Saturday February 4, 2012 was an international day of solidarity for political prisoner Leonard Peltier. A call was put out for demonstrations in front of federal buildings world-wide. Such an event occurred here in Los Angeles in the proximity of the downtown Federal Building and was well-attended. Leonard Peltier, who has been wrongfully imprisoned for 35 years, has received little exposure in the mainstream media. (However, good documentaries have been made about him.)

"He's been in prison for over 30 years for a crime that he did not commit; his health is extremely bad," said Corine Fairbanks of AIM (American Indian Movement) Southern Cal, who was involved in two of the three events on February 4. "It was wonderful to see people going out of their way to participate in these events. I believe we definitely need to continue to educate people, especially young people, as to who Leonard Peltier is. I think there's a concentrated effort made by various governments for us to forget who he is. When I say educate, I'm saying that people need to be aware of not only who he is and the sacrifice he and his family have made being that he's a prisoner of war, but people also need to put more pressure on President Obama, put more pressure on the U.S. government for his release."

The charges against Peltier have been deemed illegitimate by Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and many others. Peltier has received six Nobel Peace Prize nominations. His activism includes selling his painting, proceeds of which have benefited the Lakota people. Story and photos: International Day of Solidarity with Leonard Peltier: Clemency Now! by RP, photos by Isabel Avila

Related: Protecting Sacred Sites: The Kuruvungna Springs Tribe Thanks Secretary Salazar; Repricussions on Land Dispute

February 4, 2012
WEST LOS ANGELES - Just one block South of a very urban section of Wilshire Blvd with 40 story high-rise buildings and often grid locked streets sits the Kuruvungna Springs. The Springs are on a part of the University High School campus. The Springs and the surrounding area were once the site of a Tongva village.

This last Saturday the Green Party and the Foundation hosted a tour that also included a Tongva blessing of the land. Fresh potable water is bubbling out of the ground and into small streams and pools. The water is said to have healthy restorative powers.

In 1992 a group of local environmentalists working together with Tongva descendants formed the Gabrienlino/Tongva Springs Foundation. The foundation was able to secure a lease for the land from the Los Angeles Unified School District for one dollar a year. The Foundation found funding, both private and public and has restored much of the site. The work goes on and there is still much to be done to preserve and protect the springs.

The foundation’s current lease expires next year and they are hoping to secure a new long-term fifty-year lease from the school district. Supporters are urged to contact the school district and encourage them to extend the lease and ensure the continued protection and ongoing restoration of this sacred site.

From the newswire:Protecting Sacred Sites: The Kuruvungna Springs by A

"The Kawaiisu Tribe of Tejon thanks Secretary Ken Salazar for 'Reaffirming' the Tribe to the list of Federally Recognized Tribes in the United States. 'Reaffirming of Recognition,' means that Congress and the President of the United States recognize the Tribe through the Treaty, because the Treaty represents prior Federal Recognition. The United States now is back in compliance with the Treaty, except for the Tejon Reservation and Graves issues. . . . They have been fighting a legal case for two years in California Federal Court, docket number 1:09-cv-01977, to stop development on their Indian Reservation at the Tejon Ranch near Los Angeles, that gives the corporation permission to unearth the burial remains and spiritual burial objects of thousands of their ancestors that died on the reservation. The timing of regaining recognition, while awaiting a ruling on the Federal Case is an unexpected gift that the Tribe embraces with gratitude. . . ."

More: Tribe Thanks Secretary Salazar For Righting Wrongs Of The Past by David Laughing Horse Robinson

Video: The Kawaiisu people and legal history of land by Kernvillekate | | More Information and videos: Kawaiisu Tribe of the Tejon (Blogspot)

On December 17, approximately 75-100 community members protesting the desecration of Rattlesnake Island, the spiritual center of the Elem Pomo community, marched to the Piedmont mansion of John Nady, the owner of Nady Systems, who has been one of those pushing for the development of the island as the location of two luxury-style vacation homes. Community members first circled up and held a rally near the Lakeview library branch in Oakland, then proceeded to march two miles up and into the hills of Piedmont where Nady owns a large home, and a short demonstration was held that featured speeches as well a spirited singing of the AIM song.

The 42nd annual National Native American Day of Mourning took place in Plymouth, Mass. on "Thanks-taking" Day. Several hundred protesters from across the Americas participated; listening to Native speakers about the plight of Native peoples, then marching through downtown Plymouth.Plymouth being the supposed location of the first "Thanksgiving" in the 1620s. Read More & Photos | Video | More Photos

Related: 10th Annual Black Friday Demonstration to Protest Desecration of Sacred Ohlone Shellmounds

At noon on Monday, October 10th - Indigenous People's Day - members of the Elem Pomo tribe will march to the offices of millionaire businessman John Nady in Emeryville to demand that he immediately halt his planned desecration of Rattlesnake Island. The Elem Pomo have invited supporters to join the protest and tell Nady that from the Bay Area to Lake County, people will stand up to oppose the desecration of sacred native sites.

From the press release: Today we take direct action to stop further desecration and destruction of the Holy San Francisco Peaks. We stand with our ancestors, with allies and with those who also choose to embrace diverse tactics to safeguard Indigenous People’s cultural survival, our community’s health, and this sensitive mountain ecosystem.

On May 25th 2011, sanctioned by the US Forest Service, owners of Arizona Snowbowl began further destruction and desecration of the Holy San Francisco Peaks. Snowbowl’s hired work crews have laid over a mile and a half of the planned 14.8 mile wastewater pipeline. They have cut a six foot wide and six foot deep gash into the Holy Mountain.

Although a current legal battle is under appeal, Snowbowl owners have chosen to undermine judicial process by rushing to construct the pipeline. Not only do they disregard culture, environment, and our children’s health, they have proven that they are criminals beyond reproach.

Four weeks of desecration has already occurred. Too much has already been taken. Today, tomorrow and for a healthy future, we say “enough!” Read more...

Despite efforts by Sacred Sites Protection and Rights of Indigenous Tribes (SSP&RIT) to negotiate a preservation agreement, the Greater Vallejo Recreation District has so far refused to abandon efforts to develop Glen Cove, a sacred Native American burial site in Vallejo, also known as Sogorea Te in the Ohlone language. With construction slated to get under way as soon as Friday, April 15th, SSP&RIT has called for an assembly to gather at 5pm on April 14 at Glen Cove, in preparation for a ceremony to honor the ancestors buried at the site at 8am the following morning.

As the 150th anniversary of the War of 1862 approaches in 2012, the conversation around the genocide of the Dakota people at the hands of white Minnesotans is changing. Earlier this year, Dakota activists and allies disrupted an event of the Minnesota Historical Society (which continues to downplay the significance of the War) at the state capitol, and the Take Down the Fort campaign held the largest rally yet outside (and inside) the gates of Fort Snelling. But these protests are only a small portion of the much larger, less visible fight towards decolonization.

Much of that fight happens through personal conversations, discussion groups, teach-ins, and lectures. Such a lecture, delivered by activist and scholar Waziyatawin, was given in the 95% white college river town of Winona, Minnesota in early November--and has since ignited a firestorm of debate. There, Waziyatawin was accused of "terroristic threats" in a letter in the local newspaper; a follow-up article fanned the flames; and a public statement from out-of-state elected tribal government officials also condemned the lecture. But meanwhile, the Winona State University faculty member who organized the talk called it a "complete success".

Waziyatawin, too, has responded, saying, "I, for one, am not interested in propping up the government and society that exterminated our people and stole our lands." (Her full response--which the Winona Post refused to print--is below).read more

District Court Rules For U.S. Forest Service in Save the Peaks Case; Plaintiffs will Appeal

The case known as The Save the Peaks Coalition, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service (USFS) was heard before Honorable Judge Mary H. Murguia and today (December 1, 2010) a decision was made.

The Court ruled against the plaintiffs claims that the final FEIS prepared by the USFS ignores thorough consideration of a number of critical health issues. The plaintiffs contend that a new and thorough FEIS should be filed by the USFS. If this reveals that the use of reclaimed sewage water is a public health risk then snowmaking should not be permitted for the Arizona Snowbowl on the San Francisco Peaks.

Howard Shanker, representing the Save the Peaks Coalition and additional plaintiffs, will file an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court...

“The lives of Africans and Native Americans have been intricately intertwined for at least 500 years. The relationship has been one of rescue, mutual assistance, and sometimes abuse and strife. . . . “ – The Red-Black Connection by Valena Broussard Dismukes

Dismukes (African, Choctaw, Scottish, Irish, and French) is a retired school teacher, prolific photographer, author, lecturer, and community activist. She recently spoke in Pasadena about various aspects of African-Native Americans, including the 500+-years of shared history by Native Americans and Africans and genealogy.

Audio/photos: A Talk by Valena Broussard Dismukes on African-Native Americans by RP

On Sunday November 7th, there will a benefit at 7pm in Santa Cruz for Dine (Navajo) indigenous resistance communities at Big Mountain / Black Mesa, AZ who are in their third decade of resisting the expansion of coal strip mining operations and forced relocation from their traditional homeland by the US government. This benefit is part of the 2010 Fall Caravan of Support. On November 20th, work crews from Santa Cruz and all across the country will converge in support of the indigenous resistance communities of Black Mesa / Big Mountain.

from the open publishing newswire: On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, indigenous Colombian healer Taita Juan Agreda Chindoy was detained in the Houston International Airport. He was formally arrested by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for possession of his traditional medicine Ayahuasca. He is now being charged as a federal criminal and is facing up to 20 years in federal prison.

Taita Juan is certified by his community and by the Colombian ministry of health as a traditional healer. He is one of the few remaining indigenous spiritual leaders in the world that holds the ancestral medicinal knowledge of an ecosystem that is rapidly disappearing. Taita Juan is a father, a husband and a godfather to more than 20 children. With more than 3000 supporters from several countries in the world, his life and work have touched many. [read full article]

From www.freetaitajuan.org: On Tuesday, October 19, 2010, Cametsa traditional healer and Colombian national, Taita Juan Bautista Agreda Chindoy was detained in the Houston International Airport. His baggage was searched and he was formally arrested by ICE (Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement) for possession of his ancestral medicine, ‘Yaje’ or ‘Ayahuasca’. Upon revealing the presence of DMT in the liquid medicine, he was charged with possession with intent to distribute a “Schedule 1 Drug”.

RELATED: Jailed Chicago videographer Gregory Koger is out on bond | Two More UNO Students Arrested Amidst Mid-Year Budget Cuts

About 100 people protested outside Assembly Hall where for the third year there was a pro-Chief rally organized by those wishing to revive the University of Illinois’ racist mascot. This year, protesters were made to stand behind a taped-off area and watched closely by University of Illinois police and Assembly Hall security. There was some confusion among officials over this practice, as one security guard told me that Assembly Hall was private property. When I asked UIPD Lieut. Skip Frost, he said that it was maintained by the University of Illinois, therefore it was public property, but the decision to tape off protesters had been made by the Assembly Hall management. The creation of such a “free speech zone,” which has previously been enforced at recent Democratic and Republican National Conventions, is a serious suspension of the First Amendment and modern method for controlling peaceful protest.

Flagstaff, AZ – After 4 hours of meeting, the Flagstaff City Council voted 5-2 to not amend a proposed substitute agreement to sell 180 million gallons of Flagstaff's drinking water to Arizona Snowbowl for snowmaking on the Holy San Francisco Peaks. More than 150 concerned community members attended the Council meeting including Tribal representatives from Hopi, Navajo and Havasupai Nations.

The deal was initially presented as a "less offensive" option for Tribes who hold the San Francisco Peaks holy, but overwhelmingly the Tribes opposed the plan. Read More

Past Coverage: AZ Snowbowl plans to destroy the northern Arizona environment & desecrate sacred sites | March, Rally & Vigil to be held in Phoenix, AZ against AZ Snowlbowl desecration of sacred land | Related: Chris Francisco on The Longest Walk 3, Portland to DC