Going Green

August 31, 2018 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

Video: 20K Strong for #GreenTheRez!

Two weeks ago, our Lakota Law team rallied on the steps of the Capitol Building in Bismarck and issued the call for North and South Dakota to embrace renewable energy. Joined by a host of eloquent speakers, we made the call for a more responsible way of life. It’s time for the Dakotas to get off of coal and go green. We’re doing it at Standing Rock — and we invite the surrounding states to follow our lead.

Chase Iron Eyes joined me in delivering 20,000 signatures from supporters like you to our government leaders, petitioning them to adopt standards requiring our utility companies to provide at least 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.

We’ll keep confronting pipelines and protecting our right to protest in a time when our liberties are under attack! But there are two sides to the environmental coin, and it’s equally important that we focus on permanent solutions. That’s why we’re asking you to join us and support our efforts to #GreenTheRez. Watch our new video and please give to help us GO GREEN.

The same weekend as our rally, our partners at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology worked with us to host a second energy summit at Standing Rock. More than 100 sustainability experts and advocates from all over the country came to hear our vision and help us move forward into a green future.

We’ve completed energy assessments on half our districts at Standing Rock, and we’ve written proposals to reduce the tribe’s carbon footprint and reroute funds to much-needed social programs. One priority project, a building in Long Soldier District, will save the tribe $1.5 million dollars if we install new lighting and solar there. Ultimately, our plan is to create a microgrid to give ourselves true energy independence.

Standing Rock is ranked fifth in the nation among tribal nations for wind and solar potential. Our moment is now. Please stay with us as we press ahead toward a brighter future for our children, and for all the Earth’s children.

Pilamaya — Thank you for your friendship and your support.

Phyllis Young
Lakota People’s Law Project Organizer

P.S. As Keystone XL threatens our sister oyate, Cheyenne River — home of Lakota Law organizer Madonna Thunder Hawk — we’re paying close attention. #NoKXL! We’re equally focused on creating sustainable solutions for Standing Rock to serve as a model for North and South Dakota and for tribal nations around the country. Please support us as we turn our attention to bringing clean energy to all. 20,000 signatures is a great start; now we must raise $25,000 to complete assessments and create a master plan for the project. Can you help?

Lakota People’s Law Project
547 South 7th #149
Bismarck, ND 58504-5859

The Lakota People’s Law Project is a part of the 501(c)(3) Romero Institute, an interfaith law and policy center. All donations are tax-deductible.

Brazil and Logging

August 30, 2018 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

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“The leader of the Indigenous Guajajara people in the Brazilian Amazon is believed to have been murdered by illegal loggers.

Brazilian environmental and rights organizations announced Wednesday that Indigenous leader Jorginho Guajajara was murdered in the State of Maranhao in the Brazilian Amazon. They suspect Jorginho was killed by illegal loggers who operate in the territory of the Guajajara people, renown for their work as Guardians of the Amazon.”

Great News! Charges Dropped!

August 22, 2018 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

Click here for the accessible version

My DAPL Charges Dropped!

Dear Renee,

Thanks to your kind and generous support, and the incredible, dogged work of the Lakota People’s Law Project legal team, we have all won a great victory! Immediately after we filed another 160 pages of hard-hitting evidence on the necessity defense, the North Dakota prosecutors dropped all serious charges against me. I am no longer facing six years in prison, a long separation from my wife and children, and the loss of my law license. Together, we have climbed this mountain!

My arrest for alleged criminal trespass and felony incitement of a riot has been reduced to a minor, Class B misdemeanor of disorderly conduct. As long as I go 360 days without violating any criminal law, even this will be expunged from my record.

As you know, it is legally impossible for me and other Native people to trespass on treaty land. I never started a riot. I and the other water protectors are not terrorists. You and I and the US veterans who stood with us to protect Mother Earth are the true patriots.

With these charges behind me, I am looking forward to working with my colleague Madonna Thunder Hawk—who stands ready to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline at her home on the Cheyenne River Reservation—and my fellow Standing Rock tribal member Phyllis Young, who is leading our charge to bring renewable energy to Standing Rock as part of our #GreenTheRez campaign.

In the coming months, Lakota People’s Law Project Chief Counsel Daniel Sheehan and the entire team will continue to strategically confront the fossil fuel industry and their destructive agenda, which threatens our water, our planet, and the entire human family. We will make full use of all of the evidence, affidavits, depositions, and testimony you helped us collect as part of this case, which is now permanently protected as part of the public record.

Wopila Tanka—My humble and warmest gratitude for making this victory possible.

Chase Iron Eyes
Lead Counsel
Lakota People’s Law Project

P.S. My heart is immeasurably lifted knowing that your support has given me the opportunity to remain with my family and continue defending the sovereignty of the Oceti Sakowin. Please continue to stand with the Lakota People’s Law Project in our sacred journey as we bring clean energy to Standing Rock, challenge Keystone XL, and safeguard the First Amendment, Native rights, and Unci Maka. Let’s keep the circle strong. There is nothing we can’t accomplish together.

Lakota People’s Law Project
547 South 7th #149
Bismarck, ND 58504-5859

The Lakota People’s Law Project is a part of the 501(c)(3) Romero Institute, an interfaith law and policy center. All donations are tax-deductible.

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Forgotten Women

August 18, 2018August 18, 2018 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

Forgotten Women

“Forgotten Women: The conversation of murdered and missing native women is not one North America wants to have – but it must

In the fifth in our series on the lives of ordinary women behind extraordinary stories, this month’s Forgotten Women examines how terrifyingly deep the international crisis of violence against indigenous women runs”

Warrior

August 18, 2018August 18, 2018 / aztec8888 / Leave a comment

Warrior

https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/news/haisla-hip-hop-artists-snotty-nose-rez-kids-release-powerful-warriors-video-LyvpIS3wEE6PtijLnFkWCg/

“Based out of Vancouver, BC. and hailing from the Haisla Nation / Rez in Kitimaat Village in northern British Columbia, the indigenous hip-hop group Snotty Nose Rez Kids have recently released their latest video ‘Warriors.’

In addition to the release of the video, the group also signed with RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) Records in June. RPM Records — the leading Indigenous music label in Canada — lauds the group for their fearless lyrics and unflinching perspectives.”