BISMARCK, North Dakota -- "The Morton County Sheriff's Department sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump which accused #StandingRock water protectors of crimes that there was no evidence of -- crimes water protectors were never charged with. The letter urges Trump to stop the protest of the #DakotaAccessPipeline."
"A South Dakota tribe has banned Republican Gov. Kristi Noem from the #PineRidgeReservation after she spoke this week about wanting to send #RazorWire and security personnel to #Texas to help deter immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and also said cartels are infiltrating the state’s reservations.
“'Due to the safety of the #Oyate, effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the #OglalaSioux Tribe!” Tribe President #FrankStarComesOut said in a Friday statement addressed to Noem. “Oyate” is a word for people or nation.
"#StarComesOut accused Noem of trying to use the border issue to help get former U.S. President Donald Trump re-elected and boost her chances of becoming his running mate.
"Many of those arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are #IndigenousPeople from places like #ElSalvador, #Guatemala and #Mexico who come 'in search of jobs and a better life,' the tribal leader added.
"'They don’t need to be put in cages, separated from their children like during the Trump Administration, or be cut up by razor wire furnished by, of all places, South Dakota,' he said.
"Star Comes Out also addressed #Noem’s remarks in the speech to lawmakers Wednesday in which she said a gang calling itself the Ghost Dancers is murdering people on the Pine Ridge Reservation and is affiliated with border-crossing cartels that use South Dakota reservations to spread drugs throughout the Midwest.
"Star Comes Out said he took deep offense at her reference, saying the #GhostDance is one of the Oglala Sioux’s “most sacred ceremonies,' 'was used with blatant disrespect and is insulting to our Oyate.'"
"#Wabanaki history is ingrained across #Maine and has deep rooted cultural relationships with major natural landmarks that many of us see everyday. However, there is a concerning gap surrounding the important aspects of our state’s rich Wabanaki history and what little many students learn about it in Maine schools.
"Wabanaki studies need to be consistently incorporated into all Maine school districts. According to a 2022 report done by the #AbbeMuseum, the #MaineACLU, the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission and the #WabanakiAlliance, the Wabanaki studies law passed by Maine in 2001 is not appropriately enforced across the state.
"The law 'requires schools to teach Maine K–12 students about Wabanaki territories, economic systems, cultural systems, governments, and political systems, as well as the Wabanaki tribes’ relationships with local, state, national, and international governments,' the report says.
"The Portland public school system recently incorporated a Wabanaki studies program into its curriculum. This will hopefully be a good example for other districts across Maine and encourage them to do the same.
"Teaching Wabanaki studies will help children gain a better understanding of the state. In time, this can help them develop a closer relationship with the #land and our responsibility to ensure that it is cared for and treated with respect.
"'Through #traditional stories representing the terrestrial and aquatic systems, important [Wabanaki] values are imparted that safeguard culturally significant resources from overuse and ensure the persistence of the people and culture,' says Natalie Michelle, interdisciplinary studies and research assistant of native environmental studies in climate change at the University of Maine.
"It is more important than ever that we look to native science as we face irreversible damage to our climate. We must prioritize implementing these ideals early into the educational careers of children so they go on to practice them throughout their lives.
"Western science and education has taught the ideals of dominance over nature for centuries. This is reflected in practices that have contributed to the #extinction of animals, rises in #NaturalDisasters, food and water shortages and the numerous other effects of #ClimateChange. Instead of connecting with #nature, we are often taught to distance ourselves from the #NaturalWorld. We are taught to use vague and nonspecific naming tools like 'it' to refer to any non-human being.
"'We use it to distance ourselves, to set others outside our circle of moral consideration, creating #hierarchies of difference that justify our actions — so we don’t feel,' says Robin Kimmerer, professor of environmental and forest biology at the State University of New York College of #EnvironmentalScience and #Forestry.
"Kimmerer talks of alternatives to using 'it' to put ourselves on the same level as other living beings, recognizing them as relatives by calling them by their name. But she says that this can be difficult for many of her students because they were not taught these alternatives until now.
"In my experience growing up in Maine and going to school, I never encountered a class focused on Wabanaki studies until college. I am grateful to have this opportunity now. But it has been difficult for me to implement these new ideals into my thinking toward the land around me because they seem so foreign.
"Using the word 'foreign' seems wrong when describing ideals that have been used in Maine since long before any of us were here. But Maine schools and communities have an opportunity to change this.
"Children who grow up in this state have the right and responsibility to know the history of the land around them. They have the right and responsibility to understand the negative implications of #colonization and #ForcedRemoval of the #WabanakiTribes and how despite horrible #historical events, the Wabanaki people have endured and developed their own #sovereign structures.
"In order to create more inclusive classrooms that incorporate all aspects of our state history and work towards building respectful relationships with Maine land, other communities should follow the exciting example being set in #PortlandMaine."
The United Nuclear Corporation is asking to transfer 1 million cubic yards of mine waste to a spot still near the Nation
By: Arlyssa Becenti - October 22, 2021
“The #Navajo people have endured decades of radiation exposure and #contamination caused by #uranium mining and production, and continues to impact the health of individuals, families and communities. We strongly oppose the proposed amendment that would allow the transfer of uranium mine waste and contamination just a short distance from the Navajo Nation and the homes of our Navajo people.” -- Navajo President Jonathan Nez
WHAT
THE RED NATION RESPONDS TO RACIST ATTACK ON #INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
WHERE/WHEN
SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 RIO ARRIBA COUNTY ANNEX BUILDING
WHO
CALLING ON ALL NATIONAL, STATE, TRIBAL, COUNTY, AND CITY OFFICIALS, AND MOVEMENT #ALLIES, TO CONDEMN THIS RACIST ATTACK AND DEMAND THE PROTECTION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
WHY
An agitator opened fire on a prayerful celebration in #Tewa Territory (#Española, #NewMexico) shortly after 12PM local time on Thursday, September 28. This was a premeditated act of violence. The agitator shot #JacobJohns (#Hopi and Akimel #Oodham in the torso. Johns was protecting a #peaceful group of community members assembled at the Rio Arriba County Annex Building, along with half a dozen community #peacekeepers. The gunman was heard saying 'let’s do this' to a small group of men immediately before opening fire. At the time of the shooting, community members were celebrating a postponement of the reinstallation of a Juan de #Oñate statue that was previously removed from Alcalde, New Mexico on June 15, 2020. Rio Arriba County officials planned to reinstall the statue on Thursday morning in its new location in front of the county annex building, but postponed the reinstallation after community members and activists mounted pressure earlier in the week. News of the postponement came as a relief to organizers, who turned the planned #PeacefulProtest into an impromptu peaceful celebration with speeches and a community feed.
"Before the shooting, the agitator was seen antagonizing the crowd, saying racist remarks, referring to attendees as 'Indians,' and at one point proclaimed himself to be a follower of #QAnon. The agitator also made a point to introduce himself to the media present and requested to be photographed and filmed. In the moments leading up to the shooting, the agitator attempted to approach the small crowd of mostly Indigenous women and children congregating around the event’s speakers in front of the building’s main entrance. Video evidence shows that Jacob Johns and other community peacekeepers successfully stopped the agitator from approaching the crowd. Eyewitnesses speculate that the shooter was trying to break through the crowd to shoot the speaker, or to jump on the cement pedestal to get a vantage point with the intent of carrying out a mass shooting. Video footage also shows that community peacekeepers did not pursue the agitator once they had successfully removed him to the other side of a wall separating the sidewalk from the complex. Despite this, the agitator reached under his sweatshirt with his right hand, drew a pistol, pointed, and shot one round into the crowd, hitting Johns in the torso. Additional ammo was seen tucked into his belt by eyewitnesses and on camera. Eyewitnesses have confirmed that the agitator quickly adjusted his aim after shooting Johns and pulled the trigger a second time with the intention of shooting Malaya Peixinho, one of the attendees, but the gun jammed, preventing the release of further rounds. Upon realizing he could go no further with his planned attack, the shooter turned and fled into the complex’s parking lot, got into a white Tesla, and sped off. Additionally, eyewitnesses report the shooter attempted to unjam his gun as he fled. The shooter was later apprehended eleven miles away by New Mexico State Police in Pojoaque, New Mexico.
Despite Rio Arriba County citing concerns for 'public safety' as the rationale for postponing the reinstallment, the county offered no protection for Indigenous community members on Thursday. In fact Rio Arriba county and leaders at all levels of government were made well aware of the high possibility of gun violence. Denise Williams, mother of shooting victim Scott Williams, who was targeted at a 2020 Oñate protest, said prior to Thursday’s event she called Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham’s office, the office of U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, New Mexico State Police, the office of the New Mexico Attorney General, all members of U.S. Congress representing Valencia County in New Mexico, and all New Mexico state representatives and senators from Valencia County, to warn them of the high chance of gun violence directed at attendees. State senator Elizabeth 'Liz' Stefanics was the only one to respond. Immediately after the shooting Scott Williams’ father, Dan Williams, called the governor’s office again to tell her that she “had blood on her hands” for failing to properly respond to both shootings.
Immediately after the shooting, two Rio Arriba County Annex employees denied children seeking shelter from the shooter entry into the building. They proceeded to come out, yelling at people to leave, and made disparaging comments about attendees and Jacob as he fought for his life feet away from them. The cops did not show up in a timely manner despite the shooter being in the same parking lot as the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s office, and it took several more minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Eyewitnesses report the complete absence of police intervention. The event’s organizers assembled a community peacekeeping team to provide the only public safety measures present on the ground. Without hesitation, Johns and half a dozen other Indigenous men and allies volunteered. When Johns was shot, it was attendees who provided the first medical response, saving Johns’ life. The first law enforcement officer on the scene ordered the community members providing medical assistance to move away, but they refused because the officer did not identify himself as a medic and made no other attempts to provide assistance.
We are incredibly alarmed that pretrial services have recommended the agitator be released without cash bail. We know from first-hand experience that politically—and racially—motivated shootings like this embolden other like-minded vigilantes who hold the same contempt for #IndigenousPeople and organizers. The agitator and his sympathizers pose a very real and serious threat to all Indigenous people, and to Indigenous women activists specifically. The establishment, which Alex Naranjo himself lauded as 'a system that we’ve lived with for 400 years,' circles its wagons to protect Indian killers who are colonialism’s foot soldiers. This means there is virtually no formal protection or justice for Indigenous people, women, and activists in these times of heightened danger. We call upon all national, tribal, state, county, and city officials, and movement allies, to condemn this racist attack and demand safety and protection for Indigenous people, women, organizations, and communities. We call upon everyone to contact your officials and apply pressure.
Demand the following:
Do not release the shooter!!
This must be recognized as the racially-motivated hate crime it is at all levels of government.
Protect Native women!!
As of now, the shooter is being held at Rio Arriba County Jail in Tierra Amarilla. The bond hearing is scheduled for Monday at 11:30AM at the Rio Arriba Magistrate Court. We will inform the public of any further updates.
The Red Nation Podcast will be recording an emergency live episode about Thursday’s events on Monday, October 2 at 5PM MT. The Red Nation and NDN Collective will be discussing the event’s wider significance for the Native liberation movement.
Further updates, The Red Nation social media channels, news reporting, and other links can be found at https://linktr.ee/Therednation
My friend was shot by a Trumper in a #MAGA hat at a peaceful #IndigenousRally. Please help.
by RL Miller, September 30, 2023
"I went to Santa Fe, NM this week for a US #ClimateAction Network conference. During the conference we covered #decolonization and how Santa Fe/NM has been stolen from #Indigenous, first by Spaniards and then by Americans. Several of us decided to attend a rally in opposition to re-erecting a statue of Juan de #Onate, a particularly odious Spanish #Conquistador who massacred an entire pueblo and cut off the right foot of every able bodied male Native. His statue was taken down in 2020 by #IndigenousActivists but the county of Rio Arriba was supposed to take up, on 9/28/2023, an agenda item of re-erecting the statue. We #USCAN folk, including my friend #JacobJohns who is Indigenous, showed up to support. It was a lovely, peaceful, prayerful rally. (The county shut down its building and kicked the agenda item over a week.)
"For two hours I observed a Trumper in a MAGA hat harass, troll, and disrupt the rally. Toward the end of the rally, the speaker asked for all the children to gather. At that point the #Trumper tried to charge the group. A scuffle broke out; they pushed him back behind a low stone wall; he jumped over the wall, pulled out a gun, and shot. My friend Jacob took a bullet to the chest, likely intended for the children.
Jacob was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital and airlifted to Albuquerque. He had his spleen removed, but he's young and strong with the heart of a warrior and was in stable condition undergoing surgery last I heard yesterday.
The Trumper was arrested and charged with attempted murder. We all gave statements to detectives, and one of my twitter pix is evidence showing that the Trumper was harassing us for two hours.
"Your inboxes are likely overwhelmed with appeals from political folk, but please do not look away from the political violence in this country. Donate and share this Go Fund Me to support Jacob and his family:"
https://gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-johns-recover-from-terrorist-shooting
USCAN is working with local Indigenous groups to amplify their voices, make sure this statue doesn't go up again, and bring the shooter to justice. I will have an additional ask in the coming days; this is an AND, not an OR request. Thank you."
Sheriff's official IDs suspected shooter in violence at planned site of #Oñate statue
By Nicholas Gilmore
Sep 28, 2023 Updated Sep 29, 2023
"ESPAÑOLA — #NewMexico State Police is leading the investigation into a shooting around noon Thursday that left a man wounded as groups of opposing protesters clashed at the site of the planned installation of a statue of Juan de Oñate on horseback.
"Panicked #protesters at the Rio Arriba County government building on Industrial Park Road in Española rushed to provide aid to the man as the suspected shooter, identified by sheriff’s office officials as Ryan Martinez, 23, fled in a white Tesla.
"Sheriff’s Maj. Lorenzo Aguilar said Pojoaque Pueblo police arrested Martinez shortly after the incident, around 12:15 p.m.
"A witness at the scene said the man wounded by a single gunshot was #JacobJohns, a resident of Spokane, Wash. She and Johns had come to the area together for a climate conference and joined a crowd of dozens of #NativeAmerican activists protesting the county’s plans to install the nearly 30-year-old bronze statue of the Spanish #conquistador, the woman said. She declined to give her name.
"County officials announced earlier this month they planned to put the bronze statue back on public display, drawing activists to the site.
"[Accused gun-man] Martinez was at the protest for several hours Thursday, wearing a turquoise hoodie and a red hat with the words 'Make America Great Again.' Deputies had asked him to leave the gathering in the morning, but a sheriff’s office official then stepped in and allowed him to stay to protect his civil liberties.
"Martinez stood with other counterprotesters — some of whom also were wearing #MAGA hats — and heckled Native speakers. He made his way around to the east side of the pedestal county crews had prepared for the Oñate statue but was blocked by several protesters from reaching an altar demonstrators had created with squash, pottery and blankets. Signs around the pedestal said, 'Oñate? No thanks!' and '#LandBack.'
"A witness’s video of the incident shows the suspect pull a handgun from his waistband and fire once toward the protesters before running off.
"Protesters scrambled, some hiding behind walls, as Martinez ran to the parking lot and sped off in a Tesla."
By Carlos Martinez Censored News, September 29, 2023
"#Indigenous#ClimateActivist, artist, musician, and father Jacob Johns was shot in the chest this morning, Sept 28.2023, during a No Juan de Oñate statue peaceful protest in #Tewa territory (more commonly known as Española, New Mexico). Jacob put his body between women and children when the shooter charged towards the altar. He was air-lifted to a hospital in Albuquerque and had surgery.
"The shooter, who was wearing a red #MAGA hat, is in custody of tribal police. We ask everyone to please pray with us that he survives this surgery and that doctors have the strength and wisdom to help him.
"Jacob, who is Hopi and Akimel O'odham, has dedicated his life to Indigenous and #ClimateJustice. He is a skilled muralist and speaker, and specializes in non-violent, peaceful 'artivism'. He has a teenage daughter, Lily, she and his other family are currently flying from Washington State to Albuquerque New Mexico to be by his side.
"This inspirational man has put his life on the line over and over again to make a better world for his fellow humans, and now he and his family need your support to recover from this terrible hate crime. As you can imagine, being a climate activist is not lucrative work to readily afford major life- saving surgery. We are humbly requesting your donations to help cover his recovery, his medical bills, and to help support his family needs during what will likely be a very lengthy recovery period.
Twenty states have passed laws that criminalize protesting, including on infrastructure including #pipelines. In #Minnesota, at least 66 felony theft charges against #Line3 protesters remain open
Alexandria Herr for Floodlight
Thu 10 Feb 2022
"Last summer [2021] Sabine von Mering, a professor of German at Brandeis University, drove more than 1,500 miles from Boston to Minneapolis to protest against the replacement of the Line 3 #OilPipeline that stretches from #Canada’s #TarSands down to Minnesota.
"Along with another protester, she locked herself to a semi-truck in the middle of a roadway, according to a filed court brief, as a means of #peaceful#resistance. But when she was arrested, she was charged with a serious crime: felony theft, which carries up to five years in prison.
"'It’s very scary that they criminalize us like that, and to face jail time,' said Von Mering, 54, of her June arrest. 'But what can I do? I feel responsible to my kids and #FutureGenerations.'
"The felony charges come as more than a dozen states have passed laws to criminalize #FossilFuel protests, and as the federal government has ramped up its own tactics for surveilling and penalizing protesters.
"Von Mering is one of nearly 900 protesters who were arrested in Minnesota for protesting against the pipeline’s construction, with the vast majority of arrests taking place during the summer of 2021, and one of dozens facing felony charges. Construction on the Line 3 pipeline was finalized in October 2021 and carries 760,000 barrels of oil per day across northern Minnesota. But its construction for years has stoked fierce protests and legal challenges, led by #Indigenous activists in northern Minnesota who worried about potential impacts of oil spills and the pipeline’s threat to #treaty rights to gather wild rice. While most of the arrests have led to misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor charges for crimes including 'disturbing the peace' and 'trespassing', felony charges like Von Mering’s mean protesters are facing years of jail time.
"Legal advocates say that in Minnesota the elevated charges are a novel tactic to challenge protest actions against pipeline construction. They see them as furthering evidence of close ties between Minnesota’s government and the #FossilFuelIndustry. It follows reporting by the Guardian that the Canadian pipeline company #Enbridge, which is building Line 3, reimbursed Minnesota’s #police department $2.4m for time spent arresting protesters and on equipment including ballistic helmets. Experts say the reimbursement strategy for arrests is a new technique in both Minnesota and across the US, and there’s concern it can be replicated.
"'I do a lot of representation for people in political protests and I’ve never seen anything like that,' said Jordan Kushner, a defense attorney representing clients charged in relation to Line 3 protests.
"Two of Kushner’s clients were charged with felony 'aiding attempted suicide' charges for crawling inside a pipe. The charge is for someone who 'intentionally advises, encourages, or assists another who attempts but fails to take the other’s own life', according to Minnesota law and carries up to a seven-year sentence. Authorities alleged that the protesters were endangering their lives by remaining inside the pipeline."
"#Cree Journalist Brandi Morin said, 'We are taking back the narrative and this story about North America’s largest lithium mine being constructed while violating sacred Indigenous territories is told from the Native perspective. The 'green' energy revolution isn’t what you think it is!'
IndigiNews Media and The Real News, September 12, 2023
Go watch! @IndigiNewsMedia@TheRealNews@ricochet_en
"Follow Native journalist Brandi Morin, who came from Canada, and covered this powerful story.
"In Nevada’s remote Thacker Pass, a fight for our future is playing out between local #Indigenous tribes and powerful state and #corporate entities hellbent on mining the lithium beneath their land. Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is developing a massive lithium mine at Thacker Pass, but for more than two years several local tribes and #environmental organizations have tried to block or delay the mine in the courts and through direct action.
"The Thacker Pass Project is backed by the Biden administration, and companies like General Motors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project, looking to capitalize on the transition to a 'green energy economy,' for which lithium is essential. While it is a vital component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, though, there’s nothing “green” about mining lithium. Ending our addiction to fossil fuels is urgently necessary, but the struggle of the local tribes around Thacker Pass reveals the dark side of a 'green revolution' that prioritizes profit and consumption over everything (and everyone) else."
"'This is not just a problem of the #AlgonquinNation but all people on the #OttawaRiver. Why are we trying to put a radioactive mountain adjacent to the drinking water of millions of people that are south of this NSDF site?'
"Verna McGregor, a Kitigan Zibi #Anishinabeg elder, plans to explain at the CNSC licensing hearing how the #Algonquins were bypassed in the establishment of the original #ChalkRiver nuclear site on their unceded territory in the 1940s, and regard the river as sacred to their culture."
Indigenous Yaqui leader Fidencio Aldama is free after 7 years in prison and has been found not guilty of homicide! He vows to continue to oppose the gas pipeline from the company #IEnova, a subsidiary of the transnational U.S. company #sempraenergy
"Fidencio Aldama Perez is an #Indigenous Yaqui #LandDefender and #PoliticalPrisoner from the northern Mexican state of Sonora. He was arrested on October 27, 2016, and later sentenced to fifteen years and six months in prison on trumped-up charges related to a death in the community of Loma de Bácum, Sonora."
"When a foreign company started exploratory drilling for the possible return of uranium mining near #ChurchRock, community members say they were not informed in advance.
“It was a complete shock,” Jonathan Perry, the director of Eastern Navajo #Diné Against Uranium Mining, said of the process that started this winter.
"The eastern Navajo Nation communities have stood largely in opposition to future uranium mining for decades.
"'The majority of Diné people have been personally impacted by (uranium),' Leona Morgan, an activist and member of Navajo Nation, said.
"The Navajo Nation has a moratorium dating back nearly two decades that prohibits uranium extraction, but the Eastern Agency consists of what is known as checkerboard. That means federal and state lands are intermixed with Navajo, or Diné, lands and allotment lands.
"#LaramideResources, a Canada-based company, plans on extracting uranium from an area within the checkerboard that is not tribal land.
"The work would occur near the same location where, in 1979, a dam breach released 1,100 tons of uranium waste and 94 million gallons of #RadioactiveWater into the #RioPuerco, which the nearby Navajo communities relied upon for water.
"Decades later, the spill, along with mine and mill sites in the area, remain unremediated. Earlier this year, the U.S. NRC issued a record of decision as well as a license amendment that will allow the #UnitedNuclearCorporation—which owned the site where the spill occurred—to dispose of mine #waste from the old uranium mine at the old mill site.
"Morgan said there are concerns that this disposal method in an unlined pit could lead to a second spill happening, especially as climate change increases the risks of extreme weather events like monsoon floods."
World Governments Rattled as Indigenous Expose Atrocities at the United Nations
By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 22, 2023
"Governments from around the world are rushing to defend their #HumanRights records as #IndigenousPeoples describe the atrocities during the 22nd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues."
The Intercept and Grist begin release of 50 #TigerSwan documents
by Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 14, 2023
"The #Intercept and #Grist began releasing new TigerSwan spy documents in new coverage of the mercenaries hired by the #DakotaAccess Pipeline. They now have 50,000 TigerSwan documents, and another 9,000 are held up in the court battle for now. The documents reveal TigerSwan spying on #WaterProtectors at #StandingRock in #NorthDakota, Bold Iowa, and at other locations.
• Generative AI models learn from mass data scraped from web
• Indigenous groups fear losing control over their data
• Some move to protect their information from commercial use
"When U.S. tech firm OpenAI rolled out Whisper, a speech recognition tool offering audio transcription and translation into English for dozens of languages including Māori, it rang alarm bells for many Indigenous New Zealanders.
"Whisper, launched in September by the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot, was trained on 680,000 hours of audio from the web, including 1,381 hours of the Māori language."