Action Alert: Western Shoshone are asking for help to establish an encampment to stop mining on Mt. Tenabo

Carrie Dann, a world renowned Western Shoshone elder and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the "alternative Nobel Peace Prize"), has been among those to lead the fight to protect Mount Tenabo from mining for over 15 years.

"Mount Tenabo should be left alone – no further disturbance. This mine will drain the water from Mount Tenabo. They will be sucking the water out of the mountain forever. The destruction of the water is like the destruction of the blood of the earth; you are destroying life of the earth and the people and wildlife that depend on it. Dewatering is taking the life of future generations. Water is sacred, all life depends on it," Dann said.

The Western Shoshone protested Barrick Gold's destruction on sacred Mount Tenabo on Wednesday and are calling for help to establish an encampment.

Several Shoshone men began building a permanent arbor on the southern flank of Mt. Tenabo. (This is the same location where the WSDP Spring Gathering has been held previously.) They will be camping there to monitor the area and they need your help.

This message sent by Peter Bergel, representing the Board of the Shundahai Network, at the request of Gregor Gable.

They need financial and other donations. Please contact Joyce McDade for additional information, e-mail: EJMcDade20@wmconnect.com.

Also see: http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2008/11/western-shoshone-protest-barrick-golds.html

For more information, or to help, contact the Western Shoshone: Western Shoshone Defense Project: So-Ho-Bi (South Fork) office: 775-744-2565 (fax and phone) Main office:P.O. Box 211308, Crescent Valley, NV 89821 Newe Sogobia: 775-468-0230, 775-468-0237 (fax)Shundahai Network A Project of The Center for Energy Research
104 Commercial St. NE Salem, OR 97301 http://www.shundahai.org
shundahai@shundahai.org

If you are a Myspace user, you can now add us! http://www.Myspace.com/shundahai

Over a Decade of Resistance Dedicated to Breaking the Nuclear Chain Shundahai is a Newe (Western Shoshone) word meaning "Peace and Harmony with all Creation"


"No degree of prosperity could justify the accumulation of large amounts of highly toxic substances which nobody knows how to make safe and which remain an incalculable danger to the whole of creation for historical or even geological ages. To do such a thing is a transgression against life itself, a transgression infinitely more serious than any crime perpetrated by man. The idea that a civilization could sustain itself on such a transgression is an ethical, spiritual, and metaphysical monstrosity. It means conducting the economical affairs of man as if people did not matter at all." -- E. F. Schumacher “Small is Beautiful”


Molly P Johnson
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
http://www.a4nr.org
H.O.M.E. (Healing Ourselves & Mother Earth)
http://www.h-o-m-e.org
Grandmothers for Peace
http://www.grandmothersforpeace.org/


Informant: MoJo



http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Shoshone
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Shoshone
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Tenabo
http://omega.twoday.net/search?q=Carrie+Dann
http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Indian+Tribes+/

My ancestors, the Lakota Sioux Native Americans, have preserved the ways of their forefathers down through the ages, as have other indigenous tribes. As a descendant who has come to realise that the “Old Ways” are right, it is my spiritual duty to speak out in these troubled times.........and so I will. dances.alone @googlemail.com

http://warpath.twoday.net/
http://dancesalonespeaks.blogspot.com/

Click:

A message from Dagmar

Original Message

Wounded Knee Protection Petition - Denounce Illegal Designation
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/929529094

Protect the Yellowstone Buffalo - The Last Wild Herd
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/395560384

Petition Against Anti-Indian Racism in Oklahoma
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/128408562

Free Leonard Peltier
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/244135023
&
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/petition-sign.cgi?Clemency

Support Renewable Energy on Native American Land
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/798556737

Petition For The Pardon and Release of Abused Vietnam Veteran & Veteran Advocate Iron ThunderHorse
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/286295701

Stop Lower Yosemite Falls Project
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/814661225

Cherokeewinds Natives Holiday
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/841059601

Discrimination Against Native American Brothers Imprisoned Religious Beliefs
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/328150301

Let the True descendants be heard
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/469295343

URGENT!!!!

The Navajo Need Your Help Now! Please Read The Information In This Alert. Then Pass This On To Everyone In Your Address Book, Every Yahoo and MSN Group You Belong To.

It's no harder than typing your name and a copy & paste job.

What Will You Do To Help!

http://blackmesais.org/McCain_bill0805.htm

(Links below to audio and video on finishing the dirty job of Navajo Forced Relocation). Navajo Resist John McCain's SB 1003 Click on the link to listen to the full story; by Christina Aanestad 06.26.06

Arizona Senator John McCain's senate bill SB1003 would end the relocation process of the remaining Navajo from land on the Black Mesa Hopi/Navajo Reservation. The bill passed the Senate unanimously last month and is under consideration in the House Resources Committee. The Navajo faced with relocation oppose the bill and say relocation would strip them of their indigenous way of life. Since 1974 Over 15,000 Navajo and 100 Hopi have been displaced from their ancestral homes in Arizona. Opponents say that the Navajo are being moved off their land so coal companies can mine it. The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates that less than a few hundred Navajo remain on Black Mesa and John McCain's Senate Bill 1003 would require their imminent removal by 2008. But the remaining Navajo REFUSE TO BE MOVED.

wav file 22.2 mebibytes: http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2006/06/26/aanestadonnavajohopi6-26.wav http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/06/26/18282967.php

http://www.indybay.org/race

Watch the video of the proceedings: This session shows a good overview of the governmental players involved in relocation, some brief history, current controversies and intentions. Click here (there is a 7 minute delay on the Senate Committee On Indian Affairs video): hrg072105.ram or visit the web site of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs 109th Congress - 1st Session Hearing List and click on '7/21/05 Hearing, on S.1003, Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Amendments of 2005.' (give about 7 minutes for it to start). http:// indian.senate.gov/mainpage.htm

See the link at the top for more links to printed transcripts of the Senate Indian Affairs hearing on S1003.

We are asking for an attack on two fronts. First send your snailmail letters and phone calls to:

Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate
838 Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2251

Below is the letter I sent to the Senator's from my state as well as to: senator@dorgan.senate.gov , senator_mccain@mccain.senate.gov, senator@mccain.senate.gov, senator_dorgan@dorgan.senate.gov

Please feel free to replace my name with your own then copy and paste it to your represntative at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm



Dear Representative,

8/18/06

Again I am writing in support of traditional Navajo (known in their language as Dineh) who will be forcibly evicted and dispossessed of their homes under the Senate Bill 1003 "The Navajo Hopi Land Settlement Act Amendments of 2005." This bill has been passed by the Senate by unanimous consent, despite public outcry opposing the bill. I find this to be an outrage since many Dineh families will be devastatingly affected and have not even been consulted with. I support the right of these families, who are among the few remaining American Indians who still speak their traditional language and practice their traditional culture, to remain on their lands and strongly oppose Senate Bill 1003.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) "estimates that enacting S. 1003 would have no significant effect on direct spending or revenues." In fact, the original Navajo Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974 forced 1000s of hardworking self-sustaining families into welfare dependency, despair and early death. After its passage key senators noted that this bill was a mistake yet nothing was done. This ill-conceived bill may actual force hardworking independent people into welfare dependency on the federal government and increase the cost to US taxpayers. The cost overruns and inadequate financing of the relocation program are not the fault of the Navajo affected and are entirely due to major miscalculations on the number of affected people and federal governmental incompetence. Adding insult to injury, the lands designated for relocation are the victim of the largest release (by volume) of low-level radioactive waste in U.S. history when in 1979 the Church Rock Uranium Mill’s dam broke and 94 million gallons of slurry waters entered the Puerco River.

The Navajo tell us that it is no coincidence that the land from which the Navajo are being removed contains over $20 billion worth of coal. This bill comes at a time while Peabody Energy is in the process of acquiring a life-of-mine lease in the Black Mesa area even though the Black Mesa Mine is temporarily shut down. Peabody Energy along with Southern California Edison, the Navajo Nation, and the Hopi Tribal Council have been in secret negotiations so as to reopen the mine. It is also interesting to note that there is language in these negotiations that absolves both Peabody Energy and Southern California Edison of any responsibilities for destruction to the environment or to the people who live there.

Therefore, I support the Navajo families in opposing Senate Bill 1003 and respectfully request

* That the House of Representatives remove Senate Bill 1003 from consideration

* That the Congress act responsibly and pass a resolution opposing forced relocation of Native Americans

* That Congress help the communities already relocated rather than closing any federal offices that may be able to help them

* That Congress work directly with affected families and communities to resolve any land issues and listen to them, not just Jack Abramoff or other high paid lobbyists.

Respectfully,

Thomas Greywolf Atkins
Chickahominy/Mattaponi/U.S.Citizen


This message brought to you by The American Indian Injustice Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/American_Indian_Injustice/

What Will You Do For Native Peoples Today? We here at A.I.I. Fight the Injustices Perpetrated Against Our North American Indigenous Peoples Everyday. Leonard Peltier Should Be a Free American Indian, Instead of A Political Prisoner Of The BIA & FBI! Please Find & Support Your Local AIM Chapter. Join and See What We Can Do To Make A Positive Change For Our Native!


Informant: Scott Munson



http://omega.twoday.net/topics/Indian+Tribes+/

Native American tribes along the Klamath River rallied in Portland on Wednesday for the removal of four hydroelectric dams that block salmon from spawning in their historic habitat upriver. The tribes said they intend to pressure the governors of Oregon and California to help push for removal of the dams.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/080306EA.shtml

Western Shoshone Defense Project

Shundahai Network

Joint Press Release - April 4, 2006
(contact information at end)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :

U.S. Defies U.N. Decision– Plans Massive Military Detonation on Western Shoshone Land

Western Shoshone call for halt to planned June 2 “Bunker Buster” detonation at the Nevada Test Site

Speaking with media last week, US military spokesman James Tegnelia confirmed U.S. plans to detonate a 700 ton explosion at the Nevada Test Site on June 2, 2006 in a test called “Divine Strake.” The location of this test would be on Western Shoshone land, and would be in direct violation of a recent decision by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). In its decision, made public March 10, 2006, the CERD Committee urged the United States to “freeze”, “desist” and “stop” actions being taken, or threatened to be taken, against the Western Shoshone Peoples of the Western Shoshone Nation. In its decision, CERD stressed the “nature and urgency” of the Shoshone situation informing the U.S. that it goes “well beyond” the normal reporting process and warrants immediate attention under the Committee’s Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure.

The CERD decision explicitly cited ongoing weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site as well as efforts to build an unprecedented high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, NV.

James Tegnelia of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying, "I don't want to sound glib here but it is the first time in Nevada that you'll see a mushroom cloud over Las Vegas since we stopped testing nuclear weapons," and notes further that this is the “largest single explosive that we could imagine.” The Department of Defense announced in late October 2005 that the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrating (RNEP) weapon project was being dropped in favor of a more conventional methodology.

The detonation plan also runs contrary to earlier public statements made in late March to the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Linton F. Brooks, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. In his statement, Mr. Brooks announced that the Bush administration had no plans to start detonating warheads at the Nevada Test Site. "We have absolutely no evidence that we're going to need to test. ... We don't see any specific reason now that leads us to believe we'll need a test," Mr. Brooks said. "On the other hand," he said, "we don't know everything about the future."

According to Raymond Yowell, Chief of the Western Shoshone National Council, “We’re opposed to any further military testing on Shoshone lands. This is a direct violation of the CERD finding and an affront to our religious belief - Mother Earth is sacred and should not be harmed. All people who are opposed to these actions by the U.S. should step forward and make their opposition known.”

Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone grandmother and Executive Director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project, “The U.S. has named this 700 ton explosive ‘Divine Strake’. It’s a mystery why they use ‘devine.’ Isn’t ‘devine’ used for your deity, God, Your sacredness? Why don’t they call it ‘Hell Strake?’ I believe when you are working testing weaponry of destruction of life, you should not associate it with ‘devine.’ We want this insanity to stop – no more bombs and no more testing.”

Eileen McCabe-Olsen, Associate Director of Shundahai Network noted, “This test, besides being an egregious violation of Western Shoshone sovereignty, is an escalation that should outrage anyone concerned with peace, justice and care of our environment.”

Pete Litster, Executive Director of Shundahai Network said “Ongoing weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site violate international law. They violate the standing treaty between the U.S. Government and the Western Shoshone people. They also violate the spirit of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Test Site is located on Western Shoshone territory, and must not continue to be misused in bold violation of standing agreements between the U.S. government and the Western Shoshone nation.”

Although approval for the test was sought and obtained from the state of Nevada in January 2006, the test detonation can be cancelled. The Western Shoshone National Council, the Western Shoshone Defense Project, and Shundahai Network call for the United States Government to do so immediately. Concerned citizens can call or write to express their opinions:

President George W. Bush
comments@whitehouse.gov 202-456-1111
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld http://www.dod.gov/faq/comment.html

Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000

James Tegnelia dtra.publicaffairs@dtra.mil (800) 701-5096

Defense Threat Reduction Aagency Attn: James Tegnelia
8725 John J Kingman RD Stop 6201 Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201

CONTACTS:

Julie Fishel, Western Shoshone Defense Project 775-468-0230 wsdp@igc.org

Pete Litster, Shundahai Network 801-637-1500 pete@shundahai.org

The Western Shoshone Defense Project's ( http://www.wsdp.org/ ) mission is to affirm Newe (Western Shoshone) jurisdiction over Newe Sogobia (Western Shoshone homelands) by protecting, preserving, and restoring Newe rights and lands for present and future generations based on cultural and spiritual traditions. The W.S.D.P. was established in 1991 by the Western Shoshone National Council to provide support to Mary and Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone grandmothers who were facing the confiscation of the livestock that they graze on Western Shoshone lands.

Shundahai Network ( http://www.shundahai.org/ ) is dedicated to breaking the nuclear chain by building alliances with indigenous communities and environmental, peace and human rights movements. We seek to abolish all nuclear weapons and an end to nuclear testing. We advocate phasing out nuclear energy and ending the transportation and dumping of nuclear waste. We promote the principles of Environmental Justice and strive to insure that indigenous voices are heard in the movement to influence U.S. nuclear and environmental policies. All of our campaigns and events incorporate the values of community building, education, spiritual ceremonies and nonviolent direct action.

Western Shoshone Defense Project
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
775-468-0230
775-468-0237 (fax)
http://www.wsdp.org
wsdp@igc.org


UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545

From ufpj-news


Informant: Jackie Cabasso

From: "Ian" ianwuolle@surfnetusa.com

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 3:59 PM
Subject: ALERT: US fails to respond to UN Request - Sign Petition in Support of Western Shoshone

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION IN SUPPORT OF THE WESTERN SHOSHONE
http://ga0.org/campaign/shoshone_petition

FORWARD TO YOUR LISTS, YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, ETC.

WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE AT LEAST 10,000 SIGNATURES BY FEBRUARY 28th!

http://ga0.org/campaign/shoshone_petition

Thank you to Oxfam America for putting this together.
http://www.oxfamamerica.org
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/news_updates/news_update.2006-01-04.6977033848

US Fails to Respond to UN Request; Western Shoshone Petition for Public Support

Posted: 4 January, 2006

The United States government has missed a year-end deadline to answer questions posed by a United Nations committee looking into charges of federal harassment of the Western Shoshone people.

But along with the Western Shoshone traditional government, the Western Shoshone Defense Project is determined not to let the matter die. The defense project is one of the local organizations with which Oxfam America partners.

The Western Shoshone maintain that the US government, through a host of measures including the seizures of livestock and the imposition of heavy trespass fines as well as attempts to privatize large tracts of land to multinational gold companies, is violating the rights of indigenous people to their ancestral lands—some 60 million acres that stretch across Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and California.

The Western Shoshone have now launched a nationwide petition calling on the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, or CERD, to act immediately to address the human rights violations the Western Shoshone have long endured.

CERD was the committee that issued the list of 10 questions the government failed to answer by Dec. 31. The questions are part of a request for “urgent action,” which, if accepted, would allow the committee to open an investigation into US conduct regarding the land issues and the treatment of indigenous people.

“CERD is going to get a lot of pressure from the United States to drop this thing and not take it on as a formal urgent action before the full committee,” said Julie Ann Fishel, the land recognition program director for the defense project.

The appeal to CERD is the latest step in a long-simmering dispute between the Western Shoshone and the federal government. At issue is the Western Shoshone’s contention that the land is theirs—recognized as such by the Treaty of Ruby Valley in 1863—and that federal agencies along with energy and mining industries are trampling on the rights of indigenous people in a scramble to access the valuable resources lying beneath the land.

Protection of the land is critical to the Western Shoshone’s preservation of their cultural and spiritual integrity. But among the threats it now faces is a plan to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and to conduct open-pit gold mining at Mt. Tenabo, both areas that are spiritually significant to the Western Shoshone.

“This is a critical land rights issue. The federal government needs to be held accountable for violating treaties with Indian nations, as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has clearly established,” said Oxfam America’s Laura Inouye, referring to an earlier decision by that body which found the US Bureau of Land Management had violated Western Shoshone rights to due process, property rights, and equality. “A similar finding by UNCERD will help the Western Shoshone press their case for justice.”

“This isn’t just about Indians. It’s about everybody,” added Fishel. “It’s about land, clean water, clean air, and protection of significant areas. This is about not allowing the US government to place corporate interests before human rights and environmental concerns.”

In August, a Western Shoshone delegation traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to speak with CERD members and present their case. Another delegation plans to make a second trip to Geneva in March to present the petition in person. The deadline for signing the petition is Feb. 28 of this year.

“If we can get to the heart of US treatment of indigenous people, and tell the truth about that treatment, we’re going to get to the core of cleaning up social justice issues here and wherever US and corporate policies are affecting peoples’ lives,” said Fishel.

Sign the Petition:
http://ga0.org/campaign/shoshone_petition

For more information: go to: http://www.wsdp.org/ or call: 775-468-0230

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/news_updates/news_update.2006-01-04.6977033848/print.html


Best Wishes,

Michael Wells Mandeville,
The Hills of Arizona
USA
at mwman@earthlink.net

American Indians are petitioning Congress to investigate the elite Skull and Bones society at Yale University and return the remains of Chiricahua Apache warrior Geronimo to Apaches for reburial.

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412153


From Information Clearing House