testimony said: “When we heard the first accounts we flew into Parima-B [the closest town] by helicopter with a contingent of military. In Parima we spoke to Yanomami who had walked six days to get to Parima-B to talk to us. In places this remote that is how people communicate.” The man asked not to be identified.

Luis Bello, a lawyer in Puerto Ayacucho who defends indigenous rights, said the allegations were the latest in a series of reports of abuse as garimpeiro activities in the region have increased. “Reports of garimpeiros attacking different communities are becoming more and more frequent, and now we also hear of rivers being poisoned with mercury. We’ve reported to the authorities but we are so far away that is it all easily forgotten,” Bello said.


Bello said a combination of high gold prices and pressure from the Brazilian federal police in their own territory had led to the influx of garimpeiros. “They have also become more sophisticated. They used to fly in and land in clandestine strips, now they come in helicopters and use huge extracting machinery that is decimating the jungle,” Bello said.

In 1993, 16 Yanomamis were killed by garimpeiros in what became known as the Haximu massacre. But there have been cases that turn out to be fake. Aime Thilet, a member of Wataniba, an NGO that defends indigenous rights, said that when the latest alleged attack was reported “we were in the Alto Siapo, also on the border with Brazil, because we got radio a very detailed and what seemed credible report of another massacre, which turned out to be false”.


Livorio Guarulla, the governor of Amazonas state, said remoteness and military restrictions on access to the area made it difficult to investigate the claims quickly. “This happened in July but because it takes close to seven days to get there we don’t really know what happened. The shaponos – the collective community dwellings – house more than 100 people, so it could be 70 [casualties] or it could be more or less.”

The minister for indigenous affairs has yet to make a statement. (SOURCE)

#Wisconsin Tribes Struggle to Save Their Brothers the Wolves From Sanctioned Hunt

“Is nothing sacred anymore?” asked Mike Wiggins, chairman of the Bad River Ojibwe Tribe in Wisconsin, in reaction to the proposed wolf hunt in the state.


His question was somewhat rhetorical because he already knew the answer. Wisconsin’s state legislature passed a law in April allowing for the hunting and trapping of wolves. Since the opening of the permit application process, which runs from August 1–31, more than 3,000 people have applied. The season is scheduled to begin October 15 and run through February 2013.

The wolf, Ma’iingan, is considered sacred by the Ojibwe and figures highly in their creation stories. Tribal member Essie Leoso noted that according to tradition, Ma’iingan walked with first man.

“Killing a wolf is like killing a brother,” she said.

The wolf hunting application fee is $10. Permits will be given to hunters by the Department of Natural Resources through a lottery-style drawing and will be awarded at a cost of $100 per permit to 2,010 hunters, according to a recent Associated Press report from Madison. Each permit-carrying hunter will be allowed to take one wolf until the state limit of 201 wolves is reached.

Since the grey wolf or timber wolf was removed from the list of endangered animals last December, Wisconsin passed Act 169 allowing for the hunting and trapping of the animals. Minnesota has enacted a similar law and will hold its inaugural wolf-hunting season during approximately the same time period.

The decision by the state to allow wolf hunting does not sit well with the tribes in Wisconsin, who were not consulted regarding the rules and limitations of the law before it was enacted. The law allows hunters to shoot or trap wolves during the day or night, and allows the use of bait to attract the animals as well as the use of dogs. According to a recent story in the Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin will be the only state that allows the use of dogs in the hunting of wolves.

A coalition of groups opposing the hunt is suing the DNR, according to an August 8 story in the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel. Plaintiffs include the Wisconsin Federated Humane Societies, Dane County Humane Society, Wisconsin Humane Society, Fox Valley Humane Association, Northland Alliance, National Wolfwatcher Coalition as well as individual citizens. The lawsuit claims that the hunt will violate the state’s animal cruelty act, citing the proposed use of dogs in hunting wolves.

There is considerable disagreement regarding the number of wolves living in Wisconsin as well as the capacity of the land to support the population. Kurt Thiede, Land Administrator for the DNR, told The DePaulia of DePaul University that the state’s wolf population count was 850 in spring 2012 and that the maximum capacity for Wisconsin land to support is 500 wolves. Organizations such as the Timber Wolf Alliance argue that the land’s carrying capacity is around 800. The Timber Alliance is an organization founded to promote the recovery of the wolf population.


Via radio telemetry, the Bad River Ojibwe Natural Resources Department estimates that there are between 14–18 wolves on the 125,000 plus–acre reservation, according to Wiggins.

“I have never seen a wolf in the woods in all my years hunting,” he noted in a recent interview. While driving the back roads of the reservation, he has seen wolves only twice.

If the wolf population were as high as the DNR estimates, Wiggins observed, there would be no need for the Department’s extensive efforts to manage the burgeoning deer population in the state. The growing interest in hunting wolves is largely driven by Hollywood style hype, Wiggins feels.

“Films like The Grey are all about fear mongering and depicting wolves as human predators. The facts, however, don’t support this view,” Wiggins said.

He said that despite the presence of wolves in the woods, he and his fellow Ojibwe hunters are still able to fill their freezers with venison.

“The presence of wolves in the woods is sacred and tangible. They are a gift,” he said. “From an ecological management perspective, they have a place, and they’re not doing any harm.”

The push to hunt the wolf is largely driven by trophy-hungry sportsmen, according to Wiggins.


“There is no subsistence factor in wolf hunting,” he said. “The political realm is driving this harvest.”

The Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association and other such groups played a lead role in drafting the legislation permitting the hunt, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal.

The six Wisconsin Ojibwe tribes appear to be united in their decision not to hunt wolves. This decision, however, begs an important question. According to treaties signed in 1837 and 1842, Wisconsin’s six Ojibwe tribes ceded land to the government that covers roughly the northern third of the state. In the Voight Decision of 1983, the federal government affirmed the Ojibwe tribes off-reservation fishing and hunting rights on ceded land, permitting them to harvest half of available resources.

Therefore, the tribes are entitled to 50 percent of the DNR’s wolf hunt limit of 201 for the season. Will the wolves need to be harvested, i.e. killed, in order to meet the requirements of the Voight Decision? Tribes are concerned that their decision not to harvest wolves may lead the DNR to simply increase the number available to citizens at large.

Authorities from each of the tribes as well as representatives from the Great Lakes Intertribal Fish and Wildlife Commission are currently in negotiation with the DNR about the details of the hunt. Asked if the DNR is likely to recognize tribes’ choice not to kill their quota of wolves as still meeting the agreements of the Voight Decision, Jason Stark, Policy Analyst with GLIFWC responded, “We’ll see.”

The court has never ruled on whether their hunting entitlement allows them to hunt the wolves or requires them to, according to Stark.

“The tribes’ position is that our share is our share, and we have the right to keep animals within our ecosystem,” Stark said.

The state’s position is that the tribes have a right to harvest.

“The state has won the right to management of resources. The tribes, however, see the state as co-managers,” Stark observed.

Ultimately the state has to be sure that any system put forth does not “detriment” the tribe.

“This is their responsibility as primary manager,” Stark said.

The DNR is in a difficult position, according to Stark, noting that the department has been directed by the court to carry out the wolf hunting law.

“They don’t have a lot of wiggle room,” he said. “Our conversations with the DNR are going okay. Hopefully we can figure out what is best. Fortunately we still have some time until the hunt begins.”

The Bad River tribal council is unified in opposition to a wolf hunt, said Wiggins and tribal vice chairman Peter Lemieux. The tribe is asking the DNR to create a six-mile buffer zone around the reservation. According to Wiggins, the tribe’s Natural Resources Department has determined that the four wolf packs currently living on the reservation sometimes make excursions beyond reservation boundaries.

Since wolves are social animals, the killing of an alpha male or female would lessen the chances of survival for the entire pack, according to Wiggins. In describing their inextricable relationship with the wolf, Ojibwe often speak of their creation story, which says that whatever happens to one will happen to the other.

The future of Wisconsin wolves is uncertain. Tribes have until the end of August to declare a wolf quota to the DNR and perhaps create a new, broader definition of the term “harvest.”

“At this point, at least I know for sure that our packs will have a bit of sanctuary here on our reservation,” Wiggins said. (SOURCE)

#Olympics: Australian boxer causes Aborigine stir

LONDON—Australian boxer Damien Hooper could be punished for entering the Olympic boxing arena on Monday wearing a T-shirt bearing the colors of the Aboriginal flag.


The 20-year-old light heavyweight, who should have emerged from the tunnel dressed in a red singlet, said he did not regret the gesture.

“I’m an Aborigine representing my culture and my people here at the Olympic Games,” said Hooper.

Hooper, the first indigenous Australian boxer to triumph at a junior world title level when he won Youth Olympics Gold in 2010, was ambivalent about being punished for his gesture.

“I didn’t say I didn’t care,” said the fighter.

In the ring on Monday, he pulled off one of his best ever victories, beating America’s Marcus Browne — the first defeat for the United States at the boxing in these Games — 13-11 to set up a second round clash with Russian fourth seed Igor Mekhontcev.

Hooper, who was a tearaway in his youth before being introduced to boxing by a policeman, is not the first Australian athlete of indigenous origin to fly the Aboriginal colours.

Australian athletics legend Cathy Freeman celebrated her 1994 Commonwealth Games victory in the 200 meters by performing her lap of honor carrying both the Australian and Aboriginal flags.

Undeterred by heavy criticism from Commonwealth officials, and her own team president Arthur Tunstall, she repeated the gesture a few days later after winning the 400m in Victoria, Canada.

The flag, though, was flown at several Olympic venues at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney after heavy lobbying by the National Indigenous Advisory Committee.

Spectators were also allowed to bring them into stadia for events under special dispensation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Under IOC rules no flags can be brought into stadia of nations not competing at the Games, but with the Aboriginal flag they waived the rule.

Its colours red, yellow and black represent the earth, the sun and Aborigines respectively. (SOURCE)

Aussie boxer Damien Hooper in his Aboriginal flag t-shirt, which has sparked controversy in London.

Underreported Struggles #60, March 2012 ~ #DGR #Activism #Solidarity


Musqueam First Nation members, supporters halt condo construction at Marpole midden site. Vancouver, March 12, 2012. Photo: Sandra Cuffe

In the month’s Underreported Struggles: Australian government passes legislation to store nuclear waste on indigenous land; Himba people of Namibia reach out to the international community for support; Musqueam First Nation halts construction of new condominium; Mexico’s Supreme Court affirms indigenous right to take part in decision making.

***

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that a Tarahumara (Raramuri) community in the state of Chihuahua has the Constitution right to participate in the decision-making of any project that would affect them. The little-noticed decision could have far-reaching effects across the country. The high court also stated that relevant national law is similar to the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 169, which protects the rights of indigenous communities and tribal peoples. Mexico is among 22 nations that have ratified the international agreement.

The National Indian government recently gave its approval for the first of two Russian-designed nuclear reactors at Koodankulam (Kudankulam) in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The unsettling move has been met with a massive uprising involving up to 20,000 locals and protests around the country. The government’s response has been severe. According to a recent appeal thousands of armed policemen began terrorizing the local protesters. At least 500 people—some reports say as many as 3,000—have already been arrested. A media blackout is also now in effect.

Fifty years ago, in 1962, Dryden Chemicals Ltd. quietly began funneling its mercury waste into the Wabigoon River, a practice they continued until 1970. When all was said and done, the British-owned company had dumped some 10 metric tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon, severely contaminating its fish and disrupting the economy and subsistence practices of three Indigenous communities. Fifty years later, the mercury problem continues.

Nyoongar activists are being continuously confronted by police on Heirisson Island, where a Nyoongar Tent Embassy has been established. Since the Tent Embassy began in mid-February—in opposition to a government proposal that would force the Nyoongar to permanently surrender their land title—there have been at least 6 confrontations in which police have arrested the activists, seized their property and dismantled the Embassy. The determined Nyoongar and their allies however, refuse to back down. They keep going back to the site and restoring the Embassy.

Naga Youth in Burma have formed a new group to resist the construction of the Tamanthi Dam which is located at Homlin township in Naga area, Myanmar. Once completed, the Dam reservoir would flood 1400 sq kms, permanently displacing 53 Naga villages, 15 villages inhabited by both Naga and Kuki people and 14 Kuki villages. At least 2400 people have been already relocated at gun point.

Fishermen in Palawan are being urged to follow the traditional sustainable fishing methods of the Tagbanua people. Over the years, destructive and careless fishing practices have depleted the population of Irrawaddy dolphins, bringing them to the edge of extinction. The Tagbanua, who consider dolphins to be messengers, limit themselves to catching certain fish species based on the position of the moon or the tide. They also share their catch among neighbors and relatives, avoiding wastage and overfishing.

The Chinese government introduced a new policy that places almost every Buddhist monastery in Tibet under the direct rule of government officials. The officials will be permanently stationed in each religious institution. According to official documents, the new policy is described as, “critical for taking the initiative in the struggle against separatism,” and aims to “ensure that monks and nuns do not take part in activities of splitting up the motherland and disturbing social order.”

The Australian government passed new legislation to let nuclear waste be stored at a remote indigenous community in the Northern Territory, a decision that indigenous groups and environmentalists have vowed to fight. Muckaty Station was nominated by the Northern Land Council in 2007; But since then several traditional owners have argued they were not properly consulted and did not give their consent.

In Ecuador, A group of women led protests against a Chinese-financed Canadian copper mining project, the first large-scale mine under a new government mining policy. The women say the project would damage Amazonia’s fragile ecosystem, affecting “for all time the territory of indigenous people and nature”. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, CONAIE, also came forward against the mine as well as President Rafael Correa’s plans to allow international companies to carry out large-scale mining projects. In response, the Ecuadorian government mounted a march of its own, on International Womens’ Day.

Dozens of Musqueam First Nationmembers and supporters joined forces to halt the construction of a new 5-storey condominium that threatened an ancient village and midden site known as c??sna??m. After successfully preventing contractors from entering the site; the demonstrators set up a blockade camp to maintain a permanent presence at the site. The camp was dismantled on March 14 to make way for a three-week period of negotiations.

Representatives of Moro and Lumad communities in Mindanao signed a five-point kinship covenant in a gathering filled with remembrances of historical relationships and aspirations for peace and unity in the island. The inspiring covenant cited mutual recognition and respect (kilalaha), mutual sharing of information (sayuda), cooperation (buliga), mutual protection and preservation of life (uyaga), and mutual obligation to help the needy (pagbatunbatuna).

Quebec police dismantled a blockade that was organized by a group of Innu citizens to protest the construction of hydro transmission lines that are being placed through their traditional territory. According to available reports, no one was injured during the court-backed offensive, which the Innu passively tried to resist. The blockade/checkpoint went up soon after Innu representatives walked away from negotiations with the Hydro company.

Indigenous Peoples throughout Sarawak are coming together for the sake of their ancestors and future generations. Under the banner of “Save Sarawak Rivers” (SAVE Rivers), affected Indigenous Peoples like the Kenyahs, Ibans, Penans, Bidayuhs and Ukits have joined with local organizations and concerned individuals to halt the construction of new hydro dams and other plans to bring ‘dirty industries’ to Sarawak.

The Indigenous Peoples Confederation of Honduras (CONPAH) released a statement calling on the government of Honduras to withdraw a REDD proposal submitted to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. The statement declares that the Honduran government failed to consult the Indigenous peoples, whose land would be used for various forestation programs, before submitting the proposal.

The Government of Israel is currently considering a new bill that would turn the controversial Prawer Plan into law, paving the way for Israel to increase its efforts to dispossess the Bedouin Peoples of their land and relocate them to impoverished townships. The Bedouin’s struggle, meanwhile, continues to be widely ignored by media outlets.

Tomkav, a Luiseno village and burial site in Northern San Diego County, is being desecrated by developers working for Pardee Homes and Palomar College in San Marcos, CA. “During the course of [work], many archeologically significant new discoveries have been made, and dozens of Luiseno burials have been unearthed”; but rather than halting work as required by state law, the construction activities have been increased. To make matters worse, the construction workers have actually been celebrating their work, laughing and giving each other high fives as Luiseno Elders and others watched on.

The Himba people, who have long seen their rights trampled upon by the Namibian government, have turned to the United Nations and the international community to intervene on their behalf. A January statement signed by all 36 Traditional Himba Leaders reveals a lengthy list of abuses concerning rights to land, cultural identity, lack of consultation relating to mining and dam construction, land grabbing, interference in ancestral tribal institutions and routine oppression. Though issued in January, the Himba’s call has received little international attention.

Videos of the Month

Can Traditional Knowledge Survive in the Modern World? - Anishinabek activist, scholar and writer Dr. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson answers the question: “Can Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Survive in the Modern World?”

The History of ILO Conventions on Indigenous Peoples - Lee Swepston, Former Senior Human Rights Adviser at the International Labour Organization (ILO), discusses the history of the ILO’s Conventions on Indigenous Peoples.

Song on the Water - “Song on the Water” takes viewers along with 50 indigenous canoes, their crews, and communities on a modern-day voyage to a traditional potlatch.

Underreported Struggles is a monthly round-up of essential news and film compiled by Intercontinental Cry.

Published on Apr 2, 2012 at 12:54pm Some Rights Reserved

Why Can’t Modern Culture Respect Indigenous Culture?

by Brennan Lagasse

On October 12, 2011, indigenous elders and medicine people came together on a conference call with several representatives of the federal government. The purpose of the call was to continue an ongoing dialogue centered on the protection of indigenous sacred sites that continue to be comprised under federal leadership. It was a very relevant exercise in where the modern day power culture of the federal government still stands in regards to respect for the well-being of indigenous peoples.

Although several governmental representatives took part in the call, the clear and salient message received by those not affiliated with the federal government was, firstly, that sacred site protection is not important enough for Secretary Tom Vilsack to be a part of the call—the one whom all indigenous elders and medicine people were planning on being involved. And secondly, that it is not important enough to honor the request of those who hold these places as central to their well-being and way of life, to hold this conversation in person.
What progress has been made in the many years of working to protect sacred sites through executive orders, rules, laws, regulations, policy, and court cases if the present-day reality remains the same today for indigenous peoples as it has since any repatriation work first began?
When will the federal government respect that in order to seek a lasting solution to this dire problem, that dialogue must happen in person, and those that make the ultimate decisions, like Secretary Tom Vilsack, must be present and fully engaged in order for lasting work to take place? Without representation like his, as was articulated to indigenous elders and medicine people that he would at least be on this important phone call, what message does this ultimately send? That any “progress” will be filtered through other representatives, continue as non-binding, and that overall, this engagement is merely business as usual.
What more can indigenous peoples do to have non-Native leaders understand their perspective? It has been articulated time and time again, and does not stray in any way from the following system of beliefs as articulated last March:
“The Creator gave the Aboriginal Indigenous Nations of the People Laws to follow and responsibilities to care for all Creation. These instructions have been passed down from generation to generation from the beginning of Creation. It is the Law that no one can overpower the Creator’s Law, you are a part of Creation, thus if you break the Law, you are destroying yourself.
We speak on behalf of all Creation: the four legged/those that swim/those that crawl/those that fly/those that burrow in the Earth/the plant and tree Nations. This one life system includes the elements of fire, water, earth and air, the living environment of ‘Mother Earth.’
The Sanctity of the Creator’s Law has been broken. The balance of life has been disrupted. You come into life as a sacred being. If you abuse the sacredness of your life then you affect all Creation. The future of all life is now in jeopardy.
We have now reached the crossroads. As Aboriginal Indigenous People we ask you to work with us to save the future of all Creation.”
—Aboriginal Indigenous Nations of the People’s Message (March 11, 2011)
The perspective of those fighting is to save their sacred places, the most holy places on earth, is clear and succinct. It has been since day one. What must be honored is this path, as a way forward to try and help agencies like the US Forest Service understand the sincerity and importance of this dialogue, and to prevent future desecration to these places that have been compromised spiritually and environmentally for years.
Indigenous elders and medicine people have asked that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People be included in any binding documents moving forward. How is that not clear at this moment in time? Furthermore, without mentioning the Creator’s Law in such documents, a Law that is binding to indigenous peoples that speaks to all life and creation being sacred, oppression continues. This Law cannot be altered or manipulated and is unchangeable from the perspective of indigenous peoples. Again, it can’t be much clearer than that.
The federal government continues to respond to indigenous concerns in a manner that does not honor the merit of indigenous peoples’ respect and connection to their sacred places. It can’t be said much more simply, that there are no lasting, meaningful safeguards in place to protect sacred places. Even still, a path of unsustainability continues under a guise of “progressive conflict resolution.”
Harmony can and must be achieved, but respect of perspective, tradition, and spirituality must be acknowledged for its profound and lasting nature if actual balance between “public land” and sacred sites is to be realized.
If federal entities are to truly accept the wrongs of the past, but cease to take meaningful steps forward, how can indigenous peoples trust not only their role in the process, but be led to believe ultimately that cultural genocide by way of killing language, traditional ways of living, and holy places to pray are not going to continue as they have for hundreds of years?
Many efforts have been made to heal from the past, but if you listen to indigenous peoples, they will tell you that not only are they still feeling the burdens of the past, but their way of life also continues to be undermined by current work that is viewed by federal entities as “progression.” This is a glaring, major issue that consistently gets glossed over.
Much work is still needed, and even with all that has happened on indigenous sacred lands in years past, elders, medicine people, and all vested stakeholders continue to be willing to attempt to find a sustainable solution now, and for future generations to come. That is of the utmost concern and directly reflects the Creator’s Law, that when formally acknowledged and honored by federal entities, may allow for a solution to come forth.
Perhaps the most amazing fact in this ongoing issue is that indigenous people continue to be willing to sit down and work on solutions, even with continued acts of disrespect, like Secretary Vilsack skipping out on the vitally important March 2011 phone conference. However, no future progression can happen without honoring these words. A meeting must be set, to take place in person, where face-to-face dialogue will ensue between indigenous nations and the leaders of federal entities like the USDA that have the power to create legislation that can honor the concerns, traditions, and beliefs of indigenous peoples.
The federal government’s modern culture continues to disrespect indigenous culture. People of modern culture, even those who wield power, do not have to be so oppressive and disrespectful to argue their perspective of “modernity” to those that live differently from the status quo. The only question that remains is, will the USDA and others involved accept this invitation, and will they actually come to the table with an open mind and an open heart, ready to listen and make the necessary changes all parties know must come forth in order for work on the ground to be felt by those most affected?

Brennan Lagasse is a writer and environmental consultant living in Lake Tahoe, CA. He is also the backcountry reporter for Unofficial Networks, www.unofficialnetworks.com. Brennan can be reached at brennanlagasse@hotmail.com.

#EPIC #REALNESS Indigenous views on Occupying Decolonizing Wall Street  ·    OCCUPY WALL STREET: The Game of Colonialism and further nationalism to be decolonized from the “Left”  “We don’t need more occupation – we need decolonization and it’s everyone’s responsibility to participate in that because COLONIALISM AFFECTS EVERYONE. EVERYONE! Colonialism also leads to capitalism, globalization, and industrialization. How can we truly end capitalism without ending colonialism? How does doing things in the name of “America” which was created by the imposition of hierarchies of class, race, ability, gender, and sexuality help that?” ·    ”Wall Street is only possible because of this history of land fraud and treaty violation.   The ‘United States’ is only possible because of its still imperial-colonial relations with Native peoples.  What ‘Wall Street’ and the U.S. have become — an imperial-colonial power over the world’s economics and the laws that protect it — is a direct legacy of the fraud and violence committed against Native nations.   Perhaps those who now claim to OCCUPY WALL STREET in the name of reforming America’s economy could remember their history and call it something else. Wall Street is, after all, already an occupied territory.”  via Tequilia Sovereign     **I am full solidarity with the occupy protests/actions, but I cannot simply forget the history of colonialism that has poisoned and continues to disease so many peoples, Indigenous or not. **   
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#EPIC #REALNESS

Indigenous views on Occupying Decolonizing Wall Street 

·    OCCUPY WALL STREET: The Game of Colonialism and further nationalism to be decolonized from the “Left”

 “We don’t need more occupation – we need decolonization and it’s everyone’s responsibility to participate in that because COLONIALISM AFFECTS EVERYONE. EVERYONE! Colonialism also leads to capitalism, globalization, and industrialization. How can we truly end capitalism without ending colonialism? How does doing things in the name of “America” which was created by the imposition of hierarchies of class, race, ability, gender, and sexuality help that?”

·    ”Wall Street is only possible because of this history of land fraud and treaty violation. 

 The ‘United States’ is only possible because of its still imperial-colonial relations with Native peoples. 

What ‘Wall Street’ and the U.S. have become — an imperial-colonial power over the world’s economics and the laws that protect it — is a direct legacy of the fraud and violence committed against Native nations. 

 Perhaps those who now claim to OCCUPY WALL STREET in the name of reforming America’s economy could remember their history and call it something else. Wall Street is, after all, already an occupied territory.” 

via Tequilia Sovereign   
  
**I am full solidarity with the occupy protests/actions, but I cannot simply forget the history of colonialism that has poisoned and continues to disease so many peoples, Indigenous or not. **   

(via amodernmanifesto)

Source: indigenousrev

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