On Alcatraz, AIM calls for halt to US/Mexico border wall

By Brenda Norrell

ALCATRAZ ISLAND, Calif. -- Speaking at the Alcatraz Sunrise Gathering, Tohono O'odham Mike Flores described the assault by Homeland Security and the US Border Patrol on the Tohono O'odham people and their lands. Flores called for worldwide support to halt construction of the US/Mexico border wall and stop the militarization of Indigenous borderlands. Flores said the US is destroying endangered species, their habitat and migration routes. He said the truth is suppressed on Tohono O'odham land at the border, allowing the US to continue its lawlessness and abuse.
During interviews for the KPFA/Alcatraz Free Radio broadcast, cohost Tony Gonzales points out that the people of Palestine are also suffering from the isolation, militarization and horrors of a border wall. Gonzales said while walls are coming down in Europe, the US is building a wall.
On Alcatraz, the American Indian Movement called on the Obama administration to make real changes for Indian country. The challenge is voiced on today's Censored Blog Radio show, "AIM on Alcatraz," by Bill Means, with Pat Bellanger and Mike Flores.
Bill Means, cofounder of the International Indian Treaty Council, said the new administration in the U.S. offers hope. Means said the American Indian Movement is calling on the Obama administration to establish a new Presidential Treaty Commission; abolish the BIA and passage of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Means also points out the rise in power of the Maori in New Zealand, a rising world voice empowering Indigenous Peoples.
Means said what happened on Alcatraz and at Wounded Knee, along with the fishing rights struggle, the struggle of Pitt River and the struggles elsewhere, led to sovereignty and self-determination.On Alcatraz, Bellanger, Anishinabe from Minnesota, shares a memory of Phillip Deer and the imaginary border. Bellanger said she has been with AIM since the beginning and it has been an incredible journey. She said the gathering at Alcatraz was a time for celebrating what has been accomplished and a time for giving thanks.
"We beat daddy Bush and we beat baby Bush," Bellanger says of the fight against oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.
Listen to today's blog talk radio show and three others in this week's series:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell
--The first show, "American Indian Resistance," includes interviews with Morning Star Gali, Pitt River, about the Shellmound Walkers. Long Walker Harry talks about service with the Black Mesa Caravan. Mohawk Mark Maracle speaks at the AIM Reunion. Clyde Bellecourt speaks of the importance of AIM and Lenny Foster, Dine', speaks on Native religious freedom rights (30 minutes.)
--The second show, "Emergence of the American Indian Movement," includes Bill Means remembering Raymond Yellow Thunder, a Lakota whose murder in Gordon, Nebraska, changed the course of history. "Never again," became the battlecry of the American Indian Movement. Award-winning Anishinabe singer Keith Secola sings Fry Bread and NDN Cars. Clyde Bellecourt speaks on the importance and early years of AIM, during the AIM West 40-Year Reunion in San Francisco (90 minutes.)
--The third show, "Indigenous Voices of Resistance," includes Western Shoshone call in guests describing how Barrick Gold is currently bulldozing the Shoshone's sacred Mount Tenabo and has cut off Shoshone access to their ceremonial grounds. The show includes news and music. The All Nation Singers in California and the Longest Walk Northern Route at Cahokia Mounds sing the AIM song. (90 minutes.)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell
Photos at:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com