Category: The Americas,

Rep. Cheney Accuses Tribes of “Destroying our Western Way of Life” Over Grizzly Protections

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Media and Culture,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Removing protections from the bear, revered as sacred to a multitude of tribes, would have left the grizzly vulnerable to high-dollar trophy hunts and lifted leasing restrictions on some 34,375 square miles. Extractive industry, livestock and logging interests are among those desirous of capitalizing on the area, a region comprised of tribal treaty, reserved rights and ceded lands.

…“I would remind the Congresswoman that at the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition an estimated 100,000 grizzly bears roamed from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast. That was all Indian Country. Now there are fewer than 2,000 grizzly bears and our people live in Third World conditions on meager reservations in the poorest counties in the US. Does she really want to talk about ‘destroying’ a ‘way of life’?” asked Rodgers.

…Tribal Nations, including the Oglala Sioux Tribe which petitioned for a Congressional inquiry into the influence of multi-national fossil-fuel corporations on FWS’s grizzly delisting decision, previously exposed the role of extractive industry in the process. USFWS engaged multinational oil and gas services group, Amec Foster Wheeler, for the peer review of its grizzly delisting rule that tribes and environmental groups deconstructed in court. Amec Foster Wheeler appointed Halliburton executive Jonathan Lewis as CEO in the same timeframe as USFWS contracted the company.

“That puts ‘harmful to the ecosystem’ into its true context,” responded Rodgers. “The Cheney family’s connections to Halliburton hardly needs elaborating upon,” added Chief Stan Grier, President of the Blackfoot Confederacy Chiefs. 

…“There’s more chance of her father receiving the Nobel Peace Prize than her “Grizzly Bear State Management Act” reaching the House floor,” said Rodgers of Cheney’s bill.

Rep. Cheney Accuses Tribes of “Destroying our Western Way of Life” Over Sacred Grizzly Protections — Native News Online

hmmm

“We are in great danger”: In Amazon, indigenous Waiapi chief is killed by illegal miners

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Illegal gold miners armed with automatic weapons and shotguns, invaded the remote indigenous community of the Waiapi and murdered one of its chiefs in Brazil’s northern Amazon last week

…One of the group’s leaders, Viseni Waiapi, said in an audio message sent to NBC reporters Saturday in Portuguese.

“We are in great danger,” Viseni said. The invaders assaulted women and children and were accompanied by a pit bull as they roamed around several Waiapi villages day and night last week, using special night vision goggles to navigate the area in the dark, he said.

…While waiting two days for the police to arrive, the Waiapi sent a group of their own warriors to guard the villages being invaded and gunshots were heard along the only road that leads into Waiapi territory. By the time police arrived on Sunday, the invaders had fled into the jungle.

…This attack on Waiapi land is one of the latest in a slew of ongoing, and increasingly frequent, invasions and assaults on indigenous territories throughout Brazil by illegal miners, ranchers and loggers.

Currently, there at least 10,000 miners illegally occupying and exploiting Brazil’s indigenous Yanomami land in northern Brazil. These sorts of invasions have increased by 150 percent since Brazil’s right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, took power earlier this year.

…Bolsonaro has repeatedly vowed to allow commercial mining and farming on indigenous lands, which are officially reserved for indigenous people’s exclusive use under Brazil’s Constitution since 1988. 

…Bolsonaro has said that indigenous peoples do not have a culture and has compared them to zoo animals. He has also said they should be assimilated into the public or integrated into the army. Years ago, he suggested that Brazil should have killed off its indigenous peoples, saying “It’s a shame that the Brazilian cavalry hasn’t been as efficient as the Americans, who exterminated the Indians.”

…These invaders are committing illegal activities and should be arrested, prosecuted and fined, she said, suggesting there be paid federal employees stationed on indigenous lands to help monitor and protect vulnerable groups like the Waiapi. The community remained completely isolated until the 1970s when it was nearly annihilated by a measles outbreak spread by illegal miners who got access through a new road.

Today, there are around 1500 Waiapi living in small thatched roof villages carved out of dense rainforest in Brazil’s northern state of Amapá near French Guiana. The community attributes its resilience to having well demarcated lands, which were officially recognized by the Brazilian government in 1996, and maintaining its traditional ways of living and protecting the rainforest.

…In the meantime, Watson said indigenous groups need GPS equipment, bulletproof vests and radios for their own land defense efforts. “If we do want to save the Amazon rainforest for the benefit of humanity, we have to find better and more immediate ways of supporting the indigenous peoples.”

…Watson said the current situation in Brazil’s Amazon region has become a “war zone” in which indigenous peoples are on the front lines protecting the world’s largest rainforest, which produces 20 percent of the planet’s oxygen. “They’re paying with their lives.”

“We are in great danger”: In Amazon, indigenous Waiapi chief is killed by illegal miners

sigh…

Guatemalan mother begs soldier to let her and her son enter US

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Modern Parenting,, The Americas,1 Comment

Lety Perez fell to her haunches, a clenched hand covering her face as she wept, an arm clutching her small 6-year-old son, who glared defiantly at the Mexican National Guard soldier blocking them from crossing into the United States.

…The plight of this mother and son who had traveled some 1,500 miles (2,410 km) from their home country of Guatemala to the border city of Ciudad Juarez, only to be stopped mere feet from the U.S., was captured by Reuters photographer Jose Luis Gonzalez as twilight approached on Monday.

…Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who retweeted the picture after it was posted by former Mexican ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan, wrote “what a pity, Mexico should never have accepted this.”

…All of a sudden, seizing the opportunity when the battle-ready soldier glanced away, Perez lunged into the shrubs growing on the side of the river bank, pulling her son with her. They quickly ran across to the other side of the river and out of the guardsmen’s jurisdiction where U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents took them into custody.

Depending on the particulars of the case, the two would typically be processed at a Border Patrol station and then handed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or put into a program that returns some migrants to Mexico to await U.S. court hearings, said the spokesman, who asked not to be named.

Guatemalan mother begs soldier to let her enter US – ABC News

hmmmm

Archaeologists unveil evidence of lost mound at Grand Village

On By peanutgallerynhIn Gulf Coast Region,, Science and Stuff,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Thursday evening, Vin Steponaitis, a professor of archaeology and anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presented maps from the early 1700s that show a cluster of at least five mounds on the Grand Village site where only three mounds are still visible today.

…Steponaitis said some maps and early writings reference structures sitting on top of Mounds B and C, including a house for the Natchez chief and a Natchez temple, while mound A is believed to have been abandoned before the Natchez Indians ever arrived.

In 1730, the French Colonial militia laid siege to the Natchez village and took refuge in forts on St. Catherine’s Creek, Steponaitis said.

…“There are powerful, powerful stories here,” Harris said. “The story of colonization and the story of conflicts with the French colonists sits right here at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.”

Archaeologists unveil evidence of lost mound at Grand Village – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper | Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper

cool

Democrat rips DHS head over child separation policy

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

The hearing reached its emotional crescendo as the committee’s chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., delivered a furious indictment of the Trump administration, accusing it of an “empathy deficit.” As the two began to argue over whether Homeland Security has adequately kept track of parents and children in a unified database (it has not, according to multiple reports), McAleenan’s explanations seemed to only anger Cummings further. “These are human beings,” he said at one point. “Human beings, just trying to live a better life.”

Growing increasingly outraged, Cummings spoke of “a child sitting in their own feces,” referencing some of the more dire reports from the border. “Come on, man,” Cummings said, his voice quavering. “What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position.”

Democrat rips DHS head over child separation policy – AOL News

hmmm

Indigenous Ethnologist: Gladys Tantaquidgeon

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,, Schools,, The Americas,Leave a comment

It was during his fieldwork with the Mohegans in Connecticut that Speck met …Gladys Tantaquidgeon CCT’29, who was being groomed as the tribe’s next medicine woman and the keeper of its customs and culture. She was also to become the first Native American student in the Penn anthropology department.

…With her father and brother, she cofounded the Tantaquidgeon Museum to house many of the gifts she received during her fieldwork, including a Penobscot birchbark canoe, donated by Speck. Founded on her belief that “you can’t hate someone you know a lot about,” it is the oldest Native American-owned museum in the United States. It also was a critical piece in proving the Mohegan tribe’s continuity when, in 1978, Congress created a federal recognition process for designating sovereignty.

…Bruchac calls Tantaquidgeon a “groundbreaking ethnologist” and “an Indigenous visionary who blended anthropological research with traditional training and community activism to preserve Mohegan cultural patrimony.”

Indigenous Ethnologist – The Pennsylvania Gazette

very cool

An Astonishing Government Report on Conditions at the Border

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

…“Border Patrol was holding about 8,000 detainees in custody at the time of our visit, with 3,400 held longer than the 72 hours generally permitted,” the report said.

…Many people—1,500 of the detainees—had been held for more than 10 days. Nearly a third of the 2,669 children—both those who were unaccompanied and those who had crossed with families—at the facilities the investigators studied had been held longer than 72 hours. At one facility in McAllen, Texas, 50 unaccompanied children under the age of 7 had been in custody for more than two weeks while awaiting transfer. After 72 hours, once a child has been turned over to HHS, the government is supposed to find the closest relative in the United States for children in its custody. But it has not worked that way.

…Children weren’t being given hot meals, even though it is required by law; instead, they were fed sandwiches and snacks for meals. And at three of the facilities investigators visited, children had no access to showers.

…There were hungry children who did not have enough to eat, she told me. Children had urinated on their pants, and weren’t offered a change of clothes. Some children had vomited on their clothing. It was a health risk, she said. Children reported seeing guards pulling other children from cages by force.

An Astonishing Government Report on Conditions at the Border – The Atlantic

Jeezus….

Customs And Border Patrol Investigating Secret Facebook Border Patrol Group

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Customs And Border Patrol Investigating Secret Facebook Border Patrol Group : NPR

Oh, goody. The people who allowed this toxic culture to exist, spread, and perpetuate within its own ranks are “investigating.” So basically, nothing will happen, there will be no consequences, and these illicit armed thugs will continue to exist at our border, perpetrating crimes against humanity with impunity.

No investigation done in house is legitimate.

…And not for nothing, all leadership needs to be replaced because they either allowed this to happen or they are incapable of doing their jobs.

What is metering and how does it contribute to perpetuating injustice, inhumane treatment, and chaos at the Southern US Border?

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

U.S. Customs and Border Protection uses “metering” as a way to manage the flow of people seeking entry at official ports of entry — capping the daily number of asylum applications received at official border crossings.

We can’t know for certain whether Martínez Ramírez heard about metering or any other policies, so we aren’t rating Castro’s statement on the Truth-O-Meter. But it doesn’t seem far-fetched: Metering may lead migrants to cross the border illegally, according to experts and government investigators. 

…With the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy in effect, government officials have still publicly encouraged asylum seekers to enter the United States legally through a port of entry to avoid prosecution and family separations. However, at the same time, Customs and Border Protection is regulating the flow of asylum seekers at ports of entry through “metering.” A version of the practice has been used at least as far back as 2016, during the Obama administration, according to a September 2018 report from the Office of Inspector General within the Department of Homeland Security.

When metering, Customs and Border Protection officers stand at the international line in the middle of the foot bridges, the report said, and officers only allow asylum seekers to cross the line if space is available. 

“While the stated intentions behind metering may be reasonable, the practice [also has very negative] consequences,” the report stated. “For instance, (Office of Inspector General) saw evidence that limiting the volume of asylum-seekers entering at ports of entry leads some aliens who would otherwise seek legal entry into the United States to cross the border illegally.”

…A May 2019 study from immigration experts suggests there are more than 18,700 asylum seekers waiting in Mexico border cities. One of the report’s researchers, Stephanie Leutert of the University of Texas, told PolitiFact more specifically that there are around 1,000 people waiting to cross the bridge where Martínez Ramírez was waiting. 

A few weeks ago the National Migration Institute, which manages the list in Mexico, made the list private. That has prompted stress for migrants, because they can no longer see their place in line.

“That caused a lot of desperation among migrants,” Leutert said.

Fact-checking Julián Castro’s claim that asylum ‘metering’ caused drowning of father, daughter | PolitiFact

mmhmmm

Also, the Obama administration was in no way and in way near as bad as the Trumps. That is in arguable. It is also true that the BHO WH was hardly the paradigm of progressive policy that the Left likes to think of it as. Yes, they were using metering. No, there was no more of a moral, ethical, or practical justification when they were using it than there is now.

DHS Watchdog Describes Crammed Detention Centers, A Ticking Time Bomb : NPR

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

[The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General] said the prolonged detention of migrants without proper food, hygiene or laundry facilities — some for more than a month — requires “immediate attention and action.”

…The latest report from the Rio Grande Valley includes photos of migrants penned into overcrowded Border Patrol facilities — including one man pressing a cardboard sign to a cell window with the word “Help.”

…Inspectors found that hundreds of children were held for longer than the 72 hours, the maximum time federal rules allow. In some cases, kids were held for more than two weeks. And some adults were kept in standing-room-only cells, without access to showers, for more than a week.

DHS Watchdog Describes Crammed Detention Centers, A Ticking Time Bomb : NPR

mmmhmm

Before European Christians Forced Binary Gender Roles, Native Americans Acknowledged 5 Genders

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,, The Americas,Leave a comment

 According to Indian Country Today, all native communities acknowledged the following gender roles: “female, male, Two Spirit female, Two Spirit male and transgendered.”.

…“The Two Spirit people in pre-contact Native America were highly revered and families that included them were considered lucky. Indians believed that a person who was able to see the world through the eyes of both genders at the same time was a gift from The Creator.”

Before European Christians Forced Gender Roles, Native Americans Acknowledged 5 Genders | DailyPlug

Where women lead on climate change

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Environment,, Media and Culture,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Last summer, dozens of women from across the country gathered to share strategies about water and forest conservation and improving crop yields, and they got a crash course in social auditing, a way for them to understand their rights and get involved in decisionmaking.

…At the meeting in Guatemala, where much of the population depends on subsistence farming, the women spoke different languages and came from different ethnic groups, but all could share stories of how the soil was less fertile, the seasons increasingly unpredictable, and the rainfall more erratic.

…As in many places, problems here often revolve around water scarcity and soil degradation, conditions that increase the workload for women responsible for providing water, food, and fuel for their homes. When those resources are scarce, they must travel farther, sometimes walking for hours to reach the nearest water source.

Because women’s work is often connected to the land, women have long fought to protect their natural environments, often from extractive industries and agribusinesses that compete for access to resources. Now, some are linking this activism to the impacts they feel from a changing climate.

…Pressures from climate change have worsened poverty, food insecurity, human trafficking, and child marriage, activists argue.

….“Women have always been leaders at all levels, it’s just not been recognized in the same way,” Ms. Blomstrom says. Part of that is a broader recognition that the effects of climate change are so varied and widespread, as well as stronger efforts to recognize women as human rights defenders.

Where women lead on climate change – CSMonitor.com

hmmm

US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli shirks responsibility and refuses to accept acknowledge any fault in the drowning death of a man and his daughter at the border

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Tania Vanessa Ávalos, Oscar’s wife and Angie Valeria’s mother, told the Mexican newspaper La Jornada that her family had grown increasingly desperate. Temperatures reached over 110 degrees at the migrant camp in Matamoros, Mexico, where the family had been waiting to present themselves at a US port of entry and seek asylum, she said.

At the end of May, more than 2,000 migrants were waiting “in conditions of hunger and overcrowding” there to seek asylum at ports where, according to La Jornada, US agents granted an average of three appointments per week.

…The Trump administration’s policy, called “metering,” has led to longer wait times. …Customs and Border Protection has said it doesn’t know how many migrants have been turned away as a result of metering.

Ken Cuccinelli blames drowned man in border photograph for own, daughter’s deaths – CNNPolitics

Fucking immoral monster

In Their Own Words, Migrant Children Describe Horrific Conditions At Border Patrol Facilities

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

A 16-year-old mother sleeps with her baby on a cement floor. A 12-year-old wakes up in the middle of the night from hunger. A 5-year-old is sick and has no socks. An 11-year-old cries in a cell, and is only let outside for a few minutes each day.

… They provide a horrifying portrait of life in detention, where toddlers and children sleep on concrete under bright lights and are not properly fed, allowed to bathe or brush their teeth.

…On Wednesday, the lawyers involved in the Flores settlement, an agreement that outlines child welfare standards in detention, filed a temporary restraining order in federal court. It would force the government to allow the facilities to be inspected by public health professionals and staffed by medical professionals.

“The immigration agents separated me from my father right away. I was very frightened and scared. I cried. I have not seen my father again.

I have been at this facility for several days. I have not been told how long I have to stay here. I am frightened, scared, and sad.

I have had a cold and cough for several days. I have not seen a doctor and I have not been given any medicine. It is cold at night when we sleep. I have shoes but no socks.” ― A 5-year-old from Honduras

“Two hours after we crossed, we met Border Patrol and they took us to a very cold house. They took away our baby’s diapers, baby formula, and all of our belongings.

After that they took us to a place with a tent. Up until this point, our family was kept together, but here they took our daughter and me out of the cell and separated my fiancé from us. Our [one-year-old] baby was crying. We asked the guards why they were taking our family apart and they yelled at us.

After that we stayed in a room with 45 other children. There was no mat so my baby and I slept directly on the cement.

I have been in the U.S. for six days and I have never been offered a shower or been able to brush my teeth. There is no soap here and out clothes are dirty. They have never been washed. My daughter is sick and so am I.”  ― A 16-year-old mother from El Salvador

“The guards were mean and scary. They yelled at us. One day the guards wanted to know if anyone had snuck food in the cell. They found one kid who was about 15 or 16 years old who had a burrito, pudding, and juice. The officials handcuffed his wrists.

>I’m so hungry that I’ve woken up in the middle of the night with hunger. I’m too scared to ask the officials here for any more food, even though there is not enough food here for me. In the morning we get oatmeal, pudding, and juice. In the afternoon we get soup, a cookie, and juice. For dinner we get a burrito, pudding and juice.

I saw a child ask for more food once and the guard told him ‘No, you’ve had your ration.’ Sometimes the younger kids get an extra chocolate pudding. I need more food too.” –― A 12-year-old from Guatemala

“The officers took everything from us except our documents. They even took our shoelaces. There was a mother in our group traveling with a very young baby. The officers took her diapers, baby formula, and nearly everything else she had and threw it away.

The water here is horrible. It tastes like chlorine. We can use cups to drink the water. But the water tastes awful and I don’t like it at all. None of the kids here like the water.

The officials here are very bad to us. During the night when we’re trying to sleep they come in and wake us up, yelling and scaring us. Sometimes children rise up in the night and officials yell at them to lay back down. The guards who are yelling don’t speak much Spanish, so it’s hard to understand what they’re saying. My sisters and I are very scared when they yell at us and other children.

Every night my sisters keep asking me, ‘When will our mommy come to get us?’ I don’t know what to tell them. It’s very hard for all of us to be here.” – A 12-year-old from Ecuador

“A Border Patrol agent came in our room with a two-year-old boy and asked us, ‘Who wants to take care of this little boy?’ Another girl said she would take care of him, but she lost interest after a few hours so I started taking care of him yesterday. His bracelet says he is two years old.

I feed the 2-year-old boy, change his diaper, and play with him. He is sick. He has a cough and a runny nose and scabs on his lips. He was coughing last night so I asked to take him to see the doctor and they told me that the doctor would come to our room, but the doctor never came. The little boy that I am taking care of never speaks. He likes for me to hold him as much as possible.

Since arriving here, I have never been outside and never taken a shower.” – A 15-year-old from El Salvador

“We were put into a three sided cage with the fourth side open to the outside filled with loads of people. We had to wait for someone to stand up and quickly take their place on the ground.

My [8-month-old] baby was naked outside with no blanket for all four days we were there. We were freezing. My baby couldn’t sleep because the ground was cement with rocks and everytime she moved the sharp ground would scratch her. There were many pregnant women who had to sleep on rocks and I felt very badly for them.

My baby began vomiting and having diarrhea. I asked to see a doctor and they did not take us. I asked again the next day and the guard said ‘She doesn’t have the face of a sick baby. She doesn’t need to see a doctor.’

Since we arrived here my baby has lost a lot of weight. Her pants are very loose now. She is not sleeping because she is sick, and it is very loud. She cries a lot and is listless.”  ― A 16-year-old mother from Honduras

“We are being held in a cold cell. We sleep on the floor on mats with blankets. I have only been permitted to take a shower twice in the almost two weeks we’ve been here. We’ve been allowed to brush our teeth once.

About three days ago I got a fever. They moved me alone to a flu cell. There is no one to take care of you there. They just give you pills twice a day. I also am having an allergic reaction all over my skin. My skin is itchy and red and my nose is stuffed up. Two times they gave me a pill for it but not anymore.

They let us out of our cell twice a day for a few minutes but other than that we just sit there. We cry a lot and the other kids in the cell also cry. It’s so ugly to be locked up all the time.” – An 11-year-old from El Salvador

 

“I started taking care of a [little girl] in the Ice Box after they separated her from her father. I did not know either of them before that. She was very upset. The workers did nothing to try to comfort her. I tried to comfort her and she has been with me ever since.

>She sleeps on a mat with me on the concrete floor. We spend all day every day in that room. There are no activities, only crying. We eat in the same area. We can only go outside to go to the bathroom. We don’t have any opportunities to go outside to do activities or anything. There is nothing to do. None of the adults take care of us so we try to take care of each other.” ― A 15-year-old who didn’t specify their country of origin

In Their Own Words, Migrant Children Describe Horrific Conditions At Border Patrol Facilities | HuffPost

Jeezus Fricking Krrreyest