Native Americans challenge Corporate & government greed.

On July 21, 2015 a convoy from out west calling themselves the Apache Stronghold traveled first to New York City and then to DC to protest the giveaway of their sacred lands - National Forest land - for copper mines. It is very important to understand the historical importance of this event. The American Indian Movement took hold among student groups in the 1970s but it took until now for the message to go forward, regarding indigenous rights and protection of the environment.

Photographer Kimora Merritt Brass took an iconic photo of a native woman wielding a traditional bow and arrow in Times Square, standing up for the sacred Oak Flats.

Members of the Apache Stronghold marched from Lafayette Square on Tuesday morning to the West Lawn of the US Capitol to mark the end of a spiritual journey across the country to protest a bill snuck in as a rider in the National Defense Authorization Act by Senator John McCain, and Arizona's junior Senator Jeff Flake, which was approved by Congress in the closing hours of its last session. That rider traded away Apache sacred land to allow a massive copper mine.

The caravan left Arizona in early July, traveling some 2,000 miles as part of a growing movement to save Oak Flat, where native people have held religious and coming-of-age ceremonies for generations. The copper mine would leave a huge crater - 1.8 mile wide and wipe out streams, springs and wildlife habitat. The caravan was in New York City's Times Square on Friday and arrived in Washington this Monday evening. The Apache Stronghold caravan arrived at the U.S. Capitol to conclude their spiritual journey on July 21, 2015.

Tuesday's event marks the final destination of the convoy's journey from Mt. Graham to Oak Flat in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona to Washington, DC. Apache Stronghold stopped at Native American reservations along the journey gathering prayers and strength, arrows and eagle feathers, building awareness of the Oak Flat issue as well as recognizing that many Tribes have the same or similar issues with the protection of their sacred sites. More than 480 Tribes and many environmental organizations, outdoor recreation enthusiasts, animal rights groups and religious congregations support saving Oak Flat. The group hoping to Save Oak Flat is supporting a bill introduced by Congressman Raul Grijalva to repeal the awful bill passed in December.

On July 22, Wednesday, a group of women including grandmothers went to the capitol building to talk to Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, who has "a record of intolerance and saying vicious things against Native Americans," about statements he made in a letter.

The group of women journeyed to Washington, DC to voice their displeasure on the add-on legislation tugged into the $585 billion National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 that gives land at Apache Leap and Oak Flat in southeastern Arizona to Rio Tinto, foreign mining company, to mine. Part of a larger group called Apache Stronghold, the women earlier rallied on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol to call for the reversal the add-on legislation.

Rather than speak with Mrs. Cassadore and the other ladies and Apache Stronghold members with her, Rep. Gosar responded by hiding behind a locked door and calling the Capitol police, threatening to have Mrs. Cassadore and her friends immediately arrested.

Apache Stronghold spokesperson Wendsler Nosie, Sr. told the press, "There is no excuse for his mistreatment of the Apache grandmothers and young ladies who came to his office. Cowering behind a locked door, refusing to come out, and then calling a squad of policemen to sweep those gentle ladies away is just terrible. Rep. Gosar should apologize for that, as well as for his strange and insulting 'Dear Colleague' letter."

http://newtrendmag.org/ntma1612.htm

Native Americans Commemorate Thanksgiving Massacre

December 5, 2013 by TMO 

Despite bitter cold, hundreds of people attended the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, MA on November 28 to recall the genocide experienced by America’s native population at the hands of the settlers known as the Pilgrims. This year’s memorial event, organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE), started with the burning of sage and a prayer, followed by speeches given by Native American spokespersons that included prayers for the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, and all victims of racist expansionism.

The real story of the First Thanksgiving was related, in which the Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay Colony declared: “A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children… This day forth shall be a day of celebration and thanksgiving for subduing the Pequots.”

Dutch and English Christian settlers had set on fire the homes of sleeping families:

“Those that escaped from the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run threw with their rapiers [swords]….It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire, and the streams of blood quenching the same,” Puritan William Bradford described.

“The surviving Pequots were hunted but could make little haste because of their children. They were literally ‘run to ground…tramped into the mud and buried in the swamp.”

Iman Hussain, a 7th grader who attended the Day of Mourning, told TMO, “I was surprised to find out that what I had learned in school about the happy Thanksgiving holiday wasn’t true.”

A statement from long-term political prisoner Leonard Peltier addressing the National Day of Mourning was read aloud. He implored listeners to “make a vow to renew our efforts, renew our minds, renew our directions to take back our water take back our air take back our forests and our mountains and valleys, restore this mother earth to the natural balance the Creator meant it to be. We need to talk to the churches, talk to the various religions, we need to get them to recognize that the strongest form of worship isn’t singing songs and bowing your head, the strongest form of worship is to respect and restore to balance the beauty of nature and the earth that was given to us, that is part of us, that we are a part of, and to be responsible for… All evil needs to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”

“…As some of you may know the Constitution is a copy of the Iroquois 6 nations Confederacy law. The constitution originally was designed so that men would have maximum freedoms as long as they did not infringe on the natural rights of others or in essence harm someone else. The freedoms and respect that the law implies that we should have for one another in this nation should extend to all those outside of this realm because what is right for one man should be right for others.”

Of particular importance in this year’s event was an urgent call to action by the Idle No More movement in Canada, which “seeks to assert Indigenous inherent rights to sovereignty and reinstitute traditional laws and Nation to Nation Treaties by protecting the lands and waters from corporate destruction.” Native American tribes and environmentalist protesters are currently involved in a standoff with the Canadian government, blocking a highway in an effort to stop fracking (gas and oil drilling). The water has already been made undrinkable in several regions in both Canada and the United States due to contamination caused by fracking.

The crowd marched peacefully through Plymouth’s downtown, past Plymouth Rock, and ended with a prayer at the site of a plaque commemorating Metacomet (King Phillip) that reads:

“After the Pilgrims’ arrival, Native Americans in New England grew increasingly frustrated with the English settlers’ abuse and treachery. Metacomet (King Philip), a son of the Wampanoag sachem known as the Massasoit (Ousameqin), called upon all Native people to unite to defend their homelands against encroachment. The resulting “King Philip’s War” lasted from 1675-1676. Metacomet was murdered in Rhode Island in August 1676, and his body was mutilated. His head was impaled on a pike and was displayed near this site for more than 20 years. One hand was sent to Boston, the other to England. Metacomet’s wife and son, along with the families of many of the Native American combatants, were sold into slavery in the West Indies by the English victors.”

Hundreds of people of all races in good cheer filled the social rooms of two nearby historical churches, beyond capacity, and enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner provided by UAINE, who insisted that families with children, the elderly, and the handicapped be seated first. Anyone who wanted was given bread, fruit, and turkey leftovers to take home after the feast.

“Instead of celebrating a past that never happened, I think it’s a great idea to create a future where we actually get to meet real American Indians, eat with them and listen to their stories every Thanksgiving. From now on, my family will come to the National Day of Mourning every year,” said a man who attended for the first time.

In 1970, UAINE protesters painted the Plymouth Rock red, climbed up the mast of the replica of the Mayflower Ship, ripped down the British flag and replaced it with the flag of the American Indian Movement. After decades of confrontations with the police, the town of Plymouth compromised with the UAINE by erecting a statue of Massasoit, the 17th Century leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy on Cole’s Hill, which was used as a burial ground during the settler’s first winter in New England in 1620-21. The plaque, which was erected by the Town of Plymouth on behalf of the United American Indians of New England reads:

“Since 1970, Native Americans have gathered at noon on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the US Thanksgiving holiday. Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture. Participants in National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.”