Havasupai Conference: Oppose uranium mining in Grand Canyon
Havasupai Conference July 25 -- 26, 2009: Govinda at Earthcycles,
www.earthcycles.net, and Brenda Norrell of Censored news, will team up
again to broadcast live from this gathering of the Havasupai to oppose
uranium mining in the Grand Canyon. We hope to see you there, or you
can listen live around the world on the Internet. We'll be updating
the issues from the Longest Walk as well, on the issues of protecting
Mother Earth and international Indigenous human rights. Radio stations
can use the audios for broadcasts, in any country in the world.
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Conference news release contacts:
Matthew Putesoy, Vice Chairman, Havasupai Tribe, (928) 448-2731
mattputesoy@yahoo.com
Grand Canyon Threatened by Uranium Mining
Havasupai Tribe Announces Protest Gathering to Rally Support
The gathering will be held on July 25-26,
South of the Grand Canyon at the Sacred Red Butte
Supai, AZ – Today, the Havasupai Tribe announced a protest gathering
at their sacred site Red Butte, which is threatened by uranium mining
located near the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The public is invited
to attend and add their voices in support of saying, "no to uranium
mining."
"On behalf of the Havasupai Tribe, I urge everyone to join us at the
foot of this sacred Red Butte to unify our voices and call on the
Federal Government to work with the Havasupai Tribe to protect these
sacred lands from any further uranium mining," stated Don E.
Watahomigie, Havasupai Tribal Chairman. "We are proud to host this
historic gathering as our ancestors have done for generations at Red
Butte."
A Canadian company, Denison Mines is threatening to reopen the Canyon
Mine, which is just miles from the sacred Red Butte, as a full mining
operation. The Havasupai Tribe and others have been actively opposing
Denison Mines seeking Groundwater Aquifer Permits from the ADEQ
(Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality) to operate Canyon Mine and
extract uranium.
The Havasupai Tribe, who have inhabited the Grand Canyon region for
many centuries, fear that contamination from uranium mining could harm
the animals, air, water, and people. The Havasupai religion is also
being directly affected by the uranium mines. Long time Havasupai
leader Rex Tilousi says, "We believe Red Butte is the lungs of our
Grandmother Canyon." Canyon Mine is located right next to the
Havasupai's most sacred site, Red Butte."
The Havasupai Tribe, in alliance with Sierra Club, Center for
Biological Diversity, and Grand Canyon Trust are opposing any uranium
mines on or around the rim of the Grand Canyon. This gathering will be
held twenty miles south of the Grand Canyon National Park on July 25 -
26, 2009. Members of the public will be invited to join the Havasupai
on Saturday for a free public concert at 6:00 pm and for a public
forum on uranium mining and protecting sacred lands on Sunday, July
26th. The media is welcomed to attend at any time during the events on
Saturday and Sunday and a news conference will be held Friday, July
24th, at 4pm at the conclusion of the private Havasupai prayer
ceremony. Directions to the gathering as well as a detailed agenda for
the event can be found at http://www.arizona.sierraclub.org
--
Brenda Norrell, Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Censored Blog Talk Radio
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell
Earthcycles Longest Walk Radio:
http://www.earthcycles.net
__________________________________________________________
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Native Rights News is making this material available in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine codified at Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107: This article is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information. Distribution of this material is for research and educational purposes that will promote social and economic justice and benefit society.
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Native Rights News (NRN) is published by the Alliance for Indigenous Rights, a nonprofit corporation owned and operated by Temple Beit Shem Tov as part of its Peace and Justice Ministry.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Havasupai Announce Gathering to Protest Resumption of Uranium Mining at Grand Canyon Sacred Site
Read more!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Residential School Survivors Occupy Vancouver Church
International Media Statement, For Immediate ReleaseThe Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (Vancouver)
The protestors entered the church sanctuary as the worship service commenced and unfurled a banner declaring "All The Children Need A Proper Burial". After leafletting the congregation and making a statement, the protestors left, vowing to return if the United Church did not surrender the remains of native children who died under their care and halt further destruction of their burial sites.
The occupation was prompted by the partial destruction this week of the last building of the United Church's former Alberni Indian residential school, where eyewitnesses claim that the remains of former students are buried.
"They're destroying the evidence of their crime, and under the law, that's a crime" said Bingo, a survivor of the Alert Bay residential school. "We're not listening to their bullshit anymore. We'll be back with more people next time."
Squamish hereditary Chief Kiapilano, who legally evicted the United Church from his territory last March, endorsed the occupation and called for similar actions by other residential school survivors. These occupations of United Churches during their Sunday services will continue and will escalate until the fallen children are brought home, their killers are brought to justice, and the residential school crime sites are all protected.
Issued by The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (Vancouver)
Read and Hear the truth of Genocide in Canada, past and present, at thiswebsite: http://www.blogger.com/www.hiddenfromhistory.org
"Kevin [Annett] is more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than many who have received it in the past."- Dr. Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"A courageous and inspiring man." (referring to Kevin Annett)- Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Belfast, Northern Ireland"
The very lands we all along enjoyed
- Daniel Defoe, Jure Divino (England, 1706) From: Eagle Strong Voice
Native Rights News is making this material available as the result of a press release issued by The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (Vancouver). We are publishing the image from http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine codified at Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107: This article is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information. Distribution of this material is for research and educational purposes that will promote social and economic justice and benefit society.
Read more!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Western Shoshone File Suit to Prevent Desecration of Sacred Mount Tenabo
Dan Randolph, Great Basin Resource Watch, 775-722-4056
Jason Bill, Western Shoshone Defense Project, 775-397-6726 or 775-744-2565
Restraining Order Requested – Shoshone Grandmothers Plan Resistance Day Proposed Mine Site
November 25, 2008, Crescent Valley, Newe Sogobi ( Nevada). As the holidays approach and the world watches President-elect Obama and the bailouts; back in Nevada, home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, it’s business as usual. Late yesterday, attorneys for several Western Shoshone tribes and non-profit indigenous and environmental organizations filed a request in the federal District Court in Reno, NV seeking a restraining order against the construction of one of the country’s largest open pit gold mines on the flank of spiritual Mt. Tenabo. The mine company has already begun demolition of the pinyon forest with heavy machinery on the site ripping out trees at a reported rate of 30 acres per day.“We want them off this mountain, this is a spiritual genocide what’s going on; destroying our mountain is destroying our beliefs. Removing water is death to the mountains. No way. We will take whatever action we need to – we’re going through the U.S. courts and we will stand on this Mountain in support of her and call on those people around the world to stand with us in solidarity.” Stated Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone Grandmother, Executive Director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (the alternate to the Nobel Peace Prize).
Barrick Gold Corporation, the world’s largest gold mining company, headquartered in Canada, plans to construct and operate the mine, known as the Cortez Hills Expansion Project. The area is located entirely within the territory of the Western Shoshone Nation, recognized in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. The Mine would blast and excavate a new massive open pit on Mount Tenabo over 900 acres in size, with a depth of over 2,000 feet. It would include several new waste disposal and processing facilities (including a cyanide heap-leaching facility), consisting of approximately 1,577 million tons of waste rock, 53 million tons of tailings material, and 112 million tons of spent heap leach material. The Mine would include an extensive groundwater pumping system to dewater Mount Tenabo and associated water pipelines that will transport the pumped water away from Mount Tenabo. In total, the mine would permanently destroy approximately 6,800 acres land on and around Mount Tenabo, over 90% of which is classified as federal “public” land.
In 2002 and 2003 the BLM conducted a series of armed seizures in the same area, of the Dann family’s cattle and horses, claiming the Danns were “trespassing” on public lands. The Danns, along with other Western Shoshone, have challenged the U.S. claims to their ancestral and treaty lands as recognized by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, which recognized Western Shoshone rights in much of Nevada. These legal battles went all the way to the Supreme Court, and on to International Fora. In March 2006 the Western Shoshone received a ruling from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, CERD, a treaty body set up by the United Nations and ratified by the United States in 1993.
The Decision issued by CERD, and reconfirmed this year, urges the United States to immediately freeze, desist and stop any further actions against the Western Shoshone peoples, including legislative efforts to privatize their land. CERD ordered the United States to stop immediately and initiate dialogue with the Western Shoshone. The Decision specifically mentioned Mt. Tenabo and the destruction of Western Shoshone lands by mining corporations.
“In the 1800’s, the U.S. sent in the Calvary to remove the Indians and to kill off our sources of food, such as the Buffalo. Now here they are, just days before Thanksgiving in 2008, destroying our Mountain of life and the pinyon trees which are our food. This is happening today and it’s outrageous.” Says Joyce McDade, Western Shoshone grandmother.
Barbara Ridley, another Western Shoshone grandmother participating in the resistance states: Who’s Thanksgiving is this anyway? What have we got to celebrate? There’s no Thanksgiving for our people – they tell us we don’t have our land but we still use it for our foods, plants and ceremonies. This mountain is very important to us and people should respect our request to leave it alone.”
The plaintiffs are being represented in court by Roger Flynn of the non-profit legal firm, the Western Mining Action Project, which specializes in mining law. The Grandmothers’ Resistance Day will take place of the South Flank of Mt. Tenabo at the proposed mine site beginning at approximately 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 26th.
For more information on the Western Shoshone land rights issues, Cortez Hills Project, Mount Tenabo, and the legal challenge go to http://www.gbrw.org/ and http://www.wsdp.org/. A copy of the Temporary Restraining Order filed yesterday is attached.
Read more!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Longwalker Dennis Banks Calls for Manifesto of Change
Posted by: "Eulynda Toledo-Benalli" toledobenalli@yahoo.com toledobenalli
Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:18 pm (PDT)
SaturdayMessage from Dennis Banks 4/12/08
This is Dennis Banks. 30 years ago our first Longest Walk was in progress across Kansas. It was beginning to get hot and our walkers were getting thin and trim. Once again we take to the roads of America to cross this Continent in search of sacred sites needing to be protected and secured for the next generation - in fact for the next Seven Generations. We walk this land to listen to the people and hear their concerns about this Planet we call mother Earth. We walk to remind America that this is still Indian Land, that we are very concerned about the mistreatment and contamination of the Air, the Water and the Soil.
When the Great Spirit asked us to care for the land we accepted this task and duty. It is a committed duty with many responsibilities; within these duties are found the many Spiritual ceremonies that govern our way of life. These ceremonies are conducted daily, weekly, monthly, seasonly, and yearly. In preparation we look for Medicinal plants, herbs, and roots that accompany our ceremonies and songs. Now with this climate change we fear many of the herbs, roots and plants will be lost because of the warming of Mother Earth and of mankind's destructive policies.
In California, we have walked this land thru Rumsey Band of the Wintun Tribe, Yokuts, Santa Rosa Rancheria and the Mojave People at Fort Mohave. In Arizona, we walked through the Haulapai, Havasupai, Yavapai-Apache and Diné Territories. In New Mexico, we walked through the pueblo lands of the Ohkay Owingeh and are about to enter the Taos pueblo territory. Community after community the people welcomed us and fed us. they opened up their homes and shared many tribal stories with us. They showed us family pictures of son and daughters graduating from schools. We saw many photos of men and women in uniform. We became extended families to each other. Then they began to tell us of environmental concerns - what we heard is very troubling.
At this hour we are compiling a "Manifesto for Change." This Work will reflect our findings, suggestions, and Articles for change to members of the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. As we progress on this Document we realize that many Tribal Nations have not had an opportunity share with us their concerns.
We now wish to invite all tribal members and nations from Turtle Island to send, write, email any concerns of the environment in your area or of any outstanding congressional action which may have deprived you of ancestral lands, water or human rights. We shall include them in our Manifesto.
We will walk into Washington, D.C. united with the Northern Route, Michigan running team, many delegations from the Southwest will join us as we walk into D.C. on July 11, 2008. Please note we have less than 90 days before we reach D.C. We are planning the "Cultural Survival Summit" for July 8, 9 and 10, 2008. Should you wish to participate in this historic event, please register online at our website - you will be contacted by the Cultural Survival Summit planning committee. Cultural Survival Summit details will be posted on our website in the coming days.
-We invite Indigenous leaders from around the world to bring a delegation to join us at the Summit and walk into DC with us;
- We invite Indigenous musicians, drum groups, dancers, singers, and performers to join us;
- We invite the Youth of our Nations to join us;
- We invite the Elders of our Nations to join us;
- We invite Native organizations to join us;
- We invite Tribal delegations to join us;
- We invite brothers and sisters from all cultural backgrounds to join us.
As we walk these final 90 days, I will make every attempt to update you at least once a week from this day forward. 30 years ago we did make some changes by walking across this country - now let's make more changes. This country still owes the first nations people a great deal and we shall not abandon what is rightfully ours.
Respectfully,
Dennis J. Banks
- from The Longest Walk in Albuquerque, New Mexico
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