10/10 5TH Annual Int'l Indigenous P

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Subject: 10/10 5TH Annual Int'l Indigenous People's Day, Solidarity w...

10/10 5TH Annual Int'l Indigenous People's Day, Solidarity w...

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          TACOMA OFFICE
          P.O. BOX 5464
          TACOMA, WA 98415-0464 USA
          e-mail; bayou@xxxxxxxxx

      LEONARD PELTIER, A VICTIM OF THE MULTINATIONAL
      ENERGY CORPORATIONS

There is a lot of discussion and resistance to the corporate
globalization and how it is affecting the environment and the working
conditions of working people world wide. These things are very important
and the coming together of so many people to resist the corporate
globalization is good. For it would seem that the multinational
corporations are out seize every bit of natural and human resources
possible for their own benefit at the expense of Mother Earth and the
people who dwell upon her.

While much has been exposed about who is being harmed by all this, and a
new strong resistance is being organized, very little is being said  or
done about how these multinational corporations are assaulting the
indigenous people of the world. The alliances of resistance should not
only include environmentalists and labor activists, but also indigenous
people and their supporters. And as you speak of environmental damage,
sweatshops, relocating jobs and so on you should also speak about
Leonard Peltier who is in prison for resisting the encroachment of
multinational energy corporations on Native land, it is all connected.

The land that the U.S. Government created the reservations that they
forced Native People on was, for the most part, land that was viewed as
unneeded by the non-Native society. When the non-Natiive society
became increasingly dependent upon natural resources such as oil,
natural gas, coal, uranium and minerals for industrial production, they
found that a lot of the resources they wanted was on the remaining
Native land. The corporations hatch plans to acquire those resources.
Some times by legal means, which some times meant passing new laws (not
unlike what they have done in the area of so-called "free trade" laws
and treaties), some times they even used illegal means.

In the area of Lakota land (1868 Fort Laramie Treaty land) the
corporations found a good deal of gold, oil, coal and uranium. The
traditional Lakota people resisted and even refused to take money for
land that had already been stolen from them. Through the use of
sophisticated NASSAU satellites, the National Uranium Resource
Evaluation Program of the U.S. Geological Survey located major uranium
deposits in the Sheep Mountain area of the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota
Reservation. Knowing by past experience that the traditional Lakota
people would resist the loss of more of their land, the government,
acting in the interests of the multinational corporations, sought to
suppress the traditional Lakota people and the American Indian Movement
(AIM) that supported them.

At the same time that the government orchestrated the the Oglala
shoot-out, 133,000 acres of Pine Ridge was illegally being signed away
in Washington. The shoot-out had followed nearly three years of extreme
terrorism against the traditional Lakota people in which over 60 of them
and their supporters had been murdered. On the morning of June 26, 1975,
two unmarked cars came onto an area, in which AIM had set up a camp, in
the same manner as many of the other terrorist driveby shootings had
happened. AIM believed that they and the traditional Lakota people who
lived there were under attack. A shoot-out came about and one AIM member
and two FBI agents died. It is clear from all the evidence that this was
an act by the government to divert attention away from the illegal
signing away of Lakota land and to suppress the opposition to it. The
government was even willing to place two of its agents in harms way to
carry out their plan.  Three AIM members went on trial for the deaths of
the FBI agents. The first two were found not guilty for reason of
self-defense. When Leonard Peltier went on trial the government set out
to ensure a conviction (thus a cover-up of their own responsibility) by
fabricating evidence, using coerced witnesses and hand picking a new
judge who would not allow evidence of self-defense to be given by
Leonard's lawyers. Thus Leonard was found guilty. Over the years
Leonard's lawyers have in their appeals disproven the government's case
against Leonard.

Leonard Peltier remains in prison a victim of the multinational energy
corporations desire to gain what they want by any means needed. The
multinational corporations that have operations on Lakota treaty land
includes many of the major players in the corporate economic
globalization, such as; Chevron, Exxon, Getty Oil, General Electric,
Gulf Oil, Mobil, Shell Oil, Union Carbide to name a few.  Leonard
Peltier's case needs to be supported by all those that seek to resist
world wide domination by the multinational corporations. For his
case shows just how far these corporations and the governments that work
in their interest are will to go to get what they want. Thus, for all of
us who work for Human Rights, the Environment, Labor Rights, Indigenous
People's Survival and other such connected struggles, Leonard Peltier is
one of us. He has been in prison for over 23 years for us and we need to
be out here for him. Please help us end this great injustice and aid us
in the freeing of Leonard as soon as possible.
                                                              In
Solidarity
                                                               Arthur J.
Miller
                                                               NWLPSN
Please fill out the following if you wish to aid this struggle and get
updates on Leonard's case.

Name_______________________________________________

Organization__________________________________________

Address______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Phone_______________  E-Mail__________________________

Please return to: NWLPSN, P.O. Box 5464, Tacoma, WA 98415-0464,
USA, or e-mail it to; bayou@xxxxxxxxx

                                  5TH ANNUAL
               INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY
    SOLIDARITY WITH LEONARD PELTIER AND FIRST NATIONS
             MARCH AND RALLY/ U.S./CANADIAN BORDER
                             OCTOBER 10, 1999

MARCH STARTING POINT: 12:00 NOON, BLAINE PARK, (CORNER  OF BLAINE &
ALDER)  BLAINE, WASHINGTON

RALLY: 1:00 P.M. PEACE ARCH PARK, U.S./CANADIAN BORDER

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Our annual gathering at the U.S./Canadain Border on International
Indigenous People's Day is a coming together of activists and supporters
from both sides of the border as an expression of solidarity and
honoring the international Indigenous People's struggles. It is a
statement that the border placed upon the land does not divide us.  We
have been told to respect this day and we do so organizing a respectful
event that is suitable for Elders, children and people of all ages. We
welcome the involvement of all people of all communities in the spirit
of solidarity, honoring and respect.

ORGANIZING FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S WEEKEND
We are organizing our border march and rally as a part of a series of
events that we are calling Indigeneous People's Weekend. The following
are some of the events that we are begining to plan and organize.
  1. October 8th: INDIGENOUS  PEOPLE'S JUSTICE RALLY at the Washington
State Capital in Olympia along with an evening event.
  2. THE CARAVAN FOR JUSTICE. This would be a caravan to the border. It
has been suggested that it begin in Oregon and start off on October 9th
in Olympia then on to Tacoma, Seattle and maybe other stops. We will be
working on finding a place for it's evening stop with a meal and evening
event. It is possible this could take place on Lummi land. On the
morning of Oct. 10th the caravan would continue to Blaine for the march
and rally at the border.
  3. THE RUN FOR JUSTICE. For the last two years young people have held
a Run For Justice as part of our Indigenous People's Weekend. This year
we hope to include many more young people in this run. The
run would leave the Lummi Nation on October 9th and continue on the 10th
and would met up with the march in Blaine. There the runners would led
the march to the border.
  4. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY POTLUCK. After the rally at the border we
hope to have a potluck meal which would include an open mike for people
to express their views of the day through speaking and
music.  Though the NORTHWEST LEONARD PELTIER SUPPORT NETWORK is
sponsoring the organizing of this annual event, all individuals,
organizations and groups that support this important weekend are
encouraged to help in anyway that they can. Our contact list will be
growing but for now you can contact the following people.
1. For information and suggestions on speakers and performers contact
NWLPSN Advisor Susan Morales at: (253) 627-8435 (home phone evenings),
pager with voice mail 253-593-9631, e-mail; NatAimer@xxxxxxxx
  2. For donations, or to be placed on the NWLPSN mailing list or e-mail
list contract NWLPSN Secretary-Treasurer Carol Reed, 5201 Capitol Blvd
P.M.B. 119, Tumwater, WA 98501, (360) 943-3274, e-mail
TurquoisWm@xxxxxxxx
  3. For fliers, posters, articles, and logistically organizing contact
NWLPSN Coordinator Arthur J. Miller, P.O. Box 5464, Tacoma, WA
98415-0464, (253) 383-9108, e-mail; bayou@xxxxxxxxxx
  NWLPSN WEB SITE
http://members.aol.com/TurquoisWm/JusticeforLeonardPeltier.html

The struggles of Indigenous People, though often over looked by many,
should be of concern to all those that believe in social justice. For
within these struggle will be found direct connections to all other
social concerns, human rights, environmentalism,anti-racism, peace and
the struggle against global domination of multi-national corporations.
The following piece out of Leonard's Peltiers new book "Prison Writings;
My Life Is My Sun Dance" describes what was behind the events that
happen on Pine Ridge and why he is in prison.

  "Since that time, the uranium mining opposed at such high cost in the
early 1970s has proceeded insidiously. Lakota people today drink
contaminated water and experience a rate of miscarriage and spontaneous
abortion seven times the national average. Our sacred Black Hills,
according to the master plan, were to have been declared a "national
sacrifice area"--ultimately, were the plan to proceed, to be ringed by
more than a dozen giant coal-fired plants and twenty-five nuclear
reactors. A cat's-cradle grid of power lines was to be flung
across the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in order to carry the
power eastward. Court challenges to the horrendous environmental impact
this nuclear monstrosity would inevitably cause have blessedly slowed
the enactment of the plan; so has the drop in uranium prices caused by
the end of the Cold War; but when the uranium market starts moving up
again, watch out. The energy interests are simply biding their time for
the most profitable moment to begin yet again. The death of a people and
a way of life, not to mention the death of the land itself, never enters
into the considerations of those who would foist this abomination on the
Lakota People -- and on the people of America as well. That's why the
FBIs would come down on us so hard, because AIM and the traditional
Elders were the only ones who stood in their way. Everyone else either
didn't know, didn't care, or had sold out.  I have no doubt whatsoever
that the real motivation behind both Wounded Kneee II and the Oglala
firefight, and much of the turmoil throughout Indian Country since the
eary 1970s, was--and is -- the mining companies' desire to muffle AIM
and all traditional Indian people, who sought -- and still seek -- to
protect the land, water, and air from their thefts and depredations. In
this sad and tragic age we live in, to come to the defense of Mother
Earth is to be branded a criminal."
                                                             Leonard
Peltier