The DISH
Unbossed and unbought
news and information you can use
Vol. 13 Issue
25…Dedicated
to the Dialogue on Race…June 20, 2010
Law, Immigration,
Sovereignty and Indigenous People
By John Burl Smith
The Inter Tribal Council of
Arizona has sent a letter to Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer stating the
concerns of Native communities regarding the state's new criminal laws
pertaining to illegal immigration. The law, SB-1070, makes it a crime to be in
According to John Lewis, director of the Council, in describing the situation,
"We have a range of concerns, including tribal sovereign -- nations not
being recognized as able to define and protect their own borders as they see
fit, and the possibility that tribal citizens will be profiled by police. This
impacts all indigenous people because
Ian Record, education manager with the Native Nations Institute, whose wife is
The land of the Tohono O'odham
Nation is comprised of four non-contiguous segments, making it the second
largest Native American Nation in the United States (US). The reservation is
the largest segment, representing over 90% of the land which shares 73 miles of
border with
SB-1070 Supporters argue the law will protect the nation's borders, reduce
illegal immigration and ease the burden on taxpayers. The two most egregious
aspects of the law for the Tohono O'odham are (1) it makes the failure to carry
immigration documents a crime and (2) it gives police officers virtually
unrestricted power to detain anyone they have a "reasonable
suspicion" of being in
Lewis and other ITCA staffers traveled to
Robert Warrior, the Osage president of the Native American and Indigenous
Studies Association at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
expressed similar outrage, "Given that many thousands of indigenous people
are from communities that straddled the U.S.-Mexico border long before that
border came to be, I see this law as a tragic reminder that questions where we
are headed as indigenous peoples whose right to exist predates the borders that
now so often keep us apart."
Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned
Norris Jr. presented a resolution to the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona
opposing SB-1070 (6-4-10). All resolutions regarding SB-1070 will be presented
at the National Congress of American Indians during its mid-year meeting June
20 - 23 in
The particular problem for the Tohono O'odham is that although Native Americans
have lived in what is now Arizona since time immemorial, many tribal members
were not issued birth certificates and lack documentation establishing their
citizenship and lawful residence in the United States. Consider the Tohono
O'odham walking along state Highway 86, which bisects the reservation east and
west. Although still on their land, tribal members are vulnerable to any state
law enforcement officer with a "reasonable suspicion" that those
tribal members are illegal. The police would have the authority to question and
detain any tribal members who couldn't prove their citizenship, even though
they are on their land. SB-1070 has the potential to create tension between law
enforcement and the community not only outside the Tohono O'odham nation, but
also inside the nation on Highway 86.
Native People in the
A Good Day to
Die
On Saturday, June 12, 2010, the Dead Center Film Festival hosted the world
premiere of A Good Day to Die,
a documentary based on the life of Dennis Banks in
The story of Native People, as Banks,' and the story of the sacred
Out of these desperate times AIM
was born. Understanding the significance of the Black Hills, it is little
wonder AIM chose to make its stand at
A Good Day to Die is American history that many whites do
not want exposed. This story will not be allowed in history books because it
documents American racism and genocide. Everyone that wants to see the real
face of
US Apartheid of Indigenous Peoples (Excerpts)
By Brenda Norrell
Following the American
Revolution, the
While the Texas Kickapoo are granted free passage rights, members of the Tohono
O'odham tribe in
"Racism permeates Indian
life, where Indigenous Peoples are 'warehoused in poverty and neglect' in the
As described in this Shadow Report, "The colonialist policies of racial
subjugation have not ended for the Indigenous Peoples in the
Most appallingly, data shows the
overwhelming disparities in income, life expectancy, poverty and unemployment.
The disproportionate number of Indians in prisons is revealed even though
Native Americans are not counted separately from whites in the Department of
Justice statistics but statistics from states with higher percentages of Native
populations show that they are overrepresented in jail and prison populations.
For example, in
Further, the Special Rapporteur
on Religious Intolerance, Mr. Abdelfattah Amor drew special attention to the
forced relocation of Navajos on Black Mesa and the
Amor went on, "The observance of international law on freedom of religion
and its manifestations, in the case of the Navajo elders, the reconciliation of
their human rights and other legitimate concerns were not taken into account.
No consideration was given their spiritual practices and beliefs by the
Miguel Alfonso Martinez, UN special rapporteur on treaties, agreements and
other constructive arrangements between states and Indigenous Peoples'
populations, reported that, "Probably the most blatant case in point is
the
About
Me: The "Consolidated Indigenous Shadow Report" was reviewed
and this article written by Brenda Norrell, a news reporter in Indian country
for 23 years and staff reporter for the Navajo Times. She is currently in her
18th year as an AP correspondent living on the Navajo Nation. She
publishes a blog at www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
and can be contacted at brendanorrell@yahoo.com
Altered Mural Fuels Racial Debate
By Dennis Wagner
A group of artists has been asked
to lighten the faces of children depicted in a giant public mural at a 
school.
The project's leader says he was ordered to lighten the skin tone after complaints
about the children's ethnicity. But the school's principal says the request was
only to fix shading and had nothing to do with political pressure.
The "Go on Green"
mural, which covers two walls outside
R.E. Wall, director of
Wall said school
Lane said that he received only three complaints about the mural and that his
request for a touch-up had nothing to do with political pressure. "We
asked them to fix the shading on the children's faces," he said. "We
were looking at it from an artistic view. Nothing at all to do with race."
City Councilman Steve Blair
spearheaded a public campaign on his talk show at
Blair could not be reached for
comment Thursday. In audio archives of his radio show, Blair discusses the
mural. He insists the controversy isn't about racism but says the mural is
intended to create racial controversy where none existed before. "Personally,
I think it's pathetic," he says. "You have changed the ambience of
that building to excite some kind of diversity power struggle that doesn't
exist in
Faces in the mural were drawn from photographs of children enrolled at
The public art, funded by a
$5,000 state grant through the
Tribes, Oil Spill and News Black Out
By Monica Davis
Native people and people of color from around the nation are organizing for the benefit of individuals affected by the Gulf oil catastrophe. News wires are reporting that, "Teresa Two Bulls, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe has asked the National Congress of American Indians to hold a meeting in New Orleans to discuss how the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has affected Native Americans in the area." (AP)
Last week, John Boyd, President of the National Association of Black Farmers called for a meeting with BP officials. Boyd says he is concerned that black and Native American farmers and fishermen are being overlooked in the search for farmers and fishermen whose lands and fishing grounds have been polluted.
In a statement, Boyd said, "We are calling for a meeting with British Petroleum (BP) officials to discuss the losses of black farmers and fishermen. Black farmers and fishermen must be compensated at the same levels as whites. We have finished last for too long when it comes to being compensated for our business and farm losses."
Despite the health risks
associated with oil clean up, minorities want a piece of the millions of
dollars in cleanup and remediation contracts. Only the EPA, headed by Lisa
Jackson, an African-American, seems to have considerable small/minority/SBA
Section 8(a) participation on services ranging from water and soil chemistry to
waste disposal. But other services include everything from skimming to cleaning
wildlife refuges to dredging to create huge artificial islands (favored by the
Army Corps of Engineers and thus a bane to fisherman) food and transportation
services. Black-owned public relations and marketing firms like Bright Moments
in
Activists want to make sure that people of color are compensated for their spill related business and income losses, and that the health issues associated with contact with oil polluted animals and water are considered. The double-edged sword of accepting and working an oil remediation contract isn't lost on prospective contract recipients.
There are no hard numbers on the demographics of the people hired by BP. A look at the legal form for participants in Vessels of Opportunity program shows inquiries into the make, model, vessel capacity, and fuel capacity of the boat being used, but no questions about the race, gender or even date of birth of the trainee. Patrick Kelley, a data collector for the U.S. Coast Guard, said that while the petrochemical giant has no other method to track those employed, they have developed an informal approach to demographics: checking the spelling of the names on the agreements. Using that method, he estimates that about 200 Vietnamese or Cambodian fishers have gotten jobs, about a third of a total of about 600 hires, he said. This number represents less than18 percent of the total 3,200 people who have attended trainings and received certification to work in the cleanup. (Source: http://thelensnola.org/2010/05/24/4860/)
Reports from Grand Isle, Louisiana note an alleged news black out. James Fox, a documentary filmmaker told a reporter that he is "a little freaked out" about a news black out which he says he wouldn't have believed, had he not seen it with his own eyes. Preliminary investigations on Grand Isle, five to ten miles from epicenter of spill, show scores of helicopters, people with badges, and an intense feeling of being watched. (www.manticoregroup.com/radio/2010/06jun/jamesfox2010.mp3)
Fox spoke with two teenaged boys
whose father is working on a clean up crew. "It turns out basically they
have a complete media black out, with people being arrested for talking to the
media and an aura of fear." Air space above the spill has been closed by
the government. No photography is allowed; and unnamed people are arresting
photographers in a state park that abuts the Gulf.
There are Allegations of Hummers, with troops in full gear, police arresting
people with cameras, pulling cars over. It is still unclear as to who is
arresting the people with cameras, according to people who are on the ground.
Fox says it appears that BP has taken over the complete operation. People are
reportedly petrified, too scared to talk, and will not make eye contact with
strangers and reporters.
Rumors of martial law remain strong. "It was just eerie." In that
light, what is really happening to the African American and Native American
populations who have historically been targeted for civil rights abuses. Locals told Fox that the media isn't
even reporting a tenth of what is going on in the Gulf. Not by a long shot.
The human catastrophe is definitely being underreported on a national level.
Black fishermen, seeking jobs or contracts with the clean up crew have been
brushed off. One man told a
One black fisherman stands to lose more than $100,000 a year in profits from
his commercial shrimp business. This is big business and black fishermen are
getting the shaft: first from the destruction of their fishing grounds; then
when they do not receive remediation contracts.
What is going on with the tribes and vulnerable minorities in the
What is REALLY going on at Grand
Isle--besides a lock down?
Disgruntled wants to know: I
watched President Obama's address to the nation regarding the
Disgruntled
says: As an economist, I have been concerned of late that those who
profess to be students of the dismal science, at least the ones broadcasting on
mainstream media, seem to think the economy is no longer in a recession. With a
few stats at their disposal, they have proclaimed that we in the
Disgruntled
feels: Unacceptable! The international firestorm of criticism over the
senseless murder of peace activists by masked Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)
aboard the
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
Email www.ft.com ...Energy subsidies put at $550bn a year...By Javier Blas...The world economy spends more than $550bn in energy subsidies a year, about 75 per cent more than previously thought, according to the first exhaustive study of the financial assistance devoted to oil, natural gas and coal consumption. The study by the International Energy Agency, the western countries' oil watchdog, says phasing out subsidies over the medium term, as agreed last year by the Group of 20 leading industrial economies, would trigger vast savings in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. So, when Bernie Sanders proposed phasing out $35 Billion in oil subsidies, that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Email www.nola.com
...Oil Spills, Ecology, and the Food Chain...By Vanessa Barrington...While we
become sick to our stomachs watching the spreading plumes of oil in the gulf,
viewing photos of oil slicked birds, and footage of oil covered beaches in
Florida and Alabama, let's take a step back and think about the cycle of life.
The reason disasters like this happen is due to a lack of understanding that,
though we may be at the top of the food chain, we are not separate from it.
Even though this is a lesson we were supposed to have learned in the first
grade, we have separated ourselves from nature in an attempt to manage it and
use its resources without a thought for how this impacts the entire system. The
oil spill is a 12,000 mile wide, 50-million gallon proof point that we have
been wrong. The oceans are engines of life for the entire planet. Scientists
believe that all life on earth began in the sea about four billion years ago.
Our ancestors were the first tiny creatures that crawled onto the land. Today
life depends on the ocean. Oceans are where life originated and hold the keys
to our survival. Half of the world's oxygen is produced in the ocean. The BP
oil spill is the largest in history. How far will it go? How much of the
world's oceans will it affect? All of this remains to be seen, but we do know
that each tier of the marine food chain is affected by the oil spill. The only
thing we don't know yet is how widespread it will be.
Email www.huffingtonpost.com ...Sam Stein
reports: "In what appeared to be an unscripted admission,