United States Endorses International Declaration On Indigenous RightsACLU Says Support For Declaration Is Essential To Upholding U.S. Obligations Under International LawNEW YORK - December 17 - In an important step toward upholding and promoting the United States' commitment to international human rights at home, President Obama announced Thursday that the U.S. will lend its support to the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The decision is a reversal of the position taken by the Bush administration in 2007, when the U.S. voted against UNDRIP even as 145 nations supported it. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights at Home Campaign (HuRAH Campaign) have long called for unqualified endorsement of UNDRIP, which articulates the rights set forth for indigenous peoples in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following can be attributed to Jamil Dakwar, Director of the ACLU Human Rights Program and steering committee member of the HuRAH Campaign: "We commend the Obama administration for endorsing this important declaration and rectifying the Bush administration's rejection of an essential human rights document. Unqualified endorsement of this declaration is essential to protecting the rights of all indigenous peoples, especially Indian and Alaska Native nations in the United States. The administration should work in close partnership with indigenous peoples and tribal governments to address the serious human rights challenges that continue to face indigenous communities in this country." The following can be attributed to Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office: "Guaranteeing basic human rights for our indigenous population should be considered a priority and we are happy to see that the Obama administration agrees. We will continue to work with Congress and the administration to ensure that it remains so. We are hopeful this endorsement will lead to a renewed effort to bolster human rights protections both here in the U.S. and abroad." The following can be attributed to Professor Lisa Crooms, chair of the HuRAH Campaign: "The Obama administration's endorsement of the Declaration is a welcome first step towards matching U.S. rhetoric on human rights with concrete actions. Effective promotion and implementation of the declaration will require the administration to work in full partnership with indigenous peoples and civil society to build a human rights infrastructure here at home." The ACLU and the HuRAH Campaign also urged the Obama administration to issue an executive order to reconstitute the Inter-Agency Working Group on Human Rights, which is essential to promoting and implementing UNDRIP and other declarations and ratified treaties across the government. The U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is available online at: www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/ The HuRaH statement in support of the UNDRIP is available here: www.hurahcampaign.org/wp- ### The ACLU conserves America's original civic values working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the United States by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Article printed from www.CommonDreams.org URL to article: http://www.commondreams.org/ Firefly (Lilia Adecer Cajilog) Tawo Seed Carrier POB 1456 South Pasadena, CA 91031 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ |
Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
December 16, 2010
BFC is the only group working in the field every day
in defense of the last wild buffalo population in the U.S.
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* BFC on TV! BFC's Mike Mease on Headline News Dec. 23, 7pm EST
* Update from the Field
* Wild Bison 2011 Calendars Invoke Joy, Inspiration, Hope
* Last Words
* By the Numbers
* Helpful Links
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* BFC on TV! BFC's Mike Mease Appears on CNN Headline News Dec. 23, 7pm EST
TUNE IN YOUR TV to HEADLINE NEWS on Thursday, December 23 at 7pm EST. Buffalo Field Campaign's co-founder Mike Mease will appear on "ISSUES With Jane Velez-Mitchell" to talk about America's last wild buffalo and BFC's work to protect them. "ISSUES with Jane Valez-Mitchell" is an hour-long program covering many important topics and BFC could appear at any time during the show, so please stay tuned for the duration! Tune in to HEADLINE NEWS on December 23 at 7pm ESTand click here to connect with the show. Have a Headline News party/gathering, or if you're planning to be at a public place with a TV, encourage the proprietor to tune in to Headline News at 7pm EST on Thursday, December 23.
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* Update from the Field
This grazing gentle giant could become victim of hunt or haze. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click here for larger image.
Rifle shots crack the crisp cold winter air. The sharp sounds echo the mournful deaths of twelve more wild buffalo. Twenty-two wild buffalo have now been killed in the hunt.
Every day volunteers venture out into the frozen fields and mountains from sunup to sundown, monitoring the buffalo's migration, keeping watchful eyes on those in danger. BFC is currently running full-time camps in both West Yellowstone and Gardiner, we have two ongoing lawsuits to protect the bison, and we are working with members of Congress to end the senseless harassment and slaughter of America's only continuously wild bison population. These efforts are very costly, and we can not succeed without your help. Please donate today and keep us strong in the field and on all levels of the policy front.
It is hard to bear witness to the hunt, more difficult to gather the necessary courage and rise above our pain as we convey the trouble the buffalo are in and attempt to build alliances with those who are hunting them. It is a bittersweet and heart-heavy journey, to at once celebrate the migration of this ancient animal we are so awestruck by and blessed to live with, yet fearful for them in their coming, knowing that a few short steps in a certain direction over imaginary lines will probably lead to their eminent harassment or demise.
This family group of buffalo was punished by Yellowstone National Park for following their natural migratory instincts. With the assistance of the MT Dept. of Livestock, government wranglers forced this family group off of their chosen ground back into the political confines of Yellowstone National Park. Hazing operations force buffalo to use up stored energy reserves that would otherwise enable them to more successfully survive the region's long, harsh winters. Hazing causes buffalo to slowly starve. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click here for larger image.
In the Gardiner Basin, along Yellowstone's northern boundary, wild buffalo have again been forced off of their winter range by Yellowstone National Park and the Montana Department of Livestock. Wild buffalo are not "park" animals belonging to or in Yellowstone, they belong to themselves and to the land that they roam.
This solitary bull was harming no one, grazing along the willowy banks of the Yellowstone River, land his ancestors have roamed for tens of thousands of years. But now this land is owned by the Church Universal & Triumphant who have no tolerance for wild buffalo. In an awesome display of resistance, this bull stood his ground against the agents for quite some time. Refusing to move, the agents resorted to driving a Park Service truck towards him, honking and blaring sirens. When this bull finally decided to bolt, he gave the four horsemen a great challenge. BFC file photo by Stephany. Click here for larger image.
Foolishly, millions of our tax dollars are wasted every year in efforts to appease livestock interests and prevent wild buffalo from accessing available habitat and restoring themselves to their native homelands. Buffalo are an integral part of the landscape; their restoration is needed to heal the land. The habitat is there, the buffalo only need to be able to access it. Your voice can help clear the way: please contact your Members of Congress and also President Obama on behalf of America's last wild buffalo.
Roam Free!
~Stephany
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* Wild Bison 2011 Calendars Invoke Joy, Inspiration, Hope
Just a few short weeks before it's time to put your Wild Bison 2011 Calendar up on the wall!
Dear Friends,
One of the things the bison have taught me is the importance of tears....... over 25 years I had suppressed my tears till it reached the breaking point and burst forth near the end of one of our long, hard winters. I'll guess that many of you have experienced this huge relief, as the water literally burst from my eyes, smacking the ground at my feet.
I returned home today from a long work week and a long sleepless night on the train. As I sat down with a grilled cheese sandwich, I picked up and read front to back theWild Bison Calendar for the first time. When I hit the month of June, I read the words first, and as I looked up to the photo, broke into spontaneous and uncontrollable tears. Only this time, they were tears of JOY. I am so grateful to know this feeling now, too.
You truly do incredible work, I am blessed and honored to have you and many others who have helped along the way in my heart.
~Anonymous BFC family member
Order Wild Bison 2011 calendars for yourself, friends and family!
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* Last Words
"You know, we had a pact with the buffalo. Our legends talk about the buffalo helping us to come out of the Earth, which was under the ground, and it was a safe place for us. We were very afraid of the surface world. And the buffalo was already there. When the buffalo observed us coming and going, you know, going back at night, coming up for a short time, the buffalo said: 'I will give you food, I will give you clothing so you can be warm, I will give you my flesh to eat and to survive, and when I am in need, then you must help me, too.'"
~ Rosalie Little Thunder, Sicangu Lakota elder, BFC co-founder.
Taken from an interview appearing in Buffalo Nation, a documenting produced by Martha Hawley, appearing on Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Many thanks to Martha Hawley sharing this.
Do you have submissions for Last Words? Send them to bfc-media@wildrockies.org. Thank you all for the poems, songs and stories you have been sending; you'll see them here!
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* By the Numbers
AMERICAN BUFFALO ELIMINATED from the last wild population in the U.S.
2010-2011 Total: 22
2010-2011 Government Slaughter: 0
2010-2011 State & Treaty Hunts: 22
2010-2011 Quarantine: 0
2010-2011 Shot by Agents: 0
2010-2011 Highway Mortality: 0
2009-2010 Total: 7
2008-2009 Total: 22
2007-2008 Total: 1,631
Total Since 2000: 3,731*
*includes lethal government action, quarantine, hunts, highway mortality
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Media & Outreach
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.
BFC is the only group working in the field every day
in defense of the last wild buffalo population in the U.S.
KEEP BFC ON THE FRONTLINES WITH A TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION TODAY
Join Buffalo Field Campaign -- It's Free!
Tell-a-Friend!
Take Action!
ROAM FREE! 
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Prince George RCMP are asking for assistance to find a missing woman who was last seen climbing into a pickup truck driven by an older man.
Cheri-Leah Bullshields, 29, was reported missing last night, but hasn't been seen since Thursday night. The Aboriginal woman was spotted getting into a light-coloured Chevy four-door pickup truck.
The man driving the vehicle is described as white, in his mid-50s with gray hair. He is believed to be 6-0 tall, 180 pounds, clean cut and in good shape.
Bullshields is approximately 5-9 tall, 135 pounds with long dark hair. She has scars on her wrists and a tattoo of a Chinese symbol on her lower back.
She is originally from Edmonton, Alta., but has resided in Prince George for the last year.
Eighteen women have either been murdered or disappeared in recent years along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert in northern B.C., a route that has been dubbed the Highway of Tears.
In October, the remains of a missing Prince George woman, Cynthia Maas, were discovered in a local park. Police haven't revealed how she died but say she was murdered.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at (250)561-3300 or anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1(800)222-TIPS (8477).
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Two states sue Bank of America for mortgage servicing
Harper offers to meet with native leaders
OTTAWA—Prime Minister Stephen Harper has offered to sit down with Canada’s native leaders to discuss problems plaguing aboriginal communities across the country.
Harper’s Dec. 8 letter was made public at the end of a three-day Assembly of First Nations conference in Gatineau, Que., which put the spotlight on several issues, including the need for education, health care, housing and potable water.
In the letter to Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly, Harper said he would be open to participating in a proposed Crown-First Nation gathering.
“Regarding First Nation education, we agree that this matter is an important priority for advancement,” the Prime Minister said.
The meeting would be first of its kind for Harper since coming to office in January 2006 and a milestone in the relationship between Canada’s natives and the Conservative government.
“I am pleased that the Prime Minister has responded to our call to work in respectful partnership to craft concrete plans for progress on our priorities,” Atleo told his fellow leaders as the special chiefs’ assembly wrapped up Thursday.
“The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is now a reality, and First Nations are taking action to transform our communities, governments and our relationship with Canada,” he said.
Atleo concluded that Canada’s aboriginal communities are “no longer looking in the rearview mirror at the Indian Act but focusing our gaze forward on our vision of a brighter future founded on the principles of our treaties, our rights and the UN Declaration.”
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Bradley Manning within Rights on Wikileaks Sherwood Ross: The American people have been led into wars based on lies, fictions, and secrets and should be grateful to Assange and Manning for revealing the truth of this misconduct.  Read More |
As DREAM Act Fails, Lindsey Graham Tells Undocumented Youth They Wasted Their Time Andrea Nill: Immediately before the vote failed, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took the Senate floor to tell the young DREAMers who have come to his office that they were “wasting their time” because the border hasn’t been secured. Read More |
Busted by BP in Azerbaijan
by Greg Palast
Monday, December 20, 2010
BP's Azeri police arresting Palast for filming BP oil rig - Baku, Azerbaijan, December 2010
Oh, no, no, not good.
The enforcers here come in three colors: the military police still wearing their old Russian puke-green uniforms, the MSN (the dictator's secret police) in windbreakers without ID, and BP's own corporate police force in black tunics, sashes and full hats who look like toy soldiers from the Nutcracker ballet. They weren't dancing.
I showed all three flavors of police our press credentials in both English and Azeri, neither of which could be read by the officers. (The dictator had suddenly changed the Azeri alphabet, making most of the nation illiterate overnight.)
The dictator made everyone call him, "Baba," Grandpa.
I told the dumbest-looking one, "Look here: This paper says your so-called President is a weasel's rectum," which our 'fixer' translated as, "This letter from Foreign Ministry is authorization to make a documentary for the British Television."
We'd been surreptitiously filming BP's cancer-making machine, the giant pipeline terminal near Baku, the capital, that sends the Azeri's Caspian Sea oil eastward to light Europe's Christmas trees.
Now, it looked like I'd be spending Christmas in Baba's dungeon licking rats for breakfast. My clown-show antics bought the crew the precious minutes needed to switch the film in the camera to blanks. Our cameraman told a BP cop, with mime: "Hadn't begun filming yet, Old Bean."
We would now. I clicked on my hidden micro-cam.
"I know," I said. "Believe me, I know."
There is an awful lot of evidence that BP and Britain's MI6 had their hands in Baba's 1993 coup d'état which overthrew the nation's elected president. Within months of taking power, Baba signed "The Contract of the Century" giving BP monopoly control of Azerbaijan's Caspian reserves."
Baba headed the KGB when this Islamic land was an occupied "republic" of the Soviet Union, the good old days of relative peace, freedom and prosperity.
I was here in the desert to investigate a tip-off I'd had that BP had a near-disaster at its Caspian offshore rig that was extraordinarily similar to the Deepwater Horizon blow-out. But BP covered it up.
What I didn't know was that WikiLeaks was about to release a State Department memo which referred to a small piece of this BP game. Rather than go to Azerbaijan to check the facts, the Wiki newspapers called BP in London for comment.
That put BP on high alert and my sources in high danger.
How the crew and I (and the poor shepherd on a little horse swept up with us) were released is a complex story involving an impromptu banquet with the Secret Police and the poignant recanting of a statement about BP made to us by an environmental activist.
I understood his need to back down. The night before, we dined with a young video blogger who'd just gotten out of prison after the current president (now Baba's son, Baby Baba), saw the blogger hold a press conference in a donkey suit. The President had no doubt that he was the ass. He was. He is.
Welcome to the Islamic Republic of BP, otherwise known as Azerbaijan. And good-bye.
I'm out of there. Out with the evidence we need about BP and how it lead to the Gulf of Mexico blow-out and an extension of the occupation of Iraq.
It's a hell of a story, and my holiday gift to myself is that I'm here and ready to tell it.
My best wishes to you and your family
Strong Heart Warrior Society:
We are releasing this announcement after disturbing events transpired last night at Canupa Gluha Mani’s (Duane Martin Sr) home within the Sharp’s community on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Duane’s house was raided by 9 tribal police officers who declared that someone had reported that Duane was having a “House Party.” Anyone who knows Duane Martin Sr. fully well knows that he is 22 years sober, and he was one of the main activists to attempt to have Whiteclay, Nebraska, shut down (where they sell thousands of cans of alcohol per day). The tribal police are very well aware of these facts because they arrested him three years ago for trying to block the flow of alcohol from Whiteclay. Tell people what you found when you went in his house, police - NOTHING!
The police claimed that someone tipped them off, which could only be from one of the several bootleggers and drug dealers on his street. The fact that these bootleggers are still allowed to sell alcohol and drugs there is the tribal police and government’s fault-- not Duane Martin Sr’s. The fact that tribal police would invade his home is absolutely unacceptable and preposterous. While Cora and I were with Duane for over two months this past summer, we personally watched people, drunk in the street, stagger in and out of houses and yell in the road. Where are the police when they are needed? Why do they attempt to intimidate Duane along with the bootleggers of this community? This is unacceptable and requires direct action on all of our parts.
Duane is calling for all Lakota people, Natives, and activist from everywhere to back him this coming Friday at Sharp’s Corner. Enough is enough, and if the tribal police will not do their job for the people and community, The Strong Heart Warrior Society will. Duane will hold a press conference at 10:00 AM, and then there will be a march through the community at 1:00 PM. Please help join in the fight to take back sovereign Lakota freedom and protection of their people! Duane Martin Sr. is a leader for the rights of the Lakota, and he needs participation this coming weekend. We will not sit ideally by while Lakota people die and the tribal government, police, and BIA do nothing but antagonize the people who fight for the protection of their people. Please post and spread the word.
Please contact:
Duane Martin Sr
The Strong Heart Warrior Society
(605) 517-1547 or (605) 454-5552
Other questions may be sent to me:
Rob Dunaway
The Strong Heart Preservation Movement
League of Indian Nations of North America
(256) 435-9096
(256) 283-7735
"When crazy people call you crazy, you know you're sane.
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