Speaking of the Native Tribes

Continuing coverage of the Mi’kmaq protests in Canada~

The injunction is explained:

The above journalist was arrested.

His arrest, for the third time (he was not charged in either of the two previous arrests) is unacceptable and it appears to be the state’s preferred strategy for stopping him from getting the word out about protests in Elsipogtog.

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I think this is as clear a case as any for harassment.  Howe was not charged in the previous two arrests…so they’re going for a third…?

Here’s the video of his arrest.  Note the officer taking a video of the person who is taking the video of the officers arresting Howe.  Three officers for an unarmed person who is not resisting arrest?  Really?

The update below the video link states Howe has been released and is in good spirits.

Another article on more arrests.  What I don’t understand is that they had left the protest…and then they were arrested.

A note up for a rally tomorrow.

 

 

The Native American holiday

Petula Dvorak has this up on the Native Americans and this holiday we celebrate.

The Native Americans I talked to said they’ve all heard of someone who doesn’t celebrate the holiday the way it’s presented in food magazines and Hallmark television specials. But all the people I talked to said they hold on to the original message that the Wampanoag had that day — a harvest feast to give thanks.

“Thanksgiving is like every day for us. Giving thanks is a big part of the native cultures. So the basic message of the holiday, that’s still part of who we are,” said Ben Norman, 32, a member of the Pamunkey tribe in Virginia.

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And that’s what it means to me, too—being thankful for every day and every meal and all that is provided for us.

The Native Americans recognize that all is connected.  What we do over *here* affects something over *there*.  We cannot take and take and take without there being repercussions.  The traditional Native Americans humbly acknowledge that with taking only what they need.

The Europeans described America as a wilderness.  The Native Americans knew better and carefully managed the great ecosystem–you could drink from any river or stream….the fish were plentiful because they weren’t overfished and they didn’t contain mercury and other toxins…you could breathe…

They were portrayed as heathens that needed “saving” by missionaries.  Instead of trying to understand their spirituality, the Europeans sought to force their religion upon them.  Native Americans don’t have Churches where one goes to pray once a week and then forget everything that is taught…rather, they see spirituality in everything they do—everything is connected to the Creator.

I just wanted to acknowledge their culture and all that was lost.

My other posts on Native Americans here, here and here.

 

 

Suzuki showing support for First Nations

David Suzuki is supporting the Elsipogtog protests.  Thank you, David!

Meanwhile, the trucks arrive in convoy. Another pic here.

Harper spies on the peaceful group. Note that their own intelligence says they do not see them as a violent threat….yet, they show up in riot gear and tear gas the peaceful protestors. I’m glad to read that they are also protesting Enbridge, which is in my own backyard.  “We want to keep the people and environment safe…”  bwahaha, that’s rich.  If you really cared about the environment, you wouldn’t be building a pipeline to begin with.

(DN also covered this happening in the U.S. towards nonprofit groups that big business perceives as threats. Big Brother has arrived.)

Lastly, this pic of a smiling female Warrior.

My other blogs on energy and fracking here, here, and here, and here.

 

First Nations continue standing up

This is a pretty good report of the events surrounding the recent clash with the armed forces and the First Nations of Canada.

From the post:

It is of particular importance to note that – according to Augustine – the Warrior Society and the RCMP had even negotiated for the possibility that an ISL security guard would want to come and pray at the sacred fire. The guards could come and pray any time they wanted, but neither they, nor anyone else, was permitted to bring weapons of any kind to the sacred fire.

“[ISL] already knew,” says Augustine. “When we negotiated the first time, when an ISL worker comes out to the sacred fire – because they were welcome, anytime they were welcome – as long as they don’t have any weapons. [But] they could come and pray with us anytime they want. And that was part of the negotiations. They could come out at any time and pray with us, or go out the back way and shift change then.”

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I think it’s important, too, to note the First Nations people welcoming the guards into camp–as long as they were not armed.  And praying together?  What a wonderful way to seek spiritual guidance together—to seek that which feeds the Light.  I don’t believe that God would sanction polluting the Earth….and causing all the misery to humans, animals, plants, the soil, and the water that fracking does.

If you recall the previous videos on the confrontation, the female Warrior was clearly upset at them offering tobacco.  Now we see the story behind that–they offered tobacco the night before as a symbol of wanting peace for everyone.  Then the very next morning,they show up with guns drawn–even when they knew the indigenous were unarmed and seeking a peaceful way to get SWN off their land.

Here is a look at Chief Arren Sock presenting their demands to the public/press:

I think what is hard for white folks to understand is that the indigenous society is not based on hierarchical status.  Until recently, I didn’t understand all of what that means, myself, because it’s so ingrained that *somebody*  MUST be in charge.    The Chief system was something imposed upon the indigenous by the Europeans–they required someone to be spokesperson and to call all the shots.  The people were offended by this because their society was not set up that way.  As Chief Sock states in this video, he does not speak for the others.  He doesn’t tell the other indigenous what to do —they act on their own autonomy.  They see this as each person acting according to what the Creator wishes for them to do, as far as my understanding.

A couple of tweets here and here on it.   The last pic with the story behind the brave Warrior standing between a pregnant woman and this armed guard…who’s the terrorist, again…?

Another tweet here on once again labeling environmentalists as terrorists.  If you recall, when I worked for the state health dept., one of the training sessions I had included Dept. of Hysterical Security.  They did an exercise where environmentalists were going to use bio warfare by injecting food borne pathogens into food at a fair booth.  The whole scenario was outlandish and reminded me of the story of Chicken Little who ran around crazy exclaiming that the sky was falling because an acorn dropped on his head.  It makes a broad sweeping generalization about a group that is generally peaceful with a few idiots who resort to violence as a means to an end.  Unfortunately, they not only achieve their goal, but they also persuade others NOT to join the movement because they don’t condone that behavior and because, as said previously,  they don’t want to be labeled as troublemakers.  **not to mention that some of those causing trouble could be agent provocateurs who are not actually environmentalists, but paid disruptors from the outside posing as environmentalists.

Some good news here.  Glad to see someone has some sense and vision to look beyond today and the $$$ short term gain.  Just say NO to the money, honey.

Mi’kmaq not backing down

Checking in with the First Nations protestors in Canada….

SWN refuses to acknowledge they are trespassing on First Nations land and continue to use that land for fracking, despite the protests.  My understanding is that they have started a fire blockade today at noon.

Someone posted a link to this video that captures in pictures when words fail…

…at 1:25 and 1:38, look at the concentration of teargas on ONE individual!!

….at 1:56,and the next photo should have the caption underneath with one word:  COURAGE

…at 2:12 full disclosure:  both sides had dogs.  Gotta love their sense of humor.

…at 2:19…<sigh>….really? Is this man armed?  He appears to be unarmed and of smaller stature than the SWN security officer.

Another video here on the mistreatment of the protestors taken in:

 

 

 

First Nations Protests in Canada

The picture here of the First Nations female Warrior is quite stirring….

The eagle feather she is holding is a sacred symbol of the indigenous.   It is a powerful symbol of the connection between God and Earth.

Crooks and Liars has this up on the protest.  It appears that it didn’t turn violent until the police began assaulting the protestors.  They claim there was a shot fired from the protestors….um hmmm….they all claim it was a peaceful protest.

More here.

While I’m looking at this, I’m thinking–these folks’ salaries are paid by taxes….and the taxpayers do not want fracking, for the most part….why are they going against what the taxpayers want?

More  here.

Peacefully protesting:

The scene of confrontation:

They weren’t doing anything.  As the woman said, the female Warrior was praying–not bothering them at all.

Why they’re there:

Act of Sovereignty:

This is like Church to them– a gathering where they sing songs to God.  They see the fight for the environment as a spiritual thing–the Earth is seen as a part of God and their “Mother”—so to pollute the Earth is seen as disrespectful towards God.    Also –they see everything on Earth as connected, so one has to consider every action in how it will impact another.

Balance is always sought…if you take something, you must also give something in return.

More reasons to love the Clintons

…and their stealth gang of the dark side.  Not.

“Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra,” The Times further explained.

“The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra’s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton’s inner circle…Giustra [also] co-produced a gala 60th birthday for Mr. Clinton that featured stars like Jon Bon Jovi and raised about $21 million for the Clinton Foundation.”

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Clinton on XL.

Hillary’s connection to XL.

Seeing the artist drawing of her astride the pipeline brought a flashback to Jane Fonda on the Vietnam tank.  I wish people were as outraged at Hillary “riding” the pipeline.    And one has to wonder at the Clinton ties to the Kochs after reading the article. …

I put my two cents on Clinton in another blog here. 

Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert, who otherwise is intelligent person who asks questions….has drunk the Clinton koolaid and continues to promote the creep.  Why??  Yeah, he’s over in Uganda?  Probably there to rape them for their resources….funny how nobody brings up the utter failure of his “help” in Haiti. 

The Economic War of Israel

Edward Teller has one of the best posts up I’ve seen on the situation in Israel. There are ways of waging war that don’t require planes dropping bombs…

Max Blumenthal explains in the 2nd video  how control of food is tantamount to control of people.   A poignant point he makes was the destruction of the herds of Buffalo to starve out the Native Americans.  They were forced to adopt the grain-based diet including fry bread, which we now know is very unhealthy, especially if one is gluten intolerant.  As Blumenthal highlights, the Native Americans now have issues with diabetes.  I would go a step further and say this also may be linked to alcoholism….as I believe there is a link with diet and alcoholism.

Henry Kissinger’s words flashed in my mind as Blumenthal spoke of the Israelis destroying chickens, and other livestock so that the Palestinians could not provide for themselves.   More quotes of Henry Kissinger.

I skipped over the first video to see his take on the market.   When I viewed it, I was stunned, to say the least.  American rightwing talking points about President Obama not being a U.S. citizen, of being a Muslim, and calling him a n***er, etc.  Wow.  Just wow.   And the gal who said she was “politically aware” but didn’t know who Benjamin Netanyahu was? For real?

…and more **edited

While watching the talking heads push for war, I look at President Obama and I am reminded of the Native American tale of the two wolves:

I can sense there is a fight going on inside Obama.  I am afraid that the dark one will win, because if he goes to war, that is the side he will feed.

**Edited to add:  One can’t lay this only on Obama if we go to war—because there are the warmongers in Congress, on Wall Street, in Israel, in Syria, who are playing their parts in this, too.  Just wanted to be clear on that.  And it takes those of us opposed to war to speak out to feed the light.