Kaut datums ir pagājis par grupas lūgšanas šo sarakstu rāda mums daudzas svētvietas, kas nepieciešams mūsu aizsardzību un lūgšanu. Tas var būt labs, lai nosūtītu lūgšanu uz vietas vistuvāk Jums un koncentrēties uz šajā jomā. Tad sūtiet savu lūgšanas visām pārējām vietām. Vienoti mēs esam stipri ......... vienoti mēs esam patiesi .... vienoti mēs radītu līdzsvaru ...... paldies, Mirjama

MORNING STAR INSTITŪTS
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Washington, DC 20.003
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Jaunumi paziņojums Immediate relīze

16-24 jūnijs SET 2012 VALSTU svētajām vietām lūgšanā DIENU

Washington, DC (6/15/12)-rituāliem un ceremonijām notiks pa zemi no 16 jūnija līdz 24 jūnijs, lai atzīmētu 2012 valsts svētku dienās no protect Native American svētajām vietām. Vašingtonā, DC ievērošana notiks trešdien, June 20 pie 08:30, uz ASV Capitol Grounds, West Front grassy platība (skatīt sīkāku informāciju par Washington, DC iekļaušanai alfabētiskajā sarakstā, ko valsts par šādiem lapās ).

Aprakstus dažiem svētajām vietām un draudiem tās saskaras, kā arī laiku un vietu valsts atceres ir uzskaitītas zemāk. Daži no pulcēšanās uzsvērts šo atbrīvošanu, ir izglītības forumi, ne reliģiskās ceremonijās, un ir atvērti plašai sabiedrībai. Citi ir svinīgus un var veikt privāti. Papildus tiem, kas uzskaitīti turpmāk, būs ceremonijas un lūgšanas piedāvā citās svētās vietās, kas ir apdraudētas un tiem, kas nav apdraudēta šajā laikā.

"Native un svešzemju cilvēkus visā valstī pulcējas šajā laikā par saulgriežiem ceremonijas un godāt svētās vietas, bet ikviens var godināt šos precious zemi un ūdeņus visu laiku, vienkārši tos ievērot un dzīvi viņi atbalsta, un neļaujot tām nodarīts kaitējums, "teica Suzan parādīts Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee). Viņa ir prezidents Rīts Star institūts, kas organizē valsts svētajām vietām Lūgšanu dienas. "Ceremonijas tiek veikti kā pārāk daudz Native American tautām ir iesaistīti tiesību cīņās ar federālās aģentūras, kas pusē ar izstrādātājiem, kas apdraud vai iznīcināt Native svētās vietas," sacīja kundze Harjo.

"Tā kā ASV Augstākās tiesas nolēmumu 1988.gadā ka nav konstitucionāla vai likumā iemesls prasības, lai aizstāvētu Native sakrālās vietas, Native amerikāņi ir tikai tautas Amerikas Savienotajās Valstīs, kuriem nav durvis uz Tiesu lai aizsargātu svētās vietas vai vietni specifiskas ceremonijas, "sacīja kundze Harjo. "Tas vienkārši ir jāmaina kā jautājums par taisnīgumu un vienlīdzību. Dzimtā Nāciju ir bruģēšana kopā aizsardzību, pamatojoties uz aizstāvības paredzēti citiem mērķiem. Dažas aģentūras var atļaut vietu pie galda, kad attīstība ir ieplānota, bet lielākā daļa nav, un pamatiedzīvotāju netiek ņemti nopietni, jo aģentūras un izstrādātāji zina, ka Augstākā tiesa nešķiet vēlme dzirdēt tiesas prāvas, kurās nav individuālu tiesības darbības. "

Laikā viņa prezidenta kampaņā 2008.gadā toreizējais senators Obama pievērsās šim jautājumam, kas ir daļa no viņa Native American politikas platformas reliģisko brīvību, kultūras tiesības un svētās vietas aizsardzība: "Native American svētās vietas un vietas svinīgos ir apdraudētas no attīstības, piesārņojums , un vandālismu. Baraks Obama atbalsta tiesisku aizsardzību svētajām vietām un kultūras tradīcijām, tostarp dzimto senču apbedījumos un baznīcu. "

Daudzi pamatiedzīvotāju apstiprināja Candidate Obamu, jo viņa nostāja par Native svētajām vietām, bet ir izmisis par pieaugošo atšķirību starp to, ko kandidāts atbalstīja un ko Prezidenta administrācija ir darīts uz svētajām vietām. Meža dienests, birojs Land Management, Tieslietu ministrija un citas federālās aģentūras ir aktīvi apdraud svētas vietas un cīnās pamatiedzīvotāju, kuri cenšas, lai aizsargātu svētās vietas tiesu un administratīvā procesa.

Nacionālais kongress indiāņiem, vecākā un lielākā valsts Indijas organizācija, aicināja Kongresu ieviest likumu, kas sniegtu izraisīt prasību, lai prezidents, lai atjauninātu un stiprinātu pašreizējo Rīkojumu par Indijas svētvietas un par mežu Pakalpojumu izmantot esošos likumus un politiku, lai aizsargātu Native American svētās vietas. Tajā pašā laikā, meža dienests ir touted kā sasniegums svētajām vietām tās ziņojuma projekta, kas tika pamatīgi nosodīja Indijas valstī, un pārskatīto ziņojumu tā ir tur slepenībā, pretrunā ar administrācijas nostāju par cilšu konsultācijām.

"Prezidents ir lūgts tieši aicināt Kongresu izveidot rīcības tiesības, lai mēs varētu aizstāvēt mūsu svētās vietas, lai uzlabotu Rīkojumu par Indijas svētvietas un apturēt meža dienestu un citu iestāžu no turpmākas gadu desmitiem ilgi uzbrukumu pret Native svētajās vietās, "sacīja kundze Harjo. "Es esmu vēl optimistisks, ka prezidents var un darīt šīs lietas, pat ja Kongress nevar panākt progresu šajā vai jebkurā jomā. Atkal, mēs lūdzam, ka šis būs pēdējais gads mums ir liegta taisnību, ko izpildu, likumdošanas un tiesu filiāles. "

ANO Īpašais ziņotājs par pamatiedzīvotāju tiesībām ir ieteikusi, ka ASV apsver iespēju atņemt federālo atļauju kas ļauj privāts slēpošanas kūrorts izmantot pārstrādāto notekūdenī lai sniegu uz augšu no Sanfrancisko Peaks, kas ir svēta daudzām Native Nāciju dienvidrietumos. Īpašais ziņotājs arī ir aicinājis ASV konsultēties ar un atgriezties svētās vietas, lai pamatiedzīvotāju.

"Native American tautas ir aicinātas ka prezidents mainīja ASV nostāja un apstiprināja Apvienoto Nāciju Organizācijas Deklarāciju par pamatiedzīvotāju tiesībām, un ceram uz tās piemērošanu ar ASV tiesību aktiem un praksi," sacīja kundze Harjo.

Deklarācija ietver šādus izteikumus par svētās vietas:

"11, 1: Pamatiedzīvotājiem ir tiesības praktizēt un atdzīvināt savas kultūras tradīcijas un paražas. Tas ietver tiesības saglabāt, aizsargāt un attīstīt pagātni, tagadni un nākotni izpausmes savu kultūru, piemēram, arheoloģijas un vēstures vietām, artefaktus, dizainu, ceremonijām, tehnoloģijām un vizuālās un skatuves mākslas un literatūras.

"11, 2 valstis nodrošina kompensāciju, izmantojot efektīvus mehānismus, kas var ietvert restitūciju, kas izstrādāta sadarbībā ar pamatiedzīvotājiem, attiecībā uz to kultūras, intelektuālo, reliģisko un garīgo īpašumu pieņemts bez viņu brīvu, iepriekšēju un apzinātu piekrišanu vai pārkāpjot no saviem likumiem, tradīcijām un paražām. "

"12, 1: Pamatiedzīvotājiem ir tiesības uz manifestā, prakse, attīstīt un mācīt savus garīgos un reliģiskās tradīcijas, paražas un ceremonijas, tiesības saglabāt, aizsargāt un piekļūt privātumu saistībā ar viņu reliģisko un kultūras vietām, tiesības izmantošanu un to svinīgus objektu kontrole;. un tiesības uz repatriāciju to cilvēku mirstīgās atliekas "

"25.pants: Pamatiedzīvotājiem ir tiesības saglabāt un stiprināt to īpašu garīgu saikni ar to tradicionāli pieder vai citādi aizņemts un izmantot zemi, teritorijas, ūdeņi un piekrastes jūras un citus resursus, un atbalstīt savus pienākumus līdz nākamajām paaudzēm šajā sakarā."

2012 ceremonijas ir desmitā daļa nacionālo Prayer dienās, lai nosargātu Native American svētajām vietām. Valsts pirmais lūgšanu diena tika veikta 20.jūnijā, 2003, uz ASV Capitol Grounds un valstī uzsvērt nepieciešamību Kongresu pieņemt izraisīt prasību, lai aizsargātu Native svētās vietas. Šī nepieciešamība joprojām pastāv.

Lūgšanas tiks piedāvātas šādos svētajām vietām, cita starpā:

Antelope Hills. Apache lēciens. Āpšu Divi medicīna. Badlands. Lācis Butte. Bear Lake. Lācis Medicīna Lodge. Black Hills. Melna Mesa. Zils ezers. Boboquivari Kalnu. Bunchgrass Kalnu. Ala Rock. Galvenais klints. Piekrastes Chumash Sacred zemju Gaviota Coast. Cocopah apglabāšana un svinīgie pamatojums. Coldwater Springs. Kolorādo upe. Kolumbijas upes. Briežu Medicīna Rocks. Dzil Nchaa Si (Mount Graham). Eagle Rock. Everglades.

Fajada Butte. Ganondagan. Lielā Mound (Mound Bottom). Meksikas līcis. Haleakala krāteris. Cirvis Kalnu. Hickory Zemes. Svētais kalns. Hualapai Nation zemes formas uz Truxton un Crozier kanjoniem. Indijas Pass. Kaho'olawe. Kasha-Katuwe. Katuktu. Kituwah. Klamath River. Kumeyaay Bands apglabāšanu un svinīgie iemesliem. Lake Superior. Luiseno Senču Izcelsme Ainava. Mauna Kea. Labirints. Medicīna Bluff. Medicīna Hole. Zāles ezers Highlands. Medicīna riteņiem. Migi Zii wa grēks (Eagle Rock). Mokuhinia. Moku'ula. Mount Shasta. Mount Teilors. Mount Tenabo. Nine Mile Canyon.

Okmalgī Old laukus un National Monument. Onondagi ezers. Palo Duro Canyon. Petroglyphs National Monument. Pipestone National Monument. Puget Sound. Puvungna. Pyramid Lake Akmens Māte. Quechan apglabāšana un svinīgie pamatojums. Rainbow Bridge. Klaburčūska sala. Rio Grande upes. San Francisco virsotnēm. Čūska Mound. Snoqualmie Falls. Sweetgrass Hills. Sutter Buttes. TSE Vasarsvētku Zen Village. TSI-litch Semiahmah Village. Ieleja priekšnieku. Valmont Butte. Wakarusa Mitrāji. Walking Woman Place. Woodruff Butte. Vilks upe. Yucca kalnu. Zuni Salt Lake. Svētās vietas visu noņemtas Native Nāciju. Visi ūdeņiem un mitrzemēm.

Arizona: Mount Graham, Dzil Nchaa Si

Mount Graham ir svēta Rietumu Apache iedzīvotājiem un ir zināms, San Carlos Apache kā Dzil Nchaa Si An. Tā ir svēta ainava, kurā Gaan vai Kalnu Stiprie uzturēties un senču Apache atpūtu. Tā ir vieta, ceremonijām un medicīnas iekārtām, un mājas apdraudētās kalna Graham vāveres. Pinaleño kalni jeb Mount Graham ir unikāla ekoloģisko dārgumu. Tas ir garākais kalnu dienvidu Arizona un aptver sešas dažādas dzīves zonas no ielejas grīdas tās pie 10.720 pēdas pīķa sauc "Sky Island" ekosistēmu, vecie meži Mount Grēma sammitā ir Arizonas ekvivalents tropu meži. Bagātīgs atsperes un lielā augstumā pļavas ir piedāvājušas iztika un dziedināšanas ar Apache cilvēkiem, kas dzīvo tuksnesī avots. Cool mitras īpašības kalna ir jākopj 18 dažādus augus un dzīvniekus nekur citur pasaulē.

1980, Arizonas un tās partneru Universitāte tajā laikā, ieskaitot Vatikānu un Smitsona institūta, izvēlējās Mount Graham kā vietu būvēt novērošanas ar septiņām lielām teleskopiem dēvē par Columbus projekts. Sākot ar 1988 Arizonas Kongresa delegācija izdevies iegūt atbrīvojumus projektā no apdraudētajām sugām, vides, restauratoriem un citos likumos. 1989, Arizonas universitāte piešķīra 20 gadu īpašo lietošanas atļauju ar Coronado Valsts Meža un ASV meža dienests, un dotācija braucēji tur projekts skalot ar valsts pabalstiem bez ievērot federālo likumu vai noteikumu, tostarp federālo Indijas likumi paredzēti, lai aizsargātu reliģiskās pārliecības brīvību, apbedījumu vietas un kultūras īpašības. Vatikāns spokesmen norādīja, ka kalns Greiems nav reliģiska vai svēta vieta. Universitāšu darbinieki un lobistiem mēģināja mazināt reputācijas Apache reliģisko līderu un praktiķiem, un saglabā vismaz vienu San Carlos cilšu ierēdnim liecināt, ka kalnu nebija svēta un nozīmīga uz Apache tautām.

Gadu desmitiem, Apache tautu, zinātnieki, dabas aizsardzības un universitāšu studentiem ir pretojās no Arizonas universitātes lēmumu būvēt teleskopu uz kalnu samitā. Kaut gan bieži mākoņu segas padara teleskopu skatīšanās maznozīmīgs un Mount Graham ieņēma 38. pētījumā par astronomisko vietām ASV, Arizonas Kongresa delegācija un universitātes joprojām pastāvēs ar projektu. Šodien, par teleskopiem un rezultātā federālās slēgšana uz kalnu virsotnēm celtniecība desecrating kalnā un tās neaizstājama attiecības ar Apache tautu.

Cīņa turpinās aizsargāt dabas un kultūras mantojumu kalna Graham no precedentu iznīcināšanas joprojām izraisa universitātes ēka savu observatoriju Mount Graham. Par kultūras aizsardzību un vides organizācijām un skarto ciltis centieniem aizsargāt svētumu Mount Graham turpina savu uzvaras gājienu.

Arizonas universitātes tagad darbojas savu observatoriju bez derīgas īpašās lietošanas atļaujā. Tās 20 gadu federālā atļauja beidzās 19.aprīlī, 2009. Universitāte ir lūgusi Coronado National Forest par jaunas atļaujas, bet, kā gada jūnija 2012, par to, vai piešķirt atļauju lēmums vēl nav veikts. Mežu dienests ir noteicis, ka tai ir jāsagatavo ietekmes uz vidi paziņojumu (EIS), lai savāktu informāciju par plusus un mīnusus, piešķirot jaunu atļauju. Universitāte ir iebildusi dedzīgi uz jaunu EIS. No tā, ko maz informācijas Mount Graham koalīciju un Sankarlosas Apache cilts ir iemācījušies, meža dienesta un universitātes juristi "diskusijās", lai noteiktu galīgo formu atļaujas atjaunošanas procesā.

Ir iemesli Meža dienesta numuru noliegt jaunu atļauju. Zaudējis spēku atļauja bija vairāki noteikumiem, kas bija pārkāpuši universitātē. Daudzi no šiem nosacījumiem būtu rezultātā tika izbeigts atļaujas, bet nav. Visi šie pārkāpumi ir jāveic izpēte, lai noteiktu, vai universitātes varētu ievēro noteikumus jaunas atļaujas.

Kalna Graham apstākļi ir būtiski mainījušies kopš tika izsniegta un observatorija ir vēl mazāk saderīgs ar reliģisko un ekoloģiskā nozīme kalna Graham. Tā tika izsniegta, "forma" no kalna Graham ir uzskatāmi par tiesīgiem izvietošanu uz valsts sarakstu vēsturiskajām vietām. Turklāt meža dienests tagad atzīst, ka kalns Graham ir tradicionālā kultūras vērtības Rietumu Apache cilvēkiem un ir veikusi pasākumus, lai konsultēties (lai gan tas ir garš ceļš ejams) ar tradicionālo Apache par svēto raksturu Mountain un kā aizsargāt tā. Universitātes var doties uz Kongresu vēl vienu izņēmumu uz reliģisko brīvību un vides tiesību aktu un piespiest meža dienests izsniegt jaunu atļauju. Atbalstītāji Mount Graham būtu pēdējais dzirdēt no jebkuras lobēšanas pa šīm līnijām, un ir jābūt arvien modriem, lai apturētu šo no realitāte.

Šo un daudzu citu iemeslu dēļ, tas ir svarīgi, lai atbalstītājiem Apache tautu un Mount Graham mudināt meža dienestu, lai liegtu Universitāte jaunu atļauju, un prasa, ka spēkā esošie teleskopi uz kalna Graham jānoņem.

Pēc 20 gadu celtniecības, lielais teleskops projekts vēl nav pabeigts, un ļoti nopietni jautājumi paliek par tā nozīmīgumu, lietderību un funkcijas no astronomiskā viedokļa. Kas nav jautājums ir turpinājums nodarījumu Rietumu Apache tautu. Tikpat skaidrs ir riskants statuss dzimtās kalna Graham vāveres. Jaunākais pētījums, ko veica pēc biologu lēsts, ka tikai aptuveni 214 šīs unikālās sugas, atrasti tagad kur citur uz Zemes, paliek. Tas ir identificējusi biologiem kā viens no zīdītāju visvairāk varētu iet izmiris ASV tuvākajā nākotnē.

Vairāki ugunsgrēki izpostīja augšdaļu kalna Graham iepriekšējos gados. Viņi bija cīnījās, lai aizsargātu teleskopus vairāk nekā ekosistēmu un, kā rezultātā, daudz bojājumu tika izdarīts uz kalna, kas būtu bijis iespējams izvairīties. Mežu dienests ir nolēmusi šķidrina mežu un citādi manipulēt ekosistēmu, lai mēģinātu aizsargāt to, kas paliek un atjaunot to, kas ir bojāts. Pašreizējie ugunsgrēki dedzināšana austrumu un dienvidu Arizona pastiprinātu risku, ka turpmāka rīcība tiks pieņemts aizsargāt struktūras pār dabas un garīgo vērtību.

Lūgšanas un uzcītība ir nepieciešama jau tagad vairāk nekā jebkad Mount Graham. Ekosistēma ir nopietni apdraudēta no klimata pārmaiņām un citiem modeļiem iznīcināšanas, tur ir par meža dienestā iespēja liegt jaunu atļauju uz teleskopiem un pieprasīt tos noņemt, un tur ir iespēja, lai aizsargātu esošo ekosistēmu un atjaunot dažas par to, ko ir zaudēts. Un, no kalna Graham svētums turpina tikt apstrīdēti un, kamēr kalnu spēj sevi aizsargāt, atbalstītāji var palīdzēt aizsargāt to.

Lai iegūtu plašāku informāciju, sazinieties ar Mount Graham koalīciju, Rodžers Featherstone, prezidents, pie greenfire@featherstone.ws vai Dinah Lācis, sekretārs, pēc Bear6@verizon.net

Arizona: San Francisco Peaks

Sanfrancisko Peaks ir svēta Apache, Hopi, Hualapai, Navajo, Yavapai un citi Native Nāciju. Sanfrancisko Peaks ir mājvieta daudzām svētajām būtnēm, medicīnas vietas un izcelsmes vietu. Neskaitāmas ceremonijas notiek tur dziedināšanu, labklājību, līdzsvaru, piemiņa, fragmenti un pasaules ūdens un dzīves ciklu.

Sanfrancisko Peaks ir uz federālo zemi ietvaros Coconino National Forest. Patiešām, ASV Mežu dienests ir norādījis, ka San Francisco Peaks ir svēts un svēts nekā trīspadsmit Tribes dienvidrietumu Amerikas Savienotajās Valstīs.

Neskatoties uz iepriekš minēto, Meža dienests un privātīpašumā Snowbowl slēpošanas kūrorts, kas atrodas uz San Francisco Peaks, plāno paplašināt slēpošanas zonu un izmantot pārstrādāto notekūdeņu veikt mākslīgo sniegu. Paplašināšana un kanalizācijas līdz sniega plāni varētu būt katastrofāla ietekme uz Native reliģijām un cilvēkiem, un uz ūdens un veselību visā reģionā. Ložņu atpūtas attīstība ir bažas Native garīgos līderus un cilšu amatpersonas gadu desmitiem, bet pašreizējie plāni ievērojami pārsniedz iepriekšējo darbību kūrortā.

Snowbowl plāni uz skaidriem 74 akru retu kalnu dzīvotņu, kas ir mājvieta apdraudēto sugu, iegūt jaunus slēpošanas trases un pacēlāji, pievienot vairāk autostāvvietas un veidot 14,8 jūdžu aprakti cauruļvadu transportēt līdz 180 miljonus galonu (par sezonu) par notekūdeņu veikt mākslīgo sniegu uz 205 akriem. Neraugoties uz protestiem un bada streikus, Snowbowl ir sākuši būvniecību savu notekūdeņu cauruļvada snowmaking, ar apstiprinājumu un ar Meža dienesta un ASV Lauksaimniecības departamenta aizsardzību.

Navajo Nation Cilvēktiesību komisijas priekšsēdētājs Duane H. Yazzie liecināja pirms Senāta komitejā Indijas ministrs "2011 noklausīšanās par ASV īstenošanu Apvienoto Nāciju Deklarāciju par pamatiedzīvotāju tiesībām:" integrēšana Deklarāciju par esošā likuma koncentrēsies būtības uz vērtību gada svētajām vietām, nevis laist nevajadzīgu slogu procedūru. Arī deklarācija uzsvērt starptautiskās politikas, nevis paļaujoties uz iekšzemes politiku vien. Tiesiski risinot Indijas likumu jurisprudenci būs remonta atņemšanu Native American tiesību svētajām vietām. "

ANO īpašais ziņotājs par pamatiedzīvotāju ieteiktajiem 2011 ka "ASV valdība iesaistās visaptverošā pārskatā tās attiecīgie politiku un rīcību, lai nodrošinātu, ka tās ir saskaņā ar starptautiskajiem standartiem attiecībā uz Sanfrancisko Peaks un citas tiesības Native American svētvietas, un veikt attiecīgus korektīvus pasākumus .... valdībai vajadzētu atsākt vai turpināt konsultācijas ar ciltīm, kuru reliģijas prakse skar slēpošanas operācijām par Sanfrancisko Peaks un cenšas panākt vienošanos ar viņiem uz attīstību slēpošanas zonā. Valdībai būtu nopietni jāapsver apturēt atļauju uz Snowbowl modifikācijas, kamēr šāda vienošanās varētu tikt panākta vai līdz brīdim, ja nav šādas vienošanās, rakstisks nolēmuma pieņemšanas kompetentā valsts iestāde, kas galīgo lēmumu par slēpošanas zonā modifikācijas ir saskaņā ar Amerikas Savienoto Valstu starptautiskās saistības cilvēktiesību jomā.

"Īpašais ziņotājs vēlas uzsvērt nepieciešamību nodrošināt, ka rīcība vai lēmumi valsts aģentūras ir saskaņā ar, ne tikai valsts tiesību aktiem, bet arī starptautiskos standartus, kas aizsargā tiesības Native American praktizēt un saglabāt savas reliģiskās tradīcijas. Īpašais ziņotājs apzinās esošo valdības programmu un politiku konsultēties ar pamatiedzīvotājiem un jāņem vērā savas reliģiskās tradīcijas valdības lēmumu pieņemšanā attiecībā uz svētajām vietām. Īpašais ziņotājs mudina valdību veidot šo programmu un politiku, lai atbilstu starptautiskajiem standartiem un tādējādi, lai izveidotu labu praksi un kļūt par pasaules līderi, ka tas ir nepieciešams aizsargāt pamatiedzīvotāju tiesības. "

Dzimtā Nāciju un vides organizācijas ir centušās aizsargāt Sanfrancisko Peaks tiesā. Rajona tiesa lēma par attīstību 2006. Devītā Circuit tiesa apelācijas atcēla zemākās instances tiesas lēmumu 2007.gadā un valdīja Hopi cilts, Navajo Nation un citi. Trīs tiesnesis panelī Devītā Circuit atzina, ka meža dienests pārkāpis reliģisko brīvību Restaurācija aktu un Valsts vides politikas aktu, ļaujot Snowbowl Kūrorta paplašināt vairāk nekā 100 hektāru retu kalnu ekosistēmas, daļu no platības, kas ir svēta Dzimtā tautām.

Federālā valdība apstrīdēja šo lēmumu un lūdza Devītā Circuit jaunai izskatīšanai en Banc. Šādi lūgumraksti tiek piešķirta reti, bet Tiesa piešķīra šo vienu. Lieta tika apgalvots priekšā 11 tiesnešu en Banc paneļa Devītā Circuit Pasadena 2007.gada decembrī. Devītā Circuit izdeva lēmumu par en Banc paneļa 8.augustā, 2008, lemjot par labu attīstībai. Native Nāciju iesniegti raksta certiorari par ASV Augstākajā tiesā. Gada 8, 2009, Augstākā tiesa atteicās šo lēmumu pārskatīt.

Ciltis mēģināja panākt kaut kādu administratīvu naktsmītnes ar jauno administrāciju, taču šie centieni nav vainagojušies panākumiem. Saglabāt virsotnēm koalīciju tādēļ iesniedza prasību pret federālo valdību par NEPA jautājumā ka meža dienests nav pienācīgi apsvērt uzņemšanu reģenerētu kanalizācijas ūdens. Tie bija pats likums un fakti, ka pirms 3 tiesnesis panelis uzskatīja, konstatējot, ka meža dienests nav ievērojusi ar NEPA. Pirms nolēmums tomēr tika padarīti precedenta ar en Banc tiesā Navajo gadījumā. Neatkarīgi Devītās Circuit iepriekšējas argumentāciju, tiesnesis var Murguia no ASV rajona tiesa pieņēma Saglabāt Peaks koalīcijai visiem skaitu. Drīz pēc tam, kad to iecēlusi Obama Devītās Circuit tika apstiprināta. Saglabāt Peaks Koalīcijas spriedumu pārsūdzēja.

Atklāti naidīgas trīs tiesnešu panelis Devītā Circuit ne tikai lēmusi pret koalīciju, bet norādīja, ka Saglabāt Peaks koalīciju un viņu advokāts pārkāpa noteikumus tiesas process - bez pamata atbalstu saviem apvainojumiem. Snowbowl pašlaik notiek pēc prasītājiem un to pro bono jurists, personīgi, par zaudējumu summu aptuveni $ 280,000. Tie paši trīs tiesneši dzirdēt Snowbowl kustību.

Tikmēr Snowbowl ir turpināt kriminālvajāšanu par mierīgu demonstrāciju un meklē "sodīšanu" no tiem. Daži no Flagstaff kopienas locekļi ir sākuši bada streiku. Kā juridiska un praktiska lieta, tomēr, Snowbowl tagad brīvi apgānīt Svētās Sanfrancisko Peaks nesodīti.

Lai iegūtu papildu informāciju, sazinieties: Howard M. Shanker, Shanker Law Firm, PLC, Tempe un Flagstaff, Arizona, pie (480) 838-9433 vai howard@shankerlaw.net

California: McCloud River - Winnemem Wintu cilts gatavojas Balas Chonos

Winnemem Wintu cilts Ziemeļkalifornijā sagatavo Balas Chonos, nāk no vecuma ceremonija, neskatoties uz pretestību ar ASV meža dienests. Cilts ir lūgusi meža dienestu slēgt 400 metri no McCloud River atpūtas mehānisko boaters attiecībā uz četru dienu no ceremonijas, 30 jūnijs - 3 jūlijs. Meža dienests apgalvo, ka tā ir norūpējušies par biroja Indijas lietu ministrs federālajā atzīšanas politikas un nevar aizvērt upi, jo cilts nav federāli atzīts.

Cilts saka, ka federālās atzīšana ir tikai viens no federālajām attiecībās ar cilšu tautām. Kalifornijā, 90% no ciltīm nebija iekļauti ļoti īsā atzīšanas sarakstā, kas tika izdota bez brīdinājuma laikā Reigana administrācija. Pat tiem, ar ilgu ierakstīto vēsturiskajām attiecībām, jo ​​ciltis ar ASV valdību - tie, kas bija parakstījušas unratified līgumiem un tiem par Kalifornijas Sprieduma Roll, piemēram, - tika izslēgti no minētā atzīšanas saraksta. Apmēram 300000 tradicionālie cilvēki un viņu cilvēktiesības ceremonijas tiek ietekmētas, jo šīs politikas. Saskaņā ar Amerikas indiāņu reliģijas brīvība aktu visiem federālās aģentūras ir pienākums aizsargāt un saglabāt Native American svētās vietas un ceremonijas, un konsultēties ar Native tradicionālo reliģisko līderi, neatkarīgi no to federālo vai nav federāla atzīšanas statuss.

Winnemem Wintu Cilts apgalvo savas tiesības uz ceremoniju pamatiedzīvotāju sievietēm 11.punktā, 12 un 25 Apvienoto Nāciju Organizācijas Deklarācijā par pamatiedzīvotāju tiesībām. Winnemem Galvenais Caleen Sisk lūdz obligātu slēgšanas McCloud River par pilngadības ceremonija Marisa Sisk, kurš būs nākamais Winnemem priekšnieks. Kaut Winnemem Wintu gribētu koncentrēties uz celebrant, cilts saka, ka tā "ir jāturpina uz garo ceļu uz tiesu, izglītojot pasauli, kā par to, ko nozīmē būt tradicionālie ASV."

Pēc neapmierinošiem tikšanās ar meža dienesta amatpersonām, galvenais Sisk aicināja kara dejas, vai H'up Chonos, ceremonija notiek tad, ja nekas, ko var izdarīt, izņemot lūgties. Vairāk nekā 200 cilvēki nāca no tik tālu ziemeļos kā Olympia, Washington, un kā tālu dienvidos, kā Los Angeles atbalstīt Winnemem ar nevardarbīgu slēgšanu, sazinoties ar boaters par Patiesībā bija ceremonija un aicinot tos ievērot, ka. Viens simts procentiem no atpūtas boaters godbijīgi pagriezās apkārt.

Cilts teica, ka "tikai iejaukšanās šo nevardarbīgo ceremonija bija ASV Mežu Rangers, kas ik dienas nāca caur diviem transportlīdzekļiem, no kuriem viens ir suņu vienību, un buzzed mūs ar savām laivām, nodrošināti ar papildu krasta apsardzes, par trešā diena (Mežu dienests) lakoniski slēgtas mūsu slēgšanas centienus. "

Winnemem saka, ka meža dienests noliedz slēgšanu, lai gan tā ir: 1) skaidri pierādījumi par rasu uzmākšanos, iejaukšanās un veselības un drošības apdraudējuma ar iereibušiem, paātrinot boaters kas nepilda Meža dienests ir "brīvprātīgi slēgšana", 2) lauksaimniecības likums kas dod tiesības slēgt jomas un upēs ceremoniju, 3) ANO Deklarācija par pamatiedzīvotāju tiesībām, 4) Kalifornijas AJR 39 kopīga rezolūcija, kurā apgalvots, ka Kalifornijas valsts atzīst Winnemem Wintu un mudina ASV Kongresu atzīt cilts, 5) neformālās aptauja, ko vietējā Redding laikrakstā, kas liecina, ka sabiedrība atbalsta honoring tiesības ceremoniju, kā arī milzīgs interneta atbalsts un 6) rezolūcijas atbalstu no pamatiedzīvotājiem vadītāji 2012 ANO pastāvīgajā forumā par Pamatiedzīvotāju tiesības.

Cilts aicina spēka šovu un federālo atpazīšanas problēma "dūmi un spoguļi, un kad dūmiem tīra, cilts ir aizdomas, ka ASV Mežu dienests reibumā biroja Indijas lietu var vārdā par īpašu interešu - birojs reģenerācijai un Westlands ūdens, lielākā ūdens korporācija pasaulē, kas pieder zonā, kas ir svēta Winnemem. "Westlands grib Shasta Lake Dam projekts, kas paaugstinās dambja vairāki kājām. Cilts saka projekta "noslīcināt visu svētajām vietām, kas šobrīd nāk ārā no ūdens uz pāris nedēļām katru gadu, piemēram, Sieviešu Ārstnieciskā Place un pubertātes klinti, un tie tiks zaudēts uz visiem laikiem."

Galvenais Sisk saka Winnemem plāns "iet uz priekšu ar cienīgu ceremonija, stiprinājis gan karš balles lūgšanām un nodrošināti ar solījumu 300-400 atbalstītāju atgriežas 29 jūnijs slēgt 400 metri no McCloud četras dienas par Marisa atnākšanu no vecumu. Tas ir svarīgi, lai Marisa zināt, ko viņai vajag darīt šajos grūtajos laikos kā līderis. Laiks nav mierīgu, tik mierīga un cieņpilna ceremonija nevar būt zaudējis mērķis. Mērķis ir darīt labāko var un nekad nepadoties pastāvi Winnemem.

"Winnemem Wintu prasīt no visiem labajiem cilvēkiem pulcējās Nacionālo Lūgšanas par Sacred Lands par cilvēka tiesībām uz ceremoniju, nenodalot federāli atzīta un neatzīto, un jo īpaši attiecībā uz tiesībām uz cilšu sievietēm uz ceremoniju lūgšanām. Sievietes ir svēta centrs dzīvē. Mēs lūdzam par lūgšanām, ka Šastas ezers dambis netiks tālāk izvirzīts un aizsardzībai mūsu sakrālās Winnemem upi, svēta sieviešu doctoring vietās, pubertātes Rock un bērnu Rock, kā arī drošu atgriešanos cilts lasi no Jaunzēlandes savām mājām ūdeņiem virs dambja. Mēs lūdzam par lūgšanām, ka Winnemem dzīves veids tiks turpināts. Hee Chala Bes-Ken! "

Kontaktpersona: Winnemem Wintu galvenais Caleen Sisk pie caleenwintu@gmail.com vai Misas Joo pie misa@misajoo.com

California: Medicīna ezers augstienes un Cirvis un Bunchgrass kalni

Medicīna ezers Highlands ir kritiski svarīgs cilšu reģionā atrodas uz ziemeļaustrumiem no Šasta darbība ziemeļu Kalifornijas kalnos. Pit upe, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk, Wintu un citas ciltis Revere platība ar dabas sadzīšana pilnvaras un tās savienojumiem ar savu cilšu "senajās vēsturēm. Piemēram, Pit upe cilts uzskata, ka Radītājs un viņa dēls peldējusies Medicine Lake kad viņi radīja zemi, un Radītājs izlietot savu garu uz ūdeņiem. Sakarā ezera svētuma, Tribes no Kalifornijas krastu uz Rocky Mountains izmantot apkārtni kā mācību pamatu zāles cilvēkiem. Highlands ir arī centās pēc ģeotermālās enerģijas uzņēmumiem, kas ir pieteikušies attīstības atļauju no biroja Land Management (BLM) un ASV meža dienests (USFS), kas pārvalda teritoriju.

Kopš 1990, Pit upes cilts, Stenfordas Vides likums klīnika un citi atbalstītāji aizsardzības svēto Medicīnas ezera augstienē ziemeļaustrumu Kalifornijā ir apstrīdot BLM un USFS nespēju veikt pienācīgu vides pārskatu un cilšu konsultācijas par rūpnieciskā mēroga enerģijas attīstībai kas Highlands. On November 6, 2006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the BLM and USFS original extension of Calpine Corporation's geothermal leases in the Highlands violated both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The agencies should have prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before renewing the leases and should have included a “no action” alternative. Because the agencies violated NEPA and NHPA, both the five-year lease extensions and the subsequent 40-year extensions were undone. The Court also said that BLM and USFS violated their fiduciary duty to the Pit River Tribe by failing to complete an EIS before extending the Calpine leases.

When the case was sent back to the trial court to implement the Ninth Circuit's decision, the trial judge ruled that, notwithstanding the invalidation of the lease extensions, the 1988 leases were still intact. In response, Stanford Environmental Law Clinic (SELC) filed an appeal challenging the lower court's interpretation, which went directly against the original Ninth Circuit ruling. At the new hearing on March 10, 2010, the SELC attorneys maintained that the leases, originally issued in 1988 for a duration of five years, and renewed once, expired by their own terms when the 1998 renewals for 40 years were declared null and void by the Ninth Circuit judges.

In August 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court Order indicated that while the Fourmile Hill lease extensions and the project decision remain unacceptable, the underlying leases themselves, granted to Calpine in 1988, continue to be in force. The Federal Agencies (Forest Service and BLM) will need to do a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) involving more environmental review and consultations with the Tribe in order to evaluate whether or not these leases should be extended.

The court ruled that the agencies retain full discretion regarding the Fourmile Hill lease extensions. Therefore, all parties, the Pit River Tribe, BLM, United States Department of Justice and Cal Pine Energy Corporation continue negotiations on how a new EIS will look.

The culturally-important Hatchet and Bunchgrass Mountains and the surrounding lands in Traditional Pit River Indian Territory are in jeopardy of being destroyed, due to a plan to build 49 monolithic windmill energy turbines and related roads and ancillary, interconnections, operations and maintenance facilities in the heart of this region. Hatchet Ridge Wind Company, an affiliate of RES America Developments and Renewable Resources, is initiating its windmill construction project. The project would significantly and negatively alter over 100 acres of this natural region and include up to 49 turbines on steel towers with a height of up to 503 feet. Ancillary facilities would include a substation, an overhead transmission circuit, a switching/interconnection facility and a control room/operations and maintenance building. Access roads would be built, including 6.5 miles of 20-foot-wide permanent roads, and one mile of additional roads.

The project would have severe negative impact on sacred and cultural places, as well as on the winged and four-legged beings. Native people could no longer access particular ceremonial plants on Hatchet Mountain as part of their cultural practices and they do not support the project. The visual impact of the towers on the ridge destroys the integrity of the setting of this sacred area. Birds traditionally important to the local tribal culture, such as eagles, ospreys, ducks and geese, cross the ridge and would be shredded by the blades. Migration routes of deer across the ridge could be disrupted. Sound quality issues would also affect the serenity and isolation of the ridge, disrupting human experiences in the area.

Bunchgrass Mountain is just north of the area impacted by the project. An ancient trail runs along the top of the ridge top, connecting the Pit River to Goose Valley and sites downriver; in addition to regular travel, this trail is used to reach remote areas during vision quests and such quests continue among some young men. Clearly, the proposed windmill project will have severe negative impacts on the natural world, as well as the well being and cultural rights of Native peoples. Although these turbines have been built and are up and running, we are firm that this project is in violation of federal law and the Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites and their allies have protested against the project, will continue to do so and will not sit idly by and allow the destruction of important sacred and cultural regions to take place.

For more information on the efforts to protect the sacred Medicine Lake Highlands and Hatchet and Bunchgrass Mountains from the building of massive energy power facilities, contact the Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites: Radley Davis, Pit River Nation, 530-917-6064; Mark LeBeau, Pit River Nation, 916-801-4422; and James Hayward, Sr., Redding Rancheria, 530-410-2875

California: Needles – Ft. Mojave Indian Tribe, at the Topock Maze area
Saturday, June 23, 2012, at 6:00 am

The Ft. Mojave Indian Tribe remains in urgent need of prayer to protect the Maze and surrounding sacred areas along the Lower Colorado River. The Maze is both a physical manifestation and a spiritual pathway for the afterlife. It has always been, and will always be, an integral and significant part of the Mojave way of life, beliefs, traditions, culture and religion. The Mojave will observe the Prayer Day at the Topock Maze site.

Pacific Gas & Electric, by its ownership and operation of the Topock Natural Gas Compressor Station near Needles, California over the last 50 years, has polluted the groundwater under and around the Maze with hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical that can cause numerous human and ecological health problems. PG&E, BLM and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control proceeded with Interim Measures to contain and investigate the contamination, which included the construction of a new Treatment Plant within the Maze area and the drilling of about 150 wells in California and Arizona, on either side of the Colorado River.

Tie, kopā ņemot, izveidot turpinot kumulatīvo negatīvo ietekmi uz Mojave iedzīvotājiem, tās sakrālās ainavas un cilšu reliģisko pārliecību.

2005.gadā, Ft. Mojave filed a state lawsuit seeking the removal of the plant, total restoration of the sacred area, an environmental baseline of prior to the plant's construction and any other actions that could serve to remedy the desecration. Settlement negotiations concluded in November 2006 aimed to achieve each of these goals and secure other remedies including repatriation of portions of the sacred area to tribal ownership, sensitivity training for PG&E employees and contractors, a written public apology and reimbursement of past and future Tribal costs.

In 2011, during selection of the Final Groundwater Remedy, DTSC made a finding that the Topock Cultural Area is an historic resource under state law and the BLM determined that a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) or property of traditional religious and cultural significance within a 1,600 acre Area of Potential Effect is eligible for listing on the National Register under Criterion A, as part of what tribes have identified as a larger area of traditional and cultural importance.

Yet, DTSC and BLM failed to consult with the Tribe on the final mitigation measures, assuming they knew what was best for all the Tribal Governments along the Lower Colorado River and how the sacred area could be best protected. DTSC's failure to complete a legally adequate environment document, and failure to live up to certain terms in its settlement agreement with the Tribe, is the subject of a second lawsuit brought by the Tribe under state environmental laws. In its approval of the Final Groundwater Remedy, BLM has continued to put off dealing with mitigation for the continued impacts of up to 170 new wells and related infrastructure into the Tribe's sacred area, putting the sustainability of the Tribe's cultural and spiritual practices of the Tribe at further risk for decades to come.

Prayer is needed:
1) for DTSC and PG&E to swiftly bring to conclusion their settlements with the Tribe, and recognize the sovereignty of the tribal government and the agency's public policy goals of truly inclusive and transparent decision making,
2) for BLM and DOI to follow through on promises to require meaningful mitigation for tribal cultural concerns during groundwater and soils remedy design and to improve its management of the area,
3) for additional sacred land in this area to be repatriated to the Tribe and
4) to ask for forgiveness for any continuing desecration that may occur until the offending facilities, including the interim measure treatment plant, are finally removed and until other required restoration of the landscape occurs.

This issue is national in scope: the Maze has been officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and is formally recognized as nationally significant. Moreover, the failure of state and federal agencies to fully consider direct, indirect and cumulative impacts to Native Sacred Places during pollution remediation activities remains a national problem requiring Congressional Oversight. Pray that this oversight occurs at the highest levels.

Contact: Nora McDowell-Antone, Tribal Topock Project Manager, at (928) 768-4475, NoraMcDowell-Antone@fortmojave.com, or Courtney Ann Coyle, Tribal Attorney, at (858) 454-8687, CourtCoyle@aol.com

California: Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, Luiseño Ancestral Origin Landscape

Pechanga is in need of urgent prayer to continue to assist it in protecting the Luiseño Ancestral Origin Landscape from the Granite Construction Company's proposed Liberty Quarry. The proposed quarry would be located on a sacred mountain within the Luiseño People's sacred place of origin. Parts of this Origin Landscape have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 as the Murrieta Creek Archaeological Area (exva Temeeku) and are also listed in the state's Sacred Lands File Inventory.

After many public hearings before the Riverside County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors, the quarry was DENIED this year! However, the Board on a 3:2 margin voted to APPROVE the inadequate environmental document under CEQA, potentially laying the groundwork for Granite to come back in the near future with a revised application to mine. This unusual turn of events means that the Origin Area is still at risk.

Granite wants to blast out the mountain, home to the Kammalam (ancestors in the form of rocks), so that it can produce aggregate. The quarry could operate for 75 years and, even after reclamation, would remain a permanent scar within the sacred landscape. It would also be located at the headwaters of the Santa Margarita River, the last remaining free flowing river to reach the Pacific Ocean in southern California, and be adjacent to the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, which also includes part of the Origin Landscape.

The quarry would kill the mountain and forever disturb the sanctity of this incredibly beautiful and scenic area, located next to the reservation and at the doorstep of the City of Temecula.

In addition, the quarry would also pose environmental hazards to the Pechanga Community: air and water quality, visual and noise impacts, fire and emergency response, as well as sever a key wildlife linkage to and from the reservation. The Tribe was not consulted by the County of Riverside on these impacts during environmental review.

Pechanga respectfully requests prayer that:
1) Efforts to permanently prevent mining in any form at this location are successful and that
2) Tribal efforts to have this Origin Landscape formally recognized and protected will be successful.

For more information on the efforts to protect the Luiseño Ancestral Origin Landscape from the Liberty Quarry, contact Paul Macarro, Pechanga Cultural Coordinator at: pmacarro@pechanga-nsn.gov or (951) 770.8102 or Jacob Mejia at: jmejia@pechanga.com or (951) 770.2595.

California: Redlands – California-Pacific Committee on Native American Ministries of The United Methodist Church at the University of Redlands, Saturday, June 16, at 7:15 am

The California-Pacific Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM) of The United Methodist Church will have prayer for sacred places on the Quad at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. The public is welcome to join on Saturday, June 16, at 7:15 am

Contact: Suanne Ware-Diaz at soozware@yahoo.com or (571) 236-7274 for more information.

California: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians – Burial & Ceremonial Grounds –
Traditional Mourning Ceremony, Saturday, June 23, Ocotillo Area, 7:00 pm

For over two years, the Viejas Band has been waging legal, political and public relations battles to save tribal burial grounds and ceremonial sites from destruction by local and federal agencies. Viejas has positive news to report one on front and heartbreaking news to report on another.

Padre Dam Site:

Over this last year, with your help, we made much progress towards protection and repatriation of a burial ground and ceremonial site on Padre Dam Municipal Water District property, which sought to develop a reservoir and pumping station on the site.

Settlement of the litigation is close at hand in which the site would be restored, protected in perpetuity and the land repatriated to the Tribe. Viejas is deeply grateful for the support it has received from the local community, Governor of California, Native American Heritage Commission and the Courts, which have sided with the Band on many different levels.

Viejas respectfully requests prayer for:
1) An appropriate alternative location for the project to be secured by the District,
2) The soils previously taken off site by the District to be returned to the property in as gentle a manner as possible and as quickly as possible, and
3) Forgiveness that the impacts occurred and that they will never happen again.

Ocotillo Express Wind Farm:

Meanwhile, Viejas and other tribes have been forced to defend our ancestors from further attacks and potential destruction of tribal cultural resources, sacred places and burial grounds by a number of major renewable energy and other utility projects in the local mountains and deserts that would forever alter the Cultural Landscape of the Kumeyaay Nation. These include: the Sunrise Powerlink Project, Tule Wind Project, Ocotillo Wind Express Project, Eco Station Project, Imperial Solar Project and others.

Just last month, over the strong objections of Kumeyaay Bands and the Quechan and Cocopah Peoples, local community members, environmental groups, unions, recreationists and state park supporters, the massively destructive Ocotillo Wind Express Facility was approved by the County of Imperial and the BLM. Ocotillo Express (Pattern Energy) wasted no time and immediately began clearing, scraping and destroying the area and would not agree to hold off on construction until a TRO could be heard.

The so called “Refined” Project would include 112 industrial-sized wind towers up to 460 feet high, 42 miles of new roads, 81 miles of undergrounded fiber optic cable, a 31-acre substation and switchyard, operation and maintenance building and other infrastructure such as parking, ponds and laydown areas that were not part of the NEPA and CEQA documents. The project Right of Way is across about 12,000 acres of federal public land and is surrounded by designated wilderness, Cultural Preserves, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and shares a 5-mile border with Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

The project is within a valley that slopes from the mountains to the desert, and is mostly undeveloped Class L (Limited Use) lands. One ceremonial site, the Spoked Wheel Geoglyph, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003, long before any wind project was proposed, and includes the whole viewscape from the site. The valley is ringed with sacred mountains — Coyote, Signal, Sombrero and Pinyon — and is used as a teaching area for tribal youth. Over 35,000 person hours were spent surveying and recording the massive amount of physical archaeology present at the site. The BLM relied solely on archeological values during the survey and only at the end of the NHPA Section 106 process acknowledged that the project area is a TCP within a larger TCP. Tribal Values considerations were an afterthought in the environmental documents and consultation was severely rushed due to arbitrary deadlines set by BLM to meet federal wind subsidy deadlines currently set for the end of 2012.

On June 23, Viejas and other Kumeyaay Bands will be holding a traditional Mourning Ceremony in the Ocotillo Area. The ceremony will begin at 7:00 pm and continue through the morning. The tribes will grieve for what has been lost and bring attention to efforts to save what is left of the area where the ancestors are laid to rest.

Viejas respectfully requests prayer that:
1) Preliminary Injunctions will issue to halt the destruction,
2) The BLM accepts historic human remains detection dog teams as a legitimate tool for identifying and avoiding ancestral cremation areas,
3) Subsidies and loans from federal and other entities are NOT granted for the project,
4) The Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) is NOT extended by Congress, and
5) That something good for the Tribal Peoples of our region comes out of this experience in the form of UNITY, DOCUMENTATION and RESPECT for traditional religious practices.

For more information, please contact: Robert Scheid, Viejas Public Relations Director, at (619) 659-2316 or by email at: rscheid@viejas-nsn.gov

Colorado: Boulder – Native American Rights Fund – Sunrise Ceremony, Wednesday, June 20
Please join us for a Sunrise Ceremony beginning at 7:00 am, on Wednesday, June 20, on the front lawn of the Native American Rights Fund, 1506 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado. The program and prayer service will last about one hour, followed by a potluck breakfast. Community members have been invited to speak, as well as other NARF staff. Speakers will be followed by a moment of silence to show concern for the sacred places that are being damaged and destroyed today.
In the United States, Native Americans are more closely tied to the land than any other group, yet the increasing exploitation of natural resources and population expansion has caused previously undisturbed tribal sacred places to become vulnerable to destruction. As part of its mission, the Native American Rights Fund has long advocated for sacred site protection, religious freedom efforts and cultural rights. Recently, NARF's Board of Directors has asked us to expand our efforts to protect lands that are sacred and precious to Native Americans.
Please show your solidarity for the protection of sacred places by joining us for the June 20 program. We ask you to bring food and/or beverages to share at the completion of the program.
Please join us! If you have any questions please contact Rose Cuny at 303-447-8760.

Kansas: Lawrence – Wakarusa Wetlands, Haskell Medicine Wheel – Open to the Public
Wednesday, June 20, at SUNRISE

Haskell Wetland Preservation Organization (WPO) and Save the Wakarusa Wetlands will observe National Prayer Day at SUNRISE, June 20th, beside the Wakarusa Wetlands at the Haskell Medicine Wheel, south of Lawrence, Kansas. Haskell WPO is a Native student organization. Save the Wakarusa Wetlands, Inc., is an association of local supporters, including Haskell Indian Nations University, Washburn University and Baker University alumni, students and supporters from all parts of the Lawrence community.

The ceremony will be held at the medicine wheel, where participants will erect a lodge pole at sunrise to mark the exact position of the Summer Solstice.

The event is open to all who wish to add their prayers to save this sacred place from the highway builders. Participants will ask for the protection of the Wakarusa Wetlands (aka, Haskell-Baker Wetlands), threatened by an eight-to-ten lane highway project approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, but delayed by a federal law suit filed by WPO and a consortium of supporter groups, including Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, Jayhawk Audubon, Kansas University Environs, Save the Wakarusa Wetlands, Kansas Sierra Club and KU EcoJustice.

Update:
On January 20, 2012 a panel of federal appeals court judges heard oral arguments challenging the state's efforts to construct 8-10 lanes of traffic across wetlands that once served as the primary refuge for Native children resisting cultural genocide. The written opinion could come at any time, but may not be released before mid-summer. For more than two decades, Haskell students and their allies have managed to block efforts to pave this sacred place, which was “surplussed” away from Haskell during the Eisenhower termination era. More than two thirds of Haskell's campus was “given away” by BIA officials at the time.
Last year, Republican Governor Sam Brownback announced that $192 million in Kansas taxpayer funds was being allocated for completion of the South Lawrence Trafficway. The SLT began as a scheme to help local developers turn the southern edge of Lawrence into a regional shopping mecca. In recent years, the SLT project has been hijacked by trucking interests that dream of turning two nearby closed military bases into national hubs for NAFTA product distribution. Thus, the SLT has mushroomed into an eight-to-ten lane behemoth promoted as key infrastructure. This latest version of the old frontier booster fable that the metro area is destined to be “the next Chicago” has all the officials of nearby towns clamoring for completion of the SLT.

Ironically, while in Congress, then-Senator Brownback sponsored a US apology to Native Americans for past egregious actions, but it specifically prohibited Native Peoples from taking any legal action that would provide redress or remedy for any of the actions, causing many Native people to call it a “hollow apology.”

About 600 acres of the Wakarusa Wetlands were located directly south of the dorms at Haskell Institute, the nation's largest and most tribally diverse federal off-reservation boarding school. This last major remnant of the wetlands was a crucial refuge where Native children from all across the country survived sustained government efforts to exterminate their cultures. Indian students took refuge in the Wakarusa Wetlands refuge — where they could speak their languages, sing their sacred songs and conduct ceremonies and dances that were federally punishable with starvation and jail time — and refused to let school authorities “kill the Indian” in them.

Parents and other tribal leaders camped, sometimes for weeks or months, beside these wetlands on the north bank of the Wakarusa. They were awaiting permission from school officials to let them reclaim or at least visit their children. These elders used the Wakarusa Wetlands as an outdoor classroom to pass on final lessons about healing and other traditional knowledge.

The wetlands quickly became the most essential place where Haskell students could get news about family and friends. The wetlands was where they heard about what was happening back home in the crucial era of allotments and the “surplussing” of their homelands. The wetlands also provided the least censored opportunity to send messages home whenever someone speaking a related language arrived in camp. Otherwise, the children had to learn enough English to send a letter home by way of school censors, and then further screened by the Indian agent when it reached their reservation, and again modified when the interpreter read their message to parents who often could neither read nor speak English. This place is soaked in Indian history, layered with the stories of Native elders and is the last resting place of some who came to Haskell in its darkest days. Spirit release ceremonies and clandestine burials took place in these wetlands. The disappeared and runaways are remembered here.

This sacred wetland, a place between land and water, is the largest intact trace of the original Wakarusa Bottoms, an 18,000-acre prairie wetland environment. It existed for thousands of years before white school officials obtained federal funds to drain it. Before Haskell opened, this place supplied Native Peoples of the region with valuable medicinal plants, important ceremonial items, waterfowl, furbearers and other relatives central to their ways of life.

Elders have said the Creator caused the course of the Wakarusa River to go directly east toward the rising sun, in sharp contrast to the other rivers in the region, as a sign of the abundant gifts to be found there.

Despite massive efforts to drain the wetlands in the early twentieth century — and Haskell's loss of all but a few acres of this property during the termination era — the Wakarusa Wetlands, like Haskell Indian Nations University itself, has survived and flourished. The entire historic Haskell campus, including the Wetlands, is being considered for designation as a National Historic Heritage area, but should have been declared a Traditional Cultural Property long ago.

Contact: Cleta Labrie cletalabrie@gmail.com President of Haskell Wetlands Preservation Organization (WPO); Dr. Dan Wildcat (WPO faculty adviser) at dwildcat@sunflower.com; or Michael Caron at (785) 842-6293 or by email at mcaron@sunflower.com with Save the Wakarusa Wetlands, Inc. Friend the Wetlands Preservation Organization on FACEBOOK.

Nebraska: Lincoln – National Congress of American Indians, Mid-Year Session
Nebraska State Capitol Grounds, North Plaza
Tuesday, June 19, Sunrise Ceremony

The National Congress of American Indians will sponsor a Sunrise Ceremony on Tuesday morning, June 19, at the Nebraska State Capitol grounds on the North Plaza. The NCAI is conducting its 2012 Mid-Year Session in Lincoln, Nebraska, June 17-20.

The NCAI Sunrise Ceremony will be held as a part of the observances and ceremonies during the National Days of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places, from June 16 through June 24.

The public is invited to attend NCAI's respectful observance to honor sacred places, sacred beings and sacred waters, and all those who care for them and protect them from harm. Participants are asked to arrive no later than 7:00 am

For information about NCAI's Sunrise Ceremony, contact NCAI Deputy Director Robert Holden, 202.466.7767, email: rholden@ncai.org

New York: Ganondagan State Historic Site, at the Great White Pine Tree of Peace
Wednesday, June 20, at Noon

At Ganondagan State Historic Site in New York, there will be a Gahnonyoh (Thanksgiving), starting at Noon, on Wednesday, June 20, to protect sacred places and to promote world peace. “We invite spiritual leaders and the general public to join us on that day as we offer words of Thanksgiving or Gahnonyoh in Seneca,” says G. Peter Jemison (Seneca), who is the Caretaker of Ganondagan.

“We will gather before noon near the Great White Pine at the head of the Trail of Peace to offer words of Thanksgiving to the Creator,” says Jemison. “The event is open to the general public and all are welcome, but no photography, please.”

Ganondagan is the site of the seventeenth century town, once the capitol of the Seneca Nation, which was destroyed by the French in 1687. Today, it is the only historic site in New York dedicated to a Native American theme. Ganondagan is sacred to the Seneca People because nearby are the remains of Jikonhsaseh the Mother of Nations, who was the first person to accept the message of Peace brought by the Peacemaker, who united the Haudenosaunee or Five Nations: Seneca Nation, Cayuga Nation, Onondaga Nation, Oneida Nation and Mohawk Nation.

Contact: G. Peter Jemison at (585) 924-5848 or by e-mail at mailto:pjemison@rochester.rr.com

New York: New York City – Prayer of Remembrance for Sacred Places
Thursday, June 21, 1:00 pm
Hudson River at Bethune & West Streets

A Prayer of Remembrance for Sacred Places will take place on Thursday, June 21, at 1:00 pm The group will gather at the Hudson River in New York City at Bethune and West Streets.

The event is sponsored by Spiderwoman Theater, The Silvercloud Singers and the American Indian Community House.

Contact: Murial Borst-Tarrant at mborst1@msn.com or 551-208-3536.

Ohio: Peebles – Serpent Mound, Wednesday, June 20, 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Newark – Newark Earthworks, Great Circle entryway, Thursday, June 21, 6:00 am/8:00 pm
Chillicothe – Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Mound City
Thursday, June 21, 7:00 pm
Oregonia – Fort Ancient Earthworks, Saturday, June 23, 5:30 am

In Ohio, there will be gatherings at the four major remaining earthworks sites to honor the brilliant achievements of the Indigenous Peoples who lived in the Ohio Valley 2,000 years ago and built enormous earthen architecture. Gatherings will occur near Peebles, in Newark, near Chillicothe and near Oregonia to acknowledge the original landscape, what has been lost and all that continues into the future. The public is invited to observe the National Day of Prayer to Protect Sacred Places at these places.

Two thousand years ago, Indigenous Peoples built more than 600 groups of earthworks, each group consisting of several large earthen geometric shapes with specific purposes. The earthworks were built by design, near creeks and rivers. Many of the earthworks are enormous, measuring from 20 to more than 50 acres in area, with walls varying from 3 to 30 feet tall and connected by walled earthen roadways; the design guided the Peoples through the earthworks along a ceremonial road. Large circles with entryways facing the east, squares with rounded corners and entryways, octagons with eight entryways, huge rectangular flat-topped or oval mounds, tall conical mounds and ceremonial roadways mark the Ohio Valley as a sacred landscape. In addition to using geometric forms to convey meaning and purpose, the builders used a standard unit of measure and other mathematical consistencies in the spacing of the earthworks. Distances between earthworks at Newark can be measured in multiples of 1,054 feet.

The Newark Earthworks consisted of four large earthworks built 2,000 years ago over a four-square mile area by the Peoples of the Hopewell Culture. Two remain preserved. The Octagon Earthworks is an astronomical calendar tracking the 18.6-year lunar cycle, marking the lunar standstills in spectacular moonrises. It was built in the shape of a circle and an octagon connected by a walled ceremonial road. The nearby Great Circle is itself nearly 1,200 feet in diameter and possibly had many uses, as a ceremonial center, for formal games such as stickball and as places of gathering. The Ellipse was a walled cemetery with many burial mounds and contained a number of earthen circles open to the east before it was excavated to clear the land for canals, railroads and heavy industry. The Wright Square stood between the Great Circle and the Ellipse cemetery, but has been destroyed by development.

Of the four major remaining sections of the Newark Earthworks, all but one have been acknowledged as sacred places and have become state parks/monuments. However, the Octagon Earthworks are leased to a private country club and open to the public only four days per year. The Ellipse cemetery is owned privately and currently being prepared for sale as an industrial park.

Serpent Mound is one of two effigy mounds in Ohio, and one of the largest anywhere in the world. Its iconic aerial outline is known far beyond the borders of this state. Nearly a quarter of a mile long, the undulating coils made of three foot tall earthen walls curve from a spiral tail to a head pointing across the Brush Creek valley at the point on the southwestern horizon where the sun sets on the summer solstice. Recent scholarly work points to a construction of this unique mound at about 1070 CE, later than many of the more geometric enclosures around Ohio. The landscape is also marked by geological interest. A “crypto-explosion” crater cradles the arc of the valley where Serpent Mound lays on a bluff; the result of a meteorite that folded the crust of the earth when it struck 250 million years ago. This bluff of sandstone also has interest, as a visitor may walk down to creek side and look back up at the point where the “serpent's head” ends, and see a snake headed prow of stone poke out over the water below.

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is made up of five sites in and around the city of Chillicothe, Ohio, where once could be seen the largest concentration of earthworks complexes anywhere in the world. Mound City is the name for the central enclosure, a rounded-cornered square that was one of the ancient cemeteries alongside the Scioto River where the National Park Service has its visitor center. Almost entirely destroyed during World War I by the construction of training camps and industry to support the war effort, it was rebuilt from the original foundations and above surviving parts of mounds during the 1930s and in another major effort during the 1960s and 1970s. An alignment along three of these reconstructed mounds, pointing towards a southwestern corner gateway of Mound City, is a dramatic view, and casts the entire complex into vivid contrast. The possible astronomical alignments for this and other units, such as the Hopewell Mound Group west of the city, are still being studied, using both old maps and surveys, and non-intrusive studies that can trace where walls and their associated clays still can be seen.

Fort Ancient is a vast, irregular enclosure with three miles of wall atop a pair of plateaus next to the Little Miami River valley. Military language was attributed to this location by early European occupants, who named features “North Fort” and “South Fort,” but later studies show that combat and conflict seem to have been entirely absent from this sacred site. Fort Ancient is the archaeological label used for a later cultural phase in Ohio, but much of the site was built around the same time as Newark and Chillicothe. Reflecting pools of water were built into the site to create a sense of place – world above, world below. More recent surveys have shown that four compass aligned stone mounds in the “North Fort,” were built alongside the traces of a circle, perhaps a “woodhenge” where posts in a circle aided in astronomical calculation and prediction. Fires were built on top of stone mounds into the historic era. From one of those stone mounds, on mornings near the summer solstice, a particular entryway to the northeast pours a path of light across the leveled plaza, until it paints the surface of the mound.

Many of the major earthworks in Ohio are now under consideration for designation as World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and a proposal is being prepared. For additional information about the Earthworks, see: http://whc.unesco. org/en/tentative lists/5243/. For more information about Solstice events see: www.AncientOhioTrail.org

Tennessee: Muscogee “Creek” Citizens Gathering, The Great Mound of Mound Bottom, Saturday, June 23, 10:00 am
Sellars Farm State Archaeological Area, Lebanon, Wilson County
Sunday, June 24, 2:00 pm

A Muscogee “Creek” Citizens Gathering will take place on Saturday, June 23, at 10:00 am, at The Great Mound, Mound Bottom archaeological site, in observance of the National Sacred Places Prayer Days. “This gathering will be ceremonial to honor and lift up the Mound,” said Melba Checote-Eads (Muscogee), who is organizing the gathering. “We will observe a day of prayer, singing, gifting and feasting at Mound Bottom, as is Muscogee tradition. Water will be furnished by Muscogee Citizens.”

Ms. Checote-Eads asks people to reserve a space by calling her at 615-765-5854, to bring a bag lunch and beverage, to wear hiking boots and to meet in the picnic area: “We will meet at the picnic area near the Harpeth River beside the Mound. We will walk one mile to the Mound and transportation will be provided for those unable to make the walk.” The group will tour the Mound at 10:00 am with Ranger Gary Patterson.

Mound Bottom is located in Cheatham County along the horseshoe bend of the Harpeth River. Mound Bottom is approximately one mile north of the point where US Route 70 crosses the Harpeth River, on the outskirts of Kingston Springs, Tennessee. The site is managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation as part of Harpeth River State Park. The Great Mound of Mound Bottom dates to the Mississippian era (900 AD-1300). Mound Bottom is about 100 acres and is nearly surrounded by the Harpeth River.

The flat-topped embankment that dominates the view from Mace Bluff is the largest of at least 14 Mounds that remain. The Great Mound stands 25 feet tall and 47 square feet in area; the remains of an earthen ramp leading from the plaza to the top of this Mound can still be seen. The entire complex, which is believed to have included hundreds of houses, was surrounded by an earthen wall topped with a palisade of upright logs. Mound Bottom likely began as a ceremonial meeting place around 950 AD and grew to become a fortified city with a population numbering in the thousands. Mound Bottom was part of a vast trade network that extended to Native Peoples in the Great Lakes area, Gulf Coast region and the Appalachian Mountains.

There also will be a gathering at the Sellars Farm on the following day, Sunday, June 24, at 2:00 pm The Sellars Farm State Archaeological Area is located in Wilson County: off Hwy-70 left at Poplar Rd., in Lebanon, Tennessee. The group will tour the Mound area and walk the path around the Mound, which is near Spring Creek, a tributary of the Cumberland River. Participants are asked to bring a bag lunch.

Ms. Checote-Eads describes the Mound site as covered with trees, grasses and wild flowers. It was a large village and trade area during the Mississippian Period. In 1939, a farmer dug up four statues, which were made between 600 and 800 years ago. Two of the statues are in the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and have been featured on a US postage stamp.

For additional information, contact: Melba Checote Eads at melbaceads@dtccom.net or 615 765-5854.

Washington, DC: United States Capitol, West Front Grassy Area
June 20, Wednesday, at 8:30 am

The observance in Washington, DC, will take place at the US Capitol on the West Front Grassy Area on Wednesday, June 20, at 8:30 am The public is invited to attend this respectful observance to honor sacred places, sacred beings and sacred waters, and all those who care for them and protect them from harm. The observance will take the form of a talking circle.

All are welcome to offer good words, songs or a moment of silence for all sacred places, beings and waters, especially for those that are being threatened, desecrated or damaged at this time.

This observance is organized by The Morning Star Institute, a national Native rights organization founded in 1984 and dedicated to Native Peoples' cultural and traditional rights, including religious freedom and sacred places protection. The observance will be conducted by Mary Phillips (Omaha & Laguna Pueblo).

Contact: The Morning Star Institute at (202) 547-5531, Suzan Shown Harjo at suzan_harjo@yahoo.com or Mary Phillips at trumpetnative@aol.com or 510-205-4501.

Washington: Snoqualmie Falls, at the Cedar Tree, Friday, June 22, 11:30 am

Water is universally a Sacred Being, part of sacred ceremonies in all faiths and religions.

Snoqualmie Falls in Washington State is a place recognized as Sacred for thousands of years. For the Snoqualmie and other Tribes of the Puget Sound region, this is the Transformer's gift to the People.

It is a 268-foot waterfall listed on the Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property. Over two million people come from all over the world to visit Snoqualmie Falls annually. Puget Sound Energy owns and operates a hydroelectric facility there. Snoqualmie Falls is impacted and desecrated by diversion of a significant portion of the water from the river by a hydroelectric facility before it can complete the Sacred Cycle of reaching the base of the falls and creating a healing connection by its transformation to legendary mists that connect worlds, carry prayers, and deliver blessings.

Puget Sound Energy, a public utility, owns and operates a public park located there. A popular hiking trail down to the viewing area near the base of the falls continues to be closed to visitors until sometime in 2013. Access to the base of the Falls, specifically a spiritually powerful location, is blocked.

On Friday, June 22nd, at 11:30 am, there will be a gathering, rain or shine, at Snoqualmie Falls.

We welcome anyone who would like to respectfully join together in Spirit for observance of our Sacred Places across the globe that are in need. Join us and others that are gathering to pray, each in our own way for their protection.

“When one is uplifted, we all are uplifted”.

“We give thanks for the teachings of the Sacred. We give thanks that we are still here. We give thanks for the breath of the Spirit”.

We pray for one another.

In the Spirit of Snoqualmie Falls, Lois Sweet Dorman.

Contact: Lois Sweet Dorman, Snoqualmie, at nightfishes@qwest.net.

World Peace & Prayer Days – Gray Horn Butte (Devil's Tower), June 16
Medicine Wheel, June 17
Grand Tetons, June 18 – 21
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 21

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe: “Once again I am sending my voice to all Nations upon Mother Earth, those who can hear my sincerity with their hearts – - unite together at our Sacred Sites creating an energy shift of a great healing on this June 21st. We need to see and listen to the wamakas'ka (the animals) who are more than ever now showing their sacred color of white, there are so many. This color represents the direction of when physical life now goes into the spirit journey. They are trying to warn us to pay attention to our responsibilities as a Global Nation. In order to protect the remaining sacredness that is trying to survive upon Mother Earth, which includes even our own children, we now have no choice but to unify and make positive decisions together.

“To honor the birthplace of World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites where it all began in 1996, we will gather at Gray Horn Butte, aka “Devils Tower” on June 16th. Peace Riders who made the '96 journey from Canada to
Gray Horn on horse back, will join us and offer prayers as well and plant a Peace Pole reading “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in 4 different languages. We will do the same offering on June 17th at Medicine Wheel. On June 18th we will gather at the Grand Tetons to begin one of the many events of WPPD throughout the world. The Grand Tetons will be the beginning of a four day event to bring attention for the need to protect the last of the true wild Buffalo (bison) that exist in Yellow Stone National Park, they are in constant danger of being massacred when caught off park property.

“On June 21st I will pray with thousands of People at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development or Rio+20 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As part of the various gatherings and celebrations that will be held as part of the Sacred Earth Gathering in Aldeia Nova Terra during the month of June parallel to the conference, there will be a very special ceremony to celebrate World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites along with various representatives of the Brazilian indigenous tribes and spiritual leaders from different nations. The intent is to honor this day not only in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but to also invite the participation of other WPPD activities worldwide to join though simultaneous acts of prayer and song so as to be united spiritually on this June 21st to celebrate the 2012 World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites. Onipiktec'a (that we shall live).”

Contact: Paula Horne-Mullen, Wolakota.org http://wppd2012.com/

The Morning Star Institute, 611 Pennsylvania Ave., SE #377, Washington, DC 20003 (202) 547-5531