MAORI : "20 WAYS TO TAKE AWAY TREATY RIGHTS"
Current mood: drained
Category: News and Politics

HOT FLASH COLONIALISM LIVES!
MAORI SEND  "20 WAYS TO TAKE AWAY TREATY RIGHTS"

"The Infinite "Red-X" discovers Secret Instruction Manual:
"Advanced Strategies on Stealing Indigenous Resources"
Two Dirty Colonial Reptiles – Chris "ODB" Reid & Robin "Rotten Egg" Aitken cited as Slimey "Authroties".
The same day the Red-X entered a black hole and discovered a parallel universe at the other end of the so-called "British Empire!".
Here’s what the Maori told him:

"20 WAYS TO TAKE AWAY TREATY RIGHTS

1/ Make the Maori a non-person. Convince them that their ancestors were savages.

2/ Convince Maori that they should be patient. What’s 158 yrs?

3/ Make Maori believe that things are being done for their own good.

4/ Get some Maori people to do the dirty work.

5/ Consult Maori but don’t act on what they tell you.

6/ Insist that Maori people go through the" proper [colonial] channels".

7/ Make the Maori believe that you are putting a lot of effort into working for them.

8/ Allow a few individuals to make the grade.

9/ Appeal to the Maori sense of fairness or aroha. Tell them that even though things are pretty bad, it’s not good for them to make strong protests.

10/ Encourage the Maori to take their case to court, even to the Privy Council. This is very expensive [and doesn’t do any good].

11/ Make Maori believe that things could be worse.

12/ Set yourself up a "pretend court" with no power like the Waitangi Tribunal.

13/ Pretend that the reason for the loss of human rights is for some reason other than the fact that the person is a Maori.

14/ Make the situation more complicated than is necessary.

15/ Insist on "unanimous" decision-making [rather than traditional Maori form of decision making].

16/ Select very limited alternatives which have little merit and tell Maori that they indeed do have a choice.

17/ Convince Maori that the leaders who are the most beneficial to them are actually dangerous and not to be trusted.

18/ Talk about what’s good for everyone. Tell the Maori that they can’t consider it for themselves.

19/ Remove rights gradually.

20/ Rely on [colonial] reason and logic instead of [Maori view of] rightness and morality".


Contact the Maori at tepaatu@gmail.com

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MORE CONFLICTS IN INDIAN AMAZONIA
Category: News and Politics

MORE CONFLICTS IN INDIAN AMAZONIA
Protests in Brazil reservation eviction By MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press Writer
Thu Apr 3, 1:58 AM ET



Protesters fighting removal of settlers from an Amazon Indian reservation burned two bridges and blocked another, federal police said Wednesday.

Police planned to begin clearing the remaining non-Indian settlers from the 4.2-million-acre Raposa Serra do Sol Indian reservation next week, said a spokeswomen, who declined to be identified in accordance with department policy.

About 150 officers already have been sent to the remote area and hundreds of others were on the way, the spokeswoman said.

Raposa Serra do Sol has been the site of frequent conflicts between Indians and settlers, mostly rice farmers, many of whom settled in the region over the last 30 years.

The government officially recognized the reservation in 2005 to protect about 18,000 Indians from the Macuxi, Ingarico, Patamona, Wapixana and Taurpeng tribes in the area bordering Venezuela and Guyana.

But often-violent protests have delayed the removal of settlers as required under Brazilian law. While most Indians want the settlers out, a few, who apparently work with settlers, have joined the protests.

In June, Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the rice farmers and ordered federal police to remove them within a year.

Protesters burned a bridge on Tuesday after police arrested Paulo Cesar Quartiero, president of Roraima rice growers association, for blocking a federal highway. Quarteiro was later released on bail. A second bridge was set alight Wednesday.

The police spokeswoman said she does not know how many settlers remain. Local news media estimates ranged from a few dozen to a few hundred.

"We are required to do this under the law, if we don’t the Indians have said they will take matters into their own hands," the spokeswoman said.



Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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TEN WORST COUNTRIES FOR WOMEN
Category: Life

Ten worst countries for women

In spite of real progress around the globe, the bedrock problems that have dogged women for centuries remain

Mar 08, 2008 04:30 AM
Olivia Ward
Foreign Affairs Reporter

The image of the 21st century woman is confident, prosperous, glowing with health and beauty.

But for many of the 3.3 billion female occupants of our planet, the perks of the cyber age never arrived. As International Women's Day is celebrated today, they continue to feel the age-old lash of violence, repression, isolation, enforced ignorance and discrimination.

"These things are universal," says Taina Bien-Aime, executive director of New York-based Equality Now. "There is not one single country where women can feel absolutely safe."

In spite of real progress in women's rights around the globe – better laws, political participation, education and income – the bedrock problems that have dogged women for centuries remain. Even in wealthy countries, there are pockets of private pain where women are unprotected and under attack.

Some countries, often the poorest and most conflict-ridden, have a level of violence that makes life unbearable for women. Richer ones may burden them with repressive laws, or sweep the problems of the least advantaged under the carpet. In any country, refugee women are among the most vulnerable.

So widespread are the disadvantages that it's hard to pinpoint the worst places in the world for women. Some surveys rate their problems by quality of life, others by health indicators. Human rights groups point to countries where violations are so severe that even murder is routine.

Literacy is one of the best indicators of women's status in their countries. But Amnesty International Canada's women's rights campaigner Cheryl Hotchkiss says building schools alone doesn't solve the problem of equal education.

"There's a huge range of barriers women face to getting an education," she says. "It may be free and available, but parents won't send their daughters out to school if they can be kidnapped and raped."

Health is another key indicator, including the care of pregnant women, who are sometimes forced into disastrous early marriage and childbearing, as well as infection with HIV/AIDS. But again, statistics fail to show the whole, complex story.

"On a rural lake in Zambia, I met a woman who had not told her husband she was HIV-positive," says David Morley, CEO of Save the Children Canada. "She was already living on the edge because she had no children. If she told him, she would be kicked off the island and sent alone to the mainland. She felt she had no choice, because she had no power at all."

Putting power in women's hands is the biggest challenge for improving their lives in every country, advocates agree. Whether in the poorest countries of Africa, or the most repressive of the Middle East or Asia, lack of control over their own destinies blights women's lives from early childhood.

APOLOGIES TO AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES LONG OVERDUE NOW COME FROM NEW AUSSIE GOVERNMENT
Current mood: hopeful

Australia to apologize to Aborigines

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia will issue its first formal apology to its indigenous people next month, the government announced Wednesday, a milestone that could ease tensions with a minority whose mixed-blood children were once taken away on the premise that their race was doomed.

The Feb. 13 apology to the so-called "stolen generations" of Aborigines will be the first item of business for the new Parliament, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, whose Labor Party won November elections, had promised to push for an apology, an issue that has divided Australians for a decade,

"The apology will be made on behalf of the Australian government and does not attribute guilt to the current generation of Australian people," Macklin said in a statement.

Rudd has refused demands from some Aboriginal leaders to pay compensation for the suffering of broken families. Activist Michael Mansell, who is legal director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Center, has urged the government to set up an $882 million compensation fund.

Macklin did not mention compensation Wednesday. But she said she sought broad input on the wording of the apology, which she hoped would signal the beginning of a new relationship between Australia and its original inhabitants, who number about 450,000 among a population of 21 million. Aborigines are the poorest ethnic group in Australia and are most likely to be jailed, unemployed and illiterate.

"Once we establish this respect, the government can work with indigenous communities to improve services aimed at closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians," she said.

Christine King of the Stolen Generations Alliance, one of the key indigenous groups the government has consulted in crafting the apology, said she was "overwhelmed" that a date had finally been set.

"Older people thought they would never live to see this day," King said through tears. "It's very emotional for me and it's very important."

Australia has had a decade-long debate about how best to acknowledge Aborigines who were affected by a string of 20th century policies that separated mixed-blood Aboriginal children from their families — the cohort frequently referred to as Australia's stolen generation.

From 1910 until the 1970s, around 100,000 mostly mixed-blood Aboriginal children were taken from their parents under state and federal laws based on a premise that Aborigines were a doomed race and saving the children was a humane alternative.

A national inquiry in 1997 found that many children taken from their families suffered long-term psychological effects stemming from the loss of family and culture.

The inquiry recommended that state and federal authorities apologize and compensate those removed from their families. But then-Prime Minister John Howard steadfastly refused to do either, saying his government should not be held responsible for the policies of former officials.

Barbara Livesey, chief executive of Reconciliation Australia, a government-commissioned agency tasked with bringing black and white Australians together, said the apology on the day after Parliament resumes for the first time since the November elections would be historic.

"It's a moment that all Australians should feel incredibly proud of, that we're recognizing the mistakes of the past," she said.

But opposition leader Brendan Nelson, whose conservative Liberal Party was thrown out of office in November after almost 12 years in power, questioned whether the apology deserved to be the new government's first item of business.

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REPUBLIC OF LAKOTAH : OFFICIAL MAP & BORDERS
Current mood: rebellious
Category: News and Politics

1:57 PM - 2 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

LAKOTA NATION FINALLY GAINS SOVEREINTY : A NEW INDEPENDENT COUNTRY
Current mood: accomplished

Friday, December 21, 2007
Freedom! Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status

Freedom! Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status
Threaten Land Liens, Contested Real Estate Over Five State Area in U.S.West Dakota Territory Reverts back to Lakota Control According to U.S., International Law

WASHINGTON, DC - December 20 - Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status today in Washington D.C. following Monday's withdrawal from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government. The withdrawal, hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie Wyoming.

"This is an historic day for our Lakota people," declared Russell Means, Itacan of Lakota. "United States colonial rule is at its end!"

"Today is a historic day and our forefathers speak through us. Our Forefathers made the treaties in good faith with the sacred Canupa and with the knowledge of the Great Spirit," shared Garry Rowland from Wounded Knee. "They never honored the treaties, that's the reason we are here today."

The four member Lakota delegation traveled to Washington D.C. culminating years of internal discussion among treaty representatives of the various Lakota communities. Delegation members included well known activist and actor Russell Means, Women of All Red Nations (WARN) founder Phyllis Young, Oglala Lakota Strong Heart Society leader Duane Martin Sr., and Garry Rowland, Leader Chief Big Foot Riders. Means, Rowland, Martin Sr. were all members of the 1973 Wounded Knee takeover.

"In order to stop the continuous taking of our resources – people, land, water and children- we have no choice but to claim our own destiny," said Phyllis Young, a former Indigenous representative to the United Nations and representative from Standing Rock.

Property ownership in the five state area of Lakota now takes center stage. Parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana have been illegally homesteaded for years despite knowledge of Lakota as predecessor sovereign [historic owner]. Lakota representatives say if the United States does not enter into immediate diplomatic negotiations, liens will be filed on real estate transactions in the five state region, clouding title over literally thousands of square miles of land and property.

Young added, "The actions of Lakota are not intended to embarrass the United States but to simply save the lives of our people".

Following Monday's withdrawal at the State Department, the four Lakota Itacan representatives have been meeting with foreign embassy officials in order to hasten their official return to the Family of Nations.

Lakota's efforts are gaining traction as Bolivia, home to Indigenous President Evo Morales, shared they are "very, very interested in the Lakota case" while Venezuela received the Lakota delegation with "respect and solidarity."

"Our meetings have been fruitful and we hope to work with these countries for better relations," explained Garry Rowland. "As a nation, we have equal status within the national community."

Education, energy and justice now take top priority in emerging Lakota. "Cultural immersion education is crucial as a next step to protect our language, culture and sovereignty," said Means. "Energy independence using solar, wind, geothermal, and sugar beets enables Lakota to protect our freedom and provide electricity and heating to our people."

The Lakota reservations are among the most impoverished areas in North America, a shameful legacy of broken treaties and apartheid policies. Lakota has the highest death rate in the United States and Lakota men have the lowest life expectancy of any nation on earth, excluding AIDS, at approximately 44 years. Lakota infant mortality rate is five times the United States average and teen suicide rates 150% more than national average. 97% of Lakota people live below the poverty line and unemployment hovers near 85%.

"After 150 years of colonial enforcement, when you back people into a corner there is only one alternative," emphasized Duane Martin Sr. "The only alternative is to bring freedom into its existence by taking it back to the love of freedom, to our lifeway."

We are the freedom loving Lakota from the Sioux Indian reservations of Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana who have traveled to Washington DC to withdraw from the constitutionally mandated treaties to become a free and independent country. We are alerting the Family of Nations we have now reassumed our freedom and independence with the backing of Natural, International, and United States law. For more information, please visit our new website at www.lakotafreedom.com.

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THE CONDITIONS AND HOPES ON THE PINE RIDGE OGLALA LAKOTA RESERVATION, SOUTH DAKOTA

EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW - EDUCATION OF THE FACTS IS THE KEY TO CHANGING THE FUTURE OF THE CHILDREN OF PINE RIDGE AND OTHER FORGOTTEN RESERVATIONS SUFFERING FROM ABJECT POVERTY.


The Arrogance of Ignorance:
Hidden Away, Out of Sight and Out of Mind
Regarding life, conditions, and hope on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Reservation of SD


This is an article of facts about the lives of modern-day American Indians, a topic most mainstream American news organizations will not discuss. It is not a plea for charity. It is not a promotion for non-profit organizations. It is not aimed for pity. It is not even an effort to detail cause and effect. It is, however, an effort to dispel ignorance…. a massive, pervasive, societal ignorance filled with illusions and caricatures which, ultimately, serve only to corrupt the intelligence and decent intent of the average mainstream citizen. Only through knowledge and understanding can solutions be found. But facts must be known first. Then, it is the reader's choice what to do with those facts.


Hidden away, out of sight but dotting the landscape of America, are the little known or forgotten Reservations of the Indigenous People of our land. Sadly, the average U.S. mainstream resident knows almost nothing about the people of the Native American reservations other than what romanticized or caricaturized versions they see on film or as the print media stereotypes of oil or casino-rich Indians. Most assume that whatever poverty exists on a reservation is most certainly comparable to that which they might experience themselves. Further, they assume it is curable by the same means they would use.

But that is the arrogance of ignorance.

Our dominant society is accustomed to being exposed to poverty. It's nearly invisible because it is everywhere. We drive through our cities with a blind eye, numb to the suffering on the streets, or we shake our heads and turn away, assuming help is on the way. After all, it's known that the government and the big charities are helping the needy in nearly every corner of the world.
But the question begs: What about the sovereign nations on America's own soil, within this country, a part and yet apart from mainstream society? What about these Reservations that few people ever see?
Oddly enough, the case could be made that more Europeans and Australians know and understand the cultures and conditions of our Indigenous people better Americans do.
Moreover, what the Europeans and Australians know is that there are a number of very fortunate Native American Nations whose people are able to earn a very good living due to casino income, natural resource income, a good job market from nearby cities, or from some other source. They also know, however, that a staggering number of residents on Native American reservations live in abject, incomprehensible conditions rivaling, or even surpassing, that of many Third World countries.
This article chronicles just one Nation: the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Nation of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Yet the name and only a few details could easily be changed to describe a host of others…. the Dineh (Navajo), Ute Mountain Ute, Tohono O'odham, Pima, Yaqui, Apache, the Brule' Lakota (Sioux) ….the list is long.
But this is not an article of hopelessness. Despite nearly-insurmountable conditions, few resources, and against unbelievable odds, Nation after Nation of Indigenous leaders and their people are working hard to counteract decades of oppression and forced destruction of their cultures, to bring their citizens back to a life of self-respect and self-sufficiency in today's world.
In the meantime, these words will serve simply to dispel a few illusions and make public part of that which is hidden away, out of sight, out of mind, in the richest country in the world. It seeks to dispel the arrogance of ignorance.

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

§ The Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Indian Reservation sits in Bennett, Jackson, and Shannon Counties and is located in the southwest corner of South Dakota, fifty miles east of the Wyoming border.

§ The 11,000-square mile (approximately 2,700,000 acres) Pine Ridge Reservation is the second-largest Native American Reservation within the United States. It is roughly the size of the State of Connecticut. According to the Oglala Sioux tribal statistics, approximately 1,700,000 acres of this land are owned by the Tribe or by tribal members.

§ The Reservation is divided into eight districts: Eagle Nest, Pass Creek, Wakpamni, LaCreek, Pine Ridge, White Clay, Medicine Root, Porcupine, and Wounded Knee.

§ The topography of the Pine Ridge Reservation includes the barren Badlands, rolling grassland hills, dryland prairie, and areas dotted with pine trees.

§ The Pine Ridge Reservation is home to approximately 40,000 persons, 35% of which are under the age of 18. The latest Federal Census shows the median age to be 20.6 years. Approximately half the residents of the Reservation are registered tribal members of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation.

§ According to the most recent Federal Census, 58.7% of the grandparents on the Reservation are responsible for raising their own grandchildren.

§ The population is slowly but steadily rising, despite the severe conditions on the Reservation, as more and more Oglala Lakota return home from far-away cities to live within their societal values, be with their families, and assist with the revitalization of their culture and their Nation.

EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

§ Recent reports vary but many point out that the median income on the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.
§ The unemployment rate on Pine Ridge is said to be approximately 83-85% and can be higher during the winter months when travel is difficult or often impossible.

§ According to 2006 resources, about 97% of the population lives below Federal poverty levels.

§ There is little industry, technology, or commercial infrastructure on the Reservation to provide employment.

§ Rapid City, South Dakota is the nearest town of size (population approximately 57,700) for those who can travel to find work. It is located 120 miles from the Reservation. The nearest large city to Pine Ridge is Denver, Colorado located some 350 miles away.

LIFE EXPECTANCY AND HEALTH CONDITIONS

§ Some figures state that the life expectancy on the Reservation is 48 years old for men and 52 for women. Other reports state that the average life expectancy on the Reservation is 45 years old. These statistics are far from the 77.5 years of age life expectancy average found in the United States as a whole. According to current USDA Rural Development documents, the Lakota have the lowest life expectancy of any group in America.

§ Teenage suicide rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation is 150% higher than the U.S. national average for this age group.

§ The infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent and is about 300% higher than the U.S. national average.

§ More than half the Reservation's adults battle addiction and disease. Alcoholism, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and malnutrition are pervasive.

§ The rate of diabetes on the Reservation is reported to be 800% higher than the U.S. national average.

§ Recent reports indicate that almost 50% of the adults on the Reservation over the age of 40 have diabetes.

§ As a result of the high rate of diabetes on the Reservation, diabetic-related blindness, amputations, and kidney failure are common.

§ The tuberculosis rate on the Pine Ridge Reservation is approximately 800% higher than the U.S. national average.

§ Cervical cancer is 500% higher than the U.S. national average.

§ It is reported that at least 60% of the homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation are infested with Black Mold, Stachybotrys. This infestation causes an often-fatal condition with infants, children, elderly, those with damaged immune systems, and those with lung and pulmonary conditions at the highest risk. Exposure to this mold can cause hemorrhaging of the lungs and brain as well as cancer.

§ A Federal Commodity Food Program is active but supplies mostly inappropriate foods (high in carbohydrate and/or sugar) for the largely diabetic population of the Reservation.

§ A small non-profit Food Co-op is in operation on the Reservation but is available only for those with funds to participate.

HEALTH CARE

§ Many Reservation residents live without health care due to vast travel distances involved in accessing that care. Additional factors include under-funded, under-staffed medical facilities and outdated or non-existent medical equipment.

§ Preventive healthcare programs are rare.

§ In most of the treaties between the U.S. Government and Indian Nations, the U.S. government agreed to provide adequate medical care for Indians in return for vast quantities of land. The Indian Health Services (IHS) was set up to administer the health care for Indians under these treaties and receives an appropriation each year to fund Indian health care. Unfortunately, the appropriation is very small compared to the need and there is little hope for increased funding from Congress. The IHS is understaffed and ill-equipped and can't possibly address the needs of Indian communities. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

EDUCATION ISSUES

§ School drop-out rate is over 70%.
§ According to a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) report, the Pine Ridge Reservation schools are in the bottom 10% of school funding by U.S. Department of Education and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
§ Teacher turnover is 800% that of the U.S. national average

HOUSING CONDITIONS AND HOMELESSNESS

§ The small BIA/Tribal Housing Authority homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation are overcrowded and scarce, resulting in many homeless families who often use tents or cars for shelter. Many families live in old cabins or dilapidated mobile homes and trailers.

§ According to a 2003 report from South Dakota State University, the majority of the current Tribal Housing Authority homes were built from 1970-1979. The report brings to light that a great percentage of that original construction by the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) was "shoddy and substandard." The report also states that 26% of the housing units on the Reservation are mobile homes, often purchased or obtained (through donations) as used, low-value units with negative-value equity.

§ Even though there is a large homeless population on the Reservation, most families never turn away a relative no matter how distant the blood relation. Consequently, many homes often have large numbers of people living in them.

§ In a recent case study, the Tribal Council estimated a need for at least 4,000 new homes in order to combat the homeless situation.

§ There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home (a home which may only have two to three rooms). Some larger homes, built for 6 to 8 people, have up to 30 people living in them.

§ Over-all, 59% of the Reservation homes are substandard.

§ Over 33% of the Reservation homes lack basic water and sewage systems as well as electricity.

§ Many residents must carry (often contaminated) water from the local rivers daily for their personal needs.

§ Some Reservation families are forced to sleep on dirt floors.

§ Without basic insulation or central heating in their homes, many residents on the Pine Ridge Reservation use their ovens to heat their homes.

§ Many Reservation homes lack adequate insulation. Even more homes lack central heating.

§ Periodically, Reservation residents are found dead from hypothermia (freezing).

§ It is reported that at least 60% of the homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation need to be burned to the ground and replaced with new housing due to infestation of the potentially-fatal Black Mold, Stachybotrys. There is no insurance or government program to assist families in replacing their homes.

§ 39% of the homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation have no electricity.

§ The most common form of heating fuel is propane. Wood-burning is the second most common form of heating a home although wood supplies are often expensive or difficult to obtain.

§ Many Reservation homes lack basic furniture and appliances such as beds, refrigerators, and stoves.

§ 60% of Reservation families have no land-line telephone. The Tribe has recently issued basic cell phones to the residents. However, these cell phones (commonly called commodity phones) do not operate off the Reservation at all and are often inoperable in the rural areas on the Reservation or during storms or wind.

§ Federal and tribal heat assistance programs (such as LLEAP) are limited by their funding. In the winter of 2005-2006, the average one-time only payment to a family was said to be approximately $250-$300 to cover the entire winter. For many, that amount did not even fill their propane heating tanks one time.

LIFE ON THE RESERVATION

§ Most Reservation families live in rural and often isolated areas.

§ The largest town on the Reservation is the village of Pine Ridge which has a population of approximately 5,720 people and is the administrative center for the Reservation.

§ There are few improved (paved) roads on the Reservation and most of the rural homes are inaccessible during times of rain or snow.

§ Weather is extreme on the Reservation. Severe winds are always a factor. Traditionally, summer temperatures reach well over 110°F and winters bring bitter cold with temperatures that can reach - 50°F or worse. Flooding, tornados, or wildfires are always a risk.

§ The Pine Ridge Reservation still has no banks, discount stores, or movie theaters. It has only one grocery store of any moderate size and it is located in the village of Pine Ridge on the Reservation. A motel just opened in 2006 near the Oglala Lakota College at Kyle, South Dakota. There are said to be about 8 Bed and Breakfast or campsite locations found across the Reservation but that number varies from time to time since most are part of a private home.

§ Several of the banks and lending institutions nearest to the Reservation have been targeted for investigation of fraudulent or predatory lending practices, with the citizens of the Pine Ridge Reservation as their victims.

§ There are no public libraries except one at the Oglala Lakota College.

§ There is 1 radio station on the Pine Ridge Reservation. KILI 90.1FM is located near the town of Porcupine on the Reservation.

TRANSPORTATION

§ There is no public transportation available on the Reservation.

§ Only a minority of Reservation residents own an operable automobile.

§ Predominant form of travel for all ages on the Reservation is walking or hitchhiking.

§ There is one very small airport on the Reservation servicing both the Pine Ridge Reservation and Shannon County. It's longest, paved runway extends 4,969 feet. There are no commercial flights available. The majority of flights using the airport are Federal, State, or County Government-related.

§ The nearest commercial airport and/or commercial bus line is located in Rapid City, South Dakota (approximately 120 miles away).

ALCOHOLISM

§ Alcoholism affects 8 out of 10 families on the Reservation.

§ The death rate from alcohol-related problems on the Reservation is 300% higher than the remaining US population.

§ The Oglala Lakota Nation has prohibited the sale and possession of alcohol on the Pine Ridge Reservation since the early 1970's. However, the town of Whiteclay, Nebraska (which sits 400 yards off the Reservation border in a contested "buffer" zone) has approximately 14 residents and four liquor stores which sell over 4,100,000 cans of beer each year resulting in a $3,000,000 annual trade. Unlike other Nebraska communities, Whiteclay exists only to sell liquor and make money. It has no schools, no churches, no civic organizations, no parks, no benches, no public bathrooms, no fire service and no law enforcement. Tribal officials have repeatedly pleaded with the State of Nebraska to close these liquor stores or enforce the State laws regulating liquor stores but have been consistently refused.


WATER AND AQUIFER CONTAMINATION

§ Many wells and much of the water and land on the Reservation is contaminated with pesticides and other poisons from farming, mining, open dumps, and commercial and governmental mining operations outside the Reservation. A further source of contamination is buried ordnance and hazardous materials from closed U.S. military bombing ranges on the Reservation.

§ Scientific studies show that the High Plains/Oglala Aquifer which begins underneath the Pine Ridge Reservation is predicted to run dry in less than 30 years due to commercial interest use and dryland farming in numerous states south of the Reservation. This critical North American underground water resource is not renewable at anything near the present consumption rate. The recent years of drought have simply accelerated the problem.

§ Scientific studies show that much of the High Plains/Oglala Aquifer has been contaminated with farming pesticides and commercial, factory, mining, and industrial contaminants in the States of South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

SOVEREIGNTY AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENT

§ By Treaty, the Tribal nations are considered to have sovereign governmental status. They have a special government to government relationship with the United States. Interactions with the U.S. Government and the Department of Interior (and its Bureau of Indian Affairs) are supposed to be through Treaty negotiations and most Federal programs (such as Indian Health Services) were purchased by the Tribal nations (usually with land) and guaranteed by Treaty. This is specifically true for the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Nation of the Pine Ridge Reservation.

§ The Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribal government operates under a constitution consistent with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and approved by the Tribal membership and Tribal Council of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe. The Tribe is governed by an elected body consisting of a 5 member Executive Committee and an 18 member Tribal Council, all of whom serve a two year term.

HOPE

§ Currently, there are various efforts underway to implement innovative techniques and solutions to Reservation problems. These projects include community volunteer groups, alternative education programs, wind or water energy initiatives, substance abuse programs, cultural and language programs, employment opportunities, cottage industries, promotion of artists and musicians, small co-op businesses, etc. However, funding for these programs is highly limited.

§ There are several very small projects now working to help with the housing shortage. Some of these involve using donated mobile homes, community-built sod housing, other community-built housing (such as Habitat for Humanity), exploring possible use of unused FEMA mobile homes, and other alternate solutions. Unfortunately, funding is highly limited.

§ The Tribal Council Housing Authority is working as hard as it can to build new homes and repair existing structures but it is limited by the small, limited amount of funding available.

§ There are a few reputable small non-profit organizations attempting to sincerely assist the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in their efforts to resolve and mitigate existing problems. However, funding for these programs is currently highly limited.

§ There is one small independent (non-IHS) clinic on the Reservation at the community of Porcupine. It was founded and is controlled by the Lakota community. It just recently obtained its first dialysis machine and runs an aggressive program to combat diabetes. However, funding is very limited and is obtained locally and through grants.

§ The Oglala Lakota are a determined, intelligent, and proud People who are working hard to over-come their Reservation problems. Against all odds, with minimal resources, they are slowly working to re-claim their self-sufficiency, their culture, and their life.

3:34 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

FAKE SHAMANS: ENEMIES OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLE & an insult to our intelligence !!!

Plastic Shamans and Astroturf Sun Dances:
New Age Commercialization of Native American Spirituality

By Lisa Aldred
http://www.montana.edu/wwwnas/LA-cv.html

Consuming Native American Spirituality
Commercial exploitation of Native American spiritual traditions has
permeated the New Age movement since its emergence in the 1980s.
Euro-Americans professing to be medicine people have profited from
publications and workshops. Mass quantities of products promoted as
"Native American sacred objects" have been successfully sold by white
entrepreneurs to a largely non-Indian market. This essay begins with an
overview of these acts of commercialization as well as Native Americans'
objections to such practices. Its real focus, however, is the motivation
behind the New Agers' obsession and consumption of Native American
spirituality. Why do New Agers persist in consuming commercialized
Native American spirituality? What kinds of self-articulated defenses do
New Agers offer for these commercial practices? To answer these
questions, analysis from a larger social and economic perspective is
needed to further understand the motivations behind New Age consumption.

In the so-called postmodern culture of late consumer capitalism, a
significant number of white affluent suburban and urban middle-aged
baby-boomers complain of feeling uprooted from cultural traditions,
community belonging, and spiritual meaning. The New Age movement is one
such response to these feelings. New Agers romanticize an "authentic"
and "traditional" Native American culture whose spirituality can save
them from their own sense of malaise. However, as products of the very
consumer culture they seek to escape, these New Agers pursue spiritual
meaning and cultural identification through acts of purchase. Although
New Agers identify as a countercultural group, their commercial actions
mesh quite well with mainstream capitalism. Ultimately, their search for
spiritual and cultural meaning through material acquisition leaves them
feeling unsatisfied. The community they seek is only imagined, a world
conjured up by the promises of advertised products, but with no history,
social relations, or contextualized culture that would make for a sense
of real [End Page 329] belonging. Meanwhile, their fetishization of
Native American spirituality not only masks the social oppression of
real Indian peoples but also perpetuates it.


The Rainbow Tribe: New Agers Identifying with Native American Spiritual
Traditions

The term New Age is often used to refer to a movement that emerged in
the 1980s. Its adherents ascribe to an eclectic amalgam of beliefs and
practices, often hybridized from various cultures. New Agers tend to
focus on what they refer to as personal transformation and spiritual
growth. Many of them envision a literal New Age, which is described as a
period of massive change in the future when people will live in harmony
with nature and each other. Only in this New Age will they realize the
full extent of human potential, including spiritual growth, the
development of psychic abilities, and optimum physical health through
alternative healing. Most New Agers contend that this transformation
will not take place through concerted political change directed at
existing structures and institutions. Rather, it will be achieved
through individual personal transformation.

The New Age is only a movement in the loosest sense of the term. There
is no circumscribed creed or defined tenets in the New Age movement. Nor
are there any requirements for membership, although studies show most
tend to be white, middle-aged, and college educated, with a middle- to
upper-middle-class income. Estimates of people identifying with the New
Age movement tend to run from ten to twenty million. Exact numbers are
difficult to ascertain, however, because many New Age books have seeped
into the mainstream and have influenced the views of people not
consciously identified with the movement. The New Age is thus not a
strictly defined community headed by formally recognized leaders with an
articulated dogma. Rather, it is a term that is applied to a
heterogeneous collection of philosophies and practices. There is a wide
and burgeoning number of practices associated with the New Age,
including interests in shamanism, goddess worship, Eastern religions,
crystals, pagan rituals, extraterrestrials, and channeling spirit
beings. "Native American spirituality" is among the most popular
interests.
1.
It is my contention that the New Age is primarily a consumerist
movement. There are a minority of adherents who live together and try to
incorporate New Age philosophies and practices into all aspects of their
lives. Some incorporate these practices into part of their lives by
taking workshops and engaging in New Age practices in their spare time.
However, the majority of those who identify themselves as New Age (or
who could be reasonably labeled as such by others) participate primarily
through the purchase of texts and products [End Page 330] targeted for
the New Age market. Native American spirituality is one of the most
popular and profitable sectors of this New Age commercialism.
2.
In this essay, the term New Agers is used to refer to the sector that is
interested in Native American spiritual traditions. Certainly, not
everyone involved in the New Age movement is interested in Native
American spirituality. Moreover, there is diversity among those
interested New Agers. A small percentage constructs their essential
identity around Native American religion. A number of those who identify
themselves as members of "the Rainbow Tribe" arguably fit into this
category. Some Rainbow Tribe members spend time in communities they
form, engaged in their own version of Native American rituals. However,
many New Agers interested in Native American spirituality participate
only through commercially run seminars or the purchase of texts and
products. This article is primarily concerned with New Agers whose
interest in Native American spirituality is expressed through commercial
pursuits. Although entrepreneurs will be discussed in the overview of
New Age commercialization of Native American spirituality, their
motivations are not the subject of this analysis (arguably, they are
shrewd businessmen and women who know how to tap into lucrative
markets). Rather, this essay seeks to explain why New Age consumers seek
spiritual meaning through purchase.

Plastic Medicine Men for Hire
A number of "Plastic Medicine People" have surfaced in the New Age
movement, typically Euro-Americans claiming mentorship by "authentic
Native American medicine people." These "Shake and Bake Shamans," as
some Native American activists have dubbed them, write best-selling
books and lead expensive workshops claiming to teach their consumers
"how to practice Native American spirituality."

By far, the biggest business in New Age appropriation of indigenous
spirituality transpires in the publishing industry where plastic
medicine authors are big sellers. Perhaps the most successful, not to
mention notorious, is Lynn Andrews. Andrews has been dubbed the "Beverly
Hills Shaman" by some of her New Age supporters and the less flattering
epithet "Beverly Hills Witch" by a number of Native Americans
criticizing her commercial exploitation of indigenous spiritual
traditions. Controversy aside, she is a best-selling author, having made
The New York Times and Los Angeles Times best-seller lists on numerous
occasions. Andrews claims that her books are true accounts of her
mentoring experiences with two Canadian Cree medicine women--Agnes
Whistling Elk and Ruby Plenty Chiefs. In the first two books, these two
elderly women supposedly teach Andrews Native American shaman techniques
to help [End Page 331] her battle an evil sorcerer. In subsequent books,
the trio encounters a flying horse capable of turning into rainbow
colors and dolphins, who transmit Australian aboriginal dream visions
via a eucalyptus tree antenna.

Another plastic shaman author, Mary Summer Rain, has a lucrative career,
having published over fifteen books based on Native American spiritual
themes and her mentor, a blind Indian woman she calls No-Eyes.
3.
Interestingly, one of Lynn Andrews's mentors, Ruby Plenty Chiefs, is
also blind. In Phantoms Afoot: Helping the Spirits Among Us, Summer Rain
claims that No-Eyes entrusts her with a mission to help lost spirits
find their way to the afterworld. In a stereotyped Tonto Speak, No-Eyes
tells Summer Rain, "No-Eyes gonna be speakin' 'bout spirits who be
stupid-dumb."
4.
Native American activists have greatly castigated these works for their
trivialization and commercialization of Native American spirituality.
Nevertheless, the number of plastic shaman authors, not to mention their
commercial success, continues to swell. Jamie Samms is a former
country-western singer who claims to channel Leah, an entity supposedly
living on Venus six hundred years in the future. Samms later seized on
Native American spiritual themes. Samms claims that she was taught by
the "thirteen clan mothers" who took human form during the Ice Age and
then disappeared, leaving the "thirteen crystal skulls," one of which
Samms claims to have seen. Samms teaches her readers how to call up the
thirteen clan mothers by focusing on them, each of whom has her own
shield and her own special abilities.
5.
Don Le Vie Jr., who writes about Iron Thunderhorse, is supposedly of Algonquin heritage.
Thunderhorse's teachings are a mishmash of Native American religion and other New Age favorites, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, and Ancient Druidism.
6.
Mary Elizabeth Marlow writes about Beautiful Painted Arrow, a Picuris
Pueblo-Ute who tells Marlow he has seen two kachinas landing in a space
machine and explains his philosophy through allusions to Dances with
Wolves.
7.
Doug Boyd has written on two Native American medicine men,
Rolling Thunder and Mad Bear, both affiliated with the New Age.
8.
Taisha Abelar is a former anthropologist who encountered a Mexican sorceress
while wandering through the mountains of Tucson in the 1960s. She
traveled to the woman's home in Sonora, Mexico, to live with this woman
who turned out to be from the same family of sorcerers that instructed
Carlos Castaneda.
9.
Not all those designated as "plastic" by Native American activists
publish books. There are quite a number who run workshops, seminars, or
centers claiming to teach Native American spiritual practice. For
example, one non-Native American woman who calls herself Mary Thunder
runs a New Age center in Texas where she conducts sweats, pipe
ceremonies, and talks with space aliens through Max, the crystal skull.
Another woman referred to as Oceana, or sometimes O'Shinna, claims to
have been born in a crystal spectrum in Colorado; [End Page 332] she
mixes Native American teachings with references to Atlantis, Tibetan
Buddhism, and theosophy. Some "plastics" produce videos explaining their
philosophies and offering "do-it-yourself" instructions for Native
American ceremonies such as sweats.
10.
There are also a number of New Age "channelers" who claim to channel Native American spiritual entities.
If paid the requisite sizable fee, these channelers access the
wisdom of their Indian guides for their clients. One woman claims to
channel a Hopi Indian named Barking Tree (as well as Bell Bell, a
giggling six-year-old from Atlantis, and a being named Aeffra from
Western Europe). A New Ager in Tampa, Florida, claims to channel an
entity named Olah, who is supposed to be a reincarnation of both Edgar
Cayce and the revered Lakota spiritual entity White Buffalo Calf Woman.

Many Native Americans have been offended by the mockery these
bastardized versions make of their sacred ceremonies. Some of the
incidents denounced as most offensive include Sun Dances held on
Astroturf, sweats held on cruise ships with wine and cheese served, and
sex orgies advertised as part of "traditional Cherokee ceremonies." A
typical advertisement for such a workshop promises an introduction to
"core shamanism--the universal and basic methods used by the shaman to
enter non-ordinary reality for problem solving, well-being and healing."
11.
Others make even more specific promises; for example, one workshop
guarantees that you will retrieve your own personal power animal in a
trance.
12.
These workshops are also incorporated into theme adult camps,
wilderness training programs, and New Age travel packages.
13.
Native American activists have been greatly angered by the commercial
exploitation of their spirituality represented by these workshops. A
weekend vision-quest workshop, for instance, can currently run anywhere
between $250 to $550 (accommodations and meals not included). In 1988,
Singing Pipe Woman of Springdale, Washington, advertised a two-week
pilgrimage that included study with a Huichol woman and was priced at
$2,450. Native Americans have commented on the bitter irony of these
plastic shamans profiting from the degrading, twisted versions of Native
American rituals while many indigenous people still live below the
poverty level.
14.
New Age interest in Native American cultures appears
more concerned with exoticized images and romanticized rituals revolving
around a distorted view of Native American spirituality than with the
indigenous peoples themselves and the very real (and often ugly)
socioeconomic and political problems they face as colonized peoples.
Purchasing Spiritual Power Through Products
New Age interest in Native American spirituality has spawned numerous
products over the years. Some products claim to assist the dabbler in
Native American spiritual practices. For example, those who do not want
to take the time [End Page 333] and trouble of building their own sweat
lodges can call 1-800-36-SWEAT to order a "sweat tent." Or the following
kit can be ordered to obtain a more "total experience" of Native
American spirituality:
YOUR PERSONAL NATIVE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE . . . Sage and cedar smudge
sticks come with holy herb tea. The Spirit of Native America book, and
the Desert CD or tape--all collected in a specially designed green box,
made from recycled materials, honoring Mother Earth and providing you
the opportunity to experience Native American ritual and wisdom.
15.
Note that the catalog description promises the consumer "the experience"
of Native American ritual and wisdom through multisensory consumption.
The purchaser can drink up the sacredness of Native American
spirituality while creating the right ambiance with the scent of sage
smudge sticks and the proper New Age music evoking the proper locale.
Meanwhile, he or she can read the kit's book The Spirit of Native
America, which the catalog asserts is amplified by Anna's authoritative
text so that the "'spirit voices' of her people speak clearly to you."
The catalog promises that, through purchase and consumption of this
product, the consumer can have a direct experience of Native American
ritual and wisdom without ever leaving their armchair. Moreover, they
are relieved of any guilt over their indulgent feast since the box is
made from recycled materials and "honors Mother Earth."

Entrepreneurs have found ways to blend American Indian spiritual themes
with other New Age objects, such as "Native American Tarot Cards." They
have even tapped into new markets, such as "care crystals" for domestic
pets. Medicine shields have been turned into earrings and the sacred
figure of Kokopelli now serves as a wall clock. The advertisement
asserts that "Southwest Native America's playful 'Spirit Guide to the
Fourth World' adds a touch of almost-eerie immortality to home or
office!"
16.
Perhaps the eeriness stems from the unsettling irony of
imperialist nostalgia. In "Interrupted Journeys: The Cultural Politics
of Indian Reburial," Pemina Yellowbird and Kathryn Milun refer to these
types of objects and attitudes toward them as "imperialist nostalgia,"
which they define as a romanticization that assumes a pose of innocent
yearning thus concealing its complicity with often brutal domination.
17.
Native American Resistance, New Age Defenses
Many Native Americans are outraged at the commercialization of their
spiritual traditions. At least two intertribal groups of Native American
elders have issued proclamations warning the public that the teachings
of these commercial profiteers may harm them.
18.
As stated in the Resolution of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Traditional Elder Circle,
"[M]edicine people are chosen by [End Page 334] the medicine and long
instruction and discipline is necessary before ceremonies and healing
can be done . . . profit is not the motivation."
19.
Some Native Americans have taken a harder stand. Leaflets denouncing the
commercialization of Native American religion have been distributed at
lectures given by "plastics" and their workshops disrupted by
confrontations instigated by Native American activists.
20.
The Southwestern American Indian Movement (AIM) Leadership Conference held
in Window Rock in the Navajo Nation condemned those who profited from
American Indian spirituality. The document noted the "dramatic increase
in the incidence of selling sacred ceremonies, such as the sweat lodge,
and the vision quest, and of sacred articles, such as religious pipes,
feathers and stones." These acts were denounced as "constituting . . .
insult and disrespect for the wisdom of the ancients." They
characterized the commercialization of Native American spiritual
traditions as follows: "[T]he attempted theft of Indian ceremonies is a
direct attack and theft from Indian people themselves." In this
denunciation, a number of "plastics" were listed by name. The document
concludes: "[W]e condemn those who seek to profit from Indian
spirituality. We put them on notice that our patience grows thin with
them and they continue their disrespect at their own risk.
21.
The National Congress of American Indians went a step further, issuing what
they term "a declaration of war against 'wannabees,' hucksters,
cultists, commercial profiteers, and self-styled New Age shamans."
22.
Although some New Agers interested in Native American spirituality may
not be aware of Native American protests, a significant number have
heard the objections. Why would New Agers continue to consume Native
American spirituality when so many Indian people have expressed their
reprehension of this commercialization?
23.
I set out in my fieldwork to find out how New Agers rationalized their
misappropriations and consumption of Native American spiritual traditions.
A brief note on my research methods might prove elucidating here.
I first encountered New Agers while working as an attorney on the Manybeads
case for the Big Mountain Diné in 1986. This initial encounter raised a number of
questions that could not be answered by the usual ethnographic methods
delineating a specific cultural group in a particular locale. It became
increasingly clear to me that the New Age was a national movement whose
membership and participation was largely defined by consumption.
Therefore, the usual ethnography conducted among a sociocultural group
of people in a given area would not be enough to unpack the myriad
manifestations of the New Age Movement. My ethnographic research then
led me into places I had not anticipated, such as New Age bookstores
across the country, weekend workshops led by New Age "gurus," and even
to cyberspace New Age chat rooms. My investigative methods extended well
beyond the usual participant-observation and interview techniques. My
"informants" were no longer limited [End Page 335] to New Age
individuals, but extended to New Age publications, such as self-help
books, advertising catalogs, and products.


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11:47 AM - 6 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

A LETTER FROM LEONARD PELTIER
Current mood: determined
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

..>..>

	Thursday, August 23, 2007 A Message from Leonard Peltier Greetings Brothers and Sisters, I hope my message finds you in the best of health and spirits and that each one of you is enjoying your summer and looking forward for the Fall Season. I have always enjoyed the Fall Season. I still remember the vivid colors of the leaves changing and falling in preparation for our Winter. This Sept 12, 2007 I will be 63 years old, and I can no longer say I am a young man eh? Behind bars I have aged from a youth into an Elder. As the seasons have passed I have become an elder, my children have grown, and my grandchildren are now young men and women, and lately I became a Great – Grandfather. This year will mark more than 31 years of my unjust imprisonment. Your thoughts, supports, letters, cards, prayers, and energy have kept me strong. I thank you for the lovely cards, and letters that I have been receiving, for I enjoy hearing from you! Some of you have been writing me for the past 32 years and through your letters have included me in your family gatherings, festivities and in your life as the years have passed. I thank you! Many of you are writing me to tell me about the activities and events that are being held in my honor, and your efforts of joining me and the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee in our ongoing campaign towards my freedom. On a sad note I also receive letters from supporters who identify themselves as loyal Peltier supporters and yet in their letters their advice is for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee to be closed and how inappropriate it is for me or the LPDC to be asking for support and help so that we can continue our ongoing work towards my freedom. I once wrote in a message a few months ago that we are all climbing the same mountain, just on different sides at times. As I read my letters from supporters that write to tell me of their ongoing work towards my freedom and state that we are all working together, I feel inspired and know that each one of us is working in unity and solidarity from all sides of the mountain until we win this ongoing struggle for my freedom. As for the "supporters" who write me and offer their advice on closing the LPDC office, and for the committee to stop raising funds for our legal campaign, I wonder which mountain they are climbing? Are they maybe working with an organization that for the past 32+ years has falsified affidavits, withheld evidence, and has withheld documents in their efforts to keep me wrongfully incarcerated? One would start to wonder… My case has been fraught with government misconduct since the beginning. The Government among other wrongful acts manufactured false evidence, withheld evidence and coerced witness. We now know that the FBI used confidential informant sources to compromise attorney/client communications they illegally used to develop strategies for conviction. The FBI permitted informants to attend both my trial and that of my co-defendants. The FBI however refuses to produce the name(s) of their informants and has been given unfettered discretion by the courts to keep this information from my legal team. On June 8, 2007 my legal team, attorneys, Ron Kuby and David Pressman filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit an appellate brief asking the Court to review and release some 11,000 pages of documents that have been withheld for over 30 years. Indeed, a document recently produced by the FBI and recently introduced to a Magistrate Judge established that the FBI intentionally took actions to try to avoid producing documents in discovery in my case. But again, this seems to have had no impact on the Court. The United States Federal Courts have recognized overwhelming evidence of FBI misconduct in my case which has already been revealed, yet it has continued to allow the FBI to use exemptions under FOIA to shield its illegal tactics in this case, depriving me of my rights to a fair trail. I urge all of you who believe in justice to join my fight and cry out for the production of all documents related to my case. Why is the FBI still withholding documents? Why won't they produce all documents to me? To me the answer is obvious. I believe the answer is obvious to you also. The new legal team, attorneys Ron Kuby, and David Pressman, the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and I thank you for your support and help. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Leonard Peltier Toni Zeidan-Co-director, Leonard Peltier Defense Committee email: info@leonardpeltier.net website: http://www.leonardpeltier.net/ Address: 3800 N. Mesa A2 El Paso, Texas 79902 Online donation site: http://www.freedomwalk.com/ Website: www.leonardpeltier.net

11:15 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

LEONARD PELTIER CANDIDATE FOR 2007 PEACE NOBEL PRIZE
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

..> ..>

..> ..> From :  Sent :  Wednesday, April 4, 2007 1:01 AM To :  whitefeather02@hotmail.com Subject :  Leonard Peltier Nominated for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, A Message From The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee

..> ..> | | | Inbox

..> ..> ..> ..>

..> ..> On April 3rd, 2007, the LPDC has received confirmation of Leonard Peltier's official nomination for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. This year 181 candidates have been registered. The name of the Prize recipient for 2007 will be announced in mid-October. We want to thank the people who nominated Leonard for this prestigious award. Respectfully, Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Note: We ask that Supporters NOT send letters of support or recommendation to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee as only selected individuals can nominate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

3:32 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment