Thursday, May 30, 2013

"SOVEREIGNTY BY THE BARREL"
NEW 2013 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ASSESSMENT ESTIMATES 7.4 BILLION BARRELS OF UNDISCOVERED, TECHNICALLY RECOVERABLE OIL IN BAAKEN AND THREE FORKS FORMATIONS OF NORTH DAKOTA DOUBLING PREVIOUS ESTIMATE

 THE FORT PECK ASSINIBOINE SIOUX AND THE TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF CHIPPEWA TRIBES CHOOSE BETWEEN OIL DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION OF THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES 

http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/usgs-releases-new-oil-and-gas-assessment-for-bakken-and-three-forks-formations/

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2013/3013/

5-29-13

By Deborah LaVallie

In a recently released oil and gas assessment (April 30, 2013) by the United States Geological Survey, for the Baaken and Three Forks Formations of North and South Dakota and Montana, it was found that the estimate for oil reserves in the region, doubled to 7.4 billion barrels of potentially recoverable oil, a significant increase from 3.65 billion barrels from the 2008 assessment and expands the ‘Baaken Oil Play’ onto tribal ‘homelands’ previously thought to be unproductive. President Obama’s newly appointed Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell stated, “These world-class formations contain even more energy resource potential than previously understood, which is important information as we continue to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign sources of oil.”  More than 4,000 oil wells have been drilled in the Williston Basin since the 2008 assessment, with an estimated 6,000 more to be drilled in the near future.  As of 2011 there were 6,200 active wells in the Williston Basin.  In addition, there is an estimated 6.7 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas reserves due to the inclusion of the Three Forks Formation in the new assessment.

What this means for the tribal nations in the tri-state region is yet to be seen.  Two tribes, each positioned on opposite edges of the Baaken Formation have taken differing approaches in the development of their natural resources and their oil and gas potential and the ensuing social and environmental impacts that come with it.  Both have watched the explosion of oil development taking place on the Fort Berthold reservation located in western North Dakota in the last five years by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations and the infusion of wealth and prosperity along with the devastating social and environmental impacts that ‘big oil’ has brought to the MHA Nation.

The Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux Tribes located on the western edge of the Baaken is actively exploring the development of their oil production and potential in the southeastern area of Fort Peck, near Brockton, Montana as an option for the economic development needed to relieve their tribes of extreme poverty and high unemployment.  The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa located on the eastern edge of the Baaken and sitting on top of the Three Forks Formation has made a commitment to actively protect and preserve their water resources and the Turtle Mountain reservation from the devastating environmental impacts of oil development and the hydraulic fracking process for their future generations. That leaves the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe located on the southern edge of the Baaken, also sitting on top of the Three Forks Formation and with an upcoming tribal election in the Fall, the issue of whether to develop their oil and gas reserves or not will likely be a contentious one.  Tribal candidates will be challenged by membership concerned about the hazards of the hydraulic fracturing, that goes along with major oil and gas development and the potential for contamination and environmental destruction of SRST tribal homelands.  At stake is the water supply for the future generations of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

 According to an AP report (April 30, 2013), "Oilmen have known for years that Three Forks held a vast cache of crude, but technology and oil prices haven't made it economical until recently", said Ron Ness, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, representing more than 400 companies working out of western North Dakota's 'oil patch'.  North Dakota's Republican Senator John Hoeven stated, "This is good news for our state and our country", and believes that it would lessen our dependence on foreign oil.  The USGS calls the formations "the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed" — and 'some industry insiders think its potential is even stronger', though the estimated South Dakota production was 'near non-existent', according to the study.



Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribal Chairman, Richard McCloud, No Fracking Way Turtle Mountain's Carol Davis and Turtle Mountain Tribal Water Resources Director, Gene Laducer
Photo Credit: Deborah LaVallie  


It was a 'moment' in the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa's  history every member can take pride in.  On the agenda for the tribal council meeting (May 7, 2013) that morning was 'WATER'.  'Water Warriors' from 'No Fracking Way Turtle Mountain', a 'grassroots' activist group led by Carol Davis were scheduled to present to the council their power point on hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' and discussion on why the group is concerned about protecting the tribe's most precious resource...water, ensuring it's use for the future generations. 

Tribal Water Resources Director, Gene Laducer in his opening statement discussed how he had been meeting with the No Fracking Way group over the last two months, working with them to be 'proactive' in the protection of the Turtle Mountain tribe's ground and surface water and coming to the conclusion that the tribe's Water Code should be 'revitalized', which hasn't been updated in years.

Group member Debbie Gourneau opened the council meeting with a prayer and smudging, then talked about the Anishinaabe 'Water Teachings', sacred knowledge that originated with the tribe's forebear's on the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean and of the sacred water bundles the band here in the Turtle Mountains received 40 years ago.  "In the treaties, the spokespeople didn't realize in their hearts the meaning of the treaty language, "As long as the grass grows, and the rivers flow".  What this really meant in our language and tradition, is the treaty will be in effect until our women stop giving birth...and, only then, 'we will cease to exist'.  In our tradition the women were responsible for the water and the men were responsible for the fire.  Here, in the Turtle Mountains,  in the 'heart' of Turtle Island, the blood (water) flows, and affects 'all' out there, as we are 'all' interconnected." 

The tribal council listened intently to Christa Monette's power point presentation on hydraulic fracturing and the possibilites of oil development in the Turtle Mountains, a forested wetlands in northern North Dakota that receives 10% more precipitation than the rest of the state.  Less than 1% of North Dakota is woodlands. She discussed how the fracking of a single well uses millions of gallons of water combined with hundreds of tons of chemicals including known toxins and carcinogens.  She also talked about the  gas flaring taking place in western North Dakota, a huge waste of energy that contributes to climate change and the toxic and radioactive waste water and how it's being unaccounted for in the Baaken.  There was discussion about the impacts of oil development in Fort Berthold and contamination of the water in Fort Peck.

Carol Davis stated, "There are over 500 chemicals used in the fracking process and 2-4 million gallons of fresh water used in the fracking of each well.  The water is not a renewable resource.  They are wasting millions of gallons of our precious water on one oil well.  That water becomes contaminated, radioactive 'brine' and will never be used again.  If the Little Shell Aquifer is destroyed by oil development, it would take 100 years to replenish itself."  She asked the tribal council for authorization for the group, along with the Tribe's Water Resources Department to begin working on a new water code for the tribe, with the Anishinaabe traditional teachings about the sacred water written into the Preamble. "Every one of us needs to be proactive to protect our water."  She also asked the tribal council for access to the tribe's legal resources, as the group would like to include the legal language in the rewriting of the water code giving the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa 'authority' over the Little Shell Aquifer, stating, "According to the Winter's Doctrine, a famous Montana water rights case and Supreme Court ruling, Indian tribes have a legal and inherent right to water.  The tribal water code must be in place in the tribal court, here, too." Tamara Patneaud, a group member who is spearheading a reservation wide 'clean-up', talked about how we all take our water for granted and how the group is 'trailblazing' in a new direction with the rewriting and 'revitalization' of the water code.  " Our Water is sacred", she said.  Gene Laducer ended the presentation by stating, "Our water is alive, and...we want to protect it.  What is happening in western North Dakota is a travesty for all Indian people.  I feel proud that we are taking this stand."

After discussion, the Turtle Mountain Tribal Council voted unanimously to form a new and expanded Tribal Water Board of Directors giving authority to the group to rewrite the tribe's water code.  There was support from all members of the Council for the project and for protecting the tribe's water resources.  The board will be expanded from 5 to 15 members with terms of appointment for three years.  Tribal Chairman Richard McCloud concluded, "In the future, water will be worth more than oil.  We need to protect our water here in the Turtle Mountains for our kids and grandkids."

It wasn't the first time the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa made tribal history by taking a pro environment stand for Mother Earth.  In November of 2011 No Fracking Way Turtle Mountain presented to the tribal council their presentation on hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' and it's devastating environmental impacts.  The tribal council voted unanimously at that time to ban fracking on Turtle Mountain homelands and the resolution was signed by then, Tribal Chairman Merle St. Claire.  The tribe became one of the first tribes in the nation to ban 'fracking' within their territories and backed up that ban with a new tribal law in place.  The new tribal law states that hydraulic fracturing or any other process that is toxic is prohibited in perpetuity and this includes the lands enjoining the Little Shell Valley Aquifer, which are not part of the reservation, but which are the tribe's main source of fresh water.

Map of Rolette County, the Turtle Mountain reservation and Little Shell Aquifer


Turtle Mountain Tribal Council listening 'intently' to Christa Monette's 'fracking' power point and presentation.

Photo Credit: Deborah LaVallie

The Fort Peck reservation, the 9th largest reservation in the nation and homeland to nearly 12,000 Assiniboine and Sioux tribal members, 6,000 who reside there, sits on the western edge of the Baaken formation where the tribes are waiting in anticipation ready  to take advantage of the 'Oil Boom' hoping to alleviate the poverty and joblessness there, and, becoming less dependent on the federal government for it's funding in the process.  In an interview with Indian Country Today (May 26, 2013) Tribal Chairman Floyd Azure states, "tapping into the Baaken, would make the tribes more sovereign 'by the barrel', echoing Fort Berthold's Tribal Chairman Tex Hall, who many consider to be one of the new 'oil sheiks' of America, as the leader of the oil rich Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations. "That means that we can take care of ourselves. If we didn't have to depend on the federal government, we'd be a hell of a lot better off than we are now. We depend on the federal government for damn near everything we have", he stated.  Over the past few years 300,000 acres have been leased to oil companies, a third of what's left of tribally-owned land at Fort Peck.  Many landowners, who are often shareholders on undivided allotments, were paid as little as $50 an acre and, are still waiting for their leases to pay out any royalties. Out of the seven Baaken oil wells drilled, none have produced so far.  

During the 1950's oil companies drilled for oil northeast of Poplar but the wells did not produce.  During a 50 year period after the disposal of the briny waste water into unlined pits, the aquifer serving Poplar and the surrounding area became contaminated with benzene and other carcinogens forcing the piping in of water from the Missouri River to certain areas on the Fort Peck reservation.  A new water pipeline has been constructed since then that pipes water from the Missouri in to Poplar.

The anticipation of wealth and prosperity at Fort Peck is palpable.  That new infusion of wealth from the 'oil boom' at Fort Berthold comes at a huge cost.  A cost to the environment and to the social fabric of the MHA tribal community.  Apparently, the Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux Tribes are willing to absorb that cost in order to become a more independent, more 'sovereign' tribal nation, though Chairman Azure remains apprehensive about it, stating they didn't have a choice.  The Turtle Mountain Tribe on the other hand has made their choice.  And, that is to protect the 'Water', what they consider as the tribe's most valuable resource for their future generations to come.  And, even though the tribe suffers from a high poverty rate and joblessness, similar to the Fort Peck Tribes, they have made the hard choice...the honorable choice and a decision the Ancestors would be proud of.  The choice that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe makes to develop their oil and gas reserves remains to be seen.  The big question...To 'Frack' or not to 'Frack'?  It's a decision that the tribal membership will have their say about in the Fall election.  And, it will be then that the People's voice will be heard.



 TRIBAL RESOLUTION TO BAN FRACKING
TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF CHIPPEWA NOVEMBER 2011
RESOLUTION NUMBER TMBC627-ll-ll OF THE DULY ELECTED AND CERTIFIED BODY OF THE TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF CHIPPEWA

WHEREAS, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, hereinafter referred to as the Tribe, is an unincorporated Band of Indians acting under a revised Constitution and Bylaws approved by the Secretary of the Interior on June 16, 1959, and amendments there to approved; and

WHEREAS, the Turtle Mountain Constitution and Bylaws was adopted by the tribal citizens to promote the general welfare of tribal citizens, and

WHEREAS, Article IX (a) Section 1 of the Turtle Mountain Constitution and Bylaws empowers the Tribal Council with the authority to represent the Band and to negotiate with the Federal, State and local governments and with private persons, and

WHEREAS, Article IX (a) Section 3 of the Turtle Mountain Constitution and Bylaws empowers the Tribal Council to regulate and license all business and professional activities conducted upon the reservation, and

WHEREAS, Article II Section 1 of the Turtle Mountain Constitution and Bylaws extends jurisdiction of the tribe to land on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in the State of North Dakota and to such other lands as may be acquired, by or in behalf of said Tribe and be added thereto under the laws of the United States, and

WHEREAS, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa is responsible for protecting Mother Earth from any pollutants that may cause harm to its citizens, land, water, and air: and WHEREAS, the emerging oil industry is expanding throughout the state and will eventually include Rolette County which encompasses the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa reservation and its jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS, the oil industry is using a process called hydraulic fracturing (FRACKING) to extract oil that requires the use of hazardous chemicals that ould contaminate water resources that is vital for the tribe's livelihood and sustainability; and

WHEREAS, the FRACKING process could endanger tribal water resources and the waters of the Shell Valley aquifer which is the tribe's main resource for fresh water on the Turtle Mountain reservation, and

WHEREAS, it is critical that Turtle Mountain tribal citizens-at-large are educated on the consequence of oil exploration and any other development that can cause any environmental concerns now and in the future; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa prohibits in perpetuity any hydraulic fracturing (FRACKING) or any other process that is toxic on lands adjoining the Shell Valley aquifer or its tributaries, or flowing water that has the potential to channel to the Shell Valley aquifer and water resources, lakes, underground springs, and wetlands where tribal citizens reside on or near the Turtle Mountain Reservation and

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa supports the efforts of tribal citizens to promote a public service campaign to inform our tribal membership of any environmental concerns pertaining to oil development and other initiatives affecting Mother Earth: and

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa directs The Bureau of Indian Affairs to cancel their Advertisement for the sale of Oil and Gas Leases that was posted in the Turtle Mountain Times and other newspapers November 21, 2011 on Allotted Indian Lands in Rolette County, North Dakota and ensure that all future bids include the tribal resolution informing the bidders that fracking is immediately banned in accordance with this resolution, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the tribe will work to develop similar laws and agreements with communities who are considering to utilize hydraulic fracturing (FRACKING) or any process that is or may be toxic on lands adjoining the Shell Valley aquifer or its tributaries or flowing water that has the potential to channel to the Shell Valley aquifer and water resources, lakes, underground springs, and wetlands where tribal citizens reside on or near the Turtle Mountain Reservation.

CERTIFICATION

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Saturday, May 25, 2013


THE DAKOTA NATION UNITY RIDE:
5000 MILES ON HORSEBACK FROM MANITOBA TO NEW YORK CITY JULY 27 - AUG 17TH 2013

"A RIDE FOR HEALING...FOR EVERY NATION...FOR ALL MANKIND"
5-25-13





BY Deborah LaVallie

 The Dakota Nation Unity ride will begin a 5,000 mile trek on horseback on July 27th in Manitoba, ending their ride in New York City on August 17th.  The purpose of the ride is for healing every nation of mankind.

 Gus High Eagle and his well known horse Rudy, along with family and friends started the annual 'unity' rides traveling to areas such as Wounded Knee (SD), the Black Hills, and last summer in the 'Many Sitting Eagles Ride', riding from his home in Pipestone, Manitoba to the Turtle Mountains and Fort Berthold reservations in North Dakota, commemorating the War of 1812.  Gus and his wife Emily who crafted their traditional beaded regalia, are Canupawakpa Dakota and began the annual rides as a way to get young people involved and is all about tribal nations getting together in 'unity'...for the future. 


Their ‘Unity’ ride last summer was a Memorial, commemorating 200 years since the War of 1812, when ‘Seven Nations’, the Dakota, Ojibway/Chippewa, Assiniboine, Cree, Hidatsa and Mandan Nations defended and held the ‘line’ of American expansion and aggression holding the ‘Mandan Trail’ open from what is now Canada, all the way south to the Mandan lodges, in what is now the Fort Berthold reservation.  The ‘Many Sitting Eagle’ Chiefs’ traditional leadership of the seven tribal nations, defended their camps and people in 'unity' while their warriors were away fighting the War of 1812, allied with the British troops. The war ended in the eventual loss of their Homelands.  The ride was to honor the memory and 'unity' of the seven tribes at that time.

For further information about the Unity Ride, contact Gus High Eagle:  204-854-2584




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Monday, April 22, 2013



HAPPY EARTH DAY 2013!








"A global campaign calling forth the universal acceptance of rights of nature … Its time has come!"

Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth

 From World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth,
Cochabamba, Bolivia, 22 April – Earth Day 2010.
We, the peoples and nations of Earth:

considering that we are all part of Mother Earth, an indivisible, living community of interrelated and interdependent beings with a common destiny;

gratefully acknowledging that Mother Earth is the source of life, nourishment and learning and provides everything we need to live well;

recognizing that the capitalist system and all forms of depredation, exploitation, abuse and contamination have caused great destruction, degradation and disruption of Mother Earth, putting life as we know it today at risk through phenomena such as climate change;

convinced that in an interdependent living community it is not possible to recognize the rights of only human beings without causing an imbalance within Mother Earth;

affirming that to guarantee human rights it is necessary to recognize and defend the rights of Mother Earth and all beings in her and that there are existing cultures, practices and laws that do so;

conscious of the urgency of taking decisive, collective action to transform structures and systems that cause climate change and other threats to Mother Earth;

proclaim this Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, and call on the General Assembly of the United Nation to adopt it, as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations of the world, and to the end that every individual and institution takes responsibility for promoting through teaching, education, and consciousness raising, respect for the rights recognized in this Declaration and ensure through prompt and progressive measures and mechanisms, national and international, their universal and effective recognition and observance among all peoples and States in the world.


Read More:



"Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center." 

"Inspired by the student anti-war movement, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson realized that if he could infuse that energy with the emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda." 

"Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media. On 22nd April, in massive coast-to-coast rallies, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment." 

"Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values."

"Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders." 

"The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. "It was a gamble," Senator Gaylord recalled, "but it worked."





CREATOR, WE ASK YOU TO BLESS AND PROTECT OUR EARTH MOTHER,
THIS BEAUTIFUL LAND WE ONCE KNEW AS TURTLE ISLAND



https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=445435495542279&set=a.181724598580038.47614.100002274971094&type=1&theater






"We are all from the earth. And when earth, water and the atmosphere is corrupted, then it will create its own reaction. Mother is reacting. In the Hopi prophecy they say the storms and floods will become greater."
-- Floyd Red Crow Westerman





NOTE: ( REPRINT OF EARTH DAY PIECE THAT I WROTE LAST YEAR FOR THE TRIBAL INDEPENDENT WHICH IS NO LONGER ONLINE)


EARTH DAY 2012 
22 Apr 2012
By Deborah LaVallie
Tribal Independent

 Our Earth Mother has sustained humanity for many eons, nurturing us, and, providing the sustenance we have needed to continue to live throughout the generations of mankind, here on Earth in harmony and balance with the ‘Natural’, the Four-leggeds, the Winged Ones, the Fishers, our Tree relatives and all that is living.

 Rooted in a nation-wide grassroots movement, the first Earth Day America took place on April 22, 1970, inspired by Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Senator and environmental activist from Wisconsin. College campuses and schools throughout the country took part in the education/environmental activism program, resulting in the eventual establishment of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and wilderness protection laws. Twenty million Americans took to the streets across the land demonstrating their concerns for the deterioration and destruction of the environment. That was 42 years ago. 

 Most people aren’t aware, though, that there were two annual Earth Day observances that were founded a month apart in 1970. Though Earth Day is now celebrated by most people on April 22, the first Earth Day actually took place on March 21, 1970, the vernal (Spring) Equinox at that time. Newspaper publisher and community activist John McConnell proposed a global holiday called Earth Day at a UNESCO conference on the environment in 1969. He wanted to remind people throughout the world of their shared responsibility as caretakers of the Earth and chose the vernal Equinox (the first day of Spring) because it’s traditionally known throughout many cultures of the world as a day of ‘Renewal.’ His dream was for all peoples of the world to put aside their differences and work towards the common goal of preserving the Earth’s resources for future generations.

 In April of 2010, Bolivian president Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian and a ‘traditionalist’ and also an environmental activist, hosted ‘The World People’s Summit on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth,’ in Cochabamba. It was a three day summit where more than 30,000 people attended from all corners of the world and officially proposed that the United Nations adopt a declaration that recognizes the inherent rights of ‘Mother Earth.’ He believed that “Our Earth Mother is the source of life that provides for mankind.” He and his delegation from Bolivia took the lead in proposing the resolution to the UN General Assembly and in 2010, April 22 was officially declared to be ‘International Mother Earth Day.’ He stated at the time, “60 years after adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mother Earth is now, finally having her rights recognized.” His dream began as a way to promote harmony with nature with the dream of our planet balancing nature with the economic, social, and environmental needs of the present and future generations of humanity. He declared, “We are strangling the planet – strangling ourselves,” in his appeal, stating that, “for too many years, the world has been held captive by the seductive notion of capitalism. “ However, it is clear now – that “we don’t own the planet, we belong to it," adding that the proclamation of the International day, would begin the process of ‘The Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth, though the concept of ‘Mother Earth’ is not universally accepted.

 Morales, has said, “We don’t believe in the linear, cumulative conception of progress and of an unlimited development at the cost of other people and nature. To live well is to think not only in terms of per capita income but of cultural identity, community harmony among ourselves and with Mother Nature.” He has become known as a ‘world hero of Mother Earth’. In January 2011, Bolivia became the world’s first nation to grant the natural environment equal rights to humans. Bolivia’s ‘Law of Mother Earth’ is heavily influenced by the spiritual and traditional lifeways of the indigenous population of the Andes. 

 Indigenous peoples throughout the world believe that we are at a point of transformation and we must accept the responsibility of restoring the harmony and balance of our beloved Earth Mother. The ‘Mother Earth Accord’, developed and written at the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (SD) Emergency Summit, held during Sept. 15-16, 2011, by affected groups, tribal governments, traditional treaty councils, First Nations of Canada and impacted property owners, was written in response to the proposed Keystone XL tar Sands pipeline and the tar sands development in Canada. 

 The Accord, guided by the principle of traditional indigenous knowledge, spiritual values and respectful use of the land, affirmed our responsibility to protect and preserve for our descendants, the inherent sovereign rights of our Indigenous Nations, the rights of property owners, and all inherent human rights, also recognizing that our indigenous view is that the Earth is our true Mother, our Grandmother who gives birth to us, and maintains all life.

 The Accord recognized that tar sands development in northern Alberta has devastating impacts to Mother Earth and her inhabitants and perpetuates the crippling addiction to oil in the U.S. and Canada, and, urged a halt to heavy haul shipments of tar sands equipment through the two countries, also urging both to reduce their reliance on oil, including tar sands, investing in the research and development of cleaner, safer forms of sustainable energy which include, smart growth, fuel efficiency, next-generation bio fuels and electric vehicles powered by solar and wind energy. The Accord declared that the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was not in the national interest of either country and urged President Obama to reject the Keystone. The document was presented to Obama during the third annual White House Tribal Leaders Summit in December 2011, and demonstrate the unity of Tribes on both sides of the border.

 What a wonderful dream it would be if the Tribal Nations of this country followed the courageous lead of Morales and the Bolivians, amending their tribal constitutions to give ‘Mother Earth’ equal rights within our tribal nations, establishing a ‘Mother Earth Law.' Tribes here in the U.S. and the First Nations of Canada are addressing huge environmental issues, such as the tar sands of Alberta, the Keystone XL pipeline, pollution of water supplies, toxic contamination from mining and fracking, toxic and seeping landfills and the list goes on. Tribes also need to form stronger coalitions with each other to advocate the passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth by the United Nations. What happened to that energy and commitment of the 20 million concerned American citizens that marched and demonstrated throughout the land 42 years ago? It saddens me to see how uncaring and unconcerned America’s citizens have become, apathetic and unworried about the state they will leave this beautiful land to future generations and it’s heartbreaking to see how our Tribal peoples have become so disconnected from the ‘natural law’ that was once the central focus of their lives and the essence of their very being.



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Monday, February 25, 2013





Image Courtesy of Tumblr
"Recently, US President Obama signed a revised version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), adding protections for Native American women.  The new revisions seek to improve tribal jurisdiction by increasing tribal governments’ ability to govern and to bring perpetrators to justice."
"Not only are Native American women often the subject of domestic abuse and rape, but reports state that sexual predators travel to reservations with the specific intent to rape. Because the 1978 US Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for tribal courts to try non-Native Americans without Congress’ consent, sexual offenders are rarely brought to justice. In Minnesota, accounts of violence against women living in tribal communities increase during hunting season, as non-Native American perpetrators take advantage of immunity from prosecution. Lisa Brunner, an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the Native American community, had this to say about sexual predators at Native American reservations:"

“I call it hunting – non-natives come here hunting. They know they can come into our lands and rape us with impunity because they know that we can’t touch them. The US government has created that atmosphere.”

"To better understand the injustices faced by Native American and Alaskan Native (NA/AN) women, read these staggering facts:
  • NA/AN women suffer from a 50% higher rate of domestic violence and physical assault than the next highest demographic.
  • A 2006 study revealed that 96% of NA/AN women were victims of rape, sexual assault, and/or physical abuse.
  • NA/AN women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than non-natives.
  • More than 1 in 3 NA/AN women will be raped during her lifetime.
  • 86% of rapes and sexual assaults against NA/AN women cases are committed by non-Natives.
  • NA/AN victims of sexual and family violence are more likely than all other races to be injured and need hospital care.
  • Most NA/AN women do not report sexual crimes because they believe nothing will be done.
  • 17% of NA/AN women have been stalked in their lifetime.
  • Between 2005 and 2009, 67% of tribal sexual abuse cases sent to the federal government were declined.
  • On some reservations, women are murdered at a rate 10 times the national average."
"Regarding the potential to experience sexual violence, one young Native American woman said:"

“When I’m raped, we won’t report it, because we know nothing will happen. We don’t want to cause problems for our family.”

Further reading:
Huffington Post’s “Violence Against Women Act Includes New Protections for Native American Women.”
The New York Times’ “Rape on the Reservation.”
Futures Without Violence’s “The Facts on Violence Against American Indian/Alaskan Native Women.”

http://girlsglobe.org/2013/04/19/americas-dark-secret-violence-against-natives/


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=329292770504622&set=a.328020490631850.58180.324372967663269&type=1&theater


U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EXPECTED TO 'FAST-TRACK' AND VOTE ON THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

 WILL NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN SEE JUSTICE AND EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE 'LAW OF THE LAND'?




2-25-13
By Deborah LaVallie
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) responded to Friday’s (2-22) filing of the House version of the reauthorization of The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) voicing their adamant opposition to the proposed House legislation stating that it lacks the necessary protections for the victims of violence, rolls back current law and disregards bipartisan efforts in the Senate regarding tribal provisions.
  
In the NCAI statement, Executive Director Jacqueline Pata stated, “The inclusion of tribal provisions is long overdue, and let’s be clear, the House language is not even close to the Senate Bill which passed with bipartisan support last week 78-22.   She said that in some areas the House language rolls back existing laws that protect Native women, representing a major step backward.  The NCAI position is that provisions made by the House would do much to interfere with tribal justice and would do little for Native victims of violence.  She stated, “In short, the House proposed VAWA legislation filed today seems to go the distance in considering the rights and privileges of domestic abusers that would be subject to a tribal court’s ‘special domestic violence jurisdiction,’ but does not provide Native victims of violence the necessary protections they need for swift and fair justice in Indian country.”
The Reauthorization of VAWA easily passed in the Senate on February 12 where the Bill authorized $659 million over a period of five years for VAWA programs and expanded VAWA to include new protections for Native victims of domestic violence, gays and undocumented immigrants.  The Bill also adopted an amendment to combat human trafficking and another to make sure child victims of sex trafficking are eligible to receive grant assistance.  In a statement President Obama said, “The bill passed by the Senate will help reduce homicides that occur from domestic violence, improve the criminal justice response to rape and sexual assault, address the high rates of dating violence experienced by young women, and provide justice to the most vulnerable among us.”  Thanking Senator Patrick Leahy (D Vt), the Bill’s chief sponsor, he stated, “It’s now time for the House to follow suit and send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law.”
The Reauthorization Bill will not pass the House so easily, where it’s expected to be discussed and ‘fast-tracked’ this week.  Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), one of 22 Republican Senators who voted against the Reauthorization stated in a town hall meeting in Indianola last week  that he believes the legislation is not constitutional, concerned that white men who committed acts of violence against Native women would be deprived of their rights by having to appear in tribal courts.  He stated, “So, you get non- Indians, going into a reservation, and violating a woman.  They need to be prosecuted.  They aren’t prosecuted.  So the idea behind VAWA is that we’ll try them in tribal court.  But, under the laws of our land, you’ve got to have a jury that is a reflection of society as a whole, and on an Indian reservation, it’s going to be made up of Indians, right?  So, the non-Indian doesn’t get a fair trial.”  He also stated in a press conference that although he supports The Violence Against Women Act, “The only sticking point is this tribal courts issue, as far as most people are concerned.”  He wanted the tribal provision removed that would allow tribal courts jurisdiction over non-Indians who raped and committed acts of violence against Native women.
Last February when the Reauthorization Bill was blocked in a party line vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Grassley offered a substitute bill which also included closing the Office of Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.  He made it clear at the time that he could not support language in the bill recognizing ‘the inherent power’ of Indian Tribes “to exercise special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction over all persons”, though he stated that he did recognize federal responsibility for law enforcement and social services for Tribes, and believed in tribal self- government.  He stated at the time that he did not believe the Tribes have the ‘inherent power’ to do what the bill says.  “Self-government is not government over all persons – including non-Indians”, he said, questioning the power of Congress to recognize and affirm something that he believes does not exist, concerned that a precedent would be created that might lead to other prosecutions of non-Indians in tribal courts.
  
 In each VAWA Reauthorization since The Violence Against Women Act was enacted in 1994, Congress has recognized the epidemic proportions and the urgent need to provide enhanced safety and protection for Native women, and has passed previous Reauthorization Bills without controversy until last April when the Bill stalled in the Republican dominated House because of their opposition to the Senate’s expanded version.
  
Tribal governments are the only governments in America without the jurisdiction needed to protect women from crimes of violence and assault.  In 1978 Tribes were stripped of the right to arrest and prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes within tribal jurisdiction in Oliphant v. Suquamish, resulting in a jurisdictional ‘quagmire’ where non-Indian offenders often go unprosecuted.  The Reauthorization Bill passed by the Senate addresses the jurisdictional gap, restoring ‘limited’ tribal criminal jurisdiction and according to the NCAI Report would provide long over-due justice to Native women and safety to tribal communities.  The Bill would authorize tribal governments to investigate and prosecute all crimes of domestic violence regardless of the race of the offender and would afford suspects of abuse a full array of constitutional protections.  The legislation only permits tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians with significant connections to the tribal community and only over a tightly defined set of crimes such as domestic violence, dating violence and violations of enforceable protection orders.
The statistics say it all.  The NCAI Report states that 52% of violent crimes that occur in Indian Country go unprosecuted despite the federal government’s primary law enforcement responsibility on Indian reservations, and 67% of these cases were sexual abuse related cases.  On some reservations, Native women are murdered at 10 times the national average.  61% of American Indian and Alaskan Native women have been assaulted at some point in their life and 34% or one in three will be raped, with 86% of these cases, non-Indian assailants. 
North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp traveled throughout the State last week speaking to constituents in Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Devils Lake and Bismarck, also stopping in the Turtle Mountains at the SkyDancer Casino on Friday, speaking about VAWA and how the Reauthorization Bill will improve the lives of North Dakota families.  As a former ND Attorney General, she saw first- hand the effectiveness of VAWA in reducing the incidences of domestic violence.  “VAWA is important for all North Dakotans, but particularly Native American women.  Women in Indian Country experience abuse at a very high rate and our bill includes specific provisions designed to make them safer,” Heitkamp stated.  A core principle of VAWA since its inception has been combating violence against Native women. “The Reauthorization will work to strengthen the existing programs addressing the continuing crisis of violence against women in tribal communities.  Women in tribal communities face domestic violence and sexual assault at a much higher rate than those faced by the general population. The bill includes language to provide tribal governments the force they need to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators who commit these crimes on tribal land”, she said.  Both ND Senators Heitkamp (Dem) and John Hoeven (Rep) voted for the Reauthorization.     




DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON THE REZ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_lHi9uUWWg

Radmilla Cody and Geraldine Laughter speak out on domestic violence

Read More:
http://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2013/02/22/ncai-opposes-new-house-vawa-legislation-bill-represents-step-back-on-tribal-provisions

 http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/02/21/1619501/chuck-grassley-native-americans/

 http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/02/06/grassley-to-push-for-change-to-violence-against-women-act/article


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Friday, January 11, 2013






THOUSANDS MARCH IN OTTAWA
1-11-13



Photo credit: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151320115773904&set=a.157369913903.114299.140961138903&type=1&theater



http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151336124956170&set=a.10151010360676170.454116.253555851169&type=1&theater


THE POWER OF THE ROUND DANCE
BY KRYSTALLINE KRAUS
"That's when the magic happens, when two strangers reach out their hands and connect to form a giant circle which spins around, made up of hundreds of new relationships of trust -- and then suddenly the group of dancers are now all connected to one another. And I hope that it is this connection between Indigenous Canadians and mainstream Canadians that lasts well beyond this day of action. No justice. No peace.

The language of human touch carries with it many lessons and instantly breaks down any social-political barriers between the Canadian nation and First Nations across Canada. Aided through the communication of the drum -- the thundering power of the human heart -- one hand grabs another and a new understanding is built. New alliances. New allies.

It's as simple as one individual reaching their hand out and having that hand grasped in friendship, and quickly a round dance circle is formed and you are now no longer you and I am no longer me but we are now one part of a bigger circle that represents the continuation of life."


http://rabble.ca/news/2013/01/power-round-dance?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rabble-news+%28rabble.ca+-+News+for+the+rest+of+us%29&utm_content=FaceBook

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=184300231715715&set=o.453702748027709&type=3&theater



RALLY OF SUPPORT FOR CHIEF THERESA SPENCE OUTSIDE OF ATTAWAPISKAT BAND OFFICES
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=360748787356351&set=o.117610195068827&type=1&theater





"There is a prevailing myth that Canada's more than 600 First Nations and native communities live off of money -- subsidies -- from the Canadian government. This myth, though it is loudly proclaimed and widely believed, is remarkable for its boldness; widely accessible, verifiable facts show that the opposite is true."

"Indigenous people have been subsidizing Canada for a very long time."

"Conservatives have leaked documents in an attempt to discredit chief Theresa Spence, currently on hunger strike in Ottawa. Reporters like Jeffrey Simpson and Christie Blatchford have ridiculed the demands of native leaders and the protest movement Idle No More. Their ridicule rests on this foundational untruth: that it is hard-earned tax dollars of Canadians that pays for housing, schools and health services in First Nations."

"The Algonquins of Barriere Lake have a traditional territory that spans 10,000 square kilometres. For thousands of years, they have made continuous use of the land. They have never signed a treaty giving up their rights to the land. An estimated $100 million per year in revenues are extracted every year from their territory in the form of logging, hydroelectric dams, and recreational hunting and fishing."

"And yet the community lives in third-world conditions"

"Attawapiskat has been in the news because their ongoing housing crisis came to the attention of the media in 2011. (MP Charlie Angus referred to the poverty-stricken community as "Haiti at 40 below.") More recently, Chief Theresa Spence has made headlines for her ongoing hunger strike. The community is near James Bay, in Ontario's far north."

"Right now, DeBeers is constructing a $1 billion mine on the traditional territory of the Āhtawāpiskatowi ininiwak. Anticipated revenues will top $6.7 billion."

"Attawapiskat is subsidizing DeBeers, Canada and Ontario."

"The Lubicon Cree, who never signed a treaty ceding their land rights, have waged a decades-long campaign for land rights. During this time, over $14 billion in oil and gas has been removed from their traditional territory. During the same period, the community has gone without running water, endured divisive attacks from the government, and suffered the environmental consequences of unchecked extraction."

"These industries are mostly taking place on an Indigenous nation's traditional territory, laying waste to the land in the process, submerging, denuding, polluting and removing. The human costs are far greater; brutal tactics aimed at erasing native peoples' identity and connection with the land have created human tragedies several generations deep and a legacy of fierce and principled resistance that continues today."

"Canada has developed myriad mechanisms to keep the pressure on and the resources flowing. But policies of large-scale land theft and subordination of peoples are not disposed to half measures. From the active violence of residential schools to the targetted neglect of underfunded reserve schools, from RCMP and armed forces rifles to provincial police tear gas canisters, the extraction of these subsidies has always been treated like a game of Risk, but with real consequences."

"Movements like Idle No More give a population asleep at the wheel the chance to wake up and hear what native communities have been saying for hundreds of years: it's time to withdraw our consent from this dead-end regime, and chart a new course."


"Prime Minister Harper once said that "we have no history of colonialism." This is simply false. When Europeans came to these shores centuries ago, they did not find an empty wilderness, a "terra nullius" where no one lived."

"Quite the contrary. Aboriginal people had been living here in vital, complex communities, for thousands of years. For millennia before the European settlement, this land was their land."


"Chief Spence's hunger strike, carried out with dignity and determination, and the broader Idle No More campaign, which has gone beyond the traditional politics both within and outside the Aboriginal community, are based on a deep sense of frustration, of promises broken, of conditions that no people in Canada should have to accept. Federal and provincial governments face a fire of resentment and anger not next time, but this time. To ignore it, as the Conservatives and some provinces have done, is to court disaster."

"The issues Chief Spence is raising -- issues of terrible living conditions, of deep neglect, of poverty and powerlessness -- will not go away, and will not disappear in the face of attack. They are the shame of our nation and they must be addressed."

"The Conservatives have rejected replacing the Indian Act with a real transfer of power, and the implementation of the self government agreements which all Canadian governments agreed to do in Charlottetown twenty years ago. They show no understanding of the significance of treaties and the meaning of a "nation to nation" relationship."

"They have offered nothing that even begins to address the issues, and we shall all pay a heavy price for this lack of leadership."


"The Idle No More movement arose as a response to what organizers call the most recent assault on indigenous rights in Canada: Bill C-45, which passed on December 14. Bill C-45 makes changes to the Indian Act, removes environmental protections, and further erodes the treaties with native peoples through which Canada was created."

"Even worse is the bill’s “weakening of environmental assessment and the removal of lakes and rivers from protection,” says Eriel Deranger, Communication Coordinator of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, which is directly downstream from toxic tar sands mining. She knows firsthand the importance of protecting waterways from industrial pollutants. “Indigenous people’s rights,” she says, “are intrinsically linked to the environment.” She adds that the removal of such protections paves the way for resource extraction, bringing Canada closer to its self-stated goal of becoming a global energy superpower. This isn’t just a native thing, Deranger says; this is something that affects everyone."

"And so begins the largest indigenous mass mobilization in recent history. Native people and their allies from all over North America have gathered to peacefully voice their support for indigenous rights: they’ve organized rallies, teach-ins, and highway and train blockades, as well as “flash mob” round dances at shopping malls."

"With Twitter and Facebook as the major organizing tools, #idlenomore has emerged as the dominant meme in the indigenous rights movement. In addition to events across Canada, a U.S. media blitz tour has inspired solidarity actions all over North America, as well as in Europe, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Mainstream media and the Harper government are taking notice."

"Visit almost any reserve in Canada, and you’re likely to see third world social indicators in a first world country: high incarceration rates, inadequate housing and sanitation, reduced life expectancy—due in part to abnormally frequent suicides—lack of employment and education opportunities, and substance abuse. This, after more than a century of colonization by a government that refuses to acknowledge its identity as a colonial power. Meanwhile, native youth are the fastest-growing segment of Canada’s population, according to Aboriginal Affairs. Is it any surprise that they’re taking on repressive legislation and using social media to organize?"

"For Canadians—and potentially all North Americans—this is a moment of reckoning. Just as Chief Spence’s hunger strike forced the issue with Harper, Idle No More forces us all to confront the ugliness of our collective colonial history, and to recognize that colonization continues today."

"It holds up a mirror to our society, questioning the historical narrative we’re all taught to believe. It asks: On what values was our country founded? And, because identity is created out of that narrative: Who are we, really? And who do we want to be?"


IDLE NO MORE








IDLE NO MORE GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION
JANUARY 11, 2013








"Thus, the Hamlet Principle can be seen at work in a decidedly modern psychodrama, between Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, on the one side, and all of Canadian conservatism, on the other.  Chief Spence is on a hunger strike, protesting the way in which the Conservative government treats First Nations.

And Conservatives, meanwhile, can lately be observed claiming – over and over and over – that Chief Spence is a liar and a fraud and a criminal, and even that she isn’t really on a hunger strike at all.  This is where the “they doth protest too much” part comes in.

Because, the more that Conservatives bray and screech that they don’t care about Chief Spence’s truly brilliant campaign, the more Canadians suspect that they do.  The more that these Cons insult her – calling her every name they can conjure up, including “c**t” on a Sun News web page – the more that they look, well, scared."

"If you pay any attention to conservatives, however, you would think Chief Spence is worse than Hitler, and that her hunger strike is a declaration of war.  Against her, the full force of the Conservative government’s army of propagandists have been deployed.  She has been called some of the most disgusting things imaginable, but she has not responded in kind.  Instead, she has been almost Ghandi-like in her dignity.

If Chief Spence is truly a threat – and, with her weakened body, and her failing voice, it is hard to see how she could threaten anyone – then Conservatives have pursued a genuinely idiotic strategy against her.  Instead of making her infamous, they have made her famous.

Instead of ignoring her, they have revealed themselves to be obsessed by her.  Instead of simply meeting with her, and making it a one-day story, their pig-headed stubbornness has made Chief Spence a folk hero who will be remembered for years to come."



"One thing that I have noticed within the reinsurance of the Idle No More movement and the campaign to support Chief Theresa Spence is the truthful, courageous use of ceremony in the struggle; fulfilling all four portions of a balanced medicine wheel of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual understandings."

"Historically within Canada, there was a dark time under the Indian Act that made it illegal for First Nations, Metis and Inuit living within Canadian borders – as with the United States – to publically perform ceremonies."

"Now, ceremonies are serving as the strong, backbone of Indigenous resistance across Canada; from solidarity fasts to sweat lodges conducted in support of Chief Theresa Spence and the Idle No More movement."

"Ceremonies only became legal again – from the Potlatch to the Sundance – with changes to the Indian Act in 1951. That’s not too long ago."

"Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence has been on a fast ceremony since December 11, 2012.
I want to point out here that a spiritual fast is different than a hunger strike as a fast is spiritually and culturally located with specific Indigenous traditions and protocols."

"Chief Spence – who will finally be meeting with Prime Minster Stephen Harper on Friday January 11, 2013 (a global day of action for Idle No More) has said she is willing to fast until death and “meet her ancestors” if that is what it takes to defend her people and Mother Earth."

"Two other elders are also on fasts for their people. Saskatchewan activist Emil Bell (74) has been on his fast since December 12, 2012. Manitoba elder Raymond Robinson has also gone without food since December 11, 2012."


"Regarding Idle No More, there have been several call out for fasts in support of Chief Spence, including a Canadian wide call out for a twenty-four hour fast from food on January 11, 2013.
Idle No More has also encouraged First Nations communities to return to their land to perform ceremony. Call outs have been made to coincide with the full moon and the New Year."

"Reclaiming the traditions lost through colonization is key to the empowerment of First Nations communities across North America – Turtle Island – as Indigenous communities come together across the world in support of Idle No More. Ours is a strong fire."



"The First Nations concept of seven generations—of leaving the world as good, or better, than you found it for the children to come—is an old one. It was well entrenched in their society when Frenchman Jacques Cartier landed in what is now Quebec in 1535. It’s been almost five centuries since then and now over 30 million people live in Kanata—a Huron-Iroquois word for “village”. While on the surface Canada looks like a successful First World nation, underneath this veneer there are many inconvenient truths. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin didn’t mince words when he said, “We have never admitted to ourselves that we were, and still are, a colonial power.” In a recent interview, Martin also made the point that, as Postmedia News puts it, “Canada is starving its First Nations of the funding they need for proper health care and education and, even today, is fixated on assimilating aboriginals into a culture that is not theirs.” He also argued that the “Harper government is making serious mistakes by scaling back environmental protection,” according to that article."

"The colonial world view that landed on Canada’s shore centuries ago has been highly destructive for both the natural environment and the resident First Nations, who had lived in a remarkably sustainable fashion up to that time. The predominant view that “man is the centre of the world”, which replaced this, has since then recklessly clear-cut much of the natural capital endowment—forests, coal, oil and gas, minerals, fish, and countless other animal species. It has fouled air, water, and soil, and these destructive forces show no signs of slowing down. After the First Nations offered knowledge to the original settlers so they could survive on the land, the dominant classes in the new settler society, who profited from the exploitation of these resources, proceeded to marginalize and assimilate these indigenous people and blot out their rich and valuable culture. And, as Cree singer Buffy Sainte-Marie says, “it’s still going on here today”. The recent passing of Bill C-45 by the Conservative government of Canada, which is seen as further eroding First Nations rights, is just the latest insult in a long line of ill-considered and unconscionable enactments."

"The label “Idle No More” describes a grassroots movement which has risen up in the past few weeks. It has been supported by thousands of First Nations people, along with many of their fellow Canadians, to protest present-day government policies. They will no longer stand idly by as everything that they believe in is once again threatened. Enough is enough! At the same time, Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence has been on a hunger strike since December 11 to call attention to her people’s issues, and mainstream media has taken a long time to respond positively to her actions."

"Idle No More protesters are also very concerned with the recent, outrageous gutting of environmental protection. First, the omnibus Bill C-38 passed in June and, among other things, weakened the power of the Canadian Fisheries Act, a 144-year-old piece of legislation designed to protect fish habitat. This bill also vastly diminished the powers of environmental protection and assessment which have been slowly building since Confederation. The federal government then cut staff at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. With the passing of Bill C-45 in December, the 130-year-old Navigable Waters Protection Act that protects the majority of Canada’s water systems has been shrunk to a shadow of its former self. And at the same time Canada now has the dubious honour of being the first country in the world to withdraw from the 1997 Kyoto Accord on climate change."

"The Conservative government’s continued undying support for fossil fuel production and the expansion of its gargantuan and intrusive infrastructure is killing our beautiful planet and ruining it for future generations. But this is the primary force that drives them—their belief in an outdated model for a human economy which they think Canadians need and want."



"MONTREAL – The aboriginal movement known as Idle No More continued to gain strength beyond Canada’s borders on Tuesday as activists embarked on a public relations blitz in the United States."

"Pamela Palmater, one of the leaders of the movement, travelled to Washington, D.C. to give interviews to the U.S. press. She said the goal of the media campaign was to raise awareness internationally and force Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act."

“The idea is to put pressure on the Canadian government to pay attention and come to the table,” Palmater said by phone."

"In addition to recent events held across Canada, rallies have already been staged as far off as Texas, Hawaii and New Zealand with plans for more in the coming days."

"Palmater said Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike, now in its fourth week, is part of a much larger protest movement."

"The initial spark was the federal government’s omnibus budget legislation but it has now become about broader issues like inequality and treaty rights, she said."

"Meanwhile, Spence’s hunger strike continued to gain support from across the country. A group of activists travelled from the Maritimes to bring supplies to her protest site, located on an island in the Ottawa River across from Parliament Hill."

"Dozens of demonstrators took to the streets of downtown Toronto on Tuesday afternoon in support of Idle No More and stopped traffic at one of the city’s busiest intersections."

"Actor Tantoo Cardnial was part of the Toronto rally and said she got into acting to tell the world the stories of Canada’s aboriginal peoples."

“The blueprint of who we are as a civilization — that was attacked by the church, by the government, by corporations,” Cardinal said."

"Spence is in support of the treaty rights and the “Canadian people have to understand there are two signers in the treaties,” she said."

“Those treaties were signed in a sacred way — they were signed through ceremony, through prayer … and it’s a sacred agreement."

http://metronews.ca/news/canada/493146/idle-no-more-movement-spreads-beyond-border

/http://warriorpublications.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/war-of-the-words-chiefs-issue-ultimatums-as-grassroots-dance-in-circles/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/117686499/IdleNoMore-Webdocument

http://www.riic.ca/2012/12/27/quick-round-up-of-idlenomore-reading/
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