Għalkemm id-data tkun għaddiet għall-talb grupp f'din il-lista jurina Siti Sagra ħafna li jeħtieġu protezzjoni tagħna u talb. Jista 'jkun tajjeb li tibgħat talb lill-sit eqreb għalik u tiffoka fuq dik iż-żona. Imbagħad jibgħat talb tiegħek mal-lokazzjonijiet kollha l-oħra. United aħna qawwija ......... magħquda aħna huma veri .... magħquda aħna joħolqu bilanċ ...... nirringrazzjak, Miriam

L-ISTITUT filgħodu STAR
611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547-5531
Dikjarazzjoni Aħbarijiet Għall Immediate Release

16-24 Ġunju SET GĦALL 2012 DAYS sagru NAZZJONALI POSTIJIET Talb

Washington, DC (6/15/12)-observances u ċerimonji se ssir madwar l-art minn Ġunju 16 permezz 24 Ġunju biex jimmarkaw il-Jiem Nazzjonali ta 'Talb 2012 għall-Protezzjoni Postijiet Native American Sagra. L-osservanza f'Washington, DC se ssir nhar l-erbgħa Ġunju 20 fi 8:30 am, fuq il-Raġunijiet Uniti Capitol Istati, Front tal-Punent Żona grassy (ara d-dettalji taħt il-elenkar Washington DC, fil-lista alfabetika mill-istat fuq il-paġni li ġejjin ).

Deskrizzjonijiet ta 'postijiet sagri ċerti u theddid li jiffaċċjaw, kif ukoll ħinijiet u postijiet għall-kommemorazzjonijiet pubbliċi huma elenkati hawn taħt. Uħud mill-laqgħat enfasizzati f'dan ir-rilaxx huma fora edukattivi, mhux ċerimonji reliġjużi, u huma miftuħa għall-pubbliku ġenerali. Oħrajn huma ċerimonjali u jistgħu jsiru fil-privat. Minbarra dawk elenkati hawn taħt, ser ikun hemm observances u talb offruti f'postijiet sagri oħra li huma mhedda u lejn dawk li ma ipperikolati f'dan il-ħin.

"Nies Native u mhux Native nazzjon tiġbor f'dan iż-żmien għal ċerimonji Solstice u li tonora postijiet sagri, iżda kulħadd jista 'tonora dawn l-artijiet prezzjuż u ilmijiet il-ħin kollu billi sempliċiment jirrispettawhom u l-ħajja huma jappoġġjaw u mhux jippermettulhom li jistgħu jsofru dannu, "qal Suzan muri Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee MUSCOGEE). Hija President tal-Istitut Morning Star, li torganizza l-Jiem Nazzjonali Sagra Postijiet Talb. "Ċerimonji jkunu qed isiru kemm jista 'wisq Popli ħafna Native American huma involuti fl-ġlidiet legali ma' aġenziji federali dik in-naħa l-iżviluppaturi li jipperikolaw jew jeqirdu postijiet sagri Native," qal Ms Harjo.

"Peress deċiżjoni US Qorti Suprema fl-1988 li m'hemm l-ebda kawża kostituzzjonali jew statutorju ta 'azzjoni li tiddefendi postijiet sagri Native, Amerikani Native huma l-popli biss fl-Istati Uniti li ma jkollhomx bieb għall-Courthouse biex jipproteġu postijiet sagri jew is-sit speċifiċi għall-ċerimonji, "qal Ms Harjo. "Li sempliċiment trid tibdel bħala kwistjoni ta 'ġustizzja u ta' ekwità. Nazzjonijiet Native ġew cobbling flimkien protezzjonijiet bbażati fuq difiżi maħsuba għal skopijiet oħra. Xi aġenziji jistgħu jippermettu post fuq il-mejda meta l-iżvilupp jkun qiegħed jiġi kkontmplat, iżda ħafna ma u Popli Native ma jittieħdu bis-serjetà minħabba li l-aġenziji u l-iżviluppaturi jafu li l-Qorti Suprema ma jidhirx inklinati biex tisma kawżi li m'għandhomx dritt magħmula apposta ta 'azzjoni. "

Matul kampanja presidenzjali tiegħu fl-2008, imbagħad-Senatur Obama indirizza din il-kwistjoni bħala parti mill-pjattaforma politika tiegħu Native American għal-libertà reliġjuża, id-drittijiet kulturali u sagru postijiet ta 'protezzjoni: "postijiet sagri Native American u speċifiċi tas-sit ċerimonji huma mhedda minn, l-iżvilupp tat-tniġġis , u vandaliżmu. Barack Obama jappoġġja protezzjonijiet legali għall-postijiet sagri u t-tradizzjonijiet kulturali, inklużi antenati Native 'mkejjen ta' difna u knejjes. "

Popli Native Ħafna approvat Kandidati Obama minħabba l-pożizzjoni tiegħu fuq il-postijiet sagri Native, iżda despaired fil-disparità dejjem jikber bejn dak il-Kandidati appoġġjati u dak Amministrazzjoni tal-President għamel fuq postijiet sagri. Is-Servizz tal-Foresta, il-Bureau tal-Land Management, il-Dipartiment tal-Ġustizzja u l-aġenziji federali oħra huma attivament jipperikolaw postijiet sagri u l-ġlieda Popli Native li qed jippruvaw jipproteġu postijiet sagri fil-proċessi ġudizzjarji u amministrattivi.

Il-Kungress Nazzjonali tal-Indjani Amerikani, l-eqdem u l-ikbar organizzazzjoni Indjan nazzjonali, sejjaħ għall-Kungress li jippromulgaw statut li jipprovdi kawża ta 'azzjoni, għall-President biex taġġorna u ssaħħaħ l-Ordni Eżekuttiva eżistenti dwar Siti Sagra Indjan u l-Foresti Servizz biex tutilizza liġijiet eżistenti u politika sabiex jipproteġu postijiet sagri Native American. Fl-istess ħin, is-Servizz tal-Foresta għandu touted bħala tlestija għal postijiet sagri abbozz rapport tagħha, li kien ikkundannat iddenunzjat fil-pajjiż Indjan, u rapport rivedut huwa żamma sigrieta, kontra l-pożizzjoni tal-Amministrazzjoni dwar konsultazzjoni tribali.

"Il-President ġie mitlub direttament biex jitlob lill-Kungress biex toħloq dritt ta 'azzjoni sabiex inkunu jistgħu jiddefendu postijiet qaddisa tagħna, biex itejbu l-Ordni Eżekuttiva għall-Siti Indjan Sagra u biex iwaqqfu s-Servizz tal-Foresta u aġenziji oħra milli jkomplu għexieren ta' snin fit-attakk tagħhom kontra postijiet sagri Native, "qal Ms Harjo. "Jien xorta ottimist li l-President jista 'u se tagħmel dawn l-affarijiet, anke jekk Kungress ma jkunx jista' jagħmel progress dan jew xi żona. Għal darb'oħra, aħna nitolbu li dan se jkun l-aħħar sena aħna huma mċaħħda ġustizzja billi l Fergħat Eżekuttiv, Leġiżlattiv u Ġudizzjarju. "

Ir-Relatur Speċjali tan-NU dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Popli Indiġeni irrakkomanda li l-Istati Uniti jikkunsidraw irtirar tal-permess federali li huwa li jippermetti ski resort privat biex jużaw ilma tad-drenaġġ riċiklat biex tagħmel borra fuq quċċata ta 'l-qċaċet San Francisco, li huma sagru lill Nazzjonijiet Native ħafna fil-Lbiċ. Ir-Rapporteur Speċjali wkoll talab lill-Istati Uniti biex jikkonsultaw u ritorn postijiet sagri li Popli Native.

"Popli Native American huma mħeġġa li l-President biddel il-pożizzjoni SU u approvaw id-Dikjarazzjoni tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Popli Indiġeni, u ħerqana li l-applikazzjoni tiegħu għall-liġi tal-US u l-prattika," qal Ms Harjo.

Id-Dikjarazzjoni jinkludi l-istqarrijiet li ġejjin dwar il-postijiet sagri:

"Artikolu 11, 1: popli Indiġeni għandhom id-dritt għall-prattika u terga tradizzjonijiet kulturali tagħhom u d-dwana. Dan jinkludi d-dritt li jżommu, jipproteġu u jiżviluppaw il-manifestazzjonijiet tal-passat, preżenti u futuri tal-kulturi tagħhom, bħal siti arkeoloġiċi u storiċi, artifacts, disinji, ċerimonji, teknoloġiji u l-arti viżwali u li jwettqu u l-letteratura.

"Artikolu 11, 2: L-Istati għandhom jipprovdu rimedju permezz ta 'mekkaniżmi effettivi, li jistgħu jinkludu restituzzjoni, żviluppata flimkien mal-popli indiġeni, fir-rigward tal-proprjetà kulturali, intellettwali, reliġjużi u spiritwali tagħhom jittieħdu mingħajr liberu tagħhom, kunsens minn qabel u infurmat jew bi ksur tal-liġijiet, tradizzjonijiet u doganali. "

"Artikolu 12, 1: popli Indiġeni jkollhom id-dritt li manifest, il-prattika, jiżviluppaw u jgħallmu t-tradizzjonijiet spiritwali u reliġjużi tagħhom, id-dwana u ċerimonji; d-dritt li jżommu, tipproteġi, u jkollhom aċċess fil-privatezza għal siti reliġjużi u kulturali tagħhom; id-dritt għall-użu u l-kontroll ta 'oġġetti ċerimonjali tagħhom;. u d-dritt għal ripatrijazzjoni ta' fdalijiet umani tagħhom "

"Artikolu 25: popli Indiġeni għandhom id-dritt li jżommu u jsaħħu r-relazzjoni spiritwali tagħhom distintivi mal tagħhom tradizzjonalment proprjetà jew inkella okkupat u użati artijiet, territorji, ilmijiet u l-ibħra kostali u riżorsi oħra u li tirrispetta r-responsabilitajiet tagħhom għall-ġenerazzjonijiet futuri f'dan ir-rigward."

Il observances 2012 huma l-għaxra tal-Jiem Nazzjonali Talb għall-Protezzjoni Postijiet Native American Sagra. L-ewwel Jum Talb Nazzjonali sar fuq 20 Ġunju, 2003, dwar il-Raġunijiet Capitol Istati Uniti u nazzjon sabiex jenfasizzaw il-ħtieġa għall-Kungress li jippromulgaw kawża ta 'azzjoni għall-protezzjoni postijiet sagri Native. Dan il-bżonn għadha teżisti.

Talb se jiġu offruti għall-postijiet sagri li ġejjin, fost oħrajn:

Liebru Hills. Leap Apache. Badger Żewġ Mediċina. Badlands. Bear Butte. Bear Lag. Bear Mediċina Lodge. Iswed Hills. Black Mesa. Blue Lake. Boboquivari Muntanji. Bunchgrass Muntanji. Cave Rock. Kap Cliff. Artijiet Kostali Chumash Sagra fil-Kosta Gaviota. Id-dfin Cocopah u Grounds ċerimonjali. Coldwater Molol. Colorado Xmara. Columbia Xmara. Mediċina Blat Deer. Dzil Nchaa Si An (Mount Graham). Eagle Rock. Everglades.

Fajada Butte. Ganondagan. Mound Great (Bottom Mound). Golf tal-Messiku. Haleakala Crater. Muntanji hatchet. Ground Hickory. Mountain Mqaddsa. Nazzjon Hualapai landforms fil Truxton u canyon Crozier. Indjan Pass. Kaho'olawe. Kasha-Katuwe. Katuktu. Kituwah. Klamath Xmara. Kumeyaay Bands Dfin u Grounds ċerimonjali. Lake Superior. Luiseno Ancestral Oriġini Pajsaġġ. Mauna Kea. Maze. Mediċina Bluff. Hole Mediċina. Mediċina Lake Highlands. Mediċina Roti. Migi zii wa dnub (Eagle Rock). Mokuhinia. Moku'ula. Mount Shasta. Mount Taylor. Mount Tenabo. Disa Mile Canyon.

Ocmulgee Oqsma Old u Monument Nazzjonali. ONONDAGA Lag. Palo Duro Canyon. Petroglyphs Monument Nazzjonali. Pipestone Monument Nazzjonali. Sound Puget. Puvungna. Pyramid Lake Omm Stone. Id-dfin Quechan u Grounds ċerimonjali. Rainbow Bridge. Gżira Rattlesnake. Rio Grande Xmara. San Francisco Peaks. Mound Serpent. Snoqualmie Falls. Sweetgrass Hills. Sutter Buttes. Tse Pentekoste Village Zen. TSI-litch Village Semiahmah. Wied tal-Kapijiet. Valmont Butte. WAKARUSA Artijiet Mistagħdra. Mixi Post Mara. Woodruff Butte. Wolf River. Muntanji Yucca. Zuni Salt Lake. Postijiet sagri ta 'kull Nazzjonijiet Native jitneħħew. Il Ilmijiet u artijiet mistagħdra.

Arizona: Mount Graham, Dzil Nchaa Si An

Mount Graham huwa sagru lill-poplu Apache Punent u huwa magħruf li l-Apache Carlos San bħala Dzil Nchaa Si An. Huwa pajsaġġ qaddis fejn Gaan jew Spirti Mountain jgħixu u antenati mistrieħ Apache. Huwa post ta 'ċerimonji u pjanti mediċina, u dar għall-periklu Mount Graham iskojjattlu aħmar. Il-Muntanji Pinaleño jew Mount Graham hija teżor ekoloġiċi uniku. Hija l-muntanji tallest fin-Nofsinhar Arizona u jinkludi 6 żoni differenti tal-ħajja mill-art wied li quċċata tagħha fil 10,720 pied Imsejħa "Sema Island" ekosistema, il-foresti tkabbir qodma fuq samit Muntanja Graham huma l-ekwivalenti ta 'Arizona foresti tropikali. Il-molol abbundanti u mergħat altitudni għolja offrew sosteniment u sors ta 'fejqan għall-persuni Apache li jgħixu fid-deżert. Il-karatteristiċi niedja jibred tal-Muntanji jkunu mrawwem 18 impjanti differenti u annimali misjuba mkien ieħor fid-dinja.

Fl-1980, l-Università ta 'Arizona u l-imsieħba tagħha fil-ħin, inkluż il-Vatikan u l-Istituzzjoni Smithsonian, għażel Mount Graham bħala s-sit għall-bini ta' osservatorju ma 'seba' teleskopji kbar magħrufa bħala l-Proġett Columbus. Mibdi fl-1988, id-delegazzjoni Arizona kungress irnexxielu jikseb l-eżenzjonijiet għall-proġett mill-ispeċi fil-periklu, l-ambjent, preservazzjoni storika u liġijiet oħra. Fl-1989, l-Università ta 'Arizona ngħatat 20-il sena permess l-użu speċjali mill-Foresta Nazzjonali Coronado u s-Servizz tal-Foresta Istati Uniti, u rikkieba approprjazzjoni tinżamm il-proġett flush ma' benefiċċji pubbliċi mingħajr ma jirrispetta l-liġijiet federali jew regolamenti, inklużi federali Indjani liġijiet maħsuba biex tipproteġi l-libertà reliġjuża, ċimiterji u l-proprjetajiet kulturali. Kelliema Vatikan stqarr li Mount Graham ma kienx post reliġjużi jew sagru. Impjegati Università u l-lobbyists attentat sabiex jiddgħajfu l-reputazzjoni tal-mexxejja reliġjużi Apache u prattikanti, u miżmuma mill-inqas San Carlos uffiċjali tribali li jixhdu li l-Muntanji kienx sagru jew sinifikanti għall-popli Apache.

Għal għexieren ta 'snin, Peoples Apache, xjentisti, konservazzjonisti u l-istudenti universitarji jkunu missielta l-Università ta' deċiżjoni Arizona biex tinbena l-teleskopji fuq summit tal-Muntanji s. Anki jekk kopertura tas-sħab ta 'spiss jagħmel Teleskopju viewing marġinali u Mount Graham ġiet ikklassifikata 38 fi studju ta' siti astronomiċi fl-Istati Uniti, id-delegazzjoni Arizona kungress u l-Università għadhom jippersistu bil-proġett. Illum, il-kostruzzjoni ta 'teleskopji u li jirriżultaw għeluq federali ta' top-Muntanji huma desecrating-Muntanji u r-relazzjoni tagħha ma 'insostitwibbli Popli Apache.

Il-ġlieda tkompli tipproteġi l-wirt naturali u kulturali tal-Muntanja Graham mill-qerda preċedent-iffissar għadhom qed jiġu kkawżati mill-Università fil-bini osservatorju tagħha fuq il-Muntanja Graham. L-isforzi ta 'protezzjoni kulturali u l-organizzazzjonijiet ambjentali u tribujiet affettwati biex jipproteġu l-sacredness tal-Muntanja Graham ikomplu mingħajr waqfien.

L-Università ta 'Arizona issa qed topera osservatorju tagħha mingħajr permess validu użu speċjali. 20-il sena permess tiegħu federali skada dwar April 19, 2009. L-Università staqsa lill-Foresta Nazzjonali Coronado għal permess ġdid, iżda, sa minn Ġunju tal-2012, id-deċiżjoni dwar jekk tagħtix il-permess ma jkunx għadu sar. Is-Servizz tal-Foresta tkun iddeterminat li jeħtieġ li tħejji Dikjarazzjoni tal-Impatt Ambjentali (EIS) biex tinġabar informazzjoni dwar il-vantaġġi u liżvantaġġi ta 'għoti ta' permess ġdid. L-Università ma jkunu oġġezzjonaw qawwi lil EIS ġodda. Minn dak li ftit informazzjoni l-Koalizzjoni Graham Mount u l-San Carlos Apache tribù tgħallmu, is-Servizz tal-Foresta u l-avukati l-Università huma "fid-diskussjonijiet" biex jiddeterminaw il-forma finali tal-proċess ta 'tiġdid permess.

Hemm numru ta 'raġunijiet għas-Servizz tal-Foresta li jiċħdu permess ġdid. Il-permess skadiet kellu numru ta 'termini u kondizzjonijiet li kienu kisru mill-Università. Ħafna minn dawn il-kondizzjonijiet għandhom wasslu għar-revoka tal-permess, iżda ma. Kollha ta 'dawn il-vjolazzjonijiet jeħtieġ li jiġu studjati sabiex tiddetermina jekk l-Università tista' ssegwi r-regoli ta 'permess ġdid.

Il-kondizzjonijiet ta 'Mount Graham nbidlu sostanzjalment mill-permess ingħata u l-osservatorju huwa saħansitra inqas kompatibbli mal-importanza reliġjuża u ekoloġiku ta' Mount Graham. Peress li l-permess ingħata, il-"forma" ta 'Mount Graham ġiet meqjusa eliġibbli għat-tqegħid fuq il-lista nazzjonali ta' postijiet storiċi. Barra minn hekk, is-Servizz tal-Foresta issa jirrikonoxxi li Mount Graham huwa Proprjetà Kulturali tradizzjonali biex Punent nies Apache u ħadet passi biex jikkonsulta (għalkemm għandu triq twila biex imorru) ma Apache tradizzjonali dwar in-natura sagru tal-Muntanji u kif jipproteġu dan. L-Università tista 'tmur għall-Kungress għall-ieħor għadha eżenzjoni għal-libertà reliġjuża u l-liġijiet ambjentali u għall-seħħ is-Servizz tal-Foresta biex toħroġ permess ġdid. Supporters ta 'Mount Graham tkun l-aħħar biex tisma' kwalunkwe lobbying fuq dawn il-linji u għandhom ikunu dejjem attenti sabiex twaqqaf milli dan iseħħ.

Għal dawn u ħafna raġunijiet oħrajn, huwa importanti għall-partitarji tal-popli Apache u Mount Graham sabiex jinkoraġixxu-Servizz tal-Foresta li jiċħdu l-Università ta 'permess ġdid u jeħtieġ li l-teleskopji eżistenti dwar Mount Graham jitneħħew.

Wara 20 sena ta 'kostruzzjoni, il-proġett teleskopju kbir għadu mhux komplut u mistoqsijiet serji ħafna jibqgħu dwar importanza tagħha, l-utilità u l-funzjoni minn perspettiva astronomiċi. X'inhu MHUX in kwistjoni huwa r-reat kontinwat għall-Popli Apache Punent. Bl-istess mod ċar huwa l-istat perikoluż lejn ta 'l-iskojjattlu Mount indiġeni aħmar Graham. L-istħarriġ l-iktar reċenti mwettqa mill bijoloġisti stmat li biss madwar 214 tat din l-ispeċi uniku, sabet issa fejn ieħor fid-dinja, jibqgħu. Ġie identifikat mill bijoloġisti bħala wieħed mill-mammiferi aktar probabbli li jmorru estinti fl-Istati Uniti fil-futur prevedibbli.

Nirien Diversi qerdu l-quċċata tal-Muntanja Graham fis-snin imgħoddija. Huma kienu ġġieldu biex jipproteġu l-teleskopji aktar milli l-ekosistema u, bħala riżultat, ħafna ħsara kien sar sabiex il-Muntanji li setgħu ġew evitati. Is-Servizz tal-Foresta ddeċidiet li traqqaq id-foresti u inkella jimmanipula l-ekosistema biex tipprova tipproteġi dak li jibqa u biex jirrestawraw dak li kien sofra ħsara. Il nirien attwali ħruq fil-Lvant u tan-Nofsinhar Arizona jsaħħu l-periklu li l-azzjonijiet ulterjuri se jittieħdu jipproteġi l-istrutturi fuq il-valuri annimali selvaġġi u spiritwali.

Talb u d-diliġenza huma meħtieġa issa aktar minn qatt qabel għall Mount Graham. L-ekosistema hija taħt theddida serja mit-tibdil fil-klima u mudelli oħra ta 'qerda; hemm opportunità għas-Servizz tal-Foresta li jiċħdu permess ġdid għall-teleskopji u jeħtieġu dawn jitneħħew; u hemm ċans li jipproteġu l-ekosistema eżistenti u jirrestawraw xi ta 'dak li ġie mitluf. U, l-sacredness tal-Muntanja Graham tkompli tiġi sfidata u, filwaqt li l-Muntanji tkun kapaċi tipproteġi lilha nnifisha, partitarji jistgħu jgħinu biex jipproteġuha.

Għal aktar informazzjoni, ikkuntattja l-Koalizzjoni Graham Mount, Roger Featherstone, President, fil greenfire@featherstone.ws, jew Dinah Bear, Segretarju, fil Bear6@verizon.net

Arizona: San Francisco Peaks

Il-Peaks San Francisco huma sagru lill Apache, Hopi, Hualapai, Navajo, Yavapai u Nazzjonijiet Native oħra. Il-Peaks San Francisco huma dar għal bnedmin sagru ħafna, postijiet mediċina u siti oriġini. Ċerimonji Myriad jsiru hemmhekk għall-fejqan, ukoll ċikli jkunu, bilanċ, kommemorazzjoni, passaġġi u l-ilma tad-dinja u l-ħajja.

Il-Peaks San Francisco huma fuq l-art federali fi ħdan il-Foresta Nazzjonali COCONINO. Tabilħaqq, is-Servizz tal-Foresta Istati Uniti indikat li l-qċaċet San Francisco huma sagru u qaddis għal aktar minn 13 tribujiet fl-Istati Uniti lbiċ.

Minkejja dak li ntqal, is-Servizz tal-Foresta u l-proprjetà privata ski resort Snowbowl, li tinsab fuq il-qċaċet San Francisco, pjan biex ikun estiż iż-żona iskijar u l-użu tad-drenaġġ riċiklat biex jagħmlu borra artifiċjali. L-espansjoni u drenaġġ għall-borra pjanijiet jista 'jkollu impatt diżastruż fuq l-reliġjonijiet Native u n-nies u fuq l-ilma u s-saħħa tar-reġjun kollu. L-iżvilupp ta 'rikreazzjoni creeping tkun konċernata mexxejja spiritwali Native u uffiċjali tribali għal deċennji, iżda pjanijiet kurrenti safejn jaqbżu l-attività tal-passat fil-lokalità turistika.

Pjanijiet Snowbowl s għal ċari 74 acres ta 'habitat alpini rari li hija dar għal speċi mhedda, tagħmel runs ġodda iski u liftijiet, żid lottijiet tal-parkeġġ aktar u jibnu pipeline mile 14.8 midfun għat-trasport sa 180 miljun gallun (kull staġun) ta' drenaġġ jagħmlu borra artifiċjali fuq 205 acres. Minkejja protesti kontinwi u strajkijiet tal-ġuħ, Snowbowl bdiet kostruzzjoni ta 'pipeline drenaġġ tagħha għall snowmaking, bl-approvazzjoni ta' u protezzjoni mis-Servizz tal-Foresti u l-Dipartiment tal-Agrikoltura.

Nazzjon Navajo Drittijiet tal-Bniedem tal-Kummissjoni Chairperson Duane H. Yazzie xehed quddiem il-Kumitat tas-Senat għall-Affarijiet Indjan "2011 smigħ dwar l-implimentazzjoni Istati Uniti tad-Dikjarazzjoni tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Popli Indiġeni:" L-Integrazzjoni id-Dikjarazzjoni fil-liġi eżistenti ser tiffoka sostantivament fuq il-valur ta 'siti sagru minflok jitpoġġa piż żejjed fuq l-proċedura. Ukoll, id-Dikjarazzjoni ser tenfasizza politika internazzjonali minflok wieħed jistrieħ fuq il-politika domestika biss. Legalment jindirizzaw ġurisprudenza liġi Indjana se jsewwi l-esproprjazzjoni ta 'drittijiet Native American għas-siti sagru. "

Ir-Rapporteur Speċjali tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Popli Indiġeni rakkomandati fl-2011 li l-"Istati Uniti Gvern timpenja ruħha f'reviżjoni komprensiva tal-politiki rilevanti u l-azzjonijiet biex jiġi żgurat li huma konformi ma 'standards internazzjonali fir-rigward tal-qċaċet San Francisco u oħrajn siti Native American sagru, u li jieħdu azzjonijiet xierqa ta 'rimedju .... l-Gvern għandu terġa' tibda jew tkompli l-konsultazzjonijiet ma 'l-tribujiet li reliġjonijiet prattiċi huma affettwati mill-operazzjonijiet iskijar fuq il-qċaċet San Francisco u jagħmlu ħilithom li jilħqu ftehim magħhom dwar l-iżvilupp tal- ski qasam. Il-Gvern għandu jagħti konsiderazzjoni serja lill tissospendi l-permess għal-modifiki ta 'Snowbowl sakemm tali ftehim jista' jinkiseb jew sakemm, fin-nuqqas ta 'tali ftehim, determinazzjoni bil-miktub isir minn awtorità governattiva kompetenti li d-deċiżjoni finali dwar il-qasam ski modifiki hija skond l-Istati Uniti obbligi internazzjonali tad-drittijiet tal-bniedem.

"Ir-Rapporteur Speċjali jixtieq jenfasizza l-ħtieġa li jiġi żgurat li l-azzjonijiet jew deċiżjonijiet mill-aġenziji tal-Gvern huma skont l, mhux biss il-liġi domestika, imma wkoll standards internazzjonali li jipproteġu d-dritt tal Native American li prattika u jżommu t-tradizzjonijiet reliġjużi tagħhom. Ir-Rapporteur Speċjali huwa konxju ta 'programmi tal-gvern eżistenti u l-politiki li tikkonsulta mal-popli indiġeni u jieħdu kont tradizzjonijiet reliġjużi tagħhom fil-gvern teħid tad-deċiżjonijiet fir-rigward ta' siti sagru. Ir-Rapporteur Speċjali iħeġġeġ lill-Gvern biex tibni fuq dawn il-programmi u politiki biex jikkonformaw ma 'standards internazzjonali u permezz t'hekk tiġi stabbilita prattika tajba u ssir mexxej dinji li tista' fil-ħarsien tad-drittijiet tal-popli indiġeni. "

Nazzjonijiet Native u l-organizzazzjonijiet ambjentali ppruvaw jipproteġu l-qċaċet San Francisco fil-qorti. Il-Qorti Distrettwali ddeċidiet għall-iżvilupp fl-2006. Il-Qorti Circuit Disa tal-Appelli qalbet deċiżjoni tal-qorti inferjuri fl-2007 u ddeċidiet għall-tribù Hopi, Nazzjon Navajo u oħrajn. A panel bi tliet imħallef tal-Circuit Disa ddeċidiet li s-Servizz tal-Foresta kiser il-Reliġjużi Libertà Restawr Att u l-Att Nazzjonali Politika Ambjentali biex tippermetti lill-Resort Snowbowl biex jespandu aktar minn 100 acres ta 'ekosistema alpini rari, parti mill-qasam li huwa sagru li Native Popli.

Il-gvern federali ikkontesta din id-deċiżjoni u talab l-Circuit Disa għal smigħ mill-ġdid en Banc. Petizzjonijiet bħal dawn huma rarament jingħataw, iżda l-Qorti mogħtija dan wieħed. Il-każ ġie sostnut quddiem il-11-imħallef panel Banc en tas-Circuit Disa Pasadena f'Diċembru 2007. Il-Circuit Disa ħarġet id-deċiżjoni tal-bord Banc en fuq Awissu 8, 2008, deċiżjoni favur l-iżvilupp. Il-Ġnus Native ssottomettew mandat ta 'certiorari għall-Qorti Suprema. Fit-8 Ġunju, 2009, il-Qorti Suprema naqas li tirrevedi d-deċiżjoni.

Il-tribujiet attentat biex jilħqu xi tip ta 'akkomodazzjoni amministrattiva ma' l-Amministrazzjoni l-ġdida, iżda dawn l-isforzi għadhom ma tawx riżultati. Il Salv l-Koalizzjoni Peaks sussegwentement ressqet kawża kontra l-gvern federali dwar il-kwistjoni Nepa li s-Servizz tal-Foresta naqset milli adegwatament tikkunsidra l-inġestjoni ta 'l-ilma tad-dranaġġ reklamati. Dawn kienu l-istess liġi u l-fatti li l-preċedenti 3 imħallef panel kkunsidrat meta kkunsidrat li s-Servizz tal-Foresta kienet naqset milli tikkonforma ma 'Nepa. Id-deċiżjoni preċedenti kienet, madankollu, mogħtija mhux precedential mill-qorti Banc en fil-każ Navajo. Minkejja raġunament qabel l-Circuit Disa, il Imħallef Mejju Murguia tal-Qorti Distrettwali Istati Uniti ddeċidiet kontra l Salv l-Koalizzjoni Peaks fuq l-għadd. Ftit wara, il-ħatra tagħha billi Obama għall-Circuit Disa ġiet ikkonfermata. Il Salv l-Koalizzjoni Peaks appellat id-deċiżjoni.

L miftuħ ostili tliet imħallef panel ta 'l-Circuit Disa mhux biss ddeċidiet kontra l-Koalizzjoni, iżda ddikjarat li l Salv l-Koalizzjoni Peaks u l-avukat tagħhom kienet abbużat mill-proċess ġudizzjarju - bl-ebda bażi ta' appoġġ għall-akkużi tagħhom. Snowbowl bħalissa għaddejjin wara l-atturi u l-avukat pro bono tagħhom, personalment, għad-danni fl-ammont ta 'madwar $ 280,000. L-istess tliet imħallfin tisma mozzjoni Snowbowl s.

Fl-interim, Snowbowl qed issegwi l-prosekuzzjoni ta 'dimostranti paċifiċi u jfittxu "jiġu kkastigati" minnhom. Uħud mill-membri tal-komunità Flagstaff bdew strajk tal-ġuħ. Bħala kwistjoni legali u prattiċi, madankollu, Snowbowl issa hija ħielsa li desecrate l Mqaddsa San Francisco Peaks b'impunità.

Għal aktar informazzjoni, ikkuntattja: Howard M. Shanker, Il-Ditta Liġi Shanker, PLC, fil Tempe u Flagstaff, Arizona, fi (480) 838-9433 jew howard@shankerlaw.net

California: McCloud River - Winnemem Wintu tribù Jlesti għall Balas Chonos

Il-tribù Wintu Winnemem tal Northern California jipprepara għall Balas Chonos, il Coming ta Ċerimonja Età, minkejja l-oppożizzjoni mis-Servizz tal-Foresta Istati Uniti. Il-tribù talab is-Servizz tal-Foresta li tagħlaq 400 btieħi ta 'l-Xmara McCloud li boaters rikreazzjoni bil-mutur għall-erbat ijiem tal-Ċerimonja, ĠUNJU 30 - Lulju 3. Is-Servizz tal-Foresta ssostni li huwa ostakolat mill-Bureau tal-politika l-Affarijiet Indjan "rikonoxximent federali u ma tistax tagħlaq il-Xmara minħabba li l-tribù mhux federalment rikonoxxuti.

Il-tribù jgħid li r-rikonoxximent federali hija biss waħda mir-relazzjonijiet federali popli tribali. Fil-California, 90% tal-tribujiet ma kinux inklużi fil-lista rikonoxximent qasir ħafna, li nħarġet mingħajr twissija waqt l-Amministrazzjoni Reagan. Anke dawk bi relazzjoni fit storika reġistrata bħala tribujiet mal-gvern Amerikan - dawk li kienu firmatarji tal-Trattati unratified u dawk fuq l-Roll Sentenza California, per eżempju - kienu esklużi mill-lista rikonoxximent. Xi 300.000 nies tradizzjonali u d-drittijiet tal-bniedem tagħhom għall ċerimonja huma affettwati minħabba din il-politika. Taħt l-Att Amerikan Libertà Reliġjuża Indjan, l-aġenziji federali għandhom obbligu li jipproteġu u jippreservaw il-postijiet sagri Native American u ċerimonji, u biex tikkonsulta mal-mexxejja Native reliġjużi tradizzjonali, irrispettivament mill-istatus tagħhom rikonoxximent federali jew non-federali.

Il-tribù Wintu Winnemem tafferma d-dritt tiegħu li ċerimonja għan-nisa Indiġeni taħt l-Artikolu 11, 12 u 25 tad-Dikjarazzjoni tan-Nazzjonijiet Uniti dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Popli Indiġeni. Winnemem Kap Caleen Sisk qed titlob għall-għeluq obbligatorja ta 'l-Xmara McCloud għall-Coming ta Ċerimonja età għall Marisa Sisk, li se jkun il-Kap Winnemem jmiss. Għalkemm il-Wintu Winnemem jippreferu li tiffoka fuq il-celebrant, il-tribù jgħid li "għandha tkompli fit-triq twila għall-ġustizzja, teduka-dinja kif dwar dak li huwa li tkun tradizzjonali fl-Istati Uniti."

Wara laqgħat mhux sodisfaċenti ma 'uffiċjali tas-Servizz tal-Foresti, Kap Sisk sejjaħ għal Dance Gwerra, jew Chonos H'up, ċerimonja isir meta jkun hemm xejn li jista' jsir ħlief biex nitolbu. Aktar minn 200 ruħ ġew minn kemm fit-tramuntana bħala Olympia, Washington, u safejn nofsinhar kif Los Angeles biex tappoġġja l-Winnemem ma 'għeluq mhux vjolenti, komunikazzjoni mal boaters dwar il-fatt kien hemm ċerimonja u talbithom biex jirrispettaw dik. Mija fil-mija mill-boaters rikreazzjoni rispett jdur madwar.

Il-tribù qal li l-indħil "biss għal din iċ-ċerimonja mhux vjolenti kienet l-Rangers Forest Istati Uniti, li ta 'kuljum daħal permezz fl-żewġ vetturi, waħda li tkun unità tal-klieb, u buzzed us mal dgħajjes tagħhom, appoġġjata mill-Gwardja Kostali awżiljarju; fuq il- tielet jum (is-Servizz tal-Foresta) sommarjament mitfija isforzi għeluq tagħna. "

Il Winnemem jgħidu li s-Servizz tal-Foresta tikkontesta l-għeluq, għalkemm hija għandha: 1) evidenza ċara ta 'fastidju razzjali, interferenza u tas-saħħa u kemm huma mhedda s-sigurtà billi drunken, boaters tħaffif li jinjora s-Servizz tal-Foresta tal-"għeluq volontarja"; 2) il-Farm Bill li tagħti l-awtorità biex tagħlaq iż-żoni u x-xmajjar għal ċerimonja; 3) id-Dikjarazzjoni tan-NU dwar id-Drittijiet tal-Popli Indiġeni; 4) il-California AJR 39 riżoluzzjoni konġunta, li jafferma li l-istat tal-Kalifornja jirrikonoxxi l-Wintu Winnemem u jħeġġeġ lill-Kungress Amerikan sabiex jirrikonoxxu l-tribù; 5) stħarriġ informali mill-gazzetta Redding lokali, li juri li l-pubbliku jappoġġja jonora d-dritt li ċerimonja, kif ukoll l-kbira internet ta 'appoġġ; u 6) riżoluzzjonijiet ta' appoġġ mill-mexxejja Indiġeni fil-Forum tan-NU 2012 Permanenti dwar il- Drittijiet tal-Popli Indiġeni.

Il-tribù jitlob l-ispettaklu tal-forza u l-federali rikonoxximent kwistjoni "duħħan u mirja, u meta l-duħħan ikun ikklerja, il-tribù jissuspetta li s-Servizz tal-Foresta Istati Uniti taħt l-influwenza tal-Bureau tal-Affarijiet Indjan jistgħu jkunu qed jaġixxu għan-nom ta 'l-interessi speċjali - il- Bureau ta 'Reklamazzjoni u l-Ilma Westlands, il-korporazzjoni ilma akbar fid-dinja, li tippossiedi l-erja li huwa sagru għall-Winnemem. "Westlands irid li l-Shasta Dam Lag Proġett, li se jgħollu l-ilqugħ mill-saqajn diversi. Il-tribù tgħid il-proġett "se drown kollha tal-postijiet sagri li bħalissa jaqgħu barra mill-ilma għal ftit ġimgħat kull sena, bħall Post Fejqan tan-Nisa u l-Rock Pubertà, u dawn se tintilef għal dejjem."

Kap Sisk jgħid il-pjan Winnemem li "jmorru 'l quddiem ma' Ċerimonja dinjituża, shored up mill-talb Dance Gwerra u appoġġjata mill-wegħda ta '300-400 partitarji jirritornaw 29 Ġunju li tagħlaq il-btieħi 400 ta' l-McCloud għal erbat ijiem għall s Marisa Coming ta Età. Huwa importanti għall Marisa li tkun taf liema hi teħtieġ li tagħmel f'dawn iż-żminijiet diffiċli bħala mexxej. Il-ħinijiet mhumiex paċifika, hekk ċerimonja paċifika u dinjituża ma tistax tkun għan mitlufa. L-għan huwa li tagħmel l-aħjar waħda tista 'u qatt ma jieqfu Winnemem benessri.

"Il-Wintu Winnemem titlob l-talb tal-poplu kollu tajba miġbura għal Talb Nazzjonali għall Artijiet Sagra għad-dritt tal-bniedem għall-ċerimonja mingħajr distinzjoni bejn federalment rikonoxxuti u mhux rikonoxxuti, u speċifikament għad-dritt għan-nisa tribali lill ċerimonja. In-nisa huma l-ċentru sagru tal-ħajja. Aħna nitolbu għall-talb li l-Dam Lag Shasta mhux se jkunu akbar u għall-protezzjoni tax-Xmara tagħna Winnemem sagra, postijiet doctoring-nisa sagru taċ, il Rock Pubertà u Rock-Tfal, kif ukoll ir-ritorn sigur ta 'salamun tal-tribù tal minn New Zealand għall-ilmijiet dar tagħhom fuq il-diga. Aħna nitolbu għall-talb li l-mod Winnemem tal-ħajja se tkompli fuq. Hee Chala Bes-ken! "

Kuntatt: Winnemem Wintu Kap Caleen Sisk fil Joo caleenwintu@gmail.com jew Misa fuq misa@misajoo.com

California: Mediċina Lake Highlands u hatchet u Muntanji Bunchgrass

Medicine Lake Highlands is a critically important tribal region located northeast of Mount Shasta in the mountains of northern California. The Pit River, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk, Wintu and other Tribes revere the area for its natural healing powers and for its connections to their Tribes' longstanding histories. For example, the Pit River Tribe believes that the Creator and his son bathed in Medicine Lake after they created the earth, and the Creator imparted his spirit to the waters. Because of the Lake's sacredness, Tribes from the coast of California to the Rocky Mountains use the surrounding area as a training ground for medicine people. The Highlands is also sought after by geothermal energy companies that have applied for development permits from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Forest Service (USFS), which manage the area.

Since the 1990s, the Pit River Tribe, Stanford Environmental Law Clinic and other supporters of the protection of the sacred Medicine Lake Highlands in northeastern California have been challenging the BLM and USFS failure to undertake adequate environmental review and tribal consultation for industrial-scale energy development in the 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.

These, taken together, create continuing cumulative adverse impacts to the Mojave people, its sacred landscape and tribal religious beliefs.

In 2005, 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.
Jekk jogħġbok jingħaqdu magħna! 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.

Aġġornament:
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 - Mound Serpent Erbgħa, 20 Ġunju, 10:00-09:00
Newark - Tħammil Newark, Ċirku Kbir entryway, il-Ħamis 21 ĠUNJU, 06:00 / 20:00
Chillicothe - Hopewell Kultura Park Nazzjonali Storiċi, Mound City
Il-Ħamis Ġunju 21, 19:00
Oregonia - Tħammil Fort Ancient, is-sibt 23 Ġunju, 05:30

Fil Ohio, se jkun hemm laqgħat fil-erba 'siti ewlenin xogħlijiet tal-art li jifdal li tonora l-kisbiet brillanti ta' l-Popli Indiġeni li għexu fil-Wied Ohio 2,000 sena ilu u mibnija arkitettura earthen enormi. Laqgħat se jseħħu qrib Peebles, fil Newark, ħdejn Oregonia Chillicothe u qrib biex jagħrfu l-pajsaġġ oriġinali, dak li jkun intilef u dak kollu li tkompli fil-futur. Il-pubbliku huwa mistieden li josserva l-Jum Nazzjonali ta 'Talb għall-Protezzjoni Postijiet Sacred f'dawn il-postijiet.

Elfejn sena ilu, Popli Indiġeni mibnija aktar minn 600 gruppi ta 'tħammil, kull grupp jikkonsisti kbar forom diversi earthen ġeometriċi bil għanijiet speċifiċi. Il-tħammil ġew mibnija mill-disinn, ħdejn creeks u xmajjar. Ħafna mill-tħammil huma enormi, kejl minn 20 sa aktar minn 50 acres fil-qasam, bil-ħitan li jvarjaw 3-30 pied tall u konnessi mill toroq earthen b'ħitan; id-disinn ggwidati l-Popli permezz tal-tħammil tul triq ċerimonjali. 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