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January has shaped up as a month in which the voices of Black men have grabbed headlines across the country. One could hear echoes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech in classrooms and professional football promotions. The voice of our new president, Barack Obama, can be heard exhorting that “we are ready to lead once more.”
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Rally for Justice
I got back to San Francisco a few hours after the Berkeley tree protest ceremony. Hundreds of June Jordan students were banging drums and shouting at City Hall in protest of the separate shootings of three classmates. There's been seven shooting deaths in San Francisco in the past three weeks. My neighborhood, the Mission, has been the site of most. No arrests have been made in six of the killings (just in the shooting of the Hells Angels leader HAMC Frisco's Papa, and they have eight new R.I.P's on their website). For the news commentators being cautious about retaliation - umm yes, it's coming. The Hells Angels and Mongols hate each other. I had the privilege of interviewing HA John "The Baptist" LoFranco in NYC. That's another post. For obvious reasons, now there's even more police out on the block every night, patrolling in their cars.
For what the students think; check out my video:
Tree-sit Ends in Ceremony
Dispatch from Berkeley, Calif. 09/12/08After 649 days and much ado, the last four holdouts surrendered their tree-sitting protest of U.C. Berkeley’s plan to raze an ancient tree grove to build a sports training center. We all watched. As did activists such as Morning Star Gali, a Pit River member and activist, with sadness and regret.
It was little reported, but Gali and other Natives had been trying to negotiate with university officials. The tree protest wasn't just for dread-locked noveau Telegraph hippies with dirty feet and pristine ideals. Or for self-proclaimed "Native elder" Zachary Running Wolf to get publicity for his Berkeley mayoral campaign, though that appeared to be the main thread of his odd, rambling speech today. The old growth tree grove was also the site of an Ohlone burial ground where UC-Berkeley anthropologists have documented evidence of two shells mound sites with 18 human remains.
The university is already a hotbed of contention among local Native tribes for continuing to house more than 17,000 sacred remains and objects in what Native groups charge is non-compliance of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. NAGPRA requires institutions that possess Native collections to repatriate the items to the modern day descendants. UC Berkeley has the second largest Native collection in the nation, but claims a majority of it cannot be linked to specific federally recognized tribes.
As part of this latest protest, the last four tree-sitters had agreed to come down from redwood, oak and other trees if university officials would include the community in future land-use decisions. And, tree-sitters had asked the UC to donate $6 million to environmental and Native groups and provide Natives the stump of the 200-year-old "Grandmother Tree" in the 1.2-acre grove so that they could make a drum. But officials withdrew the offer of the stump after the tree-sitters descended, Gali said, and denied Natives access to the grove for prayer.
The University's actions “are in violation of international law," Gali said. "The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that indigenous people have the right to free, prior and informed consent before any actions are taken with regard to sacred lands.”
A day before the Sept. 9 surrender, scaffolding was installed to reach the platform just beneath the 80-foot treetop, making it impossible for the tree-sitters to elude police or resist arrest. The press widely reported the tree-sitters "peacefully" and "voluntarily" climbed down from the last remaining tree of 42 redwoods, oaks and other trees in the grove after four hours of negotiations with UC Police Chief Victoria Harrison. She spoke from inside a basket on a 200-foot-tall crane. It didn't look peaceful on TV as police wrestled protesters to the ground.
And Gali claims the police used Native demands as a bargaining chip and lied to the tree-sitters about the negotiations taking place on the ground. As 500 onlookers watched, the tree-sitters were arrested on misdemeanor charges of trespassing, violating a court order and illegal lodging. “We’ve inspired millions of people around the globe,” said Ayr, one of the tree-sitters’ ground supporters, who is still camping out in a line of mattresses across the street. “We can hold our head high. But also, it is a loss.”
The protest and lawsuits had delayed the university’s construction of the$124 million center by two years. The tree-sitting protest began Dec. 1, 2006 when Running Wolf and a woman climbed into two oaks before the Cal-Stanford Big Game to protect the grove’s trees from being chopped down to build the athletic training center. What followed was one of the longest tree-sits ever, with at one time more than a dozen people living atop ancient oak and redwood trees. They would slide on ropes between the trees and cook on camping stoves in their tree houses.
A round table with a green cloth umbrella became the Treesit Café, “The real free speech café,” activists declared in blue paint on a piece of cardboard. It was certainly more iconically Berkeley than the nearby coffee shop frequented by international students. My parents have found memories there. I was put off by the club hip-hop music at 11 a.m. as I grabbed cup of joe in between protest scene changes. Another long table outside was a booth where activists hung clipped news photos and placed books and protest materials. Where Runningwolf stuck his "for mayor" sticker. And where supporters left behind bags of bread. Carb-loading.
An environmental group, the city of Berkeley and local residents filed lawsuits Dec. 20, 2006 alleging the project was not seismically safe because of its proximity to the Hayward Fault. In July, after an Alameda County superior court judge ruled mostly in the university's favor, UC police began arresting tree-sitters. Four protesters remained on a redwood. A state appeals court denied the plaintiffs' request to delay construction on Sept. 4 and the UC cut down 40 trees in the three days that followed. Negotiations between university officials and the tree-sitters failed. On Sept. 5, provisions of water and energy bars were cut off by police.
During a prayer ceremony on Sept. 7, a man was arrested and Gali said she was “violently assaulted while holding my two-month-old” as she laid tobacco beneath the tree. She said she was served an injunction notice and warned to no longer participate in supporting the tree-sit. The day the last four tree-sitters climbed down from one of only two trees still standing near the stadium, the university chopped the ancient redwood down. The act brought visible relief to some Cal football fans and athletes. Scary: some people even cheered as chainsaws tore down its branches. What happened to the commercial-fueled trend of eco-friendliness?
Environmentalists and Natives mourned, burning sage in prayer and drumming. Five people were arrested for charges including blocking traffic and battery on a peace officer. Two days later, after initially being denied permission by university officials, Gali, a dozen supporters and some tree-sitters held a ceremony. She brought her baby son in an act of defiance after also being threatened by police with a call to Child Protective Services, she said. Only 10 people were allowed inside the fenced area next to Memorial Stadium, where they formed a half circle around the stump of Grandmother Tree, its roots still deep beneath the ground.
The dozen supporters denied access stood in front of the double set of chain link fence on a patch of concrete, praying with the group. Afterward, the 10 joined the others to form a circle outside the fence, passing around a ceremonial staff as Miwok elder Wounded Knee De Ocampo spoke. “This is our country,” he said. “We had that, before they came here.”
They departed with handshakes and hugs that gloomy, gray morning, after sharing news of upcoming protests and vowing to continue pushing for environmental and tribal rights.
The university is already a hotbed of contention among local Native tribes for continuing to house more than 17,000 sacred remains and objects in what Native groups charge is non-compliance of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. NAGPRA requires institutions that possess Native collections to repatriate the items to the modern day descendants. UC Berkeley has the second largest Native collection in the nation, but claims a majority of it cannot be linked to specific federally recognized tribes.
As part of this latest protest, the last four tree-sitters had agreed to come down from redwood, oak and other trees if university officials would include the community in future land-use decisions. And, tree-sitters had asked the UC to donate $6 million to environmental and Native groups and provide Natives the stump of the 200-year-old "Grandmother Tree" in the 1.2-acre grove so that they could make a drum. But officials withdrew the offer of the stump after the tree-sitters descended, Gali said, and denied Natives access to the grove for prayer.
The University's actions “are in violation of international law," Gali said. "The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that indigenous people have the right to free, prior and informed consent before any actions are taken with regard to sacred lands.”
A day before the Sept. 9 surrender, scaffolding was installed to reach the platform just beneath the 80-foot treetop, making it impossible for the tree-sitters to elude police or resist arrest. The press widely reported the tree-sitters "peacefully" and "voluntarily" climbed down from the last remaining tree of 42 redwoods, oaks and other trees in the grove after four hours of negotiations with UC Police Chief Victoria Harrison. She spoke from inside a basket on a 200-foot-tall crane. It didn't look peaceful on TV as police wrestled protesters to the ground.
And Gali claims the police used Native demands as a bargaining chip and lied to the tree-sitters about the negotiations taking place on the ground. As 500 onlookers watched, the tree-sitters were arrested on misdemeanor charges of trespassing, violating a court order and illegal lodging. “We’ve inspired millions of people around the globe,” said Ayr, one of the tree-sitters’ ground supporters, who is still camping out in a line of mattresses across the street. “We can hold our head high. But also, it is a loss.”
The protest and lawsuits had delayed the university’s construction of the$124 million center by two years. The tree-sitting protest began Dec. 1, 2006 when Running Wolf and a woman climbed into two oaks before the Cal-Stanford Big Game to protect the grove’s trees from being chopped down to build the athletic training center. What followed was one of the longest tree-sits ever, with at one time more than a dozen people living atop ancient oak and redwood trees. They would slide on ropes between the trees and cook on camping stoves in their tree houses.
A round table with a green cloth umbrella became the Treesit Café, “The real free speech café,” activists declared in blue paint on a piece of cardboard. It was certainly more iconically Berkeley than the nearby coffee shop frequented by international students. My parents have found memories there. I was put off by the club hip-hop music at 11 a.m. as I grabbed cup of joe in between protest scene changes. Another long table outside was a booth where activists hung clipped news photos and placed books and protest materials. Where Runningwolf stuck his "for mayor" sticker. And where supporters left behind bags of bread. Carb-loading.
An environmental group, the city of Berkeley and local residents filed lawsuits Dec. 20, 2006 alleging the project was not seismically safe because of its proximity to the Hayward Fault. In July, after an Alameda County superior court judge ruled mostly in the university's favor, UC police began arresting tree-sitters. Four protesters remained on a redwood. A state appeals court denied the plaintiffs' request to delay construction on Sept. 4 and the UC cut down 40 trees in the three days that followed. Negotiations between university officials and the tree-sitters failed. On Sept. 5, provisions of water and energy bars were cut off by police.
During a prayer ceremony on Sept. 7, a man was arrested and Gali said she was “violently assaulted while holding my two-month-old” as she laid tobacco beneath the tree. She said she was served an injunction notice and warned to no longer participate in supporting the tree-sit. The day the last four tree-sitters climbed down from one of only two trees still standing near the stadium, the university chopped the ancient redwood down. The act brought visible relief to some Cal football fans and athletes. Scary: some people even cheered as chainsaws tore down its branches. What happened to the commercial-fueled trend of eco-friendliness?
Environmentalists and Natives mourned, burning sage in prayer and drumming. Five people were arrested for charges including blocking traffic and battery on a peace officer. Two days later, after initially being denied permission by university officials, Gali, a dozen supporters and some tree-sitters held a ceremony. She brought her baby son in an act of defiance after also being threatened by police with a call to Child Protective Services, she said. Only 10 people were allowed inside the fenced area next to Memorial Stadium, where they formed a half circle around the stump of Grandmother Tree, its roots still deep beneath the ground.
The dozen supporters denied access stood in front of the double set of chain link fence on a patch of concrete, praying with the group. Afterward, the 10 joined the others to form a circle outside the fence, passing around a ceremonial staff as Miwok elder Wounded Knee De Ocampo spoke. “This is our country,” he said. “We had that, before they came here.”
They departed with handshakes and hugs that gloomy, gray morning, after sharing news of upcoming protests and vowing to continue pushing for environmental and tribal rights.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
International Indigenous Hip-hop Gathering
Dispatch from Studio City, L.A. 09/15/08We left San Francisco after a show at Club 6 and hit the road for L.A. around 3 a.m. Five guys, two girls in a white van. I found a comfortable space on the turntable platform because I kept sliding off the leather seat with each brake. It turned from chilly to a dry heat by the time we awoke.
L.A.'s a weird place, a desert turned residential region with lawns and tropical plants moistened with water shipped in from long distances. When I visited the Hoopa reservation in northern California earlier this month, I was told how the river water had been sucked out to irrigate this southern part of the state. In Arizona, the land is scarred with deep gray pits from coal mining to power lights in L.A. and Nevada. Whose land? Always Native people of course: Hoopa, Klamath, Yurok, Karuk, Hopi, Navajo...
And so it was sort of ironic the 2nd Annual International Indigenous Hip-hop Gathering was held in L.A. But then again, there's around two dozen Southern California tribes here.
For Happy Frejo, the event was a place to make a stand. Not just for Native artists, but also for women. That’s because the line-up at the Sept. 14 show was mostly male, mirroring most of mainstream hip-hop. My girlfriend and I noticed during soundcheck. Then at the vendor tables I saw Frejo, a Seminole and Pawnee singer and emcee, in an interesting white shirt with bold black letters. I learned she and friends wore it in protest.
“Got Wombyn?” the front asked. “I Am Hip-hop Too,” it said on the back.
“Hip-hop is a male-dominated, but there’s a lot of women in it too – event organizers, mothers, emcees, artists, singers – we’re just not represented as much,” Frejo said. “We just have to do what we can to make a stand and let them know we’re still here.”
In its second year, the event’s aim is to highlight Native artists within the hip-hop industry, most who are independent artists on the outskirts of the mainstream. That’s where artists like Prophecy are most comfortable – speaking directly to their communities about problems only they have experienced and understand, he said. “Our goal and our focus is to emphasize the youth to our people,” said Prophecy, who is Anishnabe and Potawatomi. “They’re the most underserved community in the nation.”
And hip-hop is a medium that can bridge the gap between youth and elders, he said. The event began with workshops tailored to youth, including one by Apache Skateboards. Performances by groups across Indian Country followed, with emcees hailing from such tribes as Oneida, Navajo and Pomo, and regions including Chile, Puerto Rico, Mexico and El Salvador.
The stated purpose was to share “Music, vision, unity, tradition.” At $25 a general ticket, and $18 for youth, that was a pricey task for some. But others traveled long distances to attend the event – the only one of its kind in the country. Daygots, 22, a member of the Wolf Clan of the Oneida’s Nation, shocked me by actually hopping a plane from New York to attend the event with a friend. She's an aspiring emcee and producer, and “professional human being” as her business card read. “I think it’s very important for Natives to be seen and be heard and to tell our stories,” she said. “Personally, I’m learning and developing myself. It’s really awesome to be here and exchange and to share with people. It’s a real good feeling to see Native people getting together for the purpose of hip-hop.”
Traditional music and dance were woven within the hip-hop performances. The Southern California Intertribal Bird Singers performed songs that were once on the verge of dying out, but were revived by tribal elders. Six young men and a little boy in black ribbon shirts kept the beat to their songs with rattles. Two women and a girl swayed back and forth, swishing ribbon skirts. The men’s dance steps were heavy and rhythmic.
Toby Rabugo, 15, a Pala tribal member, said the group usually performs at powwows. The event was their first hip-hop show. He listens to more mainstream artists, like X-Rated, Brother Lynch and Tec 10. “I like to perform because it’s a way to express my culture and get the word out that there’s different types of Indians out there,” he said. “When we go out of state they’re really amazed. They don’t know that we’re modern and still have our traditional ways.”
The ties between the traditional and the modern were fused by many of the artists at the event. Designers had reprinted shirts with old images and new slogans: “You are on Indian Land,” “We were here before the borders, We will be here after they fall!” and “Terrorizing Native America since 1492” with a picture of Columbus. And in the lyrics of songs. “We possess an essence divine. Find it within our heart, spirit and mind. All my Natives keep your heads up high. Unified as a tribe once again we will shine,” rapped the hip-hop trio Antithesis.
“Hip-hop is a male-dominated, but there’s a lot of women in it too – event organizers, mothers, emcees, artists, singers – we’re just not represented as much,” Frejo said. “We just have to do what we can to make a stand and let them know we’re still here.”
In its second year, the event’s aim is to highlight Native artists within the hip-hop industry, most who are independent artists on the outskirts of the mainstream. That’s where artists like Prophecy are most comfortable – speaking directly to their communities about problems only they have experienced and understand, he said. “Our goal and our focus is to emphasize the youth to our people,” said Prophecy, who is Anishnabe and Potawatomi. “They’re the most underserved community in the nation.”
And hip-hop is a medium that can bridge the gap between youth and elders, he said. The event began with workshops tailored to youth, including one by Apache Skateboards. Performances by groups across Indian Country followed, with emcees hailing from such tribes as Oneida, Navajo and Pomo, and regions including Chile, Puerto Rico, Mexico and El Salvador.
The stated purpose was to share “Music, vision, unity, tradition.” At $25 a general ticket, and $18 for youth, that was a pricey task for some. But others traveled long distances to attend the event – the only one of its kind in the country. Daygots, 22, a member of the Wolf Clan of the Oneida’s Nation, shocked me by actually hopping a plane from New York to attend the event with a friend. She's an aspiring emcee and producer, and “professional human being” as her business card read. “I think it’s very important for Natives to be seen and be heard and to tell our stories,” she said. “Personally, I’m learning and developing myself. It’s really awesome to be here and exchange and to share with people. It’s a real good feeling to see Native people getting together for the purpose of hip-hop.”
Traditional music and dance were woven within the hip-hop performances. The Southern California Intertribal Bird Singers performed songs that were once on the verge of dying out, but were revived by tribal elders. Six young men and a little boy in black ribbon shirts kept the beat to their songs with rattles. Two women and a girl swayed back and forth, swishing ribbon skirts. The men’s dance steps were heavy and rhythmic.
Toby Rabugo, 15, a Pala tribal member, said the group usually performs at powwows. The event was their first hip-hop show. He listens to more mainstream artists, like X-Rated, Brother Lynch and Tec 10. “I like to perform because it’s a way to express my culture and get the word out that there’s different types of Indians out there,” he said. “When we go out of state they’re really amazed. They don’t know that we’re modern and still have our traditional ways.”
The ties between the traditional and the modern were fused by many of the artists at the event. Designers had reprinted shirts with old images and new slogans: “You are on Indian Land,” “We were here before the borders, We will be here after they fall!” and “Terrorizing Native America since 1492” with a picture of Columbus. And in the lyrics of songs. “We possess an essence divine. Find it within our heart, spirit and mind. All my Natives keep your heads up high. Unified as a tribe once again we will shine,” rapped the hip-hop trio Antithesis.
“As Indigenous people we need to send out a voice to the rest of the world of our issues, of our lives, of our future, in order to preserve of cultures and society,” said Cee los of Antithesis, who is from the Santee Sioux Nation of Nebraska. “That’s what’s important to me about hip-hop.”
Check out my video:
Check out my video:
Vote for it on CurrentTV
Salmon Wars: Battle to Remove Klamath Dams
Salmon disappeared from the upper Klamath River tribes in Oregon nearly 100 years ago when dams in Northern California blocked fish passage upriver. Today, PacifiCorp's four lower dams are up for licensing renewal and activists are hoping they'll be torn down.
Here's my first video ever, which I did after going up north for several days.
Vote for it here
Here's my first video ever, which I did after going up north for several days.
Vote for it here
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Axis of Friendship
My grandfather says he's 102. My grandmother says he's 93. No one kept track of birthdays when he was born, but he remembers his father writing the date in the page of a Qu'ran long gone. They've been in the U.S. for the past five years getting medical treatment on green cards. They've been here five years but were denied citizenship because they can't speak English."In 1999, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 14,000 people and concluded that an estimated 47 percent of documented immigrants who had been here at least 10 years had not become U.S. citizens. Inability to speak English is the primary barrier."
For my grandfather, that probably means he's never going to see his home again. Without citizenship, you can't travel freely back and forth. I always remember my grandfather being old, though I only saw him for a month of my life. Until now.
He uses a cane to walk a few steps a minute. He broke his hip last year. My mom brags about his penmanship. He was well-known in Zanjan for that. He ran an auto shop there. My grandmother was 12 when she was married to my grandfather. He was a decade older. An arranged marriage Iranian-style. His mother abused her. Back then young girls were married off as Cinderella-types, to care for the house. Unpaid slave labor.
Today she's my grandfather's caretaker, love born from companionship. She's reading an Iranian newspaper and laments how Iran was once held in high regard. I remember my grandfather walking his rose garden there. And writing pages of notes when he read history books in Farsi. I want him to write the lines of a Rumi poem to add to the mosaic tattoo on my back. At my uncle's house in Morgan Hill, he dips his swollen feet into muddy American sneakers and staggers among the rows of grape vines, four ginger Pomeranian dogs in tow, showing off the mint leaves and tomatoes he's planted. Today he stares into space. Hard to know what he's thinking. He can't hear my questions. He just smiles when I catch his eye.
I want to tell him about this email I was just sent by the Iranian Student Alliance in America. He doesn't know what the Internet is. I think I'll cover this event Friday for this blog, shooting video and taking photographs.
"On September 12th, 2001, hours after the tragic attacks of September 11th, the world shared in America's grief. Americans discovered friends in unlikely places, none more unlikely than Tehran, Iran. Thousands of Iranians spontaneously lit candles in solidarity with the families of 9/11 and the American people. Instead of seizing the opportunities for global peace and friendship, the U.S. administration used the attacks of 9/11 as a pretext for sowing seeds of war. September 11th became the weapon for the 'war against terror' in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The enormous good will of September 12th was squandered. We invite you to come celebrate and honor the faiths, families, and friendships that bind us–Americans and Iranians –as one. Help spread the light of peace and kindle the love that connects us to each other. To all who choose to refuse another war that will bring endless suffering to countless families, American and Iranian: come and celebrate and affirm the Axis of Friendship that unites our faiths and families as one."
AXIS OF FRIENDSHIP
WHEN: Friday, September 12th, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Civic Center Plazas, San Francisco
- on the corner of Polk and Mcallister St.
DETAILS:
4:00 pm - Press Conference: speakers supporting peaceful resolution of talks between U.S. and Iran and the delivery of children's art, poems and letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. Letters for delivery can be sent, before Sept 11, by email to info@stileshall.org or snail mail to: Axis of Friendship, c/o Stiles Hall, 2400 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.
4:30 pm - Festival: Iranian and American music, food, and poetry, concluding with a candle-lighting to remember Sept. 12 and thespontaneous emergence of a Axis of Friendship when Iranians lit candles in solidarity with the U.S. after 9/11.
6:30 pm - For those that are fasting, adjourn to nearby mosques to celebrate breaking that day's Ramadan fast.
Plant the tree of friendship and harvest the fruits of love
Uproot the roots of hatred for it brings forth boundless agony
- Hafez
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Alaska Natives Sound Off on Palin
An eruption of Native response to the GOP VP selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is circulating on the web, despite articles to the contrary. I've received several open letters through email and I'm linking here to a thorough piece. Much has been made of Palin being the "youngest person to hold the office," as quoted in the Wikipedia entry The New York Times reported a Wikipedia user with the name Young Trigg reconfigured in the 24 hours before McCain's strategic announcement of his pick. Seems to be a theme in the campaign. McCain has launched a 'Palin Truth Squad.' According to a great piece on the Associated Press wire, that means "say nothing."
The piece linked here about the "ongoing colonialization and violence of human rights being carried out against Alaska people in the name of unsustainable progress, with particular emphasis on the role of Sarah Palin and the Republican leadership" is written by Evon Peter of the Neetsaii Gwich'in tribe from Arctic Village -- the youngest-ever chief of his tribe.
***
Here's a link to an email piece written by Anne Kilkenny, a homemaker and education advocate in Wasilla, Alaska. She personally knows Sarah Palin.
And below is a legal examination circuling through email, written by Attorney Lloyd B. Miller of Anchorage, Alaska. Contact him at (907) 258-6377, lloyd@sonosky.net.
1. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Fishing
Perhaps no issue is of greater importance to Alaska Native peoples as the right to hunt and fish according to ancient customary and traditional practices, and to carry on the subsistence way of life for future generations. Governor Sarah Palin has consistently opposed those rights. Once in office, Governor Palin decided to continue litigation that seeks to overturn every subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska. (State of Alaska v. Norton, 3:05-cv-0158-HRH (D. Ak).) In pressing this case, Palin decided against using the Attorney General (which usually handles State litigation) and instead continued contracting with Senator Ted Stevens’ brother-in-law’s law firm (Birch, Horton, Bittner & Cherot).
The goal of Palin’s law suit is to invalidate all the subsistence fishing regulations the federal government has issued to date to protect Native fishing, and to force the courts instead to take over the role of setting subsistence regulations. Palin’s law suit seeks to diminish subsistence fishing rights in order to expand sport and commercial fishing. In May 2007, the federal court rejected the State’s main challenge, holding that Congress in 1980 had expressly granted the U.S. Interior and Agriculture Departments the authority to regulate and protect Native and rural subsistence fishing activities in Alaska. (Decision entered May 15, 2007 (Dkt. No. 110).)
Notwithstanding this ruling, Palin continues to argue in the litigation that the federal subsistence protections are too broad, and should be narrowed to exclude vast areas from subsistence fishing, in favor of sport and commercial fishing. Palin opposes subsistence protections in marine waters, on many of the lands that Natives selected under their 1971 land claims settlement with the state and federal governments, and in many of the rivers where Alaska Natives customarily fish. (Alaska Complaint at 15-18.) Palin also opposes subsistence fishing protections on Alaska Native federal allotments that were deeded to individuals purposely to foster Native subsistence activities. All these issues are now pending before the federal district court.
2. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Hunting
Palin has also sought to invalidate critical determinations the Federal Subsistence Board has made regarding customary and traditional uses of game, specifically to take hunting opportunities away from Native subsistence villagers and thereby enhance sport hunting.
Palin’s attack here on subsistence has focused on the Ahtna Indian people in Chistochina. Although the federal district court has rejected Palin’s challenge, she has carried on an appeal that was argued in August 2008. (State of Alaska v. Fleagle, No. 07-35723 (9th Cir.).) In both hunting and fishing matters, Palin has continued uninterrupted the policies initiated by the former Governor Frank Murkowski Administration, challenging hunting and fishing protections that Native people depend upon for their subsistence way of life in order to enhance sport fishing and hunting opportunities. Palin’s lawsuits are a direct attack on the core way of life of Native Tribes in rural Alaska.
3. Palin has attacked Alaska Tribal Sovereignty
Palin argues that Alaska Tribes have no authority to act as sovereigns, despite their recognition. So extreme is Palin on tribal sovereignty issues that she has sought to block tribes from exercising any authority whatsoever even over the welfare of Native children, adhering to a 2004 legal opinion issued by the former Murkowski Administration that no such jurisdiction exists (except when a state court transfers a matter to a tribal court). Both the state courts and the federal courts have struck down Palin’s policy of refusing to recognize the sovereign authority of Alaska Tribes to address issues involving Alaska Native children. Palin’s policy of refusing to recognize Alaska tribal sovereignty remains unchanged.
4. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Languages
Palin has refused to accord proper respect to Alaska Native languages and voters by refusing to provide language assistance to Yup'ik speaking Alaska Native voters. As a result, Palin was just ordered by a special three-judge panel of federal judges to provide various forms of voter assistance to Yup'ik voters residing in southwest Alaska. Nick v. Bethel, No. 3:07-cv- 0098-TMB (D. Ak.) (Order entered July 30, 2008). Citing years of State neglect, Palin was ordered to provide trained poll workers who are bilingual in English and Yup'ik; sample ballots in written Yup'ik; a written Yup'ik glossary of election terms; consultation with local Tribes to ensure the accuracy of Yup'ik translations; a Yup'ik language coordinator; and pre-election and post-election reports to the court to track the State's efforts. In sum, measured against some the rights that are most fundamental to Alaska Native Tribes – the subsistence way of life, tribal sovereignty and voting rights – Palin’s record is a failure.
***
Here's a link to an email piece written by Anne Kilkenny, a homemaker and education advocate in Wasilla, Alaska. She personally knows Sarah Palin.
And below is a legal examination circuling through email, written by Attorney Lloyd B. Miller of Anchorage, Alaska. Contact him at (907) 258-6377, lloyd@sonosky.net.
1. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Fishing
Perhaps no issue is of greater importance to Alaska Native peoples as the right to hunt and fish according to ancient customary and traditional practices, and to carry on the subsistence way of life for future generations. Governor Sarah Palin has consistently opposed those rights. Once in office, Governor Palin decided to continue litigation that seeks to overturn every subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska. (State of Alaska v. Norton, 3:05-cv-0158-HRH (D. Ak).) In pressing this case, Palin decided against using the Attorney General (which usually handles State litigation) and instead continued contracting with Senator Ted Stevens’ brother-in-law’s law firm (Birch, Horton, Bittner & Cherot).
The goal of Palin’s law suit is to invalidate all the subsistence fishing regulations the federal government has issued to date to protect Native fishing, and to force the courts instead to take over the role of setting subsistence regulations. Palin’s law suit seeks to diminish subsistence fishing rights in order to expand sport and commercial fishing. In May 2007, the federal court rejected the State’s main challenge, holding that Congress in 1980 had expressly granted the U.S. Interior and Agriculture Departments the authority to regulate and protect Native and rural subsistence fishing activities in Alaska. (Decision entered May 15, 2007 (Dkt. No. 110).)
Notwithstanding this ruling, Palin continues to argue in the litigation that the federal subsistence protections are too broad, and should be narrowed to exclude vast areas from subsistence fishing, in favor of sport and commercial fishing. Palin opposes subsistence protections in marine waters, on many of the lands that Natives selected under their 1971 land claims settlement with the state and federal governments, and in many of the rivers where Alaska Natives customarily fish. (Alaska Complaint at 15-18.) Palin also opposes subsistence fishing protections on Alaska Native federal allotments that were deeded to individuals purposely to foster Native subsistence activities. All these issues are now pending before the federal district court.
2. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Subsistence Hunting
Palin has also sought to invalidate critical determinations the Federal Subsistence Board has made regarding customary and traditional uses of game, specifically to take hunting opportunities away from Native subsistence villagers and thereby enhance sport hunting.
Palin’s attack here on subsistence has focused on the Ahtna Indian people in Chistochina. Although the federal district court has rejected Palin’s challenge, she has carried on an appeal that was argued in August 2008. (State of Alaska v. Fleagle, No. 07-35723 (9th Cir.).) In both hunting and fishing matters, Palin has continued uninterrupted the policies initiated by the former Governor Frank Murkowski Administration, challenging hunting and fishing protections that Native people depend upon for their subsistence way of life in order to enhance sport fishing and hunting opportunities. Palin’s lawsuits are a direct attack on the core way of life of Native Tribes in rural Alaska.
3. Palin has attacked Alaska Tribal Sovereignty
Palin argues that Alaska Tribes have no authority to act as sovereigns, despite their recognition. So extreme is Palin on tribal sovereignty issues that she has sought to block tribes from exercising any authority whatsoever even over the welfare of Native children, adhering to a 2004 legal opinion issued by the former Murkowski Administration that no such jurisdiction exists (except when a state court transfers a matter to a tribal court). Both the state courts and the federal courts have struck down Palin’s policy of refusing to recognize the sovereign authority of Alaska Tribes to address issues involving Alaska Native children. Palin’s policy of refusing to recognize Alaska tribal sovereignty remains unchanged.
4. Palin has attacked Alaska Native Languages
Palin has refused to accord proper respect to Alaska Native languages and voters by refusing to provide language assistance to Yup'ik speaking Alaska Native voters. As a result, Palin was just ordered by a special three-judge panel of federal judges to provide various forms of voter assistance to Yup'ik voters residing in southwest Alaska. Nick v. Bethel, No. 3:07-cv- 0098-TMB (D. Ak.) (Order entered July 30, 2008). Citing years of State neglect, Palin was ordered to provide trained poll workers who are bilingual in English and Yup'ik; sample ballots in written Yup'ik; a written Yup'ik glossary of election terms; consultation with local Tribes to ensure the accuracy of Yup'ik translations; a Yup'ik language coordinator; and pre-election and post-election reports to the court to track the State's efforts. In sum, measured against some the rights that are most fundamental to Alaska Native Tribes – the subsistence way of life, tribal sovereignty and voting rights – Palin’s record is a failure.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Choice: It's What's For Dinner
I began this blog with a search for others. And when I discovered a list of links to blogs written by Iranians inside Iran, it was like being shot into space. I only get a handful of second-hand stories from parents, insights filtered through a few Western journalists, and little communication with the majority of my family still there. People ask me often what Iranians think about this or that. I don't know. And then there's those who comment, surprised, that I'm "so American." Well, I was born here. And the last time I visited Iran, I was 12.
My recollections range from hot summer nights munching on balal/corn on the cob, slurping bastani/rose-flavored ice cream and chomping soseese/sausage sold by street vendors. Fainting in line for noon/bread cooked in underground ovens. The line was long, my coverings made me hot. Tripping over my white chador with tiny blue flowers in Zanjan where my grandparents lived. The wall obscuring their home from the street outside seemed 10 feet tall. It probably was. A beige brick. I was spanked after running outside in my shorts and t-shirt to retrieve the candy-striped plastic ball we kicked over playing soccer. My mother claimed my fragile grandfather, being the sole male of the house, would have been dragged to prison and beaten if I had been discovered by the police on the street, uncovered. I cried and cursed Iran and its rules, the mosquitos, my grandparent's rural toilet that was no more than a hole in the ground. Sometimes a cockroach would crawl out. I hated having to pee. I couldn't see then the beauty of the place my blood flowed from.
Until I can return, I visit through blogs. Today I discovered an older Iranian blog that spoke pointedly to the reality of my profession. "I believe that a journalist makes the news rather than simply and neutrally trying to just deliver the "real" news wrote A Selfologist Against Himself in an entry responding to a Salon journalist who in email proposed tiresome questions around the idea that "the views of ordinary Iranians are very different to the images of Iran in the West." Duh. And so are the notions explored in the new movie Traitor, which began with what seemed like a different look at Muslims, and then fell into the same old traps that had the couple to my left shifting uncomfortably in their seats, the very un-Frisco looking man in flannel grunting at depictions of terrorist cells and other moments of "racist paranoia" as one reviewer put it. Another opportunity lost. But it was to be expected. What I had not anticipated at my double-dose of Hollywood that night was to be assaulted by the National Guard.
What I'm referring to was a loud 2:37 minutes of unfiltered propaganda spoon fed to a captive audience and for that, I would put it in the category of subliminal advertising. I say that because I did not sit for half an hour before the asinine but funny film "Hamlet 2" expecting to first see Kid Rock and Dale Earnhart Jr. promote U.S. military service in Iraq. I was shocked. Not awed. Irritated that I was stuck in my plush AMC Van Ness 14 seat viewing an awkward attempt to recruit. I must note here: The National Guard had been facing a recruitment crisis for years and has even inflated its own numbers, a 2001 investigation by USA Today found. In 2005, it tried to up its bonuses for enlisters by $14, 950. It used to just give 'em a Ulysses S. Grant.
Back to the promo: Kid Rock tuned his guitar, Dale Earnhart Jr. picked up his helmet and the National Guard soldier hugged his family goodbye. Kid Rock screamed, Dale drove and the soldier boarded a helicopter. "I am a member of a team" white letters declared. "So don't tell me whose wrong and right when liberty starts slipping away," Kid Rock crooned. "If you ain't gonna fight, get outa the way." Is Kid Rock Sarah Palin's speechwriter?
The tanks rolled into Iraq. Or Afghanistan? Doesn't matter, apparently, as long as it's a dusty place where the men wear knee-length shirts and the women are covered. "I will always place the mission first," the white writing declared. "And they call me warrior," Kid Rock screamed. The concert crowd of military men pumped their fists in the air. The helicopters roared above soldiers rushing a village, guns blazing. After the onslaught, a tank zoomed down a dirt road. Oh no, a child is rushing in front of it to retrieve a soccer ball. Scared, he runs from the tanks. Silly boy. The tank stopped, the soldier climbs down and kicks the ball back. The boy and soldier share grins. Off to battle.
Being in San Francisco, the theater crowd apparently wasn't amused, following with jeers and sly comments about "your tax dollars in use." And the promo that followed brought more jeers. A new movie called "W" about George W. Bush. "Is that a horror movie?" an audience member joked loudy, drawing laughs. Maybe he was Sarah Palin's speechwriter.
I'm providing you the choice. A key word this election.
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