<--<<World Natives United>>-->'s topics - tribe.net

MYSTICISM

dominic — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:59:01 GMT

COMMONALITY AMONGST THE WORLD'S MYSTICS:

If you study the life of past mystics you'll find they share several things in common:

First, they all speak of an induction – or of a need to learn/realize a new level of understanding. They all speak of a fundamental shift in consciousness (be it called awakening, realization, divination, or being born again).

Second they all tell of making a journey into and through a despair process of being “undone” as the precursor to this fundamental shift in consciousness -- be it through experiencing 40 days and nights in the wilderness, starving under the boddhi tree, facing the dark night of the soul, or the hero’s journey. There is a Journey of metamorphosis that all mystics have undergone in some way.

Third, it is an inner journey that must be taken up and navigated alone. This is a hallmark of the mystic’s realization: The reason the journey must be alone is because that which must be faced, seen, and surrendered in order that something new can emerge, is only possible through sustaining the fear and despair process of being alone and meeting the ultimate and fundamental fear of “non-being” and annihilation.

Fourth, they all seem to realize the frustration of being misunderstood by those who have not yet been through the awakening journey -- “those who have ears to hear, let him hear.” A great deal of the mystical writings are devoted almost exclusively to the fact that fundamental spiritual truth cannot be understood by the intellect nor correctly put into words. Forever, the great spiritual teachers have tried through the insufficiency of words to point toward that which can ever and only be experienced and known on a level that is before and beyond the mind. This is something unfathomable to those who have not yet had this breakthrough revelation - and particularly so in our contemporary culture that has become so overly reliant and blinded by the limiting paradigm of the scientific method that forever reduces our understanding of intelligence to that which is sensory, measurable and linear in nature. (...Life isn't (only or always) linear .. In fact it rarely is, except in man-made constructions and habituated uses of the mind.)

Please join us at this forum
http://groups.msn.com/TheInternationalMysticalOrderofKnightTemplars/_whatsnew.msnw

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seeking input, on europeans' assumptions re: world natives

carlos-ity — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:28:40 GMT

i've been having a discussion with an elder lady friend about this, and here's what she said to me; i thought i'd share it, in case others might share this mentality, or in case others might have insights that i don't have on this.

>Please I don't mean to offend you.,
but the reality exists that long before europeans came to this
continent that war, starvation, incest, slavery and genocide was a
reality for the people. There has always been inhumanity in every
cultuer and indeed the natives were particularily ruthless and felt
justified by there culture.... that europeans were so capable of
overpowering thier foes had alot to do with the developement of steel
and manufacturing, but the mentality of consciousness is universal
and although the european culture was colonistic they did not/ do not
hold the strings of brutality and even within european cultures there
existed a great deal of enlightenment.... Also let us not forget the
stong hold and influence of the church which is probably much more
influencial than any european country ...
---
i replied:

Where do you get this information, S? How do you know these things for certain? How can a european know what happened long before europeans were here?

Oh, yes, you are partially indigenous; yet what does that really mean if you look only through the lens of the european way of seeing? (a way that has, by the way, systematically utilized fraud and sleight-of-hand to conceal its own history not only during conquest of the indigenous people here, but also on *every* topic after "legally" securing this land). Every topic you can think of, i bet that there is a long history of suppression of truths that simply are not allowed.

Some questions:
Where do you get the idea that the original natives practiced genocide against each other?

What does slavery really mean between varying cultures, and do severely alienated cultures like european cultures truly have similar ways of seeing these things? After all, indigenous folks never had *wage slavery* (they tended to look out for each other, realizing the value, i see and think); nor did they have all of these long lists of ways to keep some marginalized while others, via deceit, gained wealth!

Why is starvation spoken here? If a group, say the Irish, die of a "potato famine" is there a context that is deeper? How about when others,
say indigenous folks began to starve? In what context, again? Perhaps because their food stores were destroyed by europeans always taking and hardly giving anything in return? And before europeans arrived? --Okay, some starved at times, just as the Irish, just as the peasants in a world dominated by feudalism.

Does incest mean the same thing in all cultures? For instance, if there is no heavy-feelings in a culture about sexuality or *bad touches*
then would people have the same kind of a taboo feeling about it that a culture that *has* such heavy-feelings (via the state-backed church's
way of control over the people through proscribing all sex acts except missionary-position procreation made by heteros married by the chruch)? Are there grey area ways that make it possible to approach things which are taboo in one culture and yet not at all similarly viewed in another?

No, i see very heavily-loaded value assumptions being thrown, blanketly, upon the "primitives" in general by you and so many others. i say, read some critique and demystification of anthropology (and any other usually politically-suberservient social "science") before you make your sweeping judgements (which have a curious way of making the conquering society sound so much "better", notably). i know an author off-hand that could help you in that area...i'm trying to recall his name...um...oh yes, Theodore Roszak went into this in some detail in his book about the 1970s counterculture.

And i don't agree, either, on the "mentality of consciousness" as you seem to believe it was some universal. Look at indigenous medicine, look at how shamans were created and when, look at every facet of pre-colonized life and then tell me that they shared a "mentality of consciousness"! i don't see that at all!

But when the europeans arrived, a ton of shit began cropping up. Tribes were divided up and the old trick of "divide and conquer" was employed systematically (to this day); indigenous folks did not understand this. Nor did they understand the selling of lands. You read any account of old-way chiefs talking to europeans and you see that there is a QUALITIVE difference between the two cultures! Once indigenous folks were pushed into the insanity of european seeing and believing, all of these pollutions began cropping up, and peoples, seeking to remain in harmony, did what they could to get along; but systematically, they were fooled and tooled! Only now have they, as a whole people, begun to get a full understanding of we colonized peoples' mentality.

So the point i'm trying to make is that we can see, often too clearly, that indigenous society wasn't nearly as insane as european society! How?

By recalling that the waters were not polluted, the forests were not decimated, the wild animals were not decimated by hunting, nothing was
wasted, and so on and so forth. Guns were not invented, not even the wheel. Alienation did not exist as we know it today, if at all; Mom nature (aka wakan tanka) was always there in everything they were and did. Animals, when killed, were prayed to (before and after death).

Even if i'm somewhat "romanticizing" the indigenous, pre-"civilized" way of life, you know you cannot help but to see the truth when
comparing with european feudalistic society, right?!

The other info is interesting to me, thanks for sharing about the jewish guy who saw in his captors their lostness; do you have a title in mind?
i'd like to read about that one.

As for the stronghold of the church? Back when the church ran states, okay. Yet, after they became *subordinate* to states, all they did was
its bidding. We can see examples of this in movies like "At Play In The Fields of the Lord", where missionaries are tolerated to change
the indigenous peoples, but if they don't, the military will kill and terrorize them. The church (and every state-subordinate religion!)
is yet only one more example of the bigger picture of the meta Chess Game being played on all diverse humans who subordinate their individualities to such a dumbed-down way of being in the world. Do you see what i'm saying?

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questioning portions of "New Age" thought

carlos-ity — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:30:28 GMT

Hey fellow humans, i am seeking others' thoughts on this so any input you'd care to share is very welcome!

i've been listening to various dissent from a seeming label ("New Agers") given to we hippie-folk-types, and wanted to share some of my thoughts, and seek others' input.

Some background
i've been getting into discussions in other places about some of the challenges and problems with the label (?) of "New Age" given to so much of "what hippies are" and what we're about and such, and thought i'd offer a thinking-through here in the midst of one of our hives, so to speak. Heh heh.

So one thing i've been thinking about this "New Age" thing, which actually "gets my goat", is that there is so much attention and single-minded focus given to the idea of *detachment* (i.e. from "ego") without a seeming awareness about *when* such things were/are likely valuable.

To give an example of when such can be valuable, i thought of the war movie "The Thin Blue (?) Line" in the scene where the "americans" were rushing into an 'enemy' camp and one guy (an 'enemy'), there in the chaos of it all, was sitting in a Buddhist-type pose!

my line of thought
So here's my line of thought on this, and i'm wondering if others think this is in the right tune of things. So i'm thinking that this Buddha dude came along into the world with his visions in the context of his original people being over-run and under conquering attack by much-too-heavy invaders from elsewhere. And Buddha's vision-way *greatly aided* people in pain, and thus he was seen as a kind of saint. And his methods made sense for use in heavy situations of all kinds.

On the other hand, in the context in which we find ourselves, we "americans", we (settlers and indigneous peoples) are not over-run completely, and we can *still* make a difference, so we need not always orient ourselves to this way of passivity. You see what i'm saying?

But those who influence so much of our movements, have experience and reason not to feel this, and they seem to accept defeat (and assimilation), when they can't run, without *crucially challenging* in every POSSIBLE way. (Indeed, even their otherwise deep consciousness--in a certain area of 'enlightenment'--reveals that they, like anyone, have blindspots. And so they pursue ideas like *detachment* and their focus and their influence comes to somewhat dominate other ways of possibly seeing --and those deemed non-elders ---or "capable" of seeing deeply--- those with seemingly "not useful" gifts to add-to the banquet of joy in this world, are to basically go along with the program.

Because for one, "the elders of the hippie movement" (at least in my limited experience) have had planted in their heads similar pollutions or strategically-challenged alienations like everyone else; and are thus *products* like the rest of us, of colonization.

Am i digressing?

So, stuck in such a tradition, we end up not even *trying out* resurgence in ways that we're not "used to." (See the broader ramifications of this blindspot, anyone else?)

a curious thing
So i see this curious thing; and i see it amongst settlers who also are learning the ways of the indigenous directly. It's like there's no awareness of ourselves as *part and parcel* of this alternative system; we're, like, just following something like orders. We're so "in the flow" that we don't seem to *give ourselves permission* in even **this area** of our lives!

Now, at the risk of going perhaps off-topic "too far"(?), i just wanna say that this is how we settlers (and perhaps as well, growing numbers of indigenous people) are being hoodwinked by this entirely "normalized" state of affairs...because in this scenario, *all these people* are not allowed (in their minds, anyway) to complement or add-to what is being shared. And in the old days --i really feel this-- the old ways *ABSOLUTELY NEEDED* EVERYONE's heart-felt input! (But the re-writing of history has come along and polluted our ability to see this reality) Without such input from all (and without being able to see such value), they were rendered much weaker (why do you *think* that the invaders liked talking only to chiefs, whether an indigenous group had one or not!).

"It's not the right time, yet."
And then there's the subordination-oriented value/belief of just when "the right time" never is. And when i speaque up, in my own spiritual way, un-aligned with *any* noted/reputable interest group (and yes, of the *informal* kind!), i'm automatically deemed DISRESPECTFUL or "rattling beyond my parameters" and "preventing others' tranquility, prayers, quiet"!

And seeing the context i've brough here, isn't that way of seeing a curious thing?

Ancient traditional ways, not yet fully polluted by colonization, saw that all can *intuitively* see that "speaking up" (in myriad ways, including the "crazy") was where the strength of survival was; the strength of thriving! And quite likely, the strength of the excellence of having this human experience! Intelligence was in full gear in myriad ways. People prioritized thinking things through in ways whose reflections brought them the kind of great spirit they wanted in life. It wasn't perfect (whatever that is!), and it made for a way of life which many many refugees from europe sought to integrate with!

Well, once again my ancestors with the Long Wind have spoken through me, heh heh!

Anyone wanna get into this more? (or maybe i've confused ya, and maybe i can un-confuse ya?)

==a descendant of several tribes from the euro side of Mom Earth

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 3 replies

Depth-questions for depth chargers::re: Wasase: indigenous pathways towards action and freedom

carlos-ity — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 21:39:38 GMT

A-hey, all my relations!

The following comments come from pages 32, 35-38 of _Wasase: indigenous pathways of action and freedom_ by Taiaiake Alfred a Kanienkeha (Mohawk) depth-charger, (published 2005 by broadview press).

i want to share these in case anyone may be inclined to such a discussion, or want to be possibly inspired in their own inclined paths of resistance. You can hear Taiaiake speak on his website videos and read various indigenous, resurgent-oriented depth speakings here: www.wasase.org Notably i am *not* indigenous (to this side of mOm Earth), yet i feel a deep comradery with folks who speak their hearts, and practice decolonizing ways; a way i myself am practicing (to mostly isolated extents, so far) and finding meaning where meaning has seemed nonexistent.

Feel free to join in and point out what you may see as any blindspots in my thinking!

Taiaiake (herein called "You") said, page 32:
"European languages, [Leroy Little Bear] explains, centre on nouns and are concerned with naming things, ascribing traits, and making judgements."
--
i note how such facilitates the machinery of colonization, how such reflects the fundamentally "in formation" society, the chain-of-command/hierarchical structure that keeps the bottom line (which most of we settlers practice ignoring and denying until we cannot avoid it any longer).

You said, page 35:
If non-indigenous readers are capable of listening...
--
i say we usually stumble upon such due to the pervasiveness of thought control not only from the state/business nexus, but also vanguard control desires of those engaged in so-called "alternative" political endeavors.

You said:
Onkwehonwe have always fought for survival against imperialism and its drive to annihilate our existence.
--
i figure you're speaking of indigenous people, generally, so i want to add that *so do we settlers*! We have always fought, except our fighting has largely, in my view, been atomized and unarticulated, drawing on intuitive rebellion rather than radical consciousness. We no longer have the memories you have, yet everywhere kids "rebell" and are thus labeled "attention deficit disordered" or "oppositional defiant disordered" (re: via the DSM IV, *the* oft quite unscientific psychiatrick bible); and everywhere workers get drunk out of their minds; and so on.

You speak of "self-termination" movement, page 36
--
Is this a formal movement, or informal? i know of various indigenous friends who are caught up in this informally (so it seems to me). It sounds pervasive in a formal way in canada...is there evidence of this formality elsewhere? Can you give me any examples i can look into?

You mention "...the Settlers...", page 37:
Why not articulate/demystify further and better say what you mean, at least sometimes? Like: *the formalized formation* we are tooled and manipulated into participating, or otherwise going along with, while our settler politics systematically *DOES NOT* pay any attention to these things (and R.D. Laing's idea called "the meta game" continues unabated).

Am i making sense to you here at all? i'm wanting to identify and at the same time demystify the situation, and bring out the truth that we settlers are *more* than this categorization; by saying that, by allowing for grey areas in the language used, more of us may (?) feel free to speak our privated-away "opinions" and avoid the familiar habit to entrench ourselves in "settler" identities.

Do you see what i'm getting at here?

You say, page 37:
"...I am with the warriors who want to beat the beast...and teach it to behave."
--
Me, i wanna radically "kiss"/massage and art it (when i'm forced to experience it, that is), as an enchanted "prince" of radicalized, non-passive, depth peace, and turn it from its present form and back into its original heart (re: kidhood heart, before the FEAR enfortressed entrenched beliefs). (recall the euro story of "the frog prince")

You say, page 37:
"It is because [young people's] identities, their cultures, and their rights are under attack by a racist government."
--
Why not attempt to demystify this more deeply? Because i see (and i recall you also saying, later in the book) that racism is only one card played in *the severely alienated mentality of statecraft*. Why not say something like this? (i figure you're trying to reach out to those whom have been so mobilized around that word, yet still, don't you think it makes more sense to more deeply demystify?)

You said, page 38:
"Some people may find it shocking and absurd for me to suggest that an Onkwehonwe community is a kind of war zone. But anyone who has actually lived on a reserve will agree with this tragic analogy on some level."
--
i see varying levels of war truths (i.e. usually covert, such as deployed via the social "sciences") THROUGHOUT "civilized" societies across the spectrum!!

Shall i back this "shocking and absurd" notion up for you, or do you already see what i'm saying?

And i want to say that i think this is a way to speak to we settlers! And find our commonalities!

Well, i'll stop for now (okay with you if i go chapter by chapter, and keep things short?).

to radical's radical sanity!
cosmic-ly crazy mutt
www.angelfire.com/folk/magixnartz/flouggindex.html

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what are we going to DO ?

Amatul — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 19:43:47 GMT

about the current world situation - does anyone have concreit stories for us as to local or national or international efforts for peace that you are aware of? let us know - these tiny candles in the dark can help us all believe in HOPE and the possibility of PEACE for our war torn world, and help our broken hearts...
your earth sister,
Amatul

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 1 reply

FWD U.S. Corporation Trying to Get Rid of Native Hawaiian Caretakers of Sacred Site

Hunakai — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:12:03 GMT

Aloha kakou,
The following is a forward from Jack Kelly's Green Flash News. What follows is a plea for help. Please "kokua" (care and help) if you can!
Mahalo!
-------

July 2, 2007

The following Press Release from the Kanaka Council is of Utmost Importance. If you are concerned about this ongoing threat to Hawaiian culture please address your comments to:
Mike Bernard, president of the Pacifica Hotel Co. Pacifica Hotel Company 1933 Cliff Dr. Suite 1 Santa Barbara, CA 93109 (805) 957-0095 Fax: (805) 899-2426. Let him know to not interfere with Hawaiian sacred sites!

Press Release:

Rally to Support Continuity at Ahu’ena Heiau in Kona

July 1, 2007 Kailua-Kona, HI

A Rally was held yesterday to support Kulana Huli Honua in their care of Ahu’ena Heiau, beginning at 4:00pm. The rally, Ke Alo Naue I Ka Honua (meaning The Presence that Moves the Earth) was attended by Hawaiian heavyweights Kale Gumapac of Hui Pa’a and the Kanaka Council, Palikapu Dedman of the Pele Defense Fund and Kanaka Council, Jimmy Medeiros, of Protect Keopuka Ohana and the Kanaka Council. Also in attendance was Uncle George Naope, Kumu Hula, is the Founder of the Merrie Monarch Festival and a Hawaiian Living Treasure. All were there to lend their support to Mikahala Roy as Kahu (caretaker) of Ahu’ena Heiau.

The King Kamehameha Hotel was built on the site in 1975 in conjunction with the restoration of Ahu’ena Heiau. David Kahelemauna Roy, Jr. supervised the project with the Bishop Museum. Ka’imi Spinney was Kahu of the heiau until his passing, when David Roy was recognized as Kahu. Mikahala Roy has been Kahu of the heiau since April 6, 2005, when David Roy named Mikahala Roy and Kaleokalani Nakoa as his successors at his passing.

The new corporate owners of the hotel, Pacifica Hotels Co., claim that they will provide their own caretaker for the heiau.

The rally began at the Kona pier adjoining the heiau. Mikahala said that the Hawaiian people, their customs and sacred sites are endangered species in Hawaii. 70% of Hawaiians live without houses. This pier (black asphalt) was constructed on Kamakahonu, Eye of the Turtle. This site was chosen by Kamehameha the Great because of its sacredness and mana. “Under this concrete is a turtle stone. How old is that stone? What is your connection to it?” She asked the crowd. “How many places can you go to see a pier? How many kamakahonus are there? This is what we are talking about”. The desecration of our holy places by people who only understand greed and who do not know what they are taking away.

Jack Kelly stated that the new owners needed to be taught the ways of this place. “They are from out of town. There is a way of doing things in Hawaii that they do not know. It is our job to educate them, as it is better for them, the community, their business and the people.” “This is our Kahu,” he said, his hand on Mikahala’s back.

“We’re all here to support Mikahala Roy as Kahu,” said Kale Gumapac. “Our ancestors brought us together to do this sacred task. Our ancestors are up there talking to each other right now! We all came to Hawaii for a reason, and today that reason was made clear, to protect this sacred site“.

“So many people here are concerned with the disappearing species of plants. It’s time that they also become concerned with the disappearing people. We have a government that doesn’t support or protect the Hawaiian people,” said Palikapu Dedman.

“There should be more Hawaiians here,” said Uncle Naope George. He later added, “The Creator made this place and made it holy.”

Barbara Moore, proprietor of the Dragonfly Ranch, said that though she had lived in Hawaii for 38 years, she was humbled by how much she still had to learn. She said that many of people were there because they know that the disappearing Hawaiians and their culture is likely the very culture that will save the future. She stated her intention to fly to Oahu to talk to the new owners of the hotel to help them understand what this place is and means, as her offering.

“This is my religion,” said Jimmy Medeiros, highlighting the importance of the event. No outsider would tell the Vatican to replace their caretaker, nor would anyone allow it.

Kealoha Pisciotta, Kahu of Mauna Kea, said it is time to send light to the new owners and to enlighten them. There are only 6000 full blood Hawaiians left! There are so many people who come here for healing and for paradise. Paradise is a consciousness, a way of being, it is aloha. By taking away the people who live aloha, our culture and our sacred places, it is taking away the very reason that people want to come here.

Mikahala Roy asked for prayers. Some attendees, who missed the initial gathering at the pier but were interested in the rally, asked what was going on. When informed that the new corporate hotel owners appointed a new caretaker of the heiau, a man laughed and said, “Kind of like the Chinese Government appointing the next Dalai Lama.”

This year the carvings encircling Ahu‘ena are draped in white. The effect is very brilliant. Mikahala said she was looking for maaloa plant to make the whitest tapa. She said they pray that it still exists.

The group then moved to the heiau for prayers. Though the rally was scheduled to end at 5:30pm, many attendees lingered much later, until around 8:00 and still others until 11:00pm. The feeling of Ohana was very tangible.

If you are moved to lend support to the continued stewardship of Ahu’ena Heiau, send a letter to Mike Bernard, president of the Pacifica Hotel Co. Pacifica Hotel Company 1933 Cliff Dr. Suite 1 Santa Barbara, CA 93109 (805) 957-0095 Fax: (805) 899-2426. Let him know to not interfere with Hawaiian sacred sites!

###
Media Contact Information:

Lizz Christed; living.rose@hotmail.com; (402) 981-3424 cell (808) 328-8760
Kale Gumapac; moku_okeawe@hotmail.com; (808) 982-9020 (808) 896-7420

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Indigenous nuclear campaigner wins national environment award !!!!! wwwwooooowww

synnovemathe — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:24:44 GMT

Veteran Aboriginal activist Kevin Buzzacott has been awarded the Australian Conservation Foundation’s 2007 Peter Rawlinson Award for two decades of work highlighting the impacts of uranium mining and promoting a nuclear free Australia.

An Arabunna man with traditional custodial responsibilities for the area around Lake Eyre in northern South Australia, Kevin Buzzacott has drawn attention to the environmental, social and cultural impacts of the massive Olympic Dam uranium mine.

Taking on the world’s largest mining company as it moves to develop the world’s largest uranium mine is tough work – but Kevin Buzzacott has never been afraid to think big or to take a strong stand.

ACF Executive Director Don Henry welcomed the recognition of Mr Buzzacott’s work, describing him as “a passionate and effective advocate for sustainable water management and for responsibility, respect and recognition of the rights, aspirations and traditional knowledge of Australia’s Indigenous peoples”.

“Kevin is a cultural practitioner, an activist, an advocate and an educator. He has travelled tirelessly, talking to groups large and small about the impacts of uranium mining and the threats posed by the nuclear industry. Kevin has had a profound impact on the lives of many people – especially young people – with his many tours and ‘on-country’ events.

“For many young activists ‘Uncle Kev’ is truly an unsung hero and, against the current pro-nuclear tide, his is a very important struggle and story,” said Mr Henry.

BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine currently uses 35 million litres of Great Artesian Basin water a day – every day and free of charge – making it the largest industrial user of underground water in the southern hemisphere. The company is attempting to greatly increase its water allocation and expand the size and the impact of the mine.

ACF’s annual award commemorates Dr Peter Rawlinson’s outstanding contribution as an environmental campaigner and researcher. Peter was an ACF Treasurer and Vice President and one of Australia’s leading biologists and conservationists. He died while doing field work in Indonesia in 1991.

http://www.acfonline.org.au/articles/news.asp?news_id=1266

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Garma Festival, a celebration of our aboriginal brothers

synnovemathe — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 11:18:07 GMT

What is Garma

“A garma is a sort of place – of rich resources for many people, this garma thing. For all yolngu [people]. Like this, all yolngu always used to come to this thing garma, coming together, all different groups.” Gunygulu Yunupingu

The ancient sound of the yidaki (didgeridu) is a call to all people to come together in
unity. This call will announce the annual Garma, the largest and most vibrant celebration of Yolngu Aboriginal people of north east Arnhem Land) culture in recent memory.

Regarded as one of Australia's most significant Indigenous festivals, the Garma Festival attracts around 20 clan groups from north east Arnhem Land, as well as representatives from clan groups and neighbouring Indigenous peoples throughout Arnhem Land, the Northern Territory and Australia.

Garma implies many things for Yolngu, as a practice and as a place. Garma happens when people with different ideas and values come together and negotiate knowledge in a respectful learning environment. The Garma Festival at Gulkula creates this kind of environment for Yolngu (Aboriginal people of northeast Arnhem Land) and Balanda (Non-Indigenous Australians).

Mandawuy Yunupingu explains:

We’re living in fluid times, trying to discover in more profound ways what it is to be Australian. I think the vast majority of Australians would agree that Aboriginal Australians have a special contribution to make to that. But there seems to be a problem. I think most non-Aboriginal Australian accept that there is a deep intellectual strength to Aboriginal knowledge, but they seem to think of it as a mystery. I hope we are less of a mystery now.

Purpose of Garma

Yolngu culture in north-east Arnhem Land — a heartland of Aboriginal culture and land rights — is among the oldest living cultures on earth, stretching back more than 40,000 years.

The Garma Festival is a celebration of the Yolngu cultural inheritance. The Garma ceremony is aimed at sharing knowledge and culture, and opening people’s hearts to the message of the land at Gulkula. The site at Gulkula has profound meaning for Yolngu. Set in a stringybark forest with views to the Gulf of Carpentaria, Gulkula is where the ancestor Ganbulabula brought the yidaki (didjeridu) into being among the Gumatj people. The festival is designed to encourage the practice, preservation and maintenance of traditional dance (bunggul), song (manikay), art and ceremony on Yolngu lands in Northeast Arnhem Land.

http://www.garma.telstra.com/

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Wasase Says Fight, Phuncadeliah sayz PHIGHT!

carlos-ity — Mon, 07 May 2007 09:24:43 GMT

by phuncah-delicized

summary:
The Onkwehonwe author of ~Wasase: indigenous pathways of action and free-dom~ has kept a posting on hiz website (www.wasase.org) calling to fight. What this may mean is explored in this sharing of a recent ish-you of a phuncadeliah zeen (with phight scenes)

story:
To fight. To fight. What might fight mean to you? A whole array of intensity comes to mY mind.,,.

For Onkwehonwe and other indigenous folks who are being systematically challenged and pressured by military-types of war-style strategy, such could mean many things related to physicality. Or so says our general programming and encult-uration. ...And so says the continuing pressures that show us other human beings --who are still allowed the illusion of privileges-- the actual truth when it "really matters'.

Those of us not yet backed up against walls (in our heads or elsewhere), not yet having *reality* revealed to us, we feel in our hearts that there are ways to intervene, to interact with each other that bring out the hidden sistah and brothah; that loved human spirit we aren't usually able to truly deeply perceive, nor led to autonomously believe, or even wildly see ...that iz, as "reputable' and irrefutable,,,

So deep haz our general conditioning and socialization/domestication been!

So hyaar comz this 40 plus yr old white red/black/grey/cosmic mutt audio and bibliophile sayin there's wayz beyond perpetual Us v. Them, wayz we can still attend, ways we can still rend and defend

=--even on the offensive (or, in *cruciaL aRtz vernacular::"ophensive").

To *phight* from many angles, like this one, a "philiah" (psychiatric jargon for *love*) angle; jujitsu the professional (i.e. psychiatrick) labels and holier-than-thou chain-of-command, beyond the dark ages "fight' and into light ages phight. PHIGHT.

O' course, the stealth mental "health" planted in our heads says NO and *if you know what's good for you YOU'D BETTER conform! ,,,,,WELL IS IT NOT SO? Some narrative over-voice be TELLIN you you better move on to something *more serious*! Not somethin like THIS!

Thus, legions of folks/pholks are to be tooled by Same Old Again mind-set. Whole populations politricksterized in wayz they cannot, 'for the life of them" see and relate to. "All we can do" we're told over and over in classic repetitionist push is FIGHT as smashers, killers, crushers, blood spillers! You know what i'm sayiN

So how to relate, to bridge --as severe alienation continues? =--Only with guns and human stupidity???? =--Only in "Tried and True' truths??? Only in politricks (politics)??? Must ya'all FOREVER do as your told, even amongst your claimed alternative?

So follows a buncha art(e), along with an action i'm doin' NOW, wearin' a part; meant as a seedin', for y'all to taste as input!

an actual scene
earlier in the day, hair wildly tied-in with a real DEER ANTLER, and reddish-pink ribbon, carryin' neon green sign sayin' :::*TO POSSIBLY INSPIRE OUR HEARTS*:::and just as i exited my caveship, there he was, a soldier in blackn'white machine. Drove by, turned around, and i? i thot sure he'd stop me....but nope....musta read my sign!

:}

Then o'er to the drum circle o' strangers, listenin' then sit-dancin' then jumpin and chicken- & daffy duck-dancin and more; and phinish'n me art(e) zeen too. Then jumpin inta their bizness and speakin, reflectin a bit o tha intense-ities i've been feelin', then articulatin --==--"You folks must get a lotta weird folks here." And then it was a joke, you know? And they liked it, cuz here i waz, crazy but articulatin', and tellin' about us all bein' descendants of tribes!

WoW, a small, tiny step after too long not doin.

Wanted ta go inta this here University environ with all that. But ended up (right now!) jus' wearin some strange outfit that isn't THAT strange, except for the green neon askin passerby "HOW DEEP IS YOUR ART?"

Tiny, "nothing", "hardly radical" if you wanna believe, but a PROCESSIN' to me.

Especially in the context of *knowing too much* (opposite of "ignorance is bliss"), of fearing so much; needin' to get back inta the spiRit of thangz, revvin up for some possibility springz!

2nd scene
gOOd therapeufinicky with b'ful lovely dude (in 20s) and we hung out and experienced much magick! Ohmy! (see the zeen) Hiz HEART ticklin my worn out old one with not-yet-too-beaten-down. Such magickal thingz that were happenin!

Took a good easy time and then got o'er hyaar, and now postin...and wonderin'...hmmmm...maybe? Maybe i'm makin waves in spirit'd dir-ectionz?! To students on their last week b-4 testy sprintin? How to art them in wayz that they might take with em?

(i've been long experimentin')(back in '03 over 20-plus places and cities!)(and before that? oh,...heh...before that! back in '93 and '95 hoooooooooo0ooooooooooo; chances chances taken to roustabout anglez, hoooooboiii! but now phine-toonin')==see some here::
www.angelfire.com/folk/magixnartz/flouggindex.html

What if
EVERY thing we do iz processin' YET ALSO *arting ourselves too*?

What if
You could reach behind the PAIN to the HEART of the hidden SANE?

...Now, the terrroristic powers, they are tryin to block any arisin' yet b'twEEn all o' us on the streeeet? OooO, possibility is EVERyWHERE, up to our imagin ationz! Open your eyez and see, there is SO MUCH possibility ==to PHIGHT with our hearts in full gear, to see our daily interaction as phight, dear!

Is your depth deep enough? How to know?

How about your fear? So pick and steer your own style!

So sit back and look and see if any o' this aids in your outlook, adds to what you'r already doin' or even more!

((the pre-seed-ing and phollow-ing is called "surreal" by otherz; i's call such an angle on the confrontational nonviolent tactics of da cruciaL aRtz---not martial))

Hear more of the depth insights of the Onkwehonwe author: www.taiaiake.com Compare and contrast with what you know!

Moved? perhaps you "should" join open-ended seeding discussions at www.anti-politics.net and other favorite intanet spaces

links with full art peices (8):
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2007/05/358984.shtml
or
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2007/05/198356.php

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 0 replies

activating an intelligent resurgence

carlos-ity — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:20:10 GMT

Perhaps you could use input from an Onkwehonwe and a Lakota? There have been deep words from "core-riors' about resurgence, about traditional/intuitive consciousness resurgence. ((This angle has been put together here by a white red/black/cosmic mutt, me))

The resurgence of the intuitive ancient within us all. To decolonize your mind-set, to inspire your imagination beyond the pale of same old again. To activate our dared imagination and begin going into the "heavenish" (great spirit) you want.

This is an honoring to a poet by the name of Antler....

and to all of the solemn dear deer people! And the Antelope who looked out through a wire fence in "colorado" and spoke to all who might listen....

Listen to words about resurgence by Okwehonwe core-rior:
http://web.uvic.ca/~gta/taiaiake/writing.htm

and, if you're a descendant of colonizers don't forget to hear from this heavily experienced Lakota wisdom keeper:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2005/04/06/17316871.php

How to respond with our intelligence, with our cruciaL ability, to severe alienation all around? Perhaps even to INTENSE alienation. How to intervene?

Of course you realize the value.

Do we intervene in the ways we have been conditioned? In the ways we have been encouraged by war-mind cult-ure? Or do we experiment with and add on to what others have been creating?

There are many ways, up to our imaginations, to respond. Some of you may realize the value of "arting yourself" --in order to "get in touch with" designing our lives so that we activate the "heavenish" we'd like to see on mOm eArtH

If this interests you, then challenge your imagination. Go into your fears. Explore, take chances, experiment, make mistakes.

We are *all* descendants of tribes. We have been reduced into all of these identities and beliefs that others have ordered us to uncritically accept. We can wake up to our power to accept or not accept, or find grey areas in between. We can wake up to our power to envision and become, not allowing any political correct conception, or other colonized chain-of-command way of being and seeing to artificially hold us back.

You may wish to respect others, good. What of *radically respecting* by able-ing your heart, your great spirit, your connections to mOm eArtH, your wisdom, your deep seeing (i.e. reaching through the pain to the heart of alienated, flailing folks), your living high on life?!

some insights into what i have been up to
www.angelfire.com/folk/magixnartz/flouggindex.html

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 0 replies

Hawaiian Independence group in Berkeley Parade, Sept. 17th

Hunakai — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 17:37:08 GMT

Aloha kakou,
I'd like to invite all independence minded Bay Area residents to join our ad hoc contingent for Hawaiian Independence in the How Berkeley Can You Be Parade on Sept. 17th.

Please email me through Tribe if you want details on the when, where and how of marching in this parade. Let's show Berkeley residents that there's another vital issue that they should know about!

Hope to see you there! A hui hou,
Waihili

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 0 replies

videotape yourself telling your inspiring story. Earn $50 and share your positivity!

Dose of Inspiration — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 01:12:21 GMT

Have you had something in your life that has profoundly affected you? An act of kindness, grandparent's wisdom, music, art, escaping dependancy on a drug, the truth told my a child, finding the love of your life... We want to hear your stories!

We're looking for people to videotape themselves telling their stories. 5 minutes and under.

We will compensate you $50 for each submission that is accepted to be part of our DVD compilation!

Please visit our website where you can get all the details on how to submit.

go to: doseofinspiration.com

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 0 replies

A sort of intro...

Cityzen Jane — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 01:32:52 GMT

I'll skip the intro becuase you can check my profile and blog.

I wanted to post some abundance resources I've recently found that might get you excited and allow you to generate some monetary support -- or give it (oh it aint the only thing but it helps!) to projects that deserve it.

Here you go:

www.fundable.com
www.dropcash.com
www.pledgebank.com
www.kiva.org

Namaste!

Cityzen Jane

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 1 reply

Take Action/April 15th-Get PBS to show Mauna Kea documentary

Hunakai — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 23:29:05 GMT

FWD from Joan Lander of Na Maka o ka 'Aina. Please get your local PBS station to show this fine documentary: Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege!
Mahalo!
------------

aloha mai,

we are sending out the information below
to everyone we know on the continent
(not Hawai'i).

please feel free to do the same!

mahalo for your support.

~Joan & Puhipau

----------MAUNA KEA documentary on PBS: NEED YOUR HELP--------

aloha,

this is a request for help.

our documentary, MAUNA KEA - TEMPLE UNDER SIEGE,
is being offered to PBS stations throughout the United States.

the program tells the story of Hawai'i's sacred mountain,
Mauna Kea, and the conflict over the use of its summit:
whether it should be used for astronomical observatory development
or preserved as a cultural landscape.

PBS stations will have only one opportunity to download the
program from the satellite feed, which happens April 15.

if you want your local PBS station to show this video,
we ask that you email the attached flyer to the
program director and request that the program be
shown on your station.

or simply call the program director and give them
the info on the flyer
(Satellite feed: Saturday, April 15 at 2100 et / 513).

please distribute this email to all your contacts and lists.

mahalo (thanks) for helping us get the word out.

PBS Hawai'i has already agreed to air the documentary
so there is no need to contact them.

stay tuned for the date and time of the Hawai'i broadcast.

please contact us if you have trouble opening the attachment.

a hui hou,

Joan Lander
Puhipau

Na Maka o ka `Aina
PO Box 29
Na`alehu, Hawai`i 96772-0029
Ph. 808.929.9659
Fax 808.929.9679
namaka@interpac.net
www.namaka.com

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 0 replies

Press Release: Justice for Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands

Hunakai — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 22:15:51 GMT

PRESS RELEASE:

March 1, 2006,
Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands

"We Want Justice Now!"

Although there were less international guests than at the two previous March 1st events,
ERUB (Enewetak, Rongelap, Utrik, Bikini) again held their own survivor's rally in front of the Rongelap Atoll Local Government office. The RMI (Republic of the Marshall Islands) committee again refused to allow a survivor to speak on the morning agenda. At ERUB's rally there were sixteen international guests: twelve from Japan, one from Puerto Rico, and three from Hawaii. Ten from Japan represented Gensuikyo, the Japan Council against A & H Bombs, led by the Assistant General Secretary Ms. Yayoi Tsuchida, who read a letter from a fisherman from the Lucky Dragon V who was contaminated by the Bravo test in 1954. Ms. Brunilda Zayas Rodriguez represented Mayaguezanos con Vieques in Puerto Rico. Among those from Hawaii was Ms. Chiyoko Tamayose representing ERUB II, the survivors based in Hawaii.
The participants at the rally signed a petition to U.S. Ambassador Greta Morris that read,"We want justice now!" The three demands listed were: 1) Continue funding 177 HCP at the level of the need!, 2) Extend DOE Medical monitoring and treatment for children and grandchildren of survivors!, and 3) Pass the Changed Circumstances Petition!. This petition will be taken to the U.S. Embassy either tomorrow or on Friday.
A motorcade began the day from the Amata Kabua International Airport to the Rongelap Atoll office.
All four atolls from which the survivors hail were represented and shared their stories with the audience in the afternoon.
For more information, contact Ms. Elma Coleman, at lmacoleman@hotmail.com or telephone the Rongelap Atoll Local Government office at 011-692-625-7271.
Available is the letter from the Lucky Dragon V fisherman read at the event. Also available is a copy of Mayor James Matayoshi's speech at the RMI government event.

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 1 reply

Saving Sacred Places--In Solidarity

Hunakai — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 17:57:09 GMT

Aloha kakou, greetings all,
Obviously, I've been posting a lot about the situation in Hawai'i, and I hope people don't mind too much. But the struggle there is common to struggles in so many other places. I am posting this article that contains some good news about the fight to save Mauna Kea, the sacred mountain on Hawai'i island. It was FWD'd to me by Ku, a kanaka maoli cultural practioner who is one of the contesting parties in the court case against further development and degradation of Mauna Kea.

When I left O'ahu last weekend, I saw a wonderful sight from the plane. We flew past the crater of Haleakala on Maui and then beyond it, I could see the snow on Mauna Kea. Truly, these places are precious! I was blessed by this sight!!! A couple years ago I was privileged to be at the summit of Mauna Kea, for a ceremony, and was able to chant above the cloud line.

I hope others will post about their sacred places and the struggles to preserve and care for them, so that we can send good energy to those involved in such struggles. These are living places where spirit speaks to us. Without the 'aina and our sacred places, we are nothing.
Malama pono,
Amy
------------
FWD Subject: Goodby Outrigger Telescopes! I hope.

Budget ax looms over telescopes

A NASA proposal cutting funds for a project on Mauna Kea has isle
astronomers concerned

By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HILO » Funding for the Keck Outrigger Telescope project on Mauna Kea has
been eliminated from NASA's draft 2007 budget, possibly killing the $50 million,
four-telescope project, University of Hawaii astronomy head Rolf Kudritzki
confirmed.

The proposed cut is part of $2 billion in funding for numerous projects
which would be shifted in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
budget to support the space shuttle program, Kudritzki said. He called the
proposal "catastrophic."

Keck Observatory head Fred Chaffee called the $2 billion cut "alarming,"
saying some programs being cut are much farther along than the Outriggers. "It is
a sad and disappointing year for NASA science," he said.

The two existing Keck telescopes, each with a main mirror 33 feet across,
are the largest on Earth.

The Outrigger project would initially place four much smaller telescopes
with 6-foot mirrors around the giant main telescopes. Two others, for a total of
six, might be added later.

The small telescopes are named in comparison to small balancing outriggers
attached to fishing canoes.

Light from all of the telescopes would be combined in a process called
interferometry.

Because the greatest distance from one telescope to the other would be 275

feet, interferometry would create the equivalent of a single telescope with a
mirror that large.

Observers held varying degrees of hope that the project is not dead.
Kudritzki said the likelihood is high, but scientists across the country are
protesting.

Mark McGuffie, head of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, which
has supported the Outriggers, said alternative funding sources might be found.
An information source recommended by Kudritzki, www.newscientistspace.com,
suggested funding might come from other nations or from private industry.

Chaffee said the California Association for Research in Astronomy, which
runs Keck, has not decided how to respond.

"This is 2-day-old news, and we've been working on this project for eight
years," he said. He predicted "months of hearings" by Congress before a final
NASA budget is adopted.

Kudritzki explained that he received a phone call about the proposed cut
Monday.

NewScientistSpace says that was the day NASA revealed a $16.8 billion 2007
budget with the $2 billion cuts spread over five years.

Word was slow to reach Hawaii, with some of the strongest opponents of the
Outriggers unaware of it.

Debbie Ward, co-chairwoman of a Sierra Club committee dealing with Mauna
Kea, was part of a group of people who unsuccessfully fought a state Department
of Land and Natural Resources permit for the Outriggers. The project still
needs approval from university regents.

Ward said opposition to other Mauna Kea projects will continue because of
environmental issues.

"It's highly unlikely that opposition (to other astronomy projects) will
stop because the Outriggers have been killed," she said.

Another opponent, Kealoha Pisciotta of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, said a Circuit
Court appeal against the permit for the Outriggers is still pending. The
appeal deals not only with the telescopes, but also the alleged lack of a proper
management plan for the summit, she said.

She said the project might be complete now if the proponents had built it in
an alternate site in Spain's Canary Islands.

© Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- http://starbu

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 6 replies

FWD from Ku; Guam Bill to Allow more home-rule on island issues

Hunakai — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 13:10:38 GMT

Mahalo nui to Ku for the following forward.
--------

GUAM: Bill to allow more home-rule on island issues

A prominent Guam politician has introduced a bill in the local legislature,
in a bid to give the people of the island more leeway in making home-rule
decisions on island issues. Senator Bob Klitzkie introduced Bill 259, which seeks
to ask the US Congress to allow the local legislature to amend Organic Act
provisions relating to local government. Should the bill become law and if the US
Congress were to approves it, the Guam government could amend the Organic Act
in Guam without having to refer to Congress. Senator Klitzkie calls this
process 'patriation'.

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacbeat/stories/s1569330.htm

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 0 replies

Puerto Rico Independence Movement Attacked by FBI

Hunakai — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 12:59:32 GMT

Mahalo nui to Ku for the following forward, an important post that should be distributed far and wide.
----------------
Subject: It could happen here!!!! (long, v.i.)

FBI commits domestic terrorism on Independence Movement in Puerto Rico

"The only domestic terrorist attack here is the U.S. government's attack on
the people of Puerto Rico." --New York State Assemblyman José Rivera (1)

In a move reminiscent of a U.S. Marine invasion of a foreign
country, the FBI descended in droves on Puerto Rico on February 10. (2)
Without breathing a word of the invasion to either the colonial governor or
the chief of police, heavily armed, militarized units of the FBI, including
the Special Weapons and Tactics Unit from Miami, hit six different spots
throughout the island. Their purpose, they claimed, was to execute search
warrants on six independence activists they identified as suspected leaders
of the clandestine independence organization, Ejercito Popular Boricua/
Macheteros (3), the same organization whose legendary leader, Filiberto
Ojeda Ríos, who the FBI assassinated five months earlier. Their true
purpose was widely understood as other: with their show of force, to
continue their long campaign to intimidate and criminalize those who support
independence for Puerto Rico, particularly in this moment of the resurgence
of the left throughout Latin America; and, of course, to detract from their
own criminal conduct in taking Ojeda's life. "This is yet another move on
the part of the FBI to control and warn those who advocate for the
independence of Puerto Rico, exercising their constitutional rights. It
appears they are sending a message of intimidation,"(4) said independentist
activist and attorney Roxana Badillo, who added that they are sorely
mistaken if they believe the movement will be intimidated.

Landing in military-style helicopters, accompanied by caravans
of vehicles, sometimes with the license plates obscured, FBI agents swarmed
private residences and businesses in Trujillo Alto and Río Piedras (in the
San Juan metropolitan area), and Mayagüez, San Germán, Aguadilla, and
Isabela (in the west of the island), terrorizing entire neighborhoods. The
search warrants bore the names and addresses of veteran labor leaders,
community leaders, known independentists, and even a Protestant minister
respected for his work promoting small projects of self-empowerment for poor
people. (5)

In Río Piedras, as Homeland Security helicopters hovered above
and sharpshooters watched through their telescopes from neighboring
buildings, FBI agents were ransacking the apartment of independentist
Liliana Laboy. The Puerto Rican media arrived to cover the remarkable
event. With the FBI's murder of Ojeda Ríos fresh on their minds,
independence supporters quickly gathered at the closed gates of the
condominium, shouting, "Asesinos!"(6) Meanwhile, the FBI had banished Laboy
from her apartment, and initially ignored requests from her attorneys to
allow them access to their client, grabbing and threatening to arrest the
attorneys if they didn't leave the premises.

In San Germán, agents assaulted the offices of the not-for-profit
Ecumenical Committee for Community Economic Development [CEDECO,
its Spanish acronym], where community activist and independentist
William Mohler García was at work. They not only removed Mohler from his
office, but they handcuffed him and left him to bake in the hot sun– this,
after searching his home, pepper spraying his dog, and subjecting his wife
to much humiliation. Supporters gathered at the scene, shouting at the
agents: "Get out of here, damned FBI," and "FBI, cowards, assassins,
terrorists!" (7) In Aguadilla, the FBI searched the home of another CEDECO
director, Presbyterian minister and independentist José Morales. Also in
Aguadilla, the FBI spent four hours searching the home of independentist and
elementary school teacher VilmaVélez Roldán, while she was at school.
Agents threw her two sons out of their home, handcuffed them, and left them
outside with no shade. (8) In Isabela, the Cabán family home was searched.(9)

In Trujillo Alto, the home of Norberto Cintrón Fiallo was ransacked while he
was away at his workplace.

Before leaving the scene in Río Piedras, the FBI, obviously
unhappy with the presence of protesters and abundant numbers of media and
the prospect of having to face further public exposure, aggressing against
all those gathered, including attacking the media with pepper spray.
Several journalists were treated by paramedics at the scene, and some went
to nearby hospitals. As the caravan of some fourteen vehicles sped from the
scene, the agents had their assault weapons pointed at the press and public.

Adding insult to injury, the FBI emitted a press release stating, "It
appears members of the media and the general public attempted to cross the
established law enforcement perimeter, and the use of non-lethal force was
utilized. This was done in order to protect members of the media, the public
and the law enforcement officers executing this lawful search warrant."

Reaction from the Press

"It gives us pause that in a democratic society, security forces
cut off the flow of information, and even worse, attack those who work in
journalism, who seek to divulge precise and reliable information," said
Annette Alvarez, a television reporter who was sprayed, who spoke in her
capacity as president of the Overseas Press Club chapter. (10) Oscar J.
Serrano, president of the Journalists Association of Puerto Rico, declared,
"The agents didn't use force and gas to defend themselves; they used them
offensively to attack the press. The act of an agent emptying his spray can
directly in the face of [journalist] Normando Valentín, who had his hands
occupied with the instruments of his trade, cannot be excused as negligence.

That, and the expression of disdain reflected on the agent's face, are
indicative of a specific intent to cause harm, and represents nothing less
than a criminal act."(11) The Association of Photojournalists, the Center for

the Freedom of the Press, the Organization of Independent Journalists, and
the Union of Journalists, Graphic Arts and Ramas Anexas joined in
condemning the FBI's use of force on their colleagues.

While the Puerto Rican print, electronic media and radio
provided full coverage of this extraordinary militaristic operation, the
U.S. press was virtually silent,(12) with only a few newspapers reprinting
slightly differing versions of an Associated Press wire story.

Reaction from the Puerto Rican Government

After the September assassination, the FBI lost all hope of
credibility in the eyes of Puerto Rican society. Having been told on
February 10 only after the FBI had begun its assault, and only that they
were serving search warrants on suspected Macheteros, the chief of police,
Pedro Toledo (himself a former FBI agent), as well as the head of the
Department of Justice were quick to distance themselves from the operation,
making public statements that they were not participants.(13) When Toledo
learned–after the operation was over– that the FBI asserted that this
"ongoing domestic terrorism investigation" averted "a potential attack,
where explosives devices were to be utilized," to be "directed at privately
owned interests in Puerto Rico, as well as the general public,"(14) he
insisted that, "[w]ithout a doubt, I should have been informed."(15) Toledo
rather resoundingly criticized the entire operation– not just the use of
force against the journalists– as having used excessive force, listing the
use of so many agents and the incorporation of helicopters. He recalled his
own participation in the 1980's in executing search warrants against members
of the same clandestine organization, when such incidents never took place.
"It was an improper use, completely outside of the norm. This gas (pepper)
is used when your life is in danger, against an attacker, not a journalist,"
he said.(16) However, although he expressed that the Puerto Rican Department
of Justice would have jurisdiction to prosecute federal agents for their
excessive use of force, he did not express any intention to conduct such a
prosecution, or even investigate these FBI crimes on Puerto Rican soil.

The governor was another recipient of such a "courtesy call," (17)
which also took place only after the FBI had begun its assault.(18) He, too,
expressed indignation at the assault on Puerto Rican journalists, calling it
unjustified.(19) However he offered absolutely no criticism of the FBI's
invasion of his country, let alone of the agency's failure to even notify him
in advance, and failed to insist that the U.S. government be accountable
for the acts of its agents committed in Puerto Rico.

Reaction from the Public

The very same afternoon the FBI conducted its show of force,
hundreds of people gathered at the federal courthouse, which houses the
FBI offices, to express their indignation. Called by the Worker's Socialist
Movement [MST by its Spanish acronym], (20) people of all ages and walks of
life marched and chanted, as elected officials, spokespeople from a variety
of organizations, and those whose homes had been ransacked, spoke.

The following day, fifteen organizations convened a press conference
to condemn the FBI's aggressive presence. A spokesperson for CEDECO's
support network expressed concern that the highly publicized raid could
cost the organization the financial support it receives from grants and
foundations and thereby undermine its ability to offer services of education
and of rehabilitating homes for people with few resources. Agency
spokespeople questioned why the FBI would take important documents
related to one of CEDECO's urban housing projects.(21)

Julio Fontanet, president of the Puerto Rican Bar Association,
expressed a common theme: "To complain to the federal government or the
government of Puerto Rico is an exercise in futility, and the FBI acts with
total impunity in Puerto Rico."(22) Observing that this type of FBI operation

in Puerto Rico has become a custom, Fontanet announced his intention to take
the matter to international fora.(23) The former dean of the Eugenio María de

Hostos School of Law, law professor Carlos Rivera Lugo, echoed Fontanet,
censuring the Puerto Rican government "for permitting the U.S. armed forces
to act with total impunity in this country."(24) The National Hostosiano
Independence Movement coincided: "The governor of Puerto Rico has the
obligation to stand up and defend Puerto Rico. We demand that governor
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá energetically condemn the FBI's abusive actions in
Puerto Rico, and that as a representative of the people he express the
general indignation we all feel, and that he demand respect for our
people."(25) The experience moved that organization to commit to redouble its

efforts to "expel forever from our national territory the federal court and
the FBI," because "the only thing the presence in Puerto Rico of these
federal dependencies has caused is injury, damage, and impediments to our
right as a people to self-determination."(26)

Amnesty International of Puerto Rico expressed its concern for
the FBI's conduct both in executing the search warrants and attacking the
press, reminding the FBI that they are not above the law of civil and human
rights, and that, like any other law enforcement agency, they must comply
with basic human rights provided by international law.(27)

Representatives of all the political parties have, however
timidly, expressed preoccupation with the FBI's conduct toward the
independence movement, but it was the independence party representative who
expressed the sentiment strongly felt throughout the diverse independence
movement: "This operation is the most crude proof that Puerto Rico is a
colony," noted Juan Dalmau, secretary general of the Puerto Rican
Independence Party.(28) "If the FBI thinks that with these acts it is going
to intimidate the independentists, it is mistaken. In the face of these
abuses, the independence movement will respond just as it has historically,
with more militancy, more patriotism and a greater commitment to
struggle."(29) That will be necessary, given the rumors that the FBI will
return to conduct more search and destroy missions,(30) and to increase the
wave of repression.

Jan Susler

February 12, 2006
All translations from Spanish to English are the author's.

Websites where photos and videos are available:

http://pr.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/13197.php
http://www.primerahora.com/noticia.asp?guid=F9260F8D7C3A47B682B0BA4AAE99B5D2
<http://www.primerahora.com/noticia.asp?guid=F9260F8D7C3A47B682B0BA4AAE99B5D2>

Diario/La Prensa, February 12, 2006.
2 For most Puerto Ricans, it was also reminiscent of August 30, 1985, when,
in another island wide invasion, the FBI arrested a multitude of
independence activists and accused them of participating in a conspiracy
involving $7.6 taken from a Wells Fargo depot, an action for which the
Ejercito Popular Boricua/Macheteros claimed responsibility.
3 Boricua Popular Army/Sugarcane Cutters.
4 Associated Press, "Abogada independentista acusa a federales de
intimidación," El Nuevo Día, February 10, 2006.
5 Jesús Dávila, "Ofensiva FBI contra independentistas," El Diario/La Prensa,
February 11, 2006.
6 Id.
7 Jackeline Del Toro Cordero, "Operativo federal buscaba documentos," El
Vocero, February 11, 2006.
8 Comunicado de Prensa, Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano de
Aguadilla, www.redbetances.com , February 12,
2006.
9 Carmen Edith Torres, "Irrumpe el FBI en seis puntos del País," El Nuevo
Día, February 11, 2006.
10 Associated Press, "OPC censura agresión contra la prensa," El Nuevo Día,
February 10, 2006.
11 Mabel M. Figueroa, "Condena al vicioso ataque a reporteros: Una sola voz
de repudio al FBI," Primera Hora, February 11, 2006.
12 With the notable exception of El Diario/La Prensa.
13 See, e.g., Maritza Díaz Alcaide, "Callaron lo del 'ataque terrorista',"
Primera Hora, February 11, 2006; Yanira Hernández Cabiya, "Informada la
Policía tras iniciar el operativo," El Nuevo Día, February 10, 2006; José R.
Ortúzar, "El Súper se lava las manos," El Vocero, February 11, 2006. The
chief of police of Mayagüez, whose police were roundly criticized by the
public for having cooperated with the FBI during its assassination of Ojeda
Ríos, and who was also not informed by the FBI about their operation, was
also quick to distance himself from this assault. Associated Press, "Jefe
de la Policía Mayagüez confirma operativo," El Nuevo Día, February 10, 2006.
14 FBI Press Release, February 10, 2006.
15 Maritza Díaz Alcaide, "Callaron lo del 'ataque terrorista'," Primera Hora,

February 11, 2006.
16 Daniel Rivera Vargas, "Con poder Justicia para acusar," El Nuevo Día,
February 12, 2006.
17 Yanira Hernández Cabiya, "Informada la Policía tras iniciar el operativo,"

El Nuevo Día, February 10, 2006.
18 Maritza Díaz Alcaide, "Callaron lo del 'ataque terrorista'," Primera Hora,

February 11, 2006.
19 Id.
20 EFE, "Convocan a manifestación contra FBI," El Nuevo Día, February 10,
2006.
21 Melisa Ortega Marrero, EFE, "CEDECO niega vínculos con el independentismo
puertorriqueño," Primera Hora, February 11, 2006.
22 Associated Press, "Varias voces expresan rechazo a operativo del FBI y su
trato a periodistas," Primera Hora, February 12, 2006.
23 EFE, "Denunciarán ante organismos internacionales actos del FBI," Primera
Hora, February 11, 2006.
24 Jackeline Del Toro Cordero, "Académico critica el operativo," El Vocero,
February 11, 2006.
25 "MINH [Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano] condena atropello
FBI," www.redbetances.com , February 12, 2006.
26 Id.
27 Melissa Correa Velázquez, "FBI choca con periodistas," El Vocero, February

11, 2006.
28 "Dalmau: tienen la Isla en estado de sitio," El Diario/La Prensa, February

12, 2006.
29 "Dalmau asegura FBI mantiene a la Isla en estado de sitio," Primera Hora,
February 11, 2006.
30 Ricardo Cortés, "Anticipados más allanamientos," El Nuevo Día, February
12, 2006.

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FWD: Maori Armed to Meet Challenges

Hunakai — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:37:20 GMT

Mahalo nui to Ku for finding this article and posting it on Hawai'i Independence list. There is hope that the gains made by the Maori can also be made by na kanaka maoli in Hawai'i in the near future.
---------

Rawiri Taonui: Maori armed to meet challenges
26.01.06

Last year was a significant milestone in the Maori renaissance. It began with a bang when Tame Iti shot-gunned the New Zealand flag at the opening of Waitangi Tribunal hearings into 19th century Crown actions in the Urewera forest.

Charged with firearms offences to circumvent the Bill of Rights loophole that allowed Paul Hopkinson to burn the flag, the irony is that the only person prosecuted in relation to the killing of Tuhoe ancestors is a Tuhoe descendant whose crime, if convicted, would be to have shot the flag under which the slayers of his forebears marched.

The Hui Taumata celebrating 11 years of Maori progress since the inaugural summit was a significant event. Progress has been huge.

The population has increased 30 per cent, unemployment is the lowest in two generations, Maori have an unheralded presence in business, politics, art, education, culture, film, literature, television and sport. Maori and the Crown have a multiplicity of relationships advancing Treaty settlements, education, health, social programmes, environmental protection, heritage preservation, land and fisheries management and broadcasting.

The culture is vibrant, the language in recovery. Hundreds of Maori emerge from kohanga reo, kura reo e rua, kura kaupapa, wananga and other tertiary institutions with a greater understanding about who they are.

Delegates urged Maori to look to the future, to move beyond grievance mode and over-reliance on Government funding, to extend their horizons to include more cooperative partnerships between Maori organisations, and new ones with private enterprise and overseas partners.

As one speaker said, Maori have found their place within New Zealand, now they need to find their place on the world stage.

To achieve this Maori need more people in higher decision-making positions, emerging leaders need better preparation, and there has to be a qualitative shift in the emphasis from access and participation in education to excellence, achievement and performance.

The year also marked a spectacular presence in sport. Michael Campbell's cool driving, putting and koru shirts were a stand-out. Elsewhere, Temepara George is the world's best netballer, Sonny-Bill Williams and Benji Marshall the best rugby league players and the Maori-Pasifika Kiwis the best team. Jonno Gibbes' Maoris defeat of the Lions softened them up for the All Blacks, which in turn gave them the confidence to storm the Tri-Nations and Grand Slam Britain.

Kapa o Pango took the haka to new levels of national pride and intimidation. The performance by a mixed team of Pakeha, Pasifika and Maori and its embracing by New Zealanders reflects a nation increasingly comfortable with its own diversity.

Maori have matured politically. The Maori Party took four seats from Labour. Stable, unified and experienced, they are less likely to implode than the Dirty Dog class of 1996.

Whether they last the long term is uncertain. I think Maori will eventually take over Labour. Demographics argue for that.

Whatever the case, the Maori Party is important for this time. It is the most independent Maori voice since the 1990s Maori Congress and 1890s Kotahitanga Movement and one that is refreshingly different from the corporate warriors, the Wellington consultant brigade and those still clinging to the apron strings of Labour and National.

This Maori Party's strength lies in its ties with disaffected Maori communities. Just look at the electorates it didn't win. Tainui and
the South Island have the largest Treaty settlements; the East Coast and Wellington have the strongest historical ties to the capital's brown bureaucracy - Apirana Ngata's legacy.

Each of the Maori Party MPs is also a long-time servant at the flax roots. Tariana Turia is a mother of six, grandmother of 24 and foster
parent of 30 children. Pita Sharples' cultural credentials, leadership skill, academic nous and long-term commitment to Maori education in schools stand without peer. Hone Harawira is a veteran protester firmly rooted in the community. Te Ururoa Flavell has equal credentials. The Gang of Four are my Maori Leaders of the Year.

Political successes at the United Nations reflect a greater sophistication. The Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination vindicated concerns over the foreshore and seabed, finding the Crown's actions ill-considered, hasty and discriminatory.

The UNHRC Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, Professor Rodolfo Stavenhagen, reinforced these concerns at a wider level. Stavenhagen acknowledged the progress New Zealand had made. But noting that Maori still lagged in life expectancy, health, poverty, imprisonment, family and youth issues, violence, drug and alcohol abuse and suicide, he argued that strategies would be more effective if there was recognition of the link between this reality and discrimination.

Protestations from Labour and National that the Committee and the Rapporteur were ill-informed, corrupt or out of touch are unfounded. The UNHRC receives multiple annual briefings on New Zealand The Government made three representations on the foreshore issue and Stavenhagen's itinerary shows that he got a more thorough briefing on our race relations than most New
Zealanders get ui a lifetime. The condemnations are also a slur on the UNHRC's contribution in combating discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, women and children and crimes against humanity.

Maori can claim a big victory over National whose gamble on cash and old age racism in new age disguise floundered on the sensible approach that is the foreshore of New Zealand. Policies of "one law for all" and campaigns against "race based legislation" ignore historical and ongoing racism against Maori. It is hypocritical to describe measures introduced to reverse the inequalities that this racism caused as contemporary racism in favour of Maori. Only those incapable of acknowledging the advantages they derive from
historical racism do so.

Closer to home, the opening of Te Kopinga marae on the Chathams was a triumph for Moriori. They were driven to near extinction by European disease, and slaughter and slavery under Maori colonisation so the new facility is a testament to Moriori fortitude and endurance. Maori find it hard to accept the heinous deeds some of our ancestors perpetrated.

The year was not all glory. Donna Awatere's convoluted Pipi accounts finally unstapled. Accusations that her trial and sentencing were racist are regrettable. Greed is multicultural.

A brave John Tamihere fell on his taiaha. He placed his fate in the hands of the electorate, but Tamaki Maori swapped him for papa Sharples. A less capable but shrewder Dover Samuels survived on the list.

The ongoing debate over Te Wananga o Aotearoa was another low. The Auditor-General's report highlighted inappropriate management practices; the Waitangi Tribunal accused the Government of discrimination.

The truth lies in a clash of cultures. Maori have a vision of providing education for Maori and Pakeha. The Crown's vision is of Maori
providing for Maori. The Crown needs to accept Maori and Pakeha students have a right to Maori context and mainstream education.

Te Wananga needs to accept that publicly funded education requires transparent professionalism and lift its game.

The renaissance augurs well for the future. Treaty settlements will provide iwi with capital for development. Household incomes will rise and state dependency decrease.The knowledge economy will increasingly supplement land and resource-based economies.

As the general working population ages, the country will become increasingly dependent upon a rapidly expanding younger brown workforce. This will comprise 45 per cent of all workers by 2025.

Maori families will change. There will be greater socio-economic diversity and wider intermarriage with other ethnic groups, especially
Pacific and Asian. Children will be more competent Maori speakers than their parents.

There are also cautions. The gap is increasing between the Maori middle class who monopolise new Treaty capital and Maori of lower socio-economic status not yet in receipt of such bounty, the underclass within the underclass.

* Rawiri Taonui is head of the School of Maori and Indigenous
Studies, University of Canterbury
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=00027E96-12F7-
13D7-BED183027AF1010E

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Free Ho'oponopono Workshops in O'ahu and Maui, thru June

Hunakai — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 00:44:48 GMT

Aloha kakou,
My ho'oponopono kumu, Ramsay Taum, just sent me this schedule of his organization's workshops, meetings and reviews through June. If anyone is in Honolulu or on Maui on any of these days, they are welcome to attend these free sessions. They are quite wonderful. A modern, individualized version of the traditional process is taught.
Amy Waihili
----------------

Hawaiian Ho'oponopono Workshop Schedule
from Keala O Kalani (teachers trained by Morrnah Simeona or in Morrnah's tradition).

All Honolulu sessions are held at McKinley High School Library. For Honolulu sessions, please call Kevin Chang, (808)780-3525, Gene Ono (808)942-0702, or Allan Prevo (808)488-4200.

All Maui meetings are held at Island Honda. For Maui classes and review, please call Anne at 808-873-8081 to confirm.

All workshops and meetings are free of charge and are not affilitated with McKinley Libary or Island Honda.

Sunday, Feb. 12 9 AM-1 PM Review for people who have taken the workshop before
Honolulu only

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 PM Keala O Kalani Meeting
Honolulu and Maui

Sunday, March 12, 9 AM-4 PM, Ho'oponopono Workshop for beginners and repeat students
Honolulu only

Tuesday, March 21, 7 PM Keala O Kalani Meeting
Honolulu and Maui

Sunday, April 16, 9 AM-1 PM Review for people who have taken the workshop before
Honolulu only

Tuesday, April 18, 7 PM Keala O Kalani Meeting
Honolulu and Maui

Sunday, May 7, 9 AM-4 PM, Ho'oponopono Workshop for beginners and repeat students
Honolulu only

Tuesday, May 16, 7 PM Keala O Kalani Meeting
Honolulu and Maui

Sunday, June 11, 9 AM-1 PM Review
Honolulu only

Tuesday, June 20, 7 PM Keala O Kalani Meeting
Honolulu and Maui

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FWD: Living Nation 'Iolani Palace Event Press Release

Hunakai — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 20:05:22 GMT

Subject: Living Nation `Iolani Palace Event Press Release

From: "`Ehu Kekahu Cardwell" <ehukekahu@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 23:39:34 -0800

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
'Ehu Cardwell
(619) 885-4848
Nationwide Cell
<mailto:freehawaii@earthlink.net>freehawaii@earthlink.net

"WE WILL NOT BE DENIED" CRY AS HAWAIIANS PROTEST ILLEGAL OCCUPATION

Health & Wellness Of Hawaiian Nation Focus Of Event

Honolulu, Hawai'i - With the theme, "Hawai`i Loa Kulike Kakou, All
Hawai`i Come Together," Native Hawaiians and supporters from near and
far will gather this weekend for the 113th observance of the illegal
overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation in a massive demonstration of unity.

Voicing outrage at the continuing illegal US occupation of Hawai`i,
participants will gather to celebrate and promote the continued life
of the Hawaiian nation and its people. Everyone, whether of Hawaiian
heritage or not, is invited to take part.

"As Hawaiians, we gather in support of our beloved Queen,
Lili`uokalani. We maintain her legacy, the dignity and righteousness
of our nation, our lands, and our people. We now move toward
manifestation of our country. We will not be denied," states Living
Nation chair Mel Kalahiki.

The Living Nation campaign kicks off this Friday, January 13th and
runs through Sunday, January 15th, at 'Iolani Palace, historic seat
of governance and residence of Hawaiian Monarchs.

Special activities include dramatic torchlight walks both Friday and
Saturday evenings to honor Hawaiian ali`i, a unique Fallen Warriors
ceremony late Saturday night, and an early morning Run For Justice on
Sunday.

Continuous events on Sunday will include speakers and hula
performances. All events are free and the public is invited.

Wealthy sugar barons, assisted by US agents and military forces,
illegally overthrew the internationally recognized Hawaiian Monarchy
in 1893. In 1993, President Clinton and Congress formally apologized
for that illegal act of war, admitting that Hawaiian nationhood and
sovereignty had, in fact, never been relinquished.

For more information, call Mel Kalahiki at (808) 284-8722 or Lynette
Cruz at (808) 284-3460.

###

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 1 reply

Nonmowing Is One Way To Please Great Spirit

veganesh — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:38:53 GMT

50 reasons not to mow
http://dontmow.blogspot.com

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Hawaiian Independence article online at countercurrents.org

Hunakai — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 17:09:33 GMT

http://www.countercurrents.org/hawai-marsh081205.htm

Aloha kakou,
This is an abridged version of an article I wrote for Slingshot earlier this fall. Great to have it online! Please check it out!
Mahalo!

posted in <--<<World Natives United>>--> - 0 replies

EPA wants to do chemical testing on orphans and mentally handicapped kids

Hunakai — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 18:14:38 GMT

This alert below is not really "off topic" here, as you can be sure if this testing idea gets through, most of the kids used as guinea pigs will be children of color, poor kids, etc.
Amy
-----------

ALERT: EPA PROPOSES CHEMICAL AND PESTICIDE TESTING ON ORPHANS & MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN
Public comments are now being accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its newly proposed federal regulation regarding the testing of chemicals and pesticides on human subjects. Earlier this year, Congress had mandated the EPA create a rule that permanently bans chemical testing on pregnant women and children, but the EPA's newly proposed rule puts industry profits ahead of children's welfare. The rule allows for government and industry scientists to treat children as human guinea pigs in chemical experiments in the following situations:

1. Children who "cannot be reasonably consulted," such as those that are mentally handicapped or orphaned newborns may be tested on. With permission from the institution or guardian in charge of the individual, the child may be exposed to chemicals for the sake of research.
2. Parental consent forms are not necessary for testing on children who have been neglected or abused.
3. Chemical studies on any children outside of the U.S. are acceptable.

Learn more and take action now: http://www.organicconsumers.org/epa6.cfm

__

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