Author: aztec8888

Pine Ridge Needs Your Help

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Stand with Pine Ridge: Federal Flood Relief Needed Now!
Months after the Pine Ridge Reservation was flooded by devastating winter storms, it’s still awaiting its own federal disaster declaration. Tell President Trump to do the right thing—declare an official public infrastructure disaster for the reservation and provide for the Oglala Lakota Nation.

From: https://www.lakotalaw.org/

We are now several months into our team effort to remind FEMA of its obligations to Indian Country. With the support of friends like you, we have made real progress: FEMA has now pledged to assist individual homeowners on the Pine Ridge Reservation with repairs—a major victory which will generate millions of dollars in aid.

That said, the federal process isn’t over, and we must push Washington D.C. one more time to get us across the finish line. Repairs to our public infrastructure — roads, water systems, bridges, culverts, and more — are still unfunded. We estimate that at least $10 million in damage exists, and that’s why politicians in D.C. need to know you’re paying attention.

 

Pine-Ridge-Flooding-screenshot_Teton

Please watch our new video, then send an email to the White House telling President Trump to grant the public assistance disaster declaration that Pine Ridge needs for infrastructure support.

When poor communities suffer disasters, they become even poorer — unless FEMA steps in to level the playing field. In the past, FEMA’s record has been terrible here at Pine Ridge. Last year, when a hail storm did millions of dollars of damage to homes, FEMA deemed the fallout “cosmetic” and did nothing. This time around, we’re committed to getting a better result for the people of one of the poorest communities in the nation.

So far, moral support from friends like you has helped us work with Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner and the emergency management office here to bring more than a dozen skilled workers to the reservation. Together, we’ve raised money directly for the tribe, helped fill a warehouse with in-kind donations, and provided expert media and public outreach to keep the community and the wider world informed.

Now, the tribe’s request for infrastructure assistance is on Trump’s desk, and we’re awaiting his response. Watch our new video, sign our letter to the White House, and share this action with your networks. Please make your voice heard on behalf of Pine Ridge one more time.

Wopila — Your solidarity can keep the momentum going!

Chase Iron Eyes
Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project

Special thanks to the United Methodist Committee on Relief for offering essential financial support to our team during this period of crisis. Together with UMCOR and allies like you, we’ve been able to make a huge difference. Now it’s time for one last push to bring FEMA into the fold!

 

The MMIWG Report

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Opinion

As An Indigenous Woman, I Was Triggered By The MMIWG Report. Here’s What Needs To Happen Now

‘The true power of the inquiry does not lie in the hands of the government. It lies with us—the survivors, families and people who the inquiry is about.’

by Andrea Landry

Andrea-Landry-mmiwg-report-personal-essay-1044x783https://www.chatelaine.com/opinion/as-an-indigenous-woman-i-was-triggered-by-the-mmiwg-report/

**Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls   (MMIWG)

Keystone Pipeline Updates

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Trump claims he didn’t get any gratitude over Keystone

“On Thursday, Trump claimed to an audience in Ohio that he never heard any gratitude from TransCanada Corp., the company behind the controversial project, after he signed an executive order approving it.”

https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/1198132291908/?jwsource=cl

 

Court delays block Keystone XL pipeline construction in 2019

May 3, 2019

“BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — An executive for the company proposing the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada’s oil sands into the U.S. says it has missed the 2019 construction season due to court delays.”

https://apnews.com/68d25c64d1ea4ae39d142ad25788bda5

May 27 2019 – Fighting Tar Sands Expansion

“In 2018, Indigenous-led opposition to each of the three major proposed tar sands oil pipelines in North America continued to spotlight the outcomes of failing to secure free, prior and informed consent, alongside the pipelines’ threats to the climate and broader environment. The Trans Mountain pipeline saw the most spectacular setbacks, with Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal quashing the project’s approvals and permits, ruling that both the federal government’s consultation with First Nations communities and its environmental assessments were inadequate.1As former sponsor Kinder Morgan exited the project, Ottawa finalized its extraordinary purchase of the pipeline for C$4.5 billion.”

https://lastrealindians.com/news/2019/5/27/may-27-2019-fighting-tar-sands-expansion

 

May 28 2019 – Trump Gives False Information about Keystone XL Pipeline at Meeting with Business Leaders in Japan

“Tokyo, Japan (May 28th, 2019) – While meeting with business leaders in Japan President Trump gave false information regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline. TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) announced on May 6th that the KXL pipeline was delayed due to “ongoing legal challenges” many of which involving Indigenous communities, including the Indigenous Environmental Network.”

https://lastrealindians.com/news/2019/5/28/trump-gives-false-information-about-keystone-xl-pipeline-at-meeting-with-business-leaders-in-japan

 

Keystone Pipeline Maps

http://www.keystone-xl.com/kxl-101/maps/

 

transcanada-keystone-xl-pipeline-map

Water is Life

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FountainBut we are wasting it…I have been working on a thread on the Internations site:

https://www.internations.org/forum/thread/4460461

Here is what we write about there, and water is a topic we have discussed:

For years we have been in a war on misinformation. The misinformation about our radically changing climate is now being exposed. If you do not believe it, it just has not effected you personally yet. The problems are here now, people are dying now, crops are beginning to fail now. What can we do, what are you doing, what is the plan in your community?

So far we have discussed these topics:

Arctic Sea Ice/Antarctica Glaciers
Artificial Intelligence
Building sustainable infrastructure
Climate change and what causes it
Climate change and health implications
Climate Change Refugees
CO2
Current extreme weather events around the world
Desalination of sea water
Earth Day
Economic inequality and how that effects the efforts to halt climate change
Energy consumption/storage
Extinction Rebellion
Food production and consumption
Food and water shortages
Forms of energy production and energy innovations
Fossil Fuel Industry
Greenland Ice Sheet/Sea Level Rise
Individual efforts to change
Innovations
Investing in sustainable industries
Impact of climate change on financial sectors
Impact of climate change on indigenous populations
Impact of climate change on animal and plant species
IPCC Report
Mass extinction of animal species
Melting of Glaciers
Methane Gas and Melting Perma-Frost
Methods to reduce carbon emissions
Ocean Acidification
Political will to make necessary change
Problems with plastics in our environment
Public protest around the world regarding the lack of action from governments
Recycling efforts
Reports and Scientific Journals on Climate change
Solar Energy
Urban Greening
Waste and waste management
Water pollution
Wave Energy
Wind Energy
World wide efforts to force government leaders to set environmental policies

This thread has almost 2000 views. Please do use the links provided here to further discuss and research this very important topic. Share your ideas. What is happening where you live?

The week of Earth Day there were protests around the world to draw the attention of government leaders to focus on creating policies and regulations that mitigate the crisis. Notice that these protests have been sustained over many weeks. The urgency is felt all over the world. People are waking up that this is an emergency, a crisis that needs to be faced now, not later in some hazy future.
In addition, April 11th was a very bad day for all concerned about getting and sharing information. The arrest of Julian Assange directly effects news, reports, and information in the public interests – and that includes everything related to the climate crisis.
As we move into another hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere, let us put our government leaders to task about how their policies are going to help people, not only in our own countries, but also in less developed countries struggling to overcome devastating floods, storms, and fires.

Please support your posts with links to information that we can all read and analyze.

Stop the KXL Pipeline

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Lakota Law
I was born on Cheyenne River Nation in South Dakota. Several years back, after a lifetime of activism took me far and wide, I returned. Today I make my home close to the place where I was born, and I love my homeland.

Keystone Protest, courtesy of the Associated Press
View the Video

This past month, just as our changing climate brought another violent storm to Indian Country, President Trump issued executive orders and a “Presidential Permit” meant to fast-track the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL). He wants to override lawfully required — and much needed — environmental oversight. As I recently wrote to you, KXL poses serious threats to Cheyenne River, and it’s vitally important to stop the pipeline now.

Trump’s invasion of Grandmother Earth and his “Presidential Permits” violate due process and separation of powers. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform needs to investigate and undo these unlawful actions. Watch our video and ask your congressional rep to take action now.

As my colleague Chase Iron Eyes details in our video, TransCanada does not have our free, prior, and informed consent to build this pipeline through unceded treaty lands just a few miles from Cheyenne River.

Map showing proposed KXL pipeline

Part of me can almost understand why Trump and his oil industry cronies are avoiding asking us for permission and making up new rules — because they know we would never say yes to the desecration of our sacred land and attendant dangers to our water and people. Another black snake and a Man camp just 13 miles from my home? Absolutely not.

That’s why your voice is needed more than ever. The current US House of Representatives has shown it isn’t afraid to stand up to Trump and look into his many, many shady dealings. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her fellows on this committee will hear you when you reach out on our behalf. Please do so today! Together, let’s stop KXL now, before more damage to my oyate — and to Unci Maka — is done.

Wopila — together, let’s encourage Congress to do the right thing!

Madonna Thunder Hawk
Cheyenne River Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project

P.S. Trump is doing everything he can to fast-track KXL and railroad Native communities without our consent — again! Your help is required to protect Grandmother Earth and my people from his unwanted advances. Please email your representative today. It’s time for congress to uphold due process of law and stop the KXL pipeline before it spills and destroys Native lives.
Lakota People's Law Project
Lakota People’s Law Project
547 South 7th #149
Bismarck, ND 58504-5859

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

Julian Assange: April 11, 2019

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The arrest of Julian Assange is a signal of the end of a free press. A free press is the eyes and ears of a free people. This attack on dissent is directly related to the movement to end fossil fuels and the building of oil and gas pipelines. It was the presence of the independent press and social media that helped get the word out about Standing Rock. There were enormous efforts to stop media coverage of the actions at Standing Rock.

Now…

This is when the shutdown of dissent begins in earnest. It is time for action – past time!

https://www.sparrowmedia.net/2019/04/statement-from-chelsea-mannings-support-team-regarding-todays-unsealed-indictment-and-the-purely-punitive-nature-of-chelseas-continued-detention/

“Alexandria, VA — Today, Chelsea Manning’s legal team will file a reply brief in their appeal asking the Fourth Circuit to vacate District Court Judge Hilton’s March 8 finding of civil contempt. Ms. Manning, a staunch advocate for government transparency, asserted legal grounds for her refusal to participate in what she views as an assault on the free press. She remains in detention as a result of the contempt finding. The Assange indictment disclosed this morning strengthens their claims of grand jury abuse, say Manning’s attorneys.”

https://riseuptimes.org/2019/04/11/assange-arrested-call-for-protests-and-phone-calls-also-links-to-articles/  Assange Arrested: Call for protests and phone calls; also links to articles.

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/04/11/breaking-moreno-withdraws-asylum-as-assange-is-arrested/

”

WikiLeaks tweeted that Ecuador allowed British police into the London embassy to arrest Assange at around 10:30 am British time, 5:30 am in Washington.

The U.S. charged Assange with conspiracy to hack a computer government computer related to the 2010 release of classified information, according to the criminal complaint unsealed hours after his arrest. The indictment does not charge Assange with espionage.”

 

Assange

Pine Ridge: Help Needed

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Take Action: Pine Ridge Needs Federal Disaster Relief!
Tue, Apr 2, 2019 5:52 pm
Chase Iron Eyes (info@lakotalaw.org)To:you Details
Lakota Law

The Pine Ridge Reservation is flooded! The aftermath of Winter Storm Ulmer, which hit the Midwest on March 13th, is still wreaking havoc on the territory where I now reside.

Lakota Law
View the Video

Our tribal president, Julian Bear Runner, has been working around the clock with a barebones staff for the past two weeks to keep catastrophe from turning into apocalypse. I was honored to serve as President Bear Runner’s campaign manager last year, and I am all the more pleased that we have a leader of his character during this crisis.

Join OST President Bear Runner in calling for a federal declaration of disaster in South Dakota. Please send an email to President Trump today!

You can also assist in other ways. Here’s a page we set up, working directly with the OST president’s office, with critical information about help needed by the tribe.

I and other members of the Lakota People’s Law Project team have now set up shop at tribal headquarters in Pine Ridge to join the effort. Over the past several days, we’ve observed that 1,500 tribal citizens remain displaced from their homes and 75-100 structures have been damaged by the flooding. 500 people remain without access to potable water, culvert systems are plugged, and roads are impassable.

Pine Ridge now faces millions of dollars of damage. Recovery will take a long time.

Meanwhile, the tribe is woefully understaffed and under-resourced, which is why my team is in the process of recruiting grant support to assemble an even larger group of qualified professionals: engineers, skilled laborers, heavy equipment operators, grant writers, etc. This force will untangle the complicated web of prerequisites coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State of South Dakota that must be met before they will provide assistance. We will need help from these institutions to navigate the waters ahead.

Yo Park in Pine Ridge, photo by Kimmy Blanco

In coordination with President Bear Runner’s office, our team will be issuing regular updates and press releases — please stay tuned.

I would be remiss to not point out that President Trump — even as many of our families lack potable water and medical support due to a climate-related catastrophe — issued an executive order on March 29th attempting to circumvent a Montana court’s injunction against the Keystone XL oil pipeline (KXL). As you likely know, KXL is slated to run through unceded treaty territory in South Dakota, over the protestations of my people.

Trump’s executive order is wrong on so many levels it’s hard to track them all. Whether or not he grants us emergency assistance for the flooding, we are going to fight him tooth and nail on KXL.

We will keep you posted as this flood relief work unfolds in the coming days. Please stay tuned, remain alert for calls to action, and pray for us.

Wopila! — Thank you!

Chase Iron Eyes
Lead Counsel
Lakota People’s Law Project
Lakota People's Law Project
Lakota People’s Law Project
547 South 7th #149
Bismarck, ND 58504-5859

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

News From Canada

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/undrip-canada-bill-c-262-1.5080102

Canada would be the first country in the world to harmonize its federal laws with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) if the Senate passes Bill C-262, according to the chair of the UN permanent forum on Indigenous issues.

 

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde is urging the Senate to pass Bill C-262, a private member’s bill tabled by NDP MP Romeo Saganash. (CBC News)