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


Posted by at 1 comment:

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/
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, December 6, 2012


BREAKING NEWS!

HISTORIC RETURN OF SACRED LAND TO 'OCETI SAKOWIN', THE GREAT SIOUX NATION

AFTER 136 YEARS OF OCCUPATION PE' SLA
 RETURNS TO LAKOTA, DAKOTA AND NAKOTA NATIONS TO BE HELD IN TRUST FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS


DEAL FINALIZED IN PE'SLA LAND SALE 


http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/tribes-reach-9-million-goal-and-purchase-sacred-site-pe-sla-146015

http://www.lastrealindians.com/axCommentDetails.php?postId=2139#

http://www.lastrealindians.com/axCommentDetails.php?postId=2138

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHt90Ns8EebQpU_spjv9jjm7b7Jg?docId=6303f99253d84860887f9a6fcffa5046

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/08/lakota-debra-white-plume-protect-our.html?spref=fb

11-30-12

By Deborah LaVallie

The Oceti Sakowin: the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations are celebrating the historic return of 'part' off their ancestral homelands, Pe' Sla after 136 years, when the lands that were originally, their sacred ceremonial grounds in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and legally, Great Sioux Nation Treaty lands, negotiated and diminished under 'duress' in the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 were stolen, during the Black Hills 'Gold Rush' of the 1870's.

 The re-acquisition of Pe' Sla for $9 million was finalized Friday after months of negotiations and fund raising.  In a press release issued by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and the Shakopee Mdewakantan Sioux Tribe, the finalization of the agreement between the Tribes and Leonard and Margaret Reynolds who have owned the Reynolds Ranch where Pe' Sla is located was confirmed.  The Tribes will form Oceti Sakowin Sacred Lands Protection Commission to protect and preserve the sacred land, known as the center of the Lakota creation for the future generations.  A group of Tribes and interested parties, along with celebrities joined together in an online campaign to raise the $9 million the Reynolds were asking for the tract of land that came up for sale.  




http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=533839333294271&set=a.293435434001330.82617.254587994552741&type=1&theater






Posted by at No comments:


FIRST NATIONS CHIEFS OF CANADA MARCH ON PARLIAMENT IN A PROTEST OF CANADIAN GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND BILL C-45
12-4-12

By Deborah LaVallie

 First Nations Chiefs demonstrated their frustration of Canadian Government policies Tuesday, as they marched on Parliament Hill in Ottawa protesting their opposition to the budget implementation Bill C-45 proposed by conservatives and it's unfairness to the First Nations and the failure of the conservative government to consult with them.

 Bill C-45 an omnibus budget bill would change the Navigable Waters Protection Act which would remove thousands of lakes and streams from federal protection. The Act established in 1882 is one of Canada's oldest laws and states "no one could block, alter or destroy any water deep enough to float a canoe without federal approval."  Chiefs are concerned that the new Act would strip away federal oversight of thousands of lakes and streams paving the way for more big pipelines to be built, and would affect First Nations territories.

 The peaceful march ended in a minor confrontation when the Chiefs tried to enter the House of Commons to deliver their message that they were serving notice that they now planned to take direct action against the Harper government.  Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Wallace Fox issued a statement later and said, "We weren't consulted on C-45 which outlines a new legislation on land surrender and wanted to be included in these discussions."  They wanted to deliver a message to Parliament and Prime Minister Stephan Harper in a peaceful way, that the inherent treaty rights of First Nations peoples weren't negotiable.  He said, "These actions have strained an already fragile relationship.  We have no other choice now but to take a course that will have impacts on all Canadians."  About 200 people took part in the rally and march.  



Photo: ATPN National News

Photo:  ATPN National News


Photo:  ATPN National News






http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/12/04/chiefs-take-fight-to-house-of-commons-doorstep/

http://indigenouswaves.com/2012/12/04/russell-diabo-and-pam-palmater-on-the-canadian-governments-suite-of-bills-targeting-first-nations/

http://en.video.sympatico.ca/news-info/top-stories/watch/heated-protest-of-bill-c-45/2011445346001?sort=popular&filter=UFC&page=1&lineupid=34593258001#.UL6gUIPm5Ge

http://en.video.sympatico.ca/news-info/top-stories/watch/atleo-opens-afn-special-assembly-with-unity-call/2011416196001?sort=popular&filter=UFC&page=1#.UL6a2YPm5Gd

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/12/04/chiefs-take-protest-to-doors-of-the-house-to-oppose-budget-bill/

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2012/12/20121204-143756.html
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, November 29, 2012






COBELL SETTLEMENT DISBURSEMENT SHOULD BE OUT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 


http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/opinion/interior-annouces-cobell-settlement-final%E2%80%94enjoy-moment-145955

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/cobell-settlement-begin-paying-out-christmas-145913

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/09tribes.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2012/11/historic-3-4-billion-cobell-settlement-final-clearing-way-for-tribal-payments/
Posted by at 1 comment:

Sunday, November 18, 2012



STANDING ROCK SIOUX TRIBAL COUNCIL VOTES TO ISSUE DISBURSEMENT IN THE $48.9 MILLION SALAZAR SETTLEMENT TO OFF RESERVATION MEMBERSHIP

APPELLANTS IN FOOL BEAR, DANCING BULL-BUFFALO BOY AND WOLF NECKLACE V STANDING ROCK SIOUX TRIBAL COUNCIL PREPARE TO FILE A CLASS ACTION 'BREACH OF TRUST' LAWSUIT IN FEDERAL COURT ON DISBURSEMENT OF HISTORIC SALAZAR SETTLEMENT, A 'BREACH OF TRUST' LAWSUIT 



PHOTO CREDITS:  CHERYL KARY

By Deborah LaVallie

 The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council met in a standing room only tribal council meeting, Tuesday (November 14) where a motion was made and a vote taken to issue a $1,000 'social needs' payment to off reservation membership, after testimony was heard from tribal members, Germaine Tremmel, Velma Little Eagle Balderas and Ashley Agard, who spoke to the desperation and the needs of the people. Hallways were crowded to capacity, with people sitting outside in their cars, waiting throughout the day to hear if off reservation membership of the SRST were going to be included in the historic $48.9 million Salazar Settlement, that has recently been issued to many tribal members who reside on the Standing Rock reservation.   Members came from far and wide, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, Montana, New Mexico and other states in a show of unity and to voice to their tribal council, that they too, are Lakota and members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and should also be included in the multi-million dollar Trust Settlement.  At least 400 people and in some estimates as high as 700 members were there to attend the meeting.

 Tribal councilman, Errol Crow Ghost made Motion #55, which was seconded by councilman, Henry Harrison to approve to amend Resolution 451-12 to reallocate funds received from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Salazar Settlement in the amount of $9 million, that had previously been allocated for education purposes, and, to redirect and set-aside those funds for 'social needs' payments to the Tribe's non resident membership, around 8,600 individuals, estimated to be about 60% of the Tribes membership.  Non resident members must submit an application for the 'social needs' payment, attaching a valid proof of enrollment and an affidavit swearing the applicant has not previously received 'social' payments from the Salazar Settlement that had been previously allocated and distributed to on reservation resident tribal members.  The amount set aside for each member will be $1,000 however, the final amount will be officially determined after the application process has closed, and it has been determined how many applications have been submitted according to official tribal minutes.  Applications will be made available until December 31,with the application deadline February 14, 2013.  The controversial application, containing stipulations that weren't required of on reservation members that received the disbursement has been amended at least twice and should be online at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe website sometime after Monday, though this may be subject to change.  Many off reservation members believe that the disparate requirements violate their rights and discriminate against them as tribal members.  Many also feel the SRST Council has discriminated against them because of the amount of the disbursement, with the on reservation membership getting much more, leaving the off reservation members questioning what actually constitutes the meaning of their 'tribal' membership.

 The tribal resolution further stated that the Judicial Committee appropriate a budget, not exceeding $300,000 to hire temporary staff to process the applications from the non resident tribal membership, whose duties will include comparing names and enrollment information with those who previously received the distribution as on reservation resident members. Tribal members who are residents of the reservation and whose applications were processed and approved received a $5,000 disbursement, while in other cases, some individuals received as much as, a $10,000 disbursement. 

 Councilman, Milton Brown Otter voted no on the tribal resolution with council members, Paul Archambault, Duane Claymore, Errol Crow Ghost, Mike Faith, Henry Harrison, Ben Harrison, Sharon Two Bears, Adele White, Randall White, Frank White Bull and Phyllis Young all voting 'yes' to pass the resolution, with Ron Brown Otter, Jesse Jay Taken Alive and Avis Little Eagle absent from the meeting. 

SRST-ACTT (Active Citizens for Tribal Truth) off reservation spokesperson for the Bismarck-Mandan (ND) area, Dr. Cheryl Kary, stated, "I think the tribal council had an opportunity here, to unite our Tribe and provide true leadership, but they squandered it badly.  Two women elders and one young mother with her son spoke eloquently and from the heart on behalf of families and relatives, pleading for the Council members to do the right thing.  Instead, they passed the token payment and came up with a discriminatory application to divide us even more.  It is a sad day when our so-called leaders disrespect their own people this way.  All off reservation members should be able to apply for the Settlement without fear of retaliation, and a loss of rights."

As of Friday, according to an SRST-ACTT statement, the tribal Judicial Committee met and made a motion to put all the controversial language that had been removed from the application by an administrative decision, back onto the application, although it was not verified by official minutes, but heard through various sources.  This motion will go to the floor of the next tribal council meeting.  The Judicial Committee, is only a 'recommending' committee to the tribal council.  Should the tribal council approve the recommendation, off reservation enrollees may have to resubmit another application if they have applied already, an application that would require the individual to give up the right to sue the Tribe, and the right against garnishment in order to receive the disbursement.  The ACTT leadership is asking non resident members who are angry about the loss of their rights and their disenfranchisement, 'NOT' to disenroll from the Tribe and walk away, but to stand up and help fight for voting rights for all members of the Tribe, whether they live on or off the reservation.  "A constitutional revision that allows absentee voting for 'all' tribal members is the only way to keep the tribal council accountable to it's membership.  This is the only way for the tribal council to recognize us, the off reservation membership, as their Lakota 'relatives'."

 Archie Fool Bear, SRST-ACTT spokesman for the reservation, stated, "It is the Council who is making these motions and taking these actions against the non resident enrollees, and, not necessarily the people," wanting to remind everyone that, "many of 'our' relatives in the Districts, supported by motion, a payout for everyone and were ignored.  Almost 800 people signed the recall petitions on the tribal council members who are leading those actions, yet they were ignored.  There were also 70 on reservation members who signed Code of Ethics complaints against the Council, as well, and they were also ignored.  These tribal members may not be as vocal as we would like them to be, and there 'are' some who also have ugly feelings against their own people, but many of them 'are' supportive and they want equal rights for non resident members, as well.  Many of them have lived off the reservation and know how hard it is."  He wants people to keep this in mind, making sure that everyone knows there are some people taking a lot of heat, threats, bullying and immature behavior because of these ongoing issues.

 Meanwhile, the Standing Rock Sioux Supreme Court denied Appellants, Archie Fool Bear, Kathy Dancing Bull-Buffalo Boy and Valerie Wolf Necklace in their petition to appeal from the SRST Trial Court's denial of their request for a preliminary injunction.  Their appeal was dismissed and their case was remanded back to the SRST Trial Court.  They sought a preliminary injunction which the SRST Trial Court denied on September 24, to enjoin or stop the SRST Council from spending the $48.9 million Salazar Settlement, and for the Salazar Settlement funds to be paid out in per capita payments.  Their Breach of Trust Complaint is still pending at the trial court level, and they are waiting to hear back from Tribal Judge B.J. Jones on the matter.

 The Standing Rock Sioux Supreme Court, composed of Chief Justice Brad Peterson, Carla D. Pratt and Dwight Koch, who was recused, stated in their denial, that the Appellants did not establish their claim for injunctive relief, because they failed to meet the 'necessary burden', and, that they did not fully demonstrate at the time their likelihood of success on the merits of the case.  "Because the Tribal Constitution gives the Tribal Council the authority to administer any funds within the control of the Tribe, it appears that the Appellants may have a difficult time proving that the Tribal Council's administration of the Salazar fund is a violation of the law.  Therefore, there is substantial doubt that Appellants are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim."  The SRST Supreme Court also stated the Appellant's secondary failure was that they failed to demonstrate that they were likely to suffer 'irreparable harm' before a decision on the merits can be rendered.  "Even if Appellants are successful on the merits of their claim, they will have not suffered any irreparable injury.  If Plaintiffs were successful on the merits, the Tribe could reallocate the remainder of the Salazar funds without any irreparable injury to the Plaintiffs/Appellants."

 With their Breach of Trust case remanded back to the trial court, the Plaintiffs are now waiting the Judge's decision.  Should their case be denied, Fool Bear, Dancing Bull-Buffalo Boy and Wolf Necklace are preparing to file a class action lawsuit for Breach of Trust in Federal Court for discrimination on behalf of the non resident members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.


UPDATE
11-22-12

The application for the Salazar 'social needs' payment to off reservation members of the SRST can be found at http://www.standingrock.org/news.asp?ID=155 . According to an update from SRST - ACTT the new application will be posted on the SRST website sometime in early December, most likely, after the next tribal council meeting, tentatively, around December 5, though the Tribal Finance Office will be accepting the old application, but no faxes. No checks will be disbursed until after February 14, the deadline for applying for the payment. A new Settlement Disbursement Office is being set up and applications, including proof of enrollment must be mailed to: Settlement Disbursement Office, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, P.O. Box 103, Building 1 North Standing Rock Ave., Fort Yates, ND 58538. The completed application must be notarized.

Velma Little Eagle Balderas, Hunkpapa Lakota originally from the Rock Creek community of the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota, a descendant of Tatanka Iyotaka, Sitting Bull, and an off reservation tribal member and an advocate for off reservation membership living in the Minneapolis area spoke at the tribal council meeting on the needs of SRST membership who don't reside on the reservation.  She spoke of the sadness, the anger and disbelief of the SRST membership that the SRST Tribal Council did not include them in the distribution of the Salazar Trust Settlement, even though they are enrolled members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and have land interests on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.   She also told the council how she felt about the 'bogus' 30 day residency clause to the tribal code that disqualifies many from receiving any assistance or help from the 'Tribe', stating that the off reservation membership greatly benefits the 'Tribe', when they use their numbers in the 'head count', which qualifies the 'Tribe' for federal funding.  As landowners, she told council members, that they were entitled to the per capita distribution.  The following is a statement from Little Eagle Balderas, addressing the Oyate of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe:

"Ahoy!  Mitakuyapi.  During this time, it is a momentous month. It is  Native American Heritage Month, that is so full of reflection, of our Ancestors and Tunkasila Iyotaka, what he battled for, his belief in and his love for his Mitakuyapi.  He stood brave and strong with his mission in life to be a good and honest man, who loved his people.  Mitakuyapi.  I believe in the ways of the Lakota, and to stay true to this identity of a Lakota that we bear as a signature in our lives.  We are all relatives, especially, by our Standing Rock Sioux Tribe enrolled status, that ties our blood to each other.  Do not give up hope, my people.  Mitakuyapi.  There is a change coming, that will be a stepping stone in our climb to be recognized.  We will be reunited with our Lakota traditional beliefs, virtues, values and our seven sacred rites, praying, fasting and smudging.  This is the only way.  Mitakuyapi.  With spirituality.  We are still alive with our spirituality.  We survived the genocide.  Inanjipi, stand up, and show your true self.

I have always spoke and tried to be an example of a true Hunkpapa Lakota, just loving my heritage as a Hunkpapa Lakota Winyan.  Our heritage is so rich with very valuable life skills, traditions, virtues and values and with such strict, honorable and respectful Lakota 'Ways'.  I firmly believe that as a Chief and leader, Tunkasila Tatanka Iyotaka, would work very strongly with his Oyate.  In the Lakota way, the Chief gave up his riches, his material items, so his Oyate could survive.  The Chiefs always ate last and made sure their people were comfortable.  A Chief would never make his people live as 'scavenger's', like the leaders of today are doing to their people.  Tunkasila Tatanka Iyotaka's ultimate sacrifice was his life and we love him as a true role model of what a 'real' leader should be.  His leadership was so historical and his vision and his life live on.  Ahoy, All of my Relatives, Mitakuye Oyasin."

PHOTO CREDIT:  DEBORAH LAVALLIE



Posted by at 3 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)