MoJo Blog

« San Diego woman says she was fired for having an Air America bumper sticker | Blog Index | "The Arctic climate of the Bering Sea is in full retreat" »

Advertisement

U.S. found guilty of violating human rights of Native Americans

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has urged the United States to "freeze," "desist" and "stop" actions or threatened actions against the Western Shoshone Peoples of the Western Shoshone Nation. This action challenges the United States' government's claim of ownership of almost 90% of Western Shoshone lands.

According to Shoshone spokeswoman Bernice Lalo:

The mines are polluting our waters, destroying hot springs and exploding sacred mountains--our burials along with them--attempting to erase our signature on the land. We are coerced and threatened by mining and Federal agencies when we seek to continue spiritual prayers for traditional food or medicine on Shoshone land.
And from spokesman Joe Kennedy:
...we have rights to protect our homelands and stop the destruction of our land, water, and air by the abuses of the United States government and the multinational corporations. He says "the situation is outrageous and we're glad the United Nations Committee agrees with us.

The land in question has been used for military testing, nuclear waste disposal planning, and open pit cyanide heap leach gold mining. The federal government has seized Shoshone livestock, issued trespass fines, and practiced armed surveillance of Western Shoshone. The Shoshone claim that the U.S. government has also dug up their ancestors' graves.

Posted by Diane E. Dees on 03/10/06 at 10:41 AM | E-mail | Print



TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://161.58.185.225/mb/mb-backtracks.cgi/502

Comments

Established by Congress in 1964, the Indian Claims Commission's ("ICC"), now defunct, province was to determine outstanding American Indian land title disputes.

So..., the way it worked was that, in /62, the ICC "determined" that the Shoshone's title had been 'extinguished" in the latter part of the 19th century by--get this--"gradual encroachemnt by whites, settlers and others, and the acquisition, disposition or taking of the lands by the United States," and it proceeded to award the tribe $26 million in compensation for the land (OH WOW!!!), this for "full title extinguishment." However, the ICC never actually did meet its obligation to establish an actual date of the 'taking", nor did it identify the number of acres or specific areas where encroachment occured...

How awfully funny (...???) that the gov. offered a $25 million reward fot the capture of Saddam... In other words, we sell the Iraqis a s__tload of conventional weapons, we start up their chemical and biological programs by selling them a pesticides plant, plus Kissenger & Assoc. unload $1 billion in nuclear components for their nuclear weapons program, and then we spend billions invading--to save the Iraqi people and the entire free world from the chronic abuses of a ruthless dictator..., meanwhile the gov. is guilty of the blatant theft (and total trashing) of the ancestral lands of Native Americans. And these people are only saved when the U.N. decides to step in... Huh???

Posted by: Michael L. Wagner on 03/11/06 at 12:39 PM

Wasn't it enought for the white Angle Saxon to have stollen a continent form the native American, now they want the last square inch on which they stand. The stupitidy, greed, and arrogance of the governance of this nation will one day sink into the abyss.

Posted by: D. Barrett on 03/13/06 at 8:52 AM

It is time our government stops the persecution of the Native Americans, along with all other indigenous people of the world. It is time we, the voters, change the way our government uses the world and its inhabitants.

Posted by: ESullinsJones on 03/13/06 at 2:55 PM

If you would like to know more about the fight and the rights of the Western Shoshone Nation please visit this web site: http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/wells/shoshone.html

Has anyone ever considered the fact that within the Constitution of the United States it is written that when the United States enters into a treaty with a foriegn nation that this treaty becomes the Law of the Land? In addition, there are absolutely no provisions that permits any treaty to be dissovlved by way of gradual encroachment. This act is a violation of the Constitution. Therefore, the United States has not only denied the Western Shoshone their rights...they have openly conducted criminal activities in another country that they hold treaty with. Isn't this the very activity that the U.S. is fighting against in other countries? Too bad they can't set an example in their own.

Posted by: Wells Band Indian Colony Research Dept. on 03/13/06 at 5:55 PM

Only the voters can change the path the government is on. But it must be done this election in the United States.

Posted by: James Wright on 03/14/06 at 12:12 AM

Post a comment





 

RECENT COMMENTS

Texas to DC: Don't Fence Me In (2)
Clarence Smart wrote: Thank you, Eleanor! My thoughts exactly! ... [more]

Supreme Court Declines to Take Up Sex Toys (1)
Clarence Smart wrote: Do they grow cucumbers in Texas? ... [more]

Woodward, Kissinger, Vietnam--Let's Do The Time Warp Again (2)
john wrote: 1938 was over 50 years ago. Like the “world’s greatest g... [more]

Foley Now In Deeper Trouble (3)
john wrote: Kathleen, you are forgetting that 50% of the population ar... [more]

And the Next Secretary General Is... (2)
airtravel wrote: airtravel... [more]

Predatory Payday Lenders Ground Thousands of Troops (2)
car loan wrote: car loan... [more]

Turn Up the Propaganda, Please (1)
Joe DeLibertas wrote: Here WE Go Again: We're not fooling anyone particularly s... [more]

They've known about Foley for almost a YEAR? (3)
M Baley wrote: It looks like the Congress will now have to get together ... [more]

Foley Resigns Over Sexually Explicit Emails (Or, "...sick sick sick sick sick.") (4)
seattledem wrote: Typical Republican ... [more]

Remember the Anthrax Investigation? (9)
Dr.Q wrote: by having antrax identified of an specific strain tells me... [more]

XML RSS Feed

Powered by
Movable Type 3.33

Jail.org - Inmate Search
Criminal records, instant public records & people search & current court records. www.jail.org

U.S. Public Records Search
Search County & State Court Records, Criminal records, Vital and Adoption Records www.PublicRecordsInfo.com

Records.com - People Search
Public Records and Background Checks. Instantly Search Criminal Records, Addresses and Court Records www.Records.com

Court Records & County Records
Find Instant Public Records, Criminal Records as Well as County Property Records Search. www.PublicRecordsIndex.com

Real Viagra, Cialis Levitra Deal
Dare to compare our competitive prices. Free overnight delivery to new patients in the US. No catch 22!

Bob's Red Mill Organic Flaxseed Meal
In addition to its great nutty flavor, our flaxseed meal is high in fiber and packed with essential Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

PEACEFUL HOLIDAY GIFTS
Items featuring the 1958 peace symbol shirts, buttons, hoodys, signs, stickers, pins...more.
union made • detroit peacebuttons.info

End the genocide in Darfur
Every day, Darfuris face rape, murder, and starvation. Be a Voice for Darfur: tell Obama to end the suffering.


















Super Senior

Quantum of Solace

Press Conference Follies

Leverage


More MoJo voices...



bookIN PRINT

CLICK HERE
for more great reading

headphones IN TUNE
New music every issue

CLICK TO LISTEN

Advertise Liberally

This article has been made possible by the Foundation for National Progress, the Investigative Fund of Mother Jones, and gifts from generous readers like you.

© 2005 The Foundation for National Progress

About Us   Support Us   Advertise   Ad Policy   Privacy Policy   Contact Us   Subscribe   RSS