[Nov 24-28] American Indian Movement meeting: "No one is illegal"

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- AIM-West is hosting the 40th Anniversary Reunion of the American Indian Movement, Nov. 24 -- 28. With the theme, "No one is illegal -- Somos un solo rio/We are all one river," the topics include the militarization of the US borders, treaty rights, protection of sacred places, international Indigenous rights and religious freedom for prison inmates.

Bill Means, cofounder of the International Indian Treaty Council, is among the featured speakers at the sunrise gathering on Alcatraz Island on Thursday, Nov. 27. The weeklong AIM-West reunion includes Native Americans who have made history in the struggle for Indigenous Peoples rights, including Madonna Thunder Hawk, Manny Pino, Lenny Foster, Mike Flores, Charlie Hill and Patricia Bellanger.

The theme is "SOMOS UN SOLO RIO!" / We Are One River, and "No One is Illegal!" This includes recognition of Indigenous Nation's inherent right to self-determination, honor and respect for treaties ratified by the US Congress, protection of sacred sites, freedom for political prisoners, and the encouragement for the U.S. to adopt the United Nations General Assembly Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The discussions include strategies for the "Manifesto for Change", Green power and Red Power, a sustainable future, and taking a stand in solidarity with our relations from Mexico, Central and South America.

During the organizing session in San Francisco on Tuesday night, Tony Gonzales said the reunion, which includes speakers, concerts and an Unthanksgiving Feast, offers the opportunity to focus on the direction and needs of the future. Pegge Lemke said, following the US elections, it is important to remember that it is the people who hold the power. Lemke said it is the people who have "the power to empower others to return to a more natural way of life and live in balance and rhythm."

Earthcycles web radio returns to the air live, to cover the week's events, Nov. 24 -- 28. Earthcycles producer Govinda Dalton, and cohost Brenda Norrell, will be in San Francisco for the week to host the live show. Dalton, who lives in northern California, and Norrell, based in Tucson, were cohosts of the Longest Walk Talk Radio, on the five-month walk across America. Native Americans walked from Alcatraz to DC for sacred places and protection of Mother Earth, from February through July of 2008.

The same issues covered by the Longest Walk Talk Radio will be highlighted in the weeklong, on-air coverage, including the proliferation of coal mines, power plants and drilling in Indian country; the militarization of the US borders and the oppression and violations of human rights of Indigenous Peoples around the world.

Brief audio interviews are now available from Tuesday night's planning session, with Tony Gonzales, Mark Anquoe, Kiowa from Oklahoma, and Pegge Lemke, who was also a Long Walker. Pegge also encourages Native American Indian Nations to rescue and adopt wild horses, because the US government is now considering euthenasia for the horses. Pegge urged Indian Nations to develop programs for their youths with these horses, preserving Native horse culture. The audios are at http://censored-news.blogspot.com/

Schedule of events for the Anniversary AIM West 40th Anniversary Reunion:

Monday, Nov. 24, 10 am to 5:30 pm
Opening ceremonies with masters of ceremonies Bill Means and Madonna Thunder Hawk
San Francisco Library, 100 Larkin Street at Grove, Koret Auditorium
Film and slide show with historic footage of early AIM: Panel forum: "No one is illegal -- Somos un solo rio/We are all one river."
Indigenous Peoples from the border attending include Tohono O'odham Mike Flores, organizer of the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas in 2006 and 2007.
Topics: Green ecology; Red Power, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 10 am - 5 pm
San Francisco Baha'i Center, 170 Valencia St.
Manny Pino, Acoma Pueblo, and Lenny Foster, Navajo prison religious rights advocate
Topics: Coalition building, treaty rights, sacred sites, uranium mining, Manifesto for Change, political prisoners including Leonard Peltier

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 12 - 6 pm
Unthanksgiving Potluck Dinner and AIM Special Awards Ceremony, with Charlie Hill, Patricia Bellanger and special guests
San Francisco Baha'i Center, 170 Valencia St.
Concert by Keith Secola, Phoenix, Medicine Warriors, All Nation Singers

Thursday, Nov. 27, 4 - 9 pm
Alcatraz Island Annual Sunrise Gathering leaving from Hornblower Tours at Pier #31 (last boat out at 6 am)

Friday, Nov. 28, 6 - 10 pm
Concert featuring Dr. Loco and the Rockin' Jalapenos, The Bob Young Project and local artists
San Francisco Baha'i Center, 170 Valencia St.

$10 to $20 donation, no one will be turned away, fundraiser for AIM-West
More information: Tony Gonzales (415) 577-1492 or visit
http://www.aimwest.info/
Listen live at Earthcycles, http://www.earthcycles.net, Nov. 24 - 28, 2008.

[Nov 21] Film: "Broken Rainbow" - Fundraiser (Oakland)

Friday NOVEMBER 21, 2008
Black Mesa Caravan Fundraiser
Dinner, Film Screening of Broken Rainbow, a movie about the struggle on Big Mountain, Black Mesa, and Discussion.
Doors at 6pm, 7 PM at the Intertribal Friendship House.

Broken Rainbow is a 1985 documentary film about the government-enforced relocation of thousands of Navajo Native Americans from their ancestral homes in Arizona. The Navajo were relocated to aid mining speculation in a process that began in the 1970s and continues to this day. The film is narrated by Martin Sheen.

This call is for folks of color to lend their support to the Caravan to Black Mesa, AZ for a convergence of work crews from all over the US. We are asking for your support to get out to Big Mountain to work and do movement building work for the week of November 22-29. The fundraisers that we are throwing are for the caravaners from the Bay Area to get out there. If any money or resources are earmarked for the Native community, then those resources will be handled accordingly.

Redefining Solidarity
Everyone on this trip will be in a work crew "winterizing home," patching rooves, hauling water, gathering firewood, and so on. But what is Solidarity. We know that the organizers of this trip are arranging for each of us to learn more about the Black Mesa struggle. We also know that the folks that live out there aren't gonna be the ones answering our every question about their occupation, constant surveillance, poverty, debt, strife, resilience and so on. They also aren't gonna be the ones to give us political education or give us political direction, we will be doing that for ourselves. The question of our solidarity is the question of our commitment to making change from the ground up in our own communities. It's the question of how we educate ourselves about the world around us to be of use to that ground-up movement. And it's a question of challenging the lies that this modern world tell us about the myths of progress.


If you represent an organization, please come table and donate items to raffle at this event.

We are making 200 tamales/100 plates of food. Others are contributing to this effort. We hope to make $500 with the food and another $500 at the door. So, please bring money, an appetite, and your mind for discussion at the end of the film.

[Nov 20] Sounds of Sistahood: Free DJ Workshop for Women (Berkeley)

Thursday, November 20th, 2008 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Tilden Room, Fifth Floor, Martin Luther King Student Union
Off of Bancroft and Telegraph Avenues
University of California, Berkeley

This workshop will provide a safe and encouraging space for undergraduate, graduate and community women interested in learning how to DJ and mix music! The workshop will be led by DJ Rosa la Rumorosa who will talk about how she got involved with music and djing throughout the Bay Area and internationally. Workshop participants will be able to practice the basics of djing themselves through various types of techniques and music styles! Free food and drinks!

This workshop is totally free so please RSVP for your space now by emailing wp@ga.berkeley.edu.

Sponsored by the Graduate Women's Project with assistance from the Women of Color Initiative of the Graduate Assembly.

Graduate Women's Project
Graduate Assembly
Anthony Hall #4500
University of California, Berkeley

Phone: 510.642.2876
Fax: 510.642.7721
Email: gwp@ga.berkeley.edu
Web: http://www.ga.berkeley.edu

[Nov 19] Workshop: How to apply for an ITIN (SF)

[Nov 19] Wednesday, November 19th - 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Centro del Pueblo
474 Valencia St.
San Francisco

The Mission Asset Fund is hosting a workshop for low-income, immigrant workers interested in obtaining an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Over 45% of Mission residents are immigrants. For those who do not have a Social Security Number (SSN), the first step toward financial security is to obtain an ITIN. The IRS issues ITINs to foreign nationals who have federal tax reporting or filing requirements and do not qualify for SSNs. With an ITIN, immigrant workers can access financial services, including asset building programs and services.

Please join us for the first in our quarterly series of Charlas Financieras where we will discuss important financial issues with Mission residents.
  • What: How to apply for an ITIN
  • When: Wednesday, November 19th, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
  • Where: Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia St., San Francisco
  • Who: Speakers include representatives from ACORN, CARECEN, and the IRS
The workshop will be conducted in Spanish. Light snacks and child care will be provided.

Space is limited. Follow this link to RSVP.

[Nov 17] March for Woodfin Worker's Backwages (Emeryville)

March for Backwages MONDAY!

Please share this email widely: click here to forward.

Dear friends -

It's time for the Woodfin to pay up.

Please join us this Monday at 5 PM at the Woodfin Suites as we march from the hotel to Emeryville City Hall:

"Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters"
A March for Woodfin Workers' Backwages


Monday, November 17th starting at 5 PM sharp
March from the Woodfin (5800 Shellmound, Emeryville)
to Emeryville City Hall (Park & Hollis, Emeryville)
RSVP: http://www.workingeastbay.org/woodfin_hearing


When I first met the housekeepers at the Woodfin Suites Hotel in Emeryville several years ago, they were hurting. Literally. As one worker, Lorena, explained:

I started working [at the Woodfin] with a desire to improve my life. …we were cleaning 14 rooms, then 15, 16, and finally 17 suites per day. Sometimes I couldn't even stop to get a glass of water. I would get home with my feet very swollen, my hands swollen, and with a headache. When we couldn't finish, they made us punch out after 8 hours and told us to finish... I asked God to open up a way for us to get justice because it was too much.

And now, over 1,000 days after the Measure C living wage ordinance went into effect, workers like Lorena are still fighting for the backwages they are owed from the backbreaking work they did while Woodfin refused to comply with the law. On the night that City Council hears the Woodfin's arguments against paying the backwages, join workers like Lorena in demanding that the Woodfin pay up now!

In a sign that options continue to dwindle for this "hold-out" hotel, on Thursday Judge Steven A. Brick of the Alameda Superior Court denied the Woodfin Hotel's request for an injunction against the Emeryville City Council.

Justice is on the way, so come be part of making history with us!

Please dress warm, wear blue (for the "river of justice") and bring a flashlight or headlamp if you have one.

To RSVP, click: http://www.workingeastbay.org/woodfin_hearing.

For more information, contact Brooke Anderson at 510-846-0766 or at brooke(at)workingeastbay.org.

See you on Monday,
Brooke Anderson

[Nov 16] Celebrate 10 years of supporting Zapatista Communities

Celebrate 10 Years of Supporting Zapatista Communities!

The Chiapas Support Committee is holding a community celebration marking its 10th year organizing support for Zapatista communities. We will also be commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Zapatista Uprising - on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the EZLN's founding! 25/15/10!

Please join us Sunday, November 16, 2008, 5:30-9:30 p.m. at:
The Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street in Oakland, California
Close to the 19th Street BART Station. Plenty of Parking.
Wheelchair Accessible
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Program:
Dinner and refreshments provided
Keynote speaker: Enrique Dávalos - Professor of Chicano Studies @ San Diego CC
Live Music & History
Progressive Auction
Awards

Regular Admission: $25-50 (Sliding scale).

Individuals and organizations that contribute in the following categories will receive special recognition in the program:
  • Los paliacates/The hidden face of support - $150-299 (two tickets)
  • Solidaridad sin fronteras/Solidarity without borders: $300-499 (three tickets)
  • Hermanamiento/Sisterhood with Chiapas: $500 or more (five tickets)
Celebrate a Decade of Dreaming a More Just, a Different World!

Sponsored by the Chiapas Support Committee
Chiapas Support Committee
PO Box 3421
Oakland, CA
(510) 654-9587
www.chiapas-support.org

For more information, call (510) 654-9587 or email: cezmat@igc.org

[Nov 8] Benefit Party for Atenco's political prisoners (SF)

[español abajo]
Saturday November 8
4 to 10 pm
Station 40
3030b 16th Street
16th & Mission
San Francisco

HAVE FUN AND SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT TO FREE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ATENCO, MEXICO

4:00 pm Screening of the documentary video about the repression against the people of San Salvador, Atenco during the 3rd and 4th of May, 2006. Information about the current legal situation of these prisoners.

6:00pm Food and Drinks

7:00pm Song and Poetry by local artists

7:30 pm Mc (JAREK el Dragon)

8:00 pm DJ Adan with various latin music.

Suggested Donation: 5-10$
(No one will be turned away for lack of funds)

All that is collected will go to the team of prisoner supporters including family and friends outside the prison of Molino de las Flores where many of these political prisoners are being held.
For more info on Collective Action and Resistance, pls email arco@riseup.net

Also, see the awsome slideshow on the Oct 31 demonstration put together by Alianza News:
http://www.alianzanews.com/archivo/altoredadas/index.html



¡Fiesta para liberar los Prisioneros Políticos en México!

Este sábado 8 de noviembre, de 4 a 10pm
Station 40
3030 calle 16 - cerca de la calle Mission
San Francisco

4pm - Presentacion de video documental acerca de la represion en contra del pueblo de San Salvador Atenco los dias 3 y 4 de Mayo de 2006 Informacion actual sobre la situacion legal de l@s detenid@s.

6:00 pm Comida, Bebidas y Chelas

7:00 pm Canto y Poesia por artistas de la comunidad.

7:30 pm Mc (JAREK el Dragon)

8:00 pm DJ Adan con musica Latina variada.

Donacion sugerida: 5-10$
(Nadie sera negad@ por falta de fondos).

Todo lo recaudado sera enviado al Planton que incluye familia y amigxs de lxs prisionerxs, que está frente al penal de Molino de las Flores, en donde se encuentran recluid@s vari@s de L@s detenid@s.

Para mas info sobre Accion y Resistencia Colectiva, porfavor manda un correo a arco@riseup.net

Ve la fabulosa presentación fotográfica de la manifestación del 31 de octubre, producido por Alianza News:
http://www.alianzanews.com/archivo/altoredadas/index.html