Zainnia Vegas and Her Lakota Grandmother Blackwolfe

Zainnia Vegas (left) is with beloved Lakota grandmother Blackwolfe on the prairie in South Dakota. Born to Irish/Blackfoot and Puerto Rican parents, Zainnia traces her Borikua heritage on her mother's side to the early migrations of Puerto Rican farmworkers and merchant marines to California and Hawaii -- where she still has family. She's never been to Boriken, but Ziannia is very proud of her Taino heritage.

Taino in the Southeast US pre-1492

[Taino Indians lived at least as far north as the Smoky Mountains. ¿Como? ¿Puertorriqueños en América del Norte antes de que Cristóbal Colón? ¡Por seguro! Forensic geologists and Native American scholars are opening the flood gates of new knowledge about North America’s past.]


The petroglyphs from Arecibo, PR and Atlanta, GA both portray a Taino guardian spirit.

Puertoricans came to North America before Columbus, March 12, 2013, Examiner.com 

Winters by the Lake

I grew up near what was Glacial Lake Iroquois and is still Seneca country. 100+ inches of snow per season, blinding blizzards, 20 foot snow mountains erected by plows, cavernous snow forts and endless snowball wars were common. Big snow just wasn't a big deal and the storms were never named. It's what we knew and expected in winter: 100 day seasons of bone-chilling air, house length icicles, sledding and tobogganing, ice skating, snow angels, frozen fingers and toes. This storm -- Nemo -- brings me back to those wintry days of joy near the lake.

Ruzena Maribel Santamaría Mamani: Bolivia's new ambassador to Ecuador

Do American Indians Look "Hispanic" or Do "Hispanics" Look American Indian?

srikrishnajay...

- There is a problem in the U.S. with the label Hispanic.
- The problem is people are redefining the term.
- The correct term for the label Hispanic; refers to those peoples of origin of Southern Europe. [Hispania]
- Here are some facts that can help you understand.
Hispanic is a term that goes back to the time of Romans [The true Latinos].
- Hispanic is someone of, from, or pertaining to the historical region of Hispania.
- Hispania is the name that Romans used to call the southern part of Europe, what is now "modern" Spain.
- From Hispania you get España.
- The Romans used the term Hispanus in Latin to refer those from Hispania (Spain).
- Hispanus is Latin for the Castilian (Spanish) word Hispano.
- In todays days now the term has changed and people are misusing this label, specially the U.S. Who considers "Hispanic " anyone who lives in the United States of "Latin America" Origin and can be of any Race, Black/African descent, White/Caucasian, Asian and/or Amerindian/Native American.
- The term of Hispanic in the United States is obviously wrong and Idiotic.

Something's Moving

Survivors of a U.S. boarding school for the Lakota are breaking the chain of trauma in order to heal their spirits, their community and the country.

Take Action with the Dakota-Lakota-Nakota Human Rights Advocacy Coalition

Related:
The Porto Rican Indians of the Carlisle School

Dakota Philosopher: Charles Eastman and American Indian Thought by David Martinez

Dakota Philosopher: Charles Eastman and American Indian Thought by David Martinez

Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa), 1858 - 1939, was a American Indian author, physician, philosopher and reformer. He straddled two worlds in his life and writing. The author of Indian Boyhood was raised in the traditional way after the 1862 U.S.–Dakota War. His father later persuaded him study Christianity, and attend medical school. But when Eastman served as a government doctor during the Wounded Knee massacre, he became disillusioned about Americans’ capacity to live up to their own ideals.

While Eastman’s contemporaries viewed him as “a great American and a true philosopher,” Indian scholars have long dismissed Eastman’s work as assimilationist. Now, for the first time, his philosophy as manifested in his writing is examined in detail. David Martínez explores Eastman’s views on the U.S.–Dakota War, Dakota and Ojibwe relations, Dakota sacred history, and citizenship in the Progressive Era, claiming for him a long overdue place in America’s intellectual pantheon.

“A compelling, innovative, and provocative reading of the work of Charles Eastman. Martínez has achieved a new and deepened understanding of the importance of Charles Eastman to his times, to Native intellectual history...”
Robert Allen Warrior, The People and the Word: Reading Native Nonfiction

“Martínez makes a unique contribution to the ongoing exploration of the early twentieth-century generation of Indian intellectuals, offering literary interpretations of historical texts and taking particular aim at the connections between intellectual history and philosophy.”
Philip Deloria, Indians in Unexpected Places

David Martínez is of Pima descent and he is an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community.

Thanksgiving: The National Day of Mourning - Text of 1970 Speech by Wamsutta, an Aquinnah Wampanoag Elder

Frank James (1923 - February 20, 2001) was known to the Wampanoag people as Wamsutta. In 1970, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts invited him to speak at Plymouth's annual Thanksgiving feast. When the text of Mr. James’ speech was revealed before dinner, Massachusetts "disinvited" him.

Wamsutta refused to revise his speech and left the event. He went to the hill near the statue of the Massasoit, the Wampanoag leader during the Pilgrims' arrival in 1620. There, overlooking Plymouth Harbor and the replica of the Mayflower, Frank James recited the speech that Massachusetts Commonwealth had refused to hear:

I speak to you as a man -- a Wampanoag Man. I am a proud man, proud of my ancestry, my accomplishments won by a strict parental direction ("You must succeed - your face is a different color in this small Cape Cod community!"). I am a product of poverty and discrimination from these two social and economic diseases. I, and my brothers and sisters, have painfully overcome, and to some extent we have earned the respect of our community. We are Indians first - but we are termed "good citizens." Sometimes we are arrogant but only because society has pressured us to be so.

It is with mixed emotion that I stand here to share my thoughts. This is a time of celebration for you - celebrating an anniversary of a beginning for the white man in America. A time of looking back, of reflection. It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People.

Even before the Pilgrims landed it was common practice for explorers to capture Indians, take them to Europe and sell them as slaves for 220 shillings apiece. The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn and beans. Mourt's Relation describes a searching party of sixteen men. Mourt goes on to say that this party took as much of the Indians' winter provisions as they were able to carry.

Massasoit, the great Sachem of the Wampanoag, knew these facts, yet he and his People welcomed and befriended the settlers of the Plymouth Plantation. Perhaps he did this because his Tribe had been depleted by an epidemic. Or his knowledge of the harsh oncoming winter was the reason for his peaceful acceptance of these acts. This action by Massasoit was perhaps our biggest mistake. We, the Wampanoag, welcomed you, the white man, with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end; that before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people.

What happened in those short 50 years? What has happened in the last 300 years? History gives us facts and there were atrocities; there were broken promises - and most of these centered around land ownership. Among ourselves we understood that there were boundaries, but never before had we had to deal with fences and stone walls. But the white man had a need to prove his worth by the amount of land that he owned. Only ten years later, when the Puritans came, they treated the Wampanoag with even less kindness in converting the souls of the so-called "savages." Although the Puritans were harsh to members of their own society, the Indian was pressed between stone slabs and hanged as quickly as any other "witch."

And so down through the years there is record after record of Indian lands taken and, in token, reservations set up for him upon which to live. The Indian, having been stripped of his power, could only stand by and watch while the white man took his land and used it for his personal gain. This the Indian could not understand; for to him, land was survival, to farm, to hunt, to be enjoyed. It was not to be abused. We see incident after incident, where the white man sought to tame the "savage" and convert him to the Christian ways of life. The early Pilgrim settlers led the Indian to believe that if he did not behave, they would dig up the ground and unleash the great epidemic again.

The white man used the Indian's nautical skills and abilities. They let him be only a seaman -- but never a captain. Time and time again, in the white man's society, we Indians have been termed "low man on the totem pole.

Has the Wampanoag really disappeared? There is still an aura of mystery. We know there was an epidemic that took many Indian lives - some Wampanoags moved west and joined the Cherokee and Cheyenne. They were forced to move. Some even went north to Canada! Many Wampanoag put aside their Indian heritage and accepted the white man's way for their own survival. There are some Wampanoag who do not wish it known they are Indian for social or economic reasons.

What happened to those Wampanoags who chose to remain and live among the early settlers? What kind of existence did they live as "civilized" people? True, living was not as complex as life today, but they dealt with the confusion and the change. Honesty, trust, concern, pride, and politics wove themselves in and out of their [the Wampanoags'] daily living. Hence, he was termed crafty, cunning, rapacious, and dirty.

History wants us to believe that the Indian was a savage, illiterate, uncivilized animal. A history that was written by an organized, disciplined people, to expose us as an unorganized and undisciplined entity. Two distinctly different cultures met. One thought they must control life; the other believed life was to be enjoyed, because nature decreed it. Let us remember, the Indian is and was just as human as the white man. The Indian feels pain, gets hurt, and becomes defensive, has dreams, bears tragedy and failure, suffers from loneliness, needs to cry as well as laugh. He, too, is often misunderstood.

The white man in the presence of the Indian is still mystified by his uncanny ability to make him feel uncomfortable. This may be the image the white man has created of the Indian; his "savageness" has boomeranged and isn't a mystery; it is fear; fear of the Indian's temperament!

High on a hill, overlooking the famed Plymouth Rock, stands the statue of our great Sachem, Massasoit. Massasoit has stood there many years in silence. We the descendants of this great Sachem have been a silent people. The necessity of making a living in this materialistic society of the white man caused us to be silent. Today, I and many of my people are choosing to face the truth. We ARE Indians!

Although time has drained our culture, and our language is almost extinct, we the Wampanoags still walk the lands of Massachusetts. We may be fragmented, we may be confused. Many years have passed since we have been a people together. Our lands were invaded. We fought as hard to keep our land as you the whites did to take our land away from us. We were conquered, we became the American prisoners of war in many cases, and wards of the United States Government, until only recently.

Our spirit refuses to die. Yesterday we walked the woodland paths and sandy trails. Today we must walk the macadam highways and roads. We are uniting We're standing not in our wigwams but in your concrete tent. We stand tall and proud, and before too many moons pass we'll right the wrongs we have allowed to happen to us.

We forfeited our country. Our lands have fallen into the hands of the aggressor. We have allowed the white man to keep us on our knees. What has happened cannot be changed, but today we must work towards a more humane America, a more Indian America, where men and nature once again are important; where the Indian values of honor, truth, and brotherhood prevail.

You the white man are celebrating an anniversary. We the Wampanoags will help you celebrate in the concept of a beginning. It was the beginning of a new life for the Pilgrims. Now, 350 years later it is a beginning of a new determination for the original American: the American Indian.

There are some factors concerning the Wampanoags and other Indians across this vast nation. We now have 350 years of experience living amongst the white man. We can now speak his language. We can now think as a white man thinks. We can now compete with him for the top jobs. We're being heard; we are now being listened to. The important point is that along with these necessities of everyday living, we still have the spirit, we still have the unique culture, we still have the will and, most important of all, the determination to remain as Indians. We are determined, and our presence here this evening is living testimony that this is only the beginning of the American Indian, particularly the Wampanoag, to regain the position in this country that is rightfully ours.

The 1st 'Official' Thanksgiving Proclaimed June 29, 1676 Following Massacre of Pequot Indians

The 1621 feast between the Pilgrims and the Indians was not the first official Thanksgiving. On June 20, 1676, following the massacre of 700-800 Pequot Indians in Connecticut, the council of Charlestown, Massachusetts unanimously voted to proclaim June 29, 1676, as a day of celebration and Thanksgiving. The following statement was read:

"The Holy God having by a long and Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations in and by the present Warr with the Heathen Natives of this land, written and brought to pass bitter things against his own Covenant people in this wilderness, yet so that we evidently discern that in the midst of his judgments he hath remembered mercy, having remembered his Footstool in the day of his sore displeasure against us for our sins, with many singular Intimations of his Fatherly Compassion, and regard; reserving many of our Towns from Desolation Threatened, and attempted by the Enemy, and giving us especially of late with many of our Confederates many signal Advantages against them, without such Disadvantage to ourselves as formerly we have been sensible of, if it be the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, It certainly bespeaks our positive Thankfulness, when our Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed; and fearing the Lord should take notice under so many Intimations of his returning mercy, we should be found an Insensible people, as not standing before Him with Thanksgiving, as well as lading him with our Complaints in the time of pressing Afflictions."

Source: Native Village

THE MASHANTUCKET PEQUOT MUSEUM: The engraving above depicts a stylized view of the assault on the Pequot fort at Mystic. More than 700 Pequot Indians were believed to have been killed during the massacre led by Capt. John Mason in 1637. This engraving was made in 1638.

A Seneca Thanksgiving Prayer

Thanksgiving Prayer from the Seneca (Iroquois), translated by Chuck Larsen, Seneca


You said that we should always be thankful
For our earth and for each other
So it is that we are gathered here
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.
Now again the smoke rises
And again we offer prayers

You said that food should be placed beside us
And it should be ours in exchange for our labor.
You thought that ours should be a world
where green grass of many kinds should grow

You said that some should be medicines
And that one should be Ona'o the sacred food, our sister corn
You gave to her two clinging sisters
beautiful Oa'geta, our sister beans
and bountiful Nyo'sowane, our sister squash
The three sacred sisters; they who sustain us.
This is what you thought, Lord of the Sky.

Thus did you think to provide for us
And you ordered that when the warm season comes,
That we should see the return of life
And remember you, and be thankful,
and gather here by the sacred fire.

So now again the smoke arises
We the people offer our prayers
We speak to you through the rising smoke
We are thankful, Lord of the Sky.

Source: Native Village

Happy Thanksgiving!

Denise Juneau: 1st American Indian Elected Statewide in Montana

Denise Juneau won her bid to become Montana's State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

A member of Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes, Juneau is the first American Indian woman elected to statewide office in Montana, and only the third tribal member ever elected statewide.

Juneau defeated Republican Elaine Sollie Herman -- a candidate caught in a racial controversy for referring to her opponent as "a young Indian girl" in a plea for conservative support. Juneau won by a margin of 51% to 44%.

(See Juneau's political ad below.)

In addition to Juneau, INDN's List reports that 22 American Indians won elective office in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming.

Congratulations to Juneau and all of the winners on INDN's List.

Di'neh-Navajo of Arizona: John McCain is the Anti-Christ

A campaign of greed has led to the forced displacement of Arizona's Di'neh-Navajo, the disfigurement of children, exploding rates of cancer, the deaths of thousands, and the theft and despoilment of sacred lands. In simpler terms -- genocide.

The culprit?

Senator John McCain and his financial benefactor, the Peabody Energy Corp (Peabody Western Coal Company).

To the gentle, matrilineal Di'neh, John McCain is "the Anti-Christ of the Black Mesa".

Links:
John McCain - The Butcher of Big Mt.
McCain, Bennet Freeze & Forced Removal of Navajo: '74 - '96
BLACK MESA INDIGENOUS SUPPORT
A Tragedy- GENOCIDE ! Right here in America!!
VANISHING PRAYER - Media Player - Part 1.
VANISHING PRAYER - Media Player - Part 2.
ABOUT THE Di'neh
Navajo Indians targeted for genocide by Sen. John McCain

U.S. "Minority" Population Surpasses 100MM

Update: See Denise Oliver's "Minorities" now the Majority in key States in the US in which she calls DKos progressives to paint Texas and Florida, Arizona, Mississippi and Nevada blue by 2012. It's a great goal. She also questions the labeling of Americans of color as "minorities" .

According to its latest population projections, the so-called "minority" population in the United States reached 102,529,590 as of July 2007 -- a 2.4% increase from the year before. That's fully one-third (34%) of the total U.S. population of 301.6 million (exclusive of the populations of U.S. territories).

The U.S. population included 45.5 million Latinos (excluding the 4MM residents of Puerto Rico), or 15.1% of the total population; 40.7 million African Americans (13.5%); 15.2 million Asian Americans (5.0%); 4.5 million Native Americans (1.5%); and 1 million Pacific Islanders.

California (20.9 million) and Texas (12.5 million) alone accounted for 32% of all the U.S. minority population.

Hawaii (75.3%), California (57.3%), Texas (52.1%) and New Mexico (57.7), plus the District of Columbia (67.5%), are now majority minority states.

Additionally, minorities comprised 31-42% of the population in sixteen (16) other states.

States with the fatest growing minority populations were Utah (6.1%), Idaho (5.9), Nevada (5.7%), Wyoming (4.9%), Arizona (4.7%) and Oregon (4.2%).

States with the slowest minority growth rates were the District of Columbia (-0.8%), Michigan (0.4%), Hawaii (0.5%), New York (0.9%) and Ohio (1.1%).

Below is the percentage of the minority population for all 50 states.

60%+
_________________________
75.3 Hawaii
67.5 District of Columbia

50-59.9%
_________________________
57.7 New Mexico
57.3 California
52.1 Texas

40-49.9%
_________________________
42.0 Nevada
41.9 Maryland
41.5 Georgia
41.1 Mississippi
40.9 Arizona

30-39.9%
_________________________
39.7 New York
39.2 Florida
37.8 New Jersey
37.7 Louisiana
35.0 Illinois
34.7 South Carolina
34.0 Alabama
33.9 Alaska
32.7 Virginia
32.5 North Carolina
31.3 Delaware
20-29.9%
_________________________
28.7 Colorado
28.2 Oklahoma
25.6 Connecticut
24.0 Arkansas
23.9 Washington
22.8 Tennessee
22.4 Michigan
20.7 Rhode Island
20.3 Massachusetts

10-19.9%
_________________________
19.5 Oregon
19.3 Kansas
18.2 Pennsylvania
17.7 Missouri
17.7 Utah
17.3 Ohio
16.5 Indiana
15.5 Nebraska
14.6 Wisconsin
14.4 Idaho
14.3 Minnesota
13.6 South Dakota
12.7 Wyoming
12.0 Kentucky
11.8 Montana
10.1 North Dakota

under 9.9%
_________________________
9.4 Iowa
6.6 New Hampshire
6.4 West Virginia
4.7 Vermont
4.5 Maine

Peace and Dignity Journeys 2008

Peace and Dignity Journeys are spiritual runs that embody the prophecy of the Eagle and Condor.

This prophecy mandates that at this time all Indigenous Peoples in the Western Hemisphere shall be reunited in a spiritual way in order to heal our nations so we can begin to work towards a better future for our children and generations to come.

Through the Journeys, participant runners and supporters work to accomplish this goal by helping each other reconnect to their respective spiritual practices and traditions; by helping each other relearn our role in the world as Indigenous Peoples; and by reminding each other of our responsibilities to Mother Earth, Father Sky, our communities, and ourselves.

Peace and Dignity Journeys occur every four years and start with Indigenous runners on opposite ends of the continents (Chickaloon, Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina).

They run for six months through hundreds of Indigenous communities where they participate in their respective spiritual practices and traditions; spark dialogue on the issue of peace and dignity for Indigenous Peoples; model their responsibility to Mother Earth, Father Sky, communities, and themselves; and receive the community’s prayers. These prayers and conversations are then carried to proceeding communities until the runners reach the center of the hemisphere.

When the runners meet at the Kuna Nation in Panama City, Panama, it will symbolize all Indigenous Peoples joining together in a spiritual way to manifest the prophecy of the Eagle and Condor.

Barack Black Eagle (Obama Adopted by the Crow Nation)

Barack Obama was adopted today into the Crow Nation in a ceremony in Billings, Montana.

(Boricua Nation, Listen up!)

Representing the Crow Nation were Hartford "Sonny" and Mary Black Eagle.

Barack Black Eagle--Obama's new native name--made this observation:

The United States government cannot undo wrongs against Indian peoples. But they can elect a president committed to do what's right for Native Americans.

Imagine that!

An U.S. presidential candidate strongly committed to doing right by Native Americans. Now that's change worth having! Yes, We Can!

(BTW: Obama's words will really set-off the wingnuts! Why? Because respecting Native Americans is as intolerable as are audacious Blacks.)

Obama adopted by Crow tribe

Kalyn Free - Native American Leader and Super-Delegate Endorses Obama

Kalyn Free, member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and founder and President of INDN's List, has endorsed Senator Barack Obama.

As a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, I am proud of what it means to be an American Indian. I am proud Barack Obama is committed to our unique issues and willing to tackle our toughest problems, from historical inequities and injustices to contemporary issues, like protection of our right to tribal self-determination, access to health care for our elders, and education for our children. Despite the threats that have faced our culture and our people, hope has lifted Indian people through the most difficult times. Because we remain connected to our past, our culture and our communities, we never gave up that hope.

May be this has something do to with why Kalyn has reached past Hillary. Hmmm. The Clintons dissing Native Americans. Sound familiar? And people think Hillary's "go-white and right" strategy is simply a tactical response to Obama's surge.

Related: Kalyn Free: When Indians Vote, America Wins
Richardson YES, Hillary NO to 1st Indian Country Presidential Forum

First Americans for Obama

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's Web site includes veterans, children and women among her top issues.

John Edwards' site lists blacks, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, Latinos, the elderly and young people among his concerns.

U.S. Senator Barack Obama talks about all of the above, but of the three front-running Democratic presidential candidates, he's the only one with a permanent place on his Web site for America's indigenous peoples.

''First Americans for Obama is a community of people dedicated to bringing positive change to American politics and breaking the cycle of partisan ideology,'' according to the First Americans for Obama page on his Web site.

''Perhaps more so than any population, American Indians are painfully aware of the need for change. Tribes have experienced firsthand the lack of progress under prior administrations. Please use this Web site to learn about Obama's policy initiatives supporting tribal peoples, to spread the word, and to involve your family, friends and community. Together, we can bring in a new generation of politics - one based on respect, honor and unity.''

More

The Lakota Declare Free Nation

Freedom! Lakota Sioux Indians Declare Sovereign Nation Status

Threaten Land Liens, Contested Real Estate Over Five State Area in U.S. West

Lakota Satisfies Treaty Council Mandate of 33 Years, Drafted by 97 Indigenous Nations

Dakota Territory Reverts back to Lakota Control According to U.S., International Law

Washington D.C. – Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status today (December 19, 2007) in Washington D.C. following Monday’s withdrawal from all previously signed treaties with the United States Government. The withdrawal, hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868 Treaties at Fort Laramie Wyoming.

“This is an historic day for our Lakota people,” declared Russell Means, Itacan of Lakota. “United States colonial rule is at its end!”

“Today is a historic day and our forefathers speak through us. Our Forefathers made the treaties in good faith with the sacred Canupa and with the knowledge of the Great Spirit,” shared Garry Rowland from Wounded Knee. “They never honored the treaties, that’s the reason we are here today.”

The four member Lakota delegation traveled to Washington D.C. culminating years of internal discussion among treaty representatives of the various Lakota communities. Delegation members included well known activist and actor Russell Means, Women of All Red Nations (WARN) founder Phyllis Young, Oglala Lakota Strong Heart Society leader Duane Martin Sr., and Garry Rowland, Leader Chief Big Foot Riders. Means, Rowland, Martin Sr. were all members of the 1973 Wounded Knee takeover.

“In order to stop the continuous taking of our resources – people, land, water and children- we have no choice but to claim our own destiny,” said Phyllis Young, a former Indigenous representative to the United Nations and representative from Standing Rock.

Property ownership in the five state area of Lakota now takes center stage. Parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana have been illegally homesteaded for years despite knowledge of Lakota as predecessor sovereign [historic owner]. Lakota representatives say if the United States does not enter into immediate diplomatic negotiations, liens will be filed on real estate transactions in the five state region, clouding title over literally thousands of square miles of land and property.

Young added, “The actions of Lakota are not intended to embarrass the United States but to simply save the lives of our people”.

Following Monday’s withdrawal at the State Department, the four Lakota Itacan representatives have been meeting with foreign embassy officials in order to hasten their official return to the Family of Nations.

Lakota’s efforts are gaining traction as Bolivia, home to Indigenous President Evo Morales, shared they are “very, very interested in the Lakota case” while Venezuela received the Lakota delegation with “respect and solidarity.”

“Our meetings have been fruitful and we hope to work with these countries for better relations,” explained Garry Rowland. “As a nation, we have equal status within the national community.”

Education, energy and justice now take top priority in emerging Lakota. “Cultural immersion education is crucial as a next step to protect our language, culture and sovereignty,” said Means. “Energy independence using solar, wind, geothermal, and sugar beets enables Lakota to protect our freedom and provide electricity and heating to our people.”

The Lakota reservations are among the most impoverished areas in North America, a shameful legacy of broken treaties and apartheid policies. Lakota has the highest death rate in the United States and Lakota men have the lowest life expectancy of any nation on earth, excluding AIDS, at approximately 44 years. Lakota infant mortality rate is five times the United States average and teen suicide rates 150% more than national average . 97% of Lakota people live below the poverty line and unemployment hovers near 85%.

“After 150 years of colonial enforcement, when you back people into a corner there is only one alternative,” emphasized Duane Martin Sr. “The only alternative is to bring freedom into its existence by taking it back to the love of freedom, to our lifeway.”

We are the freedom loving Lakota from the Sioux Indian reservations of Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana who have suffered from cultural and physical genocide in the colonial apartheid system we have been forced to live under. We are in Washington DC to withdraw from the constitutionally mandated treaties to become a free and independent country. We are alerting the Family of Nations we have now reassumed our freedom and independence with the backing of Natural, International, and United States law. For more information, please visit our new website at http://www.lakotafreedom.com/.

###

Related Documents:

Lakota Withdrawal Letter, December 17, 2007
Treaties of Fort Laramie, 1851 and 1868
United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights 2007
Russell Means

Picataway Chief: Indigenous Immigrants Fulfill Indian Prophesy

Check out this video from PERUANISTA in which Picataway Chief Billy Gregory Tayac welcomes indigenous immigrants as brothers. Illegals? The real "illegal aliens" first arrived 350 years ago from across Atlantic. The Chief also says that the arrival of indigenous Central and South Americans fulfills a native American prophesy. Provocative.