http://tinyurl.com/3npj8

Wild Horses need your Help
http://www.livelogcity.com/users/omega/7877.html

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Beastly Behavior

Having gained the dazed complicity of a somnolent Congress, U.S. President George W. Bush calmly signed a death warrant for thousands upon thousands of innocent victims: a native population whose land and resources were coveted by a small group of powerful elites seeking to augment their already vast dominance by any means necessary, including mass slaughter.

http://context.themoscowtimes.com/story/138734/


From Information Clearing House

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CROSS POSTING APPRECIATED ...

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 10:02 AM
Subject: National Emergency Wild Horse Meeting (Tentative)


This is a preliminary roll call for the upcoming National Emergency Wild Horse Meeting.

As most of you know, Karen Sussman of ISPMB is organizing an emergency meeting of wild horse and humane organizations. This meeting should be held prior to Congress reconvening on January 4. BLM has started gathering 2,000 more horses and there is reason to believe that the "disposal" of excess animals may begin as early as January 15.

Karen is out of the office today (Friday) and time is short so I'm helping with some logistic preparations.

The preferred dates for the meeting are January 2 and 3, 2005.

The preferred meeting place at this time is Reno - Carson City.

January 2nd will primarily involve identification of problems and discussions as to potential solutions.

January 3rd will primarily involve detailed action plans and task assignments for the various participating groups. (Note, transcripts will be available for delegates not able to remain for the Monday meeting.)

It is imperative that the wild horse groups get organized, coordinated and work cooperatively to ensure maximum impact. (The standard argument of anti-horse people is, "You can't get three horse groups into a room together and get them to agree on anything." We need to dispel that myth here and now.)

Northwestern Nevada is currently the first choice venue for several reasons.

1. The venue is closest to most of the smaller groups and smaller groups typically have the greatest difficulty funding air fares for delegates.

2. The Reno airport is readily accessible.

3. A historically "horse friendly" casino in Carson City, just down from the capitol, has tentatively offered a meeting room at no charge and can provide quality food and beverages to delegates at some of the most reasonable prices in town.

4. Area wild horse groups can help with ground transportation and even lodging for delegates on a tight budget.

5. Most of the northwestern nevada news media have taken a pretty decent pro-horse position since Senator Burns has made the wild horse issue newsworthy.

6. Carson City is the capitol of the state that holds most of America's free-roaming horses.

7. Governor Guynn contributed to this mess by formally requesting more money from Senator Burns to gather wild horses. He and his staff need to personally witness some formidable opposition.

8. The region's wild horse groups can conduct a variety of ancillary activities designed to draw additional attention to the meeting and the issues under discussion.

9. Nevada's wild horse groups have been vigilant and out in the public eye every week for a year, in blazing heat, rain and snow. Holding the meeting in northwestern Nevada is an appropriate tribute to their steadfastness and diligence.

We need to organize quickly so delegates traveling long distances can take advantage of lower advance reservation air fares.

At this point we need an idea as to which groups wish to send delegates, how many, what their needs are, etc. Therefore I am initiating a simple survey to determine what logistic needs there are to convene this meeting.

Please send me an email to mailto:willis@kbrhorse.net with the information asked for below. I will merge the responses into a report for Karen.

Please also remember that this is only a planning survey. Responding does not constitute a commitment on anyone's part, but rather it gives us an idea as to the resources needed for this meeting. Please also note that Karen Sussman will be the person to confirm the final date and location of the meeting so please wait for formal word from her.

SURVEY: (Please copy and paste into your reply email.)

Name of Organization:
(None is an acceptable response for non-affiliated individuals)

Contact Name:

Email:

Phone:

Number of delegates expected:

Need ground transportation?

Can you afford hotel lodging?

Need help with reservations?

Need a host family (if you can't afford a hotel?)

You can attend:

Both Sunday and Monday

Sunday only

Do you wish to be kept apprised of further developments?



Thanks for your prompt response.

Please also note that I don't have the email addresses for all of the wild horse and humane groups who may be interested in attending this meeting. Please forward this message to other responsible groups so that nobody inadvertently gets left out of the poll, and subsequently of the formal notification of this meeting if these tentative plans take shape.

Also if you are aware of any responsible groups who are not on the internet but wish to participate, feel free to forward their information in addition to your own.

It's up to us and the time to act is now. Thanks for your consideration and faithful participation!

Willis Lamm, President
LRTC Wild Horse Mentors

Save our Horses and Burros - BOYCOTT BEEF - EAT SOMETHING ELSE!!!

http://www.kbrhorse.net/news/eatsomethingelse.html


Informant: Lotus

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Wild Horses need our Help

As you know, over 14,000 wild horses lives hang in the balance as we begin the New Year. The appropriations bill passed with rider #142 attached that literally gutted the protections in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act and will allow for the slaughter of thousands upon thousands of wild horses.

URGENT: Here is how you can help-

Pass this e-mail along to as many people as you know asking them to e-mail us their support and helping us attain one million e-mail addresses.

Link our web site to your web site. http://www.ispmb.org

Write a letter to the following Congressional people. This letter should be received in Congress between January 4th through the 7th, 2005. This should be letter and not e-mail. Our goal is to have Congress flooded with one million letters of support for America’s wild horses.

1. Your two Senators and Representative http://www.congress.org

2. Senator Conrad Burns who sponsored the rider.

3. Senator Harry Reid who assisted with the rider.

Please visit our website for a sample letter and to access complete details of the wild horse crisis: http://www.ispmb.org/sampleletter.shtml

The ISPMB invites you to attend a Wild Horse Emergency Alliance meeting to be held in Carson City, Nevada on January 2nd and 3rd. The conference will be a national meeting of various wild horse and animal welfare groups (both large and small) and non-affiliated individuals who have an interest in saving wild horse and burros.

We are grateful for your support! Together I know we can make a difference.

Sincerely,

Karen A. Sussman
President, ISPMB
PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636
Tel: 605.964.6866
Cell: 605.365.6991

Saving America's Wild Horses & Burros since 1960

http://www.ispmb.org

http://grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=3716


Informant: ItalysBadBoy

Mary and Carrie Dann and the Western Shoshone Defense Project support this action -- Please take note of its urgency - support must be expressed this week.

HUNGER STRIKE BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' REPRESENTATIVES AT THE UNITED NATIONS!

Today, November 29th, 2004, at 11 am, we, Indigenous Peoples' delegates, declare a hunger strike and spiritual fast inside the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva, during this 3rd week of the 10th session of the Intersessional Working Group on the United Nations Draft Declaration for the Rights on Indigenous Peoples.

We, Indigenous peoples' delegates from different countries, undertake this action, with the support and solidarity of Indigenous Peoples and organizations from around the world, to call the world's attention to the continued attempts by some states, as well as this UN process itself, to weaken and undermine the Draft Declaration developed in the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations and adopted by the UN Subcommission for the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1994.

The Sub Commission text has also been endorsed and supported by hundreds of Indigenous Peoples and organizations around the world as the minimum standard required for the recognition and protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights internationally.

We delegates who will undertake the hunger strike, along with the undersigned Indigenous Peoples, organizations, tribal governments, Nations, communities and Networks, call for the Sub Commission text of the Declaration to be sent back to the UN Commission on Human Rights with the message that in 10 years, proposals by States to weaken or amend the text have not gained the consensus of the Working Group participants, which include both states and Indigenous Peoples.

Mr. Luis Chavez, the Chairman Rapporteur of the Working Group should report this reality and not present a "consolidated text" as if it was "close to consensus." The Commission on Human Rights must establish a process that does not provide a handful of States an opportunity to weaken the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. The process also must take into account the voices of the great numbers of Indigenous Peoples from all parts of the world.

We will not allow our rights to be negotiated, compromised or diminished in this UN process, which was initiated more than 20 years ago by Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations itself says that human rights are inherent and inalienable, and must be applied to all Peoples without discrimination.

We request that the Secretariat of this session immediately inform the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the High Commissioner herself of this action. We also request that the Secretariat arrange for the hunger strikers to be able remain in the UN during the entire week of the session.

Indigenous delegates participating in the hunger strike inside the
United Nations include:

Adelard Blackman, Buffalo River Dene Nation, Canada ;

Andrea Carmen, Yaqui Nation, Arizona United States ;

Alexis Tiouka, Kaliña, French Guyana ;

Charmaine White Face, Ogala Tetuwan, Sioux Nation Territory, North America ;

Danny Billie, Traditional Independent Seminole Nation of Florida, United States;

Saul Vicente, Zapoteca, Mexico.


Send expressions of solidarity from Indigenous Peoples and supporters for the "hunger strike for Indigenous Rights" and for the adoption of the current text of the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to the UN Session during this week.

Send faxes to: ++ 41 22 917 00 79 (DoCip, for logistic support)

E-mails to: indigenousolidarity@yahoo.com

To have your support letter posted on the IITC web page, also send it to: iitc@e-w-t.net, with "to post" in the subject line.


For more information in Geneva contact:

Andrea Carmen (English, Spanish), IITC, 076 546 04 21
(for International calls dial ++ 41 76 546 04 21)

Cyril Schönbächler (French, English), IndiGeneva, 078 716 52 39 or 022 733 28 73
(for International calls dial ++ 41 78 716 52 39 or ++ 41 22 733 28 73)

Anne-Marie Cruz (French, English, Spanish), IndiGeneva, 076 450 83 18
(for International calls dial ++ 41 76 450 83 18)


The following organizations, Nations, Tribal Governments and communities have signed on in support of this action and of the position we present:

Africa
Indigenous Peoples African Coordinating Committee (IPACC)

Argentina
Asociación Mapuche los Toldos
Organizacion de Naciones y Pueblos Indígenas en Argentina
Comisión de Juristas en la República de Argentina

Argentina/Bolivia/Chile/Peru
Parlamento del Pueblo Kullana Aymara

Arctic

Indigenous Peoples and Nations Coalition
Kasgit Council of Elders, Nutmlak (Inherent Traditional Government),Iupik Nation, Alaska
Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, Alaska

Asia
Alifurus in Maluku (Moluccas)

Bolivia
Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores campesinos de Bolivia
(CSUTCB)
Taypi Ceqe (Organización Indígena Aymara)

Canada
Buffalo River Dene Nation
Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations
Ermineskin Cree Nation
Indigenous Organization of Indigenous Resource Development (IOIRD)
Innu Council of Nitassinan
Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs

Chile
Consejo de Todas las Tierras

Colombia
Akuaipa Waimakat (Asociación de Derechos Humanos Wayuu de la Guajira)
Organización Zonal Indígena del Putumayo (OZIP)

Ecuador
Instituto Cientifico de Culturas Indigenas (Amawta Runakunapak Yachay)

French Guyana
Fédération des Organisations autochtones de Guyane (FOAG), membre de la COICA

Guatemala
Comite Campesina del Altiplano (CCDA)
CONAVIGUA Defensoria Maya
Fundacion Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala)
Oxlajuj Ajpop de los Ajq'ijab' (Conferencia Nacional de Ministros de la Espritualidad Maya de Guatemala)

Kenya
Maimyoito Pastoralist Intgegrated Organization

Mexico
Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos
Agencia Internacional de Prensa India (AIPIN)
Alianza de Organizaciones Sociales
Alianza de Pueblos Indígena de la Sierra Oriente del Estado de México
Alianza Indígena Mexicana-Anipa Hidalgo
Anipa Chihuahua
Anipa Guerrero
Anipa Quintana Roo
Anipa Tabasco
Asamblea Nacional Indígena Plural por la Autonomía
Asamblea Nacional por la Autonomia (ANIPA)
Asociacion Nacional de Abogados Democraticos (ANAD)
Axale, S.S.S.
Centro de Derechos Humanos Yaxkin
Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social, A.C.
Centro para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas del Alto Balsas
Centros de Derechos Humanos Digna Ochoa
CEREAL GUADALAJARA
CEREAL MEXICO
Cesem A.C.
Coalicion de Atencion a la Juventud
Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos A.C.
Consejo de la Nación Amuzga
Consejo de la Nacion Nahua
Consejo de la Nacionalidad Otomí
Consejo de Organizaciones Triquis
Consejo de Pueblos Nahuas del Alto Balsas, Guerrero, A.C.
Consejo Indígena Municipal Chocholteco
Consejo Indígena Popular de Oaxaca "Ricardo Flores Magón" (CIPO-RFM - Oaxaca)
Consejo Mazahua Región Almoloya de Juárez
Consejo Tradicional de los Pueblos Indios de Sonora
Cooperativa Flores de la Tierra Amuzga
Coordinadora de Grupos Culturales Indígenas y Populares
Coordinadora Guerrerense de Mujeres Indígenas
Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas
Coordinadora Regional de Organizaciones Indígenas de la Sierra de Zongolica
Educa A.C.
Federación de Indígenas Migrantes de Acapulco
Foro Migraciones
Fraternidad Revolucionaria
Frente Independiente de Pueblos Indios
Frente Indigena Campesino y Popular (FICAPO, A.P.N.)
Fundación Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Mexico)
Incide Social
Jovenes En Alternativa Pacifica
La Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indigenas
Mephaa-Savi Mujeres Indígenas
Nacion Purepecha Zapatista
Ndu Nu Ñu Savi
Noche Sihuame Sanse Tajome
Organización de Artesanos Migrantes "Tonhalli"
Organización Nación Purhepecha
Parlamento Indígena Estatal Campesino y Popular
Red Codapi
Red Indígena de Turismo Alternativo de México
Red Indígena de Turismo de México
Regiones Autónomas Pluriétnicas
Romero" (SICSAL)
Se Ojtli Yankuik, A.C.
Secretariado Internacional Cristiano de Solidaridad con América Latina "Oscar A.
SEPROJUSDAC, AC
Taller Universitario de Derechos Humanos A. C.
Umbral Axochiatl
Yoloxochitl SPR

Morroco
Tamaynut (Amazigh Peoples)

Pacific
Aotearoa Indigenous Rights Trust (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
Nation of Hawaii (Hawaii)
Sovereign Union of Aboriginal Nations and Peoples in Australia
Te Rau Aroha (Aotearoa/New Zealand)

Panama
Asociación Nabguana
Comunidad de Ustupu, Kuna Yala
Fundación Dobbo Yala
Fundación para la Promoción del Conocimiento Indígena
Jóvenes Ngobe - Bugle
Movimiento Juventud Kuna
Nis Bundor
Organización de Jóvenes Embera - Wounam de Panamáde
Red de Mujeres sobre la Biodiversidad

United States
Abya Yala Nexus
Cactus Valley/Red Willow Springs Sovereign Community, Big Mountain, Arizona
Centro Mundo Maya
El Colectivo de Contacto Ancestral
Indigenous Environmental Network
Pit River Tribe, California
Seminole Sovereignty Protection Initiative, Oklahoma
Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council
Traditional Independent Seminole Nation of Florida
Wanblee Wakpeh Oyate, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota
White Clay Society, Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana
Yoemem Tekia Foundation (Pascua Yaqui Reservation, Arizona)

Multi-regional
Coordinadora Indígena de la Cuenca Amazonica (COICA)
Indigenous World Association
International Indian Treaty Council
Land is Life

Posted: November 29, 2004
by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today - http://www.indiancountry.com

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Western Shoshone Carrie Dann urged American Indians not to be a part of the slaughter of women and children in Iraq. Dann called on Native young people instead to rise to defend Native nations, as the Bush administration steamrolls America and Iraq for corporation gain.

''This government has treated indigenous people as the enemy and now they are fighting this war for them,'' Dann said, speaking at the Nahuacalli Indigenous Embassy in downtown Phoenix.

Dann said America's promise of democracy has never been fulfilled to Indian nations; their treaties were never honored.

''I have not seen democracy in action as far as indigenous people are concerned.''

Upholding the Western Shoshone Treaty of Ruby Valley of 1863, Dann said President Bush's signature on a bill for payment for Western Shoshone land was an illegitimate exercise of power.

''Western Shoshone land is not for sale,'' Dann said.

Dann questioned whether the Iraqi people would be subjected to a U.S. orchestrated government, designed to enrich oil corporations, in the same manner that American Indian tribal governments were initiated by the U.S. government for the purpose of seizing their land and energy resources.

''American Indians have been controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Is there going to be a Bureau of Iraqi Affairs? Are they going to be treated the way we are treated?''

Native youths, she said, have entered the military for the purpose of gaining an education because there are no jobs for them at home. Bush's war in Iraq, however, is not a war that Native warriors should be fighting.

''It is a war against indigenous people of that land for one reason, for the petroleum, for the oil. We are fighting for a corporation.''

Dann said it is clear that corporations control America.

Referring to the colonization of this country, she said Indian people once welcomed newcomers who later massacred them. ''We are being oppressed today by the same people we welcomed.''

Dann said it is wrong for indigenous people to be involved with taking the lives of women and children in Iraq. ''It is not the indigenous belief to hurt women and children. I do not think we have a right to do this.''

Although Pres. Bush said Americans are liberators and not conquerors in Iraq, Dann said she sees no proof of liberation or democracy in Indian country.

''If it can't happen here, I can't see that it will happen there. Our young people should not be going to fight for democracy over there, when it is not working for us here.

''They should defend their own nations first,'' Dann said, urging them to use their educations to protect their own people.

While the United States continues to violate the human rights and property rights of American Indians, she said the spiritual essence of their lives is being violated. ''We are tied to this land.''

Speaking on behalf of the generations yet to come, Dann said she is taking a stand for the land, water and air and the spiritual and cultural ways that bind indigenous people together.

''Our indigenous lands are sacred and they are not for sale.''

Julie Fishel, staff member at the Western Shoshone Defense Project, said Pres. Bush has promised to represent all Americans and Native people should hold him accountable. Pointing out that Bush spoke recently of America's ''moral values,'' Fishel said American Indians have not seen proof of this.

''The treatment of the first people of this land is so atrocious,'' Fishel said, pointing out America's failure to honor Indian treaties. She said Western Shoshone have been under increased pressure from the Bush administration in recent years and the U.S. Interior for the past seven years.

The Bureau of Land Management is upholding impound notices for Western Shoshone livestock in Nevada on Aboriginal territory secured by the Treaty of Ruby Valley of 1863.

Threats and pressures are escalating for Western Shoshone. Some who have not paid trespass fines are being told the matter will be turned over to the IRS, making it possible for the U.S. to seize their bank accounts and private lands.

The pace of gold mining exploration has been accelerated in the region of their sacred mountain, the place of their creation stories.

Urging a united presentation to the United Nations, Fishel urged indigenous people to join the Western Shoshone with their stories of human rights abuses and the seizure of their lands by corporations, working in collusion with the United States government.

Tupac Enrique Acosta, coordinator for Tonatierra Community Development Institute at the Nahuacalli Indigenous Embassy, held the sacred staff of the Eagle and Condor of the Peace and Dignity Runners across the American continents from the north and south.

Opening the presentation, Enrique said Phoenix is Aboriginal O'odham territory and in every direction are the remains of the descendants of the Hohokam whose spiritual presence remains.

Enrique welcomed the Western Shoshone, with a message from his people from the south. ''These are our relatives. Our history, our languages and our blood are tied together.''

Enrique shared the support by resolution for the Western Shoshone from the 2nd Annual Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nations of Abya Yala (Americas) in Ecuador.

The support follows the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' final report in 2003, stating the United States claims to Western Shoshone land are illegal and contrary to international human rights law. The Commission concluded that the United States had used illegitimate means to assert ownership of the lands.

The press conference at the Nahuacalli was held as U.S. forces continued to attack Fallujah on Nov. 9, after a hospital in the city was bombed in violation of the Geneva Convention.

Pointing out the targeting of Native youths for recruitment in the U.S. military, Enrique said a call is being made to all indigenous nations to stop sending their young people to Iraq. He urged Indian nations to send a strong message: ''We are not sending indigenous people to this war.''

Indigenous people, he said, uphold the warrior tradition and want to fight for honor, but he said there is no honor in the war in Iraq.

Enrique said indigenous people have a sacred responsibility and obligation to carry forward this message of peace on behalf of all indigenous people struggling to be recognized as nations.

Enrique spoke of hope in America.

''At some point in the future this nation will regain its dignity.''

Please pass this to Everyone you know
Pass it to All Yahoo-MSN and AOL groups
Including Pow Wows.com.

Many of us know or have read the help that this American Indian Man tries to do for All Native Americans and has helped many through his American-Indian-Injustice group. Although he hasn't talked about his own problems. He himself needs the help of others.

In March of 2003 Thomas Atkins (Greywolf) a U.S.Army Veteren of the Chickahominy and Mattaponi Tribes injured his left back and shoulder moving a 200-600lb wall with a manual crane on his job with Winchester Homes Inc. located in Baltimore and Bethesda Maryland. Winchester Homes is a subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Lumber Corporation of Seattle Washington (one of the largest lumber companies in the world) and the insurer of Winchester Homes Employees.

After the company doctors gave him some Tylenol and a heat compress, Thomas was still in pain and was told to go back to work under light duty for a few days. He even told his supervisors he was still in pain, only to be told that if he took too many sick days he could be terminated. So rather then cause his family any monetary hardship he continued to work through the pain with the help of 4 Ibuprofen tablets every 6 hours.

Then in November of 2003, Thomas hurt the same left side of his back and shoulder again and his neck while stacking the smaller walls he was building. Again his employer took him to the company doctors. Thomas was given some stronger pain medication with 6 therapy sessions and returned back to work on light duty for a few days. He informed his supervisors again that he was still in pain. He was again told that if he took too many sick days he could be terminated. But Thomas worked through the pain to support his family. In fact, it was common knowledge amongst Thomas' co-workers, that if you needed any Ibuprofen for pain to just go see him cause he always had the Motrin.

Then came the final blow. In February of 2004, Thomas was again injured. This time while nailing some cross-braces, he hit his thumb. This is something that carpenters do every once in awhile. It's the nature of swinging a hammer everyday as a profession. Thomas lost his thumb nail, chipped off the tip of his bone and required stitches. Only a few days after this incident, still with stitches and seeing the company doctors almost everyday to change his dressing. Thomas was called into the bosses office and terminated for supposedly being un-safe. Even though he had been a first aide First Responder for the company and a member of the Safety Committe. This from an employer that Thomas worked for three years, a year of which in severe pain. This after being told by his supervisor on a regular basis to turn down his pow wow music, while others were allowed to play their heavy metal and rap. This from a company who's supervisors allowed Thomas to be verbally assaulted by employees who were friendly with the bosses and when Thomas took up for himself. He was told, "Your Indian; You shouldn't let them get you angry, that's not the way of your people".

A company who has had several accidents over the last four years in which many were terminated almost immediately or right after they were cleared by the company doctors. If you were a worker hired through a Temp Agency you were never brought back if you received even the slightest injury. Now Winchester Homes Inc. of Baltimore Maryland and Weyerhaeuser Corporation have kept this case delayed at Maryland Workers Compensation for 10 months and is attempting to say that Thomas Atkins' injuries were pre-existing. Even though Thomas has never hurt his back, shoulder or neck before. This is a severe injustice to a Native Brother who was only trying to take care of his family by working for what he thought was a reputable company and is still in constant pain.

Thomas goes to bed at 10pm just about every night. He wakes up at around 2 or 3 am because the constant aches & pains wake him up. He has good days when the Ibuprofen actually works & they are few and far between. But they are over-shadowed by the bad days when sitting for an hour is too long or standing for 5 minutes is too much.

This can not stand. I am going to advise everyone I know to never buy a Weyehaeuser Product, buy a Winchester Home or give either company their business in any form. I ask everyone contact these companies and boycott them until they learn the proper way to treat their hard working employees. Especially their Native employees who have endured enough already and give Thomas Atkins the Compensation He so Truely Deserves. I implure you all to write to these people. Letting them know this is not right the way this man is being treated.

Thomas was a dedicated and loyal employee of Winchester Homes and Weyerhaeuser. Now he's a man about to lose everything he's worked for because they don't want to do the right thing.

Sincerly,
Helen Runningwater
A Choctaw Wife & Mother

I have sent this letter to the following places. Please do what I have done. This man needs your help.

Winchester Homes & Weyerhaeuser Company Officers:
steven.rogel@weyerhaeuser.com richard.hanson@weyerhaeuser.com
ernesta.ballard@weyerhaeuser.com lee.alford@weyerhaeuser.com
edward.rogel@weyerhaeuser.com larry.burrows@whihomes.com
larry.freiert@whihomes.com tom.bourke@whihomes.com
andy.warren@whihomes.com corporate@wri-online.com
dcmetro@wri-online.com

Government Officials: governor@state.md.us carme_amedori@house.state.md.us
curt_anderson@house.state.md.us john_astle@senate.state.md.us
kumar_barne@house.state.md.us michael_busch@house.state.md.us jon_cardin@house.state.md.us john_wood@house.state.md.us david_brinkly@house.state.md.us brian_frosh@senate.state.md.us verna_jones@senate.state.md.us ida_ruben@senate.state.md.us paul_stull@house.state.md.us
governor@state.wa.us sreed@secstate.wa.gov

Media Sources: mike.adams@baltsun.com trif.alatzas@baltsun.com kevin.cowherd@baltsun.com eileen.canzian@baltsun.com abramowitz@washpost.com barkinr@washpost.com
benningv@washpost.com blumenfeld@washpost.com
brennerr@washpost.com btimes@btimes.com pmilton@patuxent.com skelly@patuxent.com dmiller@patuxent.com jimlee@lcniofmd.com carriem@lcniofmd.com wjzme@comcast.net berry@wmar.com newsroom@wmar.com weinstein@wmar.com esullivan@citypaper.com editor@baltimoreguide.com newsroom@baltimoreguide.com eericson@citypaper.com aditkoff@citypaper.com info@ap.org
letters@nypost.com lwilliams@tri-cityherald.com krobertson@tri-cityherald.com
mfancher@seattletimes.com dboardman@seattletimes.com redhead@drtel.net
dbundy@ndonline.com national@latimes.com nationalnews@herald.com grayp@wjz.com bending@wjz.com sam@okit.com editor@indiancountry.com sobonews@baltimoreguide.com

Relatives,

We invite all to come and show support for the long standing struggle of the Dann sisters of the Western Shoshone Nation. Please spread the word, ask others to attend the press conference in support. Tlazo, thanks.


TONATIERRA
Community Development Institute
PO Box 24009
Phoenix, AZ 85074


PRESS RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2004

Contact: Tupac Enrique Acosta (602) 254-5230, or (775) 397-1371


Indian Wars Continue in Nevada 2004

Western Shoshone Nation Calls Bush Administration Land Bill a Fraud

Phoenix, AZ – As open war rages in Fallujah, Iraq the home front faces an insurgency of its own, one where the Indigenous Nations stand with principles of spiritual nonviolence to assert their ancestral responsibilities as the true caretakers of the homeland. Western Shoshone Nation elder Carrie Dann will speak today at a press conference in Phoenix to address the violation of the 1863 Ruby Valley Treaty between the United States and the Western Shoshone Nation. The issue was addressed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which in January of 2003 sentenced in a final report by the Commission that the United States claims to Western Shoshone land are illegal and contrary to international human rights law. The IACHR also concluded that the United States had used illegitimate means to assert ownership of the lands.

Said Carrie Dann, "It's disgraceful how the United States makes international statements about human rights and then commits this kind of assault in our own frontyard. It destroys their credibility and moral authority".

After an exhaustive review, the Commission concluded that the United States has been violating the human rights of the Western Shoshone, including the right to equality before the law, the right to judicial protection and due process, and the right to property. The ruling was highly critical of the Indian Claims Commission’s handling of the Dann Sisters’ case. It is the first time that the US has been formally found in violation of international human rights in its treatment of Indigenous Peoples within its border.

In attempt to silence the opposition by the Western Shoshone Nation to the theft and illegal mineral expropriation of Western Shoshone territories, third largest gold producing area in the world, the Bush administration has moved to silence the legitimate land claims of the Western Shoshone under the 1863 Ruby Valley Treaty with a domestic monetary settlement which the Western Shoshone call a fraud and illegal act of aggression against the Western Shoshone Nation.

Press Conference

4:00 PM

NAHUACALLI
802 N. 7th Street, Phoenix



More information:
http://www.wsdp.org/


Western Shoshone Nation Challenges Bush Administration

Please read the following request from Earthworks calling for your help on the No Dirty Gold Campaign. The Western Shoshone Defense Project is a partner in the No Dirty Gold Campaign with Oxfam America and Earthworks. We are networked with partner communities from Peru to Ghana. The campaign highlights the impacts of gold mining on local communities, in particular the Western Shoshone. Western Shoshone lands are the 3rd largest gold producing area in the world, behind only South Africa and Australia –

One mountain alone, Mt. Tenabo in Crescent Valley, which Congressman Gibbons has slated for a privatization scheme (HR 2869) to Placer Dome (5th largest gold company in the world) has estimated revenues of $7-8 billion. Other multinationals mining in our area include Barrick, Kennecott, Newmont and Marigold. The Bush Administration is heavily tied to the mining industry and we are now threatened by renewed notices of intent to impound Western Shoshone livestock and IRS action against Western Shoshone traditionals. We are also attaching an emergency defender form if you are able to volunteer in any other way. Thank you. http://www.nodirtygold.org.



Dear Student,

You probably already know that each fall and spring, class rings companies start setting up shop on campus to take orders for class rings. What you might not know is where the gold in those rings comes from, and how it was mined and produced.

Gold comes at a heavy price, costing the planet and its people much more than the metal is worth. One of the world's dirtiest industries, gold mining can leave a long-lasting scar on communities, workers, and the environment in places as diverse as Nevada, Ghana, Peru, and Indonesia.

80 percent of all gold is used to make jewelry -- including university class rings. As socially active students, we hope you'll join the No Dirty Gold campaign in driving much-needed reform of the mining industry. Leading retailers of class rings companies, such as Jostens, Balfour, and ArtCarved, must be held accountable for the gold they use in their products. After all, which student wants the symbol of his or her alma mater to be tarnished with dirty gold?

Whether you are purchasing a ring or not, seize this opportunity to deliver a message to the ring representative on your campus urging them to source gold that is more responsibly-produced. There are several ways you can help. One is to organize a tabling event or action outside your college bookstore (or ring sales location). We have all the materials that you will need to organize an action or table:

* a toolkit for student organizers

* informational brochures

* fact sheets

* post cards

* t-shirts

* banners

Check out our website at http://www.nodirtygold.org for more information!

We hope you'll join us in helping students leverage their consumer power over the international mining industry! Send us an email at classrings@nodirtygold.org or give us a call at 202-887-1872 x 202.


Best,

Radhika Sarin
No Dirty Gold
http://www.nodirtygold.org



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