Yesterday, the home of my good friends, Alex and Debra White Plume, burnt to the ground. Gratefully, no one was injured. Nonetheless, they had built the home themselves and raised their children and grandchildren there. Because they had the chance to build their own home, they did not have to live in the government housing designed to keep our people from the land. The home was their shelter on the territory of the Lakota Nation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

I don’t suppose there is anyway to understand this kind of loss. On TV, in these kinds of disasters, they always say, ‘well, it was only things that were lost and thank god everyone got out ok.’ True enough about the people. But I don’t believe that in a real home it’s only things: there is a spirit there, like anywhere, and that spirit nurtures us. When it is wounded we are wounded.

All of the excellent work that Alex and Debra have done for our people all of these years came out of this home. All of Debra and Alex’s records, books, reports, studies, art, and irreplaceable records of the Native and Indigenous movement over the past 40 years were, of course, lost along with their home. Consequently, their loss is a loss to all of us interested in the preservation of our culture and history.

I love Alex and Debra like the family they are and admire them more than I can express. I have had no idea of how to respond to this tragedy. Everyone is offering to do what they can, but what can we really do besides pray and invoke the spirit of the ancestors who share in the tragedies of all our people and help us, in their wisdom, to heal. Well, I thought, I can at least donate some money and ask our network of family, allies and friends to do the same. None of us are wealthy people but I’ve seen, through my work with Debra and Alex, what allies united can achieve. Even if it’s only $5, they can buy a 12 pack of socks or $20 will get a pair of coveralls at Walmart. Banding together, I think we really can be of help in the short term.

This is not tax deductible. This isn’t a contribution for any advocacy or any of our work. It’s just to help friends. I admit that this is somewhat selfish on my part because I feel so helpless and felt the need to do something. But if any of you feel the same way, let’s come together and help out.

* send check donations payable to SGF/WSDP to the following address  (Crescent Valley)
Main office:
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV  89821
775-468-0230

* Checks or money orders or I suppose even cash can be sent to Alex and Debra White Plume,
PO Box 535, Manderson, SD 57756.
If you have any questions, give me a call in New York at 917-751-4239.

* to make a donation using Paypal,
go to "make a donation"on the Seventh Generation Fund website.

Pila maya yelo.

Kent Lebsock Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way) International Justice & Human Rights Project 917-751-4239 iamkent@verizon.netSouth Dakota: lakota1@gwtc.net www.bringbacktheway.com

"nobody standing by is innocent..."

ACTION ALERT!

URGENT ACTION ALERT!! DEADLINE APPROACHING! YUCCA MOUNTAIN, SACRED TO THE SHOSHONE & MAJOR FAULT ZONE, IN IMMINENT DANGER!

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY MOVES PLANS FORWARD TO TURN YUCCA MOUNTAIN INTO NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD DEADLINE JANUARY 10, 2008.

Public hearings have not been well attended, statements mostly in favor of the plan to put all of the nuclear waste in the country in this one sacred place. Activists were told that if we do not go on record with a statement, we will have no legal recourse later on. Local papers & media spin have recently stated that opposition to the nuke dump had dropped off since the passing of Corbin Harney. The nuclear reps are confident to the point of acting like it's a done deal. LETS PROVE THEM WRONG! MAKE YOUR COMMENT NOW & TAKE ACTION!!

Yucca Mountain is sacred to the Shoshone as an herb gathering site, for rituals, and as a part of their stories. Yucca Mountain is known in Shoshone language as Snake Mountain. Indeed it looks like a snake. It is said that the snake was headed north when it froze where it is. Further more it is said that it will move again and "flip around". Geologists say that there are thirteen different fault lines running through it.

Citizens can make an oral statement at the scheduled public hearings or fill out a form and mail it in to EIS Office U.S. Department of Energy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Mgmt, 1551 Hillshire dr. Las Vegas, NV, 89195-7308 or by e-mail at EIS_Office@ymp.gov.

HERE ARE TALKING POINTS: http://www.h-o-m-e.org/Yucca/index.htm

"The eyes of the elders are on us. The fate of the unborn is rolling toward the cliff, the voice of Corbin Harney is ringing in my ears, "It's on your shoulders now...". Info from Bear Dyken. mdyken@goldrush.com.

YUCCA MOUNTAIN FACT SHEET, TALKING POINTS, & MORE INFO: Healing Ourselves & Mother Earth http://www.h-o-m-e.org/

The DOE released two Draft Supplemental Environmen-tal Impact Statements related to repository changes and rail transportation of high-level waste in Nevada.

Inyo County CA- Excellent Draft Impacts Assessment Report Comments due by 1/18/08

-- If we remain unable to imagine a world where love can be recognized as a unifying principle that can lead us to seek and use power wisely, then we will remain wedded to a culture of domination that requires us to choose power over love. ~bell hooks

ACTION ALERT!

Phone or email TransCanada and tell them no pipeline without Lubicon agreement! This is an easy five minute action that can make a big difference- not only to the Lubicon Cree but for the rest of the planet as well.

STEPS FOR THE ACTION:

By Phone:
Starting today, phone TransCanada Pipelines -- toll free
1.800.661.3805 (or in Calgary at 403-920-2000)

2. Let them know you are a concerned citizen . Tell the company you strongly oppose any pipeline through Lubicon territory without Lubicon agreement, that the company must obtain that agreement before approaching the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board.
A sample script is below but always remember that a similar message in your own words has a much stronger impact.

Hi, my name is _________ and I am calling to express my strong opposition to TransCanada Pipelines announced plans to seek Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (or AEUB) approval to build the North Central Corridor pipeline. This pipelines runs through the middle of unceded Lubicon territory and your company does not have Lubicon agreement to use their land in this way. I demand that you seek this agreement before going any further. Thank you.
By Email:
Compose your own message or simply copy and paste the above message (but write your name on the blank and change 'calling' to 'writing' of course ) into your own email browser and send to the CEO of TransCanada , Harold Kvisle, c/o his "Associate" Janna Laberge at: janna_laberge@transcanada.com
If you like you can also cc a copy to Stelmach at:
fortsaskatchewan.vegreville@assembly.ca
and the Alberta EUB at: bill.tilleman@eub.ca


Thanks!!

friends of the Lubicon Alberta

FY – Please do what you can to support the Lipan Apache - - links are posted on the bottom. Forward this on….

From: Tamez, Margomtamez@wsu.edu
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2007

Press Release: For Wide Distribution
From: Margo Tamez (Lipan Apache, Jumano Apache)
December 6, 2007

Chertoff Announces Eminent Occupation
of Land Title Holders Refusing to Sign NSA Waivers

Dear supporters of the Lipan Apache Women Title Holder Defenders:

Ahi'i'e for all your wonderful outpouring of support to our elders of El Calaboz. We need your help on our continuing efforts to protect and keep safe the elders of our struggle against U.S. tyranny.

Today we have serious news to share and to update on the situation unfolding in the traditional lands of the Lipan Apache communities of the Mexico-US militarized border region.

Chertoff announced plans to force occupation of South Texas families who refuse to allow the government access to their lands. See the story in the Houston Chronical
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5357676.html

United States occupation of South Texas people refusing Homeland Security access to their traditional lands is EMINENT. 'Refusers' such as the Lipan Apache Land Grant Women Defense, led by my mother, Dr. Eloisa Garcia Tamez (Lipan Apache, Basque-Apache), in the rancheria of El Calaboz, have frustrated the NSA, Border Patrol and Army Corps of Engineers officials for over two years, and increasingly in the last two months.

Using tactics such as public announcements over the news service, used as intimidation and as psychological warfare--NSA/Chertoff exploits the press to prepare the nation to invade South Texas--and indigenous peoples--who are being 'architected as the perpetual enemies of the United States. This is an old story of genocidal tactics and militarization.

This scenario played out before, in 19th century, in 20th century. And now the 21st, my mother, the 'child of lightning ceremony', is fighting for the vestiges of our traditional lands. My mother, and the ancestors of 'the place where the Lipan pray', have been critical to our land-based struggle, and they are leaders in an Apache struggle in the Mexico-US International Boundary region. Our elder voices direct us in a huge role that Apache people will play in standing up against tyranny of the settler society. We cannot do this without the support and the solidarity of our indigenous sisters and brothers who are also at the forefront of the 21st century battles for our rights as indigenous peole with ancient footprints on this land.

My mother, at this stage of our community-based struggle, indicates that she is prepared to receive national and international support for our small community on the peripheries of U.S. empire. She wrote a comment on the page of this newsstory out of Houston, Texas.

Today we are submitting our comments to the Environmental Impact Statement authorities, and parallel to that we are submitting an indepth case study of our histories under U.S., Mexican, Spanish, Vatican and corporate domination to the International Indian Treaty Council shadow report to be submitted to the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination in December.

Please read Chertoff's public announcement to occupy South Texas oppressed groups, and pass on WIDELY to all networks. I'm going to attache the CENSORED story, so new folks to our struggle can become educated rapidly. In peace in the struggle against tyranny.

Margo Tamez
(Lipan Apache, Jumano Apache)

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/11/urgent-call-for-help-homeland-security.html
Urgent Call for Help from Lipan Apache Women Defense
http://www.kpfk.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3574&Itemid=79〈=en
American Indian Airwaves interview of Margo Tamez: "The Militarization of Indigenous Women's Lives at the Mexico-U.S. International Boundary."
http://www.nativewiki.org/Margo_Tamez

FYI – Please do what you can to oppose this project – a major assault on the Western Shoshone Nation – we will be sending further details with ways you can voice your opinion. Public Hearing today in D.C. – written comment deadline January 10th – more details to follow…

Dec. 04, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE PROJECT: Yucca plans draw public's ire Criticisms voiced in packed hearing room at Cashman Center

By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Southern Nevadans showed up in force Monday to voice concerns about the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, saying the transportation risks are too great, the design has too many shortcomings and the government's nuclear weapons testing track record cast doubt on the project.

One speaker, Ian Zabarte of the Western Shoshone National Council, drew some of the loudest applause from the crowd of more than 200 that packed a hearing room at the Cashman Center when he accused the Energy Department of "environmental racism."

"A moral people with ethical scientists cannot condone the use of such practices to the benefit of the nuclear industry," Zabarte said. He suggested that tribes along all transportation corridors "and especially those with tourism-based economies and gaming facilities must be assessed for stigma-related impacts."

"Transportation of waste to Yucca Mountain would place a disproportionate burden upon the Western Shoshone nation and has not been addressed in the (supplemental impact statement). It is environmental racism," he said.

Only a handful of the 53 who signed up to speak at the hearing favored the Energy Department's plans. They said the draft supplemental impact statement for surface facilities to handle nuclear waste canisters, and another analysis of building a rail line from Caliente to reach the mountain, are improvements over the final impact document issued in 2002.

"The fact the SEIS (supplement) shows impacts to Nevada from transportation is small confirms what we found," said Paul Seidler, a senior director for the Nuclear Energy Institute in Las Vegas. The institute is a lobbying organization for the nuclear power industry.

In all, 212 people, most from Southern Nevada, attended the hearing in addition to the two dozen Energy Department employees and consultants on hand to answer questions and explain exhibits.

In comparison, Yucca Mountain hearings last month in Hawthorne, Caliente, Reno-Sparks, Amargosa Valley, Goldfield and Lone Pine, Calif., drew a combined 244 public attendees. Of those, a total of 71 spoke at the hearings, said Allen Benson, the senior Department of Energy official and spokesman at the Las Vegas hearing.

"It's a tremendous turnout," he said. "I think a lot of people take this seriously. It's important that they come out and talk to us about their views."

That they did, from the first speaker, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, to a former Yucca Mountain Project worker, Robin Drew, who bemoaned how project officials have opposed her in a legal battle over compensation for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Goodman weighed in on the federal agency's plans for transporting nuclear waste across the nation and especially through the Las Vegas Valley, saying privately before he took the podium, "It's a disaster waiting to happen."

In his public comments, Goodman said, "If the material is as safe as we're told it is, let it stay where it presently exists."

He said no one can guarantee that an accident won't happen "or, God forbid, the act of a terrorist."

Robert Halstead, transportation adviser for the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency, emphasized in his remarks that spent fuel "is lethal" and that the 77,000 tons of it and highly radioactive defense waste destined for a maze of tunnels to be dug in Yucca Mountain contain far more fission products than were released by the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War II.

Each truck cask of spent nuclear fuel would contain 350,000 curies of radioactive cesium and strontium, or about 20 to 30 times the amount of fission products released by the Hiroshima bomb, Halstead said.

"Every dedicated train hauling three or four rail casks would contain more cesium-137 than the total amount released during the Chernobyl nuclear power accident," he said.

Halstead noted that since the DOE's last impact statement five years ago, the residential population within a half-mile of the rail route through Las Vegas has doubled, from 45,000 to about 90,000.

Irene Navis, planning manager for the Clark County Nuclear Waste Program, said the Energy Department's plans lack details, especially regarding an increased inventory of waste to be disposed that one project official has said will increase the life-cycle cost from $58 billion to $78 billion.

"We don't know what's up with a second repository," Navis said.

In concept, she said, there could be "twice as much waste, which means twice as many shipments for twice as many years. ... So far it's not clear. We're looking for answers."

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0308.

Please do what you can……… Please let your voices be heard!

The Department of Energy’s website, as well as the color glossy environmental impact reports on the Nuclear Waste Repository and Transportation plan, sugar-coats this deadly proposed operation. Health and environmental impacts of this massive transportation and dumping plan will be felt across the nation and especially in the tribal and poor communities. Many concerns are not addressed, beginning with the fact that this is not U.S. land. It is Western Shoshone land, recognized by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, which the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has recently mandated that the US must freeze, desist and stop any further destructive activities on Shoshone lands. Until the past is corrected and the present stage of land rights is settled, no licenses should be issued for future operations. Furthermore, there is no procedure nor funding specified for the inevitable "accidents" inherent in transporting this deadly material across the nation and storing it in a mountain moving on active fault lines over a major aquifer. Talking points and further information is available at:
www.h-o-m-e.org/Yucca/index.htm. For tribes, a tribal concerns report is attached.

To review Yucca Mountain history, read the attached copy of Cheney's "Nuclear Fuel management and Disposal Act" submitted to Bush on April 5, 2006. The legislation to construct this travesty has already been passed. We each need to contact our Congress people to insist that this be repealed. The action in question today is to stop the issuing of the license to proceed with the construction and implementation of this madness!

For more information select here. For new information on the entire nuclear chain and your health, go to www.h-o-m-e.org/Index.

Also, check out www.InyoYucca.org for their excellent recent impacts assessment report and Matt Gaffney's article in E Magazine.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. TODAY – Wednesday DECEMBER 5th, 2007:
   The Dept. of Energy is concluding its round of hearings for public comment on both the Yucca Mountain repository and the rail/trucking transportation system for highly dangerous radioactive waste.
   The hearing is today from 2:00 - 5:00 pm (EST) at:
   The Marriott at MetroCenter
   775 12th St.
   NW Washington, DC
   

   Fax questions &/or comments to: (800) 967-0739
   
   Call in  "          "     " to: (800) 967-3477

   Questions and comments may also be posted on the Radioactive Waste Management website:
   www.ocrwm.doe.gov
   
2. Submit written comments on or before Jan. 10, 2008. Talking points, Yucca Mtn. for Dummies and contact info are available at: www.h-o-m-e.org/Yucca/index.htm.
   
3. Request extensions of time to study and submit reports – see attached extension request from the State of Nevada.
   
4. Pass Tribal Council, City Council or State legislative actions reflecting your opinion – send them to the DOE.

Please do what you can to help.

Porcupine Clinic Out of Heat

By Stephanie M. Schwartz, Freelance Writer
Member, Native American Journalists Association
October 26, 2007 Firestone, Colorado

Porcupine Clinic, located in the small community of Porcupine, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota [Sioux] Reservation is out of heat. According to Stella White Eyes, Administrative Assistant for the Clinic, the Clinic has closed its doors until it can find resources to fund their heating costs.

Porcupine Clinic is the only independent Indian community-controlled health clinic in the United States. It is not connected with the Federal Indian Health Services (IHS) program and is funded primarily by grants and donations. Unfortunately, those resources have become exceptionally rare this year.

Porcupine Clinic opened its doors in 1992 and serves the entire Reservation as well as the Porcupine District in which it is located. Patients are billed according to their ability to pay and many patients, including low-income Elders and children, receive free health care there.

In 2004, the Porcupine Clinic opened its dialysis unit, saving countless lives of those diabetic patients who could not journey 120 miles away to Rapid City for needed dialysis treatment several times a week. The only other dialysis treatment available on the 11,000 square mile (2.7 million acres) Reservation is located in the small IHS Hospital in the community of Pine Ridge. But that facility hosts only a handful of dialysis beds, is up to 100 miles away from the more remote areas of the Reservation, and is completely unable to treat the vast need of the entire Reservation.

Recent statistics state that the diabetes rate on Pine Ridge is 800% that of the National average and the life expectancy rate is 52 to 58 years old. It is said that 55% of the adults on Pine Ridge over the age of 40 have diabetes.

Ms. White Eyes states that the Clinic has been unable to pay their annual propane tank rental fees of $245 (for both the Clinic and dialysis unit tanks) or for the propane to fill them. They have three tanks: a thousand gallon tank which services the main clinic and two five hundred gallon tanks servicing the dialysis unit. The minimum propane delivery from their provider, Western Cooperative (WESTCO) out of Chadron and Hay Springs, Nebraska, is $360.

If all the tanks were filled, at $1.69 per gallon, it would cost well over $3,000. Further, that will need to happen more than once this winter. While the dialysis unit helps to fund at least part of its own propane use, the Clinic is out of funding now, just as winter is approaching fast.

Harvey Iron Boy, Porcupine District Vice President and Head Man, spoke of the vital role that the Clinic plays in the local district as well as the Reservation as a whole. Not only are the health care services, bi-lingual assistance, diabetic education, and dialysis treatments all meeting critical needs on the Reservation but there are more basic needs met by the Clinic as well. He pointed out that locals often come into the Clinic simply to get warm on days when they have no heat in their own homes.

Ms. White Eyes has contacted various non-profits and assistance organizations but has largely gone unanswered. Link Center Foundation, a small all-volunteer non-profit organization out of Longmont, Colorado, was contacted this week and was also unable to help. With their own heating assistance program for the elders and disabled on the Reservation struggling due to lack of donations, there simply was no funding available to help the Clinic.

However, Audrey Link, Founder/President of the Link Center Foundation (www.LinkCenterFoundation.org), personally paid the $245 out of her own pocket for the annual tank rental fees for the Porcupine Clinic and dialysis unit on Friday. Largely retired and on limited income herself, Link stated that “She couldn’t go to sleep tonight if she thought the dialysis patients and Clinic were going to lose their propane tanks. At least now, if they can raise any money at all elsewhere, they can use the money for propane to fill them.”

Anyone wishing to donate towards propane fuel for the Porcupine Clinic may do so directly to the propane company. Please contact:

Loretta at Western Cooperative (WESTCO)
170 Bordeaux St – Chadron, NE 69337-2342
Call Toll Free 800-762-9906 Credit Card and Bank Card donations by phone will be accepted. Small donations are also welcome and will accumulate until the minimum delivery has been reached and then the company will make a delivery of propane to the Clinic. Please clearly mark any donation “For Porcupine Clinic.”

Donations may also be sent directly to the Clinic. For more information, please contact:

Porcupine Clinic
Stella White Eyes, Administrative Assistant
P.O. Box 99 – Porcupine, SD 57772
Internet Information: http://www.lakotamall.com/porcupine/
Phone: 605-867-5655

Note: Due to lack of heat, there may or may not be anyone available to answer the phone at the Clinic at this time. Please leave a message.

Stephanie M. Schwartz may be reached at SilvrDrach@Gmail.com
Visit other writings of Stephanie M. Schwartz at www.SilvrDrach.homestead.com

This article may be reprinted, reproduced, and/or re-distributed unedited with proper attribution and sourcing for non-profit, educational, news, or archival purposes.

Please check out this video, sent by Seventh Generation Fund’s sister, Mariana Xuncax, (Mariana Francisco mxuncax@clinicaromero.com) of Maya Vision. It documents the eviction of Mayas from their community for a Canadian Company (Skye Resources) It also provides information at the end to contact the company directly.

Guatemalan military evicting Mayan villagers to make way for a Canadian nickel mining operation see video at: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Q20YxkM-CGI

Take action -- write a letter, pass this on -- for solidarity

thank you,

For Immediate Release
August 29, 2007

Contacts:

Paula Palmer, Global Response, 303 444-0306 ext.103 paula@globalresponse.org
Glenn Morris, Colorado American Indian Movement, 303 519-2423, gtm303@gmail.com
Betty Ball, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, 303 444 6981, betty@rmpjc.org
Juan Stewart, CU Indigenous Support Network, 303 506 9648, juan.stewart@colorado.edu
Kara Martinez, Denver Justice and Peace Committee, 303 623 1463, kara@denjustpeace.org
Glenn Spagnuola, Stop Newmont Coalition, 720-771-4669, rockymtn.spags@att.net

Human Rights and Environmental Groups to Protest Award to Newmont CEO

Marriott Hotel Revokes Contract for Alternative Award Ceremony to Western Shoshone Carrie Dann

Miner trapped by Cave-in at Newmont Mine in Nevada

When Denver’s elite arrive at the Downtown Marriott Hotel for Denver University’s annual fund-raising Korbel Dinner on Aug 30, they will be met by protesters from around the state.

While DU’s Graduate School of International Studies presents its “International Bridge-Building Award” to Newmont CEO Wayne Murdy, protesters will serve Murdy with a Citation for building Newmont’s bridge on a foundation of human rights and environmental abuses. GSIS Dean Tom Farer has refused to revoke the award to Murdy, over objections from a majority of GSIS tenured faculty and protests from communities that are directly affected by Newmont gold mines around the world.

The protesters, representing a host of Colorado-based non-profit organizations, will present what they call the “REAL International Bridge Builder’s Award” to Western Shoshone elder Carrie Dann. But the honoring ceremony will have to be held on public sidewalks now because the Marriott revoked the groups’ contract to hold the honoring ceremony in the Hotel’s Molly Brown room. More information on the Western Shoshone can be found at www.wsdp.org.

In an email to the groups, Marriott’s Director of Event Planning Joe Humerickhouse wrote that the “Hotel see (sic) the Thursday event "Presentation by Carrie Dann" as a conflict of interest to a current piece of business” -- clearly a reference to DU’s Korbel Dinner.

It is unknown who pressured the Marriott to revoke its contract for the meeting room, but Glenn Morris of Colorado’s American Indian Movement, said, “This is reminiscent of Newmont changing the location for its annual shareholder's meeting three times a couple of years ago, for fear of negative scrutiny. Newmont doesn't want its record exposed, DU is embarrassed, and their response is to muscle the Marriott into trying to silence our voice by denying us a venue. Of course, they will not succeed, and we will be there, and we will have our say.”

In Western Shoshone Territories, a Newmont miner was reported missing yesterday after a cave-in at a mine owned jointly by Newmont and Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. It is feared the miner is trapped in the underground Getchell Mine. In June, another miner was killed when ground gave way at Newmont’s Midas mine. Both mines are near Winnemucca, Nevada.

On five continents, Newmont-affected communities are constantly engaged in protests, marches and litigation to defend their natural resources and their rights. Oxfam America, Amnesty International and the World Resources Institute have documented community charges against Newmont for contaminating drinking water; polluting rivers and oceans with toxic waste including cyanide, mercury and arsenic; colluding with police and military in order to intimidate, brutalize and detain community activists; bribery; and depriving local fishermen and farmers of their lands and livelihoods.

In April, Newmont shareholders passed a resolution requiring an investigation into the company’s relations with the communities affected by its mines. A report will be presented to shareholders at the 2008 meeting. “Why is DU giving an award to a corporation whose own shareholders have moved to investigate the negative human rights and environmental impacts of their operations?” asks Kara Martinez, a GSIS alumna who coordinates the Denver Justice and Peace Committee.

“This award is an unforgivable affront to many thousands of people whose lives, livelihoods and natural resources are forever marred by Newmont’s mines,” says Paula Palmer, executive director of Boulder-based Global Response.

Carrie Dann, representing the Western Shoshone Defense Project, said, “Newmont has done nothing to address the impact of their operations on the ongoing human rights violations against the Western Shoshone.”

The Colorado American Indian Movement, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Global Response, Denver Justice and Peace Committee, the Stop Newmont Coalition and the University of Colorado’s Indigenous Support Network are calling on their members and all concerned citizens to to gather for a civil demonstration outside of the Marriott Hotel (California and 17th Street) at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 30th. Protest organizers have pledged their commitment to non-violence.

End

Contacts:

Palmer, Global Response, 303 444-0306 ext.103 paula@globalresponse.org
Glenn Morris, Colorado American Indian Movement, 303 519-2423, gtm303@gmail.com
Betty Ball, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, 303 444 6981, betty@rmpjc.org

Western Shoshone Defense Project
So-Ho-Bi (South Fork) office:
775-744-2565 (fax and phone)


Main office:
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
Newe Sogobi
775-468-0230
775-468-0237 (fax)

FYI.

Open Letter from Tom Rowe, Former Dean of DU’s Graduate School of International Studies

Dr. Rowe is Associate Professor and has been a GSIS faculty member for 33 years. From 1981 to 1996, he served as Associate Dean and then Dean of the School.

Why Wayne Murdy Should NOT Be Honored with GSIS’
International Bridge-Builder’s Award

On Thursday, August 30, the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), University of Denver, will honor Wayne Murdy, Chairman of Newmont Mining Corporation, with the International Bridge Builders Award at GSIS’ annual Korbel Dinner. This unfortunate action conflicts with GSIS’ long-standing tradition of concern with advancing the human rights of marginalized and oppressed individuals and groups. The award has been justified by the notion that Murdy has struggled to push Newmont, a company with a deplorable environmental and human rights record and a negative image in many communities around the world, toward greater social responsibility and a greater commitment to human rights. In reality, however, as Murdy moves toward retirement, after 15 years as a senior executive with the company, Newmont’s operations on the ground do not measure up to the values to which it claims to be committed. Having served for years as CEO and Chairman of Newmont, surely Murdy bears some responsibility for what the corporation does as well as what it says. We have had enough cases of senior leaders receiving awards while all misbehavior is blamed on subordinates.

It is true that Newmont, under Murdy’s leadership, now says it accepts some voluntary guidelines for protecting communities, human rights and the environment. The United Nations’ “Global Compact” and the “Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance” are among the agreements. These do not create legal obligations and are not enforceable, so it is difficult to use them to bring real change in corporate behavior. But they do give the appearance of positive measures. Indeed, it is this formal commitment to social responsibility that the Dean of GSIS believes justifies an honor for Murdy, not the actual behavior of the corporation.

The majority of the permanent faculty members at GSIS have opposed the award to Murdy on the grounds that the commitment to human rights and social responsibility seems to be for public relations purposes, since these values are not reflected in Newmont’s operations. In Peru, at Newmont’s Yanacocha mine, on-going controversies and protests have led to widespread violence, intimidation and even murder of critics of Newmont’s operations. A recent publication from the World Resources Institute actually uses Newmont’s mine in Peru as a case study of what corporations should NOT do if they want to operate effectively and fairly within local communities. In Indonesia, as the most recent issue of MOTHER JONES indicates, controversies continue to swirl around the environmental damage to Buyat Bay and health consequences for local villagers. In Ghana, thousands of local farmers have been displaced and traditional livelihoods have been destroyed by Newmont’s mining operations; and local activists contend that Newmont works with local authorities to abuse and imprison critics. In North America, Newmont operates on Western Shoshone lands without their permission, damaging and destroying sacred sites and the environment and paying no royalties to the Western Shoshone for taking their land or resources. In all of these cases, Newmont contends that it operates in accordance with local laws, which may be true. But evidence suggests a much too cozy relationship with local governments and officials. Moreover, if Newmont were really committed to behaving responsibly, it would simply do the right thing, whether legally required to do so or not. Newmont should not use weak laws to justify its own abusive behavior!

For all of these reasons, it is at best premature for GSIS to give any award to Murdy or Newmont. At Newmont’s shareholders’ meeting this spring, it was decided that, because of the widespread controversies and negative reports, there needed to be an independent study made of Newmont’s operations and their impact on local communities. If GSIS wants to advance the cause of social responsibility and human rights protection, it ought at least to await the conclusion of that review.

If GSIS is truly concerned with advancing human rights, protection of the environment and social responsibility, however, there are more appropriate individuals to honor than the chief executive of a huge corporation which has disrupted the lives of individuals and communities around the world. One possibility might be Mirtha Vasquez Chuquilin, who has been threatened with rape and murder for her work in Peru on behalf of communities protesting the operations of Newmont’s Yanacocha mine there. Another might be Carrie Dann, a courageous woman who has fought for years for the rights of American Indians against the US Government and Newmont and other mining companies. She and other activists have received strong support for their efforts from the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States. Still another might be Masnellyarti Hilman, the Deputy Minister of Environment in Indonesia and Newmont’s nemesis there because of accusations of terrible environmental damage to Buyat Bay and the villagers living around that Bay. Ms Hilman studied at the Colorado School of Mines on a US State Department fellowship in the 1990s. Or the honor might go to Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, the Executive Director of WACAM in Ghana, a nonprofit that has struggled to protect the rights of thousands of villagers displaced and inadequately compensated for farmland and forests destroyed to make way for Newmont’s mining.

These and other unsung heroes who struggle on a daily basis for human rights and a decent environment, often at great sacrifice and sometimes even at considerable risk to their lives, are those who truly carry the burden of change and improvement. They may not be wealthy or individually powerful but they are nonetheless those GSIS should be recognizing and honoring for their attempts to build bridges to a better world.

Please join us for the real “Bridge-Builder Award”
Presented to Western Shoshone elder
Carrie Dann
Denver Marriott Hotel, 17th and California
Aug. 30 at 7:30 pm, Molly Brown Room (ask desk for location)

Carrie Dann will accept the award on behalf of community activists in Peru, Ghana, Romania, Indonesia and Nevada who have created a worldwide network of resistance to Newmont’s abusive practices.
Wayne Murdy will be served with a Citation for Building Bridges on a foundation of Environmental and Human Rights Abuses


Western Shoshone Defense Project

So-Ho-Bi (South Fork) office:
775-744-2565 (fax and phone)


Main office:
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
Newe Sogobi
775-468-0230
775-468-0237 (fax)

From: "Buffalo Field Campaign"
BFC-Media@wildrockies.org
June 08, 2007

URGENT! Montana Lied, Intends to Slaughter!

The LIE: " Public pressure paid off! The state and federal agencies called off the slaughter! Now we just need to keep pushing for the buffalo's right to roam!!!"

Dear Buffalo Friends,

WE HAVE BEEN LIED TO.

Your calls are needed now.

Approximately 50 wild buffalo are in the trap near West Yellowstone's airport right now. After all their quotes in papers worldwide promising not to slaughter any buffalo left in Montana, the agencies have back-tracked on their word to the American people and others throughout the world.

MONTANA INTENDS TO SLAUGHTER WILD BUFFALO TODAY.

A Montana Department of LIEStock press release stated they will capture and slaughter any bull bison that are in the small group of approximately 50 still in Montana. They claim the bison trap cannot handle bulls, which is another lie because, as you know, they've captured and sent to slaughter hundreds of bull bison over the years. Intent to slaughter bull bison was confirmed by officials with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Bull bison pose no risk of brucellosis transmission. With calving season over, none of the buffalo pose any risk of brucellosis transmission to cattle. There are no cattle on the public lands that wild bison are migrating to. There has never been a confirmed case of wild bison transmitting brucellosis to cattle.

Agencies might also send yearling buffalo to the Corwin Springs quarantine facility, where they will be raised like livestock and used in scientific experiments. Half of all the yearlings sent to Corwin Springs will be slaughtered.

Apparently, the agencies will still transport the buffalo mothers and calves they capture in West Yellowstone to the Park's Stephens Creek bison trap near Gardiner. Transport is going to be a living hell for these moms and calves who will be separated for the over 150-mile long journey. They will hold the bison captive for a few days before releasing them. BFC patrols are in the field documenting everything and doing a lot of community outreach near the capture facility.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION and attempt to save the lives of these bulls and yearlings. We've done it once, let's do it again. Please spread the word to save this herd!

* MONTANA GOVERNOR BRIAN SCHWEITZER:
Ask him why he lied. Demand that Schweitzer keep his promise to not slaughter any buffalo!
Tell him the solution is in year-round habitat for wild buffalo in Montana.
(406) 444-3111 (phone) * (406) 444-5529 (fax) * governor@mt.gov (email)

* MONTANA ACTING STATE VET JEANNE RANKIN:
Urge her to withdraw her decision to slaughter Yellowstone bison bulls who pose NO RISK of transmitting brucellosis. Remind her the whole world is watching!
(406) 444-1895 (phone) * (800) 523-3162 (phone) * (406) 444-1929 (fax) * jrankin@mt.gov (email)

* YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK SUPERINTENDENT SUZANNE LEWIS:
Ask her why she is part of the lie? Do not allow Montana to slaughter bulls or put yearlings in quarantine! These are AMERICA'S last wild buffalo, not Montana's. Tell her you know the Stephens Creek trap could hold bulls, so there's no reason that Montana should slaughter them! (307) 344-2002 (phone)* (307) 344-2005 (fax) * suzanne_lewis@nps.gov OR yell_superintendent@nps.gov (email) Thank you for keeping the pressure on these officials! These wild buffalo are the country's last. They have never transmitted the cattle-disease brucellosis back to the cows they got it from. They are native to all of Montana and have a right to roam, especially on our public lands.

SPREAD THE WORD ~ SAVE THE HERD!

**********************

Media & Outreach
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957 West Yellowstone,
MT 59758 406-646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

BFC is the only group working in the field every day to defend the last wild herd of buffalo in America.

Stay informed! Get our weekly email Updates from the Field: Send your email address to bfc-media@wildrockies.org

BOYCOTT BEEF! It's what's killing wild buffalo.

Speak Out! Contact politicians and involved agencies today: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html

Write a Letter to the Editor of key newspapers: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html

Help the buffalo by recycling your used cell phones & printer cartridges: It's free and easy. http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/support/recycleprint.html

EMERGENCY ACTION! Slaughter of Buffalo Calves Planned by Montana From: "Buffalo Field Campaign"
Date: June 1, 2007
************
SAVE THE HERD ~ SPREAD THE WORD!!
Please pass this alert on to everyone you know! Thank you!!
************

Dear Buffalo Supporters,

Montana intends to capture and slaughter wild buffalo, starting this week. Please take a moment to read this alert and contact the three decision-makers listed below, demanding that they cease plans to capture and slaughter approximately 300 wild buffalo, including little calves, their moms, and families.

The Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) has set up a bison trap near the West Yellowstone airport, on state land and they intend to begin capturing approximately 300 wild buffalo - including tiny newborn babies and their whole families - starting Thursday.

Click here to see photos of the beautiful buffalo babies and their families that are slated for execution: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/photos/bisonphotos0607maycalves.html

At an "emergency" Board of Livestock meeting in the Governor's office Tuesday, the decision was made by Montana's acting state veterinarian Jeanne Rankin: the agents will capture and ship all the buffalo to slaughter without testing for brucellosis exposure. Little buffalo calves between one month to a week old will be captured, separated from their moms, and join their family members at the slaughterhouse.

Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis was asked at the meeting Tuesday if capturing and transporting the buffalo deeper into Yellowstone would be feasible. While (ironically) the DOL said it is feasible, Suzanne Lewis shot down this option. Apparently Suzanne Lewis would rather forfeit the lives of America's last wild buffalo. She said, "it has never been a policy of the Interagency Bison Management Plan to haul bison into the Park." In other words, she's attempting to wash her hands of this atrocity, handing the fate of these buffalo over to Montana, who intend to haul them all to slaughter.

These buffalo are being charged with the "crime" of trying to live wild and free; in other words, they didn't "stick in the Park" (as if they were velcro) and they are not "responding to hazing" (as if they should behave as cattle). The decision to trap and slaughter comes hot on the heels of brucellosis being discovered in a Montana cattle herd, far to the north and east of Yellowstone, far from any migration route of wild buffalo, far from Yellowstone National Park. There are no cattle currently in the West Yellowstone area and the majority of the bison to be captured and slaughtered pose NO risk of bacteria transmission. Because the bacteria can only be transmitted through contaminated reproductive materials, bison bulls, yearlings, non-pregnant females, calves, and mothers with calves CANNOT transmit the bacteria. Bison are not to blame. Wild bison have never transmitted the livestock disease brucellosis to cattle, and this incident is not their fault either. But the cattle industry wants to blame someone, and as always, they set their sights on wildlife.

These agencies are correctly concerned about the black eye they will receive for committing this act against the nation's last wild buffalo, and with your help, they will get it.

> > > > HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO:
PLEASE CONTACT these three decision-makers TODAY demanding that they cease plans to capture and slaughter the buffalo who are trying to live wild and free! Contact each by phone, fax, and email and let's not let them forget that the world is watching!

* MONTANA GOVERNOR BRIAN SCHWEITZER: Demand that Schweitzer keep his campaign promise to provide tolerance for bison in Montana.
(406) 444-3111 (phone)
(406) 444-5529 (fax)
governor@mt.gov (email)

* MONTANA ACTING STATE VET JEANNE RANKIN: Urge her to withdraw her decision to slaughter Yellowstone bison calves and family groups. Remind her you are boycotting beef and your friends are joining you!
(406) 444-1895 (phone)
(800) 523-3162 (phone)
(406) 444-1929 (fax)
jrankin@mt.gov (email)

* YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK SUPERINTENDENT SUZANNE LEWIS: Ask her if it's really worth the lives of 300 wild buffalo, including newborn calves, to have Montana ship them to slaughter rather than deeper into the Park.
(307) 344-2002 (phone)
(307) 344-2005 (fax)
suzanne_lewis@nps.gov OR yell_superintendent@nps.gov (email)

It's crucial that we flood these offices today! Capture could begin as soon as Thursday, with transport to slaughter beginning Friday, June 1st. Read BFC's press release from Tuesday at: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/media/press0607/pressreleases0607/052907.html

************
SAVE THE HERD ~ SPREAD THE WORD!!
Please pass this alert on to everyone you know! Thank you!!
************

Media & Outreach
Buffalo Field Campaign
P.O. Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-0070
bfc-media@wildrockies.org
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org

BFC is the only group working in the field every day to defend the last wild herd of buffalo in America.

Stay informed! Get our weekly email Updates from the Field: Send your email address to bfc-media@wildrockies.org

BOYCOTT BEEF! It's what's killing wild buffalo.

Speak Out! Contact politicians and involved agencies today: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/politicians.html

Write a Letter to the Editor of key newspapers: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/lte.html

Help the buffalo by recycling your used cell phones & printer cartridges: It's free and easy. http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/support/recycleprint.html.

FYI – The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights is looking for information on the issue of Water and the Rights to Water – the timeline is very short – see below. For Shoshone, water is one of the four most sacred things – Land, Air, Water and Sun (or Spirit) – without any one of these things there will be no life. If you have a statement or report to send in so that it is included in this Preliminary assessment please do so – links below.

Message d'origine----- De : ngo_ip_undecade@yahoogroups.com De la part depjones@uusc.org Envoyé : jeudi, 29. mars 2007 15:38

Dear colleagues,

The UN High Commissioner on Human Rights has announced a request for relevant information for the upcoming study on the human right to water.

The announcement can be found at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/water/index.htm

Along with the announcement are the resource materials that will help to guide your comments - see the bottom of the page, "useful links."

The request has a short timeline: April 15. This is the early stage of the process. There may be other opportunities to present information as the process unfolds. The UN OHCHR is asking for information about specific cases, general views, best practices, among other matters.

There is an emphasis on the impacts of privatization on the right to water. I urge you to consider also passing on this information and working with, other NGOs that may be active in indigenous rights, in the right to the environment, public health, the rights of children, the rights of women, the rights of people in humanitarian crisis, economic justice and labor rights.

Professor John Ruggie, the UN Special Representative on Human Rights and Business, in his recent report, makes the important point that all human rights are interconnected. Labor unions may consider a submittal on how the changes in the water sector has impacted on labor rights. The Special Representative's report, and links to information on how to conduct a human rights impact assessment, can be found at:

http://www.business- humanrights.org/Gettingstarted/UNSpecialRepresentative

I strongly encourage each of us to consider following the UN process, responding to the request for information, following our national government's official responses to the UN OHCHR, and the regional human rights bodies responses.

For guidance on how to prepare a communication, the UN OHCHR NGO Handbook is helpful, with information, including examples, of how to address communications to the UN OHCHR. Please see: http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/

There may be human rights NGOs who could partner to make a submittal. Academic institutions may be helpful. A broad coalition of groups from one country, or one issue area, may also be effective.

The UN processes are meant to be participatory. It is not necessary to have a sophisticated, legal opinion to communicate with the UN OHCHR.

The communication should be simple, to the point, reporting on human right to water problems, violations, the facts of a specific case, or views.

Please consider responding and posting communication to the internet, and passing along the link to our greater water justice community. If it is appropriate, UUSC is compiling a bibliography of materials on the right to water, and if you wish it to be included, pass the link along.

Best wishes in your important work.

Sincerely,

Patricia Jones
UUSC Environmental Justice Manager

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Rue de Trembley 14
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docip@docip.org

Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility

doCip has the pleasure to forward you this message of interest for all of you. For more detail please follow the link: http://www.ifad.org/english/indigenous/grants/index.htm (see below)

El doCip tiene el placer de transmitirles este mensaje que será de gran interés para ustedes.

Para mas detalles siga el enlace : http://www.ifad.org/english/indigenous/grants/s/index.htm (ver abajo)

Le doCip a le plaisir de vous transférer ce message qui est très intéressant pour vous tous.

Pour plus de détails suivez le lien : http://www.ifad.org/english/indigenous/grants/f/index.htm (voir ci-dessous)

Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility

Call for grant applications from indigenous peoples’ organizations and their communities

IFAD and the World Bank have signed an agreement to transfer the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility to IFAD, which will administer the Facility for the first time this year.

The Facility invites applications from indigenous peoples’ organizations and communities, as well as organizations that work with them, for grants to fund projects, innovative approaches and partnerships that promote the development of indigenous peoples and help them fulfil their aspirations.

Grants range from US$10,000 to US$30,000. Applicants must meet specific requirements and their proposals should respond to the needs of indigenous peoples in any of IFAD’s developing Member States.

Mail, e-mail or fax applications to IFAD. The closing date for applications is 20 April 2007. IFAD will not accept applications after that date.

Invitación a las organizaciones de pueblos indígenas y sus comunidades a presentar solicitudes de donación

El FIDA y el Banco Mundial han firmado un acuerdo para trasladar el Fondo de Apoyo a los Pueblos Indígenas al FIDA, el cual lo administrará por primera vez este año.

El Fondo invita a las organizaciones de pueblos indígenas y sus comunidades, así como a las organizaciones que colaboran con ellas, a que presenten solicitudes de donación para financiar proyectos, enfoques innovadores y asociaciones que promuevan el desarrollo de los pueblos indígenas y les permitan satisfacer sus aspiraciones.

Las donaciones varían de 10 000 a 30 000 dólares de los Estados Unidos. Los solicitantes deberán reunir determinados requisitos, y sus propuestas deberán responder a las necesidades de los pueblos indígenas de cualesquiera países en desarrollo Miembros del FIDA.

Envíense las solicitudes por correo, correo electrónico o fax al FIDA. El plazo de presentación de solicitudes termina el 20 de abril de 2007. El FIDA no aceptará solicitudes después de esa fecha.

Mécanisme d'assistance pour les populations autochtones

Appel à propositions pour l'obtention de dons en faveur des organisations et communautés autochtones

Le FIDA et la Banque mondiale ont signé un accord en vertu duquel le Mécanisme d'assistance pour les populations autochtones est transféré au FIDA, qui l'administrera à compter de cette année.

Le Mécanisme invite les organisations et communautés autochtones, ainsi que les organisations qui collaborent avec elles, à solliciter un don pour financer un projet, une approche innovante ou un partenariat visant à promouvoir le développement des populations autochtones et à les aider à satisfaire leurs aspirations.

Les dons seront compris entre 10 000 et 30 000 USD. Ils seront attribués aux candidats correspondant à des critères précis soumettant des propositions qui répondent aux besoins de populations autochtones vivant dans un pays en développement membres du FIDA.

Prière de faire parvenir votre candidature au FIDA par voie postale, par courrier électronique ou par télécopie. La date limite de candidature est fixée au 20 avril 2007. Le FIDA rejettera toute candidature reçue après cette date.

Danica Vanza

Secrétaire assistante
doCip 14, Av. de Trembley
1209 Genève
Tél: 022 740 34 33
Fax: 022 740 34 54 danica@docip.org

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ACTION ALERT: Sign Petition to Oppose Desert Rock!!

SUPPORT INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES ON THE FRONT LINES!
NO COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS! NO MINING OF COAL!

*** Please distribute far and wide!! ***

Hello friends and allies!

HELP STOP THE DESERT ROCK POWER PLANT!
Click here to sign the petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/no_desertrock/

Time is running out! These signatures will be delivered to legislators who will be voting on the Desert Rock power plant. We have a very short amount of time to gather the names of people in opposition.

Your help is appreciated!

The Desert Rock power plant would be the third power plant on the Navajo reservation, south of Shiprock, NM. Elders and community members have been camped out in resistance to the power plant since December. We are now at the State Legislature in New Mexico opposing two bills that would give the power plant an $85 million tax credit.

The 1,500-megawatt coal-fired energy plant would pump more than 10 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, increasing the state of New Mexico's carbon dioxide contribution by at least 25
percent. The existing power plants in this area have been extremely devastating to the environment and the people of the area.

Please support Dooda Desert Rock, SAGE Council, and others as they work to stop this power plant from being built.

Thank you!

For more information, visit www.desert-rock-blog.com

http://www.blackmesais.org

To: All Activists
From: Caitlin Hills, American Lands Alliance
Date: January 29, 2007
Call to Action: Ask Your Member of Congress to Support Roadless Legislation

Roadless leaders in the House of Representatives are beginning a co-sponsor drive to reintroduce the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007. Their legislation would codify the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule into law. In the 109th Congress, the House roadless legislation had over 140 co-sponsors. With your help, we can continue to build strong support for protecting our roadless wild forests in the 110th Congress.

A Dear Colleague was sent out on Friday, January 26, asking Members to co-sponsor the legislation. The original co-sponsors include:

1. Jay Inslee (D-WA)
2. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
3. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
4. Christopher Shays (R-CT)
5. Jim Ramstad (R-MN)
6. George Miller (D-CA)

The recent repeal of the Bush administration Roadless rule by Federal Judge Elizabeth LaPorte reinstated the Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule that limits road building, logging and other development on about 50 million acres of national forests. These areas provide unmatched opportunities for camping, hiking, and other recreational activities, valuable habitat for fish and wildlife, and abundant supplies of clean drinking water. Judge LaPorte found that the Bush administration acted illegally in reversing the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Bush administration rule required governors to petition the federal government to protect national forests in their states and would have allowed states to build logging roads through millions of acres of publicly owned national forests.

While this legal victory presently affords protections for these public lands, their future is uncertain and they continue to be at risk. The administration continues to accept state petitions for exemption from the Roadless Rule under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), thus leaving roadless areas vulnerable on a state-by-state basis. Therefore, it is essential that the 2001 rule be codified into law.

Your help is Needed!

Call your Representative at 202-224-3121 and ask them to become an original cosponsor of the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007 today!

To look up your Member of Congress, go to: www.congress.org

Activist Toolkit:

Click here to view the "Dear Colleague" letter asking Representatives to become a co-sponsor of the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007.

Click here for a copy of previous House roadless legislation.

Click here for sample talking points about the Roadless Rule.

For more information about the repeal of the Bush administration's Roadless rule and the recent Idaho Roadless Petition, go to: www.ourforests.org/

For information about the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, go to: www.ourforests.org/roadless/

To find out how many acres of Inventoried Roadless Areas exist in your State go to: www.ourforests.org/local/

ALERT: Stop Peabody Comment Deadline Near/
Outcome of Elders Court Hearing

**ACTION ALERT!**SEND FAR & WIDE** DEADLINE IS DAYS AWAY FOR COMMENTS TO STOP PEABODY COAL'S MASSIVE EXPANSION PLANS!!

WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO SEND COMMENTS NOW!! PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY SENT OVER 500 LETTERS OPPOSING PEABODY COAL'S 'BLACK MESA PROJECT' WHICH CALLS FOR MORE RELOCATION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, WATER AQUIFER DEPLETION, GLOBAL WARMING, & DESTRUCTION OF SACRED ANCESTRAL HOME LANDS!! Keep up the good work & please support a "NO ACTION" decision in solidarity with indigenous Dineh and Hopi communities.

TO SEND YOUR LETTER NOW BY VISITING: http://www.stoppeabody.org/

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 'CLEAN' COAL! Tapping America's coal reserves as proposed by the Bush Administration, would require obliterating Black Mesa, AZ, which is home to traditional indigenous communities for generations!!

OUTCOME OF ELDER RENA LANE FACING CHARGES IN KEAMS CANYON COURT:

On Monday Jan 29, 2007 Rena Babbit-Lane was basically read her rights and her case is being continued to February 27, 2007 at 8:00AM. Rena has plead not-guilty to the charge of cutting the fence right near her home-site that also runs along the Black Mesa Pipeline which Peabody Coal currently has plans to rebuild.

*A long-time resister of Big Mountain requests supporters to "PLEASE LEND YOUR SUPPORT for the people that live in resistance against the federal, Navajo, and Hopi tribal governments' greed for Peabody Coal Company!!!!"

The court proceedings, which are a two and a half hour drive from Rena's, are costing a lot of time and money. The Lane family is in need of financial help at this time.

Rena Babbit Lane PO Box 539 Tonalea, Az 86044
STAY POSTED: http://www.blackmesais.org

Sacred Land Action Alert

Peabody Energy & Office of Surface Mining Collude to Reopen Black Mesa Strip Mine

A few days before Christmas, the Office of Surface Mining unexpectedly released a 758-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Peabody Energy's Black Mesa Mining complex. There is a lot of political pressure from the Salt River Project to reopen the shuttered Mohave power plant to provide electricity to Phoenix, and Peabody is trying to take advantage of this to obtain a "Life-of-Mine" permit to revive their Black Mesa Mine and restart the slurry line that we all worked 30 years to shut down. Comment letters are needed by February 6. A sample letter and full instructions along with additional information are below.

New Corporate Responsibility Report!

You can now download our new 80-page report Is Nothing Sacred? Corporate Responsibility for the Protection of Native American Sacred Sites, which contains detailed case studies on Indian Pass, Weatherman Draw, Medicine Lake, Black Mesa, Zuni Salt Lake and Cave Rock. The report was written by economist Lyuba Zarsky, with a foreword by native activist Winona LaDuke. It is aimed at corporations, investors, foundations, and activists in the field of socially responsible investment and corporate social responsibility. Read reviews in The New Standard and Common Dreams.

Six New Sacred Site Reports on our Website

Check out our six new site reports on the Altai Golden Mountains (Russia), McArthur River (Australia), Vilcanota Spiritual Park (Peru), Mecca (Saudi Arabia), Mount Sinai and the Monastery of St. Catherine (Egypt) and Dampier Archipelago (Australia).

Peabody Energy and the Office of Surface Mining are planning to reopen the devastating Black Mesa Mine Project! The Hopi and Navajo need your help!

The Office of Surface Mining, the federal agency in charge of regulating mining in the United States, may allow coal giant Peabody Energy to once again drain the precious aquifers of Black Mesa in northern Arizona, sacred waters to the Hopi and Navajo and lifeblood of the region's fragile environment. Your comment letters are needed by February 6   (see sample letter below).

Details

The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) has issued a 758-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that assesses the impact of mining on the Coconino and Navajo Aquifers on Arizona's Black Mesa, in the heart of the Hopi and Navajo Nations. OSM's recommendations would pave the way for Peabody to reopen its Black Mesa Mine and with it the destructive coal slurry line that had dramatically drained the Navajo Aquifer for 30 years. What's at stake is a fragile ecosystem in the midst of drought, the drinking water for thousands of residents in the growing towns around the Colorado Plateau, and the cultural heritage of the Hopi and Navajo peoples.

The Black Mesa Project targets pristine groundwater to slurry coal to the Mohave Generating Station - a practice that the community opposed for three decades and succeeded in stopping last year. Despite the closure of the air-polluting Mohave power plant, and with no viable plans for reopening it, Peabody Energy and Salt River Project are moving forward with plans to re-start these destructive practices. This time, Peabody Energy and Salt River Project want to tap into the Coconino Aquifer (south of Black Mesa, between Flagstaff and Winslow) while also increasing access to the Navajo Aquifer, so that they can reopen the controversial coal slurry line from the Black Mesa Mine to the Mohave power plant in Laughlin, Nevada (273 miles to the west).

The Office of Surface Mining fast-tracked public hearings immediately after the holiday season in early January (precluding participation by Hopis who were participating in winter solstice ceremonies). The EIS public comment deadline is February 6.

Peabody's plan to use the Navajo and Coconino Aquifers to once again slurry coal to the Mohave Power Station is "Alternative A" (or most preferred) in OSM's draft EIS. Peabody's plan would mean that mining would expand into undeveloped areas, tap further into the Coconino and Navajo Aquifers, and force the relocation of at least 17 Black Mesa residents and 55 residents in the Leupp area, south of Black Mesa. The Navajo Aquifer has already been devastated, with 7 local springs and several wells down by approximately 30%. If Alternative A is approved, Peabody could pump up to 6,000 acre feet per year from the Navajo Aquifer until 2026, a 33% increase over what they extracted from 1970 to 2005.. Meanwhile, Peabody has not taken the steps mandated by federal law to reduce its hydrological impact at the Kayenta Mine, another mine it currently operates on Black Mesa.

Most critically, the OSM is considering issuing a "Life-of-Mine" permit to Peabody, which would mean that Peabody could mine coal at Black Mesa until 2026. (The controversial mine was allowed to operate with a temporary permit for 30 years!)

If the plan to allow Peabody to restart its Black Mesa Mine goes ahead, the cultural implications will be dramatic. The Hopi and Navajo's ability to grow traditional foods and herbal medicines, as well as access ceremonial sites and perform rituals, will all be affected. Also, the Hopi are now in the most important phase of their ceremonial calendar, when the elders have entered the kivas, and so they are outraged that the OSM has chosen to release the EIS at a time when the Hopi people are unable to fully consider it - and organize to protest it.

The Trustees and Advisors of Black Mesa Trust (BMT) asked that the federal government postpone its scheduled hearings on the EIS, but the government went ahead with the hearings. Activists also wants the OSM to consider a "No Water Alternative" which would transition the Mohave Generating Station into a solar thermal plant and the Black Mesa Mine into a solar and wind farm. Black Mesa Trust points to Southern California Edison's "Mohave Alternatives Study" for evaluation of such an alternative. BMT is preparing to file an injunction should the OSM move forward with its recommendations.

Public hearings were held by the OSM through January 11. But, you can still write in your comments by e-mail or letter to the OSM before the February 6th deadline. Cut and paste the sample letter below or craft your own, and e-mail to BMKEIS@osmre.gov or snail mail your letter to Dennis Winterringer, Leader of the Black Mesa Project EIS, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, at the address below. If you e-mail your comment, please indicate in the subject line that comments are for the "BMP Draft EIS Comments."

Sample letter:
Dennis Winterringer, Leader of the Black Mesa Project EIS

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Western Regional Coordinating Center
P.O. Box 46667
Denver, CO 80201-6667

RE: BMP Draft EIS Comments
Mr. Winterringer,

I strongly oppose the reopening of the Black Mesa Project and call for the OSM to deny Peabody Western Coal Company any permit to operate the project. The use of fresh groundwater to slurry and wash coal in a time of severe drought, while the population in the Southwestern United States is rapidly growing and local farmers are unable to irrigate their crops, is morally reprehensible. Further, the BMP would only provide a short-term supply of greenhouse gas-emitting, non-renewable energy sources while causing irreparable environmental and cultural damage and the relocation of people from their homes. This is unacceptable!

I ask that the OSM extend the Draft Black Mesa Project EIS commenting period, so that the affected communities may adequately review and understand the proposals of the EIS. As the EIS was released without proper notification of the concerned communities and during the winter holiday period when many people could not attend public hearings, it is appropriate to extend the comment period 50 days.

The OSM needs to update its hydrological model for the N-Aquifer and provide sufficient information demonstrating the C-Aquifer is a viable supply of water and that withdrawals will not have adverse hydrological or wildlife impacts. It also must do adequate studies on the effects of "coal washing" and the causes of land subsidence. The OSM must also require that the operating firms, in this case Peabody Western Coal Company and the Salt River Project, put up bonds that would pay for any future damage to the land and the aquifers.

I encourage you to refuse Peabody's mining permit and support Alternative C (No Action) and more fully explore the No Water Alternative (transitioning the Mohave Generating Station to a solar thermal plant). This would create an opportunity for America to shift its energy consumption to renewable and clean energy sources and would protect a culturally sacred yet fragile environment for generations to come.

Sincerely, ____________________ Thank you!

For more information, check our website report on Black Mesa or visit Black Mesa Trust.

You can also read a Sierra Magazine (Jan/Feb 2007) profile of Hopi activist Vernon Masayesva, "The Rainmaker: A Hopi leader champions clean power in Indian Country."

Christopher (Toby) McLeod
Sacred Land Film Project
P.O. Box C-151
La Honda, CA 94020 USA
http://www.sacredland.org
a project of Earth Island Institute
Our documentary film on threatened sacred places, In the Light of Reverence is distributed by Bullfrog Films: 1-800-543-3764

Please do what you can. Corbin Harney needs our love, prayers and support.

From: shundahai@shundahai.org
January 18, 2007

PLEASE distribute this email appeal to your friends and through your networks.

Dear Friends --

Corbin Harney is currently at the Poo Ha Bah traditional native healing center in Tecopa. He is ill and requires constant personal care.

Corbin needs our help. Recently, Poo Ha Bah lost foundation funding and is experiencing a serious fiscal crisis. Specifically, Corbin requires funds for food, transportation, medication, health care, repairs and maintenance of the center.

Immediate needs also include the installation of a hot shower in Corbin's trailer and an emergency generator so that he will not be in the freezing cold and dark when the electricity fails.

The goal is to raise $10,000 in the next three months.

Corbin Harney is a revered Western Shoshone elder who has brought spiritual healing to the world. Corbin has made invaluable contributions to many important political, environmental and indigenous struggles.

Corbin should not go without in his time of need. With sufficient support, he will be able to get the personal assistance and medical care he deserves.

Corbin welcomes guests at Poo Ha Bah but please call (760) 852-4288 ahead of time to coordinate your visit.

Contact (702) 304-9859 if you have specific skills you can offer Corbin or the healing center.

PLEASE send checks of any amount directly to "Corbin Harney" at his address:

Corbin Harney, Post Office Box 187, Tecopa, California 92389

Visit http://www.shundahai.org/Corbin_Harney.htm for more information. Corbin is so very thankful for all who have contributed their time, resources, care and love for him.

Peace,
Friends of Corbin Harney
Shundahai Network
http://www.shundahai.org
P.O. Box 1115
Salt Lake City, UT 84110
shundahai@shundahai.org

If you are a Myspace user, you can now add us!
http://www.Myspace.com/shundahai

Over a Decade of Resistance
Dedicated to Breaking the Nuclear Chain

Shundahai is a Newe (Western Shoshone) word meaning
"Peace and Harmony with all Creation"

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACTS:

December 13, 2006 Betty Razor, Nevada Nurses Association, 775-560-3350
Bob McCulloch, Orsmby Sportsmen Group, 775-882-6810
Dan Randolph, Great Basin Mine Watch, 775-348-1986
Larson Bill, Western Shoshone Defense Project, 775-468-0230

*FISH** TESTING** REVEALS** HIGH** MERCURY** LEVELS** IN** WILD** HORSE** RESERVOIR**: PUBLIC** HEALTH**, SPORTSMEN** AND NATIVE** GROUPS** CALL** FOR** INVESTIGATION***

Reno, NV - Public health, sportsmen, native, and conservation organizations are calling on the State Division of Health to investigate the need for fish consumption advisories for mercury in Wild Horse Reservoir and other reservoirs, lakes and streams in northern Nevada.

Recent analysis by the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) of several fish samples collected from Wild Horse Reservoir found mercury concentrations at levels that present a public health risk, particularly to children and pregnant women. Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin which can cause developmental problems such as delayed onset of walking, talking and delays and deficits in learning.

"As one of the oldest, organized fishing organizations in Nevada, the Ormsby Sportsmen Group encourages Nevada's state agencies do a better job of monitoring of mercury levels in Nevada's fish and wildlife. We all want future generations to be able to enjoy hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation in this beautiful state," said Bob McCulloch of the Ormsby Sportsmen Group.

**Water-bodies in northern Nevada, such as Wild Horse Reservoir are particularly at risk from mercury contamination because they are located downwind from numerous gold mining operations. According to the EPA, northern Nevada gold mines release over 4,600 pounds of mercury into the air each year - about 18 times the amount of mercury released by the average coal-fired power plant. These mines are responsible for fully 25% of all U.S. mercury air emissions west of Texas.

Scientists have reported high mercury levels in fish and in waterfowl downwind of these mines in southeast Idaho and in Utah. Yet, very little monitoring has been done to determine the extent of mercury contamination in fish and waterfowl in northern Nevada.

*"Mercury is particularly troublesome because it "bio-accumulates" or increases in concentrations as it moves up the food chain," said Betty Razor of the Nevada Nurses Association. "Thus, large predatory fish tend to have higher concentrations of mercury. Because of our science-based practice, nurses understand the connection between the environment, human health and disease"*

"We're concerned because the mercury levels in these fish are roughly twice the level that triggers a fish consumption advisory in Idaho," said Dan Randolph of Great Basin Mine Watch. "Given the high mercury concentrations in these little perch, we're concerned that the bass will have even higher concentrations. The State needs to test all the fish species in these high risk areas because Nevada families and tourists need to where there's a health risk."

"Protection of the land, air and water is very important to us. These are still Shoshone lands and these companies are operating in this manner without our consent," said Larson Bill, Western Shoshone Defense Project Community Organizer. "They need to stop and be honest about the hazards they are creating for our communities."

The state recently enacted mercury regulations for gold mines. However, the regulations have been highly controversial because they do not include a cap on mercury air emissions, and several gold mines have dramatically increased their emissions in recent years.

*The letter to the Nevada Division of Health can be downloaded at: http://www.earthworksaction.org/publications.cfm?pubID=214

US planning major program on nukes. Comments due Jan. 17, 2007.

Department of Energy plans new complex for storing nuclear weapons.

Say NO to New Nuclear Weapons! Send a Message NOW!

Dear Friend of Nevada Desert Experience,

As you may know, the Department of Energy recently released a plan for "Complex 2030," a vast and comprehensive program to overhaul and "improve" the United States' nuclear arsenal over the next 24 years.

The DOE wants to:
a.. Consolidate the entire US plutonium stock in one location.

b.. Systematically rebuild every single weapon in the US arsenal.
Building the new facilities alone is projected to cost more than 150 billion dollars, according to the General Accounting Office.

Complex 2030, dubbed "Bombplex 2030" by nuclear abolitionists, represents a serious threat to national and international peace and security.

a.. The plutonium consolidation plan means moving plutonium on our freeways and highways, and through our cities and towns. The potential for some sort of accident or deliberate terrorist targeting of these convoys makes this an unacceptable risk. Additionally, one central facility with all the US's plutonium is far too dangerous: a natural disaster, an accident caused by human error, or an intentional act of sabotage at the facility would spell disaster for millions of people instantly.

b.. Rebuilding the US arsenal is the wrong thing to do. We need to work to rid the world of nuclear weapons, not spend time and money designing and building new ones. This reconfiguration of US nuclear facilities will dramatically increase nuclear weapons-making capabilities. If the United States is to try to stop North Korea, Iran, and other countries from developing nuclear weapons, it must also halt its own weapons development.

c.. Although this plan has been presented as rebuilding weapons rather than building new ones, it is in violation of a number of key anti-nuclear proliferation treaties. The United States needs to act in support of these treaties, many of which were hard-won victories that required years of effort.

d.. Complex 2030 is a terrible use of 150 billion dollars. With a crumbling school system, a looming health care crisis, and increasing poverty in the United States, and a world that is filled with unmet basic needs for food, water, shelter, and sanitation, spending such an enormous amount of money on weapons of mass destruction is unconscionable.
What can you do to help?

a.. The Department of Energy is legally obligated to take public comments until January 17, 2007. Click below to open a page (provided by our friends at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation) from which you can email the DOE directly.http://capwiz.com/wagingpeace/issues/alert/?alertid=9181121&queueid=967575771)


b.. If you are able, consider attending a public hearing. The Department of Energy is coming to Livermore, California, on December 12, 2006, and members of the public are entitled to offer oral or written comments. The hearing will be from 11 AM to 10 PM at the Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East Avenue. For carpooling information, contact info@nevadadesertexperience.org. View other public hearing sites here: http://www.nevadadesertexperience.org/resources/bombplex_hearings.pdf


c.. Consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or submitting an op-ed piece. Many people are unaware of Complex 2030, and this lack of public information is being used to try to accelerate the process. Don't let this program go through in secret!


d.. Written Comments can be addressed to:
Theodore A. Wyka
Complex 2030 SEIS Document Manager
Office of Transformation
U.S. Department of Energy, NA-10.1
1000 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20585
Printable Comment Postcard (PDF)


e.. Please forward this email widely. Each comment counts.
Thank you for all you do.

Nevada Desert Experience
Sarah, Chelsea, Megan, Kamillah

Click to view the November 2006 issue of Desert Voices (348kb PDF)
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