#native movement

No More Hyper-Sexualization of Native Women!

Wounded Knee II, South Dakota, February 27, 1973 On February 27, 1973 American Indian Movement leaders, together with 200 activists and Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation who opposed Oglala tribal chairman Richard Wilson, occupied the town of Wounded Knee in protest against Wilson's administration, as well as against the federal government's persistent failures to honor its treaties with American Indian nations. The U.S. government law enforcement, including FBI agents, surrounded Wounded Knee the same day with armed reinforcements. It lasted 71 days. "Wounded Knee happened because Indian people wanted to survive as Indians and there wasn't any way to survive, so we made a stand and made a statement, but now Indian people are beginning to rebound, rebound according to their [concept of] "Beauty." And that's really what's necessary.to understand: Indian people have to become free again." --Russell Means Public opinion polls revealed widespread sympathy for the American Indians at Wounded Knee. They also received support from the Congressional Black Caucus as well as various actors, activists, and prominent public figures, including Marlon Brando, Dick Gregory, Johnny Cash, Angela Davis, Jane Fonda, William Kunstler, and Tom Wicker. Later, AIM leaders Dennis Banks and Russell Means were indicted on charges related to the events, but their 1974 case was dismissed by the federal court for prosecutorial misconduct, a decision upheld on appeal. What has changed in Pine Ridge, SD since?

"To heal will require real effort, and a change of heart, from all of us. To heal means that we will begin to look upon one another with respect and tolerance instead of prejudice, distrust and hatred. We will have to teach our children-as well as ourselves-to love the diversity of humanity....We can do it. Yes, you and I and all of us together. Now is the time. Now is the only possible time. Let the Great Healing begin." ~Leonard Peltier

"I wish to support the petition for clemency for Leonard Peltier. Mr. Peltier's health is said to be worsening. I am deeply concerned and I appeal to the concerned authorities in the United States to positively consider the petition on humanitarian grounds" --The Dalai Lama

Please Sign these Petitions: Amnesty International: http://ow.ly/nCxfk AVAAZ: http://ow.ly/nCisf  Photo of Dalai Lama by © Phil Borges

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American Indian fishing and treaty rights in Washington, 40 years today after the 1974 Boldt decision.  On Feb. 12, 1974, U.S. District Judge George Boldt ruled in favor of 14 treaty tribes, upholding the language of their treaties that entitled them to half the salmon and steelhead catch in Washington. Yet Si Blue "the woman who talks", Janet McCloud "The Rosa Parks of the American Indian Movement" March 30, 1934 – November 25, 2003 Yet Si blue, also know as Janet McCloud and born into family of Chief Seattle was a prominent American Indian and indigenous peoples activist. Her activism helped lead to the 1974 Boldt Decision, for which she was dubbed, "The Rosa Parks of the American Indian Movement." McCloud fought for Indian treaty rights, asserting their right to hunt and fish as guaranteed by the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek. As part of that treaty, native tribes gave up much of their land to the U.S. government in return of guaranteed hunting and fishing rights. McCloud also was a respected leader among the Tulalip Tribes. She laid the groundwork for some of the things the Tulalip have been able to accomplish, especially in the exercising of their sovereignty. McCloud used her influence to found several organizations designed to promote the rights of American Indians such the Indigenous Women's Network, the Survival of American Indians Association and the Northwest Indian Women's Circle.  One of her proudest accomplishments was the opening of the Sapa Dawn Center near Yelm, where she taught American Indian youths about their culture and history. Born on the Tulalip Reservation, Janet Renecker, the oldest of three girls and a descendant of Chief Seattle's family, lived a childhood marked by poverty. She married and divorced young before meeting a Nisqually tribal fisherman and electrical lineman named Don McCloud in the early 1950s. Janet, Don and many others formed the Survival of American Indian Association to fight against the assault on American Indian culture. Janet was the editor of the organization's important paper - Survival News - The articles in Survival News told the native side of the fishing-rights story. McCloud pored through donated legal books, quoted from the state's charges against tribal fishing people, and wrote rebuttals based on treaty language. Survival News articles were real because the editor - and authors - fished and were jailed during the struggle. In the manner of the time, the American Indians demonstrated as well as fished, and in the language of the time, the demonstrations were labeled "fish-ins" in the press. The name stuck and fish-ins became official acts of defiance. McCloud learned some of the movement's tactics from Dick Gregory, an inspiring Black American comedian turned civil-rights activist. Gregory advised the American Indians to attract attention by getting arrested and staying in jail. Eventually, the American Indians' efforts paid off. On Feb. 12, 1974, U.S. District Judge George Boldt ruled in favor of 14 treaty tribes, upholding the language of their treaties that entitled them to half the salmon and steelhead catch in Washington. Along with catapulting her into the status of civil rights leader, the fish wars brought Janet McCloud in touch with her native spirituality. During the 1970s, McCloud spread the message of native spirituality and human rights worldwide. She traveled the globe, speaking about indigenous women's rights and social justice. In 1971, she traveled to Williamsburg, Va., as a delegate to a national conference on corrections, advocating for American Indians in prisons. She urged, among other things, that prison systems support traditional religion as a path toward reconciliation. McCloud established her home and the surrounding 10 acres (40,000 m2) in Yelm, Washington as a retreat, naming it the Sapa Dawn Center, "Sapa" meaning grandfather, the name being a tribute to Don McCloud, who died in April 1985. Leaders of the American Indian Movement - Dennis Banks, Russell Means and others - came to Sapa Dawn and its sweat lodge before launching their 1973 takeover at Wounded Knee, S.D. Yet Si blue once wrote: "When all is going crazy . . . our people can come back to the center to find the calming effect; to reconnect with their spiritual self." In August 1985, 300 women from many countries found their way to Sapa Dawn to talk about concerns they shared. "There was no motel in Yelm then," recalls McCloud. "So we put up tepees. One woman said: `Where's the motel?' I said, `Here's a key: tepee number one or tepee number two.'" The women camped for five days, talking about social, economic and family problems troubling native people throughout the Western Hemisphere. That was the birth of what now is called the Indigenous Women's Network, a coalition championing native women, families and tribal sovereignty from Chile to Canada, and which adopted McCloud as a founding mother. For many people, McCloud could be considered the founding mother to dozens of American Indian organizations because so many people have traveled to Yelm over the years seeking her wisdom. According to the Encyclopedia of North American Indians, "An extended series of physical confrontations with state and federal authorities - dubbed 'fish-ins' - and attendant courtroom actions resulted not only in the eventual reaffirmation of Indian treaty rights in the region, but also national attention for several key local activists, among them Janet McCloud." Bennett, who is also mentioned in the encyclopedia, agreed. "Janet is the most famous Tulalip Indian," she recalled. "If you went to Europe and said, 'Name me a Tulalip Indian,' a lot of people there would know Janet." 

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A Honoring of American Indian Activist Russell Means 

January 27th, 2014 in NYC. Spread the word! Pearl Means, Christian Camargo and Ed Vassallo cordially invite you to an evening of World Music, Reading and a Special Screening in honor of Russell Means at the Classic Stage Company located at 136 East 13th Street, New York City. Purchase tickets online now: http://russellmeanslegacy.com/?p=1 Ticket For Sale: $40.00 each All proceeds to benefit the Russell Means T.R.E.A.T.Y. Educational Endowment “I hope to be remembered as a fighter and as a patriot who never feared controversy—and not just for Indians. When I fight for my people’s rights, when I stand up for our treaties, when I protest government lies and illegal seizures and unlawful acts, I defend all Americans, even the bigoted and misguided” ~Russell Means, in "Where White Men Fear to Tread" See you on January 27th, 2014  For any inquiries, please email [email protected] Russell Means Bio, Read More...http://iloveancestry.com/ancestors/indigenous-native-american-indians/item/120-russell-means-american-indian-movement-activist-actor-oglala-lakota Photo Credit of Russell Means: Bill Hay

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"Hollywood writers and directors are still using ‘em for livestock. They somehow just can’t seem to bring it around to give the truth about Indians." —Will Sampson (1933 – 1987)

Read More…http://iloveancestry.com/ancestors/indigenous-native-american-indians/item/83-will-sampson-muscogee-creek-actor

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