Blackbird

Authored by David Nevins

Are you familiar with the song “Blackbird” by The Beatles? Most of us are. I had no idea the meaning behind it. Did you? I will never listen to it the same way again.

“Paul McCartney was visiting America. It is said that he was sitting, resting, when he heard a woman screaming. He looked up to see a black woman being surrounded by the police. The police had her handcuffed, and were beating her. He thought the woman had committed a terrible crime. He found out “the crime” she committed was to sit in a section reserved for whites.

Paul was shocked. There was no segregation in England. But, here in America, the land of freedom, this is how blacks were being treated. McCartney and the Beatles went back home to England, but he would remember what he saw, how he felt, the unfairness of it all.

He also remembered watching television and following the news in America, the race riots and what was happening in Little Rock, Arkansas, what was going on in the Civil Rights movement. He saw the picture of 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford attempt to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School as an angry mob followed her, yelling, “Drag her over this tree! Let’s take care of that n**ger!'” and “Lynch her! Lynch her!” “No n**ger b*tch is going to get in our school!”

McCartney couldn’t believe this was happening in America. He thought of these women being mistreated, simply because of the color of her skin. He sat down and started writing.

Last year at a concert, he would meet two of the women who inspired him to write one of his most memorable songs, Thelma Mothershed Wair and Elizabeth Eckford, members of the Little Rock Nine (pictured here).

McCartney would tell the audience he was inspired by the courage of these women: “Way back in the Sixties, there was a lot of trouble going on over civil rights, particularly in Little Rock. We would notice this on the news back in England, so it’s a really important place for us, because to me, this is where civil rights started. We would see what was going on and sympathize with the people going through those troubles, and it made me want to write a song that, if it ever got back to the people going through those troubles, it might just help them a little bit, and that’s this next one.”

He explained that when he started writing the song, he had in mind a black woman, but in England, “girls” were referred to as “birds.” And, so the song started:

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting
for this moment to arise.”

McCartney added that he and the Beatles cared passionately about the Civil Rights movement, “so this was really a song from me to a black woman, experiencing these problems in the States: ‘Let me encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith, there is hope.’ ”

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting
for this moment to be free.”

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

BLACK AMERICAN’s ~ STORIES NOT WIDELY KNOWN

MINNIE BROWN

Minnie Brown (Aug. 5,1883- last mention1934 or 35) Actress and singer Ms. Brown later also became a member of the Williams & Walker Vaudevillian troupe. In 1920 she served as vice president for the National Association of Negro Musicians.

JOSEPH LAROCHE

Joseph Laroche was born on May 26, 1886, in Haiti. He was an educated engineer who studied in Paris. He was married to a white French woman named Juliette, and they with their two children were on the Titanic when it crashed into an iceberg in 1912. Joseph, was the only black man on the Titanic when it sank April 15, 1912 drowned like many others, but his family survived the shipwreck and arrived safely to New York City with others who had been rescued. Joseph was highly educated; He spoke English, French and Haitian Creole fluently, and he was a trained engineer. However, he had trouble getting a well-paying job in France due to racial prejudice. Employers also made the excuse that he was too young and inexperienced. Joseph’s wife gave birth to their first two daughters, Simonne and Louise, he realized that he really needed to find a better paying job to support his family. So, in 1911, he and his wife, who had become pregnant again with their third child, decided to move to Haiti. At the time, Haiti was a developing nation with many jobs and business opportunities for engineers. Their plan was to board the Titanic the following year, which would set sail in Southampton, England but also pick up passengers in Cherbourg, France before starting the long voyage to New York City, USA. From there, they could get to Haiti by traveling south to the Caribbean sea. Sadly, on the night of April 14, 1912, the Titanic crashed into an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and slowly sank. Joseph’s wife and children were able to board one of the sixteen lifeboats. Joseph, however, like many other men who were separated from their families, did not survive and drowned. He was never seen again. When his wife and children arrived in New York, she changed her mind about moving to Haiti and decided to return back to France. Later, that same year, she gave birth to her and her late husband’s third child, a son, whom she affectionately named Joseph, Jr.
Woman pursues tie to Titanic’s black family
http://tinyurl.com/y5bghet5
Miss Louise Laroche ~ A Haitian French Family Which Traveled in Second Class Aboard Titanic
http://tinyurl.com/y4duesdr
Haitian Descendant Of Joseph Laroche “Only Black & Haitian Man On Titanic” Speaks Out
http://tinyurl.com/yxda94m7
Black passengers add another facet to Titanic story
http://tinyurl.com/yxnzy6nq

MAGGIE LENA WALKER

Maggie Lena Walker July 15, 1864, Richmond, VA – December 15, 1934, Richmond, VA was an African-American teacher and businesswoman. Walker was the first Black female bank president to charter a bank in the United States. As a leader, she achieved success with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans and women.

THOMAS FULLER

Thomas Fuller, an African sold into slavery in 1724 at the age of 14, was sometimes known as the “Virginia Calculator” for his extraordinary ability to solve complex math problems in his head.

Rumors circulated that he was a servant. However, he could not read or write, which was not uncommon among slaves at the time. Some believed that he may have gained his skills with math in his homeland in Africa.

His case was often cited by abolitionists of the time as proof that Blacks were in no way mentally inferior to whites. Born in Africa somewhere between present-day Liberia and Benin, Fuller was enslaved and shipped to America in 1724 at the age of 14, eventually becoming the legal property of Presley and Elizabeth Cox of Alexandria, Virginia.

Both Fuller and the Coxes were illiterate. The Coxes owned 16 slaves, and appeared to value Fuller the most; he expressed gratitude for not being sold. 

Stories of his abilities abounded through the Eastern seaboard. His skill was even used as proof that enslaved Blacks were equal to whites in intelligence, which fueled some pro-abolitionist discussion.

When Fuller was about 70 years old, William Hartshorne and Samuel Coates of Pennsylvania were in Alexandria and, having heard of Fuller’s powers, sent for him. They asked him two questions which satisfied their curiosity.

First, when they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000.

Second, when they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800.

One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that he was wrong, because the answer was much smaller. Fuller hastily replied, “‘Top, massa, you forget de leap year.” When the leap year was added in, the sums matched.

Despite Fuller’s perfect answers, it appeared to Hartshorne and Coates that his mental abilities must have once been greater. They wrote: “He was gray-headed, and exhibited several other marks of the weakness of old age. He had worked hard upon a farm during the whole of life but had never been intemperate in the use of spirituous liquors. He spoke with great respect of his mistress, and mentioned in a particular manner his obligations to her for refusing to sell him, which she had been tempted to by offers of large sums of money from several persons. One of the gentlemen, Mr. Coates, having remarked in his presence that it was a pity he had not an education equal to his genius, he said, “No, Massa, it is best I had no learning, for many learned men be great fools.”

OLIVER LEWIS

The first jockey to win the Kentucky Derby was Black. The first Kentucky Derby was won by Oliver Lewis, a 19-year-old Black jockey aboard the colt Aristides on May 17, 1875. The pair won by a reported two lengths, setting a new American record time for a mile-and-a-half race. Lewis’ achievement in the opening year of what has become America’s longest-running sporting event went almost unrecognized for over a century. He rode Aristides to second place in the Belmont Stakes, which later became one of the Triple Crown races, and won a total of three races at the Louisville Jockey Club that season. His legacy has long been neglected by sportswriters and is an example of one the many ways Black achievements and impact have been erased from history. Today we celebrate Lewis’ legacy and we also recognize that we must do and be better when acknowledging the valuable contributions of Black equestrians in horse sports.

ROBERT SMALLS

Robert Smalls (1839 – 1915) born into slavery on a South Carolina Plantation. Just before dawn on May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls and a crew composed of fellow slaves, in the absence of the white captain and his two mates, slipped a cotton steamer off the dock, picked up family members at a rendezvous point, then slowly navigated their way through the harbor. Smalls, doubling as the captain, even donning the captain’s wide-brimmed straw hat to help to hide his face, responded with the properly coded signals at two Confederate checkpoints, including at Fort Sumter itself, and other defense positions and Smalls sailed into the open seas. Once outside of Confederate waters, he had his crew raise a white flag and surrendered his ship to the blockading Union fleet. In fewer than four hours, Robert Smalls had done something unimaginable: In the midst of the Civil War, this black male slave had commandeered a heavily armed Confederate ship and delivered its 17 black passengers (nine men, five women and three children) from slavery to freedom. Following the war, Smalls continued to push the boundaries of freedom as a first-generation black politician, serving in the South Carolina state assembly and senate, and for five nonconsecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1874-1886) before watching his state roll back Reconstruction in a revised 1895 constitution that stripped blacks of their voting rights. He died in Beaufort on February 22, 1915, in the same house behind which he had been born a slave and is buried behind a bust at the Tabernacle Baptist Church.

𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗣𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗗

Ella Sheppard (1851-1915), soprano, pianist and reformer, was the matriarch of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a social reformer, confidante of Frederick Douglas, and one of the most distinquished African American women of her generation.

Sheppard was born a slave in 1851 on Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage plantation. A biracial relation of Jackson’s family, her father Simon Sheppard had purchased his freedom by hiring himself out as a Nashville, Tennessee liveryman and hack driver. When Sheppard was a little girl, her slave mother Sarah threatened to drown Ella and herself if their owners refused to permit her Simon to purchase Ella’s freedom. But an elderly slave prevented her, predicting that “the Lord would have need of that child.” Her owners refused to release Sarah, but allowed Ella to go with her father, who soon remarried and, fearful he and his daughter might be re-enslaved, fled penniless to Cincinnati, Ohio.

A German woman taught Ella Sheppard to play piano. Ella also managed to persuade an eminent white vocal teacher to give her twelve lessons, provided she keep them a secret and arrive and depart at night by the back door. After her father’s death from cholera, Ella supported herself, her stepmother, and her half-sister Rosa by teaching at a school for former slaves. Managing to save about six dollars in five months, she proceeded to Nashville in 1868 to enroll at the Fisk Free Colored School.

Her skill as a pianist immediately drew the attention of Fisk treasurer and musician George White, who appointed her his choir’s accompanist and assistant choral director as he prepared his troupe for a tour of the North. Though frail and sickly, Sheppard valiantly remained with the troupe for seven years. She accompanied the choir on piano, oversaw many of their rehearsals, conducted the Jubilees from her position among the singers on stage, and continued to collect and transcribe spirituals until the troupe’s repertoire numbered over a hundred. When, in 1878, an exhausted and exasperated White finally resigned as director, Sheppard stood in for him for the troupe’s last months. She joined White’s subsequent troupe of Jubilees but retired from Jubilee work when he disbanded his group in 1882.

Sheppard built a house for her mother and half-sister in Nashville, and married one of the most prominent black ministers in the United States, Rev. George Washington Moore. They lived at first in Washington, DC, agitating against the saloons in their neighborhood until it had been transformed into one of the most desirable areas of the city. Returning to Fisk, she trained and inspired generations of Jubilees, and by the time of her death in Nashville in 1915, Ella Sheppard had become in intellect, in spirit, and in musical attainment one of the truly gifted women of the world.

PHILLIS WHEATLEY 

AUGUSTUS JACKSON

Augustus Jackson (April 16, 1808 – January 11, 1852) Philadelphia, PA referred to as the ” Father of Ice Cream”. Jackson began working at the White House when he was just nine years old as a chef from 1817 until 1837. Cooking for Presidents James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson preparing comfort food for the presidents’ families to formal meals at state dinners for visiting dignitaries. Augustus Jackson revolutionized ice cream manufacturing methods, namely the practice of adding salt to the ice making it melt slower, and developing techniques to control the custard while it was freezing. Unfortunately, there is no evidence Jackson ever patented any of his recipes or techniques. After retiring from the White House, Jackson moved back to Philadelphia, and continued inventing new and improved ways to make ice cream, ultimately starting his own catering and confectionery business while developing new ice cream flavors which he packaged in tin cans and distributed to other ice cream parlors in the Philadelphia area. As a savvy businessman, Jackson sold his inventions to ice cream shops as well as ice cream carts and because of this, he became one of the wealthiest black people in Philadelphia.
https://tinyurl.com/hmr8b3k

ANNIE MINERVA TURNBO MALONE

DOB: August 9, 1877, Metropolis, IL DOD: May 10, 1957, Provident Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL One of America’s first and most prominent African-American businesswomen, Malone founded and developed Poro College, a commercial and educational business focused on cosmetics for black women. Born to former slaves, Malone would later develop a chemical that could straighten Black women’s hair without causing damage to the hair or scalp. Poro College as an institution of learning was established as a way to teach people about black cosmetology. Through the school and the business, Malone created jobs for 75,000 women around the world. She’s recorded as the first black female millionaire in the United States, with a reported $14 million in assets in 1920 (a whopping $167 million by today’s standards).

CATHAY WILLIAMS

Cathay was born and enslaved in 1850 in Jackson County, Missouri. In September 1861 Union troops impressed Cathay and she joined the Army to work as a cook and washerwoman for Union Army officers. On November 15th, 1866 Williams disguised herself as a man and enlisted as William Cathey, serving in Company A of the 38th Infantry, a newly-formed all-black U.S. Army Regiment, one of its earliest recruits. Cathay initially served at Jefferson Barracks outside St. Louis and was later posted at Fort Cummings and Fort Bayard in New Mexico Territory. Like other black soldiers stationed, she endured inadequate supplies and inferior weapons. Cathay concealed her femininity for two years despite numerous Army hospital visits before her true gender was discovered by the Fort Bayard post surgeon. She was discharged at Fort Bayard on October 14, 1868 on a surgeon’s certificate of disability. Cathay was hospitalized circa 1890 for over a year in Trinidad. In June 1891 she filed an invalid pension application based on medical disability incurred during military service as William Cathey. The Army rejected her pension claim on February 8, 1892, citing no grounds for a pensionable disability, but did not question her gender identity as William Cathay. The date of Cathay Williams’ death is unknown.

BENJAMIN MONTGOMERY

Benjamin Montgomery was born into slavery in 1819 in Loudon County, Virginia. He was sold to Joseph E. Davis, a Mississippi planter. Davis was the older brother of Jefferson Davis who would later serve as the President of the Confederate States of America. After a period time, Davis could see great talent within Montgomery and assigned to him the responsibility of running his general store on the Davis Bend plantation. Montgomery, who by this time had learned to read and write (he was taught by the Davis children), excelled at running the store and served both white customers and slaves who could trade poultry and other items in return for dry goods. Impressed with his knowledge and abilities to run the store, Davis placed Montgomery in charge of overseeing the entirety of his purchasing and shipping operations on the plantation. In addition to being able to read and write, Montgomery also learned a number of other difficult tasks, including land surveying, techniques for flood control and the drafting of architectural plans. He was also a skilled mechanic and a born inventor. At the time commerce often flowed through the rivers connecting counties and states. With differences in the depths of water in different spots throughout the river, navigation could become difficult. If a steamboat were to run adrift, the merchandise would be delayed for days, if not weeks. In an effort to expedite the shipment of merchandise, Montgomery invented a propeller that could cut into the water at different angles, thus allowing the boat to navigate more easily through shallow water. Montgomery attempted to patent his invention after regaining his freedom but was rejected. Davis attempted to patent the device but the patent was denied on June 10, 1858, on the basis that Ben, as a slave, was not a citizen of the United States, and thus could not apply for a patent in his name. Later, both Joseph and Jefferson Davis attempted to patent the device in their names but were denied because they were not the “true inventor.” Ironically, when Jefferson Davis later assumed the Presidency of the Confederacy, he signed into law the legislation that would allow slaves to receive patent protection for their inventions. On June 28, 1864, Montgomery, no longer a slave, filed a patent application for his device, but the patent office again rejected his application. Upon the end of the Civil War, Joseph Davis sold his plantation as well as other properties to Montgomery, along with his son Isaiah. The sale was made based on a long-term loan in the amount of $300,000.00. Benjamin and Isaiah decided to pursue a dream of using the property to establish a community of freed slaves, but natural disasters decimated their crops, leaving them unable to pay off the loan. The Davis Bend property reverted back to the Davis family and Benjamin died the following year. Undeterred, Isaiah took up his father’s dream and later purchased 840 acres of land and along with a number of other former slaves, and founded the town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi in 1887. Isaiah was named the town first mayor soon thereafter.

MARY FIELDS

Mary Fields Hickman County, Tennessee, c. 1832 ~ 1914 at Columbus Hospital in Great Falls Montana “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…” Born a slave in Hickman County, Tennessee, c. 1832, Fields was freed when slavery was outlawed in the United States, in 1865. In 1895, in Montana, although approximately 60 years old, Fields was hired as a mail carrier because she was the fastest applicant to hitch a team of six horses. This made her the second woman and first African American woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service. She drove the route with horses and a mule named Moses. She never missed a day, and her reliability earned her the nickname “Stagecoach.” If the snow was too deep for her horses, Fields delivered the mail on snowshoes, carrying the sacks on her shoulders. She was a respected public figure in Cascade, Montana…and the town closed its schools to celebrate her birthday each year. When Montana passed a law forbidding women to enter saloons, the mayor of Cascade granted her an exemption. In 1903, at age 71, Fields retired from star route mail carrier service. She continued to babysit many Cascade children and owned and operated a laundry service from her home. Fields died in 1914 at Columbus Hospital in Great Falls, but she was buried outside Cascade.

ELIZABETH KECKLEY

Elizabeth Keckley, née Hobbs (Feb. 1818 Dinwiddie County Court House, Dinwiddie, Virginia, – May 1907 Washington DC) born into slavery yet she became a successful seamstress, civil activist, and author in Washington, DC. Although she encountered one hardship after another, with sheer determination, a network of supporters and valuable dressmaking skills, Elizabeth Keckley eventually moved to Washington in 1860 after buying her freedom and that of her son from her St. Louis owners for $1,200. She created an independent business in the capital based on clients who were the wives of the government elite. Among them were Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis; and Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee, but she was best known as the personal modiste and confidante of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Elizabeth Keckley met Mary Todd Lincoln on March 4, 1861, the day of Abraham Lincoln’s first inauguration. Keckley assisted Mrs. Lincoln each day as her personal dresser. She also helped Mrs. Lincoln prepare for official receptions and other social events. For the next six years, Keckley became an intimate witness to the private life of the First Family. Known for her love of fashion, the First Lady kept Keckley busy maintaining and creating new pieces for her extensive wardrobe. During the Lincoln administration (and many years afterward), Keckley was the sole designer and creator of Mary Todd Lincoln’s event wardrobe. In January 1862, Mrs. Lincoln went for photos to Brady’s Washington Photography Studio, where she had images taken while wearing two of Keckley’s gowns. After the American Civil War, Keckley wrote and published an autobiography, Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House (1868). It was both a slave narrative and a portrait of the First Family, especially Mary Todd Lincoln, and is considered controversial for breaking privacy about them. It was also her claim as a businesswoman to be part of the new mixed-race, middle-class that was visible among the leadership of the black community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Keckley

WILHELMINA THELMA WHITE COLSTON

Wilhelmina Thelma White Colston 1869 Metropolis, Illinois – DOD: 1957 was a student and later a teacher at Bethune-Cookman College (BCC) founded by Mary McLeod Bethune the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904. The school became a four-year college in 1941 when the Florida Department of Education approved a 4-year baccalaureate program in Liberal Arts and Teacher Education… In 1935, Wilhelmina White married James Allen Colston, who would later serve as the second president of Bethune-Cookman College from 1942 to 1944. After marrying, Wilhelmina retired from teaching. She also attended Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, and then Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a master’s degree. Together, the couple had one daughter, Jean Allie Colston Foster, and three grandchildren.

EUGENE JACQUES BULLARD

Eugene Jacques Bullard (Oct. 9, 1895 Columbus, GA – Oct. 12, 1961 New York NY) “He was a “nobody,” just another black man trying to get by in a white man’s world. He probably would have remained a nobody in the U.S. had it not been for a visit by an old friend. In 1960, the President of France and international war hero, Charles DeGaulle, visited the United States. The French President made one request to the White House: He wanted to see an old friend, a French knight whose bravery and heroics helped defend the free world. Not knowing this man, the White House had to search for this mysterious hero – what they found was a simple, elevator operator in New York. His name was Eugene Bullard. It was then that the U.S. began to learn about Eugene Jacques Bullard, the first African-American fighter pilot in history. After witnessing his father nearly lynched (and for a supposed offense, which he had never committed), he remembered his father told him that in France, a man is accepted as a man regardless of the color of his skin. So, the young Bullard stowed away on a ship and eventually made his way to France. When World War I broke out, he joined the French Foreign Legion, then the Aéronautique Militaire and the Lafayette Flying Corps, where he distinguished himself, becoming the first African-American fighter pilot in history. When the U.S. finally joined the war, Bullard tried to rejoin his countrymen, but despite all his military honors, he was ignored because he was black. Bullard would be seriously wounded several times, but he never gave up his fight for freedom and justice. At the beginning of World War II, he even worked as a spy, fighting against Nazi sympathizers. In 1954, France invited him to be one of three people to relight the everlasting flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In 1959, he was made a Chevalier (knight) of the Légion d’honneur, which is France’s most coveted award. When he finally returned to the U.S., no one knew him, and he lived in poverty and relative obscurity. The only reminders of his hero status in his humble apartment were a few photos and a framed case containing his 15 French war medals for valor. When the French president finally got to meet the courageous French knight, he publicly and internationally embraced Eugene Bullard as a true hero. When he died a year later, he was laid to rest with full honors by the Federation of French War Officers. It would take his own country 33 years, but on August 23, 1994, Eugene Bullard was posthumously commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Bullard “was a man who hesitated to speak of himself but one who stood on the principles of honesty and integrity. He treated everyone as he wished to be treated . . . He lived by the belief that all men were created equal and should be treated accordingly,” according to William I. Chivalette, Curator at the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Research Institute. He is remembered for painting a red bleeding heart pierced by a knife on the fuselage of his plane. Below the heart was the inscription “Tout le Sang qui coule est rouge!” which translates to “All Blood Runs Red.”

IDA B. WELLS

Ida B. Wells (1862–1931) published 1895 “A Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynchings in the United States 1892–1893–1894,” documenting that lynchings of African American men in the south were not the result of the rape of white women. She also wrote articles in the Memphis Free Speech and Chicago Conservator, criticizing the school system, demanding women’s suffrage to include African-American women, and anti-lynching. Although she never achieved her goal of federal anti-lynching legislation, she was a founding member of the NAACP and other activist organizations. Wells was born into slavery in Holly Springs, Miss., in 1862, less than a year before Emancipation. She grew up during Reconstruction, the period when black people, including her father, were able to vote, ushering black representatives into state legislatures across the South. As a former slave who stood less than five feet tall, she took on structural racism more than half a century before her strategies were repurposed, often without crediting her, during the 1960s civil rights movement took on racism in the Deep South with powerful reporting on lynchings. Wells is considered by historians to have been the most famous black woman in the United States during her lifetime, even as she was dogged by prejudice, a disease infecting Americans from coast to coast.

A mob dragged Thomas Moss out of a Memphis jail in his pajamas and shot him to death over a feud that began with a game of marbles. But his lynching changed history because of its effect on one of the nation’s most influential journalists. Wells was already a 30-year-old newspaper editor living in Memphis when she began her anti-lynching campaign, the work for which she is most famous. After Moss was killed, she set out on a reporting mission, crisscrossing the South over several months as she conducted eyewitness interviews and dug up records on dozens of similar cases. Her goal was to question a stereotype that was often used to justify lynchings — that black men were rapists. Instead, she found that in two-thirds of mob murders, rape was never an accusation. And she often found evidence of what had actually been a consensual interracial relationship. Ida published her findings in a series of fiery editorials in the newspaper she co-owned and edited, The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight. The public, it turned out, was starved for her stories and devoured them voraciously. The Journalist, a mainstream trade publication that covered the media, named her “The Princess of the Press.”

BUCK COLBERT FRANKLIN

Buck Colbert Franklin (May 6, 1879 Tulsa, Oklahoma –1960 September 24, 1960, in Oklahoma) Buck Franklin was an attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who is most notably known for defending the survivors of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. He was also father to the venerable civil rights advocate and historian John Hope Franklin. Franklin was born the seventh of ten on May 6, 1879, near the town of Homer in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory (currently Oklahoma). He was named Buck in honor of his grandfather who had been a slave and purchased the freedom of his family and himself.  Practicing law as a young man in the predominantly white town of Ardmore, Oklahoma, he faced racial prejudice and saw major flaws in the white judicial system. In one instance, he was literally silenced in a Louisiana courtroom because of his race. In Tulsa, during 1921, racial tensions were extremely high. The town had one of the most affluent black communities in the nation—the Greenwood District, also known as ‘Black Wall Street’ which created a sharp divide between blacks and whites. In May of 1921, a young black man named Dick Rowland was in an elevator with a white woman named Sarah Page. It was alleged that he attempted to assault her, and he was promptly arrested. There was an altercation between a group of black and white people at the courthouse which, in the next twenty-four hours, would escalate to a massive one-day race riot that left approximately three hundred dead, much of the black population imprisoned, and the Greenwood District in ruins. Franklin and his family had managed to survive the riot. The Tulsa City Council, however, in the aftermath of the carnage, passed an ordinance that prevented the black people of Tulsa from rebuilding their community. The city planned instead to rezone the area from a residential to a commercial district. Franklin led the legal battle against this ordinance and sued the city of Tulsa before the Oklahoma Supreme Court, where he won. As a consequence, black Tulsa residents could and did begin the reconstruction of their nearly destroyed community. Of his four children, John Hope Franklin would become a prominent historian and black intellectual of this time period. He contributed to the Brown v. Board of Education case and participated in the 1965 march for voting rights in Selma, Alabama. John Hope Franklin and his son would finalize B.C. Franklin’s autobiography, My Life and an Era: The Autobiography of Buck Colbert Franklin.

JANE BOLIN

July 22 marks the day in 1939 that Jane Bolin was appointed judge of the Domestic Relations Court in New York. Bolin was the first Black woman to become a judge in the United States. During her 40-year tenure, Bolin achieved two major changes: the assignment of probation officers to cases without regard for race or religion, and a requirement that publicly funded private child-care agencies accept children without regard to ethnic background.

JAMES WELDON JOHNSON 

James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871, Jacksonville FL – June 26, 1938, Wiscasset ME) was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and became involved in civil rights activism, especially the campaign to pass the federal Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, as Southern states did not prosecute perpetrators. In the summer of 1891, following his freshman year at Atlanta University, Johnson went to a rural district in Georgia to teach the descendants of former slaves. While working as a teacher, Johnson also read the law to prepare for the bar. While attending Atlanta University, Johnson became known as an influential campus speaker. In 1892 he won the Quiz Club Contest in English Composition and Oratory. He founded and edited the Daily American newspaper in 1895. At a time when southern legislatures were passing laws and constitutions that disenfranchised  Blacks and Jim Crow laws to impose racial segregation, the newspaper covered both political and racial topics. In 1897, he was the first African American admitted to the Florida Bar Exam since the Reconstruction era ended. 1901 Johnson had moved to New York City with his brother J. Rosamond Johnson to work in musical theater. They collaborated on such hits as “Tell Me, Dusky Maiden” and “Nobody’s Looking but the Owl and the Moon,” for which Johnson wrote the lyrics and his brother the music. Johnson also composed the lyrics of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” originally written for a celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday at Stanton School. This song became widely popular and has become known as the “Negro National Anthem,” a title that the NAACP  adopted and promoted. Johnson was a speaker at the 1919 National Conference on Lynching. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership of the NAACP where he chartered the Memphis chapter in 1917. In 1920, he was the first African American to be chosen as executive secretary of the organization, effectively the operating officer. He served in that position from 1920 to 1930. Johnson established his reputation as a writer and was known during the Harlem Renaissance for his poems, novels, and anthologies collecting both poems and spirituals of black culture. Johnson died in 1938 while vacationing in Wiscasset, Maine when the car his wife was driving was hit by a train.

WILLIAM BUTLER JOHNSON

William B. Johnson was a model servant. He and his wife, Anna, worked happily for the Paulsen family – first in Baltimore, Maryland; later in Somers, West Chester County, New York – for many years. William was the chauffer; Anna maintained the Paulsen home. When Mr. Paulsen died, they lost their jobs. This unfortunate occurrence, history would show, was ultimately to their great benefit. By then William and Anna had established themselves as respected members of the Somers community. With the help of some friends in high places, they were able to purchase a home, along with the former blacksmith shop behind it. Johnson converted the shop to a garage and soon gained a reputation as “a most reliable, honest, and skillful mechanic.” Along with his business, Johnson also developed a keen interest in motorcycles and racing. William B. Johnson became the first African American dealer principal of a Harley-Davidson shop. For nearly 60 years, Johnson’s Harley-Davidson would function in Somers, New York in a blacksmith building he converted into a motorcycle dealership. Johnson is also known for achieving another first. By claiming to be American Indian, Johnson was given license to compete in national AMA motorcycle races during a time when the events were segregated. In 1932, Johnson was challenged by an AMA official at an event barring “colored” riders. Producing his AMA membership card, there was nothing the AMA official could do but let Johnson compete, then watch as he won the race. In 1985, at the age of 95, William B. Johnson died quietly at his shop.

BENJAMIN BRADLEY

Benjamin Bradley was born into enslavement around 1830 in Maryland. He was put to work in a printing office and at the age of 16 began working with scrap he found, modeling it into a small ship. Eventually, with an intuitiveness seeming far beyond him, he improved on his creation until he had built a working steam engine, made from a piece of a gun barrel, pewter, pieces of round steel and some nearby junk. Bradley’s ingenuity earned him a job at the Annapolis Naval Academy, where he was a classroom assistant in the science department. While there, he developed a steam engine large enough to drive the first steam-powered warship at 16 knots for warships in the 1840s. He later sold the invention and bought his and his family’s freedom. Bradley had not forgotten his work with steam engines. He saved the money he earned, and sold his original model engine to a student at the Academy. Because he was a slave, Bradley was not allowed to get a patent for the engine he develop.

EMMA J. RAY

Emma J. Ray was born into slavery on May 19, 1859, and raised in poverty in Missouri. For nearly thirty years, Emma ministered to the poor and homeless in Seattle slums along with her husband, Lloyd P. Ray “L.P.” They came to Seattle following the 1889 Platte City, Missouri Orphan Asylum fire in order for LP to find work as a stonemason. Shortly after, they were converted in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Emma helped to found the Frances Harper Colored Unit of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union with fifteen women from the AME Church, and she served as its president. With her WCTU Unit, Emma visited the jail, holding religious services on Sunday afternoons. On Wednesday afternoons, she and “Mother” Ryther, who ran an orphanage in Seattle, visited prostitutes and held services in the brothels. Between 1900 and 1902, Emma and L.P. ran a mission in Kansas City, Missouri, for children living in poverty, providing clothes, meals, a warm place to gather in the winter, trips to the park in the summer, and weekly Sunday School. The Rays eventually joined The Free Methodist Church and were licensed as Conference Evangelists. Under the auspices of the Free Methodists, they preached revival meetings in churches throughout the state of Washington. Emma’s autobiography, Twice Sold, Twice Ransomed, was published by the Free Methodist Publishing House in 1926. Emma passed away in 1930 and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery, Seattle, King County, Washington.

ARMSTEAD HURLEY

Armstead Hurley (1854-1932) arrived in Newport from Culpepper County Virginia in 1886 at the age of 32. He established a successful painting and glazing business along with being a founding partner in the Rhode Island Loan and Investment Company, which was the first Black-owned bank in Rhode Island. Armstead was also the treasurer of the Shiloh Baptist Church.

BRIDGET “BIDDY” MASON

Bridget “Biddy” Mason began life as a slave in Deep South Mississippi on August 15, 1818. In 1848 30-year-old Mason walked 1,700 miles from Mississippi behind a 300-wagon caravan eventually arriving in the Holladay-Cottonwood area of the Salt Lake Valley, Utah with her Mormon owner Robert Marion Smith, a Mississippi Mormon convert who followed the call of church leaders to settle in the West. Mason and her children joined other slaves on Smith’s religious pilgrimage to establish the new Utah Mormon community which was still part of Mexico. In 1851 Smith, his family and slaves set out in a 150-wagon caravan for San Bernardino, California to establish yet another Mormon community. Ignoring Brigham Young’s warning that slavery was illegal in California, Smith brought Mason and other enslaved people to the new community. In December 1855 Robert Smith, fearing to lose his slaves, decided to move with them to Texas, a slave state. The Owens family had a vested interest in the Mason family as one of their sons was romantically involved with Mason’s 17-year-old daughter. When Robert Owens told the Los Angeles County Sheriff slaves were being illegally held, a posse was gathered including Owens, his sons, some cowboys and vaqueros from the Owens ranch. The posse apprehended Smith’s wagon train on the Cajon Pass, en-route to Texas and prevented him from leaving the state. After spending five years enslaved in a “free” state Biddy Mason challenged Robert Smith for her freedom. On January 19, 1856, she petitioned the court for freedom for herself and her extended family of 13 women and children. Los Angeles District Judge Benjamin Hayes took three days before handing down his ruling in favor of Mason, citing California’s 1850 constitution which prohibited slavery. After moving with her family to Los Angeles Biddy became one of the foremost Freed Slaves of African descent. She was one of the founders of the First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Los Angeles Church, a nurse/midwife, philanthropist and founder of the first African American school in Los Angeles. Biddy was extremely frugal, so frugal in fact, she was able to start buying and selling real estate, eventually amassing a sizable fortune and reputation for philanthropy before her death on January 15, 1891.

ADDIE WAITES HUNTON 

Addie Waites Hunton (June 11, 1866, Norfolk, Virginia – June 22, 1943, Brooklyn NY) was an African American suffragist, race and gender activist, writer, political organizer, and educator. In 1889, Hunton became the first black woman to graduate from Spencerian College of Commerce. She worked for the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), served as the national organizer for the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) from 1906 to 1910, and served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Hunton was a regular participant in the work of the Equal Suffrage League. Hunton is known for her commitment to peace, race relations, and the empowerment of the African American community, especially women. She created a three-part peace strategy. First, she encouraged African American women to create an international organization for themselves. Second, Hunton believed that African American women should get involved in the Pan-African movement, which was predominantly male-dominated at this point. Finally, she aimed to involved African American women in the mainly white U.S. movement for peace. In 1917, the U.S. entered World War I. Hunton quickly became involved through the YMCA, and in June 1918, she set sail for France. Although there were approximately two hundred thousand African American troops serving in World War One, Addie Waites Hunton was one of only three American women of color, the others being Kathryn Johnson and Helen Curtis to serve with the American troops in Europe during the war and were assigned to work with the 200,000 segregated black troops stationed in France. Hunton soon became exposed to the racism against African American soldiers. She saw efforts by the American Command to regulate the lives of black soldiers, recreating a system reminiscent of Jim Crow. In France, Hunton began working for the Services of Supplies sector at Saint Nazaire. She introduced many new programs to increase the quality of the soldiers’ lives, including a literacy course and a discussion series on art, music, and religion, and other topics. Of Hunton’s many wartime efforts, a particularly gruesome assignment was given to her in May 1919. She was sent to a military cemetery and was ordered to oversee and comfort black soldiers who were assigned to recover the dead from the battlefield of the Meuse-Argonne and rebury them.

CHARLES BARKER

LUCY PARSONS 

Lucy Parsons (1853 Texas – March 7, 1942 Chicago) Activist, Activist, Journalist. Some reports indicate that she may have been born a slave, but she only stated that she was of Mexican and Native American descent. Lucy Parsons was politically radical for her times and one of the first minority activists. She sent much of her time as a champion for others, including minorities, women, and laborers. She married Albert Parsons a former soldier and a political activist in 1871. The couple moved to Chicago a few years later where they became involved in the city labor struggle. In the early 1880s, Lucy Parsons became even more radical. She joined the International Working People??s Association, an anarchist organization. The group believed that the government should be dismantled and capitalism should end and thought these goals should be accomplished by any means necessary, including violence. Known for her powerful speeches, Parsons led a strike in May 1886 in Chicago’s Haymarket Square. The event turned into a riot, and the whole incident became what is known as the Haymarket affair. Her husband was arrested for a bombing related to the strike, and, despite her best efforts to free him, he was executed in 1887. In 1892, Lucy created a short-lived newspaper known as Freedom, which decried the lynching of African Americans and exploitive sharecropping system. She went on to become a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Lucy Parsons died in a fire at her Chicago home. She is remembered as an anarchist, a reformer, and a labor activist who inspired others with her words to fight for social justice.

DR. GLADYS WEST

Dr. Gladys West (née Brown) the Black Genius who invented the GPS system. Born 1930 in Sutherland, Virginia, Dinwiddie County, a rural county south of Richmond. West came from a farming family in a community of sharecroppers. Her mother worked at a tobacco factory, and her father was a farmer who also worked for the railroad. West realized early on she didn’t want to work in the tobacco fields or factories like the rest of her family, and decided that education would be her way out.  the top two students of each graduating class received full-ride scholarships to Virginia State University (formerly College), a historically black public university. West worked hard and graduated in 1948 with the title of valedictorian. She was initially unsure what college major to pursue at VSU, as she had excelled in all her subjects in high school. She was encouraged to major in science or math because of their difficulty, and West ultimately chose to study mathematics, a subject mostly studied at her college by men. She also became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. After graduating, she taught math and science for two years in Waverly, Virginia. West then returned to VSU to complete her Master of Mathematics degree, graduating in 1955. Afterward, she briefly took another teaching position in Martinsville, Virginia. In 1956, West was hired to work at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia, where she was the second black woman ever hired and one of only four black employees. West was a programmer in the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division for large-scale computers and a project manager for data-processing systems used in the analysis of satellite data. Concurrently, West earned a second master’s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma. In the early 1960s, she participated in an award-winning astronomical study that proved the regularity of Pluto’s motion relative to Neptune. Subsequently, West began to analyze data from satellites, putting together altimeter models of the Earth’s shape. She became the project manager for the Seasat radar altimetry project, the first satellite that could remotely sense oceans. West consistently put in extra hours, cutting her team’s processing time in half. She was recommended for a commendation in 1979. From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, West programmed an IBM computer to deliver increasingly precise calculations to model the shape of the Earth generating an extremely accurate model required her to employ complex algorithms to account for variations in gravitational, tidal, and other forces that distort Earth’s shape. West’s data ultimately became the basis for the Global Positioning System (GPS). West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018.

CLAUDETTE COLVIN

Claudette Colvin (September 5, 1939) is an American nurse and was a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. Colvin was a student at the segregated Booker T. Washington High School in the city. She relied on the city’s buses to get to and from school, because her parents didn’t own a car. The majority of customers on the bus system were African American, but they were discriminated against by its custom of segregated seating. She said that she aspired to be President one day. Colvin was a member of the NAACP Youth Council, and had been learning about the Civil Rights Movement in school. As she was returning home from school. She sat in the colored section about two seats away from an emergency exit, in a Capitol Heights bus. Colvin was pregnant at the time. When a white woman who got on the bus was left standing in the front, the bus driver, Robert W. Cleere, commanded Colvin and three other Black women in her row to move to the back. The other three moved, but another pregnant Black woman, Ruth Hamilton, got on and sat next to Colvin. The driver looked at them in his mirror. “He asked us both to get up. Mrs. Hamilton said she was not going to get up, she’d paid her fare and she didn’t feel like standing. So Claudette told him I was not going to get up either. The drive said ‘If you are not going to get up, I will get a policeman.'” The police arrived and convinced a Black man sitting behind the two women to move so Mrs. Hamilton could move back, but Colvin still refused to move. This event took place nine months before the NAACP secretary Rosa Parks was famously arrested for the same offense. When Colvin refused to get up, she was thinking about a school paper she had written that day about the local custom prohibiting Blacks from using the dressing rooms in order to try on clothes in department stores. In a later interview, she said: “We couldn’t try on clothes. You had to take a brown paper bag and draw a diagram of your foot […] and take it to the store”.  Referring to the segregation on the bus and the white woman: “She couldn’t sit in the same row as us because that would mean we were as good as her”. Colvin “It’s my constitutional right!”. She decided she wasn’t going to move.” She was forcibly removed from the bus, handcuffed, arrested, and forcibly removed from the bus by two policemen, Thomas J. Ward and Paul Headley. She shouted her constitutional rights were being violated and initially charged with disturbing the peace, violating the segregation laws, and assault. She was bailed out by her minister, who told her she’d brought the revolution to Montgomery. Through the trial Colvin was represented by Fred Gray, a lawyer for the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which was organizing civil rights actions. When Colvin’s case was brought to the Montgomery Circuit Court on May 6, 1955, the charges of disturbing the peace and violating the segregation laws were dropped. Colvin was among the five plaintiffs originally included in the federal court case filed by civil rights attorney Fred Gray on February 1, 1956, as Browder v. Gayle, to challenge bus segregation in the city. She testified before the three-judge panel that heard the case in the United States District Court. On June 13, 1956, the judges determined state and local laws requiring bus segregation in Alabama were unconstitutional. The case went to the United States Supreme Court on appeal by the state, and it upheld the District Court ruling on December 17, 1956. Colvin was the last witness to testify. Three days later, the Supreme Court issued an order to Montgomery and the state of Alabama to end bus segregation, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott was called off. For many years, Montgomery’s Black leaders did not publicize Colvin’s pioneering effort. She was an unmarried teenager at the time, and was reportedly pregnant by a married man. Colvin’s act was a few months before the more widely known incident in which Rosa Parks, secretary of the local chapter of the NAACP, played the lead role, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Colvin has said, “Young people think Rosa Parks just sat down on a bus and ended segregation, but that wasn’t the case at all.”

MACNOLIA COX 

MacNolia Cox ~ 1923 13-year-old MacNolia a spelling prodigy from Akron, Ohio had with an IQ through the roof. Her journey to Washington wasn’t easy, nor was her time competing in the Bee. Forced to travel to the May 24, 1936 National Spelling Bee in the “colored” car of the train, unable to stay at the hotel with the other contestants, and had to use the back door of the arena to get into the Bee then forced to sit at a card table once inside. Despite the hardships she faced, Cox went on to become the first African-American finalist in the Top Five and was on her way to victory, having extensively studied the 100,000-word list given to every speller in the Bee. However, the all-white southerner judges pulled an ineligible word not on that list “nemesis”. Cox misspelled the unapproved word and was eliminated from the Bee. MacNolia, her dreams of becoming a doctor, was limited by the Jim Crow era, instead she became a domestic for a doctor and at the age of 53 died from cancer Sept 12, 1976.

AIDA OVERTON WALKER

Aida Overton Walker (February 14, 1880 – October 11, 1914), also billed as Ada Overton Walker and as “The Queen of the Cakewalk”, was an African-American vaudeville performer, actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, and wife of vaudevillian George Walker. Working alongside her husband, Walker’s career and performances were praised by critics and her successes well known. She was both financially successful and respected by the industry. In a 1905 article in Colored American, Walker was clear in her belief that the performing arts could have an effect on race relations, stating that, “I venture to think and dare to state that our profession does more toward the alleviation of color prejudice than any other profession among colored people.”

GEORGE EDWIN TAYLOR

George Edwin Taylor, (August 4, 1857, Little Rock, AR – December 23, 1925, Jacksonville, FL) son of a slave ran for president as the candidate of the National Negro Liberty Party. was one of a dozen children whose father was a slave and his mother was born a free person in the South. “When his mother died, young Taylor was left a waif and slept in dry goods boxes. He finally drifted north and attended the Baptist Academy at Beaver Dam, in Wisconsin. Feeble health and an exhausted pocketbook caused him to leave school within a year of graduating. To support himself, Taylor took a job as a newspaper reporter in La Crosse. He eventually became editor of the La Crosse Evening Star. Taylor was a key player in both the Wisconsin’s People’s Party and the Union Labor Party. His Wisconsin Labor Advocate was the voice of Wisconsin’s labor party in 1886-1887. From 1891 to 1910, Taylor lived in Oskaloosa and Ottumwa, Iowa, where he published a national magazine called the Negro Solicitor. During this period he rose to prominence in national black politics, acting as president of the National Colored Men’s Protective Association and the National Negro Democratic League and served high office in various other Black organizations. Given the fact Taylor received fewer than 2,000 votes when he ran for president in 1904, it is hard to call him “the right man at the right time.” Another way to look at this is to ask why he, in particular, became the first African American to run for president; why did he do what Frederick Douglass, T. Thomas Fortune, Blanche K. Bruce, and other leading black politicians before him could or would not. Part of the irony of the situation is Taylor’s marginal status may have made him more likely to be first. Right before the Civil War, African American men could only vote in New York and five New England states, and their percentage of the population in those states was far too small for any party to consider nominating them. In 1870, the 15th Amendment gave Black men around the country the right to vote (Black women did not gain this right nationally until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920), and so Black politicians in southern states or in the northern cities with rapidly growing black populations might have considered a run for the White House. Neither the Republicans nor Democrats, though, would have seriously considered nominating an African-American for president; the Republicans would not have risked alienating white voters for the sake of gaining black votes that they felt sure to get anyway, and the Democrats had a well-earned reputation for racial hostility. Because of the great expense of running for president, the only African-Americans who could even consider funding a serious third-party campaign were members of the upper-class who were also the most likely to remain loyal to the GOP. Taylor, who had first been a Republican and then a Democrat, was the first to run for president because he was the first Black politician who (1) no longer cared about what either major party thought of him and (2) was able to find allies among progressive whites who took the incredibly bold step of nominating him.
Source: https://tinyurl.com/y2t57uuq

ROSE MORGAN

Rose Morgan 1912 Edwards, Mississippi – Dec. 16, 2008 Chicago Illinois. One of nine children of Winnie (Robinson) Morgan, a homemaker, and Chapple Morgan, who rented land on a cotton plantation in Mississippi before moving the family to Chicago, where he worked in the hotel business. Rose had always been inspired by her father’s business sense, she said. As a 10 year old Rose cut flowers out of crepe paper and went door-to-door selling them with her friends. “We sold them for five cents a bunch.” She started styling hair for friends and neighbors at 12. “I’ve always had a great imagination and I could do things with my hands.” By 16 she was making enough money to drop out of high school despite warnings from her father. “I decided that I wasn’t going to let any grass grow under my feet.” Clients would arrive at her house at 5:30 or 6 a.m. to get their hair done before work. Once her customer base grew, she attended cosmetology school to get her license. She arrived in New York with $500, enough to rent a booth in a salon for $10 a week. The salon was in Sugar Hill, the fabled Upper Manhattan enclave of rich and famous blacks of the day, and word spread quickly about Morgan’s technique. She was known for using less hair product to achieve a softer, bouncier feel for hair that could turn out stiff in the wrong hands. In 1964 Morgan helped start Freedom National Bank, a rare black-owned commercial bank in New York. Rose’s salon, the Rose Meta House of Beauty, grossed more than $3 million in sales in its first few years and became a fixture in Harlem. It went beyond hair care, offering skin care, massages and other services, rarely available to black women at the time, and women traveled to the salon from all over the country.
Source https://tinyurl.com/y6h9v6pb

JAMES HEMINGS

James Hemings was born into slavery to Betty Hemings, who was the mixed-race daughter of Susannah, an enslaved African mother, and John Hemings, an English sea captain father. James was the second of her six children by her master John Wayles, who took Betty as a concubine after he was widowed for the third time. They had a relationship for 12 years, until his death, and he had a “shadow family” of six children with her. They were three-quarters European by ancestry. Betty had four older children by another man. Wayles died in 1773, leaving Betty and her 10 children to his daughter Martha Jefferson, half-sister to his children by Betty. Martha was then married to Thomas Jefferson, who also inherited them by marriage. In 1784 Thomas Jefferson took James Hemings with him when he went to Paris as Minister of France, as he wanted the young man, then 19, trained as a chef. While they were in France, Jefferson paid Hemings a wage of four dollars per month. Hemings studied cooking and apprenticed to pastry chefs and other specialists. He paid personally to learn the language from a French tutor. He earned the role of chef de cuisine in Jefferson’s kitchen on the Champs-Élysées. He served his creations to the European aristocrats, writers and scientists whom Jefferson invited to dinner. It’s important to acknowledge Thomas Jefferson’s role in popularizing French cuisine in the American south and low country, it is equally important to give credit to JAMES HEMINGS the slave and black chef Thomas Jefferson owned and sent to France who learn the culinary skill to replicate the meals Thomas Jefferson and American slave owners were privilege to eat. Just because Thomas Jefferson brought a pasta machine doesn’t mean he made the pasta and just because he has a hand written recipe certainly doesn’t mean he actually made the food which we know historical he did not! It is extremely important to acknowledge the spectrum of history and multitude of contributions made by people of color as well as White patrons to creation of what has become American cuisine.

ALEXANDER SERGEEVICH PUSHKIN

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (May 26, 1799 Moscow, Russia – January 29, 1837 St. Petersburg, Russia) is rightly considered to be the founding father of the modern Russian language. Descended from a distinguished Afro-Russian family of nobility; Ossip Abramovich Gannibal’s father, Pushkin’s great-grandfather, was Abram Petrovich Gannibal (1696–1781), an African page kidnapped to Constantinople as a gift to the Ottoman Sultan and later transferred to Russia as a gift for Peter the Great. Alexander Pushkin rejected the high-blown style of classic Russian poetry, breaking down the barrier between colloquial speech and the elevated odes of the past. Russians still use Pushkin’s language today. Married to Nathalie Goncharova in 1831, she bore him three children, but the couple were not happy together. His wife had many other admirers and he challenged one of them to a duel that took place on January 26, 1837. Pushkin was wounded and died.  https://tinyurl.com/2yutj6uk

RENÉ LACOSTE

René Lacoste (July 2, 1904, Paris, France – Oct. 12, 1996, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France) Black French tennis player known by fans as “The Crocodile” for his tenacity on the tennis court. Lacoste was one of The Four Musketeers with Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, and Henri Cochet, French tennis stars who dominated the game in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles at the French, American, and British championships and was an eminent baseline player and tactician of the pre-war period. As a member of the French team, Lacoste won the Davis Cup in 1927 and 1928. Lacoste was the World No. 1 player for both 1926 and 1927. René introduced the Lacoste tennis shirt with the crocodile logo embroidered on the chest in 1933 and founded La Société Chemise Lacoste with André Gillier. The company produced the tennis shirt, also known as a “polo shirt,” which Lacoste often wore when he was playing. In 1961, Lacoste created an innovation in racket technology by unveiling and patenting the first tubular steel tennis racket. At that time, wood rackets were the norm; the new version’s strings were attached to the frame by a series of wires, which wrapped around the racket head. The steel-tube racket was stiffer and imparted a greater force to the ball during a stroke. It was marketed in Europe under the Lacoste brand, but in the United States, it was marketed by Wilson Sporting Goods. Pierre Darmon debuted the racket at Wimbledon in 1963, but it achieved critical acclaim and huge popularity as the Wilson T-2000, used by American tennis greats Billie Jean King and Jimmy Connors. When Lacoste died, the French Advertising agency Publicis, which had been managing his company’s account for decades, published a print ad with the Lacoste logo and the English words “See you later…”

WILBER and CLEOMAE DUNGY

Wilber graduated from Jackson High School in 1943 and served in the segregated Army during World War II. After the war, Dungy enrolled at Jackson Junior College, where his interest in biology awakened. He graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and in 1952 came back to JCC as the first Black professor. Dungy earned a doctorate in 1967 and even though Dr. Wilbur Dungy had a Ph.D. in physiology, asked people not to call him “doctor” which would be too showy. Dungy was a JCC biology professor from 1953 to 1969 and remembered by his reputation for breaking racial barriers. After his death at age 78, it was discovered he was part of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the first unit of American pilots. With his wife, Cleomae, a high school theater teacher at Jackson High, they raised four children, a doctor, a dentist, a nurse and Super Bowl Tony Dungy Hall of Famer football coach. Wilber and Cleomae Dungy the pushed the envelope to inspire inclusivity and education in Jackson.

BABY ESTHER JONES THE ORIGINAL BETTY BOOP

Esther Jones, (unknown cause of death 1934) known by her stage name “Baby Esther”, was an African American singer and entertainer of the late 1920s, known for her “baby” singing style. She performed regularly at the Cotton Club in Harlem where a white American singer/actress named Helen Kane saw her act in 1928 and copied Jones’ “baby” singing style for a recording of “I Wanna Be Loved By You.” Theatrical manager Lou Boulton testified during the Fleischer v. Kane trial that Helen Kane saw Baby Esther’s cabaret act in 1928 with him and appropriated Jones’ style of singing, changing the interpolated words “boo-boo-boo” and “doo-doo-doo” to “boop-boop-a-doop” in a recording of “I Wanna Be Loved By You”. Kane never publicly admitted this. Jones’ style, as imitated by Kane, went on to become the inspiration for the voice of the cartoon character Betty Boop. When Kane attempted to sue Fleischer Studios for using her persona, the studios defended themselves by arguing that Kane herself had taken it from “Baby Esther” Jones. An early test sound film of Baby Esther’s performance was used as evidence. In court, it was presumed that Jones was still in Paris. After a two-year legal struggle, Max Fleischer located a sound film made in 1928 of her performing, which was introduced as evidence. Judge Edward J. McGoldrick ruled, “The plaintiff has failed to sustain either cause of action by proof of sufficient probative force.” In his opinion, the “baby” technique of singing did not originate with Kane. Unfortunately very little is known of Esther Jones including her birth and the events surrounding her death.

SAM CHATMON

Sam Chatmon (January 10, 1897 – February 2, 1983) was a Delta blues guitarist and singer and member of the Mississippi Sheiks. Chatmon was born in Bolton, Mississippi. His family was well known in Mississippi for their musical talents and he was a member of the family’s string band when he was young. In an interview he stated he started playing the guitar at the age of 3, laying it flat on the floor and crawling under it. He regularly performed for white audiences in the 1900s. The Chatmon band played rags, ballads, and popular dance tunes. Two of Sam’s brothers, the fiddler Lonnie Chatmon and the guitarist Bo Carter, performed with the guitarist Walter Vinson as the Mississippi Sheiks. Chatmon played the banjo, mandolin, and harmonica in addition to the guitar. He performed at parties and on street corners throughout Mississippi for small pay and tips. In the 1930s he recorded with the Sheiks and also with his brother Lonnie as the Chatman Brothers. Chatmon moved to Hollandale, Mississippi, in the early 1940s and worked on plantations there. He was rediscovered in 1960 and started a new chapter of his career as a folk-blues artist. In the same year, he recorded for Arhoolie Records and toured extensively during the 1960s and 1970s. While in California in 1970 he made several recordings with Sue Draheim, Kenny Hall, Ed Littlefield, Lou Curtiss, Kathy Hall, Will Scarlett and others at Sweet’s Mill Music Camp, forming a group he called “The California Sheiks”. He played many of the largest and best-known folk festivals, including the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., in 1972, the Mariposa Folk Festival in Toronto in 1974, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1976. Sam did more than recapitulate the past. He bravely sang of racial inequality in songs such as “I Have to Paint My Face,” with its ironic images of a “stomp-down, baby-chicken-killin’ nigger” and a black man’s desire to paint his face a lighter shade. A headstone memorial to Chatmon with the inscription “Sitting on top of the World” was paid for by Bonnie Raitt through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund and placed in Sanders Memorial Cemetery, Hollandale, Mississippi, on March 14, 1998, in a ceremony held at the Hollandale Municipal Building, celebrated by the Mayor and members of the city council of Hollandale, with over 100 attendees.

DUANE JULIUS THOMAS 

Duane Julius Thomas (June 21, 1947 Dallas, TX ) Raised in Dallas, Thomas spent several years in Los Angeles when his parents wanted to get him away from what they considered bad influences. He said he thrived in Southern California but returned to Dallas, playing at Lincoln High School and West Texas State before being drafted in the first round, much to his dismay, by the Cowboys.  in 1973 Thomas quietly left the NFL after refusing to stand for the National Anthem.

STEVE HENSON

THOMAS L. JENNINGS 

Thomas L. Jennings (1791 New York City, NY – February 12, 1856 New York City, NY) was born free to a free African-American family. Jennings operated and owned a tailoring business and was the first African American to receive a patent, on March 3, 1821. His patent was for a dry-cleaning process called “dry scouring” a technique credited to modern day dry cleaning. Jennings’ skills were so admired people near and far came to him to alter or custom-tailor items of clothing for them. Eventually, Jennings reputation grew such that he was able to open his own store on Church street which grew into one of the largest clothing stores in New York City. Under the United States patent laws of 1793 (and later, as revised in 1836) a person must sign an oath or declaration stating they were a citizen of the United States. While there were, apparently, provisions through which a slave could enjoy patent protection, the ability of a slave to seek out, receive and defend a patent was unlikely. Later, in 1958, the patent office changed the laws, stating that since slaves were not citizens, they could not hold a patent. Jennings became active in working for his race and civil rights for the African-American community. In 1831, he was selected as assistant secretary to the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. He helped arrange legal defense for his daughter, Elizabeth Jennings, in 1854 when she challenged a private streetcar company’s segregation of seating and was arrested. She was defended by the young Chester Arthur, and won her case the next year. Because of her father’s prominence and wealth, his daughter was able to obtain the best legal representation and hired the law firm of Culver, Parker, and Arthur to sue the bus company and was represented in court by a young attorney named Chester Arthur, who would go on to become the 21st President of the United States. Ms. Jennings would ultimately win her case in front of the Brooklyn Circuit Court in 1855. With two other prominent African-American leaders, Jennings organized the Legal Rights Association in 1855 in New York, which raised challenges to discrimination and organized legal defense for court cases. He founded and was a trustee of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a leader in the African-American community.

PHILIP BELL DOWNING

PHILIP BELL DOWNING Providence, Rhode Island  March 22, 1857 Boston Massachusetts June 8, 1934 was an African-American inventor,  designed a metal box with four legs and a hinged door that closed to protect the mail patented on October 27, 1891. He called his device a street letter box and it is the predecessor of today’s mailbox. One year prior to inventing the mailbox, Downing patented an electrical switch allowing railroad workers to turn on or off the power supply to trains at the necessary times. Downing’s designs for the railroad switch were used as inspiration for inventors who created residential electrical switches.

HENRY OSSIAN FLIPPER

Henry Ossian Flipper was born a slave in Thomasville, Georgia in 1856. Just over twenty years later, he would become the first African American to graduate from West Point. His path of education to West Point began in a wood shop of a slave. Henry was eight then. His schooling continued at Missionary Schools and then at Atlanta University. However, his dream was to attend West Point. No African American had ever graduated from West Point. But this didn’t deter Henry. He wrote James C. Freeman, a state Congressman, asking to be appointed to West Point. After the two exchanged letters, the Congressman appointed Henry. Henry joined four other African Americans at West Point. And of the group, he became the first to graduate, a member of the Class of 1877. Then he became the first African American to command regular troops in the U.S. Army.

HENRY BOYD

Henry Boyd (1809 Kentucky –  April 17, 1858  Muder Creek, Halifax, Virginia) was born into enslavement in Kentucky, was an inventor, carpenter, and a master mechanic. He invented the corded bed with the wooden rail screwed into both the headboard and the footboard. Boyd was apprenticed out to a cabinet maker. He had a tremendous talent for carpentry. His woodworking skills and his strong work ethic combined to provide a path out of slavery and poverty. Boyd was permitted to accept additional work assignments to earn his freedom. He worked for a salt works company, chopping wood and keeping an eye on the boiling pots reducing the salt. Boyd eventually made enough to gain his freedom. At 24-years-old, in 1826, Boyd arrived in Cincinnati. Although Ohio was a free state, Cincinnati, bordered the slave state of Kentucky and was not a welcoming city for blacks. Boyd found this out firsthand. Arriving nearly broke, the skilled carpenter set about finding a means to support himself. Although Cincinnati was a bustling place full of opportunities for employment, no one would hire him for a skilled position. One shop that considered hiring him backed down when its white workers threatened to quit. To make ends meet, Boyd found work on Cincinnati’s riverfront. Many African Americans and Irish found employment there, working for stores as stevedores, unloading cargo from the many steamboats at the city’s public landing. His hard work and commitment enabled him to escape this backbreaking work. Boyd became a janitor at a store. One day, when a white carpenter showed up too drunk to work, Boyd built a counter for the storekeeper. This impressed his boss so much that he contracted him for other construction projects. Through word of mouth, Boyd’s talent began to break down the racism he originally encountered and enabled him to pick up more contracting jobs, working alongside white carpenters. Henry Boyd accumulated enough money to purchase his own workshop for woodworking. His workshop soon grew to encompass four buildings located at the corner of Eighth and Broadway in Cincinnati. Here, Boyd would build and assemble bedframes of his own design, the Boyd Bedstead. This was an improvement over existing bedframes of the day. The Boyd Bedstead utilized a right and left wood screw process, with swelled rails, making for a sturdier fit to endure more stress. This revolutionary new design was developed by Boyd. He was unable to obtain a patent for it, due to the color of his skin. Not only was his bedstead breaking new ground, so were Boyd’s work practices. Employing 20-50 people at any given time, he operated an integrated workplace. Boyd was unable to patent his invention but eventually earned enough money to buy freedom for himself and his brother and sister in 1826. Undeterred by the laws barring him from obtaining a patent, and now a freedman, Boyd started H. Boyd Company in 1836, selling his invention the Boyd Bedstead. He made sure to stamp his name on every finished product to assure buyers it was his work. The Notable Kentucky African American Database records that in 1843 Boyd was among the most successful furniture makers in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his company was based.

ROBERT HENRY LAWRENCE JR. 

Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. (October 2, 1935 Chicago, Illinois – December 8, 1967 Edwards Air Force Base, California,) attended Haines Elementary School and, at the age of 16, he graduated in the top 10 percent from Englewood High School in Chicago, in 1952. At the age of 20, he graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. At Bradley, he distinguished himself as Cadet Commander in the Air Force ROTC and received the commission of second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve Program. At the age of 21, he was designated as a U.S. Air Force pilot after completing flight training at Malden Air Force Base, Missouri. At 22, he married Barbara Cress, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Cress of Chicago. By the time he was 25, he had completed an Air Force assignment as an instructor pilot in the T-33 training aircraft for the German Air Force. In 1965, Lawrence earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Ohio State University. His doctoral thesis was “The Mechanism Of The Tritium Beta Ray Induced Exchange Reaction Of Deuterium With Methane and Ethane In The Gas Phase.” He was a senior USAF pilot, accumulating well over 2,500 flight hours, 2,000 of which were in jets. Lawrence flew many tests in the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to investigate the gliding flight of various unpowered spacecraft returning to Earth from orbit, such as the North American X-15 rocket-plane. NASA cited Lawrence for accomplishments and flight maneuver data that “contributed greatly to the development of the Space Shuttle.” In June 1967, Lawrence successfully completed the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (Class 66B) at Edwards AFB, California. The same month, he was selected by the USAF as an astronaut in the Air Force’s Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL) program, thus becoming the country’s first black astronaut. Robert Henry Lawrence was also a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Lawrence was killed in the crash of an F-104 Starfighter at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 8, 1967, at 32 years of age. He was flying backseat on the mission as the instructor pilot for a flight test trainee learning the steep-descent glide technique. The pilot flying made such an approach but flared too late. The airplane struck the ground hard, its main gear failed, it caught fire, and rolled. The front-seat pilot ejected upward and survived, with major injuries. The back seat, which delays a moment to avoid hitting the front seat, ejected sideways, killing Lawrence instantly. Had Lawrence lived, he likely would have been among the MOL astronauts who became NASA Astronaut Group 7 after MOL’s cancellation, all of whom flew on the Space Shuttle. During his brief career, Lawrence earned the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Outstanding Unit Citation. On December 8, 1997, his name was inscribed on the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

DONALD CORTEZ CORNELIUS 

Donald Cortez Cornelius (September 27, 1936 Chicago IL – February 1, 2012) and raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood. After graduating from DuSable High School in 1954, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served 18 months in Korea. He worked at various jobs following his stint in the military, including selling tires, g automobiles, and insurance, and as an officer with the Chicago Police Department. He quit his day job to take a three-month broadcasting course in 1966, despite being married with two sons and having only $400 in his bank account. In 1966, he landed a job as an announcer, news reporter and disc jockey on Chicago radio station WVON. Cornelius joined Chicago television station WCIU-TV in 1967 and hosted a news program called A Black’s View of the News. In 1970, he launched Soul Train on WCIU-TV as a daily local show. The program entered national syndication and moved to Los Angeles the following year. Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Bobby Hutton and Honey Cone were featured on the national debut episode. Originally a journalist and inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there was no television venue in the United States for soul music. He introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on Soul Train, a program that was both influential among African Americans and popular with a wider audience. As writer, producer, and host of Soul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers, setting a precedent for popular television dance programs. Cornelius said, “We had a show that kids gravitated to,” and Spike Lee described the program as an “urban music time capsule”. With the creation of Soul Train, Cornelius was at the helm of a program that showed African Americans in a new light, creating a Black is Beautiful Campaign. Prior to Soul Train, African Americans were only occasionally performing on TV, as guests on white-centered programs. Soul Train showcased African American culture, and brought African American musicians and dancers to television. This show’s appeal to white audiences steadily grew and eventually earned a huge following. It was one of the most groundbreaking television shows ever. Cornelius (second from right) with The Staple Singers during production of a 1974 episode of Soul Train. Besides his smooth and deep voice and his afro (which slowly shrunk over the years as hairstyle tastes changed), Cornelius was best known for the catchphrase that he used to close the show: “and you can bet your last money, it’s all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I’m Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!” After Cornelius’s departure, it was shortened to “and as always, we wish you love, peace and soul!” and it was used through the most recent new episodes in 2006. Another introductory phrase which he often used was: “We got another sound comin’ out of Philly that’s a sure ‘nough dilly”.

YVETTE MARIE “CHAKA KHAN” STEVENSON

Yvette Marie “Chaka Khan” Stevenson (March 23, 1953, Great Lakes, Illinois) In 1969, at 6 years of age Yvette became active in the black power movement joined the Chicago Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Her duties were selling the Black Panther Newspaper as well as helping start the free breakfast Program for children. Around this time, she took on a new name: Chaka Adunne Aduffe Yemoja Hodarhi Karifi. She also said goodbye to her formal education, dropping out of high school. In the early 1990’s Chaka Khan Foundation, which provides education programs to at-risk children and helps low-income families with autistic children. In 2016 with the single “I Love Myself,” with portions of sales going to the domestic abuse organization Face Forward as well as STOMP Out Bullying.

MATLETHA FULLER BENNETTE

Matletha Fuller Bennette South Bay Lake Okeechobee FL graduated from college before 12th grade. She’s been valedictorian since elementary school and had 3 degrees by the age of 22. Matletha passed her law bar exam while caring for 2 small children under the age of 4. The odds were against her when her father died when she was 14. “If my teacher didn’t give me homework, my mom gave me work to do. She was determined to give me an education.“ Fuller is the first in her family to graduate from college. She also managed to finish her last year while caring for her 14-month-old son, who was born during her junior and senior years. Having a child didn’t slow her down or diminish the quality of her scholarship. Fuller graduated with a 3.85 GPA and will be recognized as one of four Outstanding Four-Year Scholars in her class along with Xavier Williams, Lindsey B. Zionts, and Anthony J. Cerreta.

DAHLIA UMUNNA

Dahlia Umunna is the first Nigerian to be appointed Professor in Harvard School of Law. Ms. Umunna has been a lecturer at HLS since 2007, and is Deputy Director and Clinical Instructor at HLS’s Criminal Justice Institute (CJI), in which she supervises third-year law students in their representation of adult and juvenile clients in criminal and juvenile proceedings and arguments before Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals court. Prior to coming to Harvard Law School, Umunna was a trial attorney with the D.C. Public Defender Service and an adjunct professor of law and Practitioner in Residence at the Washington College of Law, American University. She currently serves as a faculty member for Gideon’s Promise, and is a frequent presenter at Public Defender trainings across the country. She was a board member of the District of Columbia Law Students in Court Clinic and was a guest lecturer for several years at the George Washington University Law School. She is the author of the article “Rethinking the Neighborhood Watch: How Lessons from the Nigerian Village Can Creatively Empower the Community to Assist Poor, Single Mothers in America,” published in the American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law.

GENELLE GUZMAN-MCMILLAN

Genelle Guzman-McMillan went to work on September 11, 2001, on the 64th floor of the World Trade Center. While in her office when she heard a terrible noise outside. “I felt the walls cave in. It was dark and everything was rumbling.” Guzman-McMillan said she and 15 other Port Authority employees were making their way down the stairs from the 64th floor of the north tower when, at the 13th floor, she paused to take off her high heels, resting her arm on her friend Rosa Gonzalez of Jersey City. Just then, at 10:28 a.m. As she raced down the stairs, she felt the building collapse around her, the landing shook, the stairs began to crumble beneath them and the walls burst open. Guzman-McMillan lost her hold on Gonzalez, fell to her knees and covered her head with her arms while the floors above her collapsed. With her head wedged between concrete pillars and steel, her legs painfully pinned under a steel beam, she found herself trapped in darkness and complete silence, unable to move, she prayed and asked God to help her. Hour after hour, she fervently prayed for God to spare her, to give her a chance to live a more meaningful life. Then, close to losing strength after almost a day underground, a man who identified himself as Paul thrust his hand into the hole where she was buried. He grabbed her left hand, her only free limb reassuring her help was on the way. Four hours later, she was extricated from the pile and raced to the hospital. Only one other of her group, not her friend Rosa had survived. Later she met face-to-face with her rescuers to thank them. She asked about Paul. There was no one there that day by that name, she was told. Genelle was the last person found alive in the rubble of the World Trade Center. When the towers came down she was buried for 27 hours, longer than any other person and was the final living person rescued from the rubble at Ground Zero. HOWEVER, Genelle was not found by a human equipped with special gear. Instead, her savior was a dog. “It’s so awesome that the dogs could have this kind of sense, to find people buried under the rubble,” Guzman-McMillan told Animal Planet for the new documentary “Hero Dogs of 9/11.” “I felt total renewed life in me. … That was the most joyful moment.” Genelle’s story should have been included in the World Trade Center Movie released in 2006 but was not.

ROLAND G. FRYER

Roland G. Fryer became the youngest tenured African-American Harvard University professor at the age of 30 in 2007. The Lewisville, Texas native was born June 4, 1977 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Fryer was raised primarily in Lewisville and was a star athlete at Lewisville High School. Fryer gained an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas at Arlington, but never played for the school, instead focusing on academics. Fryer graduated magna cum laude in 1998 after two and a half years of study while working a full-time job. In four years, Fryer earned his Ph.D. in 2002 from Penn State in Economics and completed his post-doctoral work at the University of Chicago. He joined Harvard’s Economics department at the end of a three-year fellowship and in 2011, Fryer was named a MacArthur Fellow.

CHARLES HALEY

Retired NFL player Charles Haley (January 6, 1964 Gladys, Virginia) held the title for 21 years, over the course of 12 seasons was the first NFL player to win five Super Bowls. The NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer is a former linebacker and defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. Haley has been described as “the defensive end’s speed, agility and violence that terrified quarterbacks of the ’80s and ’90s” who “crushed quarterbacks and taunted opponents without mercy.” Haley attended William Campbell High School in Naruna, Virginia where he was a three-year starter for the football team, while playing linebacker and tight end. As a senior, he received defensive player of the year honors, All-Region III and All-Group AA accolades, while helping the team win the Seminole District championship. He also played basketball and was an All-district selection. In his 12 NFL seasons, Haley recorded 100.5 quarterback sacks, two interceptions (nine return yards), and eight fumble recoveries, which he returned for nine yards and a touchdown. He was also selected to play in five Pro Bowls (1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995) and was named NFL All-Pro in 1990 and 1994. In his first four seasons in Dallas, he was on three Super Bowl-winning teams: in 1992 (XXVII), 1993 (XXVIII), and 1995 (XXX). After football, Haley was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and began to undergo therapy and to take medication. Haley was an assistant defensive coach for the Detroit Lions from 2001 to 2002. He is a special advisor mentoring rookies for both the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. He also has dedicated his life to help fund several local initiatives with organizations such as Jubilee Centre and The Salvation Army.

FRANK ROBINSON

Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935, Beaumont, TX – February 7, 2019 Los Angeles CA) Hall of Famer, First Black MLB Manager was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five teams from 1956 to 1976, and became the only player to be named the Most Valuable Player of both the National League and American League. Robinson hit 586 home runs — he was fourth on the career list behind only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays when he retired and now ranks 10th. An MVP with Cincinnati and Baltimore, he won the Triple Crown while leading the Orioles to their first World Series championship in 1966. An All-Star outfielder in 12 seasons and a first-ballot selection to Cooperstown, Robinson also was a Rookie of the Year and picked up a Gold Glove. In 1975, Robinson fulfilled his quest to become the first African-American manager in the big leagues when he was hired by the Cleveland Indians. His impact was immediate and memorable. Robinson died in Los Angeles on February 7, 2019, at the age of 83, as a result of bone cancer.

MOVIE ~ “SOMETHING GOOD – NEGRO KISS”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CneQztP7-YQ
Sometimes a kiss is more than just a kiss. That’s certainly the case with the lip-lock in “Something Good – Negro Kiss,” an 1898 short silent film that was recently added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Register for its historic significance. The clip, showing a couple playfully kissing and clasping hands is free of the demeaning racist tropes seen in other depictions of African-Americans at the time. University of Chicago’s Allyson Nadia Field, an expert on African-American cinema who helped identify the film and its historical significance. “It wasn’t racist caricature, not blackface performance, not comedic ridicule. The actors appeared joyful and genuine in their affection”. “It looks like they’re having fun! And they’re not the butt of any joke or the punchline. This makes the film a rare early cinema artifact.” The man, ragtime composer and performer Saint Suttle, jovially swings his partner, actress Gertie Brown, around before going in for another kiss, then a few more. ~ Life article by Brittany Wong

Critically Thinking Conspiracy Theories

OR:
WHEN A PERSON LEARNS CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS, THEY REALIZE CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE INVOKED BY PEOPLE IN POWER, AND ARE NOT JUST THEORIES, BUT IN FACT, TRUTH

CONSPIRACY: With the advances in technology, the government is using its vast resources to track citizens.
THE TRUTH: In 2016, government agencies sent 49,868 requests for user data to Facebook, 27,850 to Google, and 9,076 to Apple, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (the EFF), a major nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world and advises the public on matters of internet privacy.

CONSPIRACY: The CIA was testing LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs on Americans in a top-secret experiment on behavior modification.
THE TRUTH: The program was known as MK-ULTRA, and it was real.

CONSPIRACY: Tuskegee Syphilis Study
THE TRUTH: Conducted between 1932 and 1972, it observed the natural progression of syphilis in black men in rural Alabama. Unfortunately, this was not known to those involved in the study – they thought they were receiving free health care from the government.

CONSPIRACY: For decades, tobacco companies buried evidence that smoking is deadly.
THE TRUTH: At the beginning of the 1950s, research was showing an indisputable statistical link between smoking and lung cancer, but it wasn’t until the late 1990s that Philip Morris even admitted that smoking could cause cancer.

CONSPIRACY: Operation Paperclip: the American Government brought Nazi Scientists to the US
THE TRUTH: After World War II, the United States created a secret Joint Intelligence Objective Agency in which they brought more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians – many of whom had direct ties to the Nazi Party – to work for the government. Known as Operation Paperclip, its primary focus was for the U.S. to gain an advantage in the Cold War.

CONSPIRACY: Bohemian Grove’s gloried-in rituals; where all those rich Republicans go and stand naked against redwood trees
THE TRUTH: Every July, some of the “richest and most powerful men in the world” head to Bohemian Grove, a 2,700-acre campground in California to engage in a series of hush-hush ceremonies including costumes, theatre, and music. It may or may not include former U.S. presidents, oil tycoons, and other business, and where planning for the Manhattan Project took place, leading to the creation of the atom bomb.

CONSPIRACY: The Dalai Lama is a CIA agent.
THE TRUTH: According to declassified intelligence documents, he earned $180,000 in connection with the CIA’s funding of the Tibetan Resistance to the tune of $1.7 million per year.

CONSPIRACY: The FBI was spying on John Lennon.
THE TRUTH: Like many counter-culture heroes, Lennon was considered a threat: “Anti-war songs, like “Give Peace a Chance” didn’t exactly endear former Beatle John Lennon to the Nixon administration,” NPR reported. “In 1971, the FBI put Lennon under surveillance, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service tried to deport him a year later.” In 1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney met at a party in Woolton. Just yards away from their meeting place was the grave of Eleanor Rigby.

CONSPIRACY: The Gulf of Tonkin incident on August 2, 1964, was faked to provoke American support for the Vietnam War.
THE TRUTH: Declassified intelligence documents have revealed the Maddox had provided support for South Vietnamese attacks on a nearby island and the North Vietnamese were responding in kind, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.

CONSPIRACY: Human Tissue Collected for Atomic Bomb Tests
THE TRUTH: In the 1950s, the U.S. government secretly collected human tissue – primarily from cadavers, without permission from next of kin. The purpose was to monitor the effects of radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons tests. More than 1,500 samples (many of them babies) were gathered around the world.

CONSPIRACY: Bayer Medicine Causes AIDS
THE TRUTH: In the mid-1980s, pharmaceutical company Bayer discovered that their blood-clotting medicine for hemophiliacs carried a high risk of transmitting AIDS.

THERE ARE MANY MORE CONSPIRACY THEORIES DEBUNKED BY CRITICAL THINKERS.

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Cooper

I met Cooper when I flew into Detroit from Los Angles. Julie, my daughter-in-law picked me up at Wayne County Airport, and as we walked to her van, up popped the head of a beautiful dog. Now I didn’t think Cooper was beautiful at that moment because all I could see were the big teeth of a very large dog snarling at me and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was going to be eaten alive before we got to the house. As I stood debating whether I should chance getting in or turn around and head home, Julie walked around her side of the vehicle and yelled “Cooper shut up” as she beckoned me in. Hesitantly I opened the door and cautiously slid inside. No sooner, had I squeezed myself as close to my escape route as possible, this big fluffy dog jumped in my lap, planted a wet slobbery kiss on my face then snuggled up close for the ride home.

It didn’t matter how infrequently I visited; this big ball of luxurious brown and white fur would greet me like we were long-lost friends; and for weeks after I returned home, I’d find little wisps of Cooper’s long silky hair clinging to my clothes.

From the moment they laid eyes on each other, Julie was Cooper’s human, the center of his life, and Cooper was Julie’s best friend, her most trusted and dedicated confidant; the two were inseparable and loved each other unconditionally. Through many years Cooper faithfully comforted and fiercely protected Julie, and on November 10, 2021, Julie was there to comfort and protect Cooper as he moved on to his next adventure.

You see, when the time comes, pets also have last wishes, it’s when they need their people the most and Julie was as devoted to Cooper as he had always been to her; staying with him until his last breath, soothing, reassuring, and comforting him, the strength of her love giving Cooper the power to let go peacefully knowing he was taking her heart with him.

In the years to come long strands of silken dog hair will unexpectedly float down from heaven as a gentle reminder of the wonderful spirit that still lives on in the hearts of those who loved him. Rest in Peace Cooper, you were a constant and truly loyal friend.

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Someone Tell Me Why…

Authored by Christy Carr

I’m a nurse. I’ve been one for over 25 years, but it wasn’t until about 5 or 6 years ago… I started asking these very questions.

Nursing is the most trusted profession in America.

And those of us who speak out against the agenda are REALLY looking out for your best interests.

So WHYYY???..

Sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ ᴡʜʏ..

“Sick People Are Profit Generators”
Authored by Kristeen

Irrational drug prescribing, kickbacks for doctor referrals, unnecessary tests and surgical procedures are standard across the board. Big Pharma has higher profit margins than any other industry. The cost of cancer drugs can cost $100,000 or more for just a single year of treatment. Type 1 and 2 diabetes costs can range between $531-$5,264. Even “insured patients pay thousands of dollars out of pocket. Drug company profiteering is also on display when it comes to off-label prescriptions, which accounts for nearly 20% of all prescriptions, bringing in $40 billion in sales annually. Between 2007 and 2018, sticker prices on some 600 brand-name drugs rose by an average of 159%, or roughly 9.1% per year. The list of Big Pharma fraudulent practices includes false claims to government health care programs, intent to defraud or mislead, and failure to report safety data.  It’s clear the industry’s huge profit margins directly correlate with its unsavory business practices.

Pfizer alone expects to sell $15 billion worth of Covid-19 vaccines this year, and earn between $59 billion and $61 billion, up from $42 billion it made in 2020. With the exclusion of the vaccine, Pfizer expects its sales to grow 6% in 2021. BioNTech is expected to profit $15 billion by the end of this year, with a profit margin of nearly 30%. Moderna, $16 billion. AstraZeneca, $1.9 billion. Johnson & Johnson, $10 billion. Merck, $10 billion. But that’s not the end of it, oh no; Covid shots may seem free now, but you’ve been paying for those seemingly free shots with your taxes, but what happens when you’re told it’s time for your $50 booster shot?

Vitamin’s, herbs and healthy food does not make Big Pharma and the 1% revenue.

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Words, Labels, and Political Phrases we probably didn’t know we needed to know until Trump’s 4-year Reign of Terror

1. ALTERNATIVE FACTS: Contrary information matching one’s preferred narrative or interpretation of events.
2. ALT-RIGHT: catch-all descriptor for a faction of ultra-conservatives with white nationalist or anti-Semitic ideologies
3. ANTIFA: Anti-fascist movements and organizations, treated as a whole
4. APPROPRIATION LAWS: the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses and refers to the legislative designation of money for particular uses, in the context of a budget or spending bill
5. BIGLY: widespread mishearing of Trump’s use of big-league
6. BLUE WAVE: major Democratic electoral gain
7. CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW: prohibited unregulated contributions (“soft money”) to national political parties and limited the use of corporate and union money to fund ads discussing political issues within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election
8. CANCEL CULTURE: a modern form of ostracism when someone is thrust out of social or professional circles.
9. CARAVAN: procession of Central American asylum seekers to US/Mexico border
10. CDC: the US department of health
11. COLLUSION: secret agreement or cooperation especially for an illegal or deceitful purpose
12. CONCEDE ELECTION: the act of a losing candidate publicly yielding to a winning candidate after an election
13. CONSERVATIVES ADHERENTS: of a political philosophy favoring and preserving traditional values
14. COVFEFE: Trump tweeted, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe”
15. DEEPFAKE: realistic digitally composed video used to misrepresent someone
16. DEFUNDING POLICE: a movement to refocus US police departments by reassigning parts of budgets to more community-oriented work
17. DELETED FAMILY UNIT: bureaucratic term referring to asylum-seeking families whose children were removed
18. DUMPSTER FIRE: poorly-handled out-of-control situation
19. EIGHTEEN (18) U.S. CODE § 610: Coercion of political activity
20. EIGHTEEN (18) U.S. CODE § 872: Extortion by officers or employees of the United States
21. EXECUTIVE TIME: presidential down-time
22. FACTICIDE: killing or distortion of facts
23. FAKE NEWS: actual news claimed to be untrue
24. FASCIST: far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of society and the economy
25. FLATTEN THE CURVE: the ability to manage the number of medical cases so as to not overwhelm the hospital system
26. FOREIGN EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE: prohibits the president from accepting personal benefits from any foreign government or official
27. HIMPATHY: flow of sympathy away from female victims toward their male victimizers
28. HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM: is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives
29. IDENTITY POLITICS: based on certain elements of one’s makeup, such as skin color, ethnic background or gender
30. IMPEACH: process by which a legislative body addresses legal charges against a government official
31. INDIVIDUAL 1: pseudonym for Trump in documents from the Mueller investigation
32. INSURGENT: a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government acting contrary to the policies and decisions of one’s own political party
33. INSURRECTION: Rebellion or uprising, refusal of obedience, open resistance against the orders of established authority.
34. INTRANSIGENCE: refusing to compromise or agree; inflexibility
35. IMPLICIT BIAS: attitudes towards people or associate stereotypes with them without our conscious knowledge.
36. LOCKDOWN: restricting movement outside homes or geographic districts
37. MAGA: Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan
38. NEW NORMAL: the state to which an economy, society, etc. settles following a crisis, when this differs from the situation that prevailed prior to the start of the crisis.
39. OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE: an act “corruptly, by threats or force, or by any letter or communication, influencing, obstructing, impeding, or endeavoring to influence
40. OLIGARCHY: power structure in which power rests with a small number of people
41. ORBITING: ending communication with someone while still monitoring them on social media
42. OUTBREAK: sudden appearance of a disease in a community or geographic location
43. PANDEMIC: an event in which a disease spreads across several countries
44. PHARMACEUTICAL DEHUMANIZATION: is what they do
45. PHARMACEUTICAL DEHUMANICISTIC: is displaying explicit bias
46. PHARMACEUTICAL DEHUMANIST: is what they are
47. PRESSURE CAMPAIGN: intimidation, threats, and covert techniques relying heavily on the use of mass media and mass communications to persuade politicians the public wants or demands a particular action
48. PROGRESSIVES: US replacement for the word “liberals” term of abuse in American politics
49. PUSSYHAT: Pink knitted hat worn by demonstrators at the Women’s March
50. QANON: far-right conspiracy theory of Satan-worshipping cannibalistic pedophiles running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against U.S. President Trump
51. QUARANTINE: Restricting physical movements to one’s home or institution, separated from all others
52. Racially Charged: a deliberately vague racist attempt regarding racism
53. RECLAIMING MY TIME: Phrase used in congressional hearings when politicians are allotted a specific amount of time to speak and/or question those called to testify at such hearings.
54. RINO: Republican in Name Only
55. SANCTUARY CITY: municipal jurisdictions limiting their cooperation with national government’s effort to enforce immigration law
56. SECOND AMENDMENT: protecting the right to keep and bear arms
57. SEDITION: subversion of the constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or rebellion against, established authority
58. SELF-ISOLATE QUARANTINED: after being exposed to Covid-19 to help stop the spread of virus
59. SHELTER-IN-PLACE: being confined to one’s home
60. SHITHOLE COUNTRIES: Trump’s description for places he does not want to accept immigrants from
61. SOCIAL DISTANCING: distance individuals should keep from each other
62. STABLE GENIUS: is a proposed Act of Congress requiring presidential candidates to have a medical exam and publicly disclose the results before the general election (Trump refused the exam – IQ 110–115, with Borderline PSYCHOTIC FLAVORINGS: a Pathological Liar with a Gigantic Helping of Sociopathology)
63. SUPER SPREADER: a single person or event propagating “clusters” of a virus outbreak
64. TAKE A KNEE: Kneel in protest when others are standing
65. TENDER-AGE SHELTER: Children in Cages
66. TODAY YEARS OLD: an indication someone has just recently learned something
67. TRADE WAR: countries trying to damage each other’s trade, typically by the imposition of tariffs or quota restrictions
68. TRUMPERY: worthless nonsense.
69. TWEETSTORM: series of connected tweets about a particular subject, often a passionate rant
70. TWENTY-FIFTH AMENDMENT: removing the president from office if s/he becomes incompetent, dies or resigns,
71. VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION: is not a crime, however, it is a civil matter
72. WALL: proposed barrier along the US/Mexico border to prevent illegal crossings
73. WHITE CALLER CRIME: White people calling police on Black people for doing common-place things
74. WHO: World Health Organization
75. WOKE: Suggesting a high level of social consciousness
76. WUHAN: largest city in central China
77. WYPIPO: Humorous phonetic spelling of “white people” used to flag white privilege, cluelessness,
78. ZOOM MEETING: Group meetings held over videoconferencing channels

These were just off the top, feel free to add your own in the comments section

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org) Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

These were just off the top, feel free to add your own in the comments section

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org) Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Who was Ashli Babbitt

35-years-old Ashli Elizabeth Babbitt left the military after 14 years as an undistinguished low-ranking E-4 airman. Disgruntled by military hierarchy, discipline issues, insubordination, and demoted at least once, stunting her career. While married to Timothy McEntee, Ashli began an affair with her present husband Aaron Babbitt in 2016, filing for divorce from Timothy McEntee in 2018.

In 2016, separated from her husband Timothy McEntee, Aaron Babbitt’s former girlfriend, Celeste Norris applied for a court protection order; Ashli Babbitt, then known as Ashli McEntee saw Celeste Norris pulling out of a shopping center parking lot in southern Maryland, Babbitt spun her white SUV in a U-turn and began chasing Norris and rear-ended her car three times. “She was screaming at me and verbally threatening”. Babbitt was charged with reckless endangerment, malicious destruction of property, and tampering. The court granted Celeste Norris a protection order. The following year, Norris filed a second protective order petition, saying Babbitt had followed her home from work and called her “all hours of day and night.” The court granted the 2nd order.

Ashli Babbitt struggled in business, in 2017 she took out a $65,000 short-term business loan. After signing the loan agreement, she stopped making payments repaying only $3,400. The lender sued her and a judge issued a $71,000 judgment against her pool business.

Babbitt proposed starting a GoFundMe to pay for Trump’s addition to Mount Rushmore. Ashli Babbitt’s journey, illuminated through her extensive social media activity, court and military records, as well as interviews with those who knew her was one of paranoid devotion only increasing as Trump’s fortunes dwindled.

Ashli Babbitt aka “CommonAshSense,” became obsessed with online propaganda while her professional life collapsed. She avidly followed QAnon, and in more than 8,600 tweets ranted against immigrants, democrats, coronavirus safety measures retweeting posts promising a violent uprising leading to Trump’s second inauguration. “Nothing will stop us,” she wrote on Twitter the day before her death. “They can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours …. dark to light!”

It’s unclear exactly how and when Babbitt entered the Capitol but multiple videos captured the moment in a Capitol hallway where Babbitt was at the entrance of the Speaker’s Lobby as a crowd bashed in the windows of a barricaded door. Ashli Babbitt, leading the way hopped up to push herself through one of the door’s glass panels assisted by a male figure, as a man shouts “Bust it down!” As Ashli Babbitt climbed through the window a Capitol Police officer pointing a handgun in her direction fired a single shot and Ashli toppled backward into the crowd.

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org) Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

California law making it easier for former inmate firefighters to turn pro

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday accelerating the process for expunging the felony records of formerly incarcerated volunteer firefighters.

This new law is designed to make it far easier for former inmates to earn an emergency medical technician certification, the first step in becoming a professional firefighter in most cities and counties. For decades, thousands of inmate firefighters have battled wildfires across the state, working alongside professional firefighters in the scorching heat and smoke.

Yet these men and women prisoners who throw themselves in danger to help save lives and property have found ir impossible to put their firefighting skills to use after their release, even in a state desperate for such labor.

𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐗-𝐈𝐍𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐈𝐍𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 “𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇” 𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐖 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃:
.
To qualify, inmates cannot have any gang affiliation, any history of a serious or violent felony, the nature of their conviction is rigorously reviewed and a high school or GED diploma is required before an inmate can even apply for the program. Each inmate must be medically certified under state fitness standards outlined under the National Fire Protection Association Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Depts. 2007 Edition (NFPA 1582).

After many weeks of physical training running 10 miles a day in full firefighting gear carrying 80 lb. packs and holding a 6 lb. pick head fire ax, testing commences, and only a few inmates pass the preliminary prerequisites actually qualify. Once accepted into the Fire Fighting Program; Series courses are 4-6 weeks of classroom instruction (NFPA 1001, NFPA 1021, and NFPA 1500) which includes EMT/paramedic certification, basic medical training, fire safety, and control, wildland fires, search and rescue evacuations (people AND animals), evidence protection, forcible entry, fire behavior, and control, mechanical malfunctions, emergencies, inmates are even trained in response to terrorism among a few of the classroom classes.

Inmate firefighters also need to complete 40 and 50 hours a week equaling 450 hours at the fire academy before applying for certification. Then 𝐈𝐅 and 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐅 they pass 𝐀𝐋𝐋 of the above requirements inmates spend 5 days per week digging ditches and clearing fire breaks, felling trees and logging them out of dense forests, loading sandbags for future use, restoring historical areas, maintaining parks, clearing dead dry brush and other fire hazards, identifying dangerous injured and frightened animals including venomous snakes, inmates are available year-round for assistance with non-fire, woods-related programs, and environmental projects as well as being loaned out to local private landowners to backburn and remove hazards from acreage (the correctional facility gets paid a large amount, inmates do not receive extra compensation). All these “𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄” inmates actually go out to fight fires.

So, if you even remotely think “It’s a way they can repay their debt to society” “become millionaires” or don’t “deserve a job” they’ve been extensively trained in, I hope you never have to depend on these highly skilled inmates to rescue you or your loved ones because you have only to look around and allow yourself to truly see what’s going on in order to understand lives are at risk, including your own and your families. These men and women are not inmates fighting fires, they’re exactly the same as any other 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒.

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Social Security and the Payroll Tax Cut Deferral Program

Trump DOES NOT have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law. Under the Constitution, the power belongs to Congress.

However, if Trump manages to pass the “Payroll Tax Cut Deferral Program”, the Social Security portion of payroll taxes (6.2%) won’t be taken out of paychecks. The employee portion of the payroll tax would allegedly be deferred through the end of the year, but that doesn’t mean Trump will reinstate the employer’s portion; and of course, it doesn’t aid unemployed workers.

The “Payroll Tax Cut Deferral Program”, (not Suspension Program), is nothing more than an interest-free loan; EMPLOYEES WOULD HAVE TO REPAY the federal government, likely on April 15, 2021. The risk here is, many workers won’t be able to adjust their spending to cover the obligation, thus, accruing penalties, and interest if not paid by the April 15th deadline.

There will be some employers who will continue to withhold the tax from their workers, placing the amount equal to the deferral in escrow , claiming a refund to be passed back to employees after Dec. 31, 2020, in essence providing employers with higher compounded interest rates. Meanwhile, workers won’t see but a few pennies more on their paychecks.

Additionally, if Trump’s reelected, he stated, he’ll “terminate” the payroll tax altogether depleting the $2.9 trillion in assets within four years. This whole “program” poses a mortal threat to the 64 million Americans currently receiving Social Security benefits and the hundreds of millions more who should receive benefits in coming decades.

Social Security status-quo defenders have assured us for the past 25 years that “Social Security is fully funded until 2036.” But lest we forget, Lyndon Johnson was the first president who *borrowed* $2 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for the Vietnam War. Next, Ronald Reagan with the help of Alan Greenspan pulled off one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated against the American people with their 1983 Social Security Amendment payroll tax hike which generated a total of $2.7 trillion in surplus Social Security revenue, then Reagan raided Social Security of roughly $3 trillion causing even more deficit. Reagan spent every dime of the surplus Social Security revenue on general government operations and military buildup. His successor, George H.W. Bush used the surplus money as a giant slush fund ‘borrowing’ $1.37 trillion of Social Security surplus revenue to pay tax cuts for the rich and his war in Iraq, at an estimated cost of $1.7 trillion, again, never repaid. Bill Clinton looted $3 trillion and spent all of the Social Security surplus revenue that flowed in during his presidency.

So when Trump say’s “we need to cut Social Security”, what he really means “Past presidents have *borrowed* many trillions from Social Security to pay for wars, corporate subsidies, special interest groups and tax cuts for the rich, therefore we need to cut back your benefits so we don’t have to pay any of it back…

Make no mistake about it, Trump’s intention is to bankrupt Social Security.

AS A SIDE NOTE:

Social Security currently has reserves of $2.9 trillion, while payroll taxes bring in $1 trillion per year. “Illegals” and “Undocumented Workers” bring in $12 BILLION a year in taxes. Whenever employers send in W-2 forms which have Social Security numbers not matching with anyone on record, the agency routes the paperwork to what’s called the Earnings Suspense File, where it sits until people can prove the wages are theirs. There are still 340 million plus unclaimed tax forms recorded in the file, compared to 270 million nearly a decade ago. A good portion of those forms were filed by employers on behalf of some of the most unlikely funders of Social Security “undocumented immigrants”. In fact, illegal immigration is considered largely responsible for the mushrooming of the file, with undocumented workers paying billions in taxes for retirement benefits they will never receive. Can’t argue undocumented immigrants drain the system!

BTW: It’s hard enough getting those benefits if you are a life-long citizen, so immigrants without social security numbers aren’t privy to the welfare some seem to think they get. Illegal immigrants cannot walk into social services and get money, food stamps, and rarely get medical unless it’s an emergency for a child born in the U.S. Immigrants don’t qualify! No paperwork no handouts. I have helped at food banks.., no illegals in line, they live mainly on rice, beans, eggs, tortillas, day in day out, meat is a treat, they’re afraid so they only seek work and if they pay into the tax system they never get a refund, our government keeps their money. They may use S.S. numbers of others or dead people but they can’t collect benefits… Let’s see you try running from the cartel, changing your name, can’t claim your place of birth, lose family, leave everything you know and love behind to give your children a chance at education and life while working jobs no one else will, while living with 3 to 5 families crammed into one squalid shanty.

Blacks and Asians have had their fill of field work, and face it, White people are just too damn lazy to squat down in the blazing sun 12 hours a day 7 days a week picking produce for less than minimum wage. Better thank immigrant field workers the next time you’re at the grocery store thumping watermelons and squeezing tomatoes!

Ironically its people like Trump, his family, and politicians who are the freeloaders, living tax-free as corporate welfare queens. They’re the ones receiving the “entitlements” along with all the multimillionaires in Trump’s cabinet, free Cadillac healthcare for life along with gigantic tax loopholes.

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

In today’s world, only privileged people say “I don’t support violence of any kind”

It is a technique of distancing because of discomfort. Behind the “violence” of these protests is an entire civil”i”zation’s history of rabid violence against its own people, which continues today. Violence cloaked in consumer habits for low-cost goods made in subhuman conditions worldwide…but out of our sight. Violence in a rape culture popularized from Disney to Universal, Rap to Country, and beyond.

Violence in our work out gear, our yoga clothes (no irony there), in mass factory farms of greens promoting monoculture destruction of diverse ecosystems (yep, you thought I was going to say beef) all for those spirit elevating green juices.

Violence in our factory meat production, in our addiction to technology and the cobalt needed for those batteries taken via violence as Africans are robbed of their land, health, and history.

Violence in the reservations set away from public view where Indigenous culture has had its roots ripped up, raped, burned, stomped on, and set ablaze again.

Violence in religion, yes, religion, where belief after belief has been forcibly thrust down the throat and into the bodies of indigenous people on every continent since religion was created.

So, when I hear people say, I cannot condone violence of any kind, which aspect do they mean?

It must be nice to remove one’s self so far from the reality and history of those around you that you can negate the emotions, the rage, the frank history that propels the so-called violence.

In fact, to stand by and “not condone” is to stand with the oppressor who says repeatedly “if you would just comply there won’t be violence”

No, the time for absolution from violence has come to an end. It is time to be violent, to be rabid and vocal, to stand, link arms, defend, hold strong.

It is time to tear down these violent laws, these violent churches, these violent consumer habits, and claim restitution.

We cannot sit and cower from our anger, we cannot sit and have pleasant intellectual discourse, we did that, and it got us here.

~TwoMoon

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

2020 YEAR OF TERROR and VENGEANCE

Lost your livelihood during this time of record unemployment? Wrestling with the impossible choice of feeding your family or getting evicted and living on the street? No worries, you can apply to be a contact tracer and earn up to $22 an hour ratting out your family, friends, neighbors, and enemies!

Build your future career rooting out those who think they know someone who caught COVID-19, maybe someone in their small apartment complex was recently infected and shares the laundry room. Well, if the team can’t connect with them over the phone, you can send someone in protective gear to not so politely knock on their door.

Gestapo tactics anyone?

It’s been estimated only 15% of Gestapo cases started because of their surveillance operations. The inefficient Gestapo only numbered 16,000 in a population of approximately 66 million so they depended on family, friends, and neighbors to do their dirty work for them. [1] A far greater number of Gestapo cases began following tip-offs from members of the public by widespread petty and false complaints. Every allegation, no matter how trivial, was investigated with meticulous and time-consuming thoroughness. An estimated 42% of these denunciations were false. Authorities debated changing the system, but ultimately decided to keep it because it was great for keeping everyone in line, it’s estimated approximately 42% of accusations were personally motivated.

A Berlin stoker reported a prostitute who gave him a venereal disease. Husbands and wives informed on each other. A housewife in Mannheim told Gestapo her husband was making derogatory comments about Hitler’s regime. Turns out the wife wanted her husband out of the way to continue a love affair with an off-duty soldier. In another case, two married doctors were involved. The wife accused the husband of carrying out illegal abortions. This led to his arrest and imprisonment. The husband claimed his wife had a vengeful motive. The husband had passed on a sexually transmitted disease to his wife while carrying on a love affair of his own. Their motive, revenge!

[1] Nazi leadership introduced a hostile environment and initiated measures, whether through legislation or violence, to establish an ethnically defined “people’s community.” By being largely compliant, those who were not excluded had helped to create an even more hostile environment, one in which it was possible to carry out terror in broad daylight without significant unrest or intervention on behalf of the persecuted.

Ever since Coronavirus lockdown measures went into effect, police stations have been inundated with calls denouncing neighbors for excessive public outings. The avalanche of complaints about joggers, overly frequent trips to the supermarket, people not wearing masks has increased exponentially.

And now it’s been announced, several companies are partnering with the United States government offering $17-$22 an hour for ordinary citizens to turn in their family, friends, neighbors and enemies to authorities. What motivates these people to inform on their fellow-man? Money? Fear-based insinuations? Perceived threat of virus? Hostility toward those disparaged as “other”? Are these people convinced it’s their civic duty? Maybe resentments or grudges?

Isn’t it enough Apple and Google, announced on April 10, 2020, they expect Digital Contact Tracing (DCT) to be released in May with the “Coronavirus 2019 Enhanced Tracking Technology for iOS and Android”; wireless radio signals warning people someone they have been in contact with ‘may perhaps’ be infected?

[3] Are we to continue remaining passively on the sidelines while government continues to step on our Constitutional [4] [5] Fourth Amendment rights which prohibit “unreasonable searches and seizures” requiring warrants be supported by probable cause determining what is permissible surveillance at the federal and state levels?

In Katz v United States; defined an unreasonable search as; “when the government engages in warrantless surveillance of individuals under circumstances in which they have a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’ the use of eavesdropping devices violates privacy.

[3] Arguably, the [4] [5] Fourth Amendment issues could be avoided by making use of the so-called ‘special needs doctrine’; accordingly, a warrantless search would not pass the Katz test to be predicated on a ‘special need’, relating to national security, and whether individuals can be subject to quarantines, forced medical testing, mandatory vaccines and involuntary RIFD microchip implant devices, raising the question of government “seizures” (of the body).

There is a complex point to be made about compliance when ‘special needs’ are not conducted for a traditional law enforcement purpose, and circumstances make securing a warrant impracticable, the Supreme Court has ruled warrantless searches may be permissible. However, the ‘special needs doctrine’, is highly controversial.

In Ferguson v City of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina subjected unwitting pregnant women to tests for cocaine use; those who tested positive were then charged with criminal child abuse. Ultimately, the Supreme Court noting the ‘special need doctrine’ cannot serve law enforcement purposes. Because the women were threatened with criminal sanctions based on a non-consensual search, the ‘special need’ could not justify the search.

In the context of ‘Contact Tracing’, application of a ‘special need’ consideration would likely preclude any sort of criminal penalty. Therefore, a person could not face criminal sanctions for a quarantine violation based on information obtained through a non-consensual search i.e. “Enhanced Tracking Technology”.

Now back to applying to be a ‘Contact Tracer’ earning up to $22 an hour ratting out your family, friends, neighbors, and enemies, snitching on rule-breakers, wantonly lying about marginalized people, narcing on annoying neighbors, getting even with an ex. When do we stop tattling on one another?

So, think about it, how willing are you to trade in your own privacy and the privacy of others for profit?

And lest we forget [2] [6] Eva-Maria Buch studying foreign languages at Humboldt University; she was accused of passing secrets to the Soviet Union. On October 10th, 1942, Eva was arrested by a Gestapo officer who said she’d be treated more leniently if she named other collaborators within the group, she replied: ‘That would make me as low as you want me to appear.’… Eva Buch was guillotined at Plötzensee Prison, Berlin August 5, 1943. She was 22 years old.

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

Remember Evangelical Christians; Matthew 7:2: “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”… Because you might be the next one who finds the Gestapo kicking down your door!
 
 
 
   
[1] Careless whispers: how the German public used and abused the Gestapo
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/careless-whispers-how-the-german-public-used-and-abused-the-gestapo-1.2369837
[2] Jewish Germans Had Their Lives Destroyed by Nazis During Kristallnacht. Their Neighbors Let It Happen
https://time.com/5449578/kristallnacht-lessons-bystanders/
[3] Would COVID-19 digital contact tracing programs violate the Fourth Amendment?
https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/news/10007-would-covid-19-digital-contact-tracing-programs
[4] “Seizure of a Person” ~ 4th AMENDMENT
https://letourvoicesecho.wordpress.com/seizure-of-a-person-fourth-amendment/
[5] Know Your 4th Amendment Rights
https://letourvoicesecho.wordpress.com/know-your-4th-amendment-rights/
[6] Eva-Maria Buch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva-Maria_Buch

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Surgical Masks ~ CDC, OSHA, New England Journal of Medicine, Surgeon General etc.

People conceive face masks in terms of physical tools to mitigate risk, yet masks are nothing more than symbolic gestures producing a false sense of security. Psychologically, masks provide protection to a person’s perception of future-oriented risk reinforcing fears, increasing anxiety, and instilling potential loss of something valuable in anticipation of a threatening future, just perceived in the present.

The human smile has profound significance for human relations, and there is a significant distinction between wearing a mask and wearing a facial covering. Historically, masks have been associated with playing a role, like in the theatre. In fact, the Latin word persona comes from the Greek word ‘prosepon‘, which means mask. Wearing a mask is like portraying someone else. Using the term “facial covering,” instead of “mask” it becomes clear the effect is to blot out the human face and the inability to connect through a smile.

Masks are being used to stoke fear and cultivate compliance. However, on a basic and fundamental level, facial coverings are stripping us of our humanity and blotting out the face of God from our sight.

The elites have been caught showing what they really believe. Facial coverings are required for the unquestioning masses, but not for the governing elite.

In the 1919 influenza pandemic, masks were available and dispensed to populations, but they had no impact on the epidemic curve. At the time, it was unknown the influenza organism is nanoscopic and can penetrate the surgical mask barrier. As recently as 2010, the US National Academy of Sciences declared, “in the community setting, face masks are not designed or certified to protect the wearer from exposure to respiratory hazards.”

Lies in the media, fake studies and government conditioned people have been trained to mimic “surgeons and nurses wear masks like this all day”. Um, no. No, they don’t. They’re trained in the proper use of masks, which is to wear them in the OR, then dispose of the mask when they leave that room. Are you aware that operating rooms are actually supplied extra oxygen, to compensate for the reduction in oxygen flow from mask wearing?

Dr. Eli Perencevich, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine “The average healthy person does not need to have a mask, and they shouldn’t be wearing masks, masks won’t help people avoid the virus and they may actually increase the risk of getting it. People wear them incorrectly increasing the risk of infection because they’re touching their face more often.”

Homemade masks were created as a fashionable way to keep the wearer from breathing in large particles, like car exhaust, air pollution, and pollen during allergy season. They were not conceived of as a way to protect you from acquiring COVID-19.

I’ve been saying for months, every time I put on one of these masks I get severe headaches lasting hours upon hours as a result of hypo-ventilation i.e. not being able to breathe properly to get oxygen into my lungs.

When we take a breath, we pull air into our lungs which primarily contains nitrogen and oxygen. When we exhale, we breathe out carbon dioxide. … Just like oxygen, carbon dioxide is transferred to blood to be carried to the lungs, where it is removed when we exhale. Statics prove; moderate to high levels of carbon dioxide cause headaches and fatigue, higher concentrations produce nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and loss of consciousness often occurs because excess carbon dioxide uses up space in the air instead of oxygen, creating an environment for asphyxiation. A high concentration of carbon dioxide in a confined space is toxic.

Blue Disposable Medical Masks contain PTFE (Teflon) and are “sterilized” with Ethylene Oxide (IUPAC) a known carcinogen. Long-term exposure can cause irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs. These Blue Disposable Medical Masks cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and damage to the brain and nervous system. There also is evidence linking ethylene oxide exposure to reproductive effects.

I’ve seen people walking/jogging down the street where there is absolutely no one within a quarter-mile in any direction. It’s dangerous to wear a mask when there is absolutely no possibility of infecting someone or being infected by someone. I’ve even seen people wearing masks in their cars; masks habitually slip over eyes, not to mention passing out from inhaling carbon dioxide, either can cause accidents. People, if you’re forced by the government, please use good common sense when wearing one.

A virus is a small infectious agent replicating only inside the living cells of other organisms and only active when inside a host because viruses can’t undergo any chemical reactions of their own outside a host cell, they do not need energy because the host cells take over the needed energy to reproduce the viruses.

Face masks don’t filter out the particle size of the coronavirus. Any viruses aerosolized in a sneeze or cough will get through the mask. Viruses are about 20400 nm (nanometer) in size (0.00080314961”) and considered organic structures which interact with living organisms. Rather than a living organism, bacteria are larger, about 1000 nm in size (3.937e-5”). They are visible under light microscope. Whereas viruses are infectious particles about 100 times smaller than bacteria and can only be observed by electron microscopy.

It is believed the N95 mask ‘may’ effectively prevent viral spread. These masks, when properly fitted, seal closely to the face and filter out 95% of particles 0.3 microns or larger, however, they’re also difficult to fit correctly. For those reasons, the CDC does not recommend them for general use. [4]

“Even a properly fitted N95 respirator does not completely eliminate the risk of illness or death. The respirator is intended to prevent specific diseases or infections. The respirator is labeled or otherwise represented as filtering surgical smoke or plumes, filtering specific amounts of viruses or bacteria, reducing the amount of and/or killing viruses, bacteria, or fungi, or affecting allergenicity and contains coating technologies unrelated to filtration (e.g., to reduce and or kill microorganisms).” As stated above an organism can be seen only through a microscope. Microorganisms include bacteria, protozoans, and fungi and “can only be observed by electron microscopy”.

N95 Filtered Exhalation Valve Masks are frequently advertised and often look both functional and fashionable. The buyer, meanwhile, probably doesn’t know they defeat the intended purpose. The filter functional only in one direction. As you inhale, the incoming air is filtered. As you exhale, the outgoing mixture of carbon dioxide, oxygen and water vapor. The San Francisco Department of Public Health warns “these masks actually propel your germs further”. According to the CDC “They should not be used where a sterile field must be maintained (e.g., during an invasive procedure in an operating or procedure room because the exhalation valve allows unfiltered exhaled air to escape into the sterile field.” Research engineer Matthew Staymates of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) states. “The valves allow air to leave the mask without filtering it, allowing exhaled air to stream unfiltered into the environment, which defeats the purpose of the mask. The problem is these types of masks were designed to only protect the wearer from inhaling things like dust at a construction site or hospital workers from infected patients. If you’re wearing a N95 Filtered Mask with a valve on it, you’re not helping, they’re not appropriate as a source control strategy for reducing the proliferation of infectious diseases that spread via respiratory droplets.

CDC

also does not recommend surgical masks. Surgical masks are not regulated, anyone can sell anything and call it a surgical mask. [4] “While a surgical mask may be effective in blocking splashes and large-particle droplets, a face mask, by design, does not filter or block very small particles in the air that may be transmitted by coughs, sneezes, or certain medical procedures. Surgical masks also do not provide complete protection from germs and other contaminants because of the loose fit between the surface of the face mask and face.” These masks don’t seal against the face, even though they include non-woven polypropylene moisture resistant layers, approximately 70% of the outside air moves through the mask and about 30% travels around the sides… 30% plus 70% = 100% ineffective.

Fabric masks (handkerchief/bandanna), lacking non-woven moisture-repelling layers are too porous to trap any germs allowing air in and around the sides, . They impede only about 2% of airflow. Wearing basic fabric masks over a warm, wet mouth breeds infection rather than deters it.

By wearing a mask, the exhaled viruses will not be able to escape and will concentrate in the nasal passages, enter the olfactory nerves and travel into the brain. [3]

The World Health Organization (WHO)

[1] discourages mask use: “The wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks. There is currently no evidence that wearing a mask (whether medical or other types) by healthy persons in the wider community setting, including universal community masking, can prevent them from infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.”

There’s been enough research done to be able to confidently say masks wouldn’t be able to stop the spread of infection and they only have a small effect on transmission. We shouldn’t be relying on masks to help us go back to normal. All of this leakage in surgical and fabric masks are why public health officials don’t believe wearing a mask prevents anyone from catching a virus already floating around in the environment because airflow follows the path of least resistance.

Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams‘

urges the public to stop buying face masks “”They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, face masks actually increase your risk of infection if they aren’t worn properly.”

Dr. William Schaffner, a preventive medicine professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine,

“the rush to buy masks is a “psychological thing.” Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “There is no role for these masks in the community.”

New England Journal of Medicine

[6]“We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”

[6] “It is clear that masks serve symbolic roles. Expanded masking protocols’ greatest contribution may be to reduce the transmission of anxiety, over and above whatever role they may play in reducing transmission of Covid-19.”

OSHA

[7]Cloth:
“Will not protect the wearer against airborne transmissible infectious agents due to loose fit and lack of seal or inadequate filtration.”

Surgical masks:
“Will not protect the wearer against airborne transmissible infectious agents due to loose fit and lack of seal or inadequate filtration.”

Respirators:
“Require proper training, fit testing, availability of appropriate medical evaluations and monitoring, cleaning, and oversight by a knowledgeable staff member.”

*For those trying to find fault in this source, keep in mind the word “intended.” The masks are “intended” to work, but they don’t. They cannot use they “will” because it’s a lie. Wording is very important. Pay attention and you won’t have to attack everything so quickly. It will save you and I a lot of time.

The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 was much deadlier than the coronavirus pandemic, 50 million people died. Experts reviewing evidence from 1918 concluded flu masks failed to control infection. In 1919, Wilfred Kellogg’s [2] study for the California State Board of Health concluded that mask ordinances “applied forcibly to entire communities” did not decrease cases and deaths, as confirmed by comparisons of cities with widely divergent policies on masking.”

The Woodstock music festival took place in August 1969. The “Hong Kong flu” (H3N2) influenza pandemic lasted between the winter of 1968 and the early months of 1970 and within the 18 months killed an estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. and 1 million worldwide, yet daily life, more or less, proceeded as if it were business as usual. There were no statewide lockdowns or mandatory mask requirements, and large public events, such as the Woodstock music festival, took place as scheduled.

Masks do have one effect: People tend to stay away from those wearing them because “masks and social distancing are the new herd immunity” … By their reasoning: if I’m not wearing a mask, theirs won’t work. … Great scare tactic to continue keeping people socially segregated.

And BTW, the Coronavirus didn’t create a $1.5 trillion student debt crisis, it didn’t make the minimum wage a starvation wage, and it didn’t leave 40% of Americans unable to afford a minor emergency. Trickle-down economics did.

Oh, and FYI, [5] The CDC NOW SAYS CORONAVIRUS ‘DOES NOT SPREAD EASILY’ ON SURFACES. Its guidelines now include a section on ways the virus doesn’t easily spread, including from touching surfaces or objects. Other ways the virus doesn’t easily spread are from animals to people or people to animals. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration said “there was no evidence to suggest the virus can spread through food or what it’s wrapped in, and that there was no need to wipe down groceries.”

THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL (CDC) RECOMMEND ALCOHOL AT A CONCENTRATION OF 70% FOR USE AS A DISINFECTANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL

Alcohol at this dilution efficiently penetrates the bacterial cell wall, disrupts the molecular confirmation, then destroys (denatures) the proteins and enzymes inside of the cell.

70% undiluted Isopropyl alcohol/rubbing alcohol will kill coronavirus on surfaces in about 30 seconds. Why 70% and not higher? 70% Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) a better disinfectant than 91% or 99%. 70% is the most effective concentration of isopropyl alcohol for disinfection. Solutions between 60% and 90% alcohol with 10 – 40% purified water, is rapidly antimicrobial against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Once alcohol concentrations drop below 50%, usefulness for disinfection drops sharply. Notably, higher concentrations of alcohol don’t generate more desirable bactericidal, viricidal, or fungicidal properties.

The presence of (distilled) water is a crucial factor in destroying or inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microorganisms with isopropyl alcohol. Water acts as a catalyst and plays a key role in denaturing the proteins of vegetative cell membranes. 70% IPA solutions penetrate the cell wall more completely which permeates the entire cell, coagulates all proteins, and therefore the microorganism dies. Extra water content slows evaporation, therefore increasing surface contact time and enhancing effectiveness.

Solutions of 91% IPA may kill some bacteria, but require longer contact times for disinfection, and enable spores to lie in a dormant state without being killed. A 50% isopropyl alcohol solution kills Staphylococcus Aureus in less than 10 seconds, yet a 90% solution with a contact time of over two hours is ineffective. Some disinfectants will kill spores with exposures times exceeding 3-12 hours, these are classified as a chemical sterilant.

STERILIZE vs DISINFECT vs SANITIZE
People use the terms sterilize, sanitize, and disinfect interchangeably, however, there’s a legal difference.

STERILIZATION is the process by which all microorganisms are directly killed or are inactivated.
1. The optimal way to sterilize is with an autoclave which is a strong heated container used for chemical reactions and other processes using high pressures and temperatures, e.g. steam sterilization. You’ll find autoclaves in medical facilities and tattoo salons although you can purchase them for home use for around $175.
2. Boiling, by placing glass jars, bottles, and fitting screw-top lids in a large pot filled with cool water, make sure, the bottles and jars are completely submerged and there is no air trapped inside. Bring water to a rolling boil and continue to boil for a FULL 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the bottles and jars submerged in hot water, until you’re ready to fill them.

DISINFECTANTS are products that destroy all organisms in 10 minutes. Disinfecting requires a strong solution to destroy germs rather than simply reduce organisms. Disinfecting a surface will “kill” the microscopic organisms. When you disinfect, the viruses and fungi present on the surface might not be eliminated. According to the EPA’s guidelines, a disinfectant should reduce the level of pathogenic bacteria by 99.999% during a time frame of greater than 5 minutes but less than 10 minutes.

SANITIZERS are agents which destroy 99.999% of bacteria in 30 seconds. It is a chemical process lessening, even killing germs on surfaces to make them safe for contact. Sanitization is the process by which the numbers of microorganisms are substantially reduced so they are no longer harmful; 99.99% of microbes need to be removed from surfaces. With a sanitizer, you can only reduce the number of microbes to a safe level. Sanitizing is meant to reduce, NOT kill, the occurrence and growth of bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

The disinfecting and sanitizing processes can both reduce the microbes to a 99.99 percent level. However, disinfecting is regarded as the superior cleaning process since it can also kill the spores of the microbes.

1. When you disinfect, you use a chemical completely destroying all microbes. The chemical is called a disinfectant.
2. When you sanitize, you use a chemical sanitizer. With a sanitizer, you can only reduce the number of microbes to a safe level.

BLEACH VS. AMMONIA
Both bleach and ammonia products are effective in sanitizing and disinfecting and are inexpensive to boot. Bleach is typically used to disinfect and sanitize fabrics as well as ceramics and dishes, while ammonia effectively cleans hard surfaces such as glass and tile. Remember to never mix bleach and ammonia. The combination releases toxic fumes.

REVIEW OF THE MEDICAL LITERATURE
Key anchor points to the extensive scientific literature establishing that wearing surgical masks and respirators (e.g., “N95”) does not reduce the risk of contracting a verified illness:
https://www.rcreader.com/commentary/masks-dont-work-covid-a-review-of-science-relevant-to-covide-19-social-policy?fbclid=IwAR2C5uGfUS5yapm7zdWts5O2tN3yZlLPeXxdEuWr-U-3AnizJFT4lvuHrvU

Jacobs, J. L. et al. (2009) “Use of surgical face masks to reduce the incidence of the common cold among health care workers in Japan: A randomized controlled trial,” American Journal of Infection Control, Volume 37, Issue 5, 417 – 419. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19216002 N95-masked health-care workers (HCW) were significantly more likely to experience headaches. Face mask use in HCW was not demonstrated to provide benefit in terms of cold symptoms or getting colds.

Cowling, B. et al. (2010) “Face masks to prevent transmission of influenza virus: A systematic review,” Epidemiology and Infection, 138(4), 449-456. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and- infection/article/face-masks-to-prevent-transmission-of-influenza-virus-a-systematic- review/64D368496EBDE0AFCC6639CCC9D8BC05 None of the studies reviewed showed a benefit from wearing a mask, in either HCW or community members in households (H). See summary Tables 1 and 2 therein.

bin-Reza et al. (2012) “The use of masks and respirators to prevent transmission of influenza: a systematic review of the scientific evidence,” Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 6(4), 257–267. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00307.x “There were 17 eligible studies. None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask/respirator use and protection against influenza infection.”

Smith, J.D. et al. (2016) “Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks in protecting health care workers from acute respiratory infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” CMAJ Mar 2016 https://www.cmaj.ca/content/188/8/567 “We identified six clinical studies. In the meta-analysis of the clinical studies, we found no significant difference between N95 respirators and surgical masks in associated risk of (a) laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection, (b) influenza-like illness, or (c) reported work-place absenteeism.”

Offeddu, V. et al. (2017) “Effectiveness of Masks and Respirators Against Respiratory Infections in Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 65, Issue 11, 1 December 2017, Pages 1934–1942, https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/65/11/1934/4068747

Radonovich, L.J. et al. (2019) “N95 Respirators vs Medical Masks for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Personnel: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” JAMA. 2019; 322(9): 824–833. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2749214 “Among 2862 randomized participants, 2371 completed the study and accounted for 5180 HCW-seasons. … Among outpatient health care personnel, N95 respirators vs medical masks as worn by participants in this trial resulted in no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”

Long, Y. et al. (2020) “Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks against influenza: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” J Evid Based Med. 2020; 1- 9. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jebm.12381 “A total of six RCTs involving 9,171 participants were included. There were no statistically significant differences in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza, laboratory-confirmed respiratory viral infections, laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection, and influenza-like illness using N95 respirators and surgical masks. Meta-analysis indicated a protective effect of N95 respirators against laboratory-confirmed bacterial colonization (RR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.43-0.78). The use of N95 respirators compared with surgical masks is not associated with a lower risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”

THERE ARE NUMEROUS VALID REASONS TO NOT WEAR A MASK IN ADDITION TO THE STATISTIC ABOVE

ADHD
Agoraphobia
Apnea
Anxiety
Asthma
Chronic Sinus Issues
Claustrophobia
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Depression /other mental health
Deviated Septum
Down Syndrome
Dysautonomia
Emphysema
Epilepsy
Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG)
Hyperhidrosis
Hypoxia
Lung Cancer
Lung Disease and other assorted issues
Multiple Sclerosis
Panic Attack / Panic Disorders
Pleurisy
Post-Partum Anxiety (PPA)
Post-Partum Depression (PPD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Pulmonary Embolism
Raynaud’s Syndrome
Reflex Neurovascular Disorder/disease
Sensory Processing Disorder
Vertigo

So, the next time you see someone out and about not wearing a mask, please do not HARASS or BULLY them. You do NOT know their situation or their personal physical or mental health struggles.

After reading all the confirmed data above, and if you want to wear a mask, fine, but please do not become a mask bully and make an already difficult situation even worse for those around you with your nasty looks or your rude remarks.

MANDATE VS LAW

A law is passed by the general assembly and signed by the governor. An order and mandate are interchangeable and are made by the executive branch like a governor or DOH secretary with the power given to them by the legislature. It’s not the governor or secretary acting unilaterally,” said Mallinson. “They’ve already been given the authority by a law that’s been passed by the legislature.

The power to issue a mask mandate comes from the power given to her by the legislature under the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955. Section 5 of that law discusses control measures and says, Upon the receipt by a local board or department of health or by the department, as the case may be, of a report of a disease which is subject to isolation, quarantine, or any other control measure, the local board or department of health or the department shall carry out the appropriate control measures in such manner and in such place as is provided by rule or regulation. Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/PDF/1955/0/0500..PDF

The State Department of Health cites PA Code gives authority to take necessary disease control measures to protect the public from spread of an infectious disease. PA Code § 27.60 The Department or local health authority shall direct isolation of a person or an animal with a communicable disease or infection; surveillance, segregation, quarantine or modified quarantine of contacts of a person or an animal with a communicable disease or infection; and any other disease control measure the Department or the local health authority considers to be appropriate for the surveillance of disease, when the disease control measure is necessary to protect the public from the spread of infectious agents. (b) The Department and local health authority will determine the appropriate disease control measure based upon the disease or infection, the patient’s circumstances, the type of facility available and any other available information relating to the patient and the disease or infection. (c) If a local health authority is not an LMRO, it shall consult with and receive approval from the Department prior to taking any disease control measure.

Businesses are required to force customers to wear masks regardless of the data proving masks are ineffective and hazardous to people’s health, and I’ll continue educating those who so willingly relinquish their rights to government because it’s less restrictive than closing their doors for good. Yes, I’ll wear a mask AS I CONTINUE TO LOUDLY PROTEST THEIR EFFECTIVENESS.

But you gotta ask yourself, “IF” Covid-19 is so contagious, serving as a source of powerful transmission, and carrying such significant health risks as to be exceedingly deadly, WHY are there NO biohazard collection units to dispose of hazardous waste i.e., masks and gloves at every exit door, parking lot and street corner? AND to those who haphazardly throw the alleged potentially hazardous medical waste (masks, gloves, hand-wipes, etc.) on the ground; litter ends up in storm drains and bodies of water where wildlife mistake these items for food, and lest we forget the people tasked with picking up your precarious discards. Where is your respect for others and the environment? Public shaming and a minimum $1,000 for a first-time offense, double the fine and jail time for additional offenses!!!

HAND SANITIZER WARNING

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning the public to stop using the following hand sanitizer products as they tested positive to contain 81% (v/v) methanol and NO ethyl alcohol. Those who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol should call 911 and seek immediate care. Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. Children accidently ingesting these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute, are most at risk for methanol poisoning. If you have any of these products, the FDA says to dispose of them immediately in appropriate hazardous waste containers. DO NOT flush or pour them down the drain.

1. All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)
2. Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)
3. CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04)
4. Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-006-01)
5. The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-010-10)
6. CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03)
7. CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-009-01)
8. CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01)
9. Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

CITATIONS:
[1] Advice on the Use of Masks in the Context of Covid-19
file:///C:/Users/HP/Downloads/WHO-2019-nCov-IPC_Masks-2020.3-eng.pdf
[2] Influenza, a study of measures adopted for the control of the epidemic,
by Wilfred H. Kellogg.
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011933637
[3] Face Masks Pose Serious Risks To The Healthy
https://www.citizensforfreespeech.org/blaylock_face_masks_pose_serious_risks_to_the_healthy?utm_campaign=blaylock_report&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cffs&fbclid=IwAR2hf_H7F2yqfnAUAkCWL8l79Z_ahjDmYFQm0C9OL0EliVYOWSeAn8wJsW0
[4] FDA
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-and-surgical-masks-face-masks
[5] CDC NOW SAYS CORONAVIRUS ‘DOES NOT SPREAD EASILY’ ON SURFACES
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html
[6] New England Journal of Medicine
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372?query=recirc_mostViewed_railB_article
[7] OSHA:
https://www.ecf-fl.org/resources/2020%20OSHA%20COVID-19%20Face%20Mask%20PPE%20Update%20as%20of%206-10.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2r1NDBTfZ8vS7RNiSRLEvq_xK9iVngm3U2RBDPpQ-Vh_6K-Ow5AC7V6nM
Covid-19 – Navigating the Uncharted
https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMe2002387?articleTools=true

Fun Stuff for Kids ~ Bored and Stuck at Home

KIDS STUCK AT HOME CAN GO ON THESE VIRTUAL DISNEY WORLD RIDES
https://tinyurl.com/wd77xzh

ILLUSTRATOR GIVES FREE DRAWING LESSONS TO INSPIRE KIDS STUCK AT HOME
https://tinyurl.com/sm89cb4

LIST OF AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS DOING ONLINE STORYTIME
https://tinyurl.com/qspmoxy

60+ AWESOME WEBSITES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING MATH
https://tinyurl.com/ujq9lf6

FREE EDUCATION WORKSITE FOR KIDS
https://tinyurl.com/st4mdak

101+ KIDS INDOOR ACTIVITIES
https://tinyurl.com/t7osk2g

15 AMAZING PROJECTS KIDS WILL LOVE TO MAKE
https://tinyurl.com/spqnb76

17 COLORFUL CRAFTS FOR BORING DAYS AT HOME
https://tinyurl.com/u4mv2en

80 EASY CREATIVE PROJECTS FOR KIDS
https://tinyurl.com/v9hy7k9

THESE 50 FUN ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS WILL KEEP THEM ENTERTAINED FOR HOURS
https://tinyurl.com/ycob9jmx

50 BEST INDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS: EASY CRAFTS + GAMES
https://tinyurl.com/qnm2s8h

BOREDOM BUSTERS: 110 FUN AT-HOME ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES & KIDS
https://tinyurl.com/yxm33kzv

31 CRAFTS TO MAKE WITH YOUR KIDS
https://tinyurl.com/usqt8x5

KIDS ALT ACHIEVE
https://tinyurl.com/ua7j6wm

45+ FREE EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES FOR KIDS
https://tinyurl.com/tc24357

ONLINE SPANISH CLUBS FOR KIDS IN K-5TH GRADES!
https://tinyurl.com/ueomgb9

JOE WICKS IS THE NATION’S P.E. TEACHER WITH FREE DAILY KIDS WORKOUTS ON YOU TUBE
https://tinyurl.com/u5ugbcm

1000 FREE DISNEY COLORING PAGES FOR KIDS
https://tinyurl.com/yxy6smy3

EDUCATION COMPANIES OFFERING FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS DUE TO SCHOOL CLOSINGS
https://tinyurl.com/u2kht8k

DAVID WALLIAMS IS RELEASING A FREE CHILDREN’S AUDIO STORY EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT MONTH
‘Elevenses’ are daily short stories from his best-selling kids’ books.
https://tinyurl.com/suzggd5

EMERGENCY DIY PAPER TOWEL, PARCHMENT PAPER AND TWIST TIE FACE MASK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksOLisiNH5M
Sandwich parchment paper between 2 paper towels. Fold a twist tie at the top using tiny folds then follow the directions for folding the mask in the video.

VIRTUAL TOURS FOR ALL AGES

CRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY
Located in the Crystal Cove State Park Historic District, Crystal Cove Conservancy is the non-profit cooperating association that assists in raising the funds necessary for preservation, education, and conservation in Crystal Cove State Park. California State Parks’ PORTS program is offering free Home Learning Programs for students stuck at home and excited to learn! In the coming weeks we will be featuring live K-12 programs
https://tinyurl.com/sjul4l3

EL PORTO SHARK
Ocean and shark conservation, marine and environmental science video mentoring and tutoring with esteemed marine biologist Apryl Boyles.
https://tinyurl.com/vcxsjbp

THE SAN DIEGO ZOO
Want to have something fun going on in the background while you’re working? Your favorite zoo probably has live cams so you can check in on all the animals. The San Diego Zoo is a great start.
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams

THE SHEDD AQUARIUM: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
The Shedd Aquarium has already captured hearts with the antics of its resident penguins, which have been filmed roaming the now-empty halls of the aquarium, looking at all of the other exhibits. But animal lovers will want to follow their Facebook page, too: They’re sharing all kinds of behind-the-scenes videos and fun virtual experiences.
https://www.facebook.com/sheddaquarium/

THE GEORGIA AQUARIUM: ATLANTA
The Georgia Aquarium has live streams, too! And you can pick what animal you want to watch. We’re partial to the African Penguins.
https://tinyurl.com/rr8xqzk

THE CINCINNATI ZOO
Every day while school is out, the Cincinnati Zoo (home of the famous Fiona the hippo), will be hosting a Home Safari on their Facebook Live Feed at 3 p.m. ET. They’ll have up-close animal experiences, plus activities to do at home.
1. https://tinyurl.com/vp5gqad
2. https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo/

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: WASHINGTON, D.C.
Dinosaurs! Snakes in jars! Giant diamonds! This is a good option for kids. Our suggestions: The Ocean Hall, The Hall of Mammals, and the Hall of Fossils. Or, mix it up with minerals.
1. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits
2. https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/vt3/NMNH/z_tour-031.html
3. https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/vt3/NMNH/z_tour-118.html

SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Washington, D.C.’s National Museum of Natural History, one of the most-visited museums in the world, offers a peek at its wonderful treasures with an online virtual tour of the entire grounds. Viewers are welcomed into its rotunda and are greeted with a comprehensive room-by-room, 360-degree walking tour of all its exceptional exhibits, including the Hall of Mammals, Insect Zoo, and Dinosaurs and Hall of Paleobiology.
https://tinyurl.com/uzyltm5

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE: WASHINGTON, D.C.
If you’ve ever wanted to visit an extremely popular museum but couldn’t seem to nab tickets, a virtual tour is the next best thing! This one gives you just a taste of what the museum has to offer, and wherein the museum each feature is located.
https://tinyurl.com/y3joqb4e

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART: WASHINGTON, D.C.
View online exhibits and more than 42,000 works here. Our suggestion: A selection of fashion watercolors from the Index of American Design.
https://tinyurl.com/txs4g6b

NATURE WALKS
The National Parks Service partnered with Google (yes, Google again) to follow a handful of park rangers through some of No. America’s most stunning and challenging terrains, from the Alaskan Glaciers to Utah’s Bryce Canyon.
https://tinyurl.com/hwebok5

VIRTUAL ADVENTURES
Virtual dives are a trippy affair and thanks to the National Marine Sanctuaries, you can explore the blue depths of the American Samoas, the Florida Keys, Monterey Bay, and many others. For real-time adventures, check in with the New England Aquarium to see live feeds of the marine life they take care of.
1. https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/vr/
2. https://tinyurl.com/rgdevwp

THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
While the architecture of the Guggenheim’s building itself, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is quite impressive, you don’t have to visit the Big Apple to get an up-close view of some of the priceless pieces of artwork inside. The museum makes some of its collections and exhibits available online for people who want to get a taste of what the museum has to offer, including works from Franz Marc, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, and Jeff Koons.
https://www.guggenheim.org/collection-online

THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Founded in 1937, the National Gallery of Art is free and open to the general public. For those who aren’t in Washington, D.C., it also provides virtual tours of its gallery and exhibits. You can view its current exhibitions and listen to audio and video recordings of past lectures online.
https://www.nga.gov/

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY: WASHINGTON, D.C.
The intimate nature of portraiture makes this museum a particularly great option for a home browse. Our suggestion: Now’s the time to take a closer look at the Obama portraits everyone raves about.
https://tinyurl.com/wbm4n6s

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
The Met is home to over 2 million works of fine art, but you don’t have to be in New York City to enjoy them. The institution’s website features an online collection and virtual tours of some of its most impressive pieces, including works from Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, and Giotto di Bondone. In addition, The Met also works with the Google Cultural Institute to make even more artwork (that’s not featured in its own online collection) available for view.
1. https://tinyurl.com/waloadg
2. https://tinyurl.com/y38ss6uz

NASA
NASA offers free virtual tours of the Langley Research Center in Virginia, as well as of Ohio’s Glenn Research Center. The Space Center Houston also has an app that provides virtual tours, augmented reality experiences, and videos and audio stories about space exploration.
1. https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/
2. https://www.nasa.gov/glennvirtualtours

METROPOLITAN OPERA: NEW YORK CITY
Arts lovers, if appointment viewing is more your thing, the Met is putting on nightly opera streams. But you better not be late! They’re only available until 3:30 p.m. ET the next day. And there’s something to be said for such ephemerality.
https://www.metopera.org/

THE WHITE HOUSE: WASHINGTON, D.C.
Hang out in the Oval Office? Don’t mind if we do! By the way, the online exhibit sections of Google Arts & Culture’s offerings are like having your own personal tour guide. Our suggestion: The Virtual Tour of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building will get you acquainted with stunning spaces you’ve only ever seen on TV.
1. https://tinyurl.com/yco3vatm
2. 2. https://tinyurl.com/v7v5ddq

THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM
The mission statement of the National Women’s History Museum in Alexandria, Virginia, is to educate, inspire, empower, and shape the future “by integrating women’s distinctive history and culture in the United States.” Part of that mission is delivered through well-curated online exhibits and oral histories.
1. https://tinyurl.com/vb7tdhz
2. www.womenshistory.org.

THE SOCIAL DISTANCING FESTIVAL
Want more live-streamed arts? A theater artist has created The Social Distancing Festival, which gathers live streams and videos of all different types of performances in one place, on one calendar.
https://www.socialdistancingfestival.com/

THE LOUVRE
The Louvre is not only one of the world’s largest art museums, but it’s also one of Paris’s most iconic historic monuments. The museum offers free online tours of some of its most important and popular exhibits, such as its Egyptian Antiquities and works from Michelangelo. You can take a 360-degree look at the museum, and click around the rare artifacts to get additional information on their histories.
https://tinyurl.com/weylpej

MUSÉE D’ORSAY: PARIS
Take in 278 masterpieces here. Our suggestions: Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait, and Éduoard Manet’s legendary nude, “Olympia.” Don’t worry about clicking aimlessly, all the pieces have extensive descriptions and notations.
https://tinyurl.com/tngnj5b

PALACE OF VERSAILLES: VERSAILLES, FRANCE
Explore one of France’s national treasures and all of the Baroque art, architecture and finery within. Our suggestion: Go outside of the palace interior for an early birds-eye-view of the grounds, to get your bearings.
1. https://tinyurl.com/tybagj8
2. https://tinyurl.com/wqt59oy

JOHANNESBURG ART GALLERY: JOHANNESBURG
Browse more than 500 works from Africa’s largest art gallery. Our suggestion: The museum houses plenty of works form Dutch and other European artists, but it also offers an array of works from South African artists. For a more historical angle, browse their online exhibit about the role of photography and resistance in the era of Apartheid.
https://tinyurl.com/whnqgft

UFFIZI GALLERY: FLORENCE, ITALY
Take a virtual walk through Florence’s artistic gem before stopping to admire some of the museum’s most famous inhabitants. Our suggestion: Sandro Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus,” of course. But also, in the tour, don’t forget to drag the screen and look up at the beautiful frescoes on the ceiling, painted by Alessandro Allori.
https://tinyurl.com/tyccfbe

THE SISTINE CHAPEL: VATICAN CITY
There are a lot of museum collections to explore on the Vatican’s virtual site. But first, go straight to zooming in on all of the detail on the Sistine Chapel.
1. https://tinyurl.com/scs7jwx
2. https://tinyurl.com/h8utnsg

BRITISH MUSEUM: LONDON
Explore a stunning visual timeline of the world, with an array of annotated objects. Our suggestion: This timeline pairs nicely with “A History of the World in 100 Objects,” a podcast narrated by the Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor. (If your ears are craving more, here are some more culture podcasts to enjoy.)
1. https://tinyurl.com/y9evccfq
2. https://tinyurl.com/v9qqtne

THE BRITISH MUSEUM
With a collection that totals more than 8 million objects, London’s British Museum makes some of its pieces viewable online. The museum also teamed up with the Google Cultural Institute to offer virtual tours using Google Street View technology.
https://tinyurl.com/tsd4fne

TATE BRITAIN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Tate Britain (known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery) is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in England, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, having opened in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the art of the United Kingdom since Tudor times, and in particular has large holdings of the works of J. M. W. Turner, who bequeathed all his own collection to the nation. It is one of the largest museums in the country.
https://tinyurl.com/ud23mtr

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE: LONDON
When it comes to high culture, don’t underestimate YouTube! The Royal Opera House’s channel has a selection of some of the top performances from famous operas and ballets, just a click away. Our suggestions: The Caterpillar from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and The Dance of the Knights from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, if just for the incredible costumes.
1. https://www.youtube.com/user/royaloperahouse
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOiK2G88sbw
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyDo3h1Tu7c

THE PRAMBANAN TEMPLE: YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA
There’s so much to behold in this iconic, intricate Hindu temple complex. Good thing you’re in no rush! Step up to the spires with the arrow marks, and drag your cursor to get a good look at the carvings.
https://tinyurl.com/vyxuq33

RUSSIA’S STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM: ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Got five hours to kill? Enjoy this extensive video tour of the largest museum in Russia, complete with 45 galleries and 588 artistic masterpieces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YeFsx1rIw

KUSAMA’S INFINITY MIRRORS
If you missed one of the hottest traveling museum exhibits of the past few years, ooh and ahh at a brisk room-by-room rundown of the hypnotic, multi-faceted work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VwJMw_fLvI

BANKSY MURALS AROUND THE WORLD
Go on an artistic treasure hunt — without the hunt part. With something like street art, it’s much more interesting to see the work it its full context, than just through a close-up.
https://tinyurl.com/udoxwqy

VAN GOGH’S STARRY NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN NEW YORK CITY
These close-up looks at famous paintings are so intense; you may think a docent will start yelling at you. Few paintings are suited to such a treatment than the bold, textured lines of The Starry Night.
https://tinyurl.com/ufuhjuh

THE DALÍ THEATRE-MUSEUM
Located in the town of Figueres in Catalonia, Spain, the Dalí Theatre-Museum is completely dedicated to the artwork of Salvador Dalí. It features many rooms and exhibits surrounding every era of Dalí’s life and career, and the artist himself is buried here. The museum offers virtual tours of the grounds and a few exhibits.
https://tinyurl.com/y7tkgczr

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY
The Vancouver Symphony live streamed its final performance from their BeethovenFest, and it’s available for your viewing — and listening — pleasure any time.
https://tinyurl.com/tdy49v7

THE VATICAN MUSEUMS
The Vatican Museums feature an extensive collection of important art and classical sculptures curated by the Popes over many centuries. You can take a virtual tour of the museum grounds and iconic exhibits, including Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.
1. https://tinyurl.com/wq5xc2h
2.https://tinyurl.com/j6zqbta

BERLIN PHILHARMONIC
With a special limited-time code, you can enjoy a treasury of online performances from one of the best orchestras in the world. Our suggestion: You can’t go wrong with anything from the trifecta of national B’s: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. But Gustav Mahler’s second symphony, The Resurrection Symphony, seems apt in these trying time.
1. https://tinyurl.com/tbhv8p5
2. https://tinyurl.com/wrn6yod

VIENNA STATE OPERA
If you can’t be in Vienna, you can at least treat yourself to full streams of some of the Vienna State Opera’s latest performances. A reminder, for people who don’t like opera: These works are almost always as much a treat for the eyes as much as the ears.
https://www.staatsoperlive.com/live

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Corona Beer, Corona del Mar, Coronavirus

Ok I’ll admit, the Corona Beer and Corona del Mar were just the hook to get you to read another article on SOME EXPERT ADVICE ON CORONAVIRUS by the eminent pathologist James Robb, MD FCAP, FB

A message from Bruce Lipton regarding the Corona virus, March 10, 2020:
Dear Family of Love and Seekers Everywhere,
Coronavirus: Do Not Fear the Bogeyman

The world is currently gripped in fear of the scary coronavirus. Let’s first get one fact clear: If you have ever had a cold or flu in your life, odds are that it was the result of a coronavirus infection. Yes, coronaviruses cause colds.

But we are being programmed with the belief that this particular cold virus is “deadly.” This fear has shut down concerts, conferences, and major public events all over the world. The fear has led to quarantines and closing down of international travel. It has even led to a major scarcity of toilet paper in Australia, where concerned citizens emptied the shelves of this commodity in anticipation that they will be walled up in their homes with this infection.

First, how deadly is this version of the virus? Yes, there have been corona-related deaths reported with the statistics suggesting that 2% of the infected population dies. Wow! That number is almost 1% more deaths than are attributed to any conventional flu the world experiences. What is misleading is the fear that everyone who carries this virus may die from their cold. This is simply untrue! The health of almost all the victims of this coronavirus was already compromised before they were infected.

For example, the following information was provided by the news in regard to the 6 patients that died of the virus in the state of Washington last week (I added the bold print):

Washington State

Six people have died in Washington and health officials have identified 18 cases.

Four of the cases in King County were linked to the Life Care nursing facility in Kirkland. More than 50 residents and staff at the facility are being tested.

The deaths announced Monday, according to health officials, included:

-A male in his 70s, who lived at LifeCare. He had underlying health conditions and died Sunday.

-A female resident of LifeCare in her 70s. She also had underlying health conditions and died Sunday.

-A woman in her 80s, who was already reported as in critical condition at EvergreenHealth, died Sunday.

-A Snohomish County resident at EvergreenHealth also died but details of that patient have not been given.

Two previously reported deaths included a man in his 70s who had underlying health conditions and had been a resident of LifeCare. He died at EvergreenHealth on Feb. 29.

The other was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions. He was admitted with serious respiratory issues and tested positive for the virus. He died at EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland.

As emphasized in this report, the health of all those that died with the coronavirus was already compromised. Healthy people get cold and flu symptoms, while those already sick and near death’s door may experience the “Grim Reaper” when infected by the virus. True, sick people are more vulnerable to the virus; healthy people really have nothing to fear.

As presented in The Biology of Belief, stress is responsible for up to 90% of illness, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes. When an individual is in stress, the release of stress hormones (e.g., cortisol) shuts down the immune system to conserve the body’s energy for running away from the perceived stressor, that proverbial “saber-toothed tiger.” Stress hormones are so effective at compromising the immune system, that physicians therapeutically provide recipients of organ transplants with stress hormones to prevent their immune system from rejecting the foreign implant.

The conclusion is clear: The fear of the coronavirus is more deadly than the virus itself!

The media (perhaps in conjunction with the pharmaceutical industry) is compromising people’s health using the fear card! This is the result of negative thinking (the nocebo effect) which is the complete opposite of the placebo effect manifest through positive thinking! If you make efforts to stay healthy, with good nutrition, exercise, taking vitamins and supplements, and more importantly, avoiding stress (e.g., the “fear” of the virus), even if you do get infected with the virus, you will likely only end up with a cold and/or slight fever.

If you are someone with a compromised immune system, it is supportive to surround yourself with loving family and friends, nature, and positive thoughts as well as any other nutrition and vitamins that you may already be taking for your health and wellbeing. Following your intuition about what is best for you is key! The point here is that no matter who you are and what your state of health, you will only benefit from steering clear of the fear and supporting yourself in whatever way feels best to you.

Please remember the truth of quantum physics, the most valid of all sciences on the planet: Consciousness is creating your life experiences! Are you being conscious of disease … or of health?

Wishing you all Health, Happiness and Harmony.

With Love and Light,
Bruce

Bruce Harold Lipton, is an American developmental biologist who supported the theory that gene expression could be influenced by environmental factors, i.e. environmental factors have a greater impact on health than genetic research has previously determined.

Authored by James Robb, MD FCAP, FB

Dear Colleagues, As some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.

The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread in the US by mid to late March and April.
Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves.:

1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.

2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.

3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip – do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.

4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.

5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.

6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home’s entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can’t immediately wash your hands.

7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!
What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:

NOTE: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land is infectious for about a week on average – everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.

1) Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.

2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you – it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth – it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.

3) Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.

4) Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY “cold-like” symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.

I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.

I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share this email. Good luck to all of us! Jim
James Robb, MD FCAP

Dr. Robb is a recognized expert in biospecimen science with over 50 years of experience in molecular pathology, virology, and genetics. He is board-certified in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, cytopathology, and dermatopathology. Dr. Robb is a consulting pathologist to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research (OBBR).

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Columbus NEVER landed on American Soil, NOT in 1492, NOT Ever

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

One cannot ‘discover’ what was never lost in the first place! Unlike Christopher Columbus, Native people always knew where they were, right here on Turtle Island. It has been estimated there were upwards of 100 million Indigenous people living here at the time of the Europeans who found hundreds of different culturally, richly textures settled peoples scatters all across the land, most with very complex and sophisticated matriarchal social/political organizations and belief systems. Voyagers finally showed up, their names were the one extolled in your White history books, not the names of First Nations people who got the Europeans where they wanted to go!

Columbus quite literally landed in what is now known as the Bahamas and later Hispaniola, present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. So why do American’s celebrate this abominable man? Let’s just ignore the fact millions of humans already inhabited this land until later and look at the historical facts.

In the first place, Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the Americas having been preceded by the Norse expedition led by Leif Ericson; however, Columbus’ voyages led to the first lasting of European contact with America, inaugurating a period of European exploration and colonization of foreign lands until present-day. Therefore Columbus has had an enormous impact on the historical development of the modern Western world.

Forget those myths perpetuated about Columbus attempting to prove the earth is round because he got the math wrong and actually thought the earth was pear-shaped. He saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of the spreading of the Christian religion and finding gold to repay his debt to the crown.

The Nina and Pinta were not the names of two of Columbus’ three ships. In 15th-century Spain, ships were traditionally named after saints. Salty sailors, however, bestowed less-than-sacred nicknames upon their vessels. Mariners dubbed one of the three ships the Pinta, Spanish for “the painted one” or “prostitute.” The Santa Clara was nicknamed the Nina in honor of its owner, Juan Nino. Although Santa Maria is called by its official name, its nickname was La Gallega, after the province of Galicia in which it was built.

In 1493 when Columbus arrived in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean islands, there were eight million Indigenous Taino residents. That number, within a mere three years, was reduced to just three million.

Upon arrival, Columbus and his expedition met the Arawaks, Tainos and Lucayans, all friendly *Indians*, according to Columbus’ writings. When Columbus first saw the Native Arawaks who came to greet him and his crew he spoke with a peaceful and admiring tone. Impressed with the friendliness of the native people, Columbus seized control of the land in the name of Spain.

Columbus also helped himself to some locals. In his journal he wrote:

“As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts. They … brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things… They willingly traded everything they owned… They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features…. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

After several months in the Caribbean, on January 13, 1493, two Natives were murdered during trading. Columbus, who had described the Natives as gentle people wrote “(they are) evil and I believe they are from the island of Caribe, and that they eat men.” He also described them as “savage cannibals, with dog-like noses that drink the blood of their victims.”

Columbus introduced syphilis to Europe when he sold Native sex slaves to his men. Columbus wrote to a friend in 1500, “girls from 9-10 … are … in demand.” After Columbus’s first trip to the Caribbean, he returned to Spain and left behind 39 men who went ahead and helped themselves to Native women. Upon his return, the men were all dead.

With 1,200 more soldiers at his disposal, rape and pillaging became rampant as well as tolerated by Columbus. This is supported by a reported close friend of Columbus, Michele de Cuneo who wrote the first disturbing account of a relationship between himself and a Native female gifted to him by Columbus. Cuneo, wrote

“When our caravels … were to leave for Spain, we gathered … 1,600 male and female Indians and these embarked (with us) … on February 17, 1495 he wrote “While I was in the boat I captured a very beautiful Carib woman, whom the said Lord Admiral gave to me, and with whom, having taken her into my cabin, she being naked according to their custom, I conceived desire to take pleasure. I wanted to put my desire into execution but she did not want it and treated me with her fingernails in such a manner that I wished I had never begun. But seeing that (to tell you the end of it all), I took a rope and thrashed her well, for which she raised such unheard-of screams that you would not have believed your ears. Finally, we came to an agreement in such manner that I can tell you that she seemed to have been brought up in a school of harlots.”

Repeated accounts of cruelty and murder included testing the sharpness of blades on Native people by cutting them in half, beheading them in contests and throwing them into vats of boiling soap. Many of these red men, women, and children were

“roasted on spits,”

and the invaders

“hacked the children into pieces.”

Spanish historian and Catholic priest Bartolome de las Casas witnessed much of the carnage and said Columbus ordered his men

“ to cut off the legs of children who ran from them in order to test the sharpness of their blades.” and “Such inhumanities and barbarisms were committed in my sight as no age can parallel. My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write.”

Columbus’s men would make bets as to who would slit a man in two, or cut off his head in one blow. There are also accounts of suckling infants being lifted from their mother’s breasts, only to be dashed headfirst into large rocks. There was also a practice known as the “Montería Infernal”, the infernal chase, or manhunt, in which Natives were hunted by war-dogs. These dogs wore armor and had been fed human flesh, were a fierce match for the Indians. If his crew began running out of meat for their vicious dogs,

“Arawak babies were killed for dog food.”

Live babies were also fed to these war dogs as sport, sometimes in front of horrified parents.

Spaniards removed men from villages to work in gold mines and colonial plantations. This kept the Taíno from planting the crops which had fed them for centuries. They began to starve; many thousands fell prey to smallpox, measles and other European diseases for which they had no immunity; some committed suicide to avoid subjugation; hundreds fell in fighting with the Spaniards, while untold numbers fled to remote regions beyond colonial control. And on his return to Europe Columbus brought back the first Indigenous people as slaves all but wiping out the people to the Caribbean, leaving very few Indigenous Natives after 50 years; as many as three million people, approximately 85 percent of the Taíno population had vanished by the early 1500s

By Columbus’ second voyage to the New World in 1495, he brought cannons and attack dogs. If a native resisted slavery, he would cut off a nose or an ear. If slaves tried to escape, Columbus had them burned alive. Other times, he sent attack dogs to hunt them down, and the dogs would tear off the arms and legs of the screaming natives while they were still alive. He was so desperate for gold to repay the Spanish bankers which financed him Columbus refused to believe there was almost no gold on the island so he forced Natives to work in gold mines until exhaustion. Those who opposed were beheaded or had their ears cut off and he forced the island’s Taino inhabitants to bring him a ‘hawk’s bell’ full of gold dust every three months. Those who complied were given a ‘token’ to wear around their necks. Those who didn’t, as Columbus’s son Fernando reported, were

“punished by having their hands cut off” and were “left to bleed to death.”

In two years’ time, approximately 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.

In August 1504 Colonists complained to Governor Francisco De Bobadilla of the monarchy about mismanagement and a royal commissioner was dispatched to Hispaniola to arrest Columbus and his two brothers, slapped them into chains, and shipped them off to Spain to answer for their crimes against the Arawaks. But the King and Queen of Spain, their treasury filling up with gold, pardoned Columbus and let him go free, but by then only about 100,000 Taino’s remained alive.

Columbus derived most of his income from slavery, De Las Casas noted. In fact, Columbus was the first slave trader in the Americas. As the native slaves died off, they were replaced with black slaves. Columbus’ son became the first African slave trader in 1505.

Tens of thousands of Indigenous people were killed because they would not convert to a religion completely foreign to them, one of which they understood neither the content nor the language being spoken to them. Columbus was a tyrant, a murderer and nothing short of a pimp and pedophile, he didn’t discover, he invaded, destroyed and annihilated. Columbus didn’t just marginalize Indigenous people he mutilated and nearly decimated them because in his eyes 1st Nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas stood in the way of European ‘progress’ hampering western expansion. What followed was rape, murder, destruction and all forms of genocide, land, resource destruction and theft.

The portrayal of the man with 3 ships who came to befriend the Natives is an utter fallacy. The Whitewashed White romantic myth is a complete falsehood because one cannot ‘discover’ what was never lost in the first place! Unlike Christopher Columbus, 1st Nation Native people always knew where they were, right here on Turtle Island.

It has been estimated there were upwards of 100 million Indigenous people living in the area we call America’s. At the time of the Europeans found hundreds of different culturally, richly textures settled people’s scatters all across the land, most with very complex and sophisticated matriarchal social/political organizations and belief systems. Voyagers showed up, their names are the ones extolled in your White history books, not the names of First Nations people who got the Europeans where they wanted to go!

Winona LaDuke ~ Columbus was a perpetrator of genocide. He was a slave trader, a thief, a pirate and most certainly NOT a hero. To celebrate Columbus is to congratulate the process and the history of invasion.

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

annihilated

Who Will Protect Her?

Concerns have resurfaced about the safety of a young woman who filmed the moments after a white ex-Dallas cop shot Black PwC associate Botham Jean following the death of another witness in the case. Joshua Brown, a Black 28-year-old man, was shot to death Friday at his Dallas apartment complex 10 days after he testified Sept. 25 that he saw Amber Guyger on the phone in the hallway moments after she shot Jean. Continue reading

I was sickened by Botham Jean’s murder,the police cover-up, the protection of Amber Guyger, then to top it off, Judge Tammy Kemp’s totally inappropriate actions, despite Dallas County sheriff’s policy prohibiting contact with defendants. Now Ronnie Babbs is living the same kind of hell, panic, and horror Joshua Brown did, and his fears came to fruition.

My 1st thought was the Witness Protection Program, but after extensive research, I’m not sure if this would be the right choice for her; cut off from family and friends, the life she knew and knows. Do I have an answer? No. You can’t trust the police, the police murdered Botham and they probably murdered Joshua. Look what happened to the Michael Brown witnesses. Two young men were found dead inside torched cars. Three others died of alleged suicides.

Who will protect Ms. Babbs. #NBPP?

Ms. Babbs is a terrified young woman, and the exploration of the Witness Protection Program… ‘To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism, to steal from many is research’ the following information is based on several articles and not solely limited to the 3 links below.

When a witness decides to enter the Witness Protection Program (WITSEC), U.S. Marshals immediately arrive at the home to whisk witness away. Parents, spouses, children, siblings, and even mistresses are all taken to an orientation center. Some witnesses are prepared and wait for the Marshals with small bags; other surprised families leave pasta sauce still simmering on the stove. Administrators keep witnesses from taking anything which reveals their identity: family albums, diaries, even pictures and notes drawn by their kids.

WITSEC relocates witnesses to a place where they’d be comfortable, find employment and take care of their health and safety needs. Administrators work to make a new person exist. Families get legally sealed name changes and receive new social security cards, birth certificates, and drivers’ licenses. The program also works with doctors and school administrators to transfer medical records and report cards. Once a witness is relocated under their assumed name, their primary point of contact is a special U.S. Marshal known as a Witness Inspector who helps them ease into the new location, assisting them in establishing a credible-yet-concocted “history” for them through front companies and other bogus entities used to appear legitimate.

Relocated families receive a few thousand dollars a month stipend for a family, phased out after witnesses have time to look for a job. They also get temporary funding for housing and other basic expenses, which is only enough for a basic apartment and a used car. Since the government refuses to provide a fake credit history, witnesses struggle to secure products and services when companies demand financial information.

Witnesses’ memories are off-limits in their new life. They’re coached on how best to change the topic when people ask about their past. Unable to share anything honestly, witnesses struggle to make friends. A number of witnesses describe talking with family, who know their full identity, and the rest of the world, which does not, as switching between two different worlds. Some talk about themselves under their prior name in the third person.

Also, it’s not ordinary these days for adults or children not to use social networks, however, the risk is amplified by the increasing number of digital traces our lives create. In addition, companies and organizations now have much higher expectations for finding a paper trail / digital record for any individual, making it harder to create a credible new identity.

Life for relocated witnesses has proven remarkably safe, however, they experience the burden of constant lying and missing family events. Yes, the Marshals Service occasionally facilitates communication between relocated families and a few of the friends and family left behind, but for the most part, they’re completely cut off from family, and only in exceptional circumstances do people ever see them. Nor can witnesses ever return home. Many witnesses live in fear of being discovered and worry about a child letting their identity slip. Yet the hardest part of witness relocation is the way it seems to permanently alienate witnesses from both the rest of the world and themselves.

Citations:
https://tinyurl.com/yxcdmnp6
https://tinyurl.com/y4pk37td
https://tinyurl.com/y28kpeez

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Breathe in, Surrender and Celebrate

Dr. Julie TwoMoon ~ The Divine calls us to believe in timelines of infinite capacity… see past right now, know with unshakable brilliance that right now is one moment, not the whole picture, and that picture… man is it magnificent.

Stop getting caught in the BUT and start being excited for the YES.

This, right now, this is what it is, you are in the midst of a soul appointment, the funny thing about soul appointments is, you don’t realize it when you are in one. But this, this moment, this challenge, this step, it’s important, don’t skip it, don’t wish it away, don’t pine for it to leave, because this step is magical.

We are called into our brilliance, stop thinking that brilliance is easy and start KNOWING you are up to the task, you were made for this.

Create, play, speak, laugh, sing, dance and BE NOW, this moment is everything and nothing, which is why it is time to breathe it in, surrender and celebrate and get ready for some BIG MAGIC!

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

De’Von Bailey and the Supreme Court’s decision in Tennessee v. Garner 471 U.S.

https://vimeo.com/354040149?ref=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR2vCqMKQXP9LpOpjO2lIItSpkWcbByzxLy2kAgivv8_D3QxShKbeORQDHc

Supreme Court’s decision in Tennessee v. Garner 471 U.S.1 involved a pair of police officers who shot a 15-year-old boy as he fled from a burglary. (He’d stolen $10 and a purse from a house.) The court ruled law enforcement couldn’t shoot every felon who tried to escape. What’s “objectively reasonable” changes as the circumstances change. The moment they no longer present a threat, you need to stop shooting” Supreme Court Justice Klinger said. Officers can’t justify their conduct based on whether their intentions were good. They have to demonstrate their actions were “objectively reasonable,” given the circumstances.

The Supreme Court Justices held deadly force “may not be used unless necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others. A police officer may not seize an unarmed, nondangerous suspect by shooting him dead… however…Where the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others, it is not constitutionally unreasonable to prevent escape by using deadly force.

Video evidence released today demonstrates De’Von Bailey was not presenting any threat to the officers who shot and killed him while he attempted to flee. In addition, there is not a shred of evidence De’Von presented an imminent threat or risk that he was imminently about to use a gun to harm anyone else. Instead, it is clear De’Von was merely trying to get away from the situation. Even if the officers had legitimate concern a suspect might escape, the law strictly specifies it is only when the officers have evidence a person is in imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm may an officer use deadly force, a gun, to stop a person from fleeing.”

Lawrence Stoker, Bailey’s cousin said he was the other suspect in the robbery call and was at the scene when Bailey was shot. “He got shot at least three, four times. We did not rob anyone and Bailey did not reach for a gun. Instead, Bailey tried to run away. He didn’t get more than two feet away … and (police) started shooting. He didn’t turn around and grab his pocket or anything.” According to autopsy results, Bailey was shot four times: three times in the back and once in his arm.

Lawrence Stoker, was questioned after the shooting. Stocker didn’t know his cousin had a gun until it fell out of the pocket of his basketball shorts as he lay motionless in the street AFTER being shot. Three witnesses back up the cousin’s account as does the video from a home security system showing and police bodycam video EXACTLY what happened.

Lawrence Stoker, Bailey’s cousin was questioned after the shooting. Stocker didn’t know his cousin had a gun until it fell out of the pocket of his basketball shorts as he lay motionless in the street AFTER being shot. Three witnesses back up the cousin’s account as does the video from a home security system showing EXACTLY what happened.
https://tinyurl.com/y6a8dlr4

Also while questioning Stoker the police continually attempted to spin the narrative.
COUSIN DISPUTES POLICE ACCOUNT, CLAIMS 19-YEAR-OLD WAS ARMED BUT DIDN’T REACH FOR WEAPON
https://tinyurl.com/yyorjd5x

Know Your 4th Amendment Rights
https://letourvoicesecho.wordpress.com/know-your-4th-amendment-rights/

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Real ID ~ Each State Has Its’ Own Deadline

Eventually all domestic flyers will need a REAL ID-compliant license or other form of identification to fly. The REAL ID Act establishes minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act’s minimum standards. The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.

CLICK on State or Territory for Deadline, Details and Updates

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

TERRITORIES
American Samoa
Guam
N. Marianas
Puerto Ric
US Virgin Islands

REAL ID is hacker-bait and puts personal and national security at risk, complicates travel, admittance to federal facilities and you’ll need a to purchase a license or ID even if yours is still valid and doesn’t require renewal for a couple of years. AND not complying can get your driver’s license or state ID revoked.

The REAL ID Act requires state motor vehicle divisions to open their database to all other states. It’s a hub and spoke system, a decentralized “distributed database” with a central hub, 50 state spokes and a pointer system. States must send a list of data to the hub, which acts as a central index of all drivers and ID holders. The system is called “State to State Exchange”

The FBI is spending over $1 billion to create the world’s largest biometric database and the driver’s license itself is a red herring. The goal of TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and DHS (Homeland Security) is to eliminate the need for ID documentation and focus on the use of biometrics. REAL ID is an unconstitutional power grab eliminating state’s rights and giving the federal government control over all citizens identification, movement, and access to goods and services. Real ID is a national ID, yet both Interpol and Nlets (International Justice and Public Safety Network are using the standards of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) for collection and the sharing of biometrics. The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) has also adopted the ISO standard(s). When it comes to identification, it does not matter whether an individual is in Paris, Texas or Paris, France, Los Ángeles, Chile or Los Angeles California the individual can be identified by the use of facial recognition software and the use of international telecommunication systems/networks. Nlets acknowledges it does share biometric information/data/samples with countries all over the world and one of the primary sources of information provided is state DMV databases.

At this point in time, our privacy has actually been somewhat protected by the fact all collected information still remains scattered across many different databases. But once the government, landlords, employers, or other powerful forces gain the ability to draw together all this information, our privacy will be destroyed. This is exactly what a national identity system would facilitate. A national ID facilitates tracking. When a police officer or security guard scans your ID card with a pocket bar-code reader, it will likely create a permanent record including, but not limited to your name, license number, the date and time as well as your location.

How long before office buildings, doctors’ offices, gas stations, highway tolls, subways, and buses incorporate the ID card into their security or payment systems for greater efficiency? The end result could be a situation where citizens’ movements inside their own country are monitored and recorded through these “internal passports.”

DMV offices will continue to appear as state offices, but under Real ID Act DMV offices become agents acting on behalf of the federal government charged with administering are forcing clerks to become federal immigration officials; verifying citizenship status and adjudicating who can and cannot be given a license despite the complexity of numerous categories and complex technicalities comprising immigration laws. A REAL ID amounts to an internal passport moving State DMVs away from licensing drivers to targeting immigrants who can’t prove they’re in enumerated lawful immigration status through verified documentary evidence, inevitably causing discrimination against those who may “look” or “sound” “foreign”.

Because of the new document requirements, the labor-intensive complexities involved in verifying documents, and the need for DMVs to reprocess the bulk of the population already possessing driver’s licenses, individuals will receive slower service, longer lines, and the need for repeat visits to the DMV. Out of a population of 290 million residents, there are approximately 194 million licensed drivers. In addition to the millions of children, teenagers, and the elderly are particularly likely to lack licenses. The complicated yet often ambiguous maze of requirements created by the Act will throw many unlucky people into a bureaucratic quagmire as they try to overcome inflexible verification requirements, bureaucratic errors or mismatches, lost documents, unique circumstances, or other problems. Some individuals, inevitably, will find themselves unable to obtain these new identity papers. In addition, for many low-income workers, taking off time work is difficult and expensive, the need for repeated trips to the DMV and other agencies such as registrar’s offices in search of birth certificates would be an even greater burden. And because the Act’s mandates would cost states billions of dollars which Congress refuses to pay, fees on drivers licenses will inevitably rise, and in all probability, State taxes will continue to escalate.

By definitively turning driver’s licenses into national identity documents, Real ID would have a tremendously destructive impact on privacy. The creation of a single interlinked database as well as the requirement that each DMV store copies of all the birth certificates and other documents presented will create a one-stop shop for identity thieves. Failure to include adequate privacy and security safeguards for this massive national identification database. Real ID will ultimately become a key infrastructure for and dramatically accelerate, the surveillance society already being constructed in the United States. Once put in place, it will be used more and more for the routine tracking, monitoring, and regulation of individuals’ movements and activities, exploiting the private sector, and expose individuals to a greater risk of identity theft and other security risks. The centralized database will inevitably, over time, become the repository for more and more data on individuals over an ever-wider set of purposes. The ability of hackers to gain access to the personal information of over 240 million US Citizens. The system is only as good as its weakest link and DHS admits there are minimum standards required of the states. As it is, nearly 10 million people, or 5% of U.S. adults, were victims of identity theft. The security problems with creating concentrated databases have been repeatedly demonstrated over the years, most recently in the rash of cases where information held by commercial database companies has fallen into the hands of identity thieves or others. AND if a thief has obtained someone’s REAL ID compliant state ID, it can be hard for the victim of identity theft to verify their own identity when traveling, moving to a new state, getting a job, or conducting business with a financial institution or government agency.

Remember, if you can’t provide an acceptable form of identification, you won’t be permitted through security checkpoints which means your expensive airline or train ticket is money down the drain; a missed court date may constitute a failure to appear warrant and may eventually even hinder people from picking up medical prescriptions, entering national parks and Social Security offices,

Instead of preventing disaster, Real ID is only bringing more issues by dividing people into documented/ undocumented and doesn’t create a safer atmosphere nor will it prevent terrorism in public spaces.

CITATIONS:

Americans Clueless about Danger of REAL ID
https://www.cchfreedom.org/cchf.php/1250

DHS ~ Homeland Security – States and Territories
https://www.dhs.gov/real-id
https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-public-faqs

TSA Reminds Travelers of REAL ID Identification Requirements
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2019/04/04/tsa-reminds-travelers-real-id-identification-requirements

International Organization for Standardization
https://www.iso.org/about-us.html

ICAO ~ International Civil Aviation Organization
https://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx

Nlets ~ International Justice and Public Safety Network
https://classic.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/0904JUSTICENLETS.PDF

Real ID cannot be used for International Air Travel ~ Travel.State.Gov ~ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/card.html

Real ID will divide us into Documented and Undocumented
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-ulin-real-id-20180730-story.html

Are you ready for fingerprinting in exchange for a faster experience at the airport?
https://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/safety-tips/fingerprinting-need-know-tsa-precheck/

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Follow @OurVoicesEcho

The Walk

by Matthew Borke
Standing Rock Stories ~ February 26th 2017

It was 3 days since militarized forces raided Oceti Sakowin on Feb. 23rd, 46 of us were arrested and Keisha. Thanks to bail funds, we were released in less than 24 hours. They claimed all our digital devices as evidence, bulldozed our homes, and impounded our vehicles.

The word came into Standing Rock Res that they were preparing to raid yet again. And roadblocks began to appear.

So I began to walk back to Mandan where our arraignment was scheduled. They allowed Keisha a seat in the Patty Wagon the first time. I was not so sure that would happen again. For the first raid, they abandoned all the animals as the officer expressed to me that the decision was preordained.

Keisha, the official camp mascot of Standing Rock; Keisha was the only dog to get arrested with her owner Matthew Borke

So I began to walk towards the roadblock on 1806. Knowing that 1806 is the shortest route, and it was February in North Dakota. I was not sure how far it was, as GPS was no longer available without Digital Devices.

Soon, I approached the roadblock at the Cannon Ball Bridge. A National Parks Ranger From San Francisco got into full riot gear before approaching me with a BIA officer.

I expressed to them, my need to get to court. And they were blocking the shortest, safest route. Several other uniforms began to appear. I expressed the need to understand why they would not let me take the safest route. And know that the “trouble” was dispersed, why would they say the route was dangerous? Another officer called for a vehicle with the cage in it. I thought, how thoughtful to think about Keisha. But then realized, the cage was for me… I even asked if they could give me a ride to the other side of the “danger” zone. They assured me, that if i was to enter any of the vehicles, they would take me back to jail. Although, it was where court was. So I asked the Park Ranger, a known deputized BIA agent, that needed some type of paperwork to reference in my court case. Even a business card. Which no officer was willing to provide. So he wrote down his name and badge number on a piece of paper. It Said, Officer Corn. I was shocked and replied, “You’re from the Corn Family, I’m from The Corn Family Too” (Which is True). He did not appear amused. So I agreed to take the long way around.

A BIA and State Trooper agents “marshaled” me back to the Pit Stop Road Block. Making sure i would not turn into Cheyenne River Camp. No stopping, or breaking, straight out the roadblocks they claimed.

When arriving to the Pit Stop Road Block, i politely asked the State Trooper if he would me rather, walk in the center of the road, or go around the roadblock. he responded that he no longer cared but it sparked a small conversation.

The BIA agent behind me, got on his loudspeaker and began cracking jokes about Keisha and her bones. I chuckled, which caused the state trooper to react and say, “Are you Laughing At Me?” I expressed the BIA actions and it made for a decent ice breaker. The officer began to express to me why the officers took off their badges. And told me, “I remember you from the Raid. You were arrested for trespassing.” I told him that’s incorrect. He expressed again his truth.

“Officer, I was arrested for “Interfering with a Government Function. Would you like to see my arrest papers? This is why we have a conflict of interest. I know this to be true yet your telling me otherwise. While I have your attention, You enforce Code, not Law. What sections of the Codes do you study?”

“Uh, I’m a State Trooper, so I study Penal Codes and Traffic Codes.”
“You do not study Safety Codes?”
“No”
“So Why then Does It Say Safety On Your Vehicle?”
“Wow, your actually coming at this rather peacefully.”
“Well Thank you”

We carried on with discussion a little longer as he talked about how much Fecal Matter was in Camp. I told him it was very muddy and attempted to explain to him the process of the composting toilets that we built. Which definitely was a necessity since the porta potties froze back in early December.

He Claimed:
“I slipped in it.”
“Are you sure, it is rather muddy. Did you test it?”
“I Don’t need to. I still have a bag of it in the back of my squad car.”

At this time, i realized that our conversations were over. He had a garbage bag from our composting toilets in the trunk of his car… Apparently to show his buddies…

“uh, Keisha and i gotta go. We have a long walk ahead of us.”

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

The Lobotomy of Rosemary Kennedy

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Rose Marie “Rosemary” Kennedy was the oldest daughter born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She was a sister of President of the United States John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. Rose and Joe Kennedy tried to erase all detail about their handicapped daughter. Many do not know her sad tale.

September 13, 1918: When Rose Kennedy went into labor with Rosemary, her third child, the nurse who was caring for her was reluctant to deliver a baby without a physician on hand. Though the nurse had the necessary training, when the doctor’s arrival was delayed she demanded Rose “hold her legs together tightly in the hope of delaying the baby’s birth.” When that failed, she resorted to “holding the baby’s head and forcing it back into the birth canal for two excruciating hours.”

As Rosemary grew into toddlerhood, Rose noticed she “was not like the others.” By kindergarten, Rosemary was called “retarded,” in the lingo of the times, and such children were considered defective. For Joe Kennedy, obsessed with the family image, it was a disaster. Rosemary never proceeded mentally beyond third or fourth-grade intelligence and she was packed off to a boarding school for misfits.

The family did their best to incorporate her into their daily lives, taking her sailing and making sure she was always asked to dance at parties. But as Rosemary got older, she began to have tantrums that sometimes turned violent. At the same time, her voluptuous figure was attracting male attention, and Joe became concerned: an unwanted pregnancy in the family could damage his sons’ political future.

Dr. James Watts carried out a frontal lobotomy on Rosemary Kennedy’s brain at a facility in upstate New York in November 1941. Rosemary’s father, Joe Kennedy scheduled Rosemary for a lobotomy without his wife’s knowledge; an experimental procedure meant to make mentally ill patients more docile. The surgery, involved drilling holes on both sides of Rosemary’s head, inserting a spatula into her cranium near the frontal lobes and turning and scraping. Throughout the entire procedure, Rosemary was awake, speaking with doctors and reciting poems to nurses. They knew the procedure was over when she stopped speaking. A psychiatrist present at the lobotomy asked Rosemary to tell him stories and repeat the months of the year. The doctor kept scraping away brain tissue until Rosemary could no longer talk. The surgery was botched and Rosemary emerged almost completely disabled.

Following the lobotomy, Rosemary could barely walk and knew only a few words. Since Rosemary could no longer speak or walk. She was moved to an institution and spent months in physical therapy before she regained movement, and even then it was only partially in one arm. She would spend most of her life hidden away from the world and even her own family. After housing her in a psychiatric facility in upstate New York for seven years, Joe ordered his daughter sent to Saint Coletta and never saw her again. Her siblings didn’t see her for two decades.

Rosemary Kennedy spent 20 years in the institution, unable to speak, walk, or see her family. It wasn’t until after Joe suffered a massive stroke her mother Rose went to go see her daughter again. In a panicked rage, Rosemary attacked her, unable to express herself any other way. It seemed, despite all the covering up, she still remembered her mother and what had been done to her.

After being reunited with her family, Rosemary Kennedy lived out the rest of her life in Saint Coletta’s, a residential care facility in Jefferson, Wisconsin, until her death in 2005 at 86 years of age.

The Kennedy’s, having realized what they had done began to champion rights for the mentally disabled. John F. Kennedy would use his presidency to sign the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Amendment to the Social Security Act, the precursor to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which his brother Ted pushed for during his time as a senator. Eunice Kennedy, JFK and Rosemary’s sister also founded the Special Olympics in 1962, to champion the achievements and abilities of the physically and mentally disabled.

Excerpts from the books:
Kate Clifford Larson “The Hidden Kennedy Daughter”
Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff “The Missing Kennedy: Rosemary Kennedy and the Secret Bonds of Four Women”
https://www.amazon.com/Rosemary-Daughter-Kate-Clifford-Larson/dp/0544811909

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Theft of DNA Ownership Rights

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

“DISCOVER ANCESTORS. STRENGTHEN FAMILY TIES. UNDERSTAND YOUR LIFE.”

Aided by venture capital and a flood of savvy marketing, Ancestry LLC has grown to become the world’s largest DNA testing conglomerate. Since 2012, it has lured more than 9 million people to spit into tubes and add their genetic code to the world’s largest private database of DNA. It has also banked away the world’s largest collection of human spittle, numbering in the hundreds of gallons.

In the age of Facebook and Google, consumers seem comfortable surrendering their personal information to corporations which collect and convert non-revenue generating assets into sources of revenue. But Ancestry and other DNA testing companies have added an audacious tweak: Consumers are now paying to hand over their genetic code, their most sensitive individual identifier, to companies monetizing it far into the future.

Ancestry.com takes DNA ownership rights from customers and their relatives. Giving them your DNA sample does not just affect you, it also puts your family and relatives at risk. According to their legal contracts, you still own your DNA, but so does Ancestry.com. DNA and genetic data Ancestry collects may be used against “you or a genetic relative.” According to its privacy policies, Ancestry takes ownership of your DNA forever. Your ownership of your DNA, on the other hand, is limited in years.

There are three significant provisions in the Ancestry DNA Privacy Policy and Terms of Service to consider on behalf of yourself and your genetic relatives: (1) the perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to use your DNA; (2) the warning that DNA information may be used against “you or a genetic relative”; (3) your waiver of legal rights.

By submitting DNA you agree to “grant AncestryDNA and the Ancestry Group Companies a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable license to use your DNA, and any DNA you submit for any person from whom you obtained legal authorization as described in this Agreement, and to use, host, sublicense and distribute the resulting analysis to the extent and in the form or context we deem appropriate on or through any media or medium and with any technology or devices now known, or hereafter developed or discovered.”

Basically, Ancestry.com gets to use or distribute your DNA for any research or commercial purpose it decides and doesn’t have to pay you, or your heirs, a dime. Furthermore, Ancestry.com takes this royalty-free license in perpetuity (for all time) and can distribute the results of your DNA tests anywhere in the world and with any technology which exists, or will ever be invented. With this single contractual provision, customers are granting Ancestry.com the broadest possible rights to own and exploit their genetic information.

Terms also require customers to confirm that, “You understand that by providing any DNA to us, you acquire no rights in any research or commercial products that may be developed by AncestryDNA that may relate to or otherwise embody your DNA.” Essentially, you still own your DNA, but so does Ancestry.com. And, you can commercialize your own DNA for money, but Ancestry.com is also allowed to monetize your DNA for millions of dollars and doesn’t have to compensate you.

Even if you’ve never used Ancestry.com, but one of your genetic relatives has, the company may already own identifiable portions of your DNA. Buried in the “Informed Consent” section, which is incorporated into the Terms of Service, Ancestry.com warns customers, “it is possible that information about you or a genetic relative could be revealed, such as that you or a relative are carriers of a particular disease. That information could be used by insurers to deny you insurance coverage, by law enforcement agencies to identify you or your relatives, and in some places, the data could be used by employers to deny employment.”

The Ancestry.com Terms of Service also warns that genetic information in its possession can be used by state or federal law enforcement agencies “to identify you or your relatives.” With the rise of forensic evidence in criminal investigations, DNA is often considered incontrovertible evidence. To propel the use of DNA evidence in criminal investigations and prosecutions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operates the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database.

Ancestry.com takes no responsibility. By consenting to the AncestryDNA Terms and Conditions, “you or a genetic relative” agree to hold the company harmless for any damages that AncestryDNA may cause unintentionally or purposefully.

In the event you or your genetic information cause harm, you agree to “defend, indemnify and hold harmless AncestryDNA, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees).” And customers beware, “you may be liable to others as well as to us if your account is used in violation of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.” That means you could end up owing money to Ancestry.com, its attorneys, and others.

The final indignity for Ancestry.com customers is that they must waive fundamental legal rights by agreeing to mandatory binding arbitration. With the exception of intellectual property rights disputes and certain small claims, Ancestry.com customers must pursue their disputes through arbitration, rather than court. In arbitration, the established legal rules of discovery, evidence, and trial by jury do not exist.

Turning over your DNA means a loss of complete ownership and control. Ancestry.com customers should also know they’re giving up the genetic privacy of themselves and their relatives.

This information also applies to 23andMe and will also apply to any other DNA testing corporation.

As of Jan. 15, 2019 an ancestry report from 23andMe.com, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline now owns your genetic identity. Human DNA has now become a commodity, with 23andMe the world’s largest database of genetic code serving as the “new frontier” for pioneering drug-makers. British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline purchased a $300 million share in the genealogy company, which promises to tell you your ancestry in exchange for your DNA. But if people are concerned about their social security numbers being stolen, they should be even more concerned about their genetic information being misused. This information is never 100% safe. The risk is magnified when one organization shares it with a second organization. When information moves from one place to another, there’s always a chance for it to be intercepted by unintended third parties. As genetic profiling technologies evolve, 23andMe is serving as a translation service, turning living bodies into code that can be aggregated into big data. This big data represents big profit for big pharma, who can use it to create experimental drugs which can be marketed to consumers based on their genetic profiles. The FDA warns this includes an inherent risk of diagnoses and prescriptions based on false positives or false negatives for certain genetic traits.

23andMe can keep and sell its customers’ genetic information to others because consumers consent to the sale of their anonymous and aggregate information just by purchasing the product and agreeing to its privacy statement. The company can also sell deidentified individual-level data if the research consent document is signed.

They recently announced the drug company Genetech offered to pay up to $60 million to use its database to conduct Parkinson’s research. And the fact 23andMe can sell data puts a worrying spin on the proposed changes to consent for federally funded human research.

At the moment, federally funded researchers and private companies have the same standards for consent: If human biospecimens are not “identifiable,” they don’t have to ask for consent to use them for research.

REMEMBER:

Ancestry.com and 23andMe market their DNA kits with promises that tug at the heartstrings. Unless customers request otherwise, Ancestry adds people’s DNA data to its proprietary database, therefore, you are not just taking the test for you, you are taking it for the whole family. People must understand, turning over their DNA means a loss of complete ownership and control. Ancestry’s terms and conditions are long, and somewhat boring, but people should read them. They make a big deal of stating you own your DNA. But they are taking a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free license to do what they want with your DNA and your actual genetic sample they keep in storage. Ancestry allows customers to request their DNA analysis be erased from the company’s database after results are received, and request destruction of their remaining biological sample. BUT it is a two-step process, and customers must read deep into the company’s privacy statement to learn how to do it. Requests for DNA data elimination can be made online, BUT customers MUST call its support center to request destruction of their biological sample.

However, future owners could change privacy protections, including Ancestry’s promise not to share personal data with insurance companies. Ancestry’s terms and conditions state “We have the right to modify these terms or any additional terms that apply to a Service at any time.”

ANCESTRY.COM was founded by a pair of Brigham Young University graduates in the 1990s and was one of the early internet start-ups allowing customers to build their family trees online, accessing troves of information the company assembled. Paul B. Allen, one of the founders said it makes sense a family-tree internet company would arise in Utah, where the Mormon church has long kept extensive family history records. “This is the mother lode of genealogical research”.

Thirty years later, Ancestry is still based in Utah but has mushroomed into a multinational company operating in more than 30 countries, pulling in $1 billion in revenue in 2017. Its headquarters in Lehi, south of Salt Lake City, is home to 1,100 of the company’s 1,600 employees. The building features a display of lanterns, descending through several floors, meant to resemble DNA strands.

To really grasp the company’s rapid growth, one needs to visit one of Ancestry’s contractor labs, where the company sends customer’s genetic samples for analysis. One of these labs is in La Jolla, Calif., owned by Illumina, a leading company in sequencing and genotyping DNA. The kits and spit tubes Ancestry sends to Illumina do not have people’s names or addresses which is the only identifying marker reconnecting the results with individual customers. Like other DNA testing companies, Ancestry uses spit for genetic analysis because its an easy way for consumers to provide their DNA. Saliva contains white blood cells and cells from the inner lining of people’s mouths. A line of workers remove spit tubes from the kits, scanning their bar codes and checking for defects. Illumina isolates the DNA, then goes through a multi-step process of “amplifying”, processing and turning it into a machine-readable code, the entire process takes about four days. After Illumina finishes its analysis, the results are sent back to Ancestry marked only with bar codes to prevent disclosure of customer identities. The remainder of people’s biological sample is returned to Ancestry’s custody where they use the code to analyze a customer’s ethnicity. Ancestry then generates an ethnicity estimate which is forwarded to the person. Ancestry not only stores people’s genetic data, but the raw DNA itself, how long it will be stored, is unknown.

HACKING:

 Unidentified hackers last year accessed an Ancestry website, RootsWeb, compromising the sign-ins of 55,000 Ancestry customers who had the same log-in credentials with RootsWeb. The site has since been shut down. The incident received little attention but revealed how customers’ personal information could be accessed and exploited through Ancestry’s partnerships and acquisitions.

 AncestryDNA, a subsidiary of Ancestry LLC marketing genetic testing, pledges to safeguard people’s private data. But the company has a history of changing the terms of its agreements with customers. In the most high-profile example, Ancestry in 2014 shut down MyFamily.com, a social networking site where more than 1.5 million users had posted family memories, photos and conversations. Numerous customers said they lost treasured family history because of inadequate notification from the company, which decided not to back up the data.

 Ancestry claims to beat its competitors’ inaccurate analysis of a person’s ethnicity. But interviews with company officials reveal Ancestry has wide gaps in its ethnic markers for Asia and other sections of the world. Outside geneticists and anthropologists say Ancestry and other companies are making misleading claims about the accuracy of their ethnic analyses.

 Most Ancestry customers consent to have their DNA results, in a de-identified form, shared with the company’s research partners in the pursuit of sciences, including finding cures to diseases. But Ancestry’s main research partner is a secretive Google offshoot called Calico Life Sciences, which is focused on ways to extend human longevity through biotechnology. Critics have labeled Calico a “vanity project” of several Silicon Valley billionaires who want to extend their own lifespans.

IN CONCLUSION:
The U.S. government recently proposed revisions to the federal human subjects research regulations which would require federally funded researchers to get what is called “broad consent” from people to use their biospecimens (it is unclear what effect this would have on private/public collaborations). This would apply even if researchers won’t know who the specimens came from. Broad consent would include a general description of types of research which might be conducted with the biospecimen.

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Watch Night Services

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

The Watch Night Services in Black communities celebrated today can be traced back to gatherings on December 31, 1862, also known as “Freedom’s Eve.” On that night, free and freed Blacks living in the Union States came together gathering at churches, private homes, and other safe spaces, while thousands of their enslaved Black sisters and brothers stood, knelt and prayed on plantations anxiously awaiting for President Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation into law. Then, at the stroke of midnight, January 1, 1863, all slaves in the Confederate States were declared legally free. When the news was received, there were prayers, shouts, and songs of joy as people fell to their knees and thanked God.

It’s been 156 years since the first Freedom’s Eve and Black folks have gathered in churches annually on New Year’s Eve ever since, praising God for bringing them safely through another year. African American Christians continue the faith tradition of their enslaved ancestors and will gather, Dec. 31, 2018, to celebrate they are the survivors of a people who were defined in the U.S. Constitution as three-fifths human, shackled in chains and denied the right to vote. Most people were never taught the African American history of Watch Night, but tradition still brings Blacks together to celebrate “how we got over.”

Harper’s Weekly, 21 February 1862. Source: While slavery was far from dead in the United States in early 1863, the signs increasingly were not good for its long-term survival.

Today, Lincoln is remembered as “The Great Emancipator,” but the story of emancipation is complex and contradictory, and the question of how we choose to commemorate this anniversary can be touchy. The purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation was to create confusion and disruption among the Confederate forces. The Emancipation Proclamation only granted freedom to those slaves residing in the Confederate States and not the slaves residing in the Union States as Lincoln didn’t have any jurisdiction over slaves residing in Confederate States because these states had seceded from the United States, ergo, the Civil War, therefore, he did not have the authority to emancipate slaves in the Confederacy, in essence, the Emancipation Proclamation was a worthless document.

In actuality, Lincoln was just as racist as the rest of the peers of his era. This is evidenced by his saying the following at the Fourth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Charleston, Illinois.

(The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, pp. 145-146)

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

“That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.”

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.

And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

It’s said the Emancipation Proclamation freed no slaves. In a way, this is true. The Emancipation Proclamation actually freed few people. The proclamation only applied to the Confederate States, as an act to seize enemy resources. By freeing slaves in the Confederacy, Lincoln was actually freeing people he did not directly control as a military measure which was a result of Union battlefield losses by July 1862, the President decided emancipation was a military necessity and ordered slaves freed in areas which were in rebellion against the U.S., declaring the military would enforce their freedom, and receive former slaves into the U.S. military, however it didn’t apply to border slave states like Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, all of which had remained loyal to the Union.

After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Southern cause was now the defense of slavery. The proclamation was a shrewd maneuver by Lincoln to brand the Confederate States as a slave nation and render foreign aid impossible because the Proclamation only applied to the ten states still in rebellion in 1863, and thus did not cover the nearly 500,000 slaves in the slave-holding border states.

The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution actually abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865.

2 days late

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Mary Jane “Mae” West was born on August 17, 1893, in Kings County, New York, delivered at home by her midwife aunt. Mae was the eldest surviving child of prizefighter father John Patrick West, known as “Battlin’ Jack West” and mother Mathilde “Tillie” Delker, a former corset and fashion model. Mae was five when she first entertained a church crowd social, subsequently appearing in amateur shows at the age of seven. She often won prizes at local talent contests and shortly thereafter began performing professionally in vaudeville. In 1907 at the age of 14. Mae first performed under the stage name “Baby Mae”, but she also tried various personas, including a male impersonator. Her first appearance in a Broadway show was in the 1911 revue put on by her former dancing teacher, unfortunately, the show folded after only eight performances. At 18, she was singled out and discovered by The New York Times reviewer who wrote a “girl named Mae West, hitherto unknown, pleased by her grotesquerie and snappy way of singing and dancing.”

Mae in New York 18 years old

Mae was an early supporter of the women’s liberation movement and since the early 1920s supported gay rights. Years before her movie career she wrote a play about homosexuals called “The Drag.” It never opened, also she’d already been arrested for staging another controversial play. Mae believed gays were born gay and was vehemently against the belief therapy could “change” a person from gay to straight

In 1932 she was offered a film contract by Paramount Pictures despite being close to 40. A director let pick her leading man for the film “She Done Him Wrong”. As Mae looked out the window she spotted a good looking young man walking across the street and inquired about him. “If he can talk, I’ll take him!”, which is how Cary Grant was discovered. When Paramount balked at putting Black musicians on the screen, she insisted on the new sensation Duke Ellington and His Orchestra for Belle of the Nineties (1934). By the second half of the 1930s, Mae’s popularity was affected by her dialogue and severely censored but she was a shrewd investor, produced her own stage acts and invested her money in large tracts of land in Van Nuys, a suburb of Los Angeles.

On April 11, 1911, seventeen-year-old Mae married Frank Szatkus in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The marriage was kept secret until a filing clerk discovered the marriage certificate in 1935 and alerted the press. In 1937, in reply to a legal interrogatory, she obtained a legal divorce which was granted on July 21, 1942. August 1913, Mae met Guido Deiro an Italian-born vaudeville headliner and star of the piano-accordion. Her affair went “very deep, hittin’ on all the emotions. Marriage is a great institution. I’m not ready for an institution yet.”

From its 1930 opening until her death Mae lived in the Ravenswood penthouse, during this time she was dating Black boxing champion William “Gorilla” Jones. The landlords of the Ravenswood apartment building didn’t allow “negroes” to visit the complex and complained, so West shut them up by purchasing the building and lifting the ban on African American guests and tenants.

Barely 5′ Mae didn’t drink, smoke or swear, loved sweets, hated to diet but exercised in her spare bedroom with various gymnastic accessories including five pound dumbbells, a contraption with handles and cords which worked like a human pulling machine, and a plain traction bar such as ballet dancers hang onto while toning up. The constant stream of White, Black, and Latino fighters who visited her at home were, she claimed, “the one departure I have made from the average citizen’s way of life.” She knew everybody in every town – judges, mayors, gangsters. Sweet, demure with a sensitive retiring side she’d say, ‘The world is about spiritual power, it’s about feeling.” She “quiet offstage, but when she got onstage, she lit up.

At age 61 she became romantically involved with Chester Rybinski, a wrestler and one of the musclemen in her Las Vegas stage show. Rybinski was former Mr. California and merchant marine, he was 30 years younger than Mae, later changing his name to Paul Novak and moving in with her. Chester/Paul discreetly arranged for treatment of the medical problems of her final years, diabetes and cataracts, and protected and reassured her as she became remote, defensive, and increasingly paranoid. She was convinced that “the forces” that had once protected her health and career had abandoned her, that the sun was her enemy, that Tennessee Williams, Mart Crowley, and Warren Beatty had stolen ideas from her early plays for Suddenly Last Summer, The Boys in the Band, and Shampoo. Their romance continued until her death at age 87 on November 22, 1980. Novak once commented, “I believe I was put on this Earth to take care of Mae West.”

During World War II, Allied aircrews called their yellow inflatable, vest-like life preserver jackets “Mae Wests”. Her lips inspired surrealist artist Salvatore Dali to create the “Mae West Lips Sofa” an art deco shaped couch. Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli (Coco Chanel’s rival) designed a number of Mae’s costumes. In 1937 Schiaparelli released a perfume called Shocking which came in a bottle shaped like Mae’s torso. It’s also rumored Mae inspired a Coca-Cola bottle. She actually had special shoes, almost like a shoe within a shoe which is said to have changed her gate. The nine-inch platform heels she wore to make her five-foot, 130 lb. body appear taller and slimmer.

In 1977 I was employed by the William Randolph Hearst Publishing Company, one of the young men I worked with told me Mae West phone number and address was in the phone book, we looked it up and he called her. She was absolutely wonderful, genuinely friendly and funny as ever. I used to drive by the Ravenswood every day to and from work and although I never saw her, one time her chauffeur had pulled her white on white limo around to the entrance and was standing on the curb with the door open waiting for her to exit the building. Unfortunately, the traffic was heavy and the light changed from red to green and before I could get a glimpse I had to move on. But I’ll always remember almost seeing her!

Excerpts and Citations from:
Wikipedia
The Immortality Of Mae West
13 Things You Might Not Know About Mae West
Mae West Facts
A Look Inside FIDM’s Vault Of Historical And Hollywood Footwear

A THANKSGIVING MESSAGE ~ Remember to forget

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

By Rudy TwoMoon

WE INDIGENOUS AROUND THE WORLD OFFER FOOD AS GIFTS
This was thanks and giving. This tells all of creation we know what hunger feels like, and no one should ever be hungry. This gesture also asks creation to send more abundance because we are a sharing people whose happiness comes from giving and sharing. We believed this all year around, every day, not just one.

We believed the half-starved should always share with the starving. We dedicated our two front rows of fields and gardens to travelers, those known and unknown. But now, Thanksgiving has everyone pretending it’s a joyous Thanksgiving celebration: Happy Thanksgiving statements, having to shut our mouths and pretend we’re having a wonderful time, pretending there is no genocide, just happiness. Puritans singing and dancing with friendly Indians. Friends for all time!

No, we are not allowed to voice how babies were slammed against boulders, or how children were used as bait to train attack dogs, or how our lands were stolen then destroyed. The same with our waters. Or, how we were forced to trade in free foods and medicines for a lifetime of struggling debt. We’re not supposed to think about the people enslaved by education and religion to make us into the image of our enslavers. Or, how we lost our hair, were brutally punished for speaking our language, were jailed for dancing and singing our ancestors songs, for praying to creation and being called a sinner because creation wasn’t GOD. Mocked. Spit on. Laughed at. Corrected, corrected, and corrected again and again, again and again, because science claims it has proven we are in fact Chinese, when in fact the land bridge was a theory created out of thin air in 1902… 6 yrs. later, it was busted…. in fact it’s been busted in a multitude of ways and proved a lie as per “9 – repeat allele” genetic marker, yet many never bothered to learn the truth and are spewing regurgitated sound-bites just as they’ve been trained to do by public education…. If the land bridge is 10 to 20 thousand yrs. old why do we have extinct cultures throughout the US who died out 50 to 100 thousand yrs. ago? Why is Michigan copper which can only be found in Michigan, found in the tombs of Egyptian mummies? Why is cocaine and tobacco, which is only found in the Americas also found with these same mummies?

Who stole this land? Our land was a gift but it’s been abused. We’ve been forced to salute the flag whose military hunted us for sport and profit and good times.

THIS IS TRULY A DAY OF MIRACLES, KINDNESS AND SHARING, FRIENDSHIP AND FEASTING.
But, before we get lost in all this holiday cheer, let me remind us: Thanksgiving was a celebration for every time a section of land was conquered and the tribes eradicated. this happened so often, Thanksgiving (by name) was celebrated sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. Thanksgiving is a time where we must sit with the oppression, smiling with forgiveness in “OUR” hearts, forgetting history because “that’s all in the past.”

Forgiveness and forgetting! Take the elbows off the table, chew with mouths closed, and pass the potatoes. Take this one day, and one day only, and “remember to forget” we are supposed to be thankful everyday. Stop the fighting this day, eat, so you can fight the oppressors patriotic wars tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow.

Open Letter For People Looking For Open Letters

Thank you Robin Sokoloff
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Photo by John-Mark Smith on Pexels.com

I sat down at a sidewalk cafe today, popped open this laptop – ready to send some words to anyone who’s looking for perspective and support out there.

And just like clockwork, when I try to go anywhere or do anything as a woman by myself, I am interrupted.

I am just sitting here, trying to write you these words. I’m typing away. A shadow blocks out the sun above me. Someone is looming above. This is not the first time in a lifetime of men shaped looms.

“Excuse me miss. Hey miss.”

I keep typing.

“Yo ma. Ma… yo I’m trying to talk to you lady.”

I breathe. I keep doing what I’m doing.

“Yo BITCH! What the fuck! You must be some kind a bitch right? Sitting there.”

I remain unmoved.

“BITCH I’M TALKING TO YOU!”

He puts his phone on my table.

I see it. I see where this is going. I see it all.

I pause.

I do the mental math.

I close my laptop. I set it aside.

I flip the table, forcing him to tumble back surprised.

I stand up.

I pause again.

I breathe.

I lock eyes with him.

I look at him and let him see how bored I am. I look at him like he’s an ant. I look at him like he’s obviously no match and he must have been tripping.

I say, “Say it again. No please, tell me again what a bitch I am. Let everyone here know just what a bitch I am so they can hear it and understand you fully that I’m a bitch. What else you got? Just ‘Bitch’? That’s it? What was next? Please oh please, don’t leave me hanging, I’ve been waiting all day for you to interrupt my meal and piss all over me so you can get what YOU need today. Oh hey! Maybe if you say ‘bitch’ some more, maybe just maybe, the people sitting all around me, – no, shrinking all around me while pretending this isn’t happening – maybe one of these nice people will get up and come to my aid or something. I dunno? Sounds crazy right? Why don’t you just call me crazy bitch too, for thinking someone here might care more about a woman’s safety right now than their own pasta.”

No one moves. Still. All of them. Of course. Same as it ever was.

He darts for his phone at my feet.

I push him back. My two hands. On his shoulders. I push him back like we are at the line of scrimmage. That’s what that’s called, right? Football is weird. But now I’m a football player.

He tumbles back again. This has clearly never happened to him before.

He tries again for the phone.

I step on it. Not enough to hurt it, of course. Just lightly enough to say, “Nah, that’s my phone now.”

I cock my head, motioning him up the block; or else.

He runs.

I calmly and quietly pack up my things. I swing my bag over my shoulder. Same as it ever was. I mean, no one at this restaurant seems mildly concerned about my condition, so why should I be.

The waiter shuffles just inside my periphery, to dip his toe in: “Ma’am, your sangria?” – looking to me to make this nice.

“Ma’am, ummm…. are you okay?” Says the patron next to me, suddenly leaping into action now that the action is clearly over.

“Who me? Yes, I AM okay, thanks to your help! Wow, you really took action there, huh? I hope you’re all happy with your choices here today. I hope you’re all knocking back that beer extra hard murmuring ‘oh gee, this Kavanaugh thing… isn’t there anything we can do?!?’ Newsflash my friends, you just missed your chance. You just didn’t ‘do’ anything. So I thank you all.”

I wink at them.

I eye my harasser shuffling along one block up, turning the corner.

I follow.

That’s right, I follow him.

I follow him for a bit.

I follow my harasser some more.

I see him realize I am following him.

I follow him past all the other women who he would’ve tried this on, but is now too busy trying to get away from me.

I watch him awkwardly strategize for many blocks. Change tactics, and wonder who he can ask for help. But he won’t, cause he’s a man. So…

I follow him through 6 Lanes of Canal Street/ Holland Tunnel traffic in both directions.

I keep coming, kinda like it’s Terminator III.

He ducks into a Dunkin’ Donuts, and hides like a child under the window counter.

I stop right outside the store, stand just over him, and stare.

I wonder, how odd, to hide beyond a window, like I can’t see him. Ha!

I stare at him some more.

I stare at him some more.

I stare at him till he stops panicking long enough to realize there’s no way out until I give it him.

I breathe.

I breathe some more.

I light my cigarette.

I take a puff.

I take another.

I shake my head and laugh.

I walk on.

I release him.

I release him.

– – – – – – – –

If you came here looking for hope, I’m not sure I have it. No, I definitely don’t have it. All I have is my survivor’s strength to share, and my continued commitment to transparency where you are all concerned.

I don’t want to give you hope. I want you to wake the fuck up.

I’m telling every single one of you who have been too blah blah blah to believe me, support me, or fight with me – The age of your ignorance needs to end today.

The age where you birth your daughters into a system of violence, and quietly escape to the suburbs as though that will keep them safe, but it will only really stifle their screams just enough so that you can sleep through their torture – The age of your indifference ends today.

The age where you birth your sons into a system that rapes and pillages the generation after you, just as you have, and you find yourself defending a monster because you see a little Kavanaugh in your precious boy king – The age of your convenience ends today.

I do blame you. I do. I’ve been out ringing all the alarms. I’ve been out here weeding out all the weeds, and holding the line so it can inch no further. I’ve been out here defending myself, and defending you too.

And for the life of me, I keep scratching my head knowing you all have children and grandchildren of your own by now and I don’t know what the fuck you are going to do. What you think they are going to do. They are not safe from this. No, not from this – The age where you can hide this from them is over. Heck, the age where you can hide them FROM this is over.

As many of you know, I run Town Stages. That means lots of people in and out, day in and day out. Lot’s of conversations amongst friends, and even more conversations amongst strangers.

If I had a nickel for every seemly nice guy who’s tried to mack on me this week by saying, “So… this Kavanaugh thing, huh?”

And I just stare back. I figure it’s their turn to make this nice.

And they go, “Well, I mean… do you think there is any… absolutely any chance that he didn’t do it? Like what if….. I mean, there’s very little evidence and I was wondering like what if… ”

And I stop him there. I try to help him out. I try to take his side.

“Bro – Humor me. Imagine you were overcome by a bunch of piss drunk men, half suffocated, and brought to the point of ‘about to be raped’, if not actually raped in this manner as so very many women are. Think about it for a sec. Would you tell anyone? How would the people around you act if you said you had been raped? Would your family believe you? Would your job believe you? Would the WHOLE WORLD believe you? Are you prepared to be the laughing stock of every where you go for the rest of your life just to stop one man from having a job? Tell me – Is there a world in which YOU would make this up knowing it would pretty much end your life as you currently know it? And if you actually worked up the courage to tell your story, what would you do if some guy like you, no, millions of guys like you were standing here going ARE YOU SURE???”

He says, “oh…. I …shit. Yeah…. But wait, were the guys that raped me gay or straight.”

I stare back. I blink once, very slowly.

He knows he’s an idiot. He admits he’s an idiot. He just needed a sec.

“Well the thing is, women don’t get a sec when they are being sexually assaulted.”

He stands there quietly.

I stand there quietly.

He tries to change topics, says “Hey… Nice place. You work here?”

“I built it.”

He looks at me.

He looks down.

“Yeah. You weren’t expecting that either, were you….”

He stands there quietly.

And maybe he was thinking, what a bitch.

But what if he was thinking: Holy shit. I’ve gotta get my shit together.

And that’s all I want, men. Get your shit together.

I suppose my open letter for people who like open letters in dark times even though it’s always been a dark time for the people who actually build America, is this: You just pissed off one of the fiercest bitches to ever walk this earth and you still haven’t thought this though. Be afraid. Be very afraid. You left me and my friends with nothing to lose when you had everything to lose. Bad plan. Very bad.
https://www.facebook.com/robin.sokoloff.1

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

I sat down at a sidewalk cafe today, popped open this laptop – ready to send some words to anyone who’s looking for perspective and support out there.

And just like clockwork, when I try to go anywhere or do anything as a woman by myself, I am interrupted.

I am just sitting here, trying to write you these words. I’m typing away. A shadow blocks out the sun above me. Someone is looming above. This is not the first time in a lifetime of men shaped looms.

“Excuse me miss. Hey miss.”

I keep typing.

“Yo ma. Ma… yo I’m trying to talk to you lady.”

I breathe. I keep doing what I’m doing.

“Yo BITCH! What the fuck! You must be some kind a bitch right? Sitting there.”

I remain unmoved.

“BITCH I’M TALKING TO YOU!”

He puts his phone on my table.

I see it. I see where this is going. I see it all.

I pause.

I do the mental math.

I close my laptop. I set it aside.

I flip the table, forcing him to tumble back surprised.

I stand up.

I pause again.

I breathe.

I lock eyes with him.

I look at him and let him see how bored I am. I look at him like he’s an ant. I look at him like he’s obviously no match and he must have been tripping.

I say, “Say it again. No please, tell me again what a bitch I am. Let everyone here know just what a bitch I am so they can hear it and understand you fully that I’m a bitch. What else you got? Just ‘Bitch’? That’s it? What was next? Please oh please, don’t leave me hanging, I’ve been waiting all day for you to interrupt my meal and piss all over me so you can get what YOU need today. Oh hey! Maybe if you say ‘bitch’ some more, maybe just maybe, the people sitting all around me, – no, shrinking all around me while pretending this isn’t happening – maybe one of these nice people will get up and come to my aid or something. I dunno? Sounds crazy right? Why don’t you just call me crazy bitch too, for thinking someone here might care more about a woman’s safety right now than their own pasta.”

No one moves. Still. All of them. Of course. Same as it ever was.

He darts for his phone at my feet.

I push him back. My two hands. On his shoulders. I push him back like we are at the line of scrimmage. That’s what that’s called, right? Football is weird. But now I’m a football player.

He tumbles back again. This has clearly never happened to him before.

He tries again for the phone.

I step on it. Not enough to hurt it, of course. Just lightly enough to say, “Nah, that’s my phone now.”

I cock my head, motioning him up the block; or else.

He runs.

I calmly and quietly pack up my things. I swing my bag over my shoulder. Same as it ever was. I mean, no one at this restaurant seems mildly concerned about my condition, so why should I be.

The waiter shuffles just inside my periphery, to dip his toe in: “Ma’am, your sangria?” – looking to me to make this nice.

“Ma’am, ummm…. are you okay?” Says the patron next to me, suddenly leaping into action now that the action is clearly over.

“Who me? Yes, I AM okay, thanks to your help! Wow, you really took action there, huh? I hope you’re all happy with your choices here today. I hope you’re all knocking back that beer extra hard murmuring ‘oh gee, this Kavanaugh thing… isn’t there anything we can do?!?’ Newsflash my friends, you just missed your chance. You just didn’t ‘do’ anything. So I thank you all.”

I wink at them.

I eye my harasser shuffling along one block up, turning the corner.

I follow.

That’s right, I follow him.

I follow him for a bit.

I follow my harasser some more.

I see him realize I am following him.

I follow him past all the other women who he would’ve tried this on, but is now too busy trying to get away from me.

I watch him awkwardly strategize for many blocks. Change tactics, and wonder who he can ask for help. But he won’t, cause he’s a man. So…

I follow him through 6 Lanes of Canal Street/ Holland Tunnel traffic in both directions.

I keep coming, kinda like it’s Terminator III.

He ducks into a Dunkin’ Donuts, and hides like a child under the window counter.

I stop right outside the store, stand just over him, and stare.

I wonder, how odd, to hide beyond a window, like I can’t see him. Ha!

I stare at him some more.

I stare at him some more.

I stare at him till he stops panicking long enough to realize there’s no way out until I give it him.

I breathe.

I breathe some more.

I light my cigarette.

I take a puff.

I take another.

I shake my head and laugh.

I walk on.

I release him.

I release him.

– – – – – – – –

If you came here looking for hope, I’m not sure I have it. No, I definitely don’t have it. All I have is my survivor’s strength to share, and my continued commitment to transparency where you are all concerned.

I don’t want to give you hope. I want you to wake the fuck up.

I’m telling every single one of you who have been too blah blah blah to believe me, support me, or fight with me – The age of your ignorance needs to end today.

The age where you birth your daughters into a system of violence, and quietly escape to the suburbs as though that will keep them safe, but it will only really stifle their screams just enough so that you can sleep through their torture – The age of your indifference ends today.

The age where you birth your sons into a system that rapes and pillages the generation after you, just as you have, and you find yourself defending a monster because you see a little Kavanaugh in your precious boy king – The age of your convenience ends today.

I do blame you. I do. I’ve been out ringing all the alarms. I’ve been out here weeding out all the weeds, and holding the line so it can inch no further. I’ve been out here defending myself, and defending you too.

And for the life of me, I keep scratching my head knowing you all have children and grandchildren of your own by now and I don’t know what the fuck you are going to do. What you think they are going to do. They are not safe from this. No, not from this – The age where you can hide this from them is over. Heck, the age where you can hide them FROM this is over.

As many of you know, I run Town Stages. That means lots of people in and out, day in and day out. Lot’s of conversations amongst friends, and even more conversations amongst strangers.

If I had a nickel for every seemly nice guy who’s tried to mack on me this week by saying, “So… this Kavanaugh thing, huh?”

And I just stare back. I figure it’s their turn to make this nice.

And they go, “Well, I mean… do you think there is any… absolutely any chance that he didn’t do it? Like what if….. I mean, there’s very little evidence and I was wondering like what if… ”

And I stop him there. I try to help him out. I try to take his side.

“Bro – Humor me. Imagine you were overcome by a bunch of piss drunk men, half suffocated, and brought to the point of ‘about to be raped’, if not actually raped in this manner as so very many women are. Think about it for a sec. Would you tell anyone? How would the people around you act if you said you had been raped? Would your family believe you? Would your job believe you? Would the WHOLE WORLD believe you? Are you prepared to be the laughing stock of every where you go for the rest of your life just to stop one man from having a job? Tell me – Is there a world in which YOU would make this up knowing it would pretty much end your life as you currently know it? And if you actually worked up the courage to tell your story, what would you do if some guy like you, no, millions of guys like you were standing here going ARE YOU SURE???”

He says, “oh…. I …shit. Yeah…. But wait, were the guys that raped me gay or straight.”

I stare back. I blink once, very slowly.

He knows he’s an idiot. He admits he’s an idiot. He just needed a sec.

“Well the thing is, women don’t get a sec when they are being sexually assaulted.”

He stands there quietly.

I stand there quietly.

He tries to change topics, says “Hey… Nice place. You work here?”

“I built it.”

He looks at me.

He looks down.

“Yeah. You weren’t expecting that either, were you….”

He stands there quietly.

And maybe he was thinking, what a bitch.

But what if he was thinking: Holy shit. I’ve gotta get my shit together.

And that’s all I want, men. Get your shit together.

I suppose my open letter for people who like open letters in dark times even though it’s always been a dark time for the people who actually build America, is this: You just pissed off one of the fiercest bitches to ever walk this earth and you still haven’t thought this though. Be afraid. Be very afraid. You left me and my friends with nothing to lose when you had everything to lose. Bad plan. Very bad.
https://www.facebook.com/robin.sokoloff.1

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Obscuring Kaepernick’s Truth ~ Symbols as Political Points

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

The Nike craze of whether burning or buying, I don’t know what pisses me off more… Nike claims it’ll be donating to Kaepernick’s charity “Know Your Rights” (but it hasn’t been formally announced by Nike yet – ah yeah, right) to raise awareness of “higher education, self-empowerment, and “instruction to properly interact with law enforcement in various scenarios”. Excuse me, PROPERLY INTERACT??? Like when police murdered 12-year-old Tamir Rice within 1.3 seconds of arrival, or maybe 7-year-old Aiyana Jones asleep on the couch, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner or the 684 people killed by police so far this year? What percentage is going charity? And what is going into Nike’s pocket? And then what’s happening to the slave laborers who are already working 12-hour shifts 7 days a week for about 20₡ an hour? They can’t add any more days to the week so is Nike adding more hours to their day? Is this raising awareness or is it just shooting back at Trump and his groupies to piss them off, nanny, nanny, nanny?

As for the idiots who already spent a small fortune on Nike products, wow, like burning them is really hurting Nike who already suckered them out of their money. Then there’s air quality, where’s BBQ Betty when you need her? It’s illegal to burn trash; just think how toxic burning rubber is? Where’s Smokey the Bear? Don’t we have enough of the US burning now?

Before these people make someone/something a symbol for their political point they should make sure to actually listen and stop using a stupid piece of cloth, a dumb song or articles of clothing as a cover for their racism/activism. If they don’t care and can’t be bothered or concerned about police brutality, just admit it and own up to their position.

There are more 49,933 homeless veterans. On average, 20 veterans die by suicide each day. Taking a knee isn’t disrespectful to veterans, stealing VA Benefits and leaving veteran’s to die is, but kneeling isn’t about veterans, kneeling is about police violence.

Most people who complain have done NOTHING for this country but stand for a song claiming they’re soooooooo patriotic, but won’t give a dime to a veteran standing on the corner. There are more than 13 million children living in “food insecure” homes and 16 million children, roughly one in five living in poverty. The United States of America can afford to house every homeless veteran, feed every child, and take in every refugee while still having plenty of money left over for a 30 oz. container of Starbucks bottom of the barrel burnt bean ashtray coffee and a family size bucket of chemically enhanced genetically engineered chicken from KFC.

Where were Nike, burners, and buyers when Kaepernick first took a knee? As White people stand for the National Anthem, most of them sit in careless silence as police kill Black and Brown people while hiding behind the baseless excuse of “I feared for my life.” In the United States people value guns, flags and fake acts of patriotism over people, pain and real acts of courage.

Keep ignoring the fact people are kneeling in support of those who are unable to stand, or kneel, shot down or choked to death by police who don’t even get their hand slapped. That’s what we are protesting! Not the flag, not the military and not the country allegedly allowing for freedom of speech.

“Actions speak louder than words, right?” Kneeling is not disrespect; in fact, it is a sign of profound respect and humility. When a person prays, they kneel. When a soldier honors a fallen compatriot, they kneel. When a Mother is crying over her slain child in the street, she kneels. Instead of looting, lynching, bombing and terrorizing, when a person kneels it is not to dishonor, it is to say we as a collective people should have the right to be able to kneel for freedom. To not be in fear for our lives, to be able to have the same rights as all citizens. The action got attention, didn’t it?

Never lose sight of his original purpose, for Colin Kaepernick is demonstrating the true meaning of the term “By any means necessary” by his unselfish generosity of time, money and loss of career. Nike and the burners are faking patriotism by masking their disdain for racial injustice; both are capitalizing on Kaepernick’s name and his heroic stance against police brutality

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

198 White Caller Crimes ~ Racial Hoaxes, Threats and Blatant Racism

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNnvCflW_kQ

It’s impossible to include every case here. We’ll never know how many Black folks were lynched or electrocuted by more refined modern means because of these kinds of lies, and there’s no telling how many innocent People of Color will lose years of life in prison. “The majority of the hoaxes involve someone White falsely claiming they were harmed by someone Black”. Criminologist and law professor Katheryn Russell-Brown recently told NPR while discussing another recent case-in-point. Racial hoaxes can work the other way, with innocent Whites targeted by Blacks or other People of Color, but the fact they so rarely do speaks to the U.S.’s pervasive institutional racism. Spin a story involving Black criminality and White innocence and it very well might go unchecked, thanks to the U.S.’s racist confirmation bias. Our entire criminal justice system is informed by White Supremacist myths and assumptions explaining why Black crime is over-reported in news media; why Blacks are more likely than Whites to go to jail for crimes they didn’t commit, serve longer sentences for the same crimes, receive the death penalty, or be placed in a pipeline leading directly from school to prison.

WHITE MAN Dallas Texas August 19, 2019 A man is caught on video calling a Black Postal Worker a “fucking jigaboo” in his demand for a form at the Trinity Mills Road Post Office. “Give me the form you asshole, you fucking jigaboo,” the unidentified man can be heard screaming in the video. He also called the worker a “fucking nigger.” Kian Salem, the 18-year-old college student who recorded the incident when he noticed the man getting louder. “I just had that gut feeling he was going to say something questionable. So I pulled out my phone. You never know these days.” Customers were able to get the man’s license plate number and give it to an employee. Although the man had left by the time Dallas police called to the scene arrived, police and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating the incident. A spokesman for the Postal Service told the news station the site can ban abusive customers from returning. It’s unclear if that will be the case with the accused man. Naylee Farjad, Salem’s mother, posted video of the accused man to her Facebook page with the words “Trigger Warning.” “Listen to this disgusting racist my kid just encountered at the post office on Trinity Mills/ Tollway in N. Dallas.” Kian Salem was in line and captured this sickening moment.” Farjad, of Middle Eastern descent said she and her son have been on the receiving end of racism before. “As soon as I saw the video, I was just enraged that someone would actually use that kind of language. I thought it was important to show people this is not in some town in the backwoods. This is in Dallas, Texas, a large modern city. Actions have consequences. And I hope that there are consequences for his actions.”
https://tinyurl.com/y46bgp34

15-YEAR-OLD WHITE TEEN Birmingham Alabama August 13, 2019 The 15 year old student is facing a misdemeanor charge after he allegedly sent a classmate an “alarming message” through iPhone AirDrop. The Riverchase Career Connection Center (RC3) student allegedly sent a fellow student a message that read “tomorrow all chocolate kids will die.” The message’s recipient notified school officials, who then contacted Hoover City Police. Hoover City Schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said “the school reviewed security camera footage from when the AirDrop message occurred. School officials knew the person responsible was in close proximity to the student who received the threatening message because AirDrop only works within a 30-foot perimeter”. After studying the footage, school officials, school resource officers, and police interviewed students identified as suspects based on the footage. A sophomore interviewee eventually confessed to sending the threatening message.
https://buff.ly/2ZaTb6j

ALERO RESTAURANT WAITRESS Washington, D.C August 17, 2019 Tiff Aziz created a Facebook post about an experience she called “unreal” when she took her daughter <u>Parahdyce Aziz to the Alero restaurant. Aziz said she initially didn’t have a problem with the request to provide her ID because she was told it was the restaurant’s policy for everyone. “I complied, until I watched when a caucasian man walked in, sat next to us and ordered, his information was not collected at all. The staff didn’t even mention the policy to the white man. I felt some kind of way”. So Aziz asked to speak to a manager she identified as Roberto, and he confirmed the policy was for all people and said he would check on the discrepancy. “However, he disappeared and never checked on it at all. We waited about 20 min, the man received his drinks and food with no issues. Well I will not be back, I know for a fact that we were racially profiled. SMH!!!!” Aiesha P. described a similar experience in a Yelp review giving the restaurant one out of five stars. “This establishment is extremely racist,” she wrote in the review. “They only ask to hold African Americans ID before they even order food. I highly recommend NOT to dine here!” Although at least three other reviewers detailed similar experiences, many of the Tex-Mex restaurant’s feedback focused on the quality of food. It earned two and a half stars on Yelp. Victor Martinez, the owner of Alero locations on U Street and Connecticut Avenue, told the Washington City Paper the policy was only supposed to apply to patio and lounge areas because of a high number of “walk-outs” but he admitted it was confusing. He told the newspaper that in Aziz’s situation, the white diner’s server did not follow instructions and was suspended for two days without pay. Martinez also said of Aziz’s now-viral post that the restaurant has been inundated with phone calls, some including death threats. He instituted a new policy Sunday that only asks customers seated in the patio and lounge areas for a credit card at all times and makes the same rule for those in the restaurant’s dining room after 10 p.m., the Washington City Paper reported. Still, he defended the old policy to the newspaper. “The [old] policy is not based on race at all,” Martinez said. He told the paper that when he immigrated to the United States from Colombia in 1994, he lived with and worked for an African-American family. “Our employees are trained to treat every customer equally and respectfully,” he added. Aziz told the City Paper a representative from the company gave her a “generic” apology and she still doesn’t plan on returning to the restaurant.
https://tinyurl.com/yywgklpz

WALMART WENDY Glendora California August 19, 2019 a Southern California Edison contract worker asked the woman to move her car so he could park the company truck straight. Instead of complying with the request, she rang the police and asked them to come to Walmart and arrest the city worker who she said is being “illegal and creepy” because he was filming her. At one point in the video, she asks the police dispatcher, She also claimed that he “came out of the bushes”, that he looked “illegal from Mexico”, and was speaking “broken English”. The strange racist rant continued, as the woman asked the dispatcher “Do you live here? Are you from Africa?” After asking the man if he has a green card, a bystander in a car parked in the lot tried to inform the unidentified woman that the man is with workers of the electricity supply company nearby. “I don’t know this guy, he’s videotaping me and he looks creepy from Mexico,” the woman tells the dispatcher in the video. “He’s speaking broken English.” The bystander calls the woman racist, to which she responds that her father is black and she can’t be racist. She also adds that her little nephew is “Italian, Mexican and aloha.”
https://tinyurl.com/y5eooh89

UNIDENTIFIED WHITE MAN East Rochester, New York August 19, 2019 Christina Poles contacted police after online video showed an unidentified white man claiming he’s a part of the Ku Klux Klan, then spraying her son with a water hose. She is speaking out after her 14-year-old son was targeted in a confrontation she says had racist undertones. She didn’t know the severity of the situation until someone sent her the video, which has since gone viral. In the clip, Poles’ son and the man are seen arguing in the front of the man’s home. Things escalate, and the man warns the teen that he “shouldn’t be f—–g with the klan” before calling him the n-word. “Tell your klan to pull up, n—a,” the teen shoots back. “It’s free smoke, n—-a.” Moments later, the man grabs his hose and douses the teen as he leaves with his friends. The frustrated mother said she didn’t know the severity of the situation until someone sent her the video, which has since gone viral. In the clip, Poles’ son and the man are seen arguing in the front of the man’s home. Things escalate, and the man warns the teen that he “shouldn’t be fucking with the klan” before calling him the nigga. “Tell your klan to pull up, nigga,” the teen shoots back. “It’s free smoke, nigga.” Moments later, the man grabs his hose and douses the teen as he leaves with his friends. The confrontation reportedly started at a nearby park where Poles’ son and his friends claim the man was taking photos of them. The man, who also called police, said the youths had been unkind to his mother. The teens reportedly followed the man to his home, and that’s where the dispute took a turn. “He was outside doing it again, flipping them off,” Poles said of the white man. “My son said something along the lines of ‘why do you keep flipping us off,’ said some other profanities I wish he hadn’t.” Though she doesn’t condone her son’s foul language, she commended the teen on how he handled himself in the face of hate. Police eventually got ahold of the video and are now investigating further after speaking to both parties about what happened, according to Spectrum Local News. East Rochester Police Chief Steve Clancy said its possible the man could be charged with harassment for spraying Poles’ son. The family has since hired an attorney as police continue their investigation. “Luckily, the East Rochester Police Department has contacted Ms. Poles today asking her to bring her son in and to do a deposition so that appropriate charges may be filed stemming from this incident.
https://tinyurl.com/y3p47t8p

WHITE WOMAN Miami Florida August 17, 2019 Nicki Johnson was shopping at a Publix supermarket at Mary Brickell Village unidentified woman launched into a racist tirade when a Black woman followed her through grocery store aisles to confront her about bumping into her shopping cart. A video she posted to Instagram starts moments after the woman allegedly bumped her cart and refused to apologize, calling her a “nigger” instead. “You, why don’t you call me a nigger again?” Johnson says, daring the woman to repeat the slur, but this time on camera. “Let me tell you something, I don’t have to call you anything,” the cart culprit shoots back, later screeching through her teeth: “Get away from me!” At one point, the woman threatens to sic security on Johnson and warns that their exchange is being recorded by the store’s surveillance. Johnson said, before taking out her phone to record, she was waiting in line when the woman bumped her buggy and went on about her business. She said she asked the lady to apologize, to which the woman allegedly responded: “I didn’t hit you with my cart, and fuck you, you fucking nigger.” In the footage, Johnson pursues the hit-and-run suspect down an aisle, repeatedly goading her to use the slur as boldly as she had before. The woman, who appears to be in her mid-60’s, takes off with her cart in the opposite direction with Johnson not far behind, and at one point shouts over her shoulder, “n—-r!” “If you follow me down here, I’ll call the cops!” the woman continues. “Because I did bang into you. Now stop following me.” Johnson assures the woman she isn’t tailing her and but instead trying to make her way out of the store. “Good, leave!” she responds. “Go back to Harlem.”
https://tinyurl.com/yy79mwms

GRANT WILLIAMS Elysian Fields, Texas August 4,2019 James Ragland, a black writer for The Dallas Morning News and the Washington Post was with his 10-year-old son Judah and 12-year-old great-nephew en route to drop his great-nephew off at a relative’s home on Floyd Evans Road when Ragland noticed two adults and a child on horseback at about 5:30 p.m. The child and one of the adults moved to the side of the road, but Williams, who Ragland later found out lives in the area, blocked the road. “Judah got a bit nervous and asked what he was doing”. “Mistakenly, I told him the guy probably was trying to keep the kid’s horse from being startled and so he was making sure we didn’t go fast or rev our engine.” Ragland later learned that wasn’t the case when the man on horseback stopped in front of his car and “glared at us” in a faceoff like “a gunman in the Wild West. Judah and his cousin grew more nervous, unsure what was happening. I’m perplexed, but not yet alarmed, until the man guided his horse to the driver’s side and stopped, he continued staring the family down until Ragland rolled down his window and broke the silence by saying “nice horse.” “He’s says, ‘What,’” Nice horse,’ I said again”. The man replied, “thank ya,” then blurted out: “These are Texas roads.” At that point, he asked the man what he said and Williams again said, “These are TEXAS roads.” The father explained he was from Texas. And when Williams asked about his California license plate, he explained he was driving a rental car. Without missing a beat, the guy declared loudly again, “BUT THESE ARE TEXAS ROADS”. “What the eff does that mean? Then Williams reached back like he was reaching for a gun. I honestly wanted to get out of the car and pull him down off his high horse, but my kid and nephew were pleading for me to speed away. They were scared to death. And I can’t blame them.” Ragland said he drove off, dropped his nephew off and talked to a few people in the neighborhood who told him the guy had similar experiences with other drivers in the past. Ragland thought about involving the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office but decided instead to just drop it. “Then the other shoe dropped” Ragland saw the same man parked on his horse as he drove back from dropping off his nephew. “He charges from his property on the north side and runs right out to our car, and for one frightening moment I thought he was going to dart in front of us. But as I sped up to avoid him, he pulled alongside our car and chased us for a mile while yelling and throwing the fuck you sign initially before reaching for something on his right side. I thought it was a gun but couldn’t see clearly because my son was hysterically begging me to drive faster along the choppy, black-top road with this Angry White Dude on Horseback in full pursuit.” “My son was screaming in fear for me to get back in the car, so I left ASAP so he would not be further traumatized.” Ragland snapped a few pictures on his cellphone when he got several hundred yards away from the guy. “I calmed Judah down and told him I had to do that because we needed to report this incident to make sure this man never did this to anyone else.” Since then, Ragland has been working to have Williams held accountable with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.
https://tinyurl.com/yxntl6jn

JERRI KELLY WIFE OF JAIL ADMINISTRATOR Wynne Arkansas August 7, 2019 Wynne Police Chief Jackie Clark said officers responded to a “suspicious persons” report and arrived to find a gun-toting Kelly standing over the <u>four Black juveniles, who were lying on the ground. As one of the officers allowed the teens to stand, they explained they were selling discount cards for their school’s football program, two of the students even wore school jerseys. One of the players, 16, who asked not to be identified, said he and three of his teammates were out fundraising when they ran into trouble. As they walked up the driveway of a home, he said a woman came out armed with a gun. That’s when she ordered them to the ground, forced them to spread their legs and keep their hands pinned behind their backs. Officers took the teens home and Kelly was arrested Monday on four counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a minor. She didn’t have her mugshot taken, however, because Cross County Sheriff David West claims she suffered a ‘medical issue’ during booking. “During the time she was as at the jail, a bondsman arrived and bonded her out, and they went back home.” Kelly’s husband is Cross County Jail Administrator Joe Kelly, who works for West. The sheriff insisted Kelly didn’t receive any special treatment – but folks in the community believe otherwise. “I’m professional. My department is professional,” West said. “There was no special treatment. She went through the steps just like any other person would.”
UPDATE: Joe Kelly has resigned from his gig as former administrator at the Cross County Jail, stepped down at the local jail as public outrage over the incident continues to grow. The jail administrator found himself at the center of the controversy and was even targeted with death threats after his wife skipped the process of being properly booked into jail. It’s standard procedure for every suspect to take a mugshot, but Jerri Kelly didn’t after officials claimed she suffered a “medical issue” during booking on August 12 and was quickly bonded out. What further raised eyebrows was the fact that the Arkansas woman was booked into the very jail her husband was employed, sparking allegations of favoritism by Joe Kelly and his staff.
https://tinyurl.com/yyxo2bd6

WHITE WOMAN Royal Oak Michigan August 13, 2019 A white woman called the police from her white car parked in in the CVS parking lot across the street while watching 20-year-old black man Devin Myers as he crossed the street to meet his girlfriend at The Inn Season Café. The woman claimed “he ‘looked suspiciously’ at me”. Myers said in the video she doesn’t know him and he isn’t even from the area. Myers has his arms crossed in front of his chest most of the time, he’s calm and even apologizes to the patrol officers who stopped him “for wasting your guys’ time”. Adolph, the witness recording both say they’re waiting for a police supervisor to arrive. Supervisors arrived about 4 minutes into the video and Myers explains to them that they were called because he “looked suspicious”. Along with Adolph, and Myers is the owner of the Inn Cafe who is advocating on Myers’ behalf. When the supervisor shows up, he asks the restaurant owner this question: “So if someone calls, we’re not supposed to respond?” The restaurant owner said “it’s evident he’s not a threat to her. You pull up and you see, I’m not a threat to her. I’m not even close to her. If that were me walking across the street and walking in, this would not be happening because I was looking at her.” By the time the supervisor tells Myers he’s free to leave, there are four Royal Oak Police officers on the scene. The supervisor then speaks with Adolph and the restaurant owner and explains if someone calls, they have to respond. The supervisor then tells the owner and Adolph they are both inferring a lot from the woman’s call to police. “We came from 13 and Woodward for nonsense,” the supervisor said. “All you have to do is say ‘you know what? I’m just parking my car, minding my own business’. And you know what? He’d be eating right now.” Both the owner and Adolph said that’s precisely what Myers did, but he asked for a supervisor because the police were questioning him. Then the supervisor explains they had to respond to call. “It’s not that big of a deal.” According to an employee at the restaurant the restaurant paid for Myers meal.
https://tinyurl.com/y5roghma

ROBERT ANTHONY GRANATO Winston-Salem, North Carolina August 6, 2016 Outside BJ’s Restaurant Robert Granato, a white man is accused of making racists comments to a North Carolina barber just before he shot and killed Julius Randolph “Juice” Sampson, a 32-year-old Black father of three. Sampson was defending a female bartender when he got into an argument with his alleged shooter Robert Granato. The two men went outside where they continued to argue. Both the Granato and the victim, Mr. Sampson used a racial epithet in the heat of the argument At some point, Granato drew .22 caliber revolver, fired, striking Sampson. Granato, was arrested on the scene and charged with murder and carrying a concealed handgun after consuming alcohol. He is being held in jail without bond. Instagram accounts show Granato standing with a man displaying the OK hand signal associated with White Supremacy. Other social media posts show Granato holding guns and shooting them in videos.
https://tinyurl.com/y4ave2tv

WHITE WOMAN Hawaii July 17, 2019 Xiara Mercado was wearing her Air Force uniform while waiting for a drink at Starbucks during her lunch break when she began speaking on her cell phone in Spanish. She said she got off the phone once her drink was ready and walked outside. Mercado writes, “I get tapped on the shoulder by this lady,” and the lady said to her, “You shouldn’t be speaking Spanish, that’s not what that uniform represents… It’s distasteful.” The Puerto Rican native said she was confused at first by the lady and her comment about being “distasteful.” “I’m sorry ma’am, what’s distasteful?” Mercado asked the lady. “You speaking another language that does not represent America and that uniform you are wearing, that’s distasteful.” Mercado said she collected her thoughts for a moment and responded to her by saying, “I’m sorry ma’am the only distasteful thing here is that you are clueless to your discrimination, please educate yourself. Have a nice day.” But the ordeal didn’t end there. Mercado writes the lady spoke to her again, this time loudly and said: “I don’t know how you are allowed to wear that uniform.” Mercado responded to this racist woman by saying, “I wear it proudly.” She then walked away. “I was more sad than mad but above all I am disgusted. Even though I wanted to say a lot more I have respect for people and the uniform I wear… That’s the best I could do in that situation. Someone told me I could have smiled and apologized, Ummm I’m sorry what!? If you don’t see what is wrong with my story you are part of the problem. #thisisamerica.”
https://tinyurl.com/yx8w3ln2

SESAME PLACE SALLIE Langhorne Philadelphia Aug. 7, 2019 The confrontation began when a white child repeatedly touched a young Black girl’s hair. That’s when someone who appeared to be related to the girl asked the other child to stop, and it attracted the attention of ‘Sesame Place Sallie’ the Muslim woman Zaafirah Moore argued with. Both women started cursing at each other “in very loud voices” Moore said, then Moore did something that gained the white woman’s attention. “I asked them if they would stop cursing in front of all of these children and that is when she started cursing at me. I guess she thought we were with the girl because we are Black. But I had never seen her or the woman she was with before in my life.” The video Moore recorded started with her asking the white woman to “say it again.” It’s unclear what Moore was referring to at that point, but the woman responded by giving Moore the middle finger and saying “here, here here” repeatedly. “Acting like this around all these kids, this is terrible,” Moore said. “This is horrible.” Moore can then be heard on the video saying, “She told me to go back to where you came from.” Then the white woman told her to “fuck yourself, you bitch.” That’s when ‘Sesame Place Sallie’ reached toward Moore’s phone, and the camera footage got shaky. The white woman screamed, “Don’t take no pictures of me.” Moore responded, “She’s trying to assault me. Don’t touch me again.” At that point, a child can be heard crying in the background, and the woman continued cursing. “Get your fucking phone away from me”. At that point, the camera was no longer focused on the screaming woman’s face, and several people watching the encounter can be heard making muffled noises. “Who is she to take pictures of me,” the white woman yelled. “Who are you to tell me to go back to where I came from,” Moore responded. Just as a witness to the encounter told the women to “stop talking to each other,” the footage abruptly ended. Sesame Place apologized “The Sesame Place family deeply regrets that any park guest would experience this type of behavior in our park or anywhere else,” the company’s spokeswoman said. “We are in contact with the guests and are working to address their concerns to ensure that they feel welcome and safe at Sesame Place.” Banned From Children’s Water Park After Video Shows Her Cursing, Giving the Finger to Black Woman. Moore says she would accept an apology from the woman. “Of course I would forgive her. I’m not holding a grudge. I just want her to learn from her actions and I don’t want her to do this to anyone else,” she said. Moore added the woman may be “piggybacking” on President Donald Trump’s recent remarks. “I don’t know her. I can’t say why she did what she did, but she did what she did and she needs to realize it’s not OK.”
https://tinyurl.com/y5yembx4

LEWIS ROLAND HICKS Tooele, Utah Aug. 6, 2019 A man flagged down a Tooele City Police Department officer saying he and his family had just been threatened by a man with a metal baseball bat. The victim said Hicks, whom he’d never seen before, threatened to fight them and screamed nigger multiple times. The victim said they had no idea who Hicks was and he just approached them and said he was going to fight them and called them Nigger multiple times. A woman in the group said Hicks just kept yelling at them and hitting the bat on different things. She said they tried to ignore him but he just kept getting closer. A juvenile girl told police Hicks called them Nigger then said he was going to “fuck them up”. Hicks, 44, admits he was drunk off of Four Loko, a highly alcoholic malt beverage, at the time of the incident He reportedly approached the family at random and began smashing objects around them with his bat. Hicks was ultimately arrested on three counts of felony aggravated assault. He also faces a misdemeanor charge for intoxication; police said Hicks’ blood alcohol level (BAC) was .161 at the time of his arrest.
https://tinyurl.com/y4hmhk9w

SEVERAL COLLEAGUES AND A SUPERVISOR CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOL Western District of North Carolina 2019 <u>Kimberly Tignerworked as a career development liaison for the district’s Career and Technical Education Department. Tigner alleges she was subject to “racially motivated criticism and bullying” by colleagues and a supervisor who allegedly circulated the petition about her hair. She was humiliated after colleagues sign petition calling her hair ‘unprofessional’ and ‘inappropriate’ for work. In her lawsuit, she claims the supervisor insisted she was in the right to distribute the petition because she has “Black friends.” “(The school district) intentionally deprived Ms. Tigner, an African American woman, of the same Constitutional rights enjoyed by white citizens as to the creation, performance, enjoyment, and all benefits and privileges of her contractual relationship with (CMS),” the briefing states. Tigner’s complaint says her 17-year-old son was also affected. She said the supervisor complained of feeling threatened in the presence of Tigner’s son “because he was a black male.” The supervisor allegedly used the district’s internal directory to investigate whether the teen had a criminal past before taking her concerns to a department head, who banned Tigner’s son from CMS property. The plaintiff said she spent two weeks trying to prove her son wasn’t a felon. Tigner reported the abuse, only to be reprimanded and retaliated against, the lawsuit claims. She applied for other jobs in an effort to get away from the bullying and harassment, but was passed over for all five positions to which she applied. CMS has pushed back against the allegations, however, arguing that “no objectively reasonable person would view the isolated incidents in the Corrected Amended Complaint to be either severe or pervasive enough to form the basis of a hostile work environment claim.” The district recently filed a dismissal brief with the court, arguing that Tigner’s complaint failed to point to any “official policy, practice or custom of institutional racial discrimination.” “Courts have rejected claims of racial harassment based on conduct far more egregious than what Plaintiff has alleged in this case,” it added.
https://tinyurl.com/yymp48xt

TROOPER CHRISTOPER JOHNSON Pennsylvania July 8, 2019 Rodney and <u>Angela Gillespie and their daughters had recently returned to the U.S. after six years abroad in London and Johannesburg when a Pennsylvania state trooper turned on his sirens as they headed home in a rented Jeep Cherokee after midnight. “My wife was asleep, my daughter was asleep, and I said, ‘Oh boy, here we go. I’m just going to pull in the driveway because obviously it’s dark, the street has no shoulder, I don’t feel safe here.” Gillespie, whose 17-year-old daughter was riding in the back seat but whose 22-year-old daughter was not in the vehicle, pulled into the well-lighted circular driveway of their home in the upscale Chadds Ford neighborhood. “How old are you?” the rookie trooper shouted with his service weapon drawn, according to the Gillespies. “Why did you stop here? Don’t give me that sh*t! Get out of the car! Why are you driving a rental car? Do you have drugs? Guns? Is that your girlfriend in the car?” a senior executive for the multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, out of the SUV, handcuffed him and reached into his pocket without permission to grab his wallet. Two more state troopers, one black and one white, soon arrived and questioned Angela Gillespie. “It was terrifying,” she said. “I think the biggest thing for me was sitting there watching and listening to how they treated my husband. The yelling was at a level that was terrifying. My goal was to stay alive.” Johnson, who had been on patrol for only about two months, did not initially tell Gillespie he had been stopped for crossing the double yellow line but instead told him the area had recently seen a number of burglaries. “I think I was completely targeted,” Gillespie said. “This is a very nice, affluent neighborhood, a black guy driving. I guess he thought I was driving by myself and he wanted to follow and see.” The troopers freed Gillespie from the handcuffs after about 10 minutes, after his wife was allowed to use her phone to search Google for his name and show officers his online professional biography. Johnson issued the husband and father a a $142.50 ticket for a yellow-line infraction, which Gillespie paid the following week, and a $102 ticket for not stopping immediately, which was dismissed. “One thing my daughter said to me that really killed me was, ‘Dad, I can’t lose you, I can’t lose you,’” Johnson said. “My daughter should not have to say something like that to me. What she witnessed that night is etched in her mind.” The couple, who are each 52, filed a complaint last week and are considering a lawsuit. A spokesman for the state troopers union declined to comment until the investigation was complete, but Angela Gillespie was shocked to be racially profiled upon returning from South Africa and the United Kingdom. “To be welcomed back this way just didn’t make sense,” she said. “This is not the America we left in 2013. We’ve come back to an elevated rage.”
https://tinyurl.com/yyf6jspr

GRAHAM WILLIAMSON and LOUIS BERNARD REVETTE Seminary, Mississippi, on Oct. 24, 2017 Williamson, 38, admitted to carrying out a racially motivated cross burning in a mostly-Black residential area, and was aided by a co-conspirator, Louis Bernard Revette. The suspect admitted he constructed the cross using materials from in and around Revette’s home, then set it ablaze near the homes of African-Americans in the area, including the home of a juvenile victim. Williamson further admitted to committing the racist practice in order to “threaten, frighten and intimidate” local residents, and said he was well aware that ” burning crosses have historically been used to threaten, frighten, and intimidate African-Americans”. Williamson now faces a 30-year prison sentence and $500,000 fine for his crimes. “The defendant used a violent symbol of racial intimidation to threaten these victims and inspire fear, while they resided in the security of their own homes,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “The Department of Justice does not tolerate these hateful and historically egregious acts, and will continue to vigorously prosecute criminals who violate the civil rights of peaceful community members.” Graham Williamson pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges after admitting to one count of interference with housing rights, as well as one count of conspiring to use fire to commit a federal felony.
https://tinyurl.com/yxrw3qt4

ROBERT PATRICK MAYKIS Bremerton Washington Feb. 9, 2018 The victim was on his way home from work at a Veterans Affairs office and, after deboarding a bus, had the urge to urinate. Because of a medical condition, he did not believe he would be able to make it home in time and so he went behind a nearby business when a man later identified as Maykis got out of a parked van on the other side of a fence blocking the victim and started yelling nigger and other slurs at the man. Maykis attempted to punch the man by reaching over the fence, then picked up a rock and threw it at the man, striking him in the leg. Maykis’ position was he was upset somebody was urinating outside of his apartment and denied the assault was racially motivated. Maykis was sentenced to 30 months in prison for second-degree assault and malicious harassment along with two sentencing enhancements for using a rock as a deadly weapon. Deputy Prosecutor Ben Turner, who tried the case, said the injuries to the victim are lasting and both physical and emotional.
https://tinyurl.com/y6fqe3fm

T.J. MAXX EMPLOYEE Wethersfield, Connecticut Melissa Askew-Ferris and her three sons were shopping at one of the retailer’s store earlier this month when the incident occurred. She said other customers noticed the store’s employees were following her and her family, which caused them to leave the store. Askew-Ferris, who is Black, later learned an employee mistakenly identified one of her sons as someone who reportedly was stealing from the store. After viewing the surveillance video, she says the suspect in question looks nothing like her son other than the thief and her son are both black.
https://buff.ly/338tRwb

JOSHUA VALENTINE Oklahoma City July 20, 2019 A day of family fun at the pool took a dramatic turn Saturday when a raging white man unleashed a racist attack against an African-American father. After witnesses say Joshua Valentine verbally, then physically attacked a Black man visiting an apartment complex swimming pool with his son, Valentine was heard shouting “white power” threw a punch at the man. The victim turned the tables on Valentine, however, by “closed fist punching him three times” and knocking him out cold. When Valentine finally came to, he left the pool but returned moments later with a baseball bat. Police and witnesses said he swung the weapon at the man, who fended Valentine off with a chair, then struck him several times, knocking him out yet again. Police arrested Valentine on charges of malicious harassment based on race. He spent six days in the Oklahoma County jail before being released on bond.
https://tinyurl.com/yx9samso

RICKY HOME DEPOT Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 22, 2019 Terrance Westmoreland With Westmoreland’s receipt in his hand, he compared the blinds to find the right shade. Westmoreland then walked to the customer service desk, where he tried to return two boxes and purchase three others.” He was stopped by a white security guard named Ricky. “Before I could even finish, this Caucasian security guard kind of grabbed my arm. He said I didn’t come into the store with any boxes.” Westmoreland told the security guard to check the store’s surveillance video, telling him it would prove he came in with two boxes, but was told they did not have access to the footage. So Westmoreland called the Wauwatosa police. Police found no wrongdoing by Westmoreland, but The Home Depot asked him to leave and banned him from the store for stealing. A district manager from The Home Depot called Westmoreland on July 26th to apologize and rescind the ban. Westmoreland said he hasn’t been back to the store to exchange the blinds since the ban was lifted. Westmoreland said the apology was “unacceptable” and is demanding the loss prevention officer be fired.
https://tinyurl.com/yybtv4dw

THOMAS PAULK Ouachita Parish Louisiana July 2019 Thomas Paulk drunkenly called his neighbor a “no good piece of shit nigger” and took out a gun. Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s deputies called to the 200 block of South Martin at about 6:10 p.m. said when they arrived a resident on the block and a witness told them a man authorities identified as Paulk pulled out a gun. He also rode a four-wheeler down a private drive, took photos of the neighbor’s property and sent racist and derogatory text messages, the neighbor said in the affidavit. The neighbor told authorities he feared Paulk would shoot at him because he was yelling. Paulk continued a “profane tirade” at his neighbors even after deputies read him his Miranda rights, deputies said in the affidavit. Thomas Paulk was arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm
https://tinyurl.com/y5y9sp3z

NANCY GOODMAN Bonefish Grill restaurant Raleigh, North Carolina July 23, 2019 Chanda Stewart, who shot the video, begins describing how Goodman walked over to a table where Stewart and a friend, Lakesha Shaw, were sharing a meal and some laughs and told them they were “the rudest people” that she had ever met. As the woman is relaying the experience, Goodman looks up and notices she is being filmed. She smiles big for the camera and waves, before taking out her own camera phone and approaching the table again. As the two women watch incredulously, Goodman comes up to their table and proudly proclaims “I have got really good friends that are black, and I love them.” Clearly, she already knew the entire reason she was bothering the young women was that they were black, because, as one of the women can be heard reminding her in the video, no one even said anything about color. They were just shocked by her rude behavior. Goodman then tells them that she is bothered by their behavior because they are “too loud” in what already seems to be a very loud restaurant, judging from the amount of background noise in the video. Nancy she saw two black women enjoying themselves, you know, laughing, talking, minding their business and definitely not worrying about Nancy or anyone else. But you know what happens when white people see black people with smiles on their faces. They get super upset and want to find the best way to kill that joy. And that is just what Nancy did. Shaw turns to Goodman and tells her, “Let me show you my money; it’s just as green as yours.” Goodman responds by saying “Oh, you’re such stupid niggers,” and begins to walk away. One of the women tells her to call her black friends a “nigger,” to which Goodman retorts “They’re not like you.” WRAL reporter Sarah Krueger spoke with Goodman outside her home, and Goodman told her that not only would she not apologize for using the slur, but that she would use it again. “I’m a 71-year-old woman who lives in Raleigh,” Goodman said on camera. “I suffer from tremendous anxiety.” She went on to tell Krueger that her anxiety and the women’s behavior pushed her into using the slur. “I’m not going to say I’m sorry to them because they kept pushing at it,” Goodman said. “What about your use of the n-word?” Krueger asked her. “I used that word because they forced me into it,” Goodman said. “Do you see how that’s incredibly offensive,” Krueger asked. “Yes, I do,” Goodman said. “That’s why I said it. I would say it again to them.” After the video went viral and Goodman’s face was plastered across television screens in North Carolina, WRAL reports that she posted an apology of sorts on her Facebook page. “Tonight on WRAL TV news there will be a news article about me using the N word in a conflict with three rude, loud obnoxious black women,” she wrote. “I would like to apologize to my family, friends and other patrons in the bar at North Hills Bonefish. The tv reporters came to my house today as they found out my name which that could only happen if the restaurant gave them my information. The women taped me and apparently shared the video all over social media. I suffer from extreme anxiety which is not an excuse. I am ashamed of my actions.”
https://tinyurl.com/y5kuok5h

MARRIAGE PROPOSAL WHILE BLACK Manhattan, New York July 22, 2019 Dr. Cathy-Marie Hamlet explained that she and her fiancé, Clyde Jackson, were sitting at a table outside the Angry Orchard gift shop when a female security guard approached them and accused Jackson of stealing the shirt and asked to check his pockets. “A group of 8 of us went there to enjoy an afternoon with some hard cider. My boyfriend walked me out to an empty table on the lawn, and before we could sit down, a young lady from security approached us and said to him, ‘I’m sorry sir, but I have to check you back pocket. I was told that you stole a T-shirt from from the gift store.’ My boyfriend then emptied all of his pockets, while still trying to keep the ring box hidden from my sight.” She added, “She then walked away, and my boyfriend and I sat down at the table and he began his proposal speech. MID PROPOSAL, the same young lady from security walks back towards and says to me, ‘I’m sorry, I need to check your bag. I was told that he gave it to you, and you put it in your bag.’ Mind you, my bag isn’t even large enough to fit a T-shirt. I emptied my entire bag in front of her, and since this was the SECOND time she had walked over, I said, “I know you’re just doing your job, but I can’t help but wonder if this is because we’re Black. We’re the only Black people here at your establishment.’” Hamlet added that the woman denied she was racially profiling, but that confrontation was not the end of it. “She departs again, and shortly after my boyfriend pops the question! I say yes, of course. People started cheering. And then the other 6 our friends walked over to us to hug and congratulate us,” she wrote. “Then surprise, surprise…the same young lady from security walks over to the group of us and says, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you all were a part of the same party. I have to check all of your purses and pockets.’ So at this point, the rest of security walks over and there’s 6 of them approaching us.” “Of course my friends told them none of us stole a T-shirt from their establishment, at which point they started getting aggressive and saying that not only them, but also patrons saw my boyfriend steal the shirt and/or transfer it to me to put in my bag!!” she continued. “Another woman in security yelled to one of the male security, ‘Call the police! I saw you steal it.’ I asked them, “Do you have security cameras here?” And they said yes. So I said, ‘Well then you need to go and roll back your tape and see that nobody here stole anything from you guys.’” She then explained that the white guards took their pictures, started videotaping them and then took a picture of her license plate when she and her group gave up on trying to have their party there. “We as a group decided to leave rather than be attacked by the multiple security guards of Angry Orchard,” she recalled, adding, ” I have never been so humiliated in my life, myself and some of my friends left Angry Orchard in tears. On what was supposed to be one of the best days of my life, I was chased out of Angry Orchard by security who followed us all the way to the parking lot. I’m sorry, and not to sound pretentious, but as a doctor, I have no reason to steal a $28 T-shirt when I could afford to buy ALL of the T-shirts in their gift shop.”
UPDATE July 26, 2019: Angry Orchard has fired an on-call manager and security officers. Angry Orchard spokesperson “We’re deeply sorry that our guests were mistreated. The situation doesn’t reflect our values of respect for all and creating a welcoming environment for all our guests. We’re extremely embarrassed this happened and have taken the immediate steps to remove the manager who was on-duty from her role and replace members of the security team.”
https://tinyurl.com/y4wqxcno

LIFEGUARD Houston Texas July 20, 2019 Homeowner Tramica Thomas said the incident unfolded when she took her five children to the pool at Lago Mar, a master-planned community. She said her kids were excited, as it was their first time visiting the pool. Within 15 minutes, Thomas and her family were profiled. The mother, who’s African-American, was relaxing poolside when a lifeguard approached and accused her of having too many guests. “He asked ‘Well, who are these guys in front of me right here??’ I said ‘I don’t know who they are.’ Mind you, they were black, but they weren’t with me.” The conversation ended there and she figured the matter was resolved, that is, until a Texas City police officer arrived. The cop asked her name and ordered her out of the pool. When she asked why, he replied: “Well, the lifeguards are requesting you to leave.” Thomas denied the lifeguards, two of whom were on duty, ever asked her to leave. Still, her family was escorted from the pool by police. Much of the incident was captured on video taken by Thomas herself. At one point, she said the officer threatened to take her and her husband to jail because they didn’t leave fast enough. “I am filled with so much hurt and frustration!!! What was supposed to be a nice family fun day turned into a horrible and tragic memory!!!! There was so much hate and ignorance displayed today, I’m so glad we still have some good people out here,” referencing a white man and his family who she said intervened on their behalf after he saw they were being targeted by police. “Though we didn’t know him, he stood up for what was right.” The Largo Mar Homeowner’s Association board of directors addressed the incident, saying Thomas and her family were asked to leave due to their “unruly and unsafe behavior. The safety of our residents is our top priority, the pool’s rules and regulation are in place to protect all residents and their guests. After several polite requests to follow pool rules and to supervise their underage guests, the lifeguard on duty asked the resident to leave. This request was for the safety of their unsupervised children as well as the other pool patrons.” The HOA said issues began when one of Thomas’ toddlers started struggling in the water and had to be saved by a lifeguard. Tramica Thomas said that wasn’t the case; it was her 6-year-old daughter, who was wearing a floatie, and didn’t receive help from the lifeguards. “She went to the edge of the pool and was holding on to the concrete and was needing help to actually get out of the pool.” The outraged mother said there’s plenty of security video to corroborate her story and she believes she and her family were targeted for the simple fact that they’re Black. “If someone is targeting based off of race, they shouldn’t be working here because this is a diverse community.”
https://tinyurl.com/y2hpzzw9

2 KOHLS SECURITY GUARDS San Leandro, California July 5, 2019 The guards, whose names have not been publicized, chased Yolanda Montoya down after she had left the store, accusing her of shoplifting, asking her to walk back inside the store with them into a back room. Although she was under no requirement to return to the store with them, she agreed but insisted on recording. However, the guards told her it was illegal to record because it was private property but she continued recording and they called police. When a police officer arrived, the guards told him she had shoplifted a pair of red shorts because they had seen her on camera waking into a fitting room with the shorts, then walking out without them. However, she said she had left them in the dressing room which they evidently did not check because they were with her the entire time after they had detained her. She then emptied the entire contents of her backpack which was filled with diapers and other personal items, including the clothes she had purchased. The security guards told her she could not record as they detained her in a back room but she continued recording. The video also showed the security guards never bothered to check the dressing room where the woman said she had left the clothes she was accused of stealing. Even after realizing they had no evidence, they continued insisting they were missing a pair of red shorts or maybe it was a brown dress they began saying once she established she never carried a pair of red shorts into the fitting room. But this was the excuse they made to try and trespass her from the store, which would mean they would have to type her personal information into their computer system and have her arrested if she ever dared return. And when she began questioning how they could trespass her, they decided they would just “let her go.” “What I want to do i let her go, we don’t have to put her into the system, and handle it that way but at the end of the day, I’m still missing stuff even though I went to go check,” he said. “You did not go check the damn fitting room” she responded. “You are a liar.”
https://tinyurl.com/y36jkplr

SHOPPING WHILE PREGNANT July 19, 2019 Pregnant African American Democratic State Rep. Erica Thomas, a lawmaker in Georgia said she was verbally attacked in a supermarket Friday by a middle-aged white man who used profanity, called her vulgar names and told her to “go back where you came from” as her 9-year-old daughter looked on. Rep. Erica Thomas said the man was irate she was in an express line with too many items. Thomas said she was in a line for customers with 10 items or less because she cannot stand for long periods of time. “And this white man comes up to me and says, ‘You lazy son of a bitch,’” Thomas said, sobbing as she described the confrontation in a video . “He says, ‘You lazy son of a bitch; you need to go back where you came from.’” Thomas said she was stunned by his anger. “I said, ‘Sir, you don’t even know me. I’m not lazy. I’m nine months pregnant.’” Thomas said she never identified herself to the man as a public official. She said she was so taken aback by his actions she didn’t think to try to record them. Thomas said a store employee at some point approached the man and told him to leave. She said she believes store employees were slow to respond to the assault. Thomas notified police and that she would
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CAMPUS NOOSE Stanford University Stanford, California July 18, 2019 The university’s Department of Public Safety said deputies found a white rope, about 3 feet long, suspended from a large bush. The noose, a symbol of racial violence and intimidation against African-Americans, was discovered near a dorm for summer students. “My immediate thought was nothing but fear because I’d never seen a noose,” said Cheron Perkins, a medical student who took photos and video of the rope. “I was just distraught.” Perkins, who’s from New Orleans and works as an adviser to high school students in the program. Most of those involved in the summer session are minorities, and she thinks the noose was meant to send a message. A program assistant who also saw the noose said it left her “terrified for her life.” the incident is being investigated as a “suspicious circumstance,” however, Stanford officials said could be re-classified as a hate crime upon further review. “While we await further conclusions form the investigation, we feel it is important to state that a noose is recognized as a symbol of violence and racism directed against African American peoples,” the university said in a statement. “Such a symbol has no place on our campus.” The noose has since been removed.
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JOSEPH PHILLIP DANIEL BUCKY’S GAS STATION CLERK Naperville Illinois July 17, 2019 Indira Buitron, 15, who was born in the United States and lives in Bolingbrook, was bicycling with her aunts and cousins when her bike wheel came loose. The women stopped at the Bucky’s to buy snacks while they waited for help. Inside, the gas station clerk, who has not been identified asked the teen if her cousins were adopted. Buitron said they were visiting from Mexico. The clerk then questioned the teen’s citizenship and said her cousins needed to go home. The Bucky’s gas station clerk in was caught on camera confronting Hispanic customers about their legal status. Buitron and her cousins walked back outside and recounted the story to her aunts and 20-year-old Carolina Buitron, of Woodridge, who had come to retrieve the broken bicycle. Carolina Buitron, her aunt and mother all went inside to confront the clerk. Two separate videos captured what they said. In one video, the gas station clerk can be heard assuming, without evidence, two of the women were undocumented. The clerk asks one woman if she is a citizen, to which she responded “yes” and then asked, “What is your problem?” “Don’t you know the rules?” the clerk asked. “They need to go back to their country.” In the video, one woman threatens to call police. “ICE will come,” the clerk says as the women leave the store. “Bye. God bless you.” One woman calls his comments “stupid.” “You’re in the wrong country,” the clerk responds. A visiting cousin, 19-year-old Maria Fernanda, posted the video on Facebook Tuesday night. “It was not fair. It was racist.” The gas station’s parent company said the gas station employee seen in the video had been terminated. “Clearly there was an altercation, and he didn’t react well. And we don’t treat customers that way. That’s why he’s no longer an employee.” In a statement posted to Facebook, Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico said the city police department had reviewed the video and was “looking into it.” “Let me be abundantly clear: Hate has no home here in Naperville. Quite frankly, this type of behavior has no place in society at large. Our city prides itself on being open and inclusive to all.”
https://tinyurl.com/yxlgemoo ”

JEFFREY CALHOUN Buffalo NY July 16, 2019 pulled a gun and attacked a Black Muslim woman Jeanneie Muhammad after a minor traffic accident. The accident occurred when she was on her way to pick up her children from school. “When I went to reach over to get my insurance out of the glove compartment that’s claimed to be a police officer then he reached into the car, snatched my keys. When she tried to walk to the sidewalk, he slammed her down to the ground and bit her left arm and said “I think you’re gonna run. He grabbed me by the hoodie and threw me to the ground. So we are on the ground wrestling and he tries to take my purse from me.” Precious Santiago who lives in a 2nd floor apartment across the street from where the incident took place was filming the incident said when Calhoun began biting Mohammed, she and others went over to intercede. Calhoun is seen on video throwing Muhammad to the ground and attempting to take her handbag. A bit later on the video Calhoun produces a handgun and advises those gathering around him to not “hit me anymore”. Jeanneie Muhammad said she struck Calhoun once when his teeth clamped down on her arm in an attempt to break free of him. Moments later, when police arrive, the video captures Calhoun approaching a patrol car with his gun in a holster on his hip, and his hands raised. He then places the weapon and his hands on the hood of the police car before he is arrested. He will be charged with attempted robbery in the first degree, menacing in the second degree and harassment in the second degree. Erie County District Attorney’s office says “Calhoun tried to steal a purse from the woman and displayed a handgun. Calhoun is also accused of grabbing the victim, biting her left arm, and throwing her to the ground. Calhoun, 62, is charged with Attempted Robbery 1st, Menacing 2nd, and Harassment 2nd.”
https://tinyurl.com/yyfzumob

NIKE MANAGER WENDY MAGEE Santa Monica California July 5, 2019 Former Team USA athlete Joel Stallworth and his family, TaMiya Dickerson with their 19-month-old son Sammy was racially profiled and accused of stealing a $13 basketball he had just purchased for his 19-month-old son at a Nike store. Cellphone video Dickerson posted on Facebook shows Stallworth answering police questions in the recent incident after he said a white Nike store manager Wendy Magee called the police. Magee didn’t just involve police, she also followed the couple from the Nike store to an AMC theater about 430 feet from the store. Stallworth can be seen in the video holding a receipt for the ball the manager asked about. “We just told you we bought it. What do you need the receipt for?” Dickerson asked in the video. The manager can be heard responding, “Because we didn’t have our basketball.” At that point, Stallworth bounced the basketball past her, and Dickerson asked, “What are you talking about?” The manager can be seen walking to get the ball, and Dickerson said, “So now you come refund his money and I want an apology. This is fucking ridiculous, and it’s profiling.” At that point, the video showed three officers on the scene as Stallworth said repeatedly that he paid for the ball. Dickerson said “We felt intimidated and threatened physically and emotionally.” “Imagine being a 19 month old black baby boy. Your father purchased you your first basketball at 9:01 pm on a Friday night. A moment that creates a bond you will always be connected to. But in an instance someone steals your ball; because they accuse your father of shop lifting. Welcome to America Sammy. I hope you don’t have to get used to this.”
https://tinyurl.com/y3m9fojt

RACIST WHITE WOMAN Abington, Pennsylvania June 30th, 2019, Johanny Santana, a Puerto Rican woman was standing in line at the grocery store when a child came into the line to ask his grandfather a question. The child and grandfather spoke Spanish to each other and this caused a white woman who was also in line to cuss at the boy. Hearing this, Santana started recording with her phone to capture any further encounters. The boy left and came back, only to have another woman object. This is when Santana stepped in and changed the focus to her. Santana asks the other woman if she had a problem with the individuals speaking Spanish after the white woman loudly complains, “Any century now.” The White woman then told Santana, “Can you stop talking to me? You’re a puta.” After Santana told the woman not to say that word, she responded again, repeating, “You’re a puta.” The woman launched into a bigoted diatribe aimed at Santana. In the video, she can be heard saying: “You shouldn’t be in this country. I hope Trump deports you. I was born here, you don’t belong here, go back to your own country. You don’t belong here, you came here illegally. You should be deported.” The unidentified white woman then accused Santana of using “drug money” to buy her groceries. In the video, she is seen flashing cash at the Boricua and telling her that her money was legal, unlike what Santana was using. In response to her own words, Santana said she felt ashamed and powerless. “I regret it because I didn’t want to tell her that. I felt powerless because I didn’t speak English well enough to be able to properly respond to her.”
https://tinyurl.com/y62c7meq

RETIRED POLICE OFFICER TOM BRANIGAN West Price Hill, Cincinnati Ohio July 16, 2019 Black real estate agent Jerry Isham and his client Anthony Edwards were illegally detained by police officers after a retired cop accused the men of breaking into a home in a predominantly white neighborhood. Police body-camera video shows one of six police officers on the scene aiming a gun at Edwards and Isham. The incident depicted in police footage unfolded after Edwards and Isham say they used a lock box to enter the house. Officers said they responded to the scene after a retired officer, Tom Branigan, who lives in the neighborhood, called 911 to report a break-in at the house in question. In the body-camera video, one of the responding officers can be heard yelling at the men, “Hands up!” “My hands up. What y’all doing?” Edwards asked. “Tell your friend to come out too. Hands up,” the officer responded. The video shows Edwards and Isham coming out of the house and another officer on the scene explaining why he and his partner are there. “We saw you forcing your way in. That’s why we’re here,” the cop said. Edwards curses about white people calling the cops before saying, “I ain’t even gon buy the house.” At that point, the other officer on the scene asks how the men got in. “He a realtor,” Edwards said. The officer responded, “Turn around until we can confirm. Turn around.” She then placed Isham in handcuffs while asking him if he used a key to go inside the house, and she instructed Isham to have a seat in a chair on the house’s front porch. Although the video doesn’t show the officer handcuffing Edwards, he responds, “I wouldn’t be in handcuffs if I was white.”
https://tinyurl.com/y5ctsf4s

SETH EKLUND Toledo, Ohio May 31, 2019 White security guard Seth Eklund pulled a gun on Black Lucas County Sheriff’s Deputy Alan Gaston, clearly in uniform with his badge visible, indicating him as an on-duty law enforcement officer who works as a defense instructor says he only came to the IRS building to ask about a letter he received. When Deputy Gaston arrived at the office, security guard Seth Eklund told him he needed to put his gun in the car. When Gaston explained he couldn’t leave his service weapon unattended in his car while he was on duty, the security guard pulled out his own gun. Gaston “Basically preparing myself to be shot at that moment. Bracing for a shot in my back”. Footage from a security camera shows the guard follow Gaston out of the office and to the elevator with his finger close to the trigger. The security cameras show the guard forcing Gaston from the building with the gun drawn and his finger on the trigger. At some point during the incident, someone called 911 to say there was a man with a gun in the office. At no point did the caller from the IRS office tell the 911 dispatcher the man with the gun was a uniformed deputy sheriff. Gaston and his wife have now filed a civil lawsuit against Eklund and the security company. The couple is seeking an unspecified amount for the emotional and physical trauma Gaston suffered. They are also seeking damages for the wages Gaston lost since going on a medical leave from the Lucas County Sheriff’s department. Eklund is now facing one charge of aggravated menacing.
https://tinyurl.com/y6xveu7y

DAVID ZALKIND owner of Frenchmen Arts and Books New Orleans Louisiana July 15, 2019, A well-known local trumpet player Eugene “Little Eugene” Grant following a call from a White bookstore owner Zalkind who called police to ask them to remove the Young Fellaz Brass Band saying a brass band was blocking the entrance to his store. 10 or more police cars responded to the incident. Authorities claim Grant hit one of the officers in the chest with his instrument when he was told again to move, damaging that officer’s body camera. Police claim Grant “refused repeated requests by both officers and citizens to calm down,” forcing the officers to detain him until backup arrived. Bystander video doesn’t show what happened before the musician was pinned to the ground, and police haven’t said whether body-camera footage of the alleged attack exists. Grant was pinned to the ground by a Taser-wielding police officer. Autistic and has developmental delays was arrested for obstructing a public passage and resisting an officer. “Frenchmen Street is dedicated to music,” said attorney Cherrell Simms Taplin, who on Tuesday persuaded city prosecutors to drop the charges. “Eugene is a New Orleans musician, and he was doing what New Orleans musicians do on Frenchmen Street, and that’s playing on the corner.” At the center of the controversy is Frenchmen Arts and Books, which has sat at the corner of Frenchmen and Chartres Streets in the Marigny District since the 1970s, when the black and working-class neighborhood began attracting young white professionals drawn by its historic homes. Until the current owner, David Zalkind, took over last year, it was known as Faubourg Marigny Art and Books, and was believed to be the oldest gay-owned bookstore in the South. After the charges against him were dropped on Tuesday morning, Grant went back to playing the trumpet on the same corner where he had been arrested, this time with a much larger crowd of musicians.
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WHITE PERSON Cypress Texas July 11, 2019 Marqueena Moore and Kenneth Moore are both veterans of the U.S. Navy. The couple met while the pair was stationed in Japan. Kenneth served for 12 years, while his wife of 15 years, Marqueena, served for eight. During their deployments, the Moores suffered physical injuries as well as PTSD. Kenneth also has a traumatic brain injury that causes him to stutter. A recent trip to the local HEB turned out to be just that when the couple parked their car in an accessible parking space, went inside for groceries and returned to find a note on their vehicle. “Just because you are black and have a nice car does not make you handicapped ;).” The Moores went back inside the supermarket and personnel helped them determine who left the note. Then, they called the Harris County Pct. 4 Constable’s Office; an investigation is now occurring. Marqueena Moore said after discovering the note she felt “shocked, then actually, angry, because I’m like, the plates are right there! How do you not see?” Under Texas law, veterans are provided with special “disabled veteran” license plates and are allowed to “park in accessible parking spaces and may park for free at parking meters. Such plates need not show the international accessibility symbol,” reads the outline of the law on the website of the Office of the Texas Governor.
https://tinyurl.com/y2eawqen

OFFICER KESTLER Mall Security Worker at The Shoppes at Bel Air Mall Mobile, Alabama July 1, 2019 A foursome of three teens and a 20-year-old were out clothes shopping when they found themselves being handcuffed and harassed by a mall security worker. When one of the boys accused the cop of racial profiling, the officer allegedly ordered his dog to attack. June 22 as 16-year-olds Zion Lett Cameron Robinson, 15-year-old Rodricus Johnson and 20-year-old Nathaniel Henderson were “horsing around” in the parking lot before entering the mall. Moments later, the mall cop, identified only as “Officer Kestler,” and his K-9 came “flying around the corner” exiting his cruiser with a hand on his gun. That’s when the officer shoved the teens and ordered them to “get the f—k against the wall” before handcuffing them. Only part of the arrest was caught on camera and shows one of the young men being pinned to the ground. During the incident, Robinson accused Kestler of racially profiling the group after which the mall cop slammed him to the ground and sicced his Dutch Shepherd on him. Justin Miller, an attorney representing the group, said the teen suffered several bites, as well as hair loss and a contusion. “He forced me to the ground aggressively and then let the dog out at me,” Robinson “I blacked out when he slammed me to the ground.” But the harassment didn’t stop there. “He (Kestler) told me I could have got worse than what the dog did, like saying he could’ve shot me.” The incident caused the teen to be hospitalized for two and a half days. Now Robinson, his friends and their lawyers are demanding Kestler be fired. “He misused this dog; he doesn’t deserve to be working this K-9”, adding that he doesn’t blame the pooch, Kosmo, for the attack. “They’re trained to stop when you say stop, they’re trained to attack when you say attack”. “This officer didn’t do that. He didn’t stop the dog; he commanded it to attack.” Mobile Police offered a different account of the incident. In a statement, the department said officers responded to reports of a fight “involving several juveniles and a 20-year-old male” at the mall. “The mall’s K-9 unit (dog) exited the vehicle and grabbed the juvenile biting him on his arm,” according to an incident report. The juvenile was then taken into custody. Once the juvenile was in handcuff he attempted to reach into his pants pocket. Officers check the juvenile’s pocket and found him in possession of marijuana. The juvenile was transported to the hospital to be treated for the bite. The 16-year-old was later transported to Strickland Youth Center and charged with (disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana 2nd and resisting arrest). Nathaniel Henderson, 20 was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.” It’s unclear whether the four young men have been charged in the incident. Robinson’s mother, Calandra Smith, said she’s just grateful she isn’t grieving the loss of her son. “Just to see him sitting on the curb, bleeding, looking up at me crying, saying, ‘Mama, they put the dog on me. I didn’t do anything.’ It just broke my heart,” she said of the incident. A $25 million lawsuit against the mall is being filed.
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MANAGER FOREVER21 San Francisco California July 7, 2019 Richard “Rich” Bougere and his wife Danielle Banks, founders of the performing arts group Project Level, recorded the moments after what they described as an “embarrassing” encounter with police at the Forever21 store. Banks said on Facebook she and Bougere have spent thousands of dollars at Forever 21 and they decided to take three students in their youth group shopping there for clothes for a big shoot. They arrived at the store about 5 p.m. and ended up taking clothes to try on to the store’s dressing room. Banks said when she was in the dressing room area, two San Francisco police officers cornered her. They told her she’s being accused of putting clothes inside a white grocery bag and searched the bag in question. When they didn’t find anything, we were “allowed to keep shopping in Forever 21,” Banks said. But when the store manager refused to apologize for the accusation, Banks instead decided to leave the store with her group without purchasing anything. “What hurts the most is we were shopping for our students who don’t have the means to be styled like professional artists. Rich and I use our own money to give youth an opportunity they unfortunately can’t afford.” Bougere said in the video posted on Facebook. “You picked with the wrong ones, man., We have too much money, too much influence, too much power to ever steal from anywhere, so you’ll be hearing from our lawyers, Forever 21.” The company said “After conducting an investigation into the situation, we confirmed that the police were notified due to specific shopping behaviors, consisting of bringing in non-Forever 21 products and mixing and matching with in-store merchandise, which created confusion. We sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding and are working with the Mayor’s Office and the parties involved to learn from this experience, and make it right, as we take this matter extremely seriously.”
https://tinyurl.com/y6tutdht

BOBBY ROSS and a 2ND MAN Lee’s Summit Missouri July 1, 2019 Jeff Sallis’ 18-year-old daughter was caught in the mix of what he believes was a racially motivated incident. Cellphone video shows two men accusing the teens of a rash of vandalism near their neighborhood and questions whether they should even be at the pool. The men are also heard using several expletives toward the teens. “We have to pay for all the shit you guys do,” one man says in the video, later adding: “That doesn’t mean you invite all your young friends in my pool … [do] you pay the fucking dues?” The men claimed neighborhood residents are only allowed one guest at the pool, however, posted rules explicitly state three guests per household are allowed. Two of the teens, including Sallis’ daughter, live in the subdivision. “If each of them had three guests, that’s six between the two plus the two residents is eight,” Sallis explained. “They’re in compliance. ”The outraged father Jeff Sallis has been a resident of the Ashton at Charleston Park subdivision for 14 years believes race was a motivating factor in the men’s behavior toward the teens. “I’m absolutely sure race played a factor here, because again when you look at the video the way the gentleman postured himself and the things, he was saying, ‘They probably don’t even live here. This is my pool. You don’t belong here,’” Sallis said. “It was a lot of you, you, you.” One of the men from the video, Bobby Ross, later gave his side of the story and apologized for his “inappropriate” rant. “I shouldn’t have gone off the deep end like I did. The language that I used was inappropriate, and I apologized to all the kids, the other gentleman that was involved. I lost it because of the way I was spoken to.” The man said the confrontation with the teens unfolded after he witnessed one of them hop the fence to let their friends into the pool. The interview quickly went left, however, when Sallis made a surprise appearance to confront the man who yelled at his daughter. “Excuse me, excuse me — this is my time,” Ross told Sallis. “You did your talking the other night,” Sallis shot back. “You’re done.” During their heated exchange, Ross denied allegations he confronted the teens because they were African-American. “It had nothing to do with race,” Ross told Sallis. “So, you can take it to that direction if you want to. It wasn’t that. It was me questioning kids that were hoping the pool fence and not supposed to be here.”
https://tinyurl.com/y4kg2u3e

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT Kingston, Jamaica July 9, 2019 Dr. Tisha Rowe, who practices family medicine in Houston, had already boarded her flight in Kingston, Jamaica, with her 8-year-old son Chase. But before the plane was scheduled to take off for Miami, a flight attendant pulled her aside and asked her to deplane “for a talk”. Once off the aircraft, Rowe says the flight attendant asked her if she had a jacket to cover up the sleeveless romper she wore to the airport. When she said she didn’t, the American Airlines attendant told her she would only be readmitted on one condition. “When defending my outfit I was threatened with not getting back on the flight unless I walked down the aisle wrapped in a blanket.” Rowe complied, though she was humiliated. “I felt powerless,” she told the outlet. “There was nothing I could do in that moment other than give up my money and my seat to defend my position that I was completely appropriate. We are policed for being black. Our bodies are over sexualized as women and we must adjust to make everyone around us comfortable. I’ve seen white women with much shorter shorts board a plane without a blink of an eye. If American Airlines wanted passengers from Jamaica to Florida in June to wear snowsuits, that’s something they ought to put in their contract. American Airlines said it had reached out to apologize. “We were concerned about Dr. Rowe’s comments, and reached out to her and our team at the Kingston airport to gather more information about what occurred,” said American Airlines spokesperson Shannon Gilson. “We apologize to Dr. Rowe and her son for their experience, and have fully refunded their travel. We are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds and are committed to providing a positive, safe travel experience for everyone who flies with us.”
https://tinyurl.com/yy5omgvm

WHITE MAN Long Beach CA May 12, 2019 A white man became agitated because in his mind he thought people were being seated before him at Aburi Premium AYCE Sushi. There was a 30-minute wait, and people could sign up for a spot electronically and then a text when their table was ready. It’s pretty standard these days for restaurants to text people when they can be seated. Some people waited in their cars, so when the man saw a group get seated, he may have assumed that they didn’t have to wait in line, which was not the case at all. People started shouting back at him telling him to leave, but the man wouldn’t take no for an answer. Then things got heated. Once the white man began to hurl racist remarks and mock the black and brown customers, that is when things got out of control. The white man called a black individual a “monkey man,” and that is when another person lunged at him. A black woman enters the recording and begins to punch him. That is when it seems as if the man starts to step out of the restaurant. @IvanCyclist said the woman got in at least five punches and you can see it in the video as well.
https://tinyurl.com/yyykvbj6

DEPUTY ADAM WATKINS Ft. Bend Indiana March 10, 2019 New England Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts, after visiting his parents, the Port Arthur native was driving back to his Richmond home when the deputy began following him on Pitts Road for about a mile without flipping on his emergency lights until the two reached Roberts’ subdivision. The deputy harassed him and called him a “big black man” outside his home and it would be another eight minutes before Roberts would learn he had been pulled over for allegedly speeding, according to dash cam footage. The 16-minute video shows 25-year-old former University of Houston standout pulling into his driveway with Deputy Adam Watkins blocking him in. Roberts then stepped out of his black 2018 Porsche with his hands up and said, “This is my house.” “Get back in the car right now,” the deputy repeatedly said in the footage. “Shut the door, put the hands on the steering wheel and roll down the window. Do it now.” The flashing lights and commotion just before 10 p.m. was enough to draw Roberts’ wife Tori Roberts outside as he got back into the car, about a minute into the video. Watkins threatened to arrest her if she didn’t go inside. “Go back in the house for your own safety,” Watkins said. “For my safety from my husband,” she quizzed, before going back inside and turning on the exterior lights. She next stepped into the open garage brandishing what appeared to be a cell phone to capture the incident unfolding in her driveway. Audio from eight minutes into the dash cam footage can then be heard of the deputy requesting back-up because Roberts was not being compliant. “I haven’t even begun the traffic stop,” the deputy radioed in. “The big black male got out of the car. I told him to get back in. He wouldn’t comply. I had to yell at him pretty hard.” The footage continues with Watkins saying Roberts was now complying but he wanted the woman detained for refusing to stay inside. The deputy waited for another law enforcement officer to arrive before stepping up to the driver side door to explain Roberts was stopped for allegedly going 59 mph in a 35 mph-zone. The deputy said he would cite him for speeding and for failing to provide proof of insurance. About four hours after the traffic stop, the sheriff’s office called Roberts to rescind the citations and apologize. “This was no ordinary traffic stop,” Attorney Hovell-Cox said. “He felt like he was being harassed because he was an African-American male in his own driveway. It was totally not necessary.”
https://tinyurl.com/y483cyxt

ALLEN MCCOY and PATRICIA MCCOY Adairsville, Georgia Oct. 1, 2018 Victoria Sutton was given an eviction notice in October and ultimately left in December out of concern for her family’s safety. Sutton’s complaint says she began inviting her co-worker and his son over to her home beginning in September 2018 for play dates with her children. But in late September, the suit alleges, Sutton received a knock on her door from her landlord, Allen McCoy. McCoy used the N-word multiple times and threatened to arrest Sutton’s co-worker if he came over again. He also threatened to call Child Protective Services and gave Sutton two weeks to move out. Sutton recorded a subsequent call with Patricia McCoy, during which McCoy made a physical threat and said, “I don’t want them in my property. Maybe you like black dogs, but I don’t. So just get your stuff and get out.” McCoy then threatened to double Sutton’s rent before saying she would give her an eviction notice, the notice came the next day. At an eviction hearing, the McCoys claimed Sutton had damaged the property and of course the McCoys denied all allegations. “Some of the best friends I got is colored,” Allen McCoy said. However, Sutton provided pictures showing otherwise. Brian Corman, a Cohen Milstein attorney representing Sutton. “We believe that those statements are entirely false in light of the recorded statements made by Ms. McCoy that the only reason that she was evicting Ms. Sutton and her family was because she had invited an African American family to her home. There’s almost always a pretext given for racial discrimination” After being given a 60-day notice in mid-October, Sutton moved out in December 2018. Sutton says she “experienced extreme emotional distress” over fears for her family’s safety.
https://tinyurl.com/y3h29ecx

CHRIS CUKOR San Francisco CA July 4, 2019 In broad daylight Software engineer Wesley Michel was waiting for a friend when a man identified as Chris Cukor demanded to know the name of the person he was waiting for, and then called police claiming Michel was trespassing. Cukor brought his young son outside with him and the child can be seen and heard pleading with his father to not call police saying he agreed with Michel. Cukor, who works as an executive for YouTube as a “Device Partnerships” executive according to his LinkedIn profile, ignores his sons cries and continues to ask police to respond to the location. A minute later, Michel’s friend shows up and demands to know what is going on. The entire time, the young boy tries to convince his father that they should leave. Cukor says “Call your friend on the call box” Michel says he does not have to do that. He says he’s just waiting. Cukor says he’s going to call police. Then his son begins to plead with his father not to do that. “Daddy, don’t, don’t,” the child says. Michel says that Cukor is going to be the “next person” caught on camera similar to Permit Patty and others. Cukor says that Michel is threatening him. asks for the friend’s name. Michel says he’s not required to tell Cukor who he is outside waiting for. The child again pleads: Daddy, let’s go. I don’t like this. Please daddy, let’s go.” Cukor is on the phone with police saying, “There’s a trespasser …” as the boy again asks if they can please leave. The boy says, “Daddy, don’t. It’s the better daddy. I agree with him.” But Cukor stays on the phone saying Michel “tailgated” him through the door and then begins to describe Michel saying he has on a pink polo shirt, a Yankees cap and “appears” to be African-American. The child still begs his father to hang up and for them to leave. Cukor says that though Michel said he’s just waiting for a friend, Cukor demands to know the friend’s name. “Hello,” a woman can be heard yelling out near the end of the video. Michel had said she was handicapped. He says: “Hi, Cathy. I love you.” The child says to the father, “I told you! Daddy, look what you’ve gotten us into. Let’s go!”
https://tinyurl.com/yyaseeqs

MANAGER CROSBY RESTAURANT AND BAR Montclair, New Jersey @ninoshkka16 said all was well until a general manager approached and asked them to leave because one of her friends was wearing a scarf, and another had on a durag. According to the manager, headgear is against bar policy. But @ninoshkka quickly pointed out that there were plenty of folks at the bar who had on hats and other head pieces. She shared video of the incident, showing her in a war of words with a manager, who threatened to get the bouncers to escort them out. Initially, the manager told @ninoshkka16 he had “plenty of Black’ friends to prove he wasn’t racist, but soon became more aggressive after she questioned the bar’s dress code policy. The young woman said eventually, “3 big ass white security” guards came over and intimidated them into leaving the restaurant. “We did not deserve to be treated like this,” she wrote. “No black body deserves to be treated like this. Not surprising but absolutely disgusting.”
https://tinyurl.com/y4lef8sv

DENNY’S RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES and PATRON’s Lansing Michigan Oct. 2018 Jennifer McEwen, Sasha Collins, and Lamaya McGuire were at Denny’s Restaurant and shortly after they were seated and placed their orders four individuals wearing “Blue Angel” biker jackets walked in the restaurant and began taunting them with racist vitriol. Collins recalled “As soon as they seen us they just well one just started going in, [saying,] ‘we don’t like these type of people where we are from …,’ ” she and her friends tried ignoring it. “Then he sits down ‘nigger, nigger, nigger to his friends, ‘ ” After his insults failed to garner a reaction, Collins said the man waved over a waitress and told her “to serve these nigger’s some T-bone steaks.” Outraged, the women took their complaints to management after they say the waitress turned a blind eye to the racist harassment. Collins explained to a manager what happened, and requested the offending party be booted from the eatery. The manager refused, however, citing freedom of speech. According to the women, the manager then told them if they didn’t like what they were hearing, they could leave. McEwen shot back: “So if we were to say something back to them would that be freedom of speech?” to which the manager responded, “no, that would be you guys starting shit.” Fed up, the trio asked to take their orders to go. Again, the manager refused and threatened to call police if they didn’t leave. “I said, ‘OK call the police and I’ll call the police, too,’” “We didn’t do anything. We don’t have to leave.” While on the phone with 911, McEwen said one of the women from the biker group walked over and punched her. The assault was captured on surveillance video. Eaton County prosecutors said a warrant has been issued for the arrest of the woman suspected of throwing the punch caught on camera. Alice Barber was charged with assault and battery, did not show up for her arraignment, and no additional charges have been filed in connection to the fracas. Though it’s been months since the incident, Collins, McEwen and McGuire said it’s all still very upsetting. In a statement, a Denny’s spokesman said the company was first alerted to the incident last year and are still working to get to the bottom of the issue.
https://tinyurl.com/yxjokrhe

NICK STARR-STREET Hyattsville Maryland June 22, 2019 Felecia Soso posted a Twitter thread stating she and a few of her friends sat by the pool listening to music and having drinks at the Edition Apartments a white man started yelling at one of her friends. Soso “This man comes out of nowhere and I only started recording because I thought it was gonna be hilarious.. this man started yelling at my friend so I ran over.. mind you we were NOT LOUD at all.. we had glass bottles but he was NOT AT THE POOL.. he doesn’t work here lol” In the first video, a Black woman in a yellow bathing suit can be seen talking to a White man who has his phone in her face. The woman calmly speaks to the man (Starr-Street), who says “glassware is not allowed at the pool.” The woman then asks what she can do to make him more comfortable, she agreed to get rid of the glass and asked, “What else do I need to do for you to be comfortable?” Then he began following the women because they were trying to leave before police could arrive. Starr-Street responded in the video, “I’m going to report you to the leasing office.” Even though someone from the leasing office came to speak to them Starr-Street called the police. Then 5 minutes later, the county police for seven women who are literally just sitting by a pool!!!The women shared their side of the story and eventually decided to leave the pool. In another video posted by Gaëlle Claude showed Starr-Street following her and a friend while on the phone with 911. Her caption read, “This white man literally stalked us from his apartment for damn near a mile just cause we were at the pool drinking wine and taking pictures. Edition Apartments has evicted Nick Starr-Street
https://tinyurl.com/y4ll6jtl

J. ALEXANDER’S RESTAURANT Bloomfield, Michigan June 20, 2019 Liah Gant unfolded when she was sitting at the bar, waiting for a friend who hadn’t arrived yet. The seat next to her was vacant, but she was trying to save it for her friend. Still, she claims the bartender flagged down two white men who were looking for a place to sit. “I was racially profiled,” said Gant. “I was told to move out of my seat for two other white men to be seated.” When she objected to the men taking her seats, Gant claimed the bartender snatched the drink she was drinking, poured it out and refused to continue serving her. Shocked, Gant said she immediately complained to a restaurant manager, who allegedly told her she shouldn’t be upset because “the drink wasn’t thrown on me.” “And that’s when I was like, OK. I wanted to pull out my phone and record in that moment.” Gant said the manager warned her against pulling out her phone to film anything and started “getting loud.” Shortly afterward, another black patron approached the manager on Gant’s behalf, at which point a white customer began yelling at Gant and the other patron, and allegedly threw food at him. According to Davis, the manager initially told Gant she wouldn’t be charged for the tossed drink, but had a “change of heart” and made her pay for it anyway. The manager also allegedly commented that there are “two sides to every story.” That manager chose the side that says ‘it’s OK to be racist towards your black patrons, it’s OK to deny them service, it’s OK to deny them their basic humanity.” In addition to being booted from her seat, Gant claims the bartender was instructed to continue serving everyone but her. A similar incident occurred that same evening when Jerrick Jefferson says he was subjected to racist slurs and had food thrown at him after he and his friends were allegedly profiled by restaurant staff. When he confronted a manager about the issue, he said she brushed it off and walked away. Video taken during the incident also shows a white patron shouting at Jefferson before chucking a bag of food at him and his girlfriend. Gant and Jefferson do not know each other, but are both pushing for the workers involved to be terminated.
http://tinyurl.com/y5gcp22r

ARRESTED FOR PAINTING MURAL COMMISSIONED BY CITY Detroit Michigan June 2019 Popular street Detroit Artist Tashif “Sheefy McFly” Turner was working on a mural under a viaduct east of Seven Mile Road and John R as part of the City Walls program. Launched in 2017, the program pays artists a stipend and provides materials for them to create public art in vandalism-prone areas in an effort to help deter graffiti. On his first day of work, he says, police questioned him but left him alone after he showed them the permit. After a few days of working on the mural, he felt like the local police had become comfortable with his presence, and on Wednesday, he forgot to bring his permit. Later that afternoon, two new police officers approached him, believing him to be vandalizing the viaduct. “I told them I’m painting this mural for City Walls, and I got to have it done by Friday. They asked me to put my hands down and everything. I’m like, what’s going on?” Turner says when one of the officers tried to handcuff him, he attempted to pull away and walk toward his bag to find his permit. That’s when things got physical. “When I tried to walk towards my bag, they tried to act like I was resisting arrest and trying to run. They ran up on me like I’m dealing dope, bro, like I had crack on me and I had a gun in my bag”. Eventually the officers called for backup and put Turner in the back of a car. Turner says he told the officers to contact Zachary Meers, the City Walls coordinator whose name and phone number is listed on the permit. Eventually, Turner says he stopped resisting the officers. “I just kept my composure because I felt like if I actually got angry, they can shoot,” he says. “Like they will shoot me or they will beat me and I’m gonna still go to jail.” The officers did reach Meers, who assured them Turner had a permit. But it was too late. The officers found Turner had a warrant out for his arrest, stemming from a traffic violation from years ago. Turner spent the next 24 hours DPD’s detention center. He said he was placed in a cell with more than a dozen men and no beds. One man, he alleges, was bleeding. “That’s what makes me so angry about it because all my life, I never painted illegally at all. I don’t do nothing bad,” says Turner, who has created murals in the city alongside internationally recognized street artists as part of the Murals in the Market festival. “So for them to come out and treat me like a criminal, like I shot somebody … it just had me feeling like I was profiled, you know.”
https://tinyurl.com/yyxbt952

POSSESSING CAR AIR FRESHENER WHILE BLACK NYNY June 16, 2019 Sam Detroit was racially profiled for fitting the description of someone, approached by police, then asked to identify as police went on a fishing expedition, looking to search his car… Video, recorded by a bystander, shows NYPD officers harassing the man for his identification. Detroit insists he hasn’t committed any crime, knows his rights, and therefore doesn’t have to identify. “You know we don’t have rights in America, right?” the man recording, who apparently knows Detroit, asks rhetorically. “All of this for an air freshener,” Detroit says. After not showing his ID, and as his friends criticize the officers over their tactics, police decide to arrest Detroit for the air freshener. Detroit was charged with interfering with a police investigation and refusing to identify, court records show…. Sam Detroit “Perfect father’s day gift to me smh I was racially profiled and harassed by NYPD basically I fit the description of the person they were lookin for so why I was park they came at me askin for my i d I said no I didn’t committed any crime why I have to identify my self and the cops at each other look around my car and look inside said of the Air freshener i stood my ground and they arrest me so one cop drove off with my car to the precinct they illegally search my car booked me and and I spend a night in jail next day I was release apparently they was lookin for a black man in a black car with a gun.” He is scheduled to appear in court on July 15.
https://tinyurl.com/y4hdylhg

SGT. JEFF ZALAZNIK, BADGE NUMBER 116 HOSPITALIZED WHILE BLACK Freeport Illinois June 9, 2019 Shaquille Dukes had been admitted to the FHN Memorial Hospital for double pneumonia and asthma-related symptoms. Doctors told Dukes to take a walk with the IV machine as long as he didn’t leave hospital grounds. As he and his brother were on the way to walk back in the hospital doors, a security guard ordered the men to follow him across the street. That’s when things things got ugly. “He had gotten out of his vehicle and said, ‘What are you going to do, steal that and sell it on eBay?'” “I told him, ‘This machine is pumping fluid into my veins as we speak.'” After a back and forth exchange, the security guard calls police on Dukes, his brother and another man accompanying him at the hospital. All three men were arrested, despite their story. Police informed Dukes he was being arrested for attempted theft since he was off of hospital property in possession of medical equipment. But Dukes and the other two men say they only left the property when the security guard told them to follow his vehicle and were headed back indoors when he approached them. After being cuffed and arrested, Dukes said his asthma inhaler was taken from him and that police ignored his medical distress as he was being taken to the jail for booking. He also passed out and suffered a seizure inside the vehicle he was being transported in, but was later given back his inhaler after he regained consciousness. Shaquille Dukes “Under the direction of Sgt Zalaznik, officers stood by and watched while my IV was removed on the sidewalk, and it was NOT by a doctor. I told the Sgt I was being treated for pneumonia and asthma, and his words were “I don’t care why you’re here, you’re going to jail”. They took my rescue inhaler and began to transport me to the city lockup, while in transit I began to have a seizure, and subsequently am asthma attack, I pleaded with officers for almost 4 minutes to retrieve my inhaler from the transporting officer, and finally, when I became unresponsive, it miraculously appeared.” Shaquille Dukes filed a racial profiling complaint with the city of Freeport and says he feels the incident would not have occurred if he were a white patient. The Freeport Police Department issued a statement this week, announcing an internal affairs into the matter has been launched and is urging the public not to rush to judgement until all the facts are in. The hospital is refusing to comment.
https://tinyurl.com/y2mw37e9

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL Chevy Chase Maryland May 14, 2019 Tiffany Kelley’s son “my son took play money to school purchased from Amazon. He is excited about money and learning to count his money. In an attempt for socialization, something he struggles with, he passed it out on the school bus to his peers. The money has bright pink Asian symbols on the front and back, along with dotted lines, so that it can be distinguished as play money. Later that day one of the bills was discovered at the bus depot. When bus video footage was reviewed the decision was made to call the police. The police came to the school to question my son. They also called the Secret Service. Outrageous. It is not fair to believe that a person of color has committed a crime. I do not believe it would have happened to someone had they not been a minority.” The Montgomery County public school system sent her a statement saying their practice is to call the police if there is suspicion and or evidence of a student trying to use counterfeit money to purchase something. “But that wasn’t the case in this incident and the police should not have been called. Moving to Montgomery County, specifically Chevy Chase, was scary for me, it is an area that is not very diverse, and my greatest fear was policing of my son. My nightmare has come true.” The police questioned her son without notifying her. Montgomery County police responded saying there was no racial profiling in their investigation.
https://tinyurl.com/yxh6ovm5

UNIDENTIFIED WHITE OFFICER Woods Cross Utah June 6, 2019 10-year-old vision and developmentally impaired D.J. Hrubes was playing on his grandmother’s front lawn. The officer was responding to the end of a police chase involving a white Mitsubishi and a silver Cadillac, the people in the white car pulled off Interstate 15 and abandoned the car in a church parking lot in West Bountiful. Members of the Hrubes family and two passersby who saw the encounter said the officer pulled up in front of the house, got out of his car, pointed a gun at DJ’s head and told him to put his hands in the air, get on the ground, an order they say the boy complied with immediately. Jerri Hrubes, DJ’s mother heard the commotion and ran out of the house Jerri Hrubes said she saw an officer pointing his handgun toward D.J.’s head, telling him to put his hands in the air. D.J. asked the officer what he had done wrong, and the officer told him not to ask questions. Police claim the officer “thinking this is one of the suspects.” Police dispatch reports during the chase identified one of the drivers as a black man. The officer told the boy and his mom to get inside their house because police were looking for two armed suspects. said the officer left without apologizing or explaining what happened, and didn’t mention the armed suspects, she did say the officer returned later in the day to apologize to DJ, telling the boy, “I am so sorry I pointed my gun at you.”
Woods Cross police claim they have tried twice to contact Jerri Hrubes to talk to her about the incident, but “she hung up on us.” However, Jerri Hrubes she has not heard from them and said her son didn’t have any toys or objects in his hands. Woods Cross, Utah, Police Chief Chad Soffe “The unidentified officer mistook the boy for a potential suspect will continue to work amid an independent review of the incident” Karra Porter, a Salt Lake attorney for the Hrubes family, said she has now heard four versions of the story from Woods Cross police and the officer did not activate his body camera during the encounter.
https://tinyurl.com/yx93yhcv

ELAINE MITCHELL Las Vegas May 13 , 2019 Two Black women informed the police that Mitchell threw rocks at them and ordered them to leave as she hurled racial slurs at their way; Mitchell also used the epithets even as she stood in front of a patrol car. Police said Mitchell started to pray and was “asking God to kill” the two women because the victims are black, they ‘could not afford her’ because they are broke minorities.” Elaine Mitchell has been charged with a hate crime.
https://tinyurl.com/y4g4zn44

MICHAEL JAMES BLACK Gresham Oregon May 10, 2019 A 14 year old boy was riding his bike home with a couple of friends after basketball practice, his two friends were on foot. He said he was riding his bike in a circle to let his friends catch up, and they were walking in a cul-de-sac the boy thought was public. Black, who was sitting in a chair in the carport, yelled the area was private property, and then yelled racial slurs and threats. The boys got scared that Black was going to get a gun, so he rode home, where his mother called the police. He said they were about 30 to 40 feet apart for the whole encounter. When police interviewed Black, he said the teen got onto his property and got into an argument with him, including yelling at him and flipping him off. Black said he told the teen to leave his property, and admitted to using some racially-charged language. Black also told police he thought the teen had a knife, but admitted that he couldn’t see well because the teen was 30 to 40 feet away. The boy and his family live in the same area as Black. Black has been charged with second-degree intimidation and menacing.
https://tinyurl.com/y5ypdl8x

KATE New York New York June 1, 2019 During an argument sparked by the group allegedly bringing an extra friend to the Airbnb, upping the expected number of guests from four to five Meshach Ciscero, shared video of the incident “So which monkey is staying on the couch?” the woman says Meshach said he was “livid” after he and his friends were called racial slurs and subsequently kicked out of their accommodations. “When we arrived to our @Airbnb, we were harassed several times before being thrown out at 2 am. Her reasonings were because she felt unsafe, she assumed we were going to steal and destroy her property. After being harassed by her nonstop, she then told us to ‘Get the fuck out of her house immediately!’ We cooperated and began to pack our things to leave.” That’s when the Asian woman burst into their room with a camera as they gathered their belongings; one of them had just gotten out of the shower. Ignoring their pleas for privacy, @Kartoon_1911 said the woman again demanded they “get the f–k out of my house.” He described the incident as “traumatic” and said the woman became so enraged his friends grew fearful and called police. “We are a group of 4 educated and working professionals and were classified as criminals and animals over and over again. I felt like she’d attack us if we hadn’t called the police. I felt like she’d possibly accuse us of sexual assault if we hadn’t pulled out our cameras.” In the end, @Kartoon_1911 said he was just glad he and his friends made it out of the situation safely. The quintet, he said, was eventually able to find lodging at a hotel, where they crashed for the night. Airbnb has banned the host, calling her language “unacceptable and has deleted “Kates” account.
https://tinyurl.com/y584y56c

ALBERT PARTIN Douglas County, Georgia Memorial Day weekend 2019 A white man named Albert Partin went ballistic after a 62-year-old woman said his dog bit hers at a dog park. Witness Chris Mungin, who is Black, said Partin “started getting really vulgar. The racial slurs and the derogatory statements came out and … he called [the woman] a bitch.” With Mungin’s wife recording video on a cell phone, Partin pulled out a gun and pointed it at Mungin and the 62-year-old woman. “I just stood there because I was like did he really just pull out a gun at a dog park and on the other side I was like oh crap it’s a gun,” Mungin explained. Mungin said called 911 and said the responding police treated him like a suspect. “The police came and were very aggressive towards me,” he said. “You would’ve thought I was the one who pulled the gun out and he was the one who called 911.” “He came at me out of those gates and that’s when I drew the weapon,” Partin said. “I thought he was going to attack me. It was strictly in self-defense. I never drew a weapon at anybody.” Of course, that begs the question: If he never drew a weapon on anybody then why bring a gun to a dog park? Not surprisingly, Partin, who used racial slurs and pulled out a weapon, has the support of the local police chief. What is surprising, though, is that the police chief is Black. “You have a right to protect yourself and property at any given moment,” Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds said. “Now, he feared this guy. This guy is approaching him. He just wanted him to get off of him and that’s why they’re misdemeanors and not felonies. He had a right to protect himself.”‘ Pounds also downplayed Mungin saying the police were aggressive toward him. “What Mr. Mungin’s problem is he wanted us to go out there and throw folks on the ground and lock them up because of what he said. We don’t operate like that,” Pounds said. “We do things professionally.” A white man pulled out a gun and used racial and sexist slurs, all because of a dog, and now a Georgia sheriff is defending him. Why? Because the white man “feared” Black people.
https://tinyurl.com/y4sx7l2b

CMPD OFFICER AIMEE AQUINO Charlotte, North Carolina April 2, 2013 Former Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Officer Michael Tinsley was unjustly fired after a fellow white female officer accused him of rape. Tinsley, who is black, was fired after a dispute with CMPD Officer Aimee Aquino. Tinsley is now suing the city of Charlotte and CMPD for $1 million on claims of racial discrimination. Tinsley and Aquino dated for two years while they were both officers with CMPD, but when their relationship began to fall apart, Tinsley called it quits with Aquino in 2013. Aquino then began to show up to Tinsley’s 911 service calls while he was on duty. Tinsley claims Aquino was stalking him. Tinsley filed a official complaint to his supervisor about the stalking claim regarding Aquino. On May 7, 2013 CMPD issued a directive for Aquino not to go to Tinsley’s division or office. But on the same day as the directive was issued, Aquino filed a false police report stating Tinsley had raped her on April 2, 2013. The rape allegation prompted a full investigation by CMPD. The police department ordered Tinsley and Aquino to turn over their cell phones. An investigation by CMPD found Aquino was actually on the phone with another man on the same day and time she said Tinsley raped her. CMPD ruled Aquino’s rape claim unsustainable. But after 16 years on the force Tinsley was terminated by CMPD in 2013 for using city-issued equipment for personal use. He was also accused of lying during the Aquino rape investigation. Tinsley was not able to find work as a police officer anywhere else; he even went unemployed for years until he was able to find a construction job. Meanwhile, Aquino was never fired and still works for CMPD. Tinsley says he received harsher punishment based on his race. Tinsley won a civil suit against Aquino for slander and was awarded $50,000. The city of Charlotte paid for Aquino’s court fees in that case. Tinsley questions why Aquino didn’t have to come out of pocket and why the city paid for her lawyer and settlement judgment. Tinsley also was awarded $125,000 per his discrimination lawsuit against the city of Charlotte. Tinsley is also seeking $1.5 million in the same suit, a ruling on that hasn’t been determined yet, but it is likely the city of Charlotte will settle.
https://tinyurl.com/y5wr7ah7

RUBY HOWELL,KOA CAMPGROUND MANAGER Oktibbeha Country Lake Starkville, Mississippi 5-27-2019 Memorial Day Weekend Jessica Richardson “Today was a beautiful day so my husband Franklin Richardson sand our 2 year old dog, and myself, decided to Google a lake to visit and have a picnic. We found a lake located in Starkville, MS and decided to visit. Not five mins later a truck pulls up and a white lady screams at us, she then jumps out of her truck with a gun and proceeded to point it at the 3 of us.” The KOA campground has beach access to the lake, when they were confronted by the white woman who pulled a gun on them. “She was just like, ‘get, get, you don’t belong here, you don’t belong here, you don’t belong here,’” Jessica said. “The fact that she used ‘get, get’ like we were a dog. You say ‘get, get’ to a stray dog that’s on your porch.” She is seen with the gun in the video. The woman, they later learned managed the location with her husband told them they needed a reservation to be there. Richardson and her husband, who she says is a veteran, asked why did she not just say that initially rather than pull a gun on them, agreeing they would go and would have gone if they were not allowed to be there. The woman said “I’m just telling you, you need to leave. It’s under private ownership. Y’all just can’t be out here. They will not let you. ” The Richardson’s repeat, “That’s fine, that’s all you had to say. We’re leaving.” But Richardson’s husband went to the office, where he would meet the woman’s husband, described as the campground manager. He contradicted his wife and “reservations aren’t needed for the lake, they only needed reservations for the cabin and RV area.” Kampgrounds of America spokesman Mike Gast said Tuesday the unidentified manager had been fired from the KOA in Starkville after video showed her holding a gun. The Richardsons obtained an attorney to see how they can move forward. Ruby was only charged with a misdemeanor of threatening exhibition of a weapon. Bond was set at $500, which Howell posted shortly after being booked into jail.
https://tinyurl.com/y4blva8k

TWO STAFF MEMBERS COSMOPOLITAN HOTEL AND CASINO Las Vegas Nevada May 25, 2019 Two hotel staff members tell rapper Meek Mill he could be arrested for trespassing if he enters the hotel. “We are private property, at this time, with the information we have, we’re refusing to do business with you, we have the right to do that,” one staff member can be heard saying in the video that begins after the conversation has already started. The staff member then asks the person recording to stop recording, to which the recorder says “absolutely not.” The staff member then begins reading Nevada state code to the rapper. “If you do not leave the premise immediately, you will be subject to arrest for a misdemeanor,” the staff member reads. “For what?” Meek Mill asks. Neither video posted by Meek shows hotel staff telling the rapper they are at capacity. The artist said there’s “a few other hotels” that are also “doing this to black entertainers because they don’t want too many blacks on they property.” The staff member then asks the person recording to stop recording, to which the recorder says “absolutely not.” The staff member then begins reading Nevada state code to the rapper. “If you do not leave the premise immediately, you will be subject to arrest for a misdemeanor,” the staff member reads. “For what?” Meek Mill asks. Neither video posted by Meek shows hotel staff telling the rapper they are at capacity. The artist said there’s “a few other hotels” that are also “doing this to black entertainers because they don’t want too many blacks on they property.” A video captured of Meek’s confrontation with Cosmopolitan Hotel reveals more of the aftermath. “If I walk upstairs and get something to eat, Imma be arrested for what? For being a rapper?” Meek is heard asking a hotel security guard who says he’d be arrested for trespassing. “For what? For what, though?”
https://tinyurl.com/y2hm9xsr

SECURITY GUARDS and MUSEUM PATRONS Boston’s Museum Of Fine Arts May 16, 2019 A group of 30 seventh grade students from Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public School were at the museum as a reward for good behavior and good grades and were racially profiled by security guards and fellow museum visitors. The group of more than two dozen students of color were exploring the museum to get a firsthand look at the art and cultures they had studied in class. Instead of an educational visit, the students were reportedly subjected to racial profiling and hurtful comments. Marvelyne Lamy, English Language Arts Teacher said security guards at the Museum of Fine Arts followed the 7th-graders and a visitor commented about ‘stripping’ to one student dancing. Museum patrons and a tour guide made racist comments toward the group. A tour guide told the children, “no food, no drink, and no watermelon” after they entered the building. A female student said a visitor told her, “It’s a shame that she is not learning and instead stripping,” as the child danced to music playing in the exhibit. Lamy also said that the group was told that they could not touch any of the artifacts, although white students also on field trips were allowed to touch the displays. She also claimed that security guards followed her and her students as they walked through the museum. “These young people left the Museum feeling disrespected, harassed and targeted because of the color of their skin, and that is unacceptable,” Matthew Teitelbaum, a director at the museum, said in a statement on the museum’s website. “This is a fundamental problem that we will address as an institution, both with immediate steps and long-term commitments.” The museum said in a May 24 message on its website it looked into the complaints and found two instances of two of its patrons making “racist comments” to students. “We have identified the patrons who made the disparaging remarks and revoked their memberships, banning them from the Museum’s grounds. We will serve them with a no-trespass cease-and-desist notification.”
https://tinyurl.com/yxdjpw88

DON BARNETTEGarner, North Carolina May 16, 2019 Outside Mikisa Thompson’s split-level home, several police officers flooded the street while a few stood at her front door. Thompson’s children, initially hid in an upstairs bathroom, took out their phones to record as their mother answered the door. After reading a search warrant, Garner officers spread through Thompson’s home and seized an HP laptop, a computer monitor and speakers, at least seven iPhones, a MacBook, an alarm clock and charging cables, according to the outlet. To make matters worse, Thompson was slapped with a court summons for allegedly violating the city’s noise ordinance after her next-door neighbor, Don Barnette complained “When it’s talking about killing white people and if you’re black and you still work for a white man, you’re a slave, all that kind of stuff, I don’t need to hear that. My grandkids don’t need to hear that mess.” And claimed Thompson played her Malcolm X and Angela Davis speeches too loudly, describing them as “Islamic Jihadist-type messages”. The incident comes just three weeks after Garner police seized Thompson’s property after a previous complaint from Barnette. On April 22, Barnette dialed 911 to gripe about his neighbor playing “loud Islamic-Muslim preaching” in her backyard as she tidied up the patio, officers took a stereo and issued Thompson a $50 fine. Under the city’s noise ordinance, the “playing of any radio, phonograph, television set, record player, sound reproduction device or any musical instrument in such a manner or with such volume during the hours between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort, or repose of persons in any dwelling house, apartment or other type of residence” is strictly forbidden. HOWEVER, none of Thompson’s alleged violations occurred during this time frame, but the noise coming from Thompson’s property was loud enough to wake him at 7:15 a.m., however Thompson denies ever playing the speeches that early. The search warrant indicated police used four videos from Barnette with time stamps of 12:46 p.m., 12:49 p.m., and two at 1:22 p.m. as cause for their action some nine hours later the same day. Also, the vague wording of the ordinance allows officers full discretion over whether someone is in violation of the ordinance or not. The North Carolina mom is now charged with a class 3 misdemeanor and faces a $500 fine.
https://tinyurl.com/y44nzy3k

OFFICER JOHN SMYLY Boulder, Colorado March 1, 2019 Officer John Smyly was patrolling the area in response to recent crimes including bike theft, burglary and trespass at an orthodontics office when he spotted Black college student Zayd Atkinson outside an apartment building picking up trash. After noticing a “Private Property” sign near the front of the building, the officer asked Atkinson if he lived there. Atkinson said he did, but Smyly questioned him further, asking for his address and what he was doing there. “I’m just checking to make sure you have a right to be here, that’s all”. When Smyly asks Atkinson what unit he lives in, the student responds: “I don’t think I actually have to tell you that.” He instead gave the officer his student ID, confirming his identity which did little to satisfy Smyly, who proceeded to ask him several questions. Atkinson, who had a trash grabber in hand, ignored the Officer Smyly, walked off and continued his curbside clean up. Officer Smyly then followed Atkinson around, asking more questions and ordering him to “sit down!” Smyly soon calls for backup, telling dispatch the suspect was refusing to comply and was armed with “a blunt metal object,” referring to the trash grabber. As the situation grows more tense, Smyly informs Atkinson he’s obstructing a police officer and threatens to detain him. He also says Atkinson is being investigated for trespassing. At one point, Officer Smyly threatens to use his taser if Atkinson doesn’t comply. “You’re an idiot!” an angry Atkinson shouts back. “Why would you think that you could tase me? I’m freaking picking up trash on my property. I’m not doing anything illegal, and you’re not going to fucking tase me, officer.” It was not long before seven additional officers, including a sergeant, arrive to the scene, some of them with their weapons drawn. The tense standoff ends after 22 minutes and only after a neighbor confirms Atkinson does indeed live there. “I was not going to just fall in line again and just be a dog”, though he admits he was afraid that Smyly might tase him. Atkinson was not cited in the incident. As for Smyly, the terms of his resignation agreement allow him to remain employed with Boulder Police until Feb. 9, 2020, using his accrued floating holiday leave, sick and permitted administrative leave. Smyly is expected to receive $69,000 in that period. He is barred from being reinstated at the department.
https://tinyurl.com/y5g9pd4y

WHITE MAN Naples, Florida May 11, 2019 Standup comic Ahmed Ahmed, who is of Egyptian descent, poked fun at negative stereotypes of Muslims during a set at Off The Hook Comedy Club. According to a video clip “Clap if you’re from the Middle East”. After a smattering of cheers, Ahmed slyly responded: “All right. We got a handful of us in in here, nice. But, hey, it only takes one of us … to tell a joke.” At least one member of the audience didn’t get the punchline. The man called the Collier County Sheriff’s Department and told a deputy that Ahmed was organizing people of Middle Eastern descent to possibly commit terrorism. “I’ve told that joke about 1,000 times around the world,” Ahmed said. “Whatever he heard and what I said are two different things.” The comic said he stuck around after Saturday’s show to meet with any fans who wanted to speak with him or snap pictures. “Terrorists don’t do meet-and-greets,” the comic said. “We don’t say, `Death to America!’ and then, `But wait, let’s do selfies first.’ ” Deputies showed up to the club Sunday before Ahmed’s set that night, briefly interviewed him and left without incident. “They couldn’t have been nicer,” Ahmed said of the responding deputies. “One of them said, `Don’t change anything, keep doing what you’re doing.’ That was refreshing to hear.” Club owner Brien Spina said he’s been booking Ahmed to his club for more than a decade, and won’t stop now. “I want to say, `Thank you,’ to him.” Ahmed said. “He got more publicity for me in that one phone call than ever. You want to talk about a blessing in disguise.”
https://tinyurl.com/y5avzj6g

BANKING WHILE BLACK aka EMPLOYEES JPMORGAN CHASE White Plains, New York April 2019 Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas and two members of his staff, Industrial Development Agency head Marilyn Crawford, who’s Black and Detective Jose Centeno, who’s Latino were racially profiled. As Thomas was speaking with officials about getting access to the city’s bank records. A JP Morgan Chase bank worker called the police on him after he attempted to deposit a six-figure check into the city’s bank account. He was also at the bank attempting to enforce a recent court order requiring Deborah Reynolds, the city comptroller, to grant him access to city finance records. The two are currently embroiled in a bitter dispute over the city’s finances. The mayor claims he has previously been denied access to the city’s bank records by Reynolds and her predecessor, and JP Morgan won’t honor the contract allowing him access to the city’s financial transactions. Mayor Thomas was made to wait nearly 90 minutes before seeing a bank executive about his requests. The mayor accused bank employees of “evading questions” and placing him and his team in a conference room, where they were subjected to “an extensive waiting time for someone to address us, then a lengthy wait for a call back, then a phone conversation and then more waiting on a call back.” Officer Centeno, who was in plainclothes and armed with a gun, went to grab some food but wasn’t allowed back inside because he had a weapon. That’s when security for the bank instructed an office manager to dial police after spotting the gun-toting detective.
https://tinyurl.com/y6m5bty7

SANDY SEPHORA Calabasas, California April 30, 2019 “Ctrl” singer SZA was hassled, harassed, had security called on her for walking around Sephora store # 614 in Calabasas and accused of stealing Fenty Beauty products.
https://tinyurl.com/y5fmxlms

RACIST MANAGER Days Inn Norfolk, Virginia April 22, 2019 Joshua October was supposed to be leaving to do a sound check for his show Thursday morning when a quick grab for yogurt at the hotel quickly changed everything. “He comes over to the door and stands in front of the door and he is yelling at me, basically telling me to put it back,” October said. “I’m like super confused because yesterday I grabbed like three of these yogurts and nobody was coming at me.” Eventually the man let him pass, but October says the harassment continued, and that’s when he knew he needed to record. Days Inn front desk manager caught on video spewing racist abuse and taunting the Joshua October a young Black man, calling him “boy,” and making derogatory remarks about his hair. “Come on! Prison boy! We’ve got prison boy here!” the manager teases. “Look at that little fucking stupid haircut he’s got. Looks like a fucking mop.” At one point, the manager threatens to call the cops on the patron, even though he has a room key and has been staying at the hotel for two days. The manager proceeds to refer to the young man as a “chump,” telling police over the phone, “He ain’t nothin’ to me. … And he’ll always be nothin.’” When the customer tells the manager he’ll likely lose his job once the racist rant goes public, the manager scoffs at the likelihood. “Do you really think I care about this job?” the manager shoots back. “Do you really think I care? I ain’t gonna lose my job over you.” Hello,” Days Inn posted to Twitter. “Please be advised the employee in this video has been terminated from his position. We have been in contact with the guest and have apologized for the experience he occurred and have issued a full refund. We apologize for this situation.”
https://tinyurl.com/y6bcogmm

JESSICA HOLLINGER and KEVIN HOLLINGER Springfield, Oregon April 21, 2019 Rashonda Matthews captured the moment a white woman started shouting racial slurs at her and her family as they stood on their property. Matthews posted the video to Facebook and said the woman shoved her brother while a man who was with her pulled out a knife. Footage from the incident shows the woman getting in Matthews’ face and repeating the Nigger several times. “It’s a sad world we live in y’all,” she wrote. “On Easter with [our] kids out playing we were called the N word. just for being black and outside I guess.” “We were all kinda like what the heck?” he told Oregon station KEZI. “Like trying to tell them to stop and soon as I pulled out my phone, [the woman] said she was going to call the cops on me.” In the video, Jessica Hollinger is seen dialing police as the Matthews’ family repeatedly shouts at her to leave their property. What the video didn’t show is when police said the woman made her way onto the family’s property and “chest-bumped” Matthews’ brother. The harassment didn’t stop there, however. At one point, the woman drops her pants in the middle of the street, exposing her bare butt, as Matthews and her family continue demanding that she leave. “So be it, you’re racist, that’s fine,” Rashonda Matthews said. “Just take it away from us. We don’t want to hear it. “We don’t want to feel it. I don’t want my kids to ever experience it.” Jessica Hollinger is now charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and trespassing, the station reported. Meanwhile, her man, Kevin Hollinger, also faces charges of disorderly conduct and felon in possession of a restricted weapon for carrying a knife.
https://tinyurl.com/yyr93qlq

DR. KAREN L HAWK O.D. (Optometrist ) West Sacramento CA April 16th, 2019 Dr. Karen Hawk stopped her car to harass a Black man in the vehicle driving approximately a block behind her. As he filmed, she exited her car, walked to the front of his vehicle and took a photo of his license plate. Then she approached his driver side window and hit him twice, knocked the phone out of his hand, and proceeded to repeatedly punch him while yelling “go back to the ghetto”.

The overall average patient rating of Dr. Karen L Hawk is bad. Dr. Karen L Hawk has been rated by 23 patients. From those 23 patients, 17 of those left a comment along with their rating. Her overall rating is 1.2 of 5.0 stars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQD193EuDh8

SANTANA RENEE ADAMS Charleston, W.Va. April 5, 2019 Adams initially told police Mohamed Fathy Hussein Zayan, a 54-year-old engineer from Alexandria, Egypt, who was in the area for work grabbed her 5-year-old daughter by the hair as she dropped to the floor inside a clothing store and tried to pull her away but stopped when Adams produced a gun. The charge capped a sensational tale of a mother using a gun to thwart a brazen abduction attempt that quickly fell apart amid inconsistencies when the story started to crumble when no witnesses could be found and mall surveillance video didn’t match the woman’s original statement. Upon additional questioning, Adams began changing her account. She later told investigators she may have overreacted and misinterpreted the man’s intentions and he may have simply been patting the girl on the head. The 24-year-old Adams turned herself in about 2 p.m. and was jailed after a magistrate judge set bail at $20,000. She was calm and quiet while she was booked and ignored questions from a throng of reporters waiting for her at the courthouse. Authorities announced they were dropping charges Mr. Zayan. He cried as he greeted family members upon his release from jail.
https://tinyurl.com/y6botct2

58-YEAR-OLD WHITE WOMAN aka ROAD RAGE RITA Elizabethtown, KY Feb. 22, 2019 US Army Sergeant First Class Kai Waters was driving home when she noticed a woman driving aggressively behind her. It was clear the woman wanted her and another driver to move out of the fast lane. “She started honking her horn and pulled next to me”. The woman rolled down her window and began hurling racial slurs at her. “She called me a black bitch, and said ‘your kind. I’m so tired of your people’ and all this.” Waters said the woman bumped her car, forcing her to pull over at a busy gas station. Surveillance footage from the store shows the moment Waters pulled up with the other woman in hot pursuit. Waters was still in her car with the door open and had already dialed 911 but it didn’t stop the woman from coming up to her car and assaulting her. “I told her you know I’m on the phone with the 911. The operator can hear you.” That’s when Waters said she grabbed a knife gifted to her as a military honor and stabbed the woman in the leg with it. In the surveillance footage, the woman is seen continuing to go after Waters even after being injured. Once Elizabethtown Police arrived on the scene, it was Waters, 33, who ended up in the back of a patrol car even though she was still on the phone with 911 dispatchers when the woman started crying out for help. The police immediately assumed Waters was the attacker because of her age and race, and refused to hear her side of the story. “I thought hopefully, someone is going to listen to me, they’re going to get my story. But that never happened.” Surveillance video clearly shows an act of road rage on the part of the other woman. Waters said she filed a complaint against the woman, but authorities have yet to act on it. For now, she’s suspended from her job at Fort Knox while the case is pending and could face charges from the Army later. Still, Fort Knox leaders are standing by their soldier. Sgt. Waters has been hit with felony assault charges after defending herself against racist road rage attacker.
http://tinyurl.com/y59ml2z4

UNNAMED WHITE WOMAN aka GAS PUMP GRETTA Richland County So. Carolina Sept. 29, 2018 At a gas station, a woman pulls up to an officer screaming that she was punched in the face, causing a confusing, bloody scene in which multiple people rush her in this clip. Woman tells deputies a Black man punched her several times, chaos ensues before the woman is arrested for stabbing the man, which is why he punched her several times. The reason she stabbed him is because he pulled in front of the gas pump she planned on using. The woman confessed to police on video she had a big knife which she always carries on her person.
http://tinyurl.com/yxfwgzdj

UNNAMED WHITE WOMAN aka BARBARA BRUSH Quincy Massachusetts March 25, 2019 a 49-year-old White woman told police a man came up from behind and threw her to the ground as she walked behind the tennis courts at Russell Park in Quincy. She described an African-American man in his 20s, bald, clean shaven, wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans, and black shoes. stole her jacket and shoes before taking money from her purse and fleeing the scene. The woman had visible cuts to her face when officers arrived to the scene about 15 minutes later. One of the officers also recovered the woman’s shoes and jacket in a wooded area not far from where the “victim” claimed the mugging occurred. No other evidence was found, and there were no witnesses to the alleged attack. After reviewing surveillance footage near the park, however, police brought the woman in for a second round of questioning, during which she confessed to making the entire thing up. It turns out the cuts on her face were actually from walking through brush along the park’s trails. Police refuse to reveal the White woman’s name.
http://tinyurl.com/yyrpjqey

CORRINE TERRONE New Haven Connecticut March. 16, 2019 Hamden school district spokesperson Corrine Terrone repeatedly hurling racial epithets at the African-American male and his female partner inside a ShopRite supermarket. In the minute-long video, Terrone is heard shouting the n-word and other expletives at the Black man as other supermarket-goers watch in horror. The man suddenly makes a beeline for the school worker after she calls him a “f—–g n—-r,” prompting his female partner to step between them. “Don’t do it! Don’t do it!” fellow shoppers plead, urging the man to calm down. Meanwhile, Terrone carries on with her tirade and pulls out her cellphone to record the incident. The man quickly smacks the phone out of her hand before walking away, which only seemed to aggravate the school secretary more. “Put your hands on me, come on!” Terrone shouts at him. “You motherf—-r! That’s right, you’re a n—-r in East Haven. F–k you, n—-r.” She then runs up behind the man and spits at him. District officials condemned Terrone’s actions in a statement, calling her behavior “completely unacceptable and in conflict with the values of Hamden Public Schools.” East Haven Police are now investigating the incident. Terrone has since resigned from her job as a clerk at Hamden Public High School. District officials said they scheduled an investigatory meeting with the former staffer upon learning of the racist video. Administrators also filed a report with the Department of Children and Families because Terrone’s two kids were present during the incident.
http://tinyurl.com/y4jma7ns

FAITH GENTRY Wyandotte, Michigan Feb. 28, 2019 Faith Gentry, 17-years old was pulled over by a man posing as a officer. She described as a tall African-American who never asked for registration or proof of insurance during the stop. “He did have a badge on his shoulder and the button-up shirt and the belt, but the only thing on his belt was a gun.” Gentry alleged the “officer” had pulled her over for a broken blinker signal and claimed he couldn’t see her license plate clearly. The cop told her she was getting a ticket, but it would be mailed to her. Gentry said she knew something was off, however, after police informed her there were no African-American officers on their force she said “I was kind of in shock I didn’t know what to do” Police launched their search of a Black man Gentry described as 6 feet tall with a slim build and scruffy facial hair. She also told authorities the suspect was driving a black Ford Fusion with the word “police on the side in gray faded letters,” It all turned out to be a hoax. Investigators with Southgate police reviewed the teen’s story, which they said “was not matching up with the facts,” and questioned her about it, after which Gentry confessed to making up the entire story and admitted it never happened. Gentry was charged with false report of a misdemeanor. She was arraigned in Southgate district court and a pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 8, 2019.
http://tinyurl.com/y3fcbtml

TACO TRUCK TAMMY Dallas TX April 4, 2019 On a video was posted on YouTube by Claudia Lopez. White woman Taco Truck Tammy was upset a taco truck was parked or on her street. She told them to leave and began recording them with her phone. Another female taco truck employee can be heard in the background saying in Spanish “look at this crazy lady, and she is filming us too.” The woman also said in Spanish they had a permit to be there, but the white woman was not having it. Lopez tells the white woman “go back inside.” That’s when the white woman said “Okay, baby girl. Vámonos,” the woman said to Lopez. “I’ll call ICE.”
http://tinyurl.com/yyw8cot7

DOGGY STYLE DIANE Attleboro, Massachusetts Feb. 27, 2019, A white woman is seen on camera calling police after a dog belonging to Attorney Franklin Baxley humped her dog in at Attleboro Dog Park. She told him to leave the park. Baxley expressed disbelief she would call the cops over his dog humping her dog. The woman tells police Baxley was “verbally assaulting” her,” to which he responded, “I’m not verbally assaulting you! I told you I’m not leaving.” The woman’s friend intervened, stating, “That’s inappropriate for the dog park.” Baxley argues it’s normal dog behavior, stressing, “I’ve seen every single dog hump another dog here. And she tells me to leave, and now she’s calling the cops.” Baxley then reads off the woman’s license plate and urges the public to look her up. The woman’s friend again approaches him and says he was not following the rules of the dog park, stating owners are supposed to prevent their pets from acting aggressively. In a separate video, the woman states, “this is not shameful. You know what is? Yelling at me and assaulting a woman.” The woman yelled at Baxley to ““Get away from me” at least four times as Baxley repeated he did not need to leave the park. An officer then approaches Baxley and asks how he’s doing, then adds “Doesn’t seem to be a problem here if you ask me.” The police responded to the park but no charges were filed. Therefore if a dog owned by a Black man …humps a dog owned by a White woman…she deems this as sexual assault???
http://tinyurl.com/y485p797

FRANCI NEELY aka SIDEWALK SUZZY aka SOCIALITE and EX-WIFE OF HOUSTON ASTROS OWNER JIM CRANE Houston TX Feb. 16, 2019 A couple were only taking photos of their 1-year-old baby daughter when Franci Neely confronted them on a sidewalk. the parents had a photo shoot for their daughter’s first birthday, on a stretch of land popular with Houston photographers. As they posed their baby with balloons and a blanket, a woman, identified as Franci Neely, stopped her car and got out, barefoot and carrying a small dog. The family recorded cell phone video of the woman slapping the phone and balloons. The baby can be heard crying in the background. The parents involved in the incident say they have filed a police report.
https://tinyurl.com/y25945x8

WHITE MAN Germantown Maryland Feb. 13, 2019 Crispin Cole who recently obtained his MBA stopped at a red light several car lengths back as he drove home from a job interview with a government agency. “The car behind me, this gentleman, he got upset and he wanted me to move forward and started honking his horn. And I didn’t move, because it’s a red light. There’s no need to move.” The white driver shouted obscenities at him including calling him a nigger and threatening his life. Cole remained calm after the raging driver got out of his Ford truck, approached Cole’s driver-side door, opened it and shouted, “You got a fucking problem nigger? I’ll fucking kill you, bitch! Fuck you!” “I mean I didn’t get upset. I just wanted to document it, because I’m like this happens too many times. I want to document this one.” Mr. Cole followed the driver to obtain his license plates, which Twitter users did their part to get for him after his video was posted online and went viral. Folks online got to work taking screenshots of the other driver’s face and looked up his license plate. “You’re not supposed to react, because as a black man, I can’t do tit for tat. I can’t match his anger with my anger, because something could happen to me,” says Cole, who fled from the war in Sierra Leon 20 years ago and said he felt safe in America leaving his car door unlocked. “So, when somebody says that to me, it’s not about me. It’s about them. Probably having a bad day.” In a tweet made Monday, Feb. 18, the Montgomery County Department of Police said they “are fully aware of the video clip that is circulating the internet showing a traffic altercation ‘road rage’ incident. Our detectives are investigating the incident. All facts and circumstances will be investigated fully.”
https://tinyurl.com/y2fxje69

EATING WHILE BLACK Feb. 9, 2019 Richmond Height, Mo -The Blue Sky Tower Grill called the police on Terrence Dickerson made reservations for 30 of his closest friends and family members to attend his birthday dinner and celebration for a $100.00 facility fee. Terrence says what was supposed to be a night of joy and celebration turned into a night of humiliation and turmoil. “We wanted to have a good time and a birthday celebration, they treated us like we’re not supposed to be there.” Chief Doug Scaeffler “About 8:20 p.m. Saturday we got a call for a possible disturbance involving 30 people at the Blue Sky Grill. We had number officers 7 or 8 officers respond. We quickly found out that it was not a disturbance just a misunderstanding over how the group would be billed if it would be one check or an individual check. When we arrived, the restaurant came to an agreement and was working with the group.” Dickerson had signed a contract with Blue Sky reserving a party space showing everyone could do separate checks for their own food and drink and guests would be charged 20 percent on all checks for gratuity. The night of the party things changed quickly. The waitress refused to serve them because she felt overworked due to the large party. She left and never came back. Police said they were called that a group of 30 did not want to pay, which wasn’t true as they had not even been served their food. Dickerson says he believes the restaurant feared the group would not pay their bill because they were African-American. They were then forced to pay their bills in a single file line and forced to leave.
http://tinyurl.com/yyxa67kl

WHITE WOMAN Chicago October 10, 2015 Engineering doctoral student at Northwestern University Lawrence Crosby was trying to repair loose molding on his car when a woman called police to report a black man trying to steal a car. When he drove off, the woman followed Crosby in her car as he drove from his apartment to Northwestern’s science building, giving police his location. Crosby got out the car with his hands raised after being stopped by police but was tackled when he failed to immediately obey orders to get on the ground. Police later determined the car belonged to Crosby but charged him anyhow with disobeying officers and resisting arrest. At the time of Crosby’s arrest, an Evanston Police Department spokesman said the use of force by police was justified as officers were responding to what they thought was an auto theft. The spokesman said officers delivered knee strikes and open-handed strikes. A judge later threw out the charges. Chicago suburb has tentatively agreed to pay a former doctoral student $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit, the arresting police officers to pay at least $50,000 for compensatory and punitive damages and other relief.
http://tinyurl.com/y5lnjscl

WHITE BRUNETTE WOMAN Brockton Massachusetts Feb. 1, 2019 Lola Jean-Baptiste Market Basket parking lot she had just parked her car outside the store when all of the sudden she heard someone yelling and honking their horn at her. That’s when she spotted a woman in a car who had stopped behind her Mercedes-Benz, spewing racial slurs and plenty of f-bombs. “She said, ‘You don’t belong here, go back to Africa where you come from, fucking nigger’”. “As soon as she started talking like that, I ran into Market Basket.” The woman, described as a white brunette in her 50s with glasses, yelled when Jean-Baptiste took the parking spot she wanted. Moments later this woman comes up to Lola at the check lanes and says ‘go back to Africa fucking nigger, I fucked your car up,’ then repeatedly slammed her cart into her as she was scrambling to get a few photos of her own when the woman again hit her with the cart, causing her to drop her cellphone. Market Basket security told Ms. Jean-Baptiste to finish paying, then they would escort her for her safety. “I need to follow the woman before she leaves to see what car she has and take down her license plate. They said they are going to take care of that. … They didn’t want to get involved. What about you go talk to her, instead of sending two people to send me out of the store? None of them went to talk to her or her husband.” But the irate woman took off before Jean-Baptiste left with store employees and handed off a card to a male companion to make a transaction, Jean-Baptiste later filed an incident report with the police, which detailed one offense of malicious damage of property under $1,200. The report doesn’t mention the racist language. David McLean, the head of operations for the store reports “the store has turned over all security video and identifying information about the assailant, including a card she gave her male companion to buy groceries to Brockton police. Brockton authorities said a court summons has been issued to the suspect, who now faces charges of a civil rights violation, malicious destruction of property, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The investigation is still ongoing. “Police are reviewing this as a possible hate crime and are actively seeking to identify the suspect, Police will file an arrest report/court complaint once the suspect’s identity is confirmed and the investigation is complete.”
https://tinyurl.com/y56chrcz

RED ZONE ROSY Pacific Beach San Diego, California Feb. 3, 2019 White woman dubbed ‘Red Zone Rosy’ calls cops on a <u>Black man over parking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFDGXRFQlpE

OFFICER CHRISTOPHER ROBLES Fort Myers Florida April 15, 2018, Police Officer Christopher Robles walked into a 7-11 convenience store last year and ordered a Holley Denton Jones who was standing at the counter to walk outside, claiming he had received “a call” about him. Jones refused to step outside, offering to shake the cop’s hand instead. But Robles manipulated the situation to claim Jones was trying to assault him. “Don’t touch me!” Robles kept repeating in his mock tough-guy voice. “Ok, I won’t touch you,” responded Jones, walking away from him. “I’m going to tell you right now, don’t touch me,” Robles continued. “You need to step out of this store right now. Don’t touch me. Don’t put your hands on me.” Fort Myers police officer James Barlow walked into the store, continuing the charade of ordering Jones out of the store. When Robles asked the clerk is she wanted him out, she said no. “He ain’t doing nothing wrong,” she said. But Robles continued whining about being touched, even though it does not even appear he was touched. And if he was, it was only an attempt at a handshake. It was obvious he was trying to convince witnesses he had been assaulted, similar to how cops yell “stop resisting” to non-resisting suspects they are beating. Once outside, both cops tried to get Jones to stand in front of a patrol car where they planned to frisk him, but Jones became frightened and walked back into the store. That was when they tasered him. The arrest report stated Jones as being “agitated” to justify their arrest when they were the ones agitating him. They also claimed they were responding to a call about a disruptive, intoxicated man, but Jones did not appear drunk or disorderly when first approached. But Robles was on a power trip, so it didn’t matter. Another ticking time bomb we’ll be reading more about in the future. “You came at me in a pretty violent manner,” Robles blatantly lied as he was placing Jones into the back of the police car. Jones filed a lawsuit Feb. 26, 2019.
http://tinyurl.com/yxh5yz6z

POLLING PLACE POLLY aka JUANITA BARNES Alternate Election Judge Houston Texas November 6, 2018 Juanita Barnes, who is White, told Black woman Rolanda Anthony “Maybe if I’d worn my blackface makeup today you could comprehend what I’m saying to you.” After Ms. Anthony arrived to vote, a different poll worker told her there was a problem regarding her address and she needed to fill out a residency verification form. Ms. Anthony asked why the form was necessary, since she said her address in the voter rolls should match the one on her ID and she has been voting in the same precinct for years. Barnes up to Ms. Anthony and started shouting “It’s illegal for you not to change your address on your driver’s license if you move. I stepped back, all the way against the wall, Juanita comes all the way over there, putting her hands in my face, yelling and screaming at me, telling me she’s the alternate election judge and I’m going to do what she says. “I was just floored. I was, like, what exactly is going on here?” After Anthony said she would report the incident to the police, Barnes allegedly shoulder-bumped Anthony and told her, “I’m white. Have you seen the news? If you call the police, they’re going to take you to jail and do something to you, because I’m white.”
https://tinyurl.com/y9dacu6b

LILA GUZMAN Elections Supervisor Williamson County Annex in Round Rock Texas November 2, 2018 Video, captured by a bystander, shows election judge and supervisor Lila Guzman shouting at a Black woman “Get out! Get out! Get out!” “You are rude. You are not following the law,” “Go. Go.” The witness who recorded the incident, who asked to remain unnamed was prompted to film the encounter. “As soon as she started getting louder, I was like, ‘This is getting out of hand.’ So I began to record. Guzman did tell the woman she couldn’t vote there, but she didn’t say where in Travis County. The lady did have an accent. She could’ve been new to the country. I don’t know, but she needed some help.” The former elections official said she didn’t resign over the incident, however, but because she felt she didn’t have support from Davis’ office when she called police to have the voter removed.
https://tinyurl.com/ycphr6u6

WENDY BIES Gallatin County Courthouse Montana November 6, 2018 As Brian Mango, 22 was waiting to cast his ballot when drunken White woman Wendy Bies started weaving in and out of the line kept touching Mango and remarking he had a “cute butt”. It wasn’t long before Bies began shouting racist remarks at the young man, telling him to “go back where you came from.” Video recorded by Tennison Big Day, a 1st Nation Indigenous Native American man who, wasn’t too far behind in line recorded the incident. Mango is heard explaining his mixed race heritage after Bies claimed all “his people” came to America on “purpose” and wanted free stuff. Mango replied his ancestors were brought to the U.S. as slaves while his mother, who’s from Laos, was a refugee. “Do you know why my mom is here? Because Americans bombed her country. Do you know why my Dad’s here? Because they brought his ancestors here in chains.” Bies credit Donald Trump for giving Mango the right to vote, along with other racist remarks. Bies was booked into jail on the misdemeanor charge of obstructing a police officer, and was being held on $335 bond
https://tinyurl.com/ycrfyw6u

MY NAME IS EARL Portland Oregon December 24, 2018 Jermaine Massey after seeing rapper Travis Scott in concert things quickly went left, however, when Massey, 34, returned to the DoubleTree Hotel where he was staying and took a call from his mom in the lobby. Seeing she had called so late (Massey’s mother lives on the East Coast), he took a seat in the lobby to make sure his mother was alright before heading back up to his room. “Earl the security guard decided he would call the police on me, the exact reason is still unclear to me.” was speaking on the phone with his mother when White security guard, whose name tag read “Earl”, approached him and asked if he was a guest at the hotel. He responded that he was, but that was of little consolation to the guard who then asked to know his room number. A now-irritated Massey explained he was on the phone at the moment and could not recall his room number off the top of his head. The guard, who has been identified by news outlets as 71-year-old Earl Meyers, then had a manager dial police and accused Massey of loitering, even though he was holding a room key. “Earl indicated Massey was a “disturbance” and “a safety threat” to other guests at the hotel. Frustrated, Massey argued there were White guests milling about the lobby and suggested several times the guard had singled him out because he was Black. “He’s calling the cops on me because I’m taking a phone call at the DoubleTree Hotel,” he Massey says in the video. “I have not moved, I have been sitting here the whole time and they’re calling the police on me because I’m taking a phone call in the lobby. Did you ask any of those people walking by what room they were staying in? No.” Massey said once officers arrived, they asked him to remove his personal belongings from the room he was staying in and waited for him to check out at the front desk. PPD Officer Richard Harvey, who responded to the incident, wrote in a police report that officers went with Massey to his room to retrieve his things. “I asked him to go to his room with us and get his property before he became so mad that something may happen that no one would want” “While he was getting his belongings he took the Bible from the hotel room and slid it across the carpet toward [Earl] Meyers and told him he needed to read it and learn how to be a human.” Authorities then escorted Massey from the building at the request of hotel staff, during which he accused the security guard of “being a racist many times.” Portland City Commissioner-elect & former president of the NAACP Portland Branch Jo Ann Hardesty said in a statement: I was saddened by this whole experience. The gentleman who was profiled must have felt helpless. I am disappointed with both the DoubeTree and the police response. The priority should be to make this customer whole and to retrain DoubleTree and Portland Police staff to make sure such a situation never happens again.
https://tinyurl.com/yd7l7qrs

PROFESSOR PROFILE Virginia Commonwealth University December 1, 2018 Caitlin Cherry a revered Black artist and graduate school adjunct professor had security called on her for eating breakfast as she sat in her assigned classroom by a fellow professor who poked his head in the room, didn’t acknowledge her then quickly went on his way. Moments later, campus security arrived and started questioning who she was and why she was there. Cherry showed officers her identification badge and said she didn’t know what might have happened had she not had it that day. An investigation by VCU’s Department of Equity and Access determined that no laws were broken. However, the university moved to suspend the tattletale professor for the rest of the semester. The incident has drawn outrage from the campus community, sparking calls for better inclusion and diversity efforts. “We do want accountability from the professor. We would like him to apologize,” she said. “He thought that she didn’t belong in that room. Didn’t even give her the benefit of the doubt. Didn’t even speak to her. I think that was the most frustrating thing for her.” “When the boundaries of common courtesy, decency and respect are crossed for any one of us, then we are all affected,” President Michael Rao wrote in a letter. “When our core values of diversity and inclusion are impinged upon for some of us, then every one of us loses an opportunity for growth, learning and success. We’re a community of inclusion, not exclusion.” Rao continued: “During the next few months, our university will take several steps to examine its culture and to ensure VCU is a community of accountability, fairness and justice.” While the professor in question won’t be returning to the classroom, VCU has brought Cherry on as a full-time instructor through 2020.
https://tinyurl.com/ybodwev4

DRIVING WHILE BLACK Idaho Dec. 14, 2016 Two students Idaho State University, Nehemiah McFarlin and Atoa Fox. McFarlin and Fox, then teammates on the Idaho State University football team, were on Christmas break and headed home from Idaho to California when they drove through Box Elder County, Utah, and were met with icy road conditions. The two slid off the road, damaging their vehicle, forcing them to wait on the side of the highway for AAA help. , someone who saw the pair sitting on the side of the road called Box Elder police and reported two Black males sitting inside a white vehicle. The complaint continues by saying Utah Highway Patrol officers pulled up to where McFarlin and Fox were waiting and ordered the two out of their car at gunpoint. The two players were accused of robbing the bank just across the state line in Malad City and despite their offering alibi evidence at the scene, were taken to jail and spent that night and most of the next day behind bars before being released due to lack of evidence. The robber was a Black man wearing a hoodie and driving a Toyota. McFarlin and Fox were driving a 2017 white Chevy Camaro.
https://tinyurl.com/ybq7ywmu

BANKING WHILE BLACK Cleveland Ohio Dec. 1, 2018 Paul McCowns tried to cash his first paycheck from a job with an electric company at Huntington Bank. The paycheck was for a little more than $1,000, and McCowns and tellers confirmed he showed two forms of identification and a fingerprint, as required for non-Huntington customers. But McCowns said bank employees started looking at a computer screen and questioning the transaction, and ultimately they refused to cash the check without speaking to his employer. McCowns left the bank, but bank employees called 911 on him. “He’s trying to cash a check and the check is fraudulent. It does not match our records,” a teller told the dispatcher. A police squad car pulled in front of McCowns truck before he could drive away, officers handcuffed him and he was placed in the back of a police cruiser, minutes later police contacted the Black man’s employer and confirmed McCowns employment. McCowns said “My employer said, ‘Yes, he works for me, he just started and, yes, my payroll company does pay him that much.” McCowns wants an apology from the bank for what he sees as a case of racial profiling, he also wants the tellers to face consequences. A Huntington representative denied this, however, saying its employees were only being extra vigilant because there have been at least 11 cases of fraud at that branch alone. The bank has since apologized to McCowns and accepted full responsibility for the incident. “We sincerely apologize to Mr. McCowns for this extremely unfortunate event,” Huntington said in a statement. “Anyone who walks into a Huntington branch should feel welcomed. Regrettably, that did not occur in this instance and we are very sorry. We hold ourselves accountable to the highest ethical standards in how we operate, hire and train colleagues, and interact with the communities we have the privilege of serving.” And yet there does not seem to have been any discipline of the employee(s).
https://tinyurl.com/y9y9q54b

FINISHLINE EMPLOYEE Stonebriar mall Employee Frisco Texas November 21, 2018 Ro Lockett and Brandon Kibart “I arrived at Stonebriar mall with my best friend and my two sons to go Christmas shopping. We were approached and accused of stealing. Four police officers (not the mall cops) immediately detained my friend and I in-front of my children. They searched our bags and found all the receipts. The one good thing that came out of this is that my children witnessed how it is for a black man in America.”
https://tinyurl.com/y7wwoggs
https://tinyurl.com/y8p9dmvf

LIBRARY LINDA Houston Texas November 20, 2018 Columbia graduate student Ashly Horace visits libraries to observe song and play through story time. Horace, who studies library science, said she was visiting a branch in the Houston suburb of West University last week when things completely went downhill. “As soon as I got to the door, a lady stood in front of the door, blocking the door, almost as if she didn’t want me to come in,” she recalled. “She said, ‘Well, why are you here?’ I said ‘I’m here for story time.’” The woman eventually let Horace inside where she took a seat at the back of the room. Moments later, the same employee returned and told Horace her manager said she had to leave. Baffled, the graduate student demanded to know why. “She said, ‘If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to call the cops.’ And I was like, ‘Call the cops? What did I do?’” Horace said. “She was like, ‘I am going to call and tell them you’re trespassing.’” Several West University Place police officers arrived to the library and spoke with Horace and the manager who demanded she leave. Ultimately, officers said the manager had the right to ask whoever she wants to leave, although the incident appeared to be a big misunderstanding. “She’s making a big deal out of this. I didn’t do anything,” the Columbia University student is heard saying in audio from one of the officer’s body-worn cameras. “I didn’t even get out of my chair.” “She’s making a big deal out of this. I didn’t do anything,” the Columbia University student is heard saying in audio from one of the officer’s body-worn cameras. “I didn’t even get out of my chair.” The officer tells Horace she isn’t being cited for any criminal violation but that she must leave.
https://tinyurl.com/y7u2c8wx

ANITA MOSS University of Texas San Antonio November 14, 2018 Two police officers walk over to where a student was seated after biology professor Moss called them to have her removed from classroom. The unidentified Black female student gets up and leaves without incident. professor Moss went on a whole tirade about how uncivil we all were because a few students were on their phone or not paying attention, cutting lecture time for the rest of us because her ego was bruised. As upset as I am that my professor decided to throw a temper tantrum the lecture before an exam and cancel class, I’m even more outraged that she would decide to single out and humiliate a student just to flex her authority in a destructive manner. The University of Texas at San Antonio professor who called the cops on a black student for allegedly putting her feet up on a chair during a lecture will be taking a semester’s worth of seats.
https://tinyurl.com/yalyvyvs

WHITE NEIGHBOR Tennessee November 18, 2018 Davon Eddington was in his backyard chopping it up with his brother on the phone about LeBron James. When Eddington’s brother dubbed him a bandwagon fan, the Tennessee man says he shot back with a classic line from the song: “I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one”” Eddington’s neighbor overheard their conversation and misinterpreted the lyrics, however. The man dialed police and said he believed Eddington was beating on his fiancée, who was upstairs taking a bath at the time. “I ended up walking around to the front of my house, and that’s when I was met by police with their guns drawn,” Eddington recalled. “Then another officer came around and said, “No, no, no, this isn’t happening. We heard the conversation and he’s been on the phone the whole time.” he neighbor told them he heard Eddington say he had “99 problems and this bitch ain’t one.” It wasn’t long before authorities realized the whole thing was a misunderstanding and went on their merry way. Eddington said officers apologized and said it appeared that he’d been “swatted,” a term used to describe the harassment tactic of making false calls to police, triggering them to respond to a person’s address. Eddington added that his neighbor has a two-story home and can look through his window down to Eddington’s backyard.
https://tinyurl.com/ybewh6kn

YOGURT YOLANDA Kirkland, Washington November 14, 2018 Byron Ragland arrived at Menchie’s Yogurt Shop with a woman and a 12-year-old child, whose court-ordered visit he was supervising. Store surveillance video shows Ragland, who’s both a court-appointed special advocate and a visitation supervisor, sitting in the corner of the store as the mother and son catch up with one another. “Sit on back and just watch them visit, you know document the visit.” Moments later, Ragland said two police officers approached his table and asked him to “move along.” he explained to the officers he was there working, as his job legally required him to be there to oversee the mother-son meeting. He was still asked to leave. Store owner Ramon Cruz called police after one of his employees texted him about a “suspicious” man who had been in the store for a while and didn’t buy anything, and he was not making them feel comfortable.” Cruz told the 911 dispatcher who identified herself as white, was fearful because “all he (Ragland) does is look at his phone, look at them, look at his phone, look at them.”
https://tinyurl.com/y8nf9q28

WHITE RESIDENT West Des Moines Iowa October 29, 2018 Keilon Hill was out knocking on doors for Rep. David Young (R-Iowa) After interviewing a resident, Hill took a seat on the curb as he gathered his notes from canvassing. That’s when West Des Moines officer Clint Ray pulled up, claiming he was responding to a call about a suspicious person. Hill captured the tense exchange on his cellphone. In the video, the campaign worker is heard telling the officer he isn’t breaking any laws and the cop has no right to detain him. “I’m not going to tell you again, stop,” Ray says. “I will detain you.” “Detain me for what?” Hill responds. “Have I broken any laws?” “You’re not listening,” the officer says before suggesting “it doesn’t matter” if Hill broke the law or not. “I’m investigating a suspicious person.” the officer also accused Hill of “soliciting,” a claim the man refuted because he was not offering any services or goods. The organization argued it was clear Hill was out canvassing because he was carrying campaign pamphlets with him. When Hill tried walking away, Officer Ray arrested him for “Interference with Official Acts.” Hill was booked into the Polk County Jail and released. He went back to knocking on doors in a different neighborhood the following day where the police were called on him yet again. Hill says “Within five days of my stay in Des Moines, I had two police encounters, with one ending in an arrest. These encounters happened while I was out working in affluential, Caucasian neighborhoods. I had work materials with me. I stood up for myself because I had the right to.”
https://tinyurl.com/ycggnhsb

WHITE WOMAN November 13, 2018 A Black woman who goes by Crys Speaks shared a disturbing racist encounter to her Facebook page, showing an incident where she and her best friend were verbally harassed by a white woman after exiting on the wrong side in a grocery store parking lot. No one was physically hurt or harmed. “My Best Friend finally gets into town and I’ve been promising to make her dinner for a girls night in. So I picked her up and drove to the grocery store. I accidentally went down the wrong parking lane. A white woman started with WTF are you looking at B!$!h. All I wanted was some groceries man The video begins as the Crys Speaks and her friend walk up to the woman who is already in her triggered stance as she holds her cell phone. “Who are you calling?” the women ask as they approach the sidewalk near the store. “911!” “Cut the nigger card out!” “I’m getting attacked I can’t even talk right now by these two Black women calling me a racist,” she continues as she walks away from the women.
https://tinyurl.com/ycj4yywm

CROSSWALK CATHY Portland, Ore. October 28, 2018 Rashsaan Muhammad and Mattie Khan were waiting for their to-go order from Little Big Burger when they noticed a White woman standing across the street looking at their parked car. “She looked odd, but it didn’t alarm us,” As they were walking back to the car Muhammad reportedly overheard the woman on the phone describing their vehicle and reading off the license plate number. She was calling the police because Muhammad’s car was sticking out an inch or two in front of a curb where the crosswalk begins. In the video, the woman looks up at the camera and points at the car. “You can’t block the crosswalk”. Muhammad said “I tried to start a conversation, I asked her who she was calling and what was going on. It was clear she was talking to the police.” Khan began to record the incident on her cell phone. In the video, Khan can be heard saying the unidentified White woman was calling the police on her and her husband.
https://tinyurl.com/y8a2h2h3

LAURA THE LIBRARIAN or BECKY THE BOOK BOUNCER aka BRITTANY MCNURLIN Oct. 10, 2018 Juán-Pabló Gonźalez, a Black student at the Catholic University of America, wanted to study at the university’s law library. Gonźalez had been correctly informed as a Master of Library and Information Sciences student, he had access to the law library. He had studied in the facility on numerous occasions and had no trouble in the past. Although he was supposed to swipe his student identification card to gain entry the ID never worked at the building. “I had just been ringing the buzzer, waiting for them to buzz me in and then showing them my ID to prove I was a library information science student. I was able to get in without any issues.” But on this day, Gonźalez noticed the door was propped open when he arrived. Per his usual routine, Gonzalez showed his ID and announced to McNurlin he would be studying in the law library. “She was pretty rude. She said: ‘The law library is for law library students.’ So I told her I realized that, but that we’d been given permission to use the library. I tried to explain to her that, because we have a law librarian program, we had access to the facility. Because the entire transaction was so negative, I went back and said, ‘Can I have your supervisor’s information?’ I didn’t say anything else, to which she refused. When she informed Gonźalez she was alerting the authorities, he asked her: “On what basis? Because you don’t like the questions I’m asking?” From there, Gonźalez began recording the incident. McNurlin does not appear to be in any imminent danger and Gonźalez does not raise his voice above a calm half-whisper. When the clip begins, McNurlin is on the phone telling the Catholic University Department of Public Safety about “an argumentative student,” When Gonźalez specifically asked McNurlin why their back-and-forth warranted a police call, she replied: “I’ve answered your questions. You didn’t appreciate my answers …” She admits she has done this at least one other time in a situation “very similar to this.” Summoning all of the aggrieved-white victimization her voice could muster, McNurlin calmly explained, with a straight face, that she called the police because Gonzalez questioned her, made statements about the color of his skin, was “becoming argumentative,” and she “did not appreciate it.” That was her entire explanation of why she called police. At least seven officers arrived before he was forced to leave. He explained he filed a complaint against Mcnurlin, which the school said only warranted “additional training.”
https://tinyurl.com/yac2j97x

SUSAN J. WESTWOOD aka PARKING LOT PATTY Charlotte, North Carolina October 19, 2018 Video uploaded by Leisa Meria Garris and her sister Mary Michelle Garris to social media Westwood demanding to know where the two Black women lived and how much they pay in rent as they waited for AAA in the parking lot of the Camden Fairview Apartments in South Park. “I wanna make sure there’s nothing going on,” Westwood says. “Whats going on here, babe? What’s going on in this parking lot that you feel you need to congregate?” Westwood gets in the women’s faces and shoves her phone in the camera, adding, “Is your boyfriend here? Is your baby daddy here? Nobody cares, I’m white and I’m hot … You’re hanging around in a place you don’t belong.” One of the women being accosted, is heard asking Westwood to leave them alone and go home, but Westwood refuses and continues to rant “I’m white … and I make $125,000 a year, and I want to make sure that you’re all up in here.” That’s when one of the sisters dials 911 to report the harassment. “Do I need to bring out my concealed weapon, too?” Westwood shouts at the women. “This is North Carolina, by the way.” West would also called the police, telling the dispatcher ““It’s just really strange, if you want to know my personal opinion, there’s no car broken down. Nobody breaks their car down in the best part of society. … Nobody breaks their car down here unless they are looking for money.” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police charged Westwood with four criminal summonses, two counts of communicating threats and two counts of simple assault. Westwood has lost her job as a result of the incident. Spectrum Enterprises confirmed her termination. “The incident recorded in Charlotte is a blatant violation of Charter’s code of conduct and clearly disregards the company’s commitment to inclusion and respectful behavior. As such, Ms. Westwood’s employment with the company has been terminated, effective immediately.” Also Camden Fairview evicted Westwood from her apartment.
https://tinyurl.com/ya8ov648

ESTEBAN SMITH FINISH LINE EMPLOYEE Pennsylvania May 2018 Finish Line mall employees called the police after a black man reportedly came into the store, asked to try on the LeBrons and then placed his shoes in the LeBron box. They accused Hip-hop legend Nathaniel Thomas Wilson aka Kool G Rap of grabbing a pair of $185 Nike LeBron 15s and walking out of the store. Wilson had been shopping at the mall that day and a Finish Line employee followed him out to the parking lot. He believed he saw the man, described as a black man in his 40s, and followed him to his car. Smith took down the car’s information and gave it to police, who linked it to Wilson and scribbled down the registration number Wilson’s car and then officers showed up on the scene. They charged Wilson with misdemeanor theft. However, the police acted too soon and failed to examine the shop’s security footage. It showed Wilson never went into the Finish Line. Mills and Edwards claim the officers were simply looking for a Black man who fit the worker’s description and G Rap fit the bill. The police finally discovered that the employee who followed him outside and got his vehicle information didn’t actually see him. As such, the case wound up being dismissed.
https://tinyurl.com/y7j4qupc

WHITE NEIGHBOR Southeast Atlanta The commotion at her front door caused by a white neighbor confronting a black woman Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, Chief Operating Officer of Habitat for Humanity was considering hiring as the nanny candidate arrived early and waited in her car while the McKennas put their sons to bed. Why? Because the white neighbor noticed the nanny, who was with her 21-year-old son, sitting in their car for 30 minutes waiting for her appointment in the cul-de-sac of the mostly white neighborhood. The neighbor spied the nanny’s car, charged it and demanded to know who she was. She then banged on McKenna’s door where she confronted McKenna’s husband, ‘loud and obnoxious.’ “The nanny finally asked, ‘is this because we are black?”
https://tinyurl.com/y9g9kjhy

WHITE WOMAN Atlanta Georgia called cops called on Black woman sitting in her car waiting on an appointment. She was told she didn’t belong in the neighborhood.
https://tinyurl.com/ybrpu5be

STAPLES STORE MANAGER Pineville North Carolina August, 14, 2018. Sherell Bates, 34 weeks pregnant with twins took her two older children to Staples to buy school supplies. was forced to lift up her shirt and confirm that she is indeed pregnant after a Staples manager accused her of stealing school items. a police officer walked up to Bates and asked her if she had plans to pay for the items she had hidden under her shirt. Sherell, who has a good sense of humor, assumed that the cop was joking with her. Bates told the officer she was carrying “twins,” but the answer did not amuse him. Bates decided to solve the matter once and for all by showing her bare bump. “At which point, to avoid him asking me again, I lifted my shirt just a little bit, just to expose my belly, so he could see that I’m just a regular pregnant person buying school supplies.” Bates confronted the manager who claimed she was shoplifting and she insisted she saw another woman hiding items under her shirt and assumed she was doing the same. Bates “You pretty much jumped the gun without any evidence, except my stomach is enormous. That’s not fair. No mom should have to go through that.” The manager involved fired thanks to media push
https://tinyurl.com/y7xo9t4z

PARKING PATROL PAULA aka REPO RACHEL Milwaukee Oct. 16, 2018 Corvontae Davis, a corrections officer in the state of Wisconsin had gone to his car to re-up his parking meter payment when he suddenly ended up being accused of a crime. A White woman with long blonde hair and wearing a floral dress called the police on him to report he was breaking into a car as he tried to get change from his own vehicle. “I was getting ready to put money in a meter or whatever, and she has nothing else better to do and asked me if I was breaking into my car. I hit unlock, but it wouldn’t open, so I went around to the other side and opened the door after hitting unlock. And by that time, I hear this lady shouting, screaming, ‘Dude, why are you breaking into that car? Whose car is that? Does it belong to you?’” Davis said the woman then called the police to report he was breaking into the car, and he ended up waiting for police to arrive because he figured it might have looked suspicious if he left.
https://tinyurl.com/y7ang99h

Matthew Potthasand and Kayla Lammers aka WHITE LIARS Oct. 14, 2018 Florissant, Missouri Kayla and her boyfriend Matthew claimed they were confronted during a road rage dispute in leading to her boyfriend being viciously attacked by two men, one Black Mark Harris and the other Latino. She shared photos from the alleged assault, showing her boyfriend’s bloodied face, along with pictures of the suspects. Surveillance video from the incident, proved the alleged victims were actually the aggressors in the situation. The woman’s claimed the “suspects” approached them after her boyfriend honked at them after they cut them off in traffic. The men threatened to “stab and kill them” the Black man “steadily punched by boyfriend” at least 20 times in the face as they tried to flee. “We think he had brass knuckles or he had a knife,” However, the man and woman are seen sparking the altercation by approaching the two men, who were driving a maroon-colored car. Authorities said the woman, who’s white, verbally threatened the men, after which her boyfriend assaulted the Latino man in the lot of a BP station. At one point, the woman’s boyfriend brandished a knife and charged at the men, according to video surveillance. The Black man refused to back down. “The Black male then approached the white male who was armed with a knife. The white male then retreated back to his vehicle as the female subject continued arguing with the two subjects while recording them with her cell phone.” The men continued exchanging words as the white man got back into his car with his girlfriend. That’s when the Black man approached and assaulted the man through the driver’s side window as they zoomed out of the gas station. The driver pulled into a Goodwill lot next to the BP gas station and called police to say he had been assaulted.
https://tinyurl.com/yahc23mp

DAVID ORTIZ Manhattan New York August 2018 Lyft driver Shawn Pepas Letterman picked up passenger Rober Ortiz and 2 of his friends from a gay club in Manhattan. At some point during the drive, the three men asked Lettman to play music. Lettman declined and an argument followed, which resulted in Lettman stopping the car (assuming asking the 3 gentlemen to exit his vehicle). At this point, Ortiz picked up his phone and called the police and Lyft while Lettman started recording the men as they became more belligerent. Ortiz “I bet if I was Black, and like Black Lives Matter, he would change the radio,” he says in the filmed tirade. “Your driver, I guess assumed because of the color of my complexion was not Black, that I asked for music and it was a problem!” Lettman was extremely calm sitting through the whole ordeal and only at on points interject and lets Ortiz know that there is a sticker on his vehicle that makes passengers aware that they can be recorded. Ortiz continues to hurl obscenities and threats at Lettman and even calls him the N-Word. Ultimately Ortiz lost his medical job
https://tinyurl.com/y9d9doym

TODD SINCOCK and his BROTHER Milwaukee, Wisconsin October 20, 2018 Uber Driver Darnell Smith said he’d just dropped off his last Uber passengers around 2 a.m. in when all of sudden he was confronted by a man and his brother wanting to know what he was doing. I have no obligation to tell you s**t. Nothing. You didn’t even tell me who you were when you pulled up. For all I know, you were trying to rob me,” Smith responded on the video. “We don’t want the drug activity. We don’t want it on our block.” Sincock said it was his brother, a concealed carry permit holder, who had the gun and was concerned about the declining neighborhood. Both Smith and Sincock called Milwaukee Police. However, the officers let Sincock and his brother off the hook and arrested neither of them. Smith said the incident definitely stemmed from racial profiling, but he also blamed it on Wisconsin’s concealed carry law. “Just because you have a conceal and carry license doesn’t mean pull your gun out if you think something is happening,”
https://tinyurl.com/y9bhjpmk

THREE WHITE WOMEN aka DEBRA NASH and 2 UN-NAMED Detroit MI 2017-2018 “Gardening While Black.” Three women harassed Marc Peeples for over a year because they didn’t like his community garden project. Peeples said the women did and said anything they could just to remove him from their neighborhood. “It was blatant racism. They didn’t like the fact that a black man was in so-called ‘their’ neighborhood”. The police were called dozens of times by these three residents, claiming he was a pedophile, he threatened to shoot them, vandalized neighborhood homes and he was a part of a drive-by shooting. The three women also accused Peeples of vandalizing vacant neighborhood homes and trees with “gang” colors: red, black, and green. Peeples’ attorneys clarified the colors were pan-African colors and the avid gardener boarded up the vacant houses to keep drug addicts out. Deborah Nash, who lives across the street from the neighborhood park Peeples worked in, called police claiming Peeples was threatening her with a firearm. DPD sent out three patrol cars and six officers only to find the victim raking leaves in a vacant lot. The Officer responding to the scene found Peeples raking leaves. In body camera footage provided, an officer is heard labeling the call “B.S.” “Ain’t no law against raking leaves,” the officer is heard stating on body camera footage taken after officers are done investigating the incident. A few minutes later, an officer directed his partner to let DPD superiors know the women told police Peeples had a gun, when he only had a rake. When the false claim Peeples had a gun didn’t get him removed from the neighborhood, the women ramped up their charges, waiting until Peebles had a group of children working in his community garden before calling the police and claiming he was a pedophile. Peeples has lost contracts, lost money to hire attorneys and had his name dragged through the mud. He even had to pay $3,500 to get out on bond after officers arrested him on stalking charges against him for no reason. District Court Judge E. Lynise Bryant threw the case out, calling the debacle “disgusting” and “a waste of the court’s time and resources.”
https://tinyurl.com/y8vacexg

GOLFCART GAIL Ponte Vedra Florida Oct. 14, 2018 Gerald Jones , black soccer dad who says sheriff’s deputies were called on him for yelling instructions at his 13-year-old son during a Florida youth game broke down in tears as he spoke out about his encounter with a golf cart-riding white soccer official. a father was trying to watch his son’s soccer game, cheering for him from the sides. He yelled “The ref is right!” when he saw his kid out there getting frustrated after a call, however Golfcart Gail, decided to spring into action and rapidly approach this parent to remind him harassment would not be tolerated. He informed her he was only speaking to his son, but she Golfcart Gail just would not let this go. Peacefully leaving his own son’s soccer game to avoid exactly this situation Golfcart Gail continued to harass and beleaguer this father. The gentleman offered to leave in order to avoid a situation. As he began to pack up his things Golfcart Gail informed him she was calling the police because she no longer felt safe with his threatening behavior. Another spectator filming the encounter said “when the police arrived the woman said the father was being aggressive and ‘coming at her. I started filming because she would not leave the father alone. There was no reason for her to call the cops.” In the video, field marshal Golfcart Gail is heard telling a deputy, “He just got nasty with me.” No arrest was made and it’s still unclear what Golfcart Gail’s real name is. SOCCER WHILE BLACK
https://tinyurl.com/y9afux5m

BRENDA METZ aka GAS STATION GAIL October 17, 2018 8599 Rivers Ave, North Charleston, SC 29406 Brenda Metz Manager at Murphy’s Gas Station called 911 on children at the Youth Stop the Violence Walk to get the children some drinks after they walked a mile during their rally. Video prove they were NOT causing a disturbance and just entering the store to purchase drinks. Brenda says she doesn’t care about the money, just leave the store. Male narrator “I thought 911 was for emergencies???? This calling 911 on Black people for no reason must end. We are asking EVERYONE to contact her employer “Murphy USA” and let them know her actions are inexcusable and WILL NOT be tolerated. Their customer service number is 1-800-843-4298.” (Facebook took the video down)
https://tinyurl.com/yd7rr5zq

PARKING WHILE BLACK San Diego, CA at Grossmont Centre strip mall. In the video, an agitated looking white woman can be seen standing next to her car blocking not only the Black woman’s vehicle, but also blocking the entrance/exit for the whole lot. She claimed she was upset because she had allegedly been waiting on a parking space and the Black woman “took it.” The Black woman works at the strip mall and was pulling up to her job at the moment of the incident. “Once I’m parked I have a lady parked directly behind my car blocking me in. She gets out and taps on my back door of my vehicle and began to tell me that it was her parking space and that she was waiting on it. She then sees where I work and threatens to send an email to my corporate office, which she did”. “She told me she had been waiting on the spot because her mother was handicapped and she needed a handicap parking spot, which it was not, there were handicap spots available”. “I decided to walk back and speak to one of the officers. He asked me what happened and I proceeded to let him know that I pulled into a parking spot and if I could go to work. The motorcycle cop spoke with the lady and asked her to leave and the other cop said I could go”
https://tinyurl.com/ya5vhryx

TAG CHECKING TAMMY In another instance of parking while black a White woman pulls up, called police and blocks a Black family’s parking spot because their tags are expired.
https://tinyurl.com/yd7ysfk7

H&M LOSS PREVENTION Sept. 25, 2018 Pembroke Lakes Mall South FL Daniela Taylor was returning some earrings Sept. 25 and purchasing new ones when store security accused her of shoplifting. “The officers ripped her bag out of her hand, ripped her cell phone out of her hand (and) accused her of staling,” even after loss prevention officers reviewed security camera footage and realized she didn’t steal anything, she said they didn’t offer an apology. H&M released the following statement: “We are aware of the incident that took place in our Pembroke Lakes Mall location. Unfortunately this was a misunderstanding and we are sorry. We have since let go of the third party security company that was involved and we are reviewing our internal procedures to make sure this type of incident does not happen again and that our routines are properly followed. We will be getting in touch with the customer to follow up on the steps we have taken.”
https://tinyurl.com/y8sz55tu

Hilary Thornton aka LOFTY LUCY August 2018 St. Louis, White woman tries to stop D’Arreion Nuriyah Toles from coming into his building because she felt insecure at the Downtown St. Louis luxury loft, didn’t feel he belonged. She demanded he give his unit number but when asked she did give him hers, #307. He told his in was on the 4th floor. She still refused to move out of the doorway, after politely moving past her, she claimed he shoved her so she followed him into the elevator then down the hall to his own unit claiming she just wanted to introduce herself as a neighbor. He threatened to call the police if she didn’t stop harassing him. She however called the police telling them D’Arreion choked her, 30 minutes later police knocked on his door, luckily he had video of the entire incident.
https://tinyurl.com/y9m3ubqm
FOLLOW-UP VIDEO
https://tinyurl.com/ydaofm25
WOMAN FIRED AFTER VIDEO OF HER BLOCKING MAN FROM ENTERING HIS DOWNTOWN LOFT
https://tinyurl.com/y7howlh5

CORNERSTORE CAROLINE Oct. 10, 2010 New York City, called the police on a 9 year old Black boy for bumping into her allegedly grabbing her backside. While on the phone she told dispatch he “grabbed my ass”. The boy became visibly upset and begins to cry. Even at the tender age of nine, he is well aware of the ramifications of a White woman calling the police on him. The woman claimed to be a police officer (impersonating a police officer is a crime). In the video citizens called her out so she sarcastically mocks the person filming by exclaiming: “World Star!” It’s unknown if the police actually showed up, but she listed her full address and phone number in the video. Allegedly this woman’s name is Teresa Sue Klein and she’s 53 years old.
https://tinyurl.com/ycw4vcyv
FOLLOWUP
“Video completely vindicates the child. Deli owner told me the woman has a history of being ‘unwell” she actually did call 911” and that police responded 17 minutes later. The police arrived following the woman’s call. She reportedly claimed the journalists “were harassing her and threatening her with violence. A report “was never filed.”
https://tinyurl.com/y8cuk993

PETSMART PEGGY Riverside County, California September 26, 2018 Jeny, a 32-year-old who didn’t want to make her full name public “we stop at PetSmart and I stay in the car with Elsie while she’s sleeping in her car seat. A/C is blasting and she taps on the window to get me to roll it down. I try to ignore her but she wouldn’t leave me alone. I roll down the window and she says the baby is in the sun. She threatens to call the cops if I don’t move my car. I know my husband will be out any minute since we’re only there for a few minutes. I then told her to mind her own business and that’s when I started recording.” The video begins showing the woman pressing a button on a flip phone and telling someone on the phone that there’s a baby locked in the car with the sun beating down on the baby and no mother inside. Petsmart Peggy then
claimed “she’s threatening to beat the shit out of me”. As Jeny’s six-year-old witnesses the scene, shortly before the video ends the woman can be seen in the video wishing harm on Jeny’s two-year-old, saying she “deserves for her child to be injured”.
https://tinyurl.com/y7657e22

WHITE MALE Madison Wisconsin Aug. 7, 2018 Black candidate Sheila Stubbs was stopped by police while campaigning. Sheila’s 71 year old mother was following behind in their car, along with Stubbs’ 8-year-old daughter. Shelia says she’s knocked on thousands of doors in Madison, Wisconsin, in her 12 years as a county supervisor and has never had a problem in the community, however a man called the police while she was campaigning for a seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly because he alleged she was a drug dealer. Recorded by Dispatch : “FULLY OCCUPIED SILVER 4 DR SEDAN NEWER MODEL – THINKS THEY ARE WAITING FOR DRUGS AT THE LOCAL DRUG HOUSE – WOULD LIKE THEM MOVED ALONG.” The officer asked her to produce verification. Stubbs says she showed the officer her name tag and campaign fliers, but she didn’t seem satisfied until Stubbs showed her the walk list with the names and addresses of potential supporters
https://tinyurl.com/y8ws6dyj

OFFICER SHERRY HALL, Jackson Georgia Sept. 13, 2016 Officer Sherry Hall’s call over the police radio she’d been shot had fellow cops swarming a dark, wooded cul-de-sac in Jackson. Then they fanned out across Butts County in search of a suspect. Hall described her assailant as a 6-foot, 230-pound African-American man wearing a green shirt and black jogging pants. Unprovoked, the man pulled out a gun and opened fire. Hall’s claim turned out to be a complete fabrication. After hearing evidence, including Hall’s own testimony, a jury recently convicted the former cop of 11 criminal charges, including making false statements, violating her oath and tampering with evidence. Sherry Hall was sentenced to 15 years in prison after falsely claiming she had been shot by a black man.
https://tinyurl.com/y7sdhq5r

BABYSITTING WHILE BLACK Marietta, Georgia Oct. 7, 2018 Corey Lewis, a black man, was leaving a Subway in Marietta, Georgia, with the two white kids he was babysitting when a white woman approached him. She asked if the kids were okay. “Why wouldn’t they be okay. The woman didn’t relent, she followed him to his home then called the police on him. There was simply no reason the woman called the police on him besides his race, because the kids were totally fine. The children’s mother, Dana Mango, defended Lewis to the police asking the officer, “Are you telling me because a woman saw a young African-American male with two white kids they were pulled over by the police?” The cop reportedly responded, “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, that appears to be what happened.” “It doesn’t make sense in light of what happened they weren’t crying. They weren’t distressed.” Lewis is a friend of the children’s parents and runs a youth mentoring group in Georgia.
https://tinyurl.com/y9jx2m8v

RHONDA MICHELLE POLON aka “COFFEE CUP CONNIE” August 4, 2018 Los Angeles, CA Rhonda Michelle Polon flew into a rage and hurled racist insults at two Latino construction workers before throwing a cup of hot coffee directly at one of their faces. Miguel Sanchez was the first to arrive at the site of job he had landed through a contractor at an upscale apartment complex in Century City and stepped outside to allow his co-worker Jesse access into the building. When the men were about to enter the complex’s garage, Rhonda Michelle Polon paused from walking her dogs and started arguing with both men, questioning their motives before attacking Sanchez with the hot drink and calling them wetbacks. Sanchez remained cool and recorded the video with his cell phone before Michelle completely went berserk. She took a couple of steps towards him and tossed a cup of coffee at the defenseless man’s face. Both men were trying to attempt to get to their vehicle, but Polon continued to verbally abuse Sanchez, whose face had turned red and whose t-shirt was completely drenched by the coffee. In the video the woman can be heard accusing them of being thieves. While Sanchez recorded additional footage of the shocking incident, another tenant appeared from behind the condo’s lobby entrance dressed in a bathrobe and walking barefooted. He accused them of previously having stolen his bicycle before going toe-to-toe with Jesse and hurling more racist epithets at the men. Sanchez declined to press charges on Palona although she was given a citation.
https://tinyurl.com/y9aceusk

WHITE WOMAN July 12, 2018 Long Beach CA Calls COPS On Black Man For Listening To YOGA CD In His Car Ezekiel Phillips had just dropped someone off in Long Beach and decided to take a 30-minute break before going to his yoga class, which was around the corner. He was listening to his bikram yoga CD in his car when a woman walked up to his car. “You’re not supposed to be here. This is a good neighborhood.” Phillips ‘wait hold up’. Have a good day ma’am. Namaste. And I rolled my window up”. “She took her phone out; started taking pictures, filming doing whatever she was doing. Hey I went to film school. I can take film as well. So I got out the car, I started filming her as soon as I start filming her, ‘what are you doing?’ Leave me alone! I’m feeling threatened. Help! Help!’ It was one of those.” The woman called for Long Beach police to come to her street. In the 911 audio the woman is heard addressing the operator. “I noticed him two houses up from my parents’ house and I’m like, you know and he’s waving to me. I don’t know who he is.” “I can’t get away from him! Get away from me!” She yelled over the call. There was no answer from her as to why she felt threatened or why she stated Phillips attacked someone, which according to the 91 audio call, was not true. “Ma’am. When you say he attacked other persons, what did he do to them?” the operator is overheard. The woman responded saying “He’s trying to give his business card to this other guy that I’m proof that he didn’t do anything to me.” Phillips said he was going to leave, but decided to stay. “I thought about it. ‘If I leave, it’s looking like I’m guilty of whatever she’s talking about.” The woman went to a neighbor’s house the woman said he only called 911 because the woman asked and was screaming for help. Other neighbors, including Kelly Odom, agreed with Phillips that the woman’s actions were racist.
https://tinyurl.com/y9ph5jnh

SAFEWAY EMPLOYEES Mountain View California July 8, 2018 Employees reported a possible theft involving Erika Martin, who said she went to the store with her son, two sisters, three nieces, and nephew after attending service at Christ Temple Community Church in Palo Alto. Martin said she and her son arrived first and gave dog food to a homeless man who she usually sees outside the store with his dog. Ms. Martin NEVER even entered the store. A few minutes later, when she was getting ready to leave, a police car pulled up behind her car. Five Mountain View police officers responded to a call by Safeway identifying a male, female, and some children possibly being connected in a theft, according to public information officer Katie Nelson. Employees also identified Martin’s parked car as being involved in the shoplifting. The questioning went on for 30 minutes.
https://tinyurl.com/ycgtzaca

SMITH COLLEGE EMPLOYEE Northampton, Mass. Aug. 3, 2018 Black student who is also in summer program teaching chemistry to high schooler’s, Oumou Kanoute was reading and eating her lunch in the dining hall common room at Tyler House dorm at Smith College sees cop walk in with a Smith employee whom she’d never seen before and the man said, ‘We were wondering why you’re here?”‘ They told her an employee had called about a suspicious black man. Ms. Kanoute Tweeted “I am blown away at the fact that i cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully. Today someone felt the need to call the police on me while I was sitting down reading, and eating in a common room at Smith College. This person didn’t try to bring their concerns forward to me,but instead decided to call the police. I did nothing wrong, I wasn’t making any noise or bothering anyone. All I did was be black. It’s outrageous that some people question my being at Smith College, and my existence overall as a women of color. I was very nervous, and had a complete metldown after this incident. It’s just wrong and uncalled for. No students of color should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions. I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus.” “I want the identity of the caller released,” she says. “I want a public apology from that caller and I want them fired from the school.” Smith’s administration says privacy laws prevent them from releasing the name,
https://tinyurl.com/ycgqcze9

WHITE MAN Atlanta GA June 18, 2018 Dr. Nnenna Agoucha a Black doctor was blocked from her entrance to the gated community in which she has lived for eight years because he felt she “didn’t belong there. A nearly 30-minute exchange was captured on camera. He got out of the car and threatened to call the police because I was ‘trespassing.’ According to the police report, Aguocha stated she was attempting to enter the Buckhead Townhome community after just coming off an overnight shift when another property owner stopped her at the gate entrance. The video shows that he parked his car under the gate arm and refused to move forward to let her in, despite her repeated requests. “He called the police, so I called the police as well,” she said. Aguocha told police he would not let her in due to the fact he didn’t believe that she lived there. He accused her of tailgating his car to try to get in. After police arrived on the scene, the man eventually moved his vehicle. The man, who it turns out did not actually live in the gated community himself, claimed there had been robberies in the area and people had been allegedly stealing A/C units.
https://tinyurl.com/y9cac4l7

CAT CALLER WHITE NEIGHBOR July 26, 2018 Baltimore Maryland 13 year-old mentally disabled Deontay Townes and his 11-year-old sister were in a neighbor’s yard looking for his cat when the neighbor called police reporting they believed the boy was trying to break into their house. The police arrived and the officer told the children “get on the ground”. Deontay’s mother, Kimberly Townes said, ‘No, they ain’t getting on no ground. She 11 and he’s 13. They not getting on the ground. So I told the kids, ‘come on.’ When I said that, he grabbed my son, like close armed him, hit him down, tried to get the handcuffs on him, then he started closed fisting my son. Don’t touch my kid, don’t touch my kid! Get the fuck [inaudible]. The person recording asks. “Why did you just punch him?” The officer replies “Because he just tried squeezing my testicles”. After being cuffed the officer walks Deontay to the officer’s car. The officer fails to open up the door and yells to the other officer for assistance opening the door. “He hit me in the head” Deontay repetitively says as he is being put in the back seat. The cop yells as he slams the car door “I’m about to send this kid to the f**king hospital”. Another officer asks the officer if he is okay. “If I see him again, I’m going to beat the s**t out of him!” The video ends with the person recording arguing with the 911 caller. The arresting officer was caught by another person recording from a different angle responding to the officer asking if he was okay. Deontay has a mental disability and after the video ends when officer calls for an ambulance.
https://tinyurl.com/yapuoor7

WHITE FEMALE NEIGHBOR 2018 2:15 p.m. Santa Monica police responding to an alleged burglary held actor Ving Rhames at gunpoint in his Santa Monica home. “This happened this year. I open the door and there is a red dot pointed at my face from a 9-mm, and they say, ‘Put up your hands.” After he was taken outside, the situation was only defused after one of the responding officers recognized Rhames. Not from his work in movies like Pulp Fiction, but as a parent whose son also played basketball. Their son’s respective high schools had previously squared off in a game. A White a neighbor had called 911 to report a “large black man” breaking into the actor’s home. When police escorted Rhames to the neighbor’s house to clear things up, she denied placing the call. The 59-year-old actor believes the incident was the result of racial profiling.
https://tinyurl.com/y7ms7xwj

WHITE WOMAN 2018 Wisconsin Michelle Landry, a political campaigner was registering voters was in rural Wisconsin when a White woman became incensed that Landry was canvassing inside her apartment complex. The woman called the police and braced herself against the door to the building so Landry couldn’t leave. Landry, who is half Vietnamese and half white, doesn’t know if her race played a role. But for her, there was no question that the White woman’s did. “There is definitely this assumption, if you are a White person and you are uncomfortable, that the police will take care of any discomfort you’re having,” Landry said. On this day, that backfired. Police told Landry, who was in tears, that she had a right to be in the building and chewed the woman out for blocking the door.
https://tinyurl.com/ybks4cjl

LUCIA WHALEN July 16, 2009 Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his , home by local police officer Sgt. James Crowley, who was responding to a 9-1-1 caller’s report of men breaking and entering the residence. Just after Gates returned home to after a trip to China. Gates found the front door to his home jammed shut and, with the help of his driver, tried to force it open. A local witness Lucia Whalen reported their activity to the police as a potential burglary in progress. Lucia Whalen was the witness and original 9-1-1 caller reporting the incident. Sgt. Crowley stated in his official police report that when he arrived at the scene, he spoke to Whalen, who told him she had “observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks” trying to force entry. Whalen subsequently denied making any such comment to Crowley. Whalen was hurt by widespread comments labeling her a racist, based on the “two black males with backpacks” quote in the police report. A recording of her 9-1-1 call was released on July 27; in it, Whalen could be heard saying, “I don’t know if they live there and they just had a hard time with their key.” When asked for a more detailed description by the dispatcher, her reply on the tape was, “One looked kind of Hispanic, but I’m not really sure. And the other one entered and I didn’t see what he looked like at all.” On July 28, it was revealed in the media that Justin Barrett, a 36-year-old Boston Police Department officer who has been on the job for two years, and is also a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, sent a mass e-mail to fellow National Guardsmen and to The Boston Globe in which he referred to Gates as a “jungle monkey”.
https://tinyurl.com/cwa8bum

WHITE WOMAN Portland Oregon Rep. Janelle Bynum Black state lawmaker up for re-election was knocking on doors in her Portland-area district this week when someone called 911 on her.
https://tinyurl.com/ycjuylww

CHILI’S EMPLOYEE June 23, 2018 Abbeville, Louisiana Police found themselves in a delicate position when they were called to remove a group of Black patrons from the parking lot of a Chili’s restaurant. The customers tried to explain how they were simply talking outside during closing time but that one of the employees thought they were trying to intimidate the staff. “They called me here to prevent an altercation with you guys,” an officer told the group in the video. “Why? Why?” one of the men asked. “Because we’re black people in Abbeville it’s an altercation.” “What did we do? All we did was pay and leave”. Chili’s later put out a statement saying it regretted what occurred.
https://tinyurl.com/ycjuylww

LINDA KRAKORA July 4, 2018 Reggie Fields, a 12-year-old Ohioan who proudly operates Mr. Reggie’s Lawn Cutting Service, made national headlines after a white woman called the police on him. She had complained that the child, who was cutting her neighbor’s lawn, cut part of the wrong lawn. Nearly two weeks later, the same family called the police on the boy again, this time complaining about Fields and other children playing on a Slip N’ Slide in a neighboring yard. For over 18 years, Krakora’s family has made some 60 calls to police.
https://tinyurl.com/y9zkzh3u

CATHOLIC PRIEST MICHAEL BRIESE July 2, 2018 Charlotte Hall, Md Catholic Priest halted a homegoing service in Maryland to have a black family removed from the church. The servant of God even kicked the dead body out of the funeral, proving once again, there is no sanctuary when it comes to racism. Aside from the fact that she was no longer alive, Agnes Hicks’ Charlotte Hall, Md., mass was going along perfectly fine on Tuesday until an attendee of the funeral went in for a hug and accidentally knocked over a chalice at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, angering pastor Michael Briese. “There will be no funeral, no repast, everyone get the hell out of my church,” Briese reportedly told the family. Briese then kicked the family out of the place of worship, telling them to remove the body of the woman who wished to be laid to rest in the church where she was baptized. After the police responded to the call, the officers determined that the family had done nothing wrong and escorted the family to another church in a nearby county where they finished the service.
https://tinyurl.com/ydxrkaqj

DEPRESSED DEBRA June 6, 2018 Oklahoma City OK When the first video posted to Facebook begins, the woman is already on the phone with the authorities. When Poolside Patty hangs up, a woman identified as Ja’Maya Burleson asks the woman why she called the police. “I nicely asked you if you would talk to me because I’m depressed.” “I’m not a counselor. I’m not certified, baby,” the videographer responds, leaving Depressed Debra agape in horror, apparently unfamiliar with the word “No.” The bummed-out Depressed Debra initially denies having called the police, then insists the 911 operator called her because … of course they did. Soon the police arrive, and Depressed Debra goes to explain herself to the law enforcement officer. “Yesterday was my birthday; I was very depressed. I went over and I asked the other girl if I could talk to her, and she said, ‘No.’ What do you want to talk about?’ and I said, ‘I’m depressed.’” The officer interrupts the White woman and informs her he has patrolled the apartment complex for three years and didn’t even know the pool existed until another man flagged him down and told him “a short little blond lady” was at the pool causing a scene because she was “drunk or on something.” Policeman asks the lone white woman why everyone else would gang up on her. Depressed Debra admits she approached three different guys and asked them to talk before asking a “beautiful African-American woman with blond locs” to engage in a depression-fighting conversation. When it’s her turn, the Black woman tries to calmly explain the situation, but Depressed Debra interrupts with sobs, explaining how scared she was of the people who, she admits, did absolutely nothing to harm her (unless you count her frail, alabaster sense of entitlement). Finally, the cop realizes Depressed Debra is actually “on something” and decides to leave.
https://tinyurl.com/y7jtrngq

DOLLAR STORE EMPLOYEE July 2018 Ohio Employee calls cops on Black man because he didn’t leave his bag at the front of the store. Customer was not told to leave his bag at the front and he was already at the cash register attempting to pay for a single item juice. Employee threatens to mace customer for recording him. Customer chooses to wait for police, employee continues to threaten customer. Officers were jerks, trying to say Black man was throwing a gang sign when they took his photo for the gang task force. No crime had been committed.
https://tinyurl.com/y7r5x543

KEN DUDEK July 18, 2018 Buffalo, NY Dollar General Store Manager Ken Dudek called the police on Madonna Wilburn a black customer using store coupons, accusing her of “trying to take advantage of the system.” Wilburn was trying to purchase $30 worth of groceries with digital coupons when Dudek got frustrated. Wilburn captured the tense exchange in a Facebook video. “I had no coupons in my hand and they are all digital coupons on their app. Spend $30 on gain scents and receive $5 off then other digital coupons ranging from .50 to $2 off of each of these items all on their app. He could not figure it out. Told me he hate people like me, told me to shut up, and more. I eventually pulled out my phone….and started recording to protect myself against his nasty attitude in case anything happened.. now him and his wife inboxing me.” Facebook screenshots show a user named Josiah Dudek who wrote, “We don’t dislike any race. Everyone’s equal. You’re all just mad she couldn’t use her precious coupons.” He also called Wilburn a “b****” and used the hashtag #Trump2020.” “What the video didn’t capture was this man telling me to ‘shut up,’ and ‘I hate people like you.’ Did he mean women? Black women? People who coupon?’” Wilburn waited outside for a police officer, who suggested she call the company’s corporate offices. He also gave her permission to leave, declaring the incident a non-issue.
https://tinyurl.com/y7anloak

WHITE NEIGHBOR July 17, 2018 San Francisco, CA Police officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Valencia Street on a call of a possible burglary in progress at a business,” according to the statement. “The caller stated that the person was removing items from a small, open door. Four officers responded to the scene and spoke to the person and determined he was the owner of the business. Viktor Stevenson had been testing out his security system Thursday at Gourmonade, which he had opened five days earlier, when four police officers approached him. “I say, ‘Oh, did the security system go off? If it did, my apologies. I am on the phone with the company now,’” Stevenson told the news outlet. That’s when the police told him a neighbor had reported him for “breaking into” the store. The cops asked to see his hands, which were in his pockets, and told him to prove it was his store. When he showed them his store key, they asked to see his ID as well.
https://tinyurl.com/y7jxowyx

“WHITE NEIGHBOR aka TATTLETALE TINA” July 15, 2017 Key West, FL “Tattle-tale Tina” called the police instead of alerting her neighbor, Diana Candelario Fiscal-Gonzalez that collecting the protected Queen Conch shells was illegal. Officer John Martino, with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, arrested Fiscal-Gonzalez on 40 counts of possession. Thethe judge sentenced her to 15 days in jail, six months’ probation, a $500 fine as well as $268 for court costs. With a name like “Gonzalez” I can imagine why the police were called and Diana Candelario Fiscal-Gonzalez was subsequently arrested rather than given a warning, and/or a fine.
https://tinyurl.com/y783gkk9

TARGET EMPLOYEE Algonquin, Ill. Dec. 2017 12-year-old Olivia Mochan’s mom Lindsay Mochan dropped her daughter and her 13-year-old friend off at Target so the two girls could go Christmas shopping. Olivia said they were there about 90 minutes browsing the aisles before she bought some cake mix and lemon juice. Her friend also bought a few items. Shortly after that, Target employees started following them, Olivia said. One even accused them of shoplifting, telling them to put back what was in their bags. “She goes, ‘We have you on camera stealing.’ I go, ‘Really, you don’t, because I didn’t steal anything,’ The girls kept receipts of their purchases and don’t understand why they were singled out.
https://tinyurl.com/y6vey64l

APPLEBEES WHITE MANAGER and 3 EMPLOYEESFeb. 18, 2018 Independence, MO. Black women, Alexis Brison and Asia Hardy had the police called on them and accused of having done a “dine and dash” in their restaurant the night before. About an hour into their dinner they were approached by an Independence police officer, a mall cop, and the restaurant manager. They were told that we were accused of eating and not paying for CHICKEN the day before (dining and dashing). “After being mocked, humiliated, and embarrassed we were asked to pay for our food, leave, and not come back. After leaving, calls were made to the restaurant and the manager stated that our accuser remembered that there was a SKINNY girl and a girl who wore MAKEUP. In 2018 is this really what we’re debased to? Our weight and whether or not we wore makeup. She could not recognize any facial features or any defining characteristics. This is a clear example of RACIAL PROFILING that should not be stood for. Just because we are black does not mean we are all criminals and I will not be treated as such.”
https://tinyurl.com/ycxbnjb7

WHITE HOMEOWNER May 16, 2018 Oakland CA Black firefighter Kevin Moore, while wearing a full uniform, with a radio and clipboard was reported to police for doing a standard inspection. Moore said he did his usual routine: knocked on the door, waited about a minute and yelled “Oakland Fire!” Then he stepped into the yard, which had no gate, and started noting the many vegetation hazards in his paperwork. As Moore was finishing up, he turned around to find the resident outside near the front steps of the house, video-recording him on a cell phone. “He kind of startled me,” Moore said. “He says, ‘Well, what are you doing here?’ I say, ‘We’re here doing our annual vegetation inspection.’ Then he asks for ID. I say no problem. He takes a picture of my ID and says I need to get a different one. I’ve had that ID for years. Moore said he suggested if the resident were still concerned, he could simply look out onto the street where “a big red fire engine is right there.” The resident called the police on Moore.
https://tinyurl.com/ydbrvg2f

NEIGHBOR July 18, 2018 The Minnesota Department of Health was called and reported 13-year-old entrepreneur, Jaequan Faulkner for selling hot dogs outside of his home in order to raise money to buy new clothes for the next school year.
https://tinyurl.com/y7m9vqrp

ALISON ETTEL aka “PERMIT PATTY” June 26, 2018 Alison Ettel “Permit Patty” was caught on camera calling 911 and confronting 8-year-old girl Jordan Rodgers selling $2 water bottles outside her window to passersby.
https://tinyurl.com/yb83qw5u

JENNIFER SCHULTE aka u>”BBQ BECKY” ~ BLACK BBQ’ing IN PARK April 29, 2018 Oakland CA “BBQ Becky” a white woman called police on a few Black people who, she said, were using a charcoal grill in an area where it was banned.
https://tinyurl.com/y9yns8eg

HOLLY HYLTON STARBUCKS MANAGER April 12, 2018 Philadelphia PA. Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson had initially asked to use the bathroom at the Philadelphia Starbucks as they waited for a business meeting but were told it was for paying customers only. They occupied a table without making a purchase, which many observers have noted is a common occurrence at the franchise’s locations. Within minutes of them arriving, a manager called police after the men declined to leave the premises because, they said, they were waiting for their acquaintance.
https://tinyurl.com/y8evvg4r

WHITE LADY ON BIKE May 10, 2018 Washington, D.C Donald Sherman, a Black lawyer and a father. Sherman’s son was not feeling well, so he stayed home from work and was pushing his son in a park when a White woman saw fit to notify park security about “a suspicious man walking the bike path with a baby.” 30 minutes into our stroll Sherman got flagged by a security officer in one of those cars marked ‘Special Police’. “I was a bit confused as to whether she was looking for me to stop but she honked twice and pulled over so I got the picture. She told me that she received a complaint from someone who said there was a “suspicious man” walking on the bike path with a baby. When the complainant was asked to describe my race, she declined.” Sherman is dark-skinned while his son is not, prompting the woman to think a Black man somehow stole a White baby. The only person he saw on their walk was “a White lady on a bike who veered off as Caleb and I were walking in her direction” and she was the one who “saw fit to report me to security.”
https://tinyurl.com/y8w2vqp7

HOBBY LOBBY LAURA May 16, 2018 Trussville Alabama Employee Laura called police to report that a black man, Brian Spurlock who was in the store committing the crime of … well … no one seems to know. The police said the man was trespassing; the store manager first said that he “resembled” a thief. Then Laura said he was talking too loudly while he was outside the store. Spurlock went to the craft superstore to return a Cricut cutting machine for his girlfriend. He had the receipt, the original packaging and everything that came with the item when he arrived. “When I gave her [the cashier] the machine, she told me that she needed to check with the manager to see if the item was returnable. The manager said she would have to check with corporate.” Hobby Lobby Laura was not calling “corporate she was calling the police. Spurlock says he still didn’t think anything was wrong, even when an officer entered the store, walked up to him and asked for his identification. As customers looked on, Spurlock handed over his ID to the cop and asked what was the reason for this embarrassment. “He said: ‘You’re about to be trespassing. I still didn’t know what was going on. I figured, ‘OK, some stores do ask for ID when you return things”. But instead of taking Spurlock’s ID to the manager, the cop exited the store with the ID and went to his car. “I still had no idea what they were doing. But now I realize he was running my name to check for warrants. I still wasn’t worried because I don’t have any,”. Apparently finding no blemishes on Spurlock’s record, the cop returned and informed Spurlock that he should get his refund and leave the store before he was arrested for trespassing.
https://tinyurl.com/ybsu3fln

LINDA SHAD aka LICENSE PLATE LINDA July 8, 2018 Colerain Township, Ohio Domonique Duskin said Linda Shad tried to “get all of our cars towed because we were blocking my cousin Marvin Shelton’s driveway. The cars didn’t block Shad’s driveway or anyone else’s property except [for] my cousin’s.” Shad called the police, but “the police came and did nothing they just pretty much told Linda to go in her house and mind her business.” The Black family went back to the party, but as people were preparing to leave, “Linda and her family had bent everybody’s license plates, key’d cars, and pretty much damage people’s property.” Police fingerprinted the tags and by the time they got to the fourth car Linda confessed. Shelton said Linda Shad has called authorities on him dozens of times in the 13 years he’s lived in his house.
https://tinyurl.com/ycdf2jly

NEWPORT NANCY July 6, 2018 Wellington Manor GA Nancy felt the need to call police on Ms. Etheridge for smoking in a tenant parking structure. The unidentified White woman was recorded threatening to call the police on a Black person, this time after seeing Etheridge smoking in the shared parking garage of their apartment building. In addition to calling the police, “Nancy” threatened to call property management and said “they’ll have you evicted for smoking on the property.” Ms. Etheridge “Are you racist? Because I think you are. You just came out here harassing me for no reason”. The White woman then closed her car door and appeared to make a phone call. Police arrived soon after, concluding that there was no issue to be resolved.
https://tinyurl.com/y8hclul6

WHITE RESIDENT aka NEWSPAPER NO NO July 6, 2018 Upper Arlington, Ohio Mycah Sharp, 17, and Uriah Sharp, 11, obtained a summer job delivering newspaper ads to learn the value of hard work. However, they faced issues from White neighbors who viewed them as suspects. The caller told police, “It looked like at first they were delivering newspapers or something, but I noticed they were walking up to the houses with nothing in hand and one of them came back with something. I mean, I don’t want to say something was going on, but it just but it just seemed kind of suspicious. “The police approached the kids while they were delivering on their first day of work and asked the boys if they were intruding in the area. ‘What are you doing here…are you soliciting?’ I said, ‘no sir I’m not soliciting, I’m delivering papers.’ He said, ‘what papers?’ I showed him the paper. He said, ‘Oh really,’ and sat there for a minute and then pulled off.” The boys mom Brandie Sharp told the officer they were working and showed their bag of the local newspaper. She said the boys had made a few deliveries to the wrong addresses and needed to retrieve the papers and Uriah went back to “grab” some newspapers. Upper Arlington is 92% White and has a Black population of less than %.
https://tinyurl.com/ybyjvbxa

MAGGIE THE MANAGER May 7, 2018 Tacoma, WA Simone Intrepid Gamble and a friend were shopping at Fuego clothing store, when one of them stepped inside a dressing room at the business. To Gamble’s surprise, they heard the store manager loudly reading the store’s theft policies. “I was in the dressing room and while in there the manager started talking about the procedures for theft. Mind you she was not on the floor when we first arrived to the store. I select dresses then tried them on. I was going to purchase one of the dresses until I heard her speaking directly in front of my dressing room about theft procedures. I then got dressed and went to tell her I wanted to buy one of the dresses and confronted her about her implicit conversation right outside the curtain. She kicked us out of the store when I tried asking her why and she then called store police “Yeah, I need security here right now,” Maggie the manager waves her hands, shooing the Black patrons away as if they were gnats. When the shoppers the manager call them “aggressive,” Maggie replies: “‘Uncooperative’ is the word I used, an educated word that succinctly describes what’s happening right now, uncooperative. I’ve asked you to leave, you have not left. “Leave!” manager Margaret screams aggressively, raising her voice.
https://tinyurl.com/y6wpohqh

WHITE NEIGHBORMay 16, 2018 Vista California Ike Iloputaife took his two exotic Borzoi dogs for a 90-minute walk in his neighborhood in the early-morning hours. A woman who lived around the corner from a burglarized home had snapped the photo of Iloputaife that morning when he walked past her house because, she told investigators, he was “a stranger” on her street. It was taken from behind at a significant distance, . After the burglary, the woman — whose identity is unavailable — shared the photo with investigators. Although the still-unidentified Iloputaife was billed in the press release as looking “similar to Suspect 2 in the burglary,” their only similarity is skin color. Vista station of the county Sheriff’s Department, which has since removed Iloputaife as a person of interest
https://tinyurl.com/yajdug4n

SUMMER BURLINGER aka BECKZILLA May 21, 2018 Las Vegas, Nevada James Ochoa while working at a home. Ochoa wrote that he had to use the bathroom while working on a driveway. “I had went to go to a portable restroom and I found some but they were occupied, so I made a u turn on this lady’s street to go find other ones.” he stopped his vehicle when Beckzilla’s dog ran in front of his car. He stopped to let the woman retrieve her dog, when Ochoa says he encountered pure evil: “I said nothing at all to her and she yelled saying “get off my street” I said “what did I do ma’am” and she continued to argue and call me names. So I had some words back, then I eventually drive off and just go back to work which is only a block away. She pulls up talking shit then she drives up the street and turns around rolls down her window and points a gun at me. I didn’t know what to do, so eventually the project manager seen everything going down so he asked me to leave and meet at his office. So I did we called the cops, she admitted to pulling the gun out and the cops took all her weapons from her home. So now we have a court date, I am fighting against her cause I had to leave work for 2 days”. In the video, the woman screams, “Help! Gun! Gun!”as Ochoa drives past her. In a post on a Facebook account which is now private, Berlinger contended Ochoa threatened her life and threatened to kill her entire family before he drove off, although her version conflicts with the video evidence.
https://tinyurl.com/y9zghueb

WHITE WOMAN May 5, 2018 Memphis TN Real estate investor Michael Hayes was inspecting a house he was interested in buying. As he was pulling a board off the boarded-up home’s front down when a woman next door came outside. Hayes waved to her. The White woman asked what he was doing. He pointed to the sign he had placed in the front yard. “I told her that I had a contract and that I was an investor,” Hayes, who wanted to get inside the house to take pictures, “But she wasn’t listening to that. She didn’t want to hear it.” She said he had no right to be in her neighborhood and should leave, she then called the police.
https://tinyurl.com/y7345l2p

NORDSTROM RACK EMPLOYEES and an ELDERLY WHITE WOMAN Brentwood, Mo. May 3, 2018 Mekhi Lee, Eric Rogers and Dirone Taylor were shopping at the Nordstrom Rack when they noticed store employees closely eyeing then following them through the aisles. Lee has just completed his freshman year of college and was with his longtime friends, Taylor and Rogers, who were shopping for prom. One of the young men wanted to try on a shirt, so he removed his hat, the store employees kept following the men, so they decided to leave. Shortly after, the man who had tried on the shirt realized he left his hat in the store, so the three of them went back. That’s when they were approached by an elderly White woman who had also been shopping. “Now they’re confronted by an elderly white woman in the store who says to them, ‘Would your parents and grandparents be proud of what you’re doing?’ ” The woman also referred to them as “a bunch of bums”. The young men asked to speak to a store manager, but employees told them they couldn’t meet with one. They left the store a second time and turned back to see the manager come to sidewalk and wave. They decided, ‘We have money, we came here to shop and demonstrate to them we aren’t thugs. We have money like anybody else”. While the men were making their purchases, the elderly White woman was in line waiting to check out behind them. The manager, who is also White, opened up a new register to ring the woman up. The manager then escorted the White woman to her car. While the men were paying for their items, they heard staff employees say they were calling the police. The young men left the store and waited for the police to arrive. When they did, the officers said they had been alerted to three black men who were shoplifting, including one in a blue sweatsuit, “handfuls of products.” The men showed the police their receipts and let them search their bags.
https://tinyurl.com/yan6pvcg

WAFFLE HOUSE EMPLOYEE May 2, 2018 Fort Walton Beach, FL Donald Copeland and Ms. Hart placed a to-go order. Before getting their food, they noticed that they were being charged more for one of the items than the price listed on the menu. The couple asked an employee about the charges, said they would not pay the additional amount, and attempted to call the chain’s corporate headquarters. The video clearly shows the money as well as the untouched food were laying on the counter, The employee responded by calling the police, later telling the officers they wanted to press charges if the couple did not pay. After a lengthy interaction with officers, the two were placed in handcuffs. “We haven’t been served at all. We haven’t been served so how is it theft? We asked her to explain the bill to us; she gave us no food or nothing and called you guys,”
https://tinyurl.com/y7bq5brs

WAFFLE HOUSE EMPLOYEE May 4, 2018 Warsaw NC video showed a 22-year old named Anthony Wall being choked by a police officer following a verbal dispute outside a North Carolina Waffle House. Wall said that employees called police because Wall, who had taken his sister to prom that evening before going with her to the restaurant, sat at a table that hadn’t been cleaned by waitstaff. The White employee called Wall a faggot and threatened him with physical assault. The police were called and an officer tried to arrest Wall. When Wall resisted, the officer grabbed him by the neck and choked him. Still grabbing Wall by the neck, the officer threw him to the pavement of the Waffle House parking lot.
https://tinyurl.com/yb74qsep

SARAH BRAASCH , May 10, 2018 New Haven, CT Lolade Siyonbola Black Yale University graduate student was working on a paper in the Hall of Graduate Studies when she fell asleep in a common room. Sarah Braasch, a White female student came in, turned on the lights and told her, “You’re not supposed to be sleeping here. I’m going to call the police.” Siyonbola was interrogated by campus police officers.
https://tinyurl.com/ya3wlwkd

WHITE FEMALE NEIGHBOR , May 7, 2018 Rialto, CA As filmmaker Kelly Fyffe-Marshall her friends, Donisha Prendergast, Komi-Oluwa Olafimihan and another Friend were leaving an Airbnb seven police cars showed up. The neighborhood was seemingly locked down. The police told Fyffe-Marshall and her friends to put their hands in the air, and then informed them a helicopter was tracking them. Police admitted the White female neighbor called police because the women didn’t wave to her as they were loading their luggage into the car.
https://tinyurl.com/y8nt9sgz

WHITE MOTHER , Thomas Kanewakeron Gray and his brother Lloyd Skanahwati Gray Two First Nation Indigenous Native American brothers May 5, 2018 Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO “A White mother participating in the campus tour called 911 because she was nervous about the presence of two young men who joined the tour while it was in progress, “They’re not — definitely not — a part of the tour. Their behavior is odd and that they’re wearing “black clothing.” She said “their behavior is “just really odd” and that they are wearing dark clothing with “weird symbolism or wording on it.” One of them had his hand in his sweatshirt pocket, and she could tell they were lying when she asked one of them about what they wanted to study because the other started laughing. I think they’re Hispanic, I believe” The mother says, when asked about whether they were white males. “One of them for sure. He said he’s from Mexico. “But it actually made me like feel sick and I’ve never felt like that.”
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STEVE CHRONISTER , Myneca Ojo, Sandra Thompson, Sandra Harrison, Carolyn Dow and Karen Crosby FULLY PAID MEMBERS of Grandview Golf Course April 21, 2018 Dover Township York, PA. Five African American professional women in their 50’s say white male former York County Commissioner Steve Chronister called 911 on them twice because they were golfing too slow.
https://tinyurl.com/y99zqovu

LA FITNESS EMPLOYEE April 19, 2018 Secaucus, NJ Tshyrad Oates long time me LA Fitness member, with a current, valid membership . Oates signed in under the four-day guest pass to work out with a friend, a current member who was already at the gym. About 30 minutes later, the employee who signed Oates in told him he had to leave or pay. Oates reminded the employee he had already signed in with her, using the guest pass. Unaware a manager had signed in Oates’ workout partner, the employee said Oates’ workout partner was the one who didn’t pay, Oates’ workout partner told the employee he was an active member but his gym tag was in his locker. As Oates and his friend continued working out, two police officers arrived and questioned the two men about their memberships. Oates explained his guest pass, and his workout partner rescanned his gym tag. They resumed working out and 10 minutes later a manager told the two men to leave. The men told the manager they didn’t do anything wrong. He said other police officers soon arrived and also asked the two men to leave. The gym manager told Oates he had been banned from the LA Fitness and his friend’s membership “has been terminated effective immediately.”
https://tinyurl.com/ya6pjm5c

MORRY MATSON aka ‘COUPON CARL’ July 14, 2018 Chicago, IL Ms. Hudson had tried to make a purchase with a coupon mailed to her by the product manufacturer, but CVS store manager Morry Matson ‘Coupon Carl’ (running for 48th Ward alderman and state delegate for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election and is president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Illinois) claimed it was fake. Her photo of the coupon showed a December 2018 expiration date and indicated it was good for up to $17.99 toward a personal medical item. Camila Matson identified himself to authorities before telling the police that Hudson was African-American. ‘No I’m not African-American. I’m black. Black isn’t a bad word,’ Hudson said just moments before Matson hung up the phone and retreated into his office. The manager walked away, and when she followed him “he ran to the back of the store and slammed a door in my face.” Another manager arrived to tell her to leave because he had called the police. “Police were informed that a female was inside the store threatening the staff and refusing to leave and officers responded to a call of an “assault in progress.
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ERICA WALKER July 9, 2018 Chicago, IL Kevin Yates, and girlfriend, Camry Porter, said they had taken Ms. Porter’s two young godsons swimming at the pool at Riverset Apartments, where Ms. Porter lives. They said they were the only black people at the pool. Yates was watching the children play in the pool, sitting at the edge with his feet dipped in the water, when a woman identified herself as Erica Walker a property manager asked him to remove his socks because they were not “proper pool attire.” When he did not remove his socks or leave the property, she called the police. White people were wearing clothing other than swimsuits, such as hats or shirts, in the pool. “It’s not the issue with socks,” Ms. Porter said. “If socks were not to be worn, that was very well fine. The issue was we were the only one addressed.”
https://tinyurl.com/yaqtacyr

ADAM BLOOM aka ‘ID ADAM’ July 4, 2018 Glenridge Community Pool in Winston-Salem No. Carolina Ms. Abhulimen said she was swimming with her son when Adam Bloom ‘ID Adam’ called police on her. The Winston-Salem police released the recording of Mr. Bloom’s phone call to the authorities, in which he asserted Ms. Abhulimen was not a resident and was refusing to show identification. Police officers confirm there was no rule requiring identification at the pool. Ms. Abhulimen had a key card issued to residents allowing her to enter.
https://tinyurl.com/ybzlvfro

CAROLINA STEPHANIE SEBBY-STREMPEL aka “POOL PATROL PAULA” and FRIEND June 28, 2018 Summerville So. Carolina Stephanie Sebby-Strempel, a White woman, now officially known as “Pool Patrol Paula,” was caught on camera confronting and striking a 15-year-old black teen at a community pool. The woman began calling he and his friends “punks” and using “racial slurs”. Sebby-Strempel told the teenagers they “didn’t belong” at the pool and had to leave. The 15-year-old victim also told police that Sebby-Strempel followed him toward the pool exit and hit him in the face twice, which the video appears to show. Video of the incident showed her swinging her arm toward the teen as he records on his phone. She can be heard yelling “Get out! Get out,” threatening to call 911 and calling the teens “punks” Stephanie Sebby-Strempel, has been charged with one count of third-degree assault and battery and two counts of assaulting, beating or wounding a police officer while resisting arrest.
https://tinyurl.com/ybeztu67

WHITE VINTAGE STORE CLERKS May 12, 2018 Williamsburg NY Nancy Bedard a Black Brooklyn lawyer and daughter were wrongly accused of shoplifting by White clerks in a vintage clothing store. Bedard picked out a bathing suit and three dresses. A dark-haired clerk told the mother and daughter to share a fitting room to try on the clothes. When they exited, a blond-haired clerk confronted the two about a fifth clothing item. “I remember counting on my fingers: ‘One, two, three, four, there is no missing item.” Bedard says she tried to step outside the shop and walk away, but the clerk continued to interrogate them about the phantom dress. “She told me to come back in the store, and I wouldn’t. I know my rights, and I didn’t.” When the dress shop worker warned a surveillance camera would have captured any theft, Bedard encouraged her to review the video. The woman instead called the cops and followed the lawyer and her daughter. The NYPD confirmed they were called with a reported “larceny in progress” at the Bedford Ave. store. When police arrived, the mother and daughter were handcuffed together and cops looked through one of their shopping bags. After finding nothing, the police uncuffed Bedard and her daughter, who had suffered bruises and cuts from the cuffs. Police confirmed the two women were accused of theft and that neither had any stolen property. The mother and daughter were taken to Woodhull Hospital, where they say police continued to shadow them. It wasn’t until 11 p.m. that police returned her driver’s license.
https://tinyurl.com/y7e3d9lg

WHITE NEIGHBOR April 28, 2018 NYNY former White House staffer Darren Martin who worked in the White House’s Office of Legislative Affairs under President Obama, captured the encounter with NYPD officers. According to the dispatcher, a caller claimed “somebody was trying to break into the door,” with “possibly a weapon or a large tool.” Three uniformed officers began questioning Martin as he stood in the lobby of his building. Soon after, “three or four” plainclothes police officers arrive. Martin the cops unlawfully entered his unit.
https://tinyurl.com/y7xqruaf

BRENT AHLERS Sept. 14, 2017 a St. Catherine University security officer, shot himself. Instead of admitting to it, he allegedly blamed an imaginary Black man and lead investigators on a wild goose chase. Ahlers, a 25-year-old White man, was reportedly afraid that he would lose his job if he told the truth, so he told St. Paul, Minn., police that a black man wearing a navy blue sweatshirt with a “short Afro” shot him in a wooded area near the campus. The campus was put on lockdown while 55 officers, four K-9s and State Patrol aircraft looked for the “suspect.” Police said Ahlers told them the gun fired accidentally in the woods and he was afraid of getting fired for bringing his personal gun to work.
https://tinyurl.com/y8kecsyw

BREANA HARMON TALBOTT March 8, 2017 An 18-year-old Texas woman’s claim she was abducted and assaulted by 3 Black men after the bloody woman ran into a church wearing only a shirt, bra and underwear and lied about two black men raping her while a third held her down. 2 weeks later she confessed she lied. Talbott admitted she staged the crime scene She also admitted that the cuts on her body were self-inflicted.
https://tinyurl.com/y72ynk4m

OFFICER BRIAN EUBANKS April 11, 2017 Newcomerstown, OH. Cop Shoots Himself, Sets Off Massive Manhunt for Innocent Man, All to Collect Workers Comp. Faked being shot and then blamed the shootings on non-existent assailants. Departments statewide combed the streets looking for two men in a black Geo Tracker, one wearing a red sweatshirt and the other wearing a lime green shirt. One was in a tactical vest and they were armed with a shotgun and handguns.
https://tinyurl.com/yd9r2fuj

WHITE RESIDENTS June 5, 2015 McKinney, Texas, called police on a group of Black high schooler’s holding a pool party, complaining about noise. One adult allegedly told the teenagers to return to “Section 8 [public] housing.” The full video shows Officer Eric Casebolt sprinting past the camera diving onto the ground and executes a superfluous combat roll. A few moments later he begins barking orders and throwing young Black men to the ground by their arms, handcuffing some of them. Officer Casebolt grabs 14 year old Black girl, Dajerria Becton and violently slams her to the ground, then sitting on the teenager, holding her by her hair while drawing his gun on two other teenagers who attempted to help. Another officer pulls Casebolt’s weapon to his side, but Casebolt doesn’t holster it. With his left arm he pushes away the officers who’ve come to deescalate the situation. Casebolt chases the boys a few steps, then returns to Dajerria Becton. “Sit your ass on the ground” Casebolt then grabs the girl by the back of the neck and smashes her face into the grass while yelling, “on your face.” He then kneels over her, with both knees into her back where he stays for much of the remaining minutes of the video. Residents later posted signs thanking the officers for “keeping us safe.”
https://tinyurl.com/jh5n9km

RONALD RITCHIE August 5, 2014 Beavercreek, OH John Crawford picked up an un-packaged BB/pellet air rifle inside the store’s sporting goods section and continued shopping in the store. White customer, Ronald Ritchie, called 911. According to Ritchie at the time, Crawford was pointing the gun at people and at children walking by, and messing with the gun. Ritchie has since stated “At no point did he shoulder the rifle and point it at somebody”. Two officers arrived at the Walmart shortly after their dispatcher informed them of a “subject with a gun” in the pet supplies area of the store and Crawford was shot. The shooting was captured by the store’s security video camera. Crawford was talking on his cell phone while holding the BB/Pellet air rifle when he was killed. According to Crawford’s mother, the video shows the officers fired immediately without giving any verbal commands and without giving Crawford any time to drop the BB gun even if he had heard them. Crawford was pronounced dead.
https://tinyurl.com/kzvuugt

WHITE MALE November 22, 2014, Cleveland, OH A White male called police dispatch on Tamir Rice a 12-year-old boy a black male that “keeps pulling a gun out of his pants and pointing it at people”. The caller reported that a male was pointing “a pistol” at random people in the Cudell Recreation Center. At the beginning of the call and again in the middle he says of the pistol “it’s probably fake”. Toward the end of the two-minute call, the caller stated “he is probably a juvenile”. However, this information was not relayed to officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback. The video shows a patrol car moving at high speed across the park lawn and stops abruptly by the gazebo. Loehmann immediately shoots Rice from a distance of less than 10 feet in less than 2 seconds. Another video shows Rice’s 14-year-old sister being forced to the ground, handcuffed and placed in a patrol car after she ran toward her brother about two minutes after the shooting. It also shows police waited for four minutes before providing any first aid to Rice. Tamir Rice died the following day.
https://tinyurl.com/ybovl3eb

RUBY BATES and VICTORIA PRICE. Nine Black teenagers known as the Scottsboro Boys were falsely accused of raping two White women in 1931: Clarence Norris, Charlie Weems, Haywood Patterson, Ozie Powell, Willie Roberson, Eugene Williams, Olen Montgomery, Andy Wright, Roy Wright. Ruby Bates proceeded to testify, and explained that no rape had occurred. She said none of the defendants had touched her or even spoken to her. When asked if she had been raped on March 25, 1931, Bates said, “No sir.” When asked why she had initially said she had been raped, Bates replied, “I told it just like Victoria Price did because she said we might have to stay in jail if we did not frame up a story after crossing a state line with men.” Bates explained Price had said “she didn’t care if all the Negroes in Alabama were put in jail.” Eight convicted defendants were assembled on April 9, 1931, and sentenced to death by electric chair. This was later overturned on an appeal but the young men spent many, many years in prison.
http://tinyurl.com/pcl8k6l

MARIA DALY a Massachusetts police officer’s wife in financial trouble reported her home was vandalized and burglarized in Millbury, Massachusetts, and said $10,000 in jewelry and money had been stolen. The couple’s home was also vandalized, and an acronym for the Black Lives Matter movement, BLM, was spray-painted on the house. Investigators later determined Daly had lied to police, and alleged that she committed the crime herself. Daly reportedly admitted she fabricated the story to cops and said all “stolen” item had been recovered. The police came to the conclusion that it was all fabricated. There was no intruder, there was no burglary.
http://tinyurl.com/y8snbqql

RICKEY WAGONER 49 a White bus driver from Dayton, Ohio, lied when he told cops he was attacked, shot, stabbed and robbed by three Black teen attackers. told cops that two of the bullets struck a copy of “The Message,” a contemporary take on the New Testament, that the driver had stuffed into a chest pocket. Wagoner staged the attack, shooting himself in the arm and placing the Bible-like book on the asphalt before pumping two slugs into it.
http://tinyurl.com/ybn42gtq

LEIHA ANN-SUE ARTMAN a 25 year old Michigan woman, made up a story in 2016 implicating four Black men in a two-day kidnapping, rape and beating ordeal that never actually took place. sent her boyfriend panicked text messages in March detailing her alleged two days of torture and begging him to pay a ransom, officials said. She even included selfies of herself bound, gagged and bleeding from the head. Artman later told investigators that she had been kidnapped on March 27, when four Black men snatched her from her driveway and threw her in the truck of their car. She claimed the foursome drove her to an unknown location, where they repeatedly raped and beat her. Artman later admitted that she made the entire story up, but it’s still not clear why she lied.
http://tinyurl.com/y9we4gem

JOSHUA WITT fabricated a story about having to fight off a knife-wielding Black man who attacked him for his fashy neo-Nazi haircut. Police realized Witt was lying because surveillance footage hadn’t captured his fleeing assailant, but did document Witt buying a knife in a nearby store. When confronted with the inconsistencies in his story, Witt admitted he had lied. “He was opening up the knife package in the car and he cut himself.”
http://tinyurl.com/ycn8extp

MICHAEL HUSKEY age 10, along with his 7-year-old male cousin, left for school one morning in April 2016, only to return shortly after claiming a Black man with a knife had tried to abduct them. The two reportedly gave police a description of the man including his clothes (“gray hooded sweatshirt and dark pants”). Fort Mill, South Carolina, police announced a little over a week later that the boys had made up the story because they wanted to blow off school for the day.
http://tinyurl.com/yahqmnuf

SHERRY HALL Police shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge in the summer of 2016 were erroneously blamed on Black Lives Matter and protesters against police violence. Georgia officer Sherry Hall saw an opportunity in the upheaval. On the night of September 13, Hall radioed in that she had nearly been killed by a bullet that had failed to pierce her chest because of her body armor. In multiple interviews with police working her case, Hall reported that the suspect was “a 6-foot, 230-pound Blackman” wearing a “green shirt and Blackjogging pants.” In an interview with a local TV news outlet, she restated all her lies, laying it on thick.
http://tinyurl.com/y72ynk4m

BETHANY STORRO claimed she was outside of a Vancouver, Washington, coffee shop when a Black woman threw acid in her face, shouting, “Hey pretty girl, do you want to drink this?” “I’m a nice girl and I don’t know why this happened” She told the press her nonexistent attacker “had this weirdness about her. Like jealousy, rage.” Sympathy and donations poured in for Storro after her completely made-up story became national news. She received about $28,000 from strangers, “some of which she spent on clothes, train tickets and dinners for her parents.” Storro later admitted she had rubbed drain cleaner all over her own face due to an undiagnosed mental illness.
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BREANA RACHELLE HARMON 19 years old enter a Texas church and told parishioners she had just been abducted and sexually assaulted in a wooded area by three Blackmen wearing ski masks. Harmon later admitted she’d made up the story, going so far as to cut and bruise herself to dupe law enforcement, and now faces multiple felony charges for fabricating a false report. The case is part of America’s long history of racial hoaxes that have cost an unknowable number of innocent Black folks their safety, freedom and lives.
http://tinyurl.com/y8zyxa82

ASHLEY TODD told Pittsburgh police a 100 percent bullshit story involving a Black mugger, political junkie and body modification enthusiast. The 20-year-old student claimed that while she was using an ATM, a “six-foot-four African American of medium build, dressed in dark clothes wearing shiny shoes” put a knife to her neck and demanded money. The figment of Todd’s racist imagination might have been happy with the $60 she gave him had he not then noticed her McCain bumper sticker. Todd told authorities he became enraged and began punching and kicking her, all while yelling “you are going to be a Barack supporter.” Before he left, Todd said he carved a the letter “B”—for Barack, natch—into her cheek at an angle that made zero sense in the context of the story. Todd later admitted she made up the story and underwent court-ordered psychiatric counseling.
http://tinyurl.com/cyeke9p

WALKER DAUGHERTY and MICHAEL BRYANT Texas hunting guides were leading a party in the southern part of the state near the Mexico border. The two claimed on the night of January 6, they were attacked by undocumented immigrants illegally crossing the border who attempted to steal their RV. The resulting gunfight left Daugherty 26, and another member of the group, Edwin Roberts 59 when everyone began shooting each other.
http://tinyurl.com/y73qoe4y

SUSAN LEIGH VAUGHAN-SMITH a 23-year-old South Carolina mother of two young boys—3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex—Smith reported in October 1994 she had been carjacked by a Black man who drove off with her sons. For eight days after the incident, which immediately became national news, Smith made numerous television appearances in which she sobbed on camera and pleaded with the fictional abductor to return her “babies.” The search for the missing children (and clues as to the location of the phantom African-American kidnapper), involved “hundreds of volunteers scoured this corner of the state”. Nine days after her sons disappeared, Smith was arrested on two counts of murder. By then she had already confessed to strapping her sons into their car seats and letting the vehicle roll slowly into John D. Long Lake.
http://tinyurl.com/z8x6ghm

BONNIE ANNE SWEETEN Seven times in one day, Sweeten made frantic emergency calls in which she claimed two Black men “had bumped her 2005 GMC Denali, carjacked her and stuffed her in the trunk of a dark Cadillac” along with her 9-year-old daughter. An Amber Alert was issued for the child’s recovery and a multi-state, multi-agency manhunt was undertaken to locate the two. But Sweeten’s 911 calls were actually made “from her 2005 Yukon parked on a Philadelphia street,” according to Philadelphia authorities. In the days before she launched the elaborate hoax, Sweeten had withdrawn $12,000 from multiple accounts, “borrowed” a co-worker’s driver’s license and used it to buy a flight to Orlando, where she rented a hotel room for a week. Law enforcement agents ultimately traced her to Disney World, where she was apprehended by Florida police. A subsequent investigation revealed that “Sweeten devised elaborate means to steal $640,000 from the one-lawyer firm [where she worked] and $283,000 from the retirement accounts of her first husband’s elderly grandfather.
http://tinyurl.com/y9dq9nvw

JESSE ANDERSON After grabbing a movie and dinner at TGI Friday’s with his wife, Anderson pretended the two had been attacked in the restaurant parking lot by two Black assailants with knives. Anderson superficially stabbed himself three times in the chest to make his story more believable and stabbed his wife an astounding 21 times in the face and neck. Anderson even gave police a Los Angeles Clippers hat he claimed he’d somehow grabbed from one of his attackers. Milwaukee police doubted Anderson’s story from the start and didn’t pursue other suspects. The New York Times noted that when the news broadcast an image of the baseball cap, a Black student called police to report “a man who fit Mr. Anderson’s description” had “approached him at a shopping center and paid him $20 for it” the same day as the murder. On Aug. 13, 1992, Anderson was sentenced to life in prison (where incidentally, he was killed by Christopher Scarver, who also murdered serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer).
http://tinyurl.com/qd9qwph

CHARLES STUART October 1989, Stuart claimed he and his pregnant wife Carol were driving home from a birthing class at a hospital in a Black Boston neighborhood when a Black gunman got into their car at a stoplight. Charles was shot in the stomach, Carol sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head, and their prematurely delivered baby died 17 days later. With so much focus on a Black murderer who didn’t exist, Boston officers failed to do the basic police work that would have exposed Stuart’s guilt. There’s evidence that Charles wanted Carol to have an abortion and considered her pregnancy a “hindrance” to his entrepreneurial visions and a threat to their affluent lifestyle. He was romantically entangled with a coworker. He was the beneficiary of $300,000 in insurance money, some of which he’d already begun spending on pricey pieces of jewelry. Stuart might have gotten away with it had his brother Matthew not come forward when he realized that an innocent Black man, William Bennett, was on the verge of being jailed for the crime.
http://tinyurl.com/y9ff3pgs

DETROIT POLICE September 2007 Detroit MI For nine years, Davontae Sanford has been incarcerated for the murder of four people at a drug house. He was just 14. Sanford lived near the scene of the murders in Detroit’s northeast side, and had been standing outside when police were looking for witnesses. They took him in, and believed he had key information. Police coerced a confession out of him for a crime he did not commit only after he had been interrogated repeatedly over the course of two days without an attorney, or even a parent, presentA hit man, already imprisoned for other murders, had given police a detailed affidavit in March 2015 saying that he was responsible for the homicides and that Sanford — who was sentenced to 37 to 90 years in prison — took no part in it.
https://tinyurl.com/y8whugqz

WAL-MART LOSS-PREVENTION OFFICER October 3, 2014 Buda, Texas Juan Martinez 74, and his wife Guadalupe Martinez 69, the couple both use mobility scooters when they became separated Mrs. Martinez exited the store with unpurchased items still in her scooter’s basket. Wal-Mart security detained her on suspicion of shoplifting, leading her into an office for questioning. Juan Martinez approached the room as Guadalupe was being questioned and got into a “exchange” with the officer. The video shows Officer DemerrielYoung proceed place his hands on the older man, shoving him down, Mr. Martinez falls to the ground and lies there, screaming in pain having sustained several broken ribs among other injuries. Officer Young then stops Guadalupe from helping her prone husband. Mr. Martinez lay on the floor in agonizing pain for over five minutes while the Loss-Prevention Officer just stands unfazed by the police brutality before EMS arrived on the scene.
https://tinyurl.com/y8njhkc8

WHITE PARENTS Jan. 14, 2014, Fort Pierce, FL Gregory Hill Jr. was drunk after spending most of his day off from his job at Coca-Cola, listening to music in the “man cave” he had built in the garage of his home when the two sheriff’s deputies showed up. Parents picking their children up at the elementary school across the street from Hill’s home had called in a noise complaint, concerned that their kids were overhearing the expletive-laden music he had been playing. Deputies Newman and Edward Lopez, first knocked on the front door before knocking on the garage door. Hill began to open the garage door, saw the police, and began to close it again when Newman opened fire. Witnesses told investigators that the entire confrontation was over in seconds. Hill was found lying face down in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the head, abdomen and groin. After nearly two weeks of trial and 10 hours of deliberation, a jury sided with police and found Deputy Newman did nothing wrong. The jury awarded money to Hills family: $4 – a dollar for funeral costs, which was about $11,000, and another for each of Hill’s three young children, ages 13, 10 and 7. Adjusting for the blame the jury placed on Law Enforcement, the family would receive only 1 percent of the $4, or 4 cents.
https://tinyurl.com/y8jcm6ks

OFFICER GUILLERMO RAVELO February 2014, Biscayne, FL Police Chief Atesiano told Ravelo that he wanted him to arrest Erasmus Banmah for five unsolved vehicle burglaries, despite knowing there was “no evidence” that he had committed the crimes. A couple of days later, Ravelo filled out five arrest forms falsely accusing Banmah of the vehicle burglaries at five different street locations in Biscayne Park. For each of the five burglaries, Ravelo “falsely claimed in an arrest affidavit that (Banmah) had taken him to the site of the respective burglary and confessed to the items that (he) had stolen,” they say.
https://tinyurl.com/ybypddaa

POLICE CHIEF RAIMUNDO ATESIANO RAUL FERNANDEZ and CHARLIE DAYOUB Biscayne, FL 2013 Atesiano. was indicted in June along with two other former police officers, Fernandez and Dayoub, on a conspiracy charge of pinning four unsolved home burglaries on a Black 16-year-old so the chief could claim a perfect clearance rate on property crimes in 2013.
https://tinyurl.com/ybypddaa

POLICE CHIEF RAIMUNDO ATESIANO January 2013 Biscayne, FL Atesiano ordered Ravelo to arrest Clarens Desrouleaux, 35, for two unsolved home break-ins. The officer signed two arrest affidavits falsely claiming that Desrouleaux “had confessed to committing the burglary
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PARTY POLICEOct. 24, 2004 Milwaukee Wisconsin Frank Jude, a Black man leaving a party in a White neighborhood had been invited by another guest to attend a bachelorette party for a close friend when Jude showed up as the stripper his assistant, Lovell Harris, who is also Black and friend Kirsten Antonissen who got a call from a girlfriend inviting them to join her at a party on Milwaukee’s South Side, in a mostly white, working-class neighborhood. By the time Antonissen, Brown, Jude and Harris arrived, it was nearly two in the morning. The party had been going on for hours and there was a lot of alcohol. Brown says she remembers they “received a strange reception when they arrived. “There were probably like 30 people in the house, and everybody just stopped what they were doing and looked at us. It was a very, very uncomfortable situation.” While the two women went to the bathroom, Jude and Harris were approached by the party’s host, Andrew Spengler, an off-duty police officer. The other guests followed Spengler and stood behind him, in order to intimidate him and Harris. Antonissen said when Jude told her he was uncomfortable and asked if the host and his guests were racist, she said she didn’t know the people at the party and. suggested they leave immediately. When they walked out to go to their cars, several of the party-goers came out of the house and began walking toward them. Antonissen told Jude and Harris to get in her truck. A crowd from the party soon surrounded their truck and started shouting about a missing police badge. “‘Nobody stole a badge. Let’s call the cops.’ “That’s when they all said, ‘We are the cops; you don’t need to call the cops’. Harris was then pulled from the truck by two men uttering racial slurs, one of them sliced his cheek before he broke free and ran. Jude was also pulled out, even as he repeatedly protested he had done nothing wrong. The mob began to beat him, Brown said “just punching and kicking this guy, just constantly yelling and screaming, ‘Where’s my badge, where’s my badge?” Jude begged them to stop. There were some people standing on the side, laughing. Then they ripped Jude’s pants, and the mob demanded to know where Harris went. Jude: “They opened my legs and, you know, threatened me, and you know, ‘Nigger, where’s the nigger at? Where’s the nigger piece of shit?'” Antonissen described a gruesome scene: “I could actually see blood shooting up in the air. Frank’s whole head was covered in blood. It was just a big, huge red mess.” Jude was handcuffed, and the beating continued. The responding officer has said he was told Jude was resisting arrest and left cuffed and savagely beaten. Jude’s pants had been cut off his body. He was kicked repeatedly in the groin, his fingers were yanked back and a pen was jammed in both of his ears. The official police report on the incident blames Jude for “physically fight(ing) with … off-duty officers” who were “attempting to restrain him until uniformed squads arrived.” Both Jude and Harris — who was picked up later — were held on suspicion of theft of a police badge. But no charges were ever filed against them. An all-white jury acquitted Officers: Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler of most state charges. of violating Jude’s civil rights and conspiring to assault him while acting as officers, although Six months later, federal prosecutors charged those three and Packard, as well as four others, who have pleaded guilty to similar federal charges.
https://tinyurl.com/yabjhflm

WANETTA GIBSON July 8, 2002 Brian Banks was taking summer classes at his high school and left the classroom for what was supposed to be a quick call to a documentary crew preparing a feature on the rivalry with a High School when he ran into classmate Wanetta Gibson. “We met, hugged, started talking and agreed to go to an area on our campus known as a make-out area. We never had sex.” By the end of the day, Banks was in custody, accused of raping Gibson on the school’s campus. He languished in juvenile hall for an entire year before his case came up. Charged as an adult, and if found guilty, faced 41 years to life. His football dreams effectively died that summer day in the stairwell of his school. Banks still doesn’t know her reasoning for selling him down the river when she knew they never had sex and there was no DNA trace on her underwear. Maybe it was the $1.5 million she collected from the Long Beach school system, claiming it was an unsafe environment. After 18 years Banks was release and forced to register as a sex offender. Gibson wrote Banks on Facebook “I was hoping we could let bygones be bygones. I was immature back in the day, but I’m much more mature now. Let’s hang out. I’d love to see you. I’ve seen your picture on Facebook. You look real good. I would love to hook up.” Banks invited Gibson’s to the investigator’s office. They spoke with the investigator monitoring in another room. Banks wanted her to understand what she did to his life. He asked her to come back a second day to speak to the investigator. “Did he rape you? Did he kidnap you?” the investigator asked. Gibson laughed it off saying “Of course not. If he raped me, I wouldn’t be here right now. We were just young and having a good time, being curious, then all these other people got involved and blew it out of proportion.” Years later Banks was totally exonerated with the help of the California Innocence Project.
https://tinyurl.com/m9akp5b

CAROLYN BRYANT 21 the White married proprietor of a small grocery store in Money in the Mississippi Delta. Emmett Louis Till was accused of flirting with or whistling at Bryant. Years later, Bryant disclosed that, in 1955, she had fabricated testimony that Till made verbal or physical advances towards her in the store. Several nights after the store incident, Bryant’s husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam went armed to Till’s great-uncle’s house and abducted the boy. They took him away and beat and mutilated him before shooting him in the head and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Till’s body was discovered and retrieved from the river. Bryant and Milam admitted to Huie that they had killed Till. In an interview with Carolyn Bryant, during which she disclosed that she had fabricated the most sensational part of her testimony, she said with respect to the physical assault on her, or anything menacing or sexual, that that part isn’t true”.She also said: “nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him”.The 72-year-old Bryant said she could not remember the rest of the events that occurred between her and Till in the grocery store. Roy Bryant had been verbally abusive toward Carolyn, and “it was clear she was frightened of her husband”. Bryant described Milam as “domineering and brutal and not a kind man”
http://tinyurl.com/pklyqyz

10 MINUTE TRIAL (October 21, 1929 – June 16, 1944), George Stiney was a 14 year old African-American convicted of murder as a result of a racially-biased and discriminatory trial in 1944 in his home town of Alcolu, South Carolina. Stinney was convicted in less than 10 minutes, during a one-day trial, by an all-White jury of the first-degree murder of two White girls: 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and 8-year-old Mary Emma Thames. After being arrested, Stinney was said to have confessed to the crime. There was no written record of his confession apart from notes provided by an investigating deputy, and no transcript was recorded of the brief trial. After a 10 minute trial Stinney was convicted. From the time of the murders until Stinney’s execution, 83 days had passed. Stinney was declared dead within four minutes of the initial electrocution.
http://tinyurl.com/jw5oy6j

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UouJ9HT3WOs&fbclid=IwAR0APqx36eHJ35oSW39BTXnrb9LsBj3aNiZhzxFpJtdAv0t2fOftmlVutZsKEVIN HOLLINGER

Indian Boarding Schools

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

This is a manual cover page from the Government and Church in 1916 on how to kidnap Indigenous children from their parents by removing their culture, language, and identity and assimilating them into the dominant culture. “The great aim of our legislation has been to do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion as speedily as they are fit to change.” 1887 – John A McDonald. Architect of the Indian Act

The government paid religious orders to provide basic education to Native American children on reservations. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) founded additional boarding schools based on the assimilation model of the off-reservation Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

The US government wanted to destroy the identity of Indians by ripping over 100,000 children from their homes and families and put in boarding schools to be “civilized” by beating the native out of them with leather belts, whips and sticks.

Classes at Chemewa Indian School began with 18 students—14 boys and 4 girls

460 boarding and day schools had been built near reservations, most run by religious organizations with government funds. All told, more than 100,000 1st Nation Indigenous Native Americans were forced by the U.S. government to attend Christian schools where tribal languages and cultures were replaced by English and Christianity. Students were prohibited from speaking their native languages. Instead, they were supposed to converse and even think in English. If they were caught “speaking Indian” they were severely beaten with a leather belt.

Harper’s Weekly Jan. 16, 1869

Virtually imprisoned in the schools, children experienced a devastating litany of abuses, from forced assimilation and grueling labor to widespread sexual and physical abuse “where recent generations learned the fine art of standing in line single-file for hours without moving a hair, as a lesson in discipline; where our best and brightest earned graduation certificates for homemaking and masonry; where the sharp rules of immaculate living were instilled through blistered hands and knees on the floor with scouring toothbrushes; where mouths were scrubbed with lye and chlorine solutions for uttering Native words.”

The boarding schools ran on bare-bones budgets, and large numbers of students died from starvation and disease because of inadequate food and medical care. School officials routinely forced children to do arduous work to raise money for staff salaries and “leased out” students during the summers to farm or work as domestics for white families.

Physical hardship, however, was merely the backdrop to a systematic assault on Native culture. School staff sheared children’s hair, banned traditional clothing and customs, and forced children to worship as Christians. Eliminating Native languages — considered an obstacle to the “acculturation” process — was a top priority, and teachers devised an extensive repertoire of punishments for uncooperative children. “I was forced to eat an entire bar of soap for speaking my language,” says AIUSA activist Byron Wesley (Navajo).

Students at residential schools faced a number of hazards, from fires to experimentation, according to the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Children Who Never Came Home

Many children died while in the Indian Residential School system. Their bodies were often buried at cemeteries near the schools. Some families didn’t know (and still don’t) what happened to their children or their bodies. Many of its children died of abuse, diseases to which they had no immunity, and homesickness. Imagine being taken from your family, sent thousands of miles away, prohibited from speaking your language, and forced into a military-style existence.

After the United States declared independence, American politicians quickly identified dissolution of Native American cultures as a necessary step in undermining tribal saliency and in ensuring the political dominion of state and federal governments. By the 19th century, policymakers were convinced that encouraging Indians to put aside their “savage ways” would help tribal populations achieve cultural and spiritual salvation through Christianity. In 1869, President Grant initiated a “Peace Policy” granting Christian missions contracts and federal funding to civilize and Christianize the Native American peoples of assigned reservations. The federal government established boarding schools for the children of tribal communities to teach English, Christianity, and occupational skills in order to “Kill the Indian in him and Save the Man.”

Thomas Moore Photo and bio Credit student register for the Regina Indian Industrial School, 1891 to 1908 (microfilm R-2.40, see entry No. 22): Thomas Moore was admitted to the Regina Indian Industrial School on August 26, 1891 when he was 8 years old. He was a full-blooded Indian from the Saulteaux tribe. He was from the Muscowpetung Band which is about 35 miles northeast of Regina. His full name was Thomas Moore Kusick. His father was St.(?) Paul Desjarlais (deceased) and his mother’s name was Hanna Moore Kusick. The boy was a Protestant and had previously attended Lakes End School. His state of education upon admission consisted of knowing the alphabet. His height was 3 feet, 11 inches and he weighed 54 1/2 pounds. 

Above: Tom Tortino (Navajo) 1882 (left) 3 years later 1885 (right) Carlisle Indian Industrial School

Not until 1969, and after years of unequal schooling, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was formed to fight for equal education for 1st Nation Indigenous Native Americans.

~ Aho

140 NATIVE AMERICAN BOARDING SCHOOLS

1. Absentee Shawnee Boarding School, near Shawnee, Indian Territory open 1893–99
2. Albuquerque Indian School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
3. Anadarko Boarding School, Anadarko, Oklahoma open 1911–33
4. Arapaho Manual Labor and Boarding School, Darlington, Indian Territory opened in 1872 and paid with by federal funds but run by the Hicksite (Liberal) Friends and Orthodox Quakers. Moved to Concho Indian Boarding School in 1909.
5. Armstrong Academy, near Chahta Tamaha, Indian Territory
6. Asbury Manual Labor School, near Fort Mitchell, Alabama open 1822–30 by the United Methodist Missions.
7. Asbury Manual Labor School, near Eufaula, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, open 1850–88 by the United Methodist Missions.
8. Bacone College, Muscogee, Oklahoma, 1881–present
9. Bloomfield Female Academy, originally near Achille, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory. Opened in 1848 but relocated to Ardmore, Oklahoma around 1917 and in 1934 was renamed Carter Seminary.
10. Bond’s Mission School or Montana Industrial School for Indians, run by Unitarians, Crow Indian Reservation near Custer Station, Montana, 1886–97
11. Burney Institute, near Lebanon, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1854–87 when name changed to Chickasaw Orphan Home and Manual Labor School and operated by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
12. Cameron Institute, Cameron, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1893–early 20th century, was operated by the Presbyterian Church
13. Cantonment Indian Boarding School, Canton, Indian Territory run by the General Conference Mennonites from September, 1882 to 1 July 1927
14. Carlisle Indian School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, open 1879–1918
15. Carter Seminary, Ardmore, Oklahoma 1917–2004 when the facility moved to Kingston, Oklahoma and was renamed the Chickasaw Children’s Village.
16. Chamberlain Indian School, Chamberlain, South Dakota
17. Chemawa Indian School, Salem, Oregon
18. Cherokee Female Seminary, Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory open 1851–1910
19. Cherokee Male Seminary, Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory open 1851–1910
20. Cherokee Orphan Asylum, Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory opened in 1871
21. Cheyenne-Arapaho Boarding School, Darlington, Indian Territory opened 1871 became the Arapaho Manual Labor and Boarding School in 1879
22. Cheyenne Manual Labor and Boarding School, Caddo Springs, Indian Territory, opened 1879 and paid with by federal funds, but run by the Hicksite (Liberal) Friends and Orthodox Quakers. Moved to Concho Indian Boarding School in 1909.
23. Chickasaw (male) Academy, near Tishomingo, Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma Opened in 1850 by the Methodist Episcopal Church and changed its name to Harley Institute around 1889.
24. Chickasaw Children’s Village, on Lake Texoma near Kingston, Oklahoma opened 2004
25. Chickasaw National Academy, near Stonewall, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory Open about 1865 to 1880
26. Chickasaw Orphan Home and Manual Labor School (formerly Burney Academy) near Lebanon, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1887–1906
27. Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, Chilocco, Oklahoma, open 1884–1980
28. Chinle Boarding School, Many Farms, Arizona
29. Choctaw Academy, Blue Spring, Scott County, Kentucky opened 1825
30. Chuala Female Seminary (also known as the Pine Ridge Mission School), near Doaksville, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1838–61 by the Presbyterian Church
31. Circle of Nations Indian School , Wahpeton, North Dakota
32. Colbert Institute, Perryville, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1852–57 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
33. Collins Institute, near Stonewall, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory Open about 1885 to 1905
34. Concho Indian Boarding School, Concho, Oklahoma open 1909–83
35. Creek Orphan Asylum, Okmulgee, Creek Nation, Indian Territory opened 1895
36. Darlington Mission School, Darlington, Indian Territory run by the General Conference Mennonites from 1881 to 1902
37. Dwight Mission, Marble City, Oklahoma
38. Elliott Academy (formerly Oak Hill Industrial Academy), near Valliant, Oklahoma, 1912–36
39. El Meta Bond College, Minco, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, open 1890–1919
40. Emahaka Mission, Wewoka, Seminole Nation, Indian Territory open 1894–1911
41. Euchee Boarding School, Sapulpa, Creek Nation, Indian Territoryopen 1894–1947
42. Eufaula Dormitory, Eufaula, Oklahoma name changed from Eufaula High School in 1952. Still in operation
43. Eufaula Indian High School, Eufaula, Creek Nation, Indian Territory replaced the burned Asbury Manual Labor School. Open in 1892–1952, when the name changed to Eufaula Dormitory
44. Flandreau Indian School, South Dakota
45. Folsom Training School, near Smithville, Oklahoma open 1921–32, when it became an all-white school
46. Fort Bidwell School, Fort Bidwell, California
47. Fort Coffee Academy, Fort Coffee, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory Open 1840–63 and run by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
48. Fort Shaw Indian School, Fort Shaw, Montana
49. Fort Sill Indian School (originally known as Josiah Missionary School), near Fort Sill, Indian Territoryopened in 1871 by the Quakers, remained open until 1980
50. Fort Totten Indian Industrial School, Fort Totten, North Dakota Boarding and Indian Industrial School in 1891–1935. Became a Community and Day School from 1940 to 1959. Now a Historic Site run by the State Historic Society of North Dakota.
51. Genoa Indian Industrial School, Genoa, Nebraska
52. Goodland Academy & Indian Orphanage, Hugo, Oklahoma
53. Greenville School, California
54. Hampton Institute, began accepting Native students in
55. Harley Institute, near Tishomingo, Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma Prior to 1889 was known as the Chickasaw Academy and was operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church until 1906.
56. Haskell Indian Industrial Training School, Lawrence, Kansas, 1884–present
57. Hayward Indian School, Hayward, Wisconsin
58. Hillside Mission School, near Skiatook, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory open 1884–1908 by the Quakers
59. Holbrook Indian School, Holbrook, Arizona
60. Ignacio Boarding School, Colorado
61. Iowa Mission School, near Fallis, Iowa Reservation, Indian Territory open 1890–93 by the Quakers
62. Intermountain Indian School, Utah
63. Jones Academy, Hartshorne, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory/Oklahoma] Opened in 1891
64. Koweta Mission School Coweta, Creek Nation, Indian Territory open 1843–61
65. Levering Manual Labor School, Wetumka, Creek Nation, Indian Territory Open 1882–91, operated by the Southern Baptist Convention.
66. Many Farms High School, near Many Farms, Arizona
67. Marty Indian School, Marty, South Dakota
68. Mekasukey Academy, near Seminole, Seminole Nation, Indian Territory open 1891–1930
69. Morris Industrial School for Indians, Morris, Minnesota, open 1887–1909
70. Mount Edgecumbe High School, Sitka, Alaska, established as a BIA school, now operated by the State of Alaska
71. Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, 1893–1934
72. Murray State School of Agriculture, Tishomingo, Oklahoma, est. 1908
73. Nenannezed Boarding School, New Mexico
74. New Hope Academy, Fort Coffee, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory Open 1844–96 and run by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
75. Nuyaka School and Orphanage (Nuyaka Mission, Presbyterian), Okmulgee, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, 1884–1933
76. Oak Hill Industrial Academy, near Valliant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory Open 1878–1912 by the Presbyterian Mission Board. The Choctaw freedmen’s academy was renamed as the Elliott Academy (aka Alice Lee Elliott Memorial Academy) in 1912.
77. Oak Ridge Manual Labor School, near Holdenville Indian Territory in the Seminole Nation. Open 1848–60s by the Presbyterian Mission Board.
78. Oklahoma Presbyterian College for Girls, Durant, Oklahoma
79. Oklahoma School for the Blind, Muskogee, Oklahoma
80. Oklahoma School for the Deaf, Sulphur, Oklahoma
81. Oneida Indian School, Wisconsin
82. Osage Boarding School, Pawhuska, Osage Nation, Indian Territory open 1874–1922
83. Park Hill Mission School, Park Hill Indian Territory/Oklahoma opened 1837
84. Pawnee Boarding School, Pawnee, Indian Territory, open 1878–1958
85. Phoenix Indian School, Phoenix, Arizona
86. Pierre Indian School, Pierre, South Dakota
87. Pine Ridge Boarding School, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
88. Pine Ridge Mission School, near Doaksville, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory see Chuala Female Seminary
89. Pinon Boarding School, Pinon, Arizona
90. Pipestone Indian School, Pipestone, Minnesota
91. Quapaw Industrial Boarding School, Quapaw Agency Indian Territory open 1872–1900
92. Rainy Mountain Boarding School, near Gotebo, Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation, Indian Territory, open 1893–1920
93. Rapid City Indian School, Rapid City, South Dakota
94. Red Moon School, near Hammon, Indian Territory open 1897–1922
95. Riverside Indian School, Anadarko, Oklahoma open 1871–present
96. Sac and Fox Boarding School, near Stroud, Indiant Territory, open 1872–1919 by the Quakers
97. Sacred Heart College, near Asher, Potowatamie Nation, Indian Territory open 1884–1902
98. Sacred Heart Institute, near Asher, Potowatamie Nation, Indian Territory open 1880–1929
99. St. Agnes Academy, Ardmore, Oklahoma
100. St. Agnes Mission, Antlers, Oklahoma
101. St. Boniface Indian School, Banning, California
102. St. Elizabeth’s Boarding School, Purcell, Oklahoma
103. St. John’s Boarding School, Gray Horse, Osage Nation, Indian Territory open 1888–1913 and operated by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
104. St. Joseph’s Boarding School, Chickasha, Oklahoma
105. St. Mary’s Academy, near Asher, Potowatamie Nation, Indian Territory open 1880–1946
106. St. Louis Industrial School, Pawhuska, Osage Nation, Indian Territory open 1887–1949 and operated by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
107. St. Mary’s Boarding School, Quapaw Agency Indian Territory/Oklahoma open 1893–1927
108. St. Patrick’s Mission and Boarding School, Anadarko, Indian Territory open 1892–1909 by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions. It was rebuilt and called the Anadarko Boarding School.
109. San Juan Boarding School, New Mexico
110. Santa Fe Indian School, Santa Fe, New Mexico
111. Sasakwa Female Academy, Sasakwa, Seminole Nation, Indian Territory open 1880–92 and run by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
112. Seger Indian Training School, Colony, Indian Territory
113. Seneca, Shawnee, and Wyandotte Industrial Boarding School, Wyandotte, Indian Territory
114. Sequoyah High School, Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory
115. Shawnee Boarding School, near Shawnee, Indian Territory, open 1876–1918
116. Shawnee Boarding School, Shawnee, Oklahoma open 1923–61
117. Sherman Indian High School, Riverside, California
118. Shiprock Boarding School, Shiprock, New Mexico
119. Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
120. Spencer Academy (sometimes referred to as the National School of the Choctaw Nation), near Doaksville, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1842–1900
121. Springfield Indian School, Springfield, South Dakota
122. Stewart Indian School, Carson City, Nevada
123. Sulphur Springs Indian School, Pontotoc County, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1896–98
124. Theodore Roosevelt Indian Boarding School, founded in 1923 in buildings of the U.S. Army’s closed Fort Apache, Arizona, as of 2016 still in operation as a tribal school
125. Thomas Indian School, near Irving, New York
126. Tomah Indian School, Wisconsin
127. Tullahassee Mission School, Tullahassee, Creek Nation, Indian Territory opened 1850 burned 1880
128. Tullahassee Manual Labor School, Tullahassee, Creek Nation, Indian Territory open 1883–1914 for Creek Freedmen
129. Tushka Lusa Institute (later called Tuska Lusa or Tushkaloosa Academy), near Talihina, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory opened 1892 for Choctaw Freedmen
130. Tuskahoma Female Academy, Lyceum, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1892–1925
131. Wahpeton Indian School, Wahpeton, North Dakota, 1904–93. In 1993 its name was changed to Circle of Nations School and came under tribal control. Currently open.
132. Wapanucka Academy (also sometimes called Allen Academy), near Bromide, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory Open 1851–1911 by the Presbyterian Church.
133. Wealaka Mission School Wealaka, Indian Territory open 1882–1907
134. Wewoka Mission School, (also known as Ramsey Mission School) near Wewoka, Seminole Nation, Indian Territory Open 1868–80 by the Presbyterian Mission Board.
135. Wheelock Academy, Millerton, Oklahoma closed 1955
136. White’s Manual Labor Institute, Wabash, Indiana Open 1870–95 and operated by the Quakers
137. White’s Manual Labor Institute, West Branch, Iowa, open 1881–87
138. Wetumka Boarding School, Wetumka, Creek Nation, Indian Territory Levering Manual Labor School transferred from the Baptists to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in 1891 and they changed the name to the Wetumka Boarding School. Operated until 1910.
139. Wittenberg Indian School, Wittenberg, Wisconsin
140. Yellow Springs School, Pontotoc County, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory open 1896–1905

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Zoot Suit Riots of Los Angeles

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

For several days in June 1943, uniformed members of the U.S. armed forces rioted throughout

Sailors, soldiers, and marines with wooden clubs during the Zoot

The L.A. Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 were a targeted attack on Mexican and nonwhite youths

Soldiers display pieces of the zoot suits they tore from Mexican American men during the Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles on June 9, 1943.

June 3, 1943
Contrary to popular opinion the “Tacuche” Zoot Suit did not start out in the Mexican community as rebellious acts against society. Friday’s brought an end to long hours toiling at menial jobs and what better way to start the weekend off than by getting cleaned up, stepping into a jazzy ensemble and hanging out with the Eses’. Chicano’s were classy dressers and going to a party or the club was a perfect stage to show off their slick machismo style. The Zoot Suit was the quintessential garment; high waist pants and boxy, roomy coats were flattering, as well as comfortable; the flowing look of the suit was unmistakably flashy on the dance floor giving the appearance of more substance; maybe even help getting some play from the chica’s.

Zoot Suit Riots, Zoot Suits, Los Angeles, Pachucos, Pachucas

However, the humble parents and elder familia weren’t quite as enamored by the ostentatious and flamboyant zoot suit considering them garish and bringing unwanted attention to the many anti-Mexican middle-class White Los Angelino’s. Soldiers and sailors resented zoot suiters due to the numerous yards of fabric it took to tailor them. Those who wore zoot suits were considered wasteful, unpatriotic and committing a criminal act in opposition to the code of rationing. The servicemen justified their racism as expressions of loyalty and allegiance to the war effort, judging the zoot-suited Chicano’s as un-American.

The unwarranted attacks against zoot suiters by servicemen, aided by the manipulation of media generated the impression the majority of crime was committed by zoot-suited gangsters. What originally began as a fashion statement evolved into symbols of defiance, resistance and violence. However what one must remember is the zoot suit wasn’t a Halloween costume, it was an expression of being hip, cool, suave and sophisticated; the zoot suit in and of itself was a form of politicizing independence and the homogenization of American and Mexican culture communicating freedom, confidence and self-determination.

Zoot Suiters Looking Cool

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The “Sleepy Lagoon Murder” was the name Los Angeles newspapers used to describe the death of José Gallardo Díaz, who was discovered unconscious and dying on a road near a swimming hole (known as the Sleepy Lagoon) in Commerce, California, on the morning of August 2, 1942. Diaz was taken by ambulance to Los Angeles County General Hospital, where he died shortly afterward, without regaining consciousness. The hospital’s autopsy showed he was inebriated from a party the previous night and had a fracture at the base of his skull. This might have been caused by repeated falls or an automobile accident. The cause of his death remains a mystery to this day. However, Los Angeles Police were quick to arrest 17 Mexican-American youths as suspects. Despite insufficient evidence, the young men were held in prison, without bail, on charges of murder. The trial ended on January 13, 1943, under the supervision of Judge Charles W. Fricke. In 30 years on the bench, Judge Charles W. Fricke reputedly sentenced more criminals to death than any of his colleagues and presided over some of the flashiest cases in Los Angeles. Judge Fricke ruled he didn’t think the boys should have their hairstyle changed” since this would “make it difficult for prosecution witnesses to identify them.” It makes me wonder if having a hairstyle, with its association to the zoot suiter’s and lawlessness, was all it took to end up in jail for murder in 1943.

Mexican Americans arrested after Zoot Suit Riots, 1943

According to White people “They all look alike anyway”, so let’s go back to the beginning; “Mexican’s, who cares, so what”… Within a couple of weeks the Grand Jury was presented with statistics by the sheriff’s dept. According to the report; data gradually increased from a sympathetic angle and escalated to downright racial bias creating a parallel of Latino ancestors crossing the ice bridge from Asia to North America; in essence, drawing the conclusion Mexican’s were cousins to those dirty Japanese who attacked Pearl Harbor. “The Indian, from Alaska to Patagonia, is evidently Oriental in background – at least he shows many of the Oriental characteristics, especially so in his utter disregard for the value of life.”

It’s estimated between 300 and 400 people were arrested but police narrowed their investigation down to 40 members of the 38th Street group. Eighteen were able to retain private representations and acquitted, however, the other 22 defendants were forced to depend on a mere 7 attorney amongst them who weren’t allowed to confer with their clients. Talk about hitting the jackpot…

Nine of the defendants were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to serve time in San Quentin Prison. The rest of the suspects were charged with lesser offenses and incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Jail. In October 1944, the state Court of Appeals unanimously decided the evidence was not sufficient to sustain a guilty verdict. It reversed the 12 defendants’ convictions in People v Zammora 66 Cal.App.2d 166. The appeals court also criticized the trial judge, Judge Fricke for his bias and mishandling of the case which is considered a precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943.

The Sleepy Lagoon Murder case was built on deliberate bad faith police manipulation; severely beating defendants into giving false confessions, irreparable misidentification by so-called witnesses and the balance of unethical suggestiveness from the prosecutor and sheriff’s dept.

When arrests have progressed through the judicial system to the point which the accused is actually brought to trial, the natural inclination is to believe the defendant committed the crime. Why else would they be on trial? So rather than the presumption-of-innocence, the 22 were tried on the presumption-of-guilt.

The premise of this sentence is zoot suiters are the ones who are supposed to be taught in this fight. It implies xenophobic mindset towards the Latinos because even if servicemen lost a battle overseas, the journalists would not describe it as “learn a lesson”.

Pachucas being arrested during Zoot Suit Riots.

Migrant workers from Mexico were wanted when business was good but were expected to return to Mexico the moment the economy began to falter. The Mexican’s knew if they were willing to work harder, not challenge the political, social, or economic system they could survive in the U.S. although their standard of living would be less than that of the Whites.

The media characterized Mexican’s as simpleminded, gangster delinquents who openly defied US values and customs; the rational being “Mexican Americans had inherited their `naturally violent′ tendencies from the bloodthirsty Aztecs′ of Mexico who were said to have practiced human sacrifice centuries ago” and “would forever retain wild and violent tendencies no matter how much education or training he might receive. What the press neglected to inform the public was between 250,000 and 500,000 Hispanic Americans served in the Armed Forces comprising 2.3% to 4.7% of the Army.

The press having condoned the attacks ignored the fact most of the zoot suit defendants held down ordinary working class jobs and the servicemen who attacked them were deemed heroes both here and abroad. Racial profiling isn’t a new thing nor is the theory of; does it matter who goes to jail as long as we convict someone, anyone…

Interestingly enough, after Japan formally surrendered Sept. 2, 1945 and the US began the recuperation process “Large double breasted baggy suits with high waists, pleated trousers and wide brim hats returned to fashion just as they were in the 1930’s but now with a taste of the zoot in them as well.”

ZOOT SUIT WARS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-LmooHLhAY

Mexican-Americans Risked Their Lives Wearing Zoot Suits | History Of | Racked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpQqfuxRxh8

The Zoot Suit Riots: A Race Issue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARizzMHbBfI

How Anti-Mexican Racism in L.A. Caused the Zoot Suit Riots | History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxtThBTf0sI

The Zoot Suit Riots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwINn5DEL1c

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

White supremacy is not starched white pointed hoods and swastika armbands

By Rudy TwoMoon
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

I’m writing this so I have written testimony about what occurred here this morning. June 3, 2018 11:35 am.

The dogs go ballistic while I’m in the shower and I can tell they’re barking at the front and not the side door. They almost never bark at the front due to all the kids using the side. I open the bathroom door and peek outside the curtain… I can see through the front picture window and outside are 2 cops, strapped with fully auto rifles “crouch walking aka hunting” down my driveway. Wtf I think as I turn off the water and quickly wrap a towel around my waist… running out the bathroom, pounding issues from the side door. Through the kitchen and around the corner to the side door I see both cops aiming their rifles directly at my chest… I make a gesture like really dude, I’m standing here in a fucking towel dripping water while you point that shit at me… yelling through the door he demands to know if a boy named Eric is here? My daughter is in the kitchen freaking out… I yell downstairs to Liam my oldest, “is a boy named Eric down there because I have cops pointing their fucking guns at me, so if he’s down there, get his ass up here now!” “No he’s not… we haven’t seen him in 3 weeks”… I relay the message. Just then my youngest leaves the room and I hear Addey yell, go back to your room Kai, there’s armed cops outside. I tell, Kai go back to your room right now! (Kai goes to his room where he sees another armed cop looking through his window) Cops point their weapons down and asks if I’ll come out to talk. I give him that look again, ya know the, can’t you see I’m dripping wet in a fucking towel look. Grabbing my shoes I step out. Again with “have you seen Eric”… I’m like “no, but why are you at my house armed and pointing your weapons at me?” “We were told Eric stayed the night here.”

(The reason the cops came so strapped was because the neighbors have called the cops on us so much for absolutely nothing, we have what looks like a rap sheet a mile long… these neighbors have literally gone door to door demanding other neighbors call the cops on us daily exactly for something like this to occur, and all because we have my kids friends at the house. These kids do not do anything off the property nor are they loud. They don’t speed, bump music nor litter… the problem is a bunch of them have Black and Brown skin… Neighbors Ricky and Dottie have made an actual campaign of calling cops daily just to make us look bad. We have never done a single thing to these sick minded people, nothing.)

So anyway, the other cop is walking up and down the street sweeping her weapon like she’s under attack. Not only that but somehow the dumb bitch racks her rifle and loses all the rounds right in the street. She’s stumbling around picking ‘em up looking like a total idiot. (I haven’t a clue as to how that occurred due to them being in a clip)

Eventually, they leave as my wife Dr. Julie comes home… she’s livid of course and says fuck this we need to make a complaint. So off we go to the police station and guess who’s at the window. Yep, the guy who was just pointing his weapon at me, and he ain’t having any complaints bullshit. But he does ask if we mind if they search the house. “Um no, you may not enter my home” I reply. On his radio we hear “the suspect was seen at our address”… we bolt out of the station because all 3 kids are home with 2 other friends. I immediately call my daughter and tell her lock the doors and make sure no one leaves the house. Turns out the 2 kids had enough and were gonna split. Mind you, one of the kids were Korean and the other is Black… absolutely looking nothing like the redhead boy in question. We return and again and same 3 cops are there… fortunately they’re not all strapped like earlier. One cop goes to my very cool neighbor, shows him a pic of the redhead boy and proceeds to make a bold faced lie saying he committed an armed robbery. (He did not commit armed robbery, she said this in hope my very cool neighbor would freak out I guess. They leave again.)

(All this time my fuckhead neighbors are eating popcorn and totally enjoying the show… laughing, giggling and patting each other on the ass and sharing tug jobs all around.)

Turns out the boy got kicked out of his house 3 days ago. He may have or may not have stolen his stepdad’s firearms… (if so, why wait 3 fucking days to call the cops eh?)

They come back but this time have another patrol car from another township. They want to check the garage because the boy was seen leaving his backpack with the guns there… it wasn’t there of course.

So to make a long story even longer, these same neighbors have started rumors against us when my oldest was in 1st grade. She told all the parents we don’t feed Liam, make him get up on his own and even walk to the bus stop all alone…. funny because I was at the stop with him every fucking morning and picking him up every fucking evening. Also if you know me, you damn well know I have never ever used food as a weapon nor would I ever withhold any from a hungry person let alone my own son. This bitch has also started other rumors against us throughout the years. We have never once called the cops even when their dumb drunk asses were whooping it up past 3 am, nor when their Harley glasspack idiot friend stops by.

To try and make friends, I have gone to their house to try and help when their huge tree fell across their driveway… I also brought them beer and just left it with them. I didn’t stay; I just dropped off beer as a gift. What do we get in return? Lying, bullying, libelous KKK actions. My kids are terrified to do anyfuckingthing! They have filmed my kids as well as guests who come to our house, and all for what? I can’t for the fucking life of me figure out what the fuck anyone in this house has ever done to them. I still remember the 1st week we moved in. Julie and I took a walk around the neighborhood and tried to introduce ourselves. They didn’t want to shake hands and looked at us like we had a disease creeping along our faces. We are going to go to the deputy sheriff and see if we can put a stop to this. Not sure if it will help considering Ricky seems to burn crosses with all the other blue lives matter folks.

U.S. SUPREME COURT 4th AMENDMENT RIGHTS

The U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled on May 29, 2018 police may not search the area around a private home area, or around a house, known as the curtilage which is part of the home itself and cannot be searched without a warrant even when police think they have seen stolen property on the premises; although the court has long ruled a vehicle can be searched without a warrant if an officer sees something in plain sight. However the Supreme Court ruled police officers must generally have warrants to enter a home’s driveway in search of stolen vehicles… The “curtilage” of a house or dwelling is the land immediately surrounding it, including any closely associated buildings and structures, but excluding any associated “open fields beyond”, and also excluding any closely associated buildings, structures, or divisions that contain the separate intimate activities.

1adam12 – 1adam12 – We got Negros and Mexicans – Send back-up
https://letourvoicesecho.wordpress.com/1adam12-1adam12/

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

1adam12 – 1adam12 – We got Negros and Mexicans – Send back-up

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Mother’s Day 5-13-18
My son, Rudy TwoMoon and his wife, Dr. Julie TwoMoon have 3 kids. Those 3 kids have friends. So about 8-10 friends were at the house, actually, they pretty much have an open door policy for everyone, kids included. There are 2 signs posted, one on the front window facing out, the other facing in, both at eye level with house rules. They say things like No drugs, No alcohol, No fighting, be respectful of the house and neighbors, No littering, No loud music, No racing cars up and down the street, only park in front of the house etc. My son enforces these laws without question, no exceptions to the rules, period.

Anyway, my son looks out the window and the cops are talking to 2 of the kids, getting their ID. So my son goes out and asks what the problem is and the cop was very nice and said the neighbor called the police claiming she was in fear of her life because there is always kids at the house and she was afraid they were going to come in the middle of the night and rape and kill her.

The cop is kinda rolling his eyes like “wtf”, so my son explains the rules and the cops’ like “cool” then leaves.

My son Rudy goes across the street to talk to the White lady and find out if something happened. The White lady calls the police back and tells them he was threatening her on HER property, so my son talks loud enough so dispatch could hear. “No I’m not threatening her, and because I don’t want police coming here and me getting shot I’m going back across the street till the police get here”

The same officer comes back and this time my son and his wife go out. Dr. Julie asks White lady “What is it we can do to make you feel comfortable and safe” The White lady turns the question back around and says “Well how would you feel, what would make you feel safe in your own home?” Wife tells her “this isn’t about what makes me feel safe, I want to know what we can do to make you feel safe” White lady goes back to her same question avoiding wifes’ question. The cop is rolling his eyes and they walk back across the street in front of my son’s house. The cop asks how long have you lived here. Son “13 years” – “Well how long has she lived here?” – Son “about 6 or 7 months”. The cop rolls his eye again, apologizes, and says “This is ridiculous; unfortunately when someone calls we have to come out.”

That’s the end, but even though it won’t happen again tonight, my son expects she’ll wait until she thinks that cop is off-duty and will try again.

Bet the White lady thought she’d pull off a Becky (is that what we’re calling Ms. Raisin potato salad from the Barbecuing While Black video?) expecting better results. I hope the neighbor is monitoring my son’s FB page.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLwiFozt-x4

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

First Amendment ~ Freedom of Speech

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech, religion and the press. It also protects the right to peaceful protest and to petition the government. The amendment was adopted in 1791 along with nine other amendments which make up the Bill of Rights, a written document protecting civil liberties under U.S. law. The meaning of the First Amendment has been a subject of continuing interpretation and dispute over the years. Landmark Supreme Court cases have dealt with the right of citizens to protest U.S. involvement in foreign wars, flag burning and the publication of classified government documents. The Supreme Court has also written this freedom is “the matrix, the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom.”

Freedom of speech is the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. It’s a principle supporting the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or sanction.

Although the term “freedom of expression” is sometimes used it includes any act of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. Freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 19 of the UDHR states “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference” and “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice”.

Freedom of speech and expression, therefore, may not be recognized as being absolute, and common limitations to legal systems sometimes recognize certain limits on the freedom of speech, particularly when freedom of speech conflicts with other rights and freedoms, such as in the cases of defamation (including libel and slander), obscenity, pornography, sedition, incitement, fighting words, true threats, solicitations to commit crimes, blackmail, classified information, copyright violation, trade secrets, food labeling, non-disclosure agreements, the right to privacy, the right to be forgotten, public security, and perjury.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH INCLUDES THE RIGHT:

1. Not to speak (specifically, the right not to salute the flag).
2. Of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war (“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”).
3. To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages.
4. To contribute money (under certain circumstances) to political campaigns.
5. To advertise commercial products and professional services (with some restrictions).
6. To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest).

FREEDOM OF SPEECH DOES NOT INCLUDE THE RIGHT:

1. Incite actions which would harm others (Shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater)
2. Make or distribute obscene materials.
3. Burn draft cards as an anti-war protest.
4. Advocating illegal drug use
5. Plotting to overthrow the government
6. Lying under oath in a court of law
7. Publish dishonest advertisements
8. As an employee, you have no free-speech rights at your workplace
9. Shows clear intent to discriminate or sexually harass
10. Discussing medical or financial confidential information outside of work

HATE SPEECH VS. FREE SPEECH
Censoring disturbing or even offensive speech, especially in art and literature, often violates not only the intentions or spirit of the speaker, writer or artist but suggests a willful lack of understanding of language itself: the ambiguity of words and images, as well as the role of context in determining meaning.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary

Hate speech is “speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, threatens, incites discrimination, hatred, or maliciously slurs, defames or is likely to promote violence.”

Hate speech is usually treated as protected free speech unless it is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to produce or incite such action. The Supreme Court has protected the rights of Nazis, anti-Semites, cross-burning Klansmen and an anti-gay Baptist sect to openly denigrate others. The only restrictions, to quote from one Supreme Court decision, are for speech “likely to produce a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance, or unrest”

IN CLOSING ~ Some people are offended by truth because of its very nature; however, truth is exclusive and it is absolute, not relative. The absolute nature of truth means it does not depend on, nor is it changed by people’s opinions. Of course people are not always going to agree on everything, as humans we’re entitled to a difference of opinion. It’s up to us as individuals to accept this information. We don’t have to agree with it, but we have to accept there is a different perspective. You never know, a point may be made you hadn’t considered and it might even change all or part of your view. This is how we grow and evolve.

Please remember, a right is one thing, but the freedom to exercise it is something entirely different, and just because we have the right to freedom of speech doesn’t mean we should intentionally offend in order to make our own selves heard. Let’s give ourselves permission to communicate in a concise, direct, comprehensible way by clearly articulating our point without acquiescing to adolescent invectives as we all need to be able to freely acquire and interchange information, be the keepers of our own consciences, and speak out when needed, either individually or as part of a group. If we try to be respectful of each other and their opinions, we can have some great discussions.

~ Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez

 
 
Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez
Human Rights Advocate, Researcher/Chronological Archivist and member in good standing with the Constitution First Amendment Press Association (CFAPA.org)

Cottage #11 – Gabriel Cottage on the North Beach

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

On October 9, 1926, a local segment of Coast Highway connecting Corona del Mar to Laguna Beach was dedicated by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. The new 9.8-mile stretch of highway brought increased public attention and access to the previously isolated Crystal Cove, and by 1928 at least ten permanent structures were established there. Among those early cottages was #11, also known as Gabriel Cottage on the North Beach.

Built incrementally over time by structural engineer Cecil Payne for his Irish wife Biddy, Cottage #11 is identified in the archives of the National Register of Historic Places as “one of the most picturesque in the colony.” Charming roof lines and scalloped exterior shingles give the cottage a “gingerbread effect” and unify the additions Cecil made. Other features include tongue-and-groove knotty pine walls, a round brick fireplace, and detailed woodwork and cabinetry.

The Payne children had their own entrance to the cottage’s upstairs quarters with an external staircase. When Biddy left Crystal Cove in 1969, her friends Laurie and Ken Gabriel moved in and added a spiral staircase inside the cottage to access the upstairs rooms. The Gabriels also installed a redwood hot tub they inherited from Cottage #29 in the enclosed porch, and replaced the porch roof with a corrugated translucent one to add more light.

Biddy Payne was among the first year-round residents at the cove, and witnessed changes over more than four decades, especially during World War II. The Coast Guard patrolled the beach at night and used Crystal Cove for drills. A strict 8pm curfew was observed, and all cottages were required to have regulation black-out curtains. Even during such serious times, Biddy still showed the community spirit of Crystal Cove when one night, during a storm, she invited some of the Coast Guard into Cottage #11 for tea and shelter.

Today, Cottage #11, like the 16 other cottages of the North Beach, is waiting to be restored to host new guests with the same community spirit with which Biddy opened her home. Last March, the California Coastal Commission approved permitting plans for the final phase of restoring the historic cottages for public use, and fundraising is underway to realize this vision.

Gabriel Cottage is featured in the latest edition of the book “Crystal Cove: Islands in Time on the California Coast” which is available for purchase at The Store at Crystal Cove and other special locations and events.

https://crystalcove.org/product/crystal-cove-cottages-islands-in-time-book/

Phase 2 Essay

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Authored by Peyton Damron

I had a difficult time thinking of where to begin, so I figured I would steal the format from Alcoholics Anonymous and implement it into this letter. What it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now.

I joined the docket about a year and 2 months ago. From as far back as I can remember before that, I had become my own anathema. Social anxiety would later cripple me and I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone without saying something completely awkward and then going somewhere private so I could slap myself in the face. Normal people don’t act like this. My obsessive-compulsive disorder drove me to behave in different ways and has been a constant in my life since I was born. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Footsteps need to be counted and end in multiples of 3 or 7. But you can’t count out loud or people will think you’re weird for talking to yourself. You can’t space out when counting in your head or people will think you’re autistic and try to get you counseling for the wrong diagnosis. You have to learn to count in your head and speak at the same time. You know, being coherent while counting ad infinitum is harder than you’d think. Don’t step on the sidewalk cracks either, if you do that the entire world will cease to exist around you. If you step on that sidewalk crack every person you’ve ever loved will disappear. If you step on that sidewalk crack there will be a natural disaster in every corner of the Earth’s atmosphere and it will be all your fault. Could you live with that? As I calculate the consequences of stepping on this sidewalk crack, I made an awful mistake. The back left corner of the heel of my right foot hit the crack. I could’ve sworn I pushed my foot far enough to not land there. Quick! You have 13 seconds to get back to the beginning of the block and try again. You get another shot at this, but you’ve got to be on time. Time to go to sleep, better lock the door, the deadbolt goes left, right, left, right, left, right. The regular knob lock just needs to go right, left, right, left.

Sorry, guess I went on a tangent there for a minute. But I figure I basically summed up my daily life for how it was, well that’s just how it was walking to school. On the way home I did the whole thing in reverse. And everywhere else I went the chaos was ceaseless. I felt as if my brain was melting from running on overdrive for so long. I discovered opioids. I had used other substances before but none of them took me out of myself as much as this did. I flooded my head with a cornucopia of opiates and I started to realize, I can step on this sidewalk crack and the world isn’t going to end, I can quit counting now and my family will still love me, I can talk to people now as if I’m one of them. My solution was simple; consume them all of the time.

Then something happened I hadn’t anticipated. I ran out. I became deathly ill and was as close to suicide as one can get without actually following through. “Heroin is cheaper and you get the same high for a fraction of the cost,” someone said to me. So I began consuming that regularly, and when that got expensive I learned that you can get the same feeling with less of it if you inject it, so I started consuming it that way. 1 year later I was living in a Walmart parking lot in a crummy Pontiac Aztec with some guy I barely knew who hadn’t showered in almost a month when I met him. That’s alright though, I only smelled him when I was dope sick.

The reason I’m on the docket is theft. This is how I supported my habit. I had nothing left that I owned that I could sell, so it was the only solution that I could see at the time. By the end of it I had become a shell of a man. The one who used to be the “fat kid” at school was now 6 foot 1 and weighed under 100 pounds. Luckily I was stopped in my tracks by several police officers along the way, and I decided to get signed up at “Recovery and Prevention Resources” aka “RPR” because I thought it would help my case. That’s how I got introduced to the docket. Through the docket and “RPR” I’ve gained a new sense of self. I learned how to deal with some of the things that run through my brain without invitation. I learned how to get over my fear of what others are going to think of me. And most importantly, I learned how to love myself. Thank you.

Stop Pretending Racism Is Patriotism

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe ~ Co-authored by Rudy TwoMoon
Follow @OurVoicesEcho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ilVrMaNvM&feature=youtu.be

There has never been a point in U.S. history when non-white bodies were not under the threat of state violence. That’s why Black people are kneeling before the flag because the flag was never intended to reflect the protection of their flesh. If it were, police wouldn’t get away with shooting and killing People of Color with cruel disregard, all the while wearing American-flag emblems on their uniforms and saluting a piece of cloth manufactured in a sweatshop in far-off China.

It wasn’t until the Department of Defense poured millions of dollars into the NFL in exchange for displays of patriotism during games, no NFL player stood for the National Anthem, players actually stayed in the locker room as it played.

In 2009 the players were moved to the field during the national anthem because it was seen as a great marketing strategy to make the athletes “appear” more patriotic. The US Department of Defense “PAID” the National Football League $5.4 million plus between 2011 and 2014, and the National Guard $6.7 million between 2013 and 2015 to “stage” on-field patriotic ceremonies as part of military-recruitment budget line items.

The US Department of Defense spent $54 million of taxpayers’ money on “PAID PATRIOTISM.” for marketing and advertising contracts with professional sports organizations between 2012 and 2015. More than $10 million of that went to the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and Major League Soccer.

• Pittsburgh Steelers received $27,000
• Pittsburgh Pirates received $18,000.
• Atlanta Falcons $879,000
• New England Patriots $700,000
• NFL’s AFC North, the Ravens $534,000
• Cleveland Browns $10,000 by the U.S. Air Force for one color guard ceremony
• Cincinnati Bengals got $4,960 for 60 club-level seats bought by the 338th Recruiting Squadron
• New York Jets $115,000
• Buffalo Bills $500,000
• 50 teams across the five major professional leagues had contracts with the military, including 18 NFL teams which received more than $5.6 million over the four-year span. Ten MLB teams took nearly $900,000, and eight teams each from the NBA and MLS had similar contracts. Six National Hockey teams received their money, and the Air Force “PAID” more than $1.5 million to NASCAR.

Collegiate programs also benefited:
• Indiana University $400,000
• Perdue University $400,000
• University of Wisconsin $170,000

And those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg spent to “BUY YOUR PATRIOTISM“ . The 145-page report released on Sept. 27, 2017 https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/12de6dcb-d8d8-4a58-8795-562297f948c1/tackling-paid-patriotism-oversight-report.pdf reveals 72 of the 122 professional sports contracts analyzed contained items deemed “PAID PATRIOTISM“; the payment of taxpayer or Defense funds to teams in exchange for tributes like NFL’s “Salute to Service.” The National Guard simultaneously spent millions on professional sports ads while requesting more funding from Congress to fill a $100 million “shortfall” to pay troops and conduct training.

Nowhere in the rulebook does it mention the National Anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy

“Players are encouraged but NOT REQUIRED to stand during the playing of the National Anthem. No penalties will be assessed for those who did not go out to the field for or kneeled during, the National Anthem”.

None of the athletes are taking a knee during the National Anthem because they believe the US has a problem with discriminating against Trump, wealthy people or the flag. These players are drawing attention to the discrimination of People of Color, specifically those who don’t have the fame, wealth or a platform to get the attention of those who DO have the power to implement change. To put the primary identity of “millionaire athletes” in something other than what they do and how much they make is a false idea that money is a savior, capable of protecting those who have it from all of life’s uglier challenges. These Black athletes acknowledge how people treated them changed as their wealth and fame grew. But no matter how successful they became, no amount of money could keep many people from reducing their identity simply to race. Yes, these players are wealthy, but they are also parents, and humans with interests, passions, and experiences far beyond their sport. No matter how much money they have as Black athletes, they’re still not White athletes, nor are they afforded the same privileges as affluent Whites.

MORE DIVISION
Obviously when the powers that be created our society, they were not going to make it the way they want by educating their slaves with foolhardy beliefs like Freedoms and Civil Rights. The TRUTH has never been profitable. Only covert lies bring home the bacon.

Football games are no place for politics… which is why people think we need to wave a giant piece of dyed fabric mass produced/manufactured in a Chinese sweatshop. Recite a Pledge of Allegiance to a country from a poem that doesn’t even rhyme or sing the National Anthem written by a racist, pro-slavery, anti-black, anti-abolitionist who thought Blacks were mentally inferior and had the audacity to fight for their freedom who even went so far as to write in the 3rd stanza:

“No refuge could save the hireling and slave. From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave”

and yet many think everyone should be forced stand and pay tribute.

People don’t watch the NFL for the anthem; if they don’t like the kneeling they should just ignore it like they do racism and police brutality because dog fighting, rape, murder or DUI’s haven’t made them turn the channel, but a peaceful protest is where they draw the line. Why? Because they’ve been “SOLD” on the idea patriotism is standing at attention, placing their right hand over their heart and singing the Star-Spangled Banner while absently mindedly gazing at a red white and blue piece of cloth emblazoned with stars and stripes.

Our entire system which includes our government, media, voting, and Internet services are corrupt and rigged by the people behind the curtain running everything! Common media for transmitting “PROPAGANDA“ messages include news reports, government reports, historical revision, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and posters.

The media isn’t here to tell you what happened. It’s not here to tell YOU what you want to hear nor what it thinks YOU want to hear. Media is to tell you what to think.

• Who are the people behind the curtain who own ALL media?
• Why are they promoting this agenda?
• What are they really selling you?

As HighImpactFlix said in his YouTube video above

“By conditioning people to focus on symbols that can just as easily be used on any other country, the same countries that American people have been brainwashed to hate for no real reason at all, mostly lies, in reality has been successfully engineered into our society because that line of thinking keeps the people from talking about and going after their real enemy, the same enemy of all people throughout history, government. Governments locked this obedience into place even further by pretending that mundane things like flags and songs represent other things. Advertising works, in fact, it works so well that advertisers take huge chunks of money to sell people on the idea their product or service is worth your devotion and of course your money”

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Michael Bloomberg
http://tinyurl.com/y9y5jmk3
Rupert Murdoch
http://tinyurl.com/yaxmwwzt
Donald Newhouse
http://tinyurl.com/y8po2zgz
Samuel “Si” Newhouse
http://tinyurl.com/yannhy7u
Cox Family
http://tinyurl.com/y9ex4xwk
Jeff Bezos
http://tinyurl.com/k7qzly2
John Henry
http://tinyurl.com/ybo7dly2
Sheldon Adelson
http://tinyurl.com/ybbtmmc4
Joe Mansueto
http://tinyurl.com/ybj4dpta
Mortimer Zuckerman
http://tinyurl.com/y7qg5ugb
Barbey Family
http://tinyurl.com/yd6ymma5
Stanley Hubbard
http://tinyurl.com/ybsx2p2b
Patrick Soon-Shiong
http://tinyurl.com/ydd7le29
Carlos Slim Helu
http://tinyurl.com/msln6bg
Warren Buffett
http://tinyurl.com/y9858hs4
Viktor Vekselberg
http://tinyurl.com/y8keb7d6

Snopes May Shut Down

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

http://www.businessinsider.com/snopes-shutting-down-hostage-advertiser-2017-7

Seriously one of the most prominent sites calling out fake news may shut down because it’s being held ‘hostage’ by an ad vendor withholding advertising revenue???

Snopes is not a credible or authoritative source of information; they’re only good at debunking chain emails such as Neiman Marcus cookie recipes and far-flung urban legends.

It’s been circulated Snopes husband and wife founder’s Barbara and David P. Mikkelsen utilized Google for their research although archived articles recognizes a majority of articles are erroneous, inaccurate and categorically untrue.

The Mikkelsen’s were in a contentious divorce in 2016 which continues to this day as a bitter legal dispute due to the accusation of David embezzling $98,000 from the company and is attempting a ‘boondoggle’ to change tax arrangements while David claims Barbara took millions from their joint accounts and bought property in Las Vegas.

Barbara Mikkelsen has since sold her 50% of the business to ad agency Proper Media who make money by generating millions of views on 3rd-party advertisements and recently teamed up with Facebook which has allowed Proper Media to become an arbitrator of the fake news circulating on their network; essentially elevating them as an authoritative source of information. So it simply makes sense for them to seek out viral articles to “debunk”, so they can piggy-back on the traffic and spawn more advertising dollars.

Additionally, Snopes has allegedly hired a team of suspect fact checkers who collaborate to debunk trending falsehoods; these fact checkers reportedly have no editorial oversight and do not follow standard journalistic procedures such as interviewing authors of articles. Snopes purportedly doesn’t have a formal screening process for hiring fact checkers or evaluating applicants for any potential conflicts of interest, and without such standards, it’s clear they can easily be infiltrated by those working within an industry with a hidden agenda.

Our entire system including government, media, voting, and internet services are corrupt and rigged by the people behind the curtains running the show. So just leave the real news for *real news outlets* [sic] using common media for transmitting propaganda messages including news reports, government information, historical revisions, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and social media journalists… LOL

Abolish Vaccines

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Thank you Rudy TwoMoon

Most people are not made aware what ingredients are contained in vaccines — and even if they’re told, they may not fully understand what that particular ingredient is or what it means. This list is to help those individuals better understand what they are injecting into the bodies of their loved ones.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: ALUMINUM
Aluminum is a carcinogen. It is a cardiovascular (blood) toxicant, neurotoxicant, and respiratory toxicant. It has been implicated as a cause of brain damage, and is a suspected factor in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, convulsions, and comas. It has been placed on at least 2 federal regulatory lists. It is well known in alternative medicine as a toxic and accumulative heavy metal.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: 2-PHENOXYETHANOL
This is a carcinogen. It is a developmental and reproductive toxicant. It is also a metabolic poison, which means that it interferes with the metabolism of all cells. This is the primary factor in the formation of cancer cells. It is capable of disabling the immune system’s primary response. It also contains phenol (see below).

VACCINE INGREDIENT: PHENOL
This is a carcinogen, and a cardiovascular and blood toxicant. It is also known as carbolic acid. It is a developmental toxin, gastrointestinal toxin, liver toxin, kidney toxin, neurotoxin, respiratory toxin, skin and sense organ toxin. It has been placed on at least 8 federal regulatory watch lists.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: METHANOL
This is a volatile, flammable, poisonous liquid alcohol. It is used as a solvent in industry, and as an antifreeze compound in fuel. In the body it is metabolized into formaldehyde (described earlier). Whilst it can be found naturally in the pectin that is present in some common fruits, the naturally-occurring variant is only in minute quantities, and the organic form is not known to cause any harmful effects.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: BORAX (SODIUM TETRABORATE DECAHYDRATE)
This was traditionally used as a pesticide. It is suspected to be a cardiovascular or blood toxicant, endocrine toxicant, gastrointestinal toxicant, liver toxicant and neurological toxicant. It was found to cause reproductive damage and reduced fertility in rats. It is already banned in foods in the United States due to its toxicity; but astonishingly, it is still allowed for direct injection into the blood through vaccines. It is toxic to all cells, and it has a slow excretion rate through the kidneys. Kidney retention and toxicity are the greatest. It has a cascading effect after causing kidney impairment, causing liver degeneration, cerebral edema, and gastroenteritis.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: GLUTARALDEHYDE
Glutaraldehyde is always toxic, causing severe eye, nose, throat and lung irritations, along with headaches, drowsiness, and dizziness. The effects mirror the chemical warfare agent known as nerve gas. It is poisonous if ingested, and it is known to cause birth defects in experimental animals. The effects of direct injection into the blood to bypass the process of digestion are unknown. It is often used to clean medical equipment. In hospital accidents involving environmental exposure, it has been known to cause the following symptoms:
Throat and lung irritation
Breathing difficulty
Nose irritation, sneezing, and wheezing
Nosebleeds
Burning eyes and conjunctivitis
Rash-contact and/or allergic dermatitis
Discoloring skin (brownish or tan)
Hives
Headaches
Nausea

VACCINE INGREDIENT: MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG)
Monosodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer. In a 1995 report by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, two groups of people were defined as intolerant of MSG. This includes those who eat large quantities of MSG and those with “poorly controlled asthma”. Our research indicates that anyone can suffer after consuming monosodium glutamate; especially if they are deficient in either taurine or magnesium. In the 1995 report, which was contracted by the F.D.A., there was public admission that MSG yields the following symptoms:
Burning sensation in the back of the neck, forearms and chest
Numbness in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back
Tingling, warmth, and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms
Facial pressure or tightness
Chest pain
Headache
Nausea
Rapid heartbeat
Bronchospasms (difficulty breathing)
Drowsiness
Weakness

Note that this is the short list (the one with side effects that the F.D.A. actually admits) and it does not consider the higher toxicity of direct injection into the blood. The long list, which is 15 times longer, includes heart attacks. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in rapid damage to nerve cells in the brain. MSG is in a special class of chemicals called excitotoxins, which are known to directly attack brain cells. In 1978, MSG was banned from baby foods and other baby products that were produced for children who were less than one year of age, because the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Academy of Sciences expressed concerns. It is now being used in these products again, in addition to being added to childhood vaccines.

VACCINE INGREDIENTS: SULFATE AND PHOSPHATE COMPOUNDS
These can trigger severe allergies in children, which may last throughout their lives to permanently impair their immune systems.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: AMMONIUM SULFATE
This is yet another carcinogen. Ammonium sulfate is prepared by mixing ammonia with sulfuric acid. It is used as a chemical fertilizer for alkaline soils to lower the pH. In the body, it stresses the immune system by causing acidosis. Ammonium sulfate is also a liver toxicant, neurotoxicant, and respiratory toxicant.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: YEAST PROTEIN aka CANDIDA ALBICANS
Can take over and slowly destroy you
digestive system, your immunity, and drain you of your energy and health — often leading to the following symptoms: Tiredness after eating. Constipation, diarrhea, or other forms of bowel irregularities. Candida albicans overgrowth may be a major player in a number of health conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, alcoholism, anxiety disorders, food allergies, multiple sclerosis, asthma, and a host of other autoimmune conditions.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: GENTAMICIN SULFATE
This is a strong antibiotic that is often used for life-threatening illnesses like pneumonia. The known side effects follow:
Muscle twitching
Numbness
Seizures
Elevated blood pressure
Purpura P
Pseudotumor cerebri
Photosensitivity when used topically
Transient irritation
Vesicular and maculopapular dermatitis
Stinging
Bacterial/fungal corneal ulcers.
Nonspecific conjunctivitis
Inflammation
Angioneurotic edema
Urticaria
Alopecia
Burning
Mydriasis
Conjunctival paresthesia
Conjunctival hyperemia
Conjunctival epithelial defects
Eyelid itching and swelling
Itching

VACCINE INGREDIENT: NEOMYCIN SULFATE
We can only speculate about what damage this causes when injected directly into the blood of infants. It interferes with vitamin B-6 absorption, which is the cause of a rare form of epilepsy, and mental retardation. Adult patients given neomycin as an antibiotic are typically placed under close clinical observation (e.g. hospitalized), so that intensive care intervention is immediately available. Neurotoxicity has been reported, along with nephrotoxicity, and permanent bilateral auditory ototoxicity. Sometimes vestibular toxicity is present in patients with normal renal function when treated with higher or longer doses than recommended

VACCINE INGREDIENT: TRI(N)BUTYLPHOSPHATE
This is yet another carcinogen. This is a kidney toxicant and a neurotoxicant. It is more hazardous than most chemicals in 2 out of 3 ranking systems. It is on at least 1 federal regulatory list.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: MERCURY
Mercury was removed from some vaccines and replaced with aluminum. Other vaccines, like the flu shot, still contain mercury under the name thimerosal. Thimerosal is 49% ethyl mercury. Mercury is 1,000 times more toxic than lead, and it is still present in a number of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals.
Heavy metal poisoning from lead, mercury and other similar heavy metals manifest lesions on neurological tissues, meaning the toxin destroys the nerve/communication pathways connecting the brain to the organs in the body.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: METHYLPARABEN
A 2004 study published by the Journal of Applied Toxicology, 18 of 20 malignant breast tumors showed high concentrations of parabens, which are known to mimic estrogen in the body and affect the growth of breast tissue. Compounds containing parabens can cause decreased sperm production and motility.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19101832

VACCINE INGREDIENT: POLYMYXIN B
This is another antibiotic. Injection of this is generally avoided by doctors (except in the case of vaccines) due to “severe pain at injection sites, particularly in infants and children”.
Known side effects:
Albuminuria
Cylindruria
Azotemia
Facial flushing
Dizziness progressing to ataxia
Drowsiness
Peripheral paresthesias (circumoral and stocking-glove)
Apnea
Signs of meningeal irritation with intrathecal administration

VACCINE INGREDIENT: POLYSORBATE 20 / 80 EMULSIFIER
This is a known skin and sense organ toxin. It is verified as a cancer agent in animals.
Vaccine Ingredient: Sorbitol (Sweetener)
Diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy may be related to excess sorbitol in the cells of the eyes and nerves, leading to blindness. This is another suspected carcinogen. Sorbitol is a gastrointestinal and liver toxicant.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: POLYRIBOSYLRIBITOL
This is an experimental artificial sweetener. The experimentation is ongoing in children, without the knowledge or consent of their parents.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: BETA-PROPIOLACTONE
Documented as a verified carcinogen. It is a gastrointestinal and liver toxicant, respiratory toxicant, skin toxicant, and sense organ toxicant. It is more hazardous than most chemicals earning a 3 out of 3 in ranking systems. It appears on at least 5 federal regulatory lists. It is ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds to humans.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: AMPHOTERICIN B
This can cause irreversible kidney damage, and mild liver failure. It has been known to produce severe histamine (allergic) reactions. There are several reports of anemia and cardiac failure. It is used used to treat fungus infections. Other side effects include blood clots, blood defects, kidney problems, nausea and fever. When used on the skin, allergic reactions can occur.

VACCINE INGREDIENTS: ANIMAL ORGAN TISSUE AND ANIMAL BLOOD
Animal cell lines are used to culture the viruses in vaccines, so animal tissues and impurities are included in the formulation that is injected. Animal tissues are unusable and toxic to the body except for when their protein materials are digested to form amino acids through normal food consumption. There is no digestion process for injections. Injections may also contain many types of animal viruses (see the Animal Viruses section). Animals used include monkey (kidney), cow (heart), calf (serum), chicken (embryo and egg), duck (egg), pig (blood), sheep (blood), dog (kidney), horse (blood), rabbit (brain), and guinea pig.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: LARGE FOREIGN PROTEINS
*****—————————-*****
In addition to the animal tissue impurities, there are large proteins that are deliberately included, and used for such purposes as adjuvants (substances that aggravate an immune response using their inherent toxicity). Egg albumin and gelatin (or gelatine, obtained from selected pieces of calf and cattle skins, demineralized cattle bones and pork skin) are in several vaccines. Casein (a milk protein) is in the triple antigen (DPT) vaccine. When injected, these normally harmless proteins are toxic to the body. Hence the immune system “response”. The immune system is intentionally stressed by this invasion to produce an unnatural sensitization to all of the ingredients. This explains why bizarre allergies such as lactose intolerance, along with egg and nut allergies have suddenly become common in recent history.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: LATEX
Latex is included in the hepatitis B vaccine, which is routinely given to health workers. The high occurrence of latex allergies among nurses is due to their sensitization to latex through the large amount that is injected into them. These vaccines produce a panicked immune response. The nurses will suffer with this allergy permanently. Such allergic reactions can be life-threatening. The hepatitis B vaccine is now routinely given to newborn babies in many countries, including Australia and the United States.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: ANIMAL VIRUSES
Some of these can be particularly alien to the human body. The most frequently documented and publicized example is the monkey virus SV40. The virus is harmless in monkeys, but it stimulates rare cancers when injected into humans to produce brain cancer, bone (multiple myeloma), lungs (mesothelioma), and lymphoid tissue (lymphoma). Monkey virus SV40 has only appeared in people born in the last 20 years (The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Sept. 1999), long after the manufacturer claimed to have “cleaned up” the polio vaccines where it was initially found. Such cases include the late Alexander Horwin, whose parents tested negative for SV40. Therefore, recent cases cannot just be blamed on inheritance from parents who received the vaccine. Manufacturers are secretly including the virus again.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: HUMAN VIRUSES
The live viruses found in some vaccines are frequently said to be killed, inactivated, or attenuated. This is a myth. The main method used to inactivate viruses is treatment with formaldehyde. Its effectiveness is limited and temporary. Once the brew is injected into the body, the formaldehyde is broken down: potentially releasing the virus in its original state. It is documented in orthodox medical literature that the “crippled” viruses can revert to their former virulence.

The viruses and bacteria included in vaccines are claimed to be in very small volume. However, these quantities are high enough for the diseases to occur in some people. Most of the diseases that people are vaccinated against no longer occur in the Western world, and only ever result from the vaccines. When they do occur, the vaccine-induced cases are always more severe than normal infections of the same pathogens, and these cases are sometimes fatal. Deaths have been reported in the British medical journal, Lancet, from vaccine-induced yellow fever. A susceptible person may succumb to infection when exposed to only a minute dose, especially when it is injected directly into the bloodstream. Conversely, there are other cases in which a healthy person will not succumb, even when exposed to large doses environmentally. It is not the pathogens, but the interaction methods between pathogens and hosts which causes diseases to appear, and ultimately determines their severity.

Most disease symptoms are the visible signs of a body’s attempts to defend itself against the infection. With disease injections, many important defenses in the digestion path and mucous membranes are bypassed.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: MYCOPLASMA
These are microscopic organisms lacking rigid cell walls and they are considered to be the smallest free-moving organisms. Many are pathogenic, and one species is the cause of mycoplasma pneumonia which interestingly, is noted to occur only “in children and young adults”, according to Mosby’s Medical Dictionary. This is not simply in vaccines by accident. It is deliberately added as an adjuvant (to increase the immune system’s allergic response) to the vaccine.

VACCINE INGREDIENT: GENETICALLY ENGINEERED YEAST
This is in the hepatitis B vaccine. Given the controversy over the ingestion of genetically modified foods, how much more dangerous could the direct injection of them be?

VACCINE INGREDIENT: FOREIGN DNA
DNA is used from such organisms as animals, viruses, fungi, and bacteria. It has been documented that injecting foreign DNA can cause it, or a portion of it, to be incorporated into the recipient’s DNA. The horrendous long-term multi-generational implications defy the imagination.

So doing some math — the following are examples of weight with their corresponding maximum levels of aluminum, per the FDA:
8 pound, healthy baby: 18.16 mcg of aluminum
15 pound, healthy baby: 34.05 mcg of aluminum
30 pound, healthy toddler: 68.1 mcg of aluminum
50 pound, healthy child: 113 mcg of aluminum
150 pound adult: 340.5 mcg of aluminum
350 pound adult: 794.5 mcg of aluminum
So how much aluminum is in the vaccines that are routinely given to children?
Hib (PedVaxHib brand only) – 225 mcg per shot
Hepatitis B – 250 mcg
DTaP – depending on the manufacturer, ranges from 170 to 625 mcg
Pneumococcus – 125 mcg
Hepatitis A – 250 mcg
HPV – 225 mcg
Pentacel (DTaP, HIB and Polio combo vaccine) – 330 mcg
Pediarix (DTaP, Hep B and Polio combo vaccine) – 850 mcg

At birth, most children are given the hepatitis B vaccination. The amount of aluminum in the Hepatitis B vaccine alone is almost 14 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF ALUMINUM THAT IS FDA-APPROVED.
At well-child check-ups, it’s common for 2 month, 4 month, 6 month etc., appointments to include up to 8 vaccinations that add up to more than 1,000 mcg of aluminum. Look at the chart above and notice that that amount isn’t even safe for a 350 pound adult. And many children get up to 8 vaccinations a visit several times a year!

According to the FDA and the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), what happens if a child receives more than the maximum required dose of aluminum?

Aluminum builds up in the bones and brain and can be toxic.
Aluminum can cause neurological harm.

Aluminum overdose can be fatal in patients with weak kidney’s or kidney disorders or in premature babies. (How many children are tested to see if their kidney’s are functioning properly before they are vaccinated? Could this also be why the Hepatitis B shot, given to infants at birth, has been linked to SIDS? Neonatal Deaths After Hep B vaccination.)

[Aluminum Toxicity in Infants and Children, Committee on Nutrition,American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics Volume 97, Number 3 March, 1996, pp. 413-416]

What are amino acids? Put simply, amino acids are the building blocks of proteins in our bodies and they make up over 3/4 of the human body. There are 20 amino acids found naturally in the body and 8 that are considered “essential” for humans because our bodies cannot create them naturally, and therefore must be taken into our bodies by diet. (This becomes a *great* selling point for certain diets or food products).

So injecting amino acids into the body by way of vaccination is good, yes? Wrong.

VACCINES ARE CALLED ANTIGENS — “A toxin or other foreign substance that induces an immune response in the body, especially the production of antibodies.” Antigens are made from foreign proteins. These foreign proteins are produced from animals (like cows, monkey’s and chickens) and also humans (human cells from aborted fetuses.)

Foreign proteins (in order to be beneficial to the body) need to first be digested in the GI tract. Protein is broken down into amino acids during the digestion process.

“When we eat protein it is broken down into its constituent amino acids…if a foreign animal protein makes it into our bloodstream without having being broken down this can set up an autoimmune type response…By injecting things never meant to be in the body we are not only bypassing body defenses but wrongly activating other defenses.” — Dr. Robyn Crosford

So what’s the outcome if you inject amino acids and/or foreign animal and human protein into the body instead of first digesting the proteins to make amino acids naturally?

AUTO-IMMUNE DISORDERS like Addison’s disease, celiac disease – sprue (gluten-sensitive enteropathy), dermatomyositis, Graves disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, pernicious anemia, reactive arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, type I diabetes etc.
Food allergies or food sensitivities associated with eggs, gluten, peanuts, milk, etc.

FORMALDEHYDE (OR FORMALIN):
I personally became aware of what formaldehyde is most commonly used for by our local mortician several years ago. After my son died, we met with the funeral directors to begin planning our son’s funeral. During our grief-ridden conversations, we came to the conclusion that we needed to wait a week to have the funeral. My father-in-law had graciously offered to make his casket from scratch, and that takes time (the project ended up including all of my brother’s-in-laws and sister’s-in-law, my dad, my brother, my mom, and my mother-in-law). Knowing the time constraints from death to burial, (or at least what I thought I knew) I thought this might be an issue. The funeral director (also the head mortician) assured us it would not be a problem because the formalin used in the embalming process would preserve his precious little body so that we wouldn’t need to worry about the concern of waiting a week. “What’s Formalin?” I asked? “Formaldehyde,” he answered. When I learned that Formaldehyde was an ingredient in vaccines, it made me a little sick to my stomach.

Formalin is an aqueous, or watery, form of Formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is toxic and is known to cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies formaldehyde as a human carcinogen [International Agency for Research on Cancer (June 2004). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans Volume 88 (2006): Formaldehyde, 2-

BUTOXYETHANOL AND 1-TERT-BUTOXYPROPAN-2-OL. Retrieved June 10, 2011, from:
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol88/index.php] .
In 2011, the National Toxicology Program, an interagency program of the Department of Health and Human Services, named formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen in its 12th Report on Carcinogens [National Toxicology Program (June 2011). Report on Carcinogens, Twelfth Edition. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program. Retrieved June 10, 2011, from:
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/roc12 ].

ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL:
Fewer than 20% but perhaps more than 10% of the general population may be susceptible to formaldehyde allergies
and may react acutely at any exposure level.

FORMALDEHYDE is oxidised to formic acid which leads to acidosis and nerve damage. Acidosis can be described as a condition in which the acidity of the body tissues and fluids is abnormally high. The liver and the kidneys may also be damaged.

Other known side effects from exposure to formaldehyde:
Alters tissue proteins
anaemia
antibodies formation
apathy
blood in urine
body aches
cardiac impairment
palpitations and arrhythmias
central nervous system depression
changes in higher cognitive functions
chest pains and tightness
colds
coma
constipation
convulsions
death
destruction of red blood cells
depression
diarrhoea
difficulty concentrating
disorientation
dizziness
ear aches
eczema
emotional upsets
fatigue
foetal asphyxiation [SIDS, perhaps?]
flu-like or cold like illness
UTI
gastritis
gastrointestinal inflammation
headaches
hyperactivity
hypomenstrual syndrome
immune system sensitiser
impaired (short) attention span
inability to recall words and names
inconsistent IQ profiles
asthma
irritability
jaundice
retarded speech pattern
schizophrenic-type symptoms
sensitivity to sound

[Chronic Exposure and Human Health] Keep in mind that chronic exposure –from the source — means “exposed several times”.

BENZETHONIUM CHLORIDE
Benzethonium Chloride (referred to as “BC”) is an anti-microbial agent used as a preservative in some vaccines. There has been no testing done on humans to find out information regarding the injection of BC into the blood stream. I have been searching for over a year with no luck in finding any such information. What has been documented about BC under the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) under section 11 is that it is toxic when inhaled or ingested and is also hazardous to human skin. Based on animal testing, it may cause mutations in genetic information and also be carcinogenic (cause cancer).

The known side effects of ingesting BC are (according to it’s MSDS):
Seizures
Coma
Respiratory depression
Central Nervous System Depression
Convulsions
Coma
Urinary system reaction
Raise your hand if you agree BC should be tested more thoroughly. After all, we are injecting our children with this.
Glutaraldehyde
Glutaraldehyde is an organic compound that is used to disinfect medical and dental equipment. In vaccines it is used as a chemical preservative. There have been several studies done on Glutaraldehyde and it has been found that exposure to it can cause:
Asthma
Allergic reactions (up to 10% of up people can be allergic to Glutaraldehyde.)
Induced respiratory issues
diarrhea

Sources: “Glutaraldehyde-induced and formaldehyde-induced allergic contact dermatitis” SCOTT M. RAVIS, M.D., MATTHEW P. SHAFFER, M.D., CHRISTY L. SHAFFER, M.D., SEENA DEHKHAGHANI, M.D. and DONALD V. BELSITO, M.D.; “Glutaraldehyde-induced asthma.” Quirce S, Gómez M, Bombín C, Sastre J. 1999 Oct;54(10):1121-2.; Genetic toxicity and carcinogenicity studies of glutaraldehyde–a review. Zeiger E, Gollapudi B, Spencer P. Mutat Res. 2005 Mar;589(2):136-51; Divergent immunological responses following glutaraldehyde exposure. Azadi S, Klink KJ, Meade BJ. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2004 May 15;197(1):1-8.
MRC-5, DNA, MRC-5 Cellular Protein, Human Serum Albumin (4 different ingredients)

All of these derive from either human tissue or human blood.
MRC-5, MRC-5 Cellular Protein

To explain MRC-5, let’s look at a brief history before MRC-5 came about. In 1964, during an outbreak of Rubella, some doctors urged women who had been exposed to the Rubella virus to abort their pregnancy. (Why? Rubella is an extremely mild virus [see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002541/]. Most people don’t show any symptoms, especially children, some may get a rash all over their body. Rubella becomes dangerous when a pregnant woman is exposed to the virus because it has the potential to cause severe abnormalities in the child.) From one of these aborted children that had been exposed to Rubella Virus, doctors developed a virus strain that became known as RA/27/3 — Rubella; Abortus; 27th aborted fetus; 3rd tissue explant. In other words, it took 26 aborted infants to get the right strain. The virus was then cultivated on the lung tissue of another aborted child, and this child became known as WI-38 — Winster Institute 38). WI -38 was an infant girl at 3 months gestation. What makes this seem somewhat ridiculous is that the Japanese, years before the first aborted infant was used to extract the Rubella virus, proved that the virus can be taken from a *living* child simply by swabbing their throat.

In the 1970’s, a second human cell line was created from an infant boy at 14 weeks gestation and became known as

MRC-5.
WI-38 and MRC-5 have become the most used cell lines to make vaccinations. Labs currently use these 2 cell lines, as well as new sources (a.k.a new aborted infants) to create new vaccines.
The use of tissue from aborted infants has caused heated debate because it is ethically questionable. Pro-life groups, which include many churches and parents whose morals condemn profiting from aborted infants, continue to fight the pharmaceutical companies to produce vaccines that do not contain this tissue. And the thing is, it’s possible. Vaccines can be made from other sources.

DNA
DNA is harvested from aborted infants. It is used as adjuvant in vaccines. In vaccines, 100,000,000 bits and strands of human dna are allowed per dose. Again, we encounter the issue of the ethical dilemma for this issue.

HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN
Human Serum Albumin is a stabilizing protein made from human blood donated by screened donors. We already discussed above why injecting a protein directly into the body is dangerous.

WITH THAT ASIDE, LET’S LOOK AT THE POINTS WE REACH REGARDING THESE 4 DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS:
We have human DNA, human cell lines from aborted infants, and protein from human blood in 23 of our vaccines. When we need a blood transfusion, or a blood donation of some kind, what is absolutely required? A match, correct? For example, if a person with type O blood receives type A+ blood, the outcome is fatal. There are rules of science that cannot be crossed regarding DNA and blood. It is imperative to be tested when receiving any type of tissue or blood to ensure that a fatal blood or tissue type isn’t put into your body. So may I ask: How many of you or your children were given a blood test before receiving vaccinations? We all know the answer to that. It doesn’t happen. The outcome to mixing and NOT matching human blood and tissue with other humans can be virtually disastrous. Remember that every one of those 4 ingredients have human DNA in them. Even after the protein is extracted from human blood, DNA remains.

THIMEROSAL
Thimerosal is a compound made up of approximately 50% mercury. Mercury is the second most poisonous element known to man (next to uranium and its derivatives.) When someone says, “MERCURY!” we immediately think of the news stories about the child at school who broke a thermometer in biology class and the HAZ-MAT team was called in and all the students were in peril. Did you know they make that big of a deal (meaning bringing in the HAZ-MAT crew) for less mercury than what is contained in 1 vaccine http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm ? Thimerosal is used as a preservative in vaccines to help prevent bacteria growth in multi-use vaccines. It is also used in the creation process of a vaccine, and then through a purification process it is “removed” and only “trace” amounts are left. First, I urge you to read this article: Is There Thimerosal in the Flu Vaccine?

Next, let’s discuss what “trace amounts” means. (If you notice in the document above next to many of the “Thimerosal”‘s, there is an asterisk next to it. The asterisk notates that ” *Where “thimerosal” is marked with an asterisk (*) it indicates that the product should be considered equivalent to thimerosal-free products.”)

Before we move on, a little story — I was at the grocery store a little while ago looking at a large bag of “Stevia” — the new fad in no-calorie sweeteners. I was reading the back of the bag and I came to a little spot at the bottom that said “Each serving contains less than 2 calories which the FDA considers dietetically zero.” What?! That doesn’t even make sense! If something is said to be “calorie-free”, it should be calorie-free, right?? If something has calories in it, it has calories in it. You cannot place some carrots on the counter and tell me there are no carrots on the counter. A serving size of Stevia is 1tsp, so let’s assume that 1 tsp contains 1.9 calories. Remember, we have to assume because we DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW. It’s the FDA that says the calories in Stevia don’t exist, but just for the mere fact that there is this disclaimer on the bag lets us know that there are, in fact, carrots on the counter… er, I mean calories in the bag. But going back, we’re going to say there are 1.9 calories per serving. Using Stevia is “cup for cup.” In other words, you use the same amount of Stevia as you would regular sugar. So, I’m going to make some fantabulous “low-calorie” chocolate chip cookies with my “no-calorie” Stevia. I’m on a strict diet, so all I need to add up to find out how many calories are in my batch of cookies are all of my ingredients EXCEPT sugar, right? But wait… I’m adding 2 cups of Stevia into my batch of cookies. There are 48 teaspoons in a cup, which means I’m adding 96 teaspoons of Stevia — which also would equate to 182.4 EXTRA calories. There’s no argument that it has greatly reduced the number of calories in my batch of cookies versus using conventional sugar, but the fact remains: NO-CALORIE IS NOT NO-CALORIE.

So the fact that those vaccines containing thimerosal with an asterisk beside it virtually says the same thing and is extremely misleading. They should be “considered equivalent to thimerosal-free products” gives the illusion that there is no thimerosal in vaccines, or at least not enough to have to worry about. But remember, if I eat 8 batches of my cookies that are supposed to be low calorie because of my “calorie-free” Stevia, I’m actually consuming 1,459.2 calories that the FDA says aren’t really there. This can be applied to vaccines as well. Many “well-child” check-ups include up to 8 vaccines in one sitting.

So how much does “trace” mean? According to the CDC, it says less than or equal to 0.3mcg per dose. Sailhome.org ;does a nice job of putting this into perspective:
• 2 ppb mercury is the mandated limit in drinking water
• 200 ppb mercury in liquid waste renders it a toxic hazard
• 25,000 ppb is found in infant flu shots
• 50,000 ppb is found in regular flu shots — recommended for children, pregnant women, the elderly…

Also the math on how many ppb in a “thimerosal free” vaccine:
0.3 mcg / 0.5mL =
0.3 mcg / .0005L =
…3,000 mcg / 5L =
600 mcg / L
1 mg/KG = 1 PPM (formal definition of PPM)
1 L = 1 KG (density of water or saline solution)
1 mcg/L = 1 PPB (because 1 KG and 1 L of water are equivalent)

THEREFORE:
600 mcg / L =
600 ppb Thimerosal in the “thimerosal-free” vaccine
Flu vaccine has “only” 25 mcg Thimerosal. The shot is 0.5mL. Let’s do some math:
25 mcg / 0.5mL =
25 mcg / .0005L =
250,000 mcg / 5L =
50,000 mcg / L
1 mcg / L = 1 ppb, therefore
The shot has 50,000 ppb of Thimerosal

Remember that 2 ppb mercury is the mandated limit in drinking water and normally 200 ppb would label something a toxic hazard.

YEAST EXTRACT/MSG
Yeast extract is a common name used for various forms of processed yeast. Many people have yeast allergies, and vaccines can induce an anaphylactic response after being vaccinated due to the yeast.
Aside from that, ALL yeast extract contains MSG. Many people have either an allergy or a sensitivity to MSG (I am one of them). MSG has been known to cause:
Migraine headaches
Sleeping disorders
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Asthma
Diabetes
Alzheimer’s disease
Lou Gehrig’s disease
Attention Deficit Disorder
Seizure
Stroke
Anaphylactic reaction

EGG PROTEIN
We already discussed under Amino Acids why injecting protein directly into the body is harmful. Aside from that, individuals allergic to eggs can have a serious reaction to vaccines that contain egg protein. What’s interesting is that many parents don’t know that vaccines contain egg products, and doctor’s virtually never reveal that information (if they are actually aware themselves), even if they know that vaccines contain egg products. When a child with an egg allergy has a reaction to a vaccine, doctor’s often deny the fact that it’s even a *possibility* that the vaccine caused the reaction.

CETYLTRIMETHYLAMMONIUM BROMIDE (CTMB)
Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide is a cationic surfactant. It’s used for many things, including acting as a buffer solution for extracting DNA. According to it’s Safety Data Sheet we find out several things:
CTMB is labeled as “Hazardous”
It is a skin irritant
It is a serious eye irritant
It is hazardous if inhaled
It is harmful if swallowed
It may cause respiratory irritation
It is dangerous to the environment
It is very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects
It is flammable

In almost all cases of any kind of contact with CTMB, it advises to contact a medical professional and it advises that CTMB should never touch any part of the human body. It also gives precautionary information and equipment to use/wear during handling CTMB. Under section 8 Exposure Controls/personal protection, it advises to:
Keep away from foodstuffs, beverages and feed.

Immediately remove all soiled and contaminated clothing
Wash hands before breaks and at the end of work.
Avoid contact with the eyes and skin.

This sounds like some pretty serious stuff, and millions of children and adults are getting this injected into their bodies

In the “general information” for CTMB, it explains that “Symptoms of poisoning may even occur after several hours” and the patient should be observed for up to 48 hours after coming into contact with it. (How many children have a reaction to a vaccine that isn’t immediate or even on the first day? Hundreds. And yet if the reaction isn’t immediate, medical professional dismiss the possibility of a vaccine reaction even faster.)

2-PHENOXYETHANOL
2-Phenoxyethoanol is used as an antibacterial agent in vaccines. According to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), we find that it is toxic if swallowed, inhaled, absorbed through the skin, it is a severe skin and eye irritant, and it may cause reproductive defects [http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9926486 ]. According to the EPA data sheets, it has shown to cause chromosomal changes and genetic mutations in tests, as well as testicular atrophy and interference with reproductivity in mice [http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/glycol2000.pdf ].

The known side effects of 2-Phenoxyethanol exposure are:
Headache
Shock
Convulsions
Weakness
Kidney damage
Cardiac failure
Kidney failure
Death

Dr. Hugh Fudenberg M.D., Ph.D., author of over 80 research papers in Medicine, Biology and Immunology. If a person has had 5 consecutive flu shots their chance of contracting Alzheimer’s disease is 10X’s higher than the non-vaccinated person. Mercury toxicity can result in brain injury and auto-immune disease. Aluminum is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and seizures. Formaldehyde causes cancer and is considered hazardous waste which is no longer permitted as an ingredient in insulation.
FLU VACCINE INGREDIENTS
Thimerosal
Mercury
Aluminum
Ethylene Glycol
Phenol
Bensethonium
Methylparaben

What do peanuts have in common with vaccines is something very few healthcare consumers and medical doctors may be aware of: Peanut oil is a hidden, and non-stated ingredient in the manufacture of children’s vaccines. Pentacel vaccine: Aluminum phosphate, bovine serum albumin, formaldehyde, glutaraldhyde, MRC-5, DNA and cellular protein, neomycin, polymyxin b sulfate, polysorbate 80, 2-phenoxyethanol. Yeast protein a potent allergen and peanut oil are used as adjuvants but not listed on the vaccine inserts. In 1964 Merck produced the adjuvant 65-4 containing up to 65 percent peanut oil plus Arlasel A, aluminum stearate, and other ingredients with 13-fold higher levels of antibodies than previous vaccines. During the 1970s and 1980s peanut oil became a common practice and ingredient in vaccines. Coincidentally, peanut allergies began rising exponentially in children as more vaccines were administered. Maybe because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers refined peanut oil as GRAS (generally recognized as safe), vaccine manufacturers think it safe to use as a vaccine adjuvant while not recognizing the differences in physiology and function between food protein sources that are gut-digested from those syringed directly into the bloodstream.

83% of Vaccines Are Made in China with FDA inspections of the manufactures every 13 (THIRTEEN) years (as opposed to every 2 years with domestic manufacturers). They’ve proven they can’t even make safe PET FOOD or toothpaste. Their toys were caught with lead in the paint. There is no quality control and there is top to bottom corruption. China’s food and drug safety record in recent years hardly inspires confidence: in 2007, Chinese cough syrup killed 93 people in Central America; one year later, contaminated blood thinner led to dozens of deaths in the United States while tainted milk powder poisoned hundreds of thousands of Chinese babies and killed six.

US Vax Court Sees 400% Spike in Vaccine Injuries, Flu Shot Wins Top Honors for Biggest Payout: Vaccine court settlement payouts increased in total $91.2 million in 2015, up from $22.8 million in 2014 to $114 million in 2015 — a 400% increase. Vaccine court settlement payments for flu shots increased the most, from $4.9 million in 2014 to $61 million in 2015 — an increase of more than 1000%, despite autumnal onslaughts every year of media/pr/advertising campaigns urging Americans to ‘get your flu shot,’ with total abandon for the statistical facts coming out of the vaccine court. Varicella (chicken pox) had the third biggest increase — from $0 in 2014 to $5.8 million in 2015. (No surprise shingles is on the rise among the elderly population, as recently vaccinated grandchildren continuously shed live virus to their unsuspecting elders.) Hepatitis B was the fourth largest increase in vaccine court settlements, increasing 321% in 2015 to more than $8 million in 2015 from $1.9 million in 2014.TDap/DTP/DPT and D/T shots were the fifth largest increase, leaping 75% in 2014 from $5.5 million to $9.8. Tetanus, $4 million; HPV $3.4 million, up from almost nothing in 2014 (one to watch in January when the 2016 report is issued); MMR, which actually decreased from the number one position last year to under $1 m — an 88%+ decrease in payouts; pertussis, $1.7 million; thimerisol $1.5 million; HIB, $345k, menginococal $500k, HEP A $408k, DPT & Polio, $210k & rotovirus $76k.

VACCINE DOCTOR LIST – DOCTORS WHO EXPLAIN CLEARLY WHY VACCINES AREN’T SAFE OR EFFECTIVE.

1. Dr. Nancy Banks – http://bit.ly/1Ip0aIm
2. Dr. Russell Blaylock – http://bit.ly/1BXxQZL
3. Dr. Shiv Chopra – http://bit.ly/1gdgh1s
4. Dr. Sherri Tenpenny – http://bit.ly/1MPVbjx
5. Dr. Suzanne Humphries – http://bit.ly/17sKDbf
6. Dr. Larry Palevsky – http://bit.ly/1LLEjf6
7. Dr. Toni Bark – http://bit.ly/1CYM9RB
8. Dr. Robert Mendelson – http://bit.ly/1JpAEQr
9. Dr. Meryl Nass – http://bit.ly/1DGzJsc
10. Dr. Raymond Obomsawin –http://bit.ly/1G9ZXYl
11. Dr. Ghislaine Lanctot – http://bit.ly/1MrVeUL
12. Dr. Robert Rowen – http://bit.ly/1SIELeF
13. Dr. David Ayoub – http://bit.ly/1SIELve
14. Dr. Boyd Haley PhD – http://bit.ly/1KsdVby
15. Dr. Rashid Buttar – http://bit.ly/1gWOkL6
16. Dr. Roby Mitchell – http://bit.ly/1gdgEZU
17. Dr. Ken Stoller – http://bit.ly/1MPVqLI
18. Dr. Mayer Eisenstein – http://bit.ly/1LLEqHH
19. Dr. Frank Engley, PhD – http://bit.ly/1OHbLDI
20. Dr. David Davis – http://bit.ly/1gdgJwo
21. Dr Tetyana Obukhanych – http://bit.ly/16Z7k6J
22. Dr. Harold E Buttram – http://bit.ly/1Kru6Df
23. Dr. Kelly Brogan – http://bit.ly/1D31pfQ
24. Dr. RC Tent – http://bit.ly/1MPVwmu
25. Dr. Rebecca Carley – http://bit.ly/K49F4d
26. Dr. Andrew Moulden – http://bit.ly/1fwzKJu
27. Dr. Jack Wolfson – http://bit.ly/1wtPHRA
28. Dr. Michael Elice – http://bit.ly/1KsdpKA
29. Dr. Terry Wahls –http://bit.ly/1gWOBhd
30. Dr. Stephanie Seneff – http://bit.ly/1OtWxAY
31. Dr. Paul Thomas – http://bit.ly/1DpeXPf
32. Many doctors talking at once – http://bit.ly/1MPVHOv
33. Dr. Richard Moskowitz – http://bit.ly/1OtWG7D
34. Dr. Jane Orient – http://bit.ly/1MXX7pb
35. Dr. Richard Deth – http://bit.ly/1GQDL10
36. Dr. Lucija Tomljenovic – http://bit.ly/1eqiPr5
37. Dr Chris Shaw – http://bit.ly/1IlGiBp
38. Dr. Susan McCreadie – http://bit.ly/1CqqN83
39. Dr. Mary Ann Block – http://bit.ly/1OHcyUX
40. Dr. David Brownstein – http://bit.ly/1EaHl9A
41. Dr. Jayne Donegan – http://bit.ly/1wOk4Zz
42. Dr. Troy Ross – http://bit.ly/1IlGlNH
43. Dr. Philip Incao – http://bit.ly/1ghE7sS
44. Dr. Joseph Mercola – http://bit.ly/18dE38I
45. Dr. Jeff Bradstreet – http://bit.ly/1MaX0cC

HUNDREDS MORE DOCTORS THAN JUST THE 13 IN THESE DOCUMENTARIES BELOW ARE TESTIFYING VACCINES AREN’T SAFE OR EFFECTIVE.

1.Vaccination – The Silent Epidemic – http://bit.ly/1vvQJ2W
2. The Greater Good – http://bit.ly/1icxh8j
3. Shots In The Dark – http://bit.ly/1ObtC8h
4. Vaccination The Hidden Truth – http://bit.ly/KEYDUh
5. Vaccine Nation – http://bit.ly/1iKNvpU
6. Vaccination – The Truth About Vaccines – http://bit.ly/1vlpwvU
7. Lethal Injection – http://bit.ly/1URN7BJ
8. Bought – http://bit.ly/1M7YSlr
9. Deadly Immunity – http://bit.ly/1KUg64Z
10. Autism – Made in the USA – http://bit.ly/1J8WQN5
11. Beyond Treason – http://bit.ly/1B7kmvt
12. Trace Amounts – http://bit.ly/1vAH3Hv
13. Why We Don’t Vaccinate – http://bit.ly/1KbXhuf

The number of children diagnosed with autism or related disorders has grown at an alarming rate. In the 1970s and 1980s, about one out of every 2,000 children had autism. Today, one in 150 8-year-olds in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. The prevalence of autism in U.S. children increased by 119.4% since 2000 and has steadily increased 15% each year from 2002 to 2010, and a 30% increase in the last 2 years.

PER 10,000 CHILDREN STUDIED
PORTUGAL ~ 9.2 cases ~ no studies available
HONG KONG ~17 cases ~ no studies available
BRAZIL ~ 27 cases ~ no studies available
AUSTRALIA ~ 45 cases ~ no studies available
CANADA ~ 65 cases ~ no studies available
USA ~ 66 cases ~ genetics and environmental factors, including vaccines are closely correlated
DENMARK ~ 68 cases ~ problems determining cause. Results remain inconclusive.
SWEDEN ~72 cases ~ possible relation to chemicals called phthalates in vinyl flooring
UNITED KINGDOM ~ 94 cases ~ no studies available
JAPAN ~161 cases ~ in relation to the MMR vaccine

PER 10,000 CHILDREN DIAGNOSED
Poland 3
Taiwan 5
China 23
Germany 38
Netherlands 48
Norway 51
Finland 54
Estonia 60
Belgium 60
Singapore 67
Denmark 69
Canada 106
Switzerland 145
Ireland 153
Japan 181
USA 222
So. Korea 263
Hong Kong 372

For Belgium, the 60 in 10,000 statistic was arrived at by using Belgium’s 2010 survey of children aged 3 to 39 months. 41 in 6,808 of these children had autism, which is 0.6%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20198413

For Canada, the 106 in 10,000 statistic was arrived at by using Canada’s Autism Ontario website which states that 1 in 94 children is diagnosed with autism, which is 1.06%.
https://www.autismontario.com/client/aso/ao.nsf/web/Info+about+ASD?OpenDocument

For China, the 23 in 10,000 statistic was arrived at by using China’s 2013 report which combined results of numerous studies. The report arrived at 105 out of 45,694 children under 18 have autism, which is 0.23%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4054540/

For Estonia, the 60 in 10,000 statistic was arrived at by using the 2013 Norway Grants presentation which stated that 0.6% of children under age 18 have autism. https://intra.tai.ee/images/eventlist/events/13_HPH13_Childrens_mental_health_Kleinberg.pdf

For Denmark, the 69 in 10,000 statistic was taken from the 2011 study that stated 68.5 per 10,000 children have autism.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21311963

For Finland, the 54 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2014 report that found 53.7 per 10,000 people age 8-26 have autism.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24359461

For Germany, the 38 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2016 report that found 0.22% to 0.38% of 0-24 year olds are autistic.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1362361316673977

For Hong Kong, the 371 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2017 media piece that reported 25,000 children are registered as autistic with an expected 10,000 more school children to be diagnosed in the 2017-2018 school year.
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/2081935/hong-kong-neglecting-needs-its-autistic-pupils These 35,000 school children were then divided into Hong Kong’s 941,200 citizens who are aged 5-19.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Hong_Kong

For Ireland, the 153 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2016 report which stated that 1 in 65 school aged children has autism, which is 1.53%.
http://www.thejournal.ie/autism-irish-schools-2879550-Jul2016/

For Japan, the 181 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2008 report that stated 181 per 10,000 children born between 1994 and 1996 have PDD in the city of Toyota.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18412836

For the Netherlands, the 48 in 10,000 statistic was arrived at by using a 2013 report that stated 518 out of 106,953 children born 1998-2007 have autism, which is 0.48%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23216206

For Norway, the 51 in 10,000 statistic was arrived at by using a 2012 report states that there were 158 cases of autism per 31,015 children aged 6 to 12.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22342070

For Poland, the 3 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2012 report that there are 3.4 cases per 10,000 of children up to age 18.
https://www.infona.pl/resource/bwmeta1.element.elsevier-cf0292d1-9804-3a46-aa4b-846db171f780

For Singapore, the 67 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2016 report that 1 in 150 children has autism, which is 0.67%.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/1-in-150-children-in-singapore-has-autism

For South Korea, the 263 in 10,000 statistic came from a 2011 report which stated that 1 in 38 children aged 7 to 12 have autism, which is 2.63%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21558103

For Switzerland, the 145 in 10,000 statistic was arrived at by using a 2004 report which estimated that 0.5 to 0.8% of the entire Swiss population has autism.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/report-calls-for-end-to-neglect-of-autism/4006988

The demographics of Switzerland show that 34.4% of all people are under the age of 30. Since the oldest demographic of the autism epidemic is currently 27, then 1.45% to 2.33% of Swiss under age 30 may be autistic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Switzerland

For Taiwan, the 5 in 10,000 statistic came from a report in 2012 that 12.3 in 1000 of the general population are autistic.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750946711001577

Would you purposely buy a product for your children knowing the company that produced that product had a previous track record of committing fraud?

Here are the top 6 vaccine manufacturers who have committed fraud. But don’t worry I am sure their vaccines are perfectly safe. Merck settles Vioxx lawsuits for $950 million for hiding data that Vioxx doubles the risk of heart attacks and strokes. This drug killed over 60,000 people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/business/merck-agrees-to-pay-950-million-in-vioxx-case.html

Glaxosmithkline pays $3 million for fraud.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/glaxosmithkline-plead-guilty-and-pay-3-billion-resolve-fraud-allegations-and-failure-report

Pfizer agrees to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed its painkiller Bextra, which has been withdrawn. “The whole culture of Pfizer is driven by sales, and if you didn’t sell drugs illegally, you were not seen as a team player,” said Mr. Kopchinski, former Pfizer sales rep
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/business/03health.html

Wyeth Agrees to Pay $490.9 Million for Marketing the Prescription Drug Rapamune for Unapproved Uses
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wyeth-pharmaceuticals-agrees-pay-4909-million-marketing-prescription-drug-rapamune-unapproved

Sanofi Pasteur Agrees to Pay $19.8 Million to Resolve Drug Overcharges to the Department of Veterans Affairs
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/sanofi-pasteur-agrees-pay-198-million-resolve-drug-overcharges-department-veterans-affairs

Novartis pays $72.5 million to resolve charges of off-label marketing of the cystic fibrosis drug TOBI.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/novartis-vaccines-diagnostics-pay-more-72-million-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations

Doctors and hospitals are the third leading cause of death in the US
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/03/researchers-medical-errors-now-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-united-states/

Fraud in medical research:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3702092/

Over a dozen CDC scientist whistleblowers report on being forced to commit scientific fraud.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carey-gillam/spider-bites-cdc-ethics-c_b_12525012.html

CDC scientist comes forward admitting he and his co-authors committed scientific fraud on the MMR-Autism study where they found a 250 percent increase in autism among young black males who received the vaccine before the age of 3. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC blocks Thompson’s testimony.
https://www.ecowatch.com/cdc-vaccines-autism-2051536402.html

The sugar industry paid scientists in the 1960s to downplay the link between sugar and heart disease and promote saturated fat as the culprit instead. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html

Merck made a “hit list” of doctors who criticized Vioxx, according to testimony in a Vioxx class action case. The list, emailed between Merck employees, contained doctors’ names with the labels “neutralise,” “neutralised” or “discredit” next to them.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/merck-created-hit-list-to-destroy-neutralize-or-discredit-dissenting-doctors/

SIX EVIL PROPAGANDISTS WHO PROMOTE CHEMICAL MEDICINE SO YOUR CHILDREN WILL GET DEATHLY SICK AND WIND UP IN THEIR OFFICES
https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-10-30-six-evil-propagandists-who-promote-chemical-medicine-so-your-children-will-get-deathly-sick-and-wind-up-in-their-offices.html
DR. RICHARD PAN – Medical extremist repeatedly violates the AMA code of ethics and believes in forced vaccination at gunpoint
Here is a list of his offenses already committed:
• Took tens of thousands of dollars in campaign money from drug companies.
• Aggressively pushed California’s SB 277 radical vaccine mandate which eliminates vaccines exemptions and obliterates medical choice.
• Is a believer in “medical extremism” invoking highly unethical, government-forced interventions violating established medical ethics and fundamental human rights.
• Violates the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics which demands informed consent and a patient’s choice on all medical interventions.
• Blatantly lies about the issue of mercury in vaccines, falsely claiming mercury has been removed from all vaccines given to children.
• Falsely claims vaccines are completely safe, even when vaccines routinely cause brain damage, autism, comas, seizures and even death.
• Denies the children of California their right to a public education unless their parents surrender to the demands of the corrupt, criminally-run vaccine industry.
• Serves as a puppet of the pharmaceutical industry, an industry steeped in admitted felony crimes, bribery, price fixing, experimentation on humans and other large-scale crimes.

https://youtu.be/Brdnw4DDoQw

BILL NYE the “Science Guy”, is a SCIENCE COMMUNICATOR (public communicator presenting *science-related* topics to non-experts), TELEVISION PRESENTER (a person who *introduces or hosts* television programs), and MECHANICAL ENGINEER for Boeing (principles of engineering, physics, and materials science for the design, analysis, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems) assisted in the development of a small sundial which was included in the Mars Exploration Rover missions. Nye holds several US patents, including one for ballet pointe shoes and another for an educational magnifying glass. Nye quit his job at Boeing on October 3, 1986 to focus on his COMEDY CAREER.

Bill Nye has NEVER been educated in the medical or pathology sciences. Nye has not studied nor does he have any certification, licensing or degrees in the causes, effects or treatment of diseases, the maintenance of health and/or prevention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ExdyCcE1KI

ABOLISHING VACCINES ~ DEFENDING YOUR POSITION
http://wp.me/P6lD99-2dn

VACCINE DOCTOR LIST106 in 10,000 dihydrogen monoxide

If You Say I’m Antisemitic

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

Thank you Rudy TwoMoon

If you say I’m antisemitic, what your really saying is, I’m anti language of these people: Sumerians, Elamites, Hattians, Hurrians, Lullubi, Gutians, Urartians and Kassites. Indo-European language speakers included; Hittites, Greeks, Luwians, Mitanni, Kaskians, Phrygians, Lydians, Philistines, Persians, Medes, Scythians, Cimmerians, Parthians, Cilicians, Armenians, Kartvelian, Colchians, Tabalites and Georgians, derived from the lands or these people: Asia Minor, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Ahlamu; Akkadian (including Assyrian and Babylonian, Amharic; Amalekite; Ammonite; Amorite; Arabic; Aramaic/Syriac; the Canaanite languages (Phoenician, Punic or Carthaginian and Hebrew); Assyrian; Chaldean; Eblaite; Edomite; Ge’ez; Old South Arabian; Modern South Arabian languages; Maltese; Mandaic; Moabite; Proto-Sinaitic; Sutean; Syriac; Tigre and Tigrinya; and Ugaritic.

The term Semitic (from the biblical “Shem”, Hebrew: שם) was first used in 1848 to refer to a family of languages native to West Asia (the Middle East).

Antisemitic – the term was popularized in Germany in 1873 as a scientific-sounding term for Judenhass (Jew-hatred).

How did antisemitic became; “anti-Jew” when it encompasses so many different types of people? And how is it possible anyone who questions Zionist media and school trained propaganda is instantly anti-Semitic?

Is it anti-black to look to see if blacks owned slaves? Is it anti 1st nations to look and see if we natives did commit genocide against other natives before colonization? Is it anti peace to look into Mandela’s past to see what he supported or if he did in fact co-opt the African movement for a more peaceful corporate state ownership? Is it anti women to study the history of corporate sold feminism?

Of course it is according to those who wish to believe all $tate mandated propaganda!!!!!

~ If your gonna label me anti anything, please use the term Anti-Zionist because, yes, I am against pedophilia, eugenics, genocide, war, corporations linked to the chemical industry, propaganda media and propaganda education promoting assimilated capitalist ecocide created entirely by a Rothschild banking system.

Stories From The Frontline 3-1-17 – 4-11-17

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

4-11-17 ~ UPDATE Red Fawn
Per Jordan Chariton:
#NoDAPL BREAKING: Just got off the phone with Red Dawn, sister of Red Fawn. After initially getting the go-ahead for release to a half-way house earlier today, Red Fawn is now NOT GETTING RELEASED. Waiting for more details on why.
RED FAWN DENIED RELEASE TODAY, APRIL 11, 2017. WAS SUPPOSE TO BE RELEASED TODAY
Our sister Red Fawn has been DENIED released today, pending her trial and was headed to a halfway house. After 6 months of her being wrongfully held since October 27th.
UPDATE: #NoDAPL BREAKING:
A US attorney requested and was granted a block on the judges orders of the release.
Author: Ambassador D. Kam, for Free Nations

4-11-17 ~ Red Fawn released today
Yesssssss….Thank You Tunkasila my sissy called me from Bismarck this morning nd I’m super excited to share that she is en route to the half-way house‼

I am so happy after six long months she will see the light of day…although she has a long road ahead of her to prepare for her trial, she won’t have to do it from a jail cell we are so thankful for all your continued support and as soon as she’s settled and I have all the information we will let y’all know…

4-4-17 ~ Matthew Borke… Oceti/Standing Rock/Sakima Camp update: Although our homes have been bull dozed and physical bodies have been abused. We can never leave camp now. For our spirits must rise up. We have been scattered across the country creating refreshed homes and raising awareness. Of all that has been destroyed, our hearts grow stronger. We are still Standing. A movement must change its tires to gain more traction yet driving on the ice gives one skills. Water Protectors are in your back yards now. There are new camps going up all the time. They could still use support. We are still praying on several fronts. Court houses, Toxic waste dumps, State capitals, Drill pads, and on and on. Every camp is built with a kitchen. And every kitchen needs supplies and medicines. It is a hearth that warms and nourishes the spirit and fuels the drive. Please continue to collect supplies. Tarp, ladles, pots and pans, cutting boards, large tents, seasonings, and mess can kits. Cots, sleeping bags, pillows, batteries, headlamps. The more reusable, the better. Solar panels, wind turbines, car batteries, and inverters. Please continue to do events, invite a water protector to speak. Show alternative ways of living. I am presently in Michigan. Sioux Z Dezbah is in California. Joye Braun is in South Dakota.

We will direct your support in the best way we can.
We are all people of the land and with out you, we are nothing.

4-2-17 ~ Eric Poemoceah… Your Name and Picture are more than just little icons on my Computer or Phone. They Represent and identify u All and who u are. They Represent People who are loved by me and many many others. These Pics and Names are real people with Families Children, Husband, Wife, Brothers, Sisters, Aunties, Uncles, Grandpas, and Granmothers Ext… When I See your Picture and Name on my FB please Remember that u r more than a Symbol on my Computer, U r more than a Screen name, u r my Relative and u r Loved by Me and all of your Real and FB Family. When u See my Profile picture pop up just please remember that I am a real Person who has a Heart and a Soul just like u, Remember I am a Real Person with trials and tribulations just like u, but most Importantly remember that I as Well as many others are Fighting the Battle of Life and to Love all by trying to Protect Mother Earth and Water while Balancing Everything I Said Above and So So much more. I Love u all and Pray that Blessing Rain down on u and your Families. Thank u for Reading and A’Ho for being my Relative

https://youtu.be/VrzbRZn5Ed4
4-1-17 ~ UnicornRiot… Sacred Stone Camp One Year Celebration: One year ago today, the Sacred Stone Camp was established at the confluence of the CannonBall & Missouri Rivers. No one knew of the movement to come; people only said they came together to pray for the water and for future generations. Today we return to listen as people tell why they are still standing for the water.Sacred Stone Camp One Year Celebration: One year ago today, the Sacred Stone Camp was established at the confluence of the CannonBall & Missouri Rivers. No one knew of the movement to come; people only said they came together to pray for the water and for future generations. Today we return to listen as people tell why they are still standing for the water.

4-1-16 ~ LaDonna Paperwork… Let it be told! Today is the First Anniversary of the Water Is Life Movement. April 1st, 2016. We Thank You LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard and We Stand!

LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard
“THE GOOD RED ROAD”
The phrase – “The Good Red Road” is a term used by many different Native American tribal communities to represent one who is walking the road of balance, living right and following the rules of the Creator.
The Good Red Roads – Code of Ethics

1. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
2. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.
3. Do not take what is not yours. Whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours. You cannot enjoy what it not yours.
4. Respect all things that are placed upon this Earth.
5. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if only you speak.
6. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or mimic them. Allow each person the right to a freedom of opinion. Respect that opinion.
7. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.
8. All persons make mistakes. No matter how small or how large the mistake is, it can still be forgiven.
9. Bad thoughts cause illness of the spirit, the mind and the body. Keep bad thoughts at bay. Practice optimism.
10. Nature is not FOR us; it is a PART of us. Treat all natural beings as a member of your family.
11. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, allow them find their own place.
12. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual Self, Emotional Self and Physical self all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body, to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.
13. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.
14. Treat the elders as special gems – their wisdom will shine.
15. Be true to yourself first.

“Peace…comes within the souls of men when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the enviers dwells Waken-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us”
Black Elk, Oglala Sioux

3-29-17 ~ Jeane LaRance‎ … It’s been over three months now since I left Oceti Sakowin and I’m calming down a bit more. I don’t cry as much and I’m sleeping without nightmares, I still jump when a helicopter flies over but I’m getting used to it. After the first month I couldn’t go on the way I was, I kept hearing elders saying the fire is lit inside all Water Protectors. so I became very active in my community and it is amazing how much better I am. I will never be the same woman I was and that’s good, I am active. I am here to Protect. I am proud to be Native. I don’t focus on painful images anymore like I did and on my website I see only beauty on the faces of the Water Protectors you can check it out yourself please do. http://www.JLaRance.com

Clarence Wolf Guts; the last Lakota code talker…
Clarence Wolf Guts was not the sort of hero who capitalized on his exploits; he never wrote any books or ran for office, and you could count his speaking appearances on one hand. When we met him in 2007, he was living almost as simply as he did when he was a boy on the Rosebud Reservation in the 1920s.
Continue Reading
http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/clarence-wolf-guts

3-28-17 ~ Eric Poemoceah… DAPL has put out a statement that says OIL has been placed in the pipeline under the Missouri River, we may have lost this battle of time but the War has just begun and trust me when I say We Will Win The War!! Water Protectors r every where and we will not stop protecting Mother Earth and our Sacred Water!! Please Pray for all of our Protectors that they will gain strength to continue to fight for our future generations!! Water Protectors r Still Yelling NODAPL!! Keep them prayers coming for our Creator hears our Cry. A’Ho Relatives

3-24-17 ~ Lori Davis … Can anyone claim this? If so know that I have it and it will be sent to the Texas camps. Please share.

3-22-17 ~ Becky Allmon‎… I feel honored and privileged to have served the Water Protectors at Standing Rock in providing medical care and am willing to work with any further Camps to serve the medical needs, just let me know when and where. To serve with you was a life changing experience that has altered my life. Mni Wiconi!

3-19-17 ~ Vanessa Castle ….feeling nostalgic…The days were warm and sunny, and the nights were cold. We rode horse up to the top of the ridge to watch the sunset upon Oceti and Rosebud. There they sang, after hearing hoots and hollers and “MNI WICONI!” from every direction. We offered prayers. It was a beautiful time.

3-18-17 ~ Ernesto Burbank… What did they think, we were just gonna stop? The more they try and shut us down the more we laugh #honorlife #standyourground #mniwiconi rents due homie……. killing them softly in a good way

https://youtu.be/flDnZmWyTaE
Native Eagle Feather Teachings By Adrian LaChance

“You have wandered away from your teachings. You must concentrate on your spiritual teachings…Don’t be sidetracked.”
— Henry Quick Bear, LAKOTA

Why are the Elders always telling us to know The culture and listen to the teachings? When we go off track, why do the Elders say, return to the teachings? The teachings tell us how to live in harmony with the Laws and principles of the Great Spirit. Living means life – a good life, a happy life. Many of us have grown up without the teachings and the culture, that is why we don’t know how to live. To improve on relationships, to treat our children with honor, and to respect our Elders, we need to live by the old teachings again.

Great Spirit, today, show me how to live.

3-18-17 ~ Jeff Andreasen Kelly-Sky… OK. Water protectors especially: pay attention my loved ones. So, today after finally getting to the point of HAVING to do something, I went out and spoke to my ancestors, all the living spirits, all the spirits that never were physical. I cried. I yelled. I told them I’m ready to leave my purpose because I feel so lost. I couldn’t feel anything but pain, or numbness. All enjoyment or hope was gone from my existence. I felt defeated like I’ve never felt. I told them this as I held my tobacco and cried. I told them I couldn’t do it this way anymore and to forgive me.

All of a sudden I heard footsteps and breaking branches from a few different places, and I was thinking what are these people doing out here? I hadn’t seen any tracks besides animal out there. I actually thought someone had misinterpreted my facebook posts and sent out a group to make to make sure I was safe. How embarrassing, I thought. I started packing up my bundle to get out of there, I was trying to listen to see who it might be, and a soft breeze blew. All the crusty snow in the branches was clinking together sounding like tiny jingle dresses. That’s when I felt it. FELT IT. I was surrounded by loving beings and they hadn’t gone anywhere.

It was my pain and fear of pain that closed me off from being able to feel and hear them. I had even forgotten that I COULD hear and feel them. I was so lost.

We need to take our pain and feelings of defeat and give it to the ones that never left our sides. It’s the idea of being defeated that cut us away from them. It’s the feeling of lack of purpose that is driving us to depths we haven’t found before.

Use your tobacco to absorb those feelings even if you can’t believe in it at the moment, and ask them to help, ask them to show you your purpose again.

It is the only way. I tried to wait, thinking I’ll come out of it.

Just get on with your prayer. The one from the deepest part of you. Don’t be ashamed because you lost your connection. Its understandable. If not to anyone else, it is to me. We had a huge thing traumatize us repeatedly in the worst kind of ways.

I will be the first spirit to say I love you, no matter what. Unconditionally, I love you. Now get your tobacco so you can feel that message from everywhere else.

Do it. They’re waiting.

3-18-17 ~ Linda Gaddie-Garcia Standing Rock Protectors – Pipeline Protest… E-Eric Poemz Protector News had to name change to Eric Poemoceah Protector News!….. due to troll activity! So hence forth he’ll be sharing E-Eric Poemoceah Protector News from now on! Eric has been having endless troll problems especially since he had his pelvis broken by BIA Police at Oceti Oyate Camp on Feb. 22, 2017!

These trolls have also been trying to get Eric’s Go Fund Me Page’s reported as fraud to fb! Eric is legitimate and so is his Go Fund Me page! I post his Go Fund Me Page once, or twice a week (in my groups) because Eric needs money to pay for medical expenses. But also because he used his own money traveling around to different protests to live stream! He live streamed as well from CNN until CNN finally did media coverage of what happened at Standing Rock on November 20, 2016! Eric also live streamed at the Super Bowl in Jan. 2017! All to raise awareness, when mainstream media wasn’t reporting on important issues! Eric is willing to travel to where ever he is needed to live stream and raise awareness of protests!

In the U.S. and Canada! He just needs gas money to get to the protests!

Eric Poemz … “Trolls Reported my Name on my Account and FB tried to take down my Account so I had to correct my name. I’ve never had problems using Eric Poemz b4 but all the sudden trolls started reporting me to FB!!”

https://youtu.be/AWMoQZRkaGA
Will You Stand With The Indigenous People Against The Dakota Pipeline? (w/Guest: Dave Archambault) – Thom Hartmann Program

3-16-17 ~ Kenny Frost…. In DAPL Dave’s own words.
DAPL Dave invite people to camp on standing rock as guests. Asking for donations.

Standing rock tribal council claim that the campers have no permit. Yet were invited to camp Treaty land inviting people from around the world to camp in the first place?

You invite people to come camp there, they are your guest. Then on Dec 5th telling all people to get the hell out!

Later sending an eviction notice and trespassing notice to people you begged to come camp there and then removing people at gun point will make a lot of pissed off campers. People are insulted and hurt.

On Dec. 4th you made the deal with the devil of selling out to ND governor, DAPL, Morton County sheriff, ACOE.

It was also the standing rock tribal council who made a resolution to LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard supporting Sacred Stone Camp. Then at the end telling her she has no right on her allotted land. Then bulldozing a school. It’s a school! Why bulldozed a school intended for children’s.

DAPL spoke with the words of a fork-tongue. He lied to the people. He lied to the water protectors. He lied to his own ancestral spirits.

The ancestors will be going after him for turning his back against the ancestor’s burials.

SMH
=->>>—- Kenny —->

Daniella Zalcman‘s Pulitzer-Center funded project… Signs of Your Identity, reveals the damage of the residential school system on indigenous communities. Many of her subjects and their relatives travelled to Standing Rock to stand in solidarity with the Sioux Reservation.

“Standing Rock was about a return to sovereignty. The Treaty of Fort Laramie has been explicitly violated in so many different ways and this is an act of reclamation, of the Lakota saying: “We’re done with coercive assimilation. We’re done with land grabbing. And we also don’t want the water supply poisoned for the eighteen million people who live downstream.” They see themselves as stewards of the land for the next seven generations.

“A lot of the Lakota prophecies have to do with the land and the mythology of the Black Snake. The youth were a major part of bringing about this prophecy and reclaiming
Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/ko8tval

3-11-17 ~ Luba Williams… Thank you to everybody who has done what their hearts have compelled them to do. Thank you to those who did what your greed told you to do. Thank you to those who did what their fears told them to do. Thank you to those who did what their anger told them to do, what their needs told them to do and what their jealousy told them to do.

Because of all of you the world knows about Standing Rock and more people have a voice, more people are aware of corruption, greed and dishonesty. To face the ones destroying our earthly home and creatures of land air and sky.

So, who is the honest who is the greedy who is the corrupt who is the fraud who is the angry ? I don’t care. That’s all on them the good the bad and the ugly. Yet it doesn’t take much to see who true good responsible supportive and trustworthy leaders and warriors are. And who are not. Opportunists knock on every cause just in the nick of time. Some how they walk away unscathed overall. While the hearts of pure pick up the others who are broken.

I’m proud either way of all the good I have seen. My love and respect far outweighs any negative feelings or intentions by the insider corruption and the external evils. They are of the same battle and fight, are they not. And so they oppose the good, and that is their battle in the long run. Standing Rock has defied what ‘they’ had expected and I am damn sure it will continue to. The WORLD has grown a huge set of balls because of all the brave people who had risked their lives at Standing Rock. And I love you all each of you for that. Thank you for the teachings you have bestowed upon me and for so many of your dear friendships. Thank you for the witness of your pure strength, compassion and determination. Your examples of goodness and tradition have shook some of the hell out of this world. You have given people a reason to get up each day and breathe again. You inspired people to do something take action stand up and face the injustices within their own lives and communities.

We have laughed with you, cried with you and stood with you.
YOU ARE WHO MATTER TO ME
and you know who you are
May the creator bless you and protect you always. To those suffering in any way my heart and prayers are with you. I love you all.

3-8-17 ~ Lakota People’s Law Project… Finally, a voice of reason published in The Bismarck Tribune! In it’s final days, Oceti Sakowin was no where near an ecological disaster. The rumors of human waste flowing into the river are false, and the debris left from thousands of campers don’t have any long term implications for the land or water.
http://tinyurl.com/lj2mtf3

3-16-17 ~ Angie Spencer … My trial at Morton County Court House about being arrested at Standing Rock is now scheduled for September 7th 2017. I was arrested October 27th 2016 and they wrote “trespass” on my arm but the paperwork I just received reads, “Offense: Endangering By Fire Or Explosion; Maintaining A Public Nuisance; Engaging In A Riot/Mob” for a misdemeanor jury trial. It was originally a felony charge, I have an attorney and have put over $4,500 into defense now.

The first appearance in court was originally scheduled for December 5th 2016 which was cancelled and rescheduled for February 14th 2017, which was cancelled again in late January 2017.
Morton County is accusing people of anything they want and throwing around false allegations as a form of suppression, tying people up in the legal system costing thousands to water protectors and systematically criminalizing them. I am just one of 700+.

3-15-17 ~ Matthew Borke… I was arrested on Feb. 23rd at Oceti. As they said in the article. They removed a lot of snow and wood. They also removed several people’s homes. I am happy to hear they may have taken propane tanks to recycling. No one was allowed to stay to witness. As far as the 3 weeks previous, I saw no recycling from the bulldozing crew. What I did see was if you happen to be looking the other way, your home may have been demolished. No checking if anyone was home. No checking what they were bulldozing. I also had a my dog with me. I was lucky. She ran with the ATV they picked me up in. And when it stopped and the door opened, she jumped in. She was the only animal I saw that got approval to come with us. I had never imagined they would abandon all the animals. As officers told me. That was there plan all along. So you arrest all the inhabitants and leave the animals. And let no one to return. The officers abandoned those dogs. This is the truth. The officer actually told me that I was killing him when my pooch was running with the vehicle. I said “excuse me? You’re not actually planning on abandoning my dog here.” He said “yes.”

http://tinyurl.com/mxt6rgb
There are some who are saying to not put information out that Alicia Mitzel is missing. If this was your child would you be ok if someone said to not find your child? I would not be, ever! On this feed is her dad speaking and letting the people know. If someone should speak on whether the information should be shared or not, it would be the parents, not other people. You can hear her dad yourself and listen to the one affected speak for himself and his family. Philámayaye!

3-12-17 ~ Support from Africa…

3-12-17 ~ Jennifer Dawn… When I saw a video of the tipi going up in front of the Trump hotel, I caught a glimpse of the women placing the last pole and it reminded me of the famous WWII image, so I tried to sketch it out a little bit- I added the other image for reference but if you saw the tipi going up, perhaps you saw it the way I did- true, powerful Americans raising a symbol of life, birth, and this homeland

3-11-17 ~ Tara Zhaabowekwe Houska… Morton County has filed the paperwork alleging I committed trespass while fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Although the ground fight may be at an end, over 800 cases brought by North Dakota against water protectors continue, as does the divestment campaign and several lawsuits against the state and federal governments. The same state that strip searched us for misdemeanor charges, put us in dog kennels, and attempted passing legislation to legalize running us over. I gave this interview at Democracy Now! back in November — the violations of our rights are ongoing: http://m.democracynow.org/stories/16827 Please support our legal defense at: : freshetcollective.org

3-11-17 ~ Indiana reveals the arsenal they brought with them to Standing Rock
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security has provided us with a remarkably unredacted look at their EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact) agreement with North Dakota. 37 sworn law enforcement officers from nine different Indiana agencies including Indianapolis Metropolitan PD, were deployed to Morton County. Their mission lasted for 18 days and went through late October to early November.

42 “sidearms” (judging from the individual officer’s paperwork, these are various Glock models): $16,464
37 (one for each officer!) Bushmaster AR-15’s: $14,504
16 outfits of riot gear: $9,408
23 shotguns: $9,016
21 pairs of Gen III night vision goggles: $8,232
37 seemingly department issued cell phones: $6,160
21 pairs of binoculars: $1,029
10 spotting scopes (possibly used as part of a sniper team): $490
2 tear gas launchers of different sizes: $784
1 TAC 700 pepper ball launcher: $392
1 thermal imaging camera: $784

In addition to all this gear, Indiana law enforcement agencies brought seven ATV’s (two models), 23 pickup trucks which cost North Dakota $117,208 (three models), five Ford SUV’s and two Dodge Chargers. This convoy cost North Dakota $149,000, and that isn’t including actual fueling costs.
Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/laj36mu

3-10-17 ~ Eric Poemz … Fallon is a young 17 year old Oglala Lakota youth from the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, she resides in Wounded Knee SD where the massacre took place in 1890, she is a 7th generation youth and is also a descendant from Chief Crazy Horse.

She is an activist and water protector who dedicated her time to Oceti Sakowin Camp near Standing Rock reservation, our water is being threatened by the Dakota Access Pipeline that will go under Lake Oahe which is where the Missouri River flows.

During the camp evacuations and police and National Guard raids people were hurrying to get to safety from these mad men, she ran down after last minute items when the structure she went into exploded and burned her.

She was pulled to safety then rushed to the hospital and from there she was life flighted out to a Burn center.

She has some serious burns and will have a long road to recovery but her spirits are back up and she still has the fighting spirit to fight for Mother earth, she would like to travel around the state’s to stand up against pollution happening.

She thanks everyone for their support and continued prayers at this time, we are asking for your generous contributions to her road to recovery and medical bills.

Wopila Tanka. #MniWiconi 7thGenerations #MotherEarthsArmy

This GOFUND me is going to support the family’s increased cost as they have to travel and live in Minnesota while Fallon Recovers.

There is another fundraiser happening on another site, but those funds aren’t accessible for another 30 days, and the family needs financial support NOW.

ALL funds will go DIRECTLY to Clarence, Fallon’s older brother and legal guardian.

Thank you so much for your generosity!
https://www.gofundme.com/support-fallon-and-family

https://youtu.be/h61coLeTcLw
3-9-17 ~ The oil isn’t flowing, and we’re not done fighting. Recently unearthed court documents show that Energy Transfer Partners cooked the books to mask the Dakota Access pipeline’s environmental and social justice impacts on Standing Rock. Watch and share our #NoDAPL TV ad (currently airing in Washington D.C.) and tell lawmakers to demand a FULL and FAIR environmental impact statement at LakotaLaw.org/NoDAPL

3-8-17 ~ Jackie Kaitautoko … Come on America, Water is Life.. Look at your children and think of the future they will have if you do nothing.. Take the time to defend your rights to fresh clean water.. It’s time for everyone to make a stand, First Nation have done everything they could to fight DAPL, and now’s the time for every American Citizen to make a STAND..

3-8-17 ~ LAKOTA CODE OF ETHICS

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy – and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth – whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self – all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.
~ ALL MY RELATIONS ~ MITAKYE OYASIN ~

3-8-17 ~ Lakota People’s Law Project… The oil isn’t flowing, and we’re not done fighting. Recently unearthed court documents show that Energy Transfer Partners cooked the books to mask the Dakota Access pipeline’s environmental and social justice impacts on Standing Rock. Watch and share our #NoDAPL TV ad (currently airing in Washington D.C.) and tell lawmakers to demand a FULL and FAIR environmental impact statement at LakotaLaw.org/NoDAPL

3-8-17 ~ LANGELLE PHOTOGRAPHY … Standing Rock’s Arvol Looking Horse Speaks in Buffalo: Photo Essay
Chief Arvol Looking Horse spoke on the peaceful encampment in Standing Rock, where thousands of Water Protectors are gathered to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. A press conference was followed by a talk attended by over 200 people on November 28, 2016 at the Network of Religious Communities in Buffalo, NY.
Continue Reading
http://photolangelle.org/2016/11/30/arvol-looking-horse/

3-8-17 ~ Elder’s Meditation of the Day – March 8
“Balance is implicit in the Red Road. When you’re on the Red Road, you are in the center. Yet, you do not go to either extreme, and you allow both sides to exist. This is accomplished by continually postponing surrendering to temptation, whatever it may be. It is saying ‘later’ instead of ‘no.'”
— Dr. A.C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA

The Sacred Path of life has a middle, a left side, and a right side. As human beings, we are designed to walk this middle path as much as we can. As we walk, we will stray to the left and to the right and come back to the middle. Straying to the left or right side is as sacred as being in the middle. Sometimes we call this straying our mistakes. We are designed by the Creator to walk the Sacred Path of life, and realize that our mistakes are the source of lessons. These lessons give us our wisdom. It is not wrong that we are tempted. What matters is what we do with the temptation.

Great Spirit, today, let me enjoy the Sacred Path of Life

3-7-17 ~ LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard… Anpetu waste I feel awful right now wish this cold would be over, but I got elder Nathaniel on his way to Washington DC. As Sacred Stone water protector arrive in Washington DC to represent protecting the water. I want to thank each and everyone who stood up in prayer against everything that was thrown at them from DAPL, Morton County Governor, State of North Dakota, Cannon Ball District, STST tribal council, BIA police, State Patrol. National Guard, National Park service. The people from Sacred Stone who stood in prayer and we will continue in prayer and civil disobedience for the water. No matter what kind of rumor or lies they put out there we stand for the water we stand for prayer we stand

3-7-17 ~ UPDATE: LEAD HORSE CHOCTAW IS FREE. ALIVE AND WELL… He was freed from Fort Yates Jail. He never gave the authorities his name or signed anything, so he was released as John Doe.

After his release Lead Horse told me he wants to continue to inform people about what happened “with our kidnapping and what would have been my last days here” He also stated “We are fixing our vehicle for travel and may need gas and food funds to make it all the way back east. Right now water protectors we brought will meet us–to help set up and share knowledge of what can happen and prepare. Thanks Spencer for your help. We always move forward together.” #leadhorsechoctaw #freeleadhorse#protectthesacred #defendthesacred #nodapl #standingrock#blackhoopcamp #americanindianmovement #rezpectourwater photo by Nobu Sozuki originally Published with permission

3-7-17 ~ MARCH 4th UPDATE A MESSAGE FROM LEAD HORSE CHOCTAW WHILE IN JAIL AT FORT YATES VOWING TO DIE FOR THE CAUSE… “I would not eat with my enemies–with four days of no food no water I knew I would last about 10 days total. I set my body not to hurt as we journey to the next world, I told my body don’t hurt as we pass that we go in peace, I smiled at the thought at all we have done in our lives for many nations and tribes around the world. I said we go in a good way.” – LEAD HORSE CHOCTAW –Lead Horse was arrested at Ceremonial Grounds during the BIA raid on the Seventh Generation Camp on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Lead Horse was manning the Sacred Fire when he was pepper sprayed and handcuffed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs police and taken away on March 1st. #nodapl #freeleadhorse #standingrock #blackhoopcamp#rezoectourwater #defendthesacred #protectthesacred photo by Nobu Sozuki originally Published with permission

3-7-17 ~ Jamarkis Athabaskan… On the morning of January 19, 2017, the day before Trump’s inauguration, I was shot in my left eye by police at the Backwater Bridge on Highway 1806 just north of the Oceti Oyate Camp outside of Cannonball, ND. The impact from a “non-lethal bean bag round” shattered my cheek bone and orbital wall next to my eye, resulting in loss of my vision, hearing, sense of smell, taste, and touch on the left side of my face. The police officer that shot me was aiming directly at me with the intention to cause serious harm. This video was taken on January 21, after I was found in the hospital in Bismark, ND. My location or news of my injury was not released by the Morton County Sheriff’s Office or the hospital “due to security reasons,” – I believe that the police and hospital were intentionally trying to hide my injury from the public. At the hospital I was handcuffed to the bed after surgery to remove metal pellets from my eye, denied calls to my family, denied water, and kept under armed guard. After my relatives found me, I was immediately released from custody and allowed visitors. The day I was discharged from the hospital, Morton County issued a warrant for my arrest. Under legal advisement, I chose not release this video due to my warrant until I received necessary medical care and my health recovered. As my relatives and Indigenous People from across Turtle Island are traveling to march on Washington D.C., I believe that now is the time to share my story because we must not be afraid and we must share the truth about what this country is doing to Indigenous People and our precious mother water for the existence of next 7 generations. Our struggle is not over, it is just beginning. #WaterisLife #NoDAPL

3-7-17 ~ Larry Eagleheart Broome… The Chicken and the Eagle
There was once a poor farmer who only had a few crops and a chicken coop. One thing he especially loved was the great eagles that lived in a tall tree on his farm. He loved to watch them soar. The female eagle was sitting on eggs and the farmer was very excited.

One day a foolish young man crossed his property line with a gun. He saw the female eagle as she left the nest to exercise her wings for just a minute. He shot and killed her. The farmer was enraged. Although he tried, he could not catch the man. Saddened, he returned to his farm. He thought and thought, “What should I do”?

Finally an idea came. He got a ladder out of the barn and climbed the tree where the eagle nest was. He took two eggs from the nest, immediately brought them to the chicken coup and placed the eggs under a sitting hen…

Time went by and the chicks began to hatch. One of the eagle eggs did not hatch but one did. When the eaglet looked around he saw the mother hen and thought MAMA. He followed the hen and chicks and thought “I am a chicken”…but something inside told him, “I need to be up higher, up there in the sky. But no, I am a chicken…” This went on for a long time until he was grown. He kept thinking, “I need to be up higher, up there in the sky, but no, I am a chicken”.

One day for no reason he decided to hop up on a corral fence. Thinking all the time “I need to be up higher”. He felt the need to spread his wings as far as he could. While he was spreading his wings, a strong wind blew hard and all of a sudden he began to rise; higher and higher until he was soaring high in the sky. From there he could look down on his circumstances as they really were. He thought, “I am not a chicken at all!! I am an eagle and I have eagle eyes for I can see things as they really are”.

The question is: Are you a chicken or an eagle?

But someone may say, “If I am an eagle how do I get where I belong?”

The answer is….

Hold your wings out and wait for the Creator to send His Spirit to blow you where you are supposed to be.
eagleheart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXAx0k600Eo
3-5-17 ~ Barbara Anne Kirkman… “You all talk as if this is the past, well then I suggest you go to ND and take a good look at what has happened at Standing Rock..the 75p0+ people arrested on bogus charges…the 1,000 forced to leave, leaving behind their possessions, many have had their cars confiscated because they were not allowed to take them since the road in and out was under a blockade at both ends…people who cannot leave the sate until they are tried in court..have no place to go, many left with just what was on their backs….and then there was all of the chemicals used on them, or sprayed over the camps at night, and yes, there is proof of this. Many are still ill…many also now have glass lung disease….many gave up everything they had to stand to protect the waters there in Lake Oahe and the Missouri River…More than a thousand made it thru 3 blizzards…well over 600 injured by rubber bullets, bean bags pepper pops, the police aiming for their heads, chest and groin areas…they loved shooting the men in the knees…and the police shot and killed a horse and badly damaged others…the police would come into the camps at night and to snatch and grabs..Planes and helicopters flying over head 24/7..Stadium lights set up to shine directly on the main camp…so much that people do not know about what happened at Standing Rock…and remember this is the second decade of the 21st Century.”

3-5-17 ~ AJ+… Every morning, students in Toronto pay respect to indigenous land and people before singing “O Canada.”

3-5-17 ~ Wasté Win Young… TOMORROW, I’m going to get the papers to file a petition for the removal of our tribal council officials.

The reason why is because they dishonored us and shamed us under the guise of protecting us–disrespecting thousands of allies– especially the Očeti Šakowin who have a treaty right to be here. Also for the theft, misuse/ misappropriation of money and donations that were meant for water protectors. I will swear before a judge (and anyone) what was told to me in August 2016–about getting people to donate to the tribe instead of Sacred Stone.

I know this will bring me more enemies and create hard feelings but how do you think the grass roots people feel? The council allowed a foreign military, BIA, and the ND state patrol to step onto sovereign lands and systematically, physically remove homes and people. This action not only displaced hundreds of people (non-native, indigenous and tribal citizens) but directly caused economic hardship and inflicted great emotional duress & trauma.

(I would also be game to file paperwork to initiate a lawsuit against the state of ND for closing 1806 and police abuse).

I can’t apologize anymore. I still carry those values of respect,–waunsila, wolakota, with me. But I’ve got to do this. It’s time we stood up to our government.

If anyone would like to help or gather signatures in your district let me know.

3-4-17 ~ ‎Spencer Keeton Cunningham‎… MARCH 3rd UPDATE. Lead Horse Choctaw (a man I saw in person speak at Oceti Sakowin camp and saw days before his disappearance) was arrested at Ceremonial Grounds during the raid on the Seventh Generation Camp when the camp was attacked by police. 7th generation camp (also known as black hoop camp) was next to Sacred Stone Camp. Lead Horse was manning the Sacred Fire when he was pepper sprayed and handcuffed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs police.

Lead Horse was then kidnapped by BIA police and taken to the Fort Yates Jail. He is on a hunger strike and told the court he will die there for the cause.

Lead Horse asked for the names of the police when they arrived in camp on March 1, 2017. BIA said earlier that they were only coming into the camps to assess the situation. Lead Horse said in court that he was a Ceremony Keeper, and a peaceful man, and was in a closing Ceremony when the BIA trucks came in to the Ceremony Grounds.

3 people were arrested. They pepper sprayed him and handcuffed him. People had to walk all the way to the Prairie Knights Casino after which is more than 11 miles away.

Seventh Generation, which is Black Hoop Camp, was raided by police on the same day as the original camp, Sacred Stone Camp.

Oceti Sakowin, the large camp, and Sacred Stone Camp were raided and water protectors evicted.
Now evicted and displaced, water protectors are still being welcomed by Harold Frazier of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe camp to continue the defense of the water. Cheyenne River Sioux have continued to open up their Powwow Grounds in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. #freeleadhorse#leadhorsechoctaw #standingrock #nodapl

3-4-17 ~ Digital Smoke Signals… Newly remodeled Pit Stop Gas station owned by Dave Archambault starts 2 days after Sacred Stones trespassing notice, delivered by BIA on request of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Seems like an inappropriate time to do remodeling of GAS Station. While WATER PROTECTORS” Personal belongings are under-siege at Sacred Stones Camp and cannot be retrieved.

Gas station cannot be missed, as it is on the only road out of Sacred Stone camp.
We are documenting on both sides of the pipeline…

COMMENTS:

Tiki Blu ~ This makes my skin itch and my bowels churn!! This is a very ugly “In-Your-Face!” accompanied by a middle finger flip off to all nodapl media, water protectors, land defenders & supporters. With a heavy heart, I am very ashamed of the actions of the chairman of the Standing Rock Tribe. This remodeling of the Pit Stop at this terribly crucial time defines who he really is …..and it is not pretty!!
Debbie Edge ~ Corruption n greed
Mary Najdzion-Gagnon ~ WTF????????????????? WOW…this man has balls!!!! To do this at this time?????? WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Virginia Cappello ~ Do not let history repeat itself..this should never had happen. Reminds me of the 1860s…follow AIM and stand together
Tammy Beau Bordeaux ~ And he said they lost money because of the road block. Looks like we know where all the money they kept went to.

3-4-17 ~ LomaStar Cleveland … Once AGAIN…my sister was suddenly moved from Bismarck to Rugby, ND.
The state of ND insists on moving her abruptly for no apparent reason. We will continue to support her regardless of where she’s at…here is the newest mailing address for our sister…

Red Fawn Fallis
HACTC
110 Industrial Rd
Rugby, ND 58368

There is no message line and she does not have access to the phone like she previously did, so letters or cards are the only form of support as of right now. As always thank U all for the continued support…

3-4-17 ~ Angie Spencer… Apparently Prairie Knights Casino is into #FalseAllegations and #TacticalSuppression as well. Unbelievable that the tribe’s casino would treat Water Protectors so poorly, yet invite the BIA tribal police, armed U.S. Park Rangers, and undercover Federal Agents who are clearing out the camps, into the hotel with open arms. This letter is so bogus, its beyond suspect. Just to be clear, there was never any “incident” it is part of how they are systematically cutting people off from access to resources to encourage people to flee the area. This can be seen in the closing of HWY 1806 and now with the multiple barricades in place in and around the reservation, this is just another form of tactical suppression and blocking of resources which is a tactic within attempts at social control but this time it is within the tribe’s casino itself – which is telling. I was never spoken to about this or asked to leave because no “incident” actually happened. This letter was mailed to my home in Seattle, I just now received it upon arrival home. The reality is, hundreds of Water Protectors and Indigenous people from around the world have been banned from the Prairie Knights Casino now in an effort to make sure they never come back. #StandingRock

3-3-17 ~ Alisha Ali Vincent
LISTEN UP WATER WARRIORS:
I am not one to put faith in rumors. But let us remember that it was Standing Rock Tribal Council who voted to remove all of the camps, including Sacred Stone. I have shared with you that documentation from every step of the process. This was not just a move taken to please the residents of Cannonball. Part of the decision-making process DID include personal vendettas, long-standing family disputes, and petty jealousies.

The current RUMOR is that Sacred Stone will be razed by bulldozer in the coming days. I have zero evidence that this is true. On the other hand, why would we possibly sit around and wait until we receive official confirmation courtesy of someone watching the bulldozers driving down the street?

So… here is my personal plan of action and I hope you will JOIN ME…
Call Chairman Dave Archambault TODAY… 701.854.8500
POLITELY REMIND THEIR OFFICE…
– we came when you asked
– our majority came in a good way
– standing rock youth need hope & help
– DO NOT DESTROY Sacred Stone school
It DOESN’T MATTER if this is rumor or truth. What matters is that we act now and use our voice on this Friday… to step up and speak out as a moral obligation to the Indigenous Youth in Standing Rock that deserve to have these remaining structures benefit THEM. If it is even the slightest of possibilities that bulldozers will disrespect the future use possibilities of these structures… Then we should be acting NOW.
Forward and share please!
This is an action for TODAY, not tomorrow.

3-1-17 ~ Holding A Pipe at Oceti Sakowin Prayer Resistance Camp ==> Met With Live Ammunition
Only 39 years since the 1978 Federal American Indian Religious Freedom Act…
(photo by Unicorn Riot)

https://youtu.be/xgS_EaKaY7M
3-1-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… BIA Federal Police and Park Rangers will NOT allow LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard through the hard barricade on to her own property at Sacred Stone Camp! LaDonna shares her thoughts on the situation just outside the barricade in Cannonball.
Share and spread the word to the World about the injustice of shutting down a Prayer Camp!

3-1-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Breaking News. BIA SUV just went through Sacred Stone Camp and said Final Warning. BIA is “Taking over Cleanup” “Everyone should leave” There is now a Hard Blockade at the Check Point and Park Rangers are not letting Water Protectors back into camp to Clean! Share and spread the word!

NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

INDEX

NEWS ARTICLES ~ STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
VIDEO ARCHIVE ~ STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1WT
POLICE WEAPONRY AND THE ATROCITIES AT STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE JAN. 1, 2017 – FEB. 28, 2017
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1GC
STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE JAN 9, 2017 – OCT. 25, 2016
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
STANDING ROCK CAMPS #WATER IS LIFE
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR
STANDING ROCK HISTORY
http://standingrock.org/history/
TRUSTED NEWS SOURCES ~ STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
HOW YOU CAN HELP STANDING ROCK #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG

Orgenetic Healing

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

Healing: (per Google Dictionary)
Noun: the process of making or becoming sound or healthy again.
“the gift of healing”

Adjective: tending to heal; therapeutic.
“a healing experience”
Healing: (per Dr. Julie)

A total experience encompassing all aspects of our being: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual such that we are brought into greater and greater alignment with our Creator so that best expression of the unlimited nature of love and life can be fully expressed in every part of our lives, such that we can participate in our families, communities and world with compassion and strength.

I, like most trained in medicine have vacillated through the years between believing in this kind of total restoration and shying back to the “safety” of solid medical science. Perhaps I could more precisely say: I have looked for demonstration of the totality of healing within the realm of the physical first and all other aspects of self, second.

However, in my own healing journey and in the process of supporting and coaching others on theirs, I have learned we cannot confine ourselves to observations of physical change as our moniker of how successful a healing process is. It limits, leaving us to feel abandoned and let down when physical things don’t shift or change, and can blind us to bigger healings happening all the time. I think, nowhere in my professional experience has this been more poignantly demonstrated than in DNA Activations, as I have for much of this time, relegated proclamations of change with large regard to the physical and much smaller regard to everything else.

But this was a mistake, or rather an oversight, largely enacted because it is nearly impossible to quantify non-physical healing aka Spiritual Healing. Every time we venture there, people get shy about their proclamations, stating them demurely, or with a disclaimer that it could all be coincidence or maybe even just a natural unfolding because of all other healing modalities they have endeavored on in their life. The thing is, in most of our cases, we have indeed been working towards this our entire lives, all the work we did certainly does play a part and all the effort we put in is paying off because for the first time, the core language speaking at our root is not muffled, hindered or altered by the “rust” of everything we have unwittingly carried forward.

I am as guilty of this as anyone, in the past, when I have been asked what has changed, I searched my mind for the physical unfoldment I experienced: reduction in pain, or disappearance of a particular pattern. I have never said what is really the truest and most life altering: my marriage is better than ever because we both have been able to drop the interlopers which sometimes spoke for us, my relationships with my children are stronger, no longer bound by perceived, learned or societally demonstrated roles and thus are honest, compassionate and truthful in ways I could have never imagined, my truth with myself is no longer hindered by guilt, or shame or self-objectification. I feel heard, and loved, and guided and supported from the inside out, and I feel proud to be me.

What is true is this type of healing gives me unfettered access to participate with myself in means and ways to heal anything else I need to heal. It gives me ways to move and eat, to supplement and nourish without basing those decisions on fear, guilt, pain, or worry. Which means that my physical restoration is unfolding in certainty now that it can be guided by the language of my Creator speaking from within rather than the language of fear, societal impression and social pressure coming from outside.

I couldn’t have understood this when I started venturing into DNA Activations, I couldn’t have even understood this during my first, or second, or third or even my fourth activation, because I was still unfolding, still removing the “rust”, I am now, almost 9 months out from the final day of my fourth activation, and my perspective continues to grow, as does my Healing, as does my Health. One truth remains strong and serves as my guiding force: It is all Spiritual, and to want it to be anything but is to diminish the potential of what is possible. In truth, I am walking out the path that my Creator has lovingly placed me on, as are you, as are we all, and there is no template for what that looks like, our only objective is to keep being willing to honor and live our truth, beauty and compassionate action as best we can, every day and this will bring I believe, restoration beyond imagining.

www.origenetichealing.com

Now That I’ve Got Your Attention

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

So this morning I find a message from someone on my private Facebook Messages… I get those pretty frequently from unknown somebody’s, mostly trolls looking to hook up with some of my followers to start the all too frequent troll baiting exercise they’re so fond of; however this woman, Dharmika Judy Henshel approached me differently, her message grabbed my attention along with an invitation to her website and would I consider linking our sites to share knowledge. Clicking the link provided I realized she was similarly like-minded in her search for truth in media.

What I discovered while perusing the 7 menu and assorted sub-menu tabs were interviews, videos, photos, and articles supporting Indigenous 1st Nations at the various Standing Rock Camps; a comprehensive account of events and research data separately categorized into pages consisting of various subject matter, including but not limited to 1st Nation Treaty Rights vs. Big Oil, the history of predatory illegal land grabbing i.e. Eminent Domain; legal and medical litigation, environmental, and cultural information, policing without due process and freedom to peacefully assemble.

You’ll find a compilation of information not contained on Let Our Voices Echo so I’d like to invite everyone to utilize both websites when hunting for that lost article, photo or video, editorial content, educational research material or your everyday PhD thesis!

#NODAPL ARCHIVE – STANDING ROCK WATER PROTECTORS
nodaplarchive.com

Mni Wiconi

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.
 
 

  INDEX
 
 
 
NEWS ARTICLES ~ STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
VIDEO ARCHIVE ~ STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1WT
POLICE WEAPONRY AND THE ATROCITIES AT STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE JAN. 1, 2017 – FEB. 28, 2017
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1GC
STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE JAN 9, 2017 – OCT. 25, 2016
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
STANDING ROCK HISTORY
http://standingrock.org/history/
WITHOUT WATER WE CAN NOT EXIST
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
STANDING ROCK CAMPS #WATER IS LIFE
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR
TRUSTED NEWS SOURCES ~ STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
HOW YOU CAN HELP STANDING ROCK #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG

Broken Treaties Stolen Land

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

An informed opinion demands familiarity with both sides of an issue. Let’s start from the beginning; this was land belonging to Indigenous from time immemorial; Native lands and Reservations are not synonymous. In 1851 land was guaranteed to the Sioux Nation. Keep in mind not all that land is part of the Reservation, but IT IS Native Land. Guess where the pipeline is? It’s in the lands that were guaranteed, but not part of the Reservation. So DAPL’s claim the pipeline doesn’t run through the reservation is true, but it has nothing to do with the whole truth, in other words DAPL is lying by omission. When you actually take the time to read the 1851 Treaty, you’ll realize the treaty has been ignored and violated over and over again. Pro-DAPL wants law and order right? The treaty IS the law. The treaty was never rescinded; it’s Native land, PERIOD. So when they’re talking about the property rights of the pipeline, DAPL doesn’t have any, can’t argue that, they’ve got to respect the law, the property rights, the treaty. Energy Transfer Partners NEVER got permission from the tribe, they have NO PROPERTY RIGHTS; it’s that simple.

First, the 1851 treaty the tribe is fighting to keep. The pipeline crosses that land….. Two, the 90 feet underwater crossing is under the water supply for the tribe no matter where the intake is. The new intake is downstream. Given a leak under water, and the oil floats to the surface entrapping itself through the column of water. It could be days or weeks before anyone even notices, which means a great deal of pollution such as we witnessed in the Gulf of Mexico takes place before anything can be done. Especially since the oil in the pipe will first saturate the soil and later the water column. Lots of oil in that pipe with no way really to recover it until it all surfaces….. Third, and is sorely missing from the multitude of words, is the wildlife endangered. The Natives do consider the wildlife, and it would be nice if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did too. But then the FWS have pretty much sold out to extractive industries and stood by silently as fish and wildlife in the US continues to be decimated…… So anyone disputing these facts including DAPL needs to go back to the drawing board, because no one in their right mind trusts the government to protect the waters.

Signed on April 29, 1868 at Fort Laramie in the Wyoming Territory, guaranteeing the Lakota ownership of the Black Hills, and further land and hunting rights in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. The Powder River Country was to be henceforth closed to all whites.

Public Law 85-915 85-916 and 85-923 September 2, 1958 | [H. R. 12662] 72 Stat. 1762
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/vol6/html_files/v6p0861.html
passed by the U.S. Congress, compensating the Standing Rock Sioux for tribal land flooded ten years prior to form Lake Oahe. Rights to all minerals below the lake were reserved for the tribe. Because of this, no corporate or government entity has a right to dig beneath the lake without permission of the tribe and is breaking the law in attempting it.

Public Law 85-915 An Act to provide for the acquisition of lands by the United States required for the reservoir created by the construction of Oahe Dam on the Missouri River and for rehabilitation of the Indians of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota and North Dakota, and for other purposes.

Public Law 85-916 An Act to provide for additional payments to the Indians of the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation, South Dakota, whose lands have been acquired for the Fort Randall Dam and Reservoir project, and for other purposes. Public Law 85-923 An Act to provide for additional payments to the Indians of the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation, South Dakota, whose lands have been acquired for the Fort Randall Dam and Reservoir project, and for other purposes.

The drilling pad is on unceded territory (land never surrendered, relinquished or handed over in any way) of the Sioux Nation. The federal government acknowledged this as well as admitting the Sioux Nation never took the $108 million offered in 1944, which the fed’s put in a trust fund which has accrued interest and is now worth $1.3 billion. The Sioux are still saying “No thanks, we don’t want your money we want our land.” There is also additional land the government ceased from 1948 to 1953 for the construction of the Oahe Dam. In 1999 and 2000 congressional studies recommended the land be given back to the Sioux. The Dept. of Energy can return the land at any time and empty the trust fund for a sizable investment profit.

Now don’t try and argue the tribe ignored the meetings because all of the so called missed meetings were not missed. It was just reported as so. Nations would show up (all that is required) and be ignored and tromped over in favor of the pipeline. Multiple closed meetings. The 2007 Resolution by Standing Rock, which prohibited any pipeline in the treaty area, and not only that, scheduled meetings were moved without mention or notice, how we were told we couldn’t speak when bringing attention to various agenda’s yet not allowed to.

2014 Recorded meeting specifically stated by Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II that while the pipeline crosses less than a mile north of the reservation boundary, the tribe recognizes its treaty boundaries and passed a resolution in 2012 opposing pipelines within the those boundaries. http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/audio-tribe-objected-to-pipeline-nearly-years-before-lawsuit/article_51f94b8b-1284-5da9-92ec- 7638347fe066.html Even though The Bismarck Tribune has scrubbed the article, they are as complicit as Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier and Governor Jack Dalrmple. However “Meet the Youth; at the Heart of the Standing Rock Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline – Internet USA News Today”
https://youtu.be/KEQGclBLEg8
had the recording, you would have found it at approximately the 13 minute mark, however, this video too has now been scrubbed. Dave Archambault was very specific in the tribes stance against the pipeline.

The 1st, 2nd, 4th and 14th Amendments Rights have been infringed upon, ignored and violated and Bivens Actions, which the Supreme Court holds as a violation of one’s Fourth Amendment rights by federal officers are giving rise to a federal cause of action for damages for unlawful searches and seizures. Additionally Congress enacted 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in order to protect the rights guaranteed to all Americans by the 14th Amendment. Under Section 1983, a victim can file a lawsuit in federal court for police brutality.

Are those Amendments and rules of now void? As a US citizen, do YOU still have those constitutional rights? I’m sure you’d agree you’re concerned with your own rights being infringed upon, ignored and violated, right? So why are you willing to throw Indigenous rights away? How long do you think it will take before another group will come along and throw YOUR rights away? By ignoring the rights of other’s you’re giving silent consent to having your own rights violated. You do realize you’re actually advocating to abolish all the constitutional right afforded every US Citizen, including yourself, but you’re okay with that, right? You see you’re playing your part in the time honored tradition of getting rid of the people you find less than. Next year when you hear people complain about what happened at Standing Rock, don’t claim you “didn’t have anything to do with it, you’re tired of being blamed for your ancestors transgressions”, because your complicity and silence, ignoring the whole historical evidence-based argument is as much your fault as it is of your forefathers.

1852
3 weeks of negotiating homelands, areas and how to conduct relations with the Federal Government. In 1852 the end the treaty was ratified by the US Senate by recognizing 12 tribes of the owners of a little over 1.1 million sq. miles of the west enveloping twelve western states and corral the future cities of Denver and Fort Collins, Kansas City, Billings, Cheyenne and Sheridan, Cody and Bismarck, Salt Lake City, Omaha and Lincoln, Sioux Falls and Des Moines, within one vast territory that was owned, as it had been since time immemorial, by Indian nations.

The treaty defines Sioux territory as across the Missouri River from the west bank to the east bank including the low water mark down the east bank. This treaty has been in effect for over 164 years.

On September 17, twenty-one chiefs representing the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Assiniboine signed the Horse Creek Treaty. Both sides agreed to the government’s right to “form roads and establish military posts” in Indian territory; terms for maintaining peace and for assigning reparations for losses on either side; indemnity for any prior destruction caused by the emigrants; The United States would give each tribe $50,000 worth of supplies and gifts annually to each tribe for damages; in return for safe passage and the right to establish military forts along the trails. In addition to these payments the often nomadic tribes agreed to make peace among themselves and honor traditional hunting grounds for winter and summer camps. On Sept. 17 all parties signed the treaty. Of course. Congress unilaterally reduced the terms of the treaty the following year from 50 years to 10 years.

The Horse Creek Treaty was considered a legally binding international treaty that was not to be broken. However, the U.S. government soon failed to fulfill its promises. It did not protect the hunting grounds and it increasingly demanded more land from the Indians. The young braves were impatient and angry seeing their lands shrink and their people sinking in hopelessness. In 1854, tension erupted into warfare at a large Brulé village near Fort Laramie, where 4,000 natives awaited their overdue government annuities – the annual payments due them under the 1851 Treaty.

By 1864 the treaty was no longer being honored by either party, and the breakdown of the treaty contributed to the “Indian Wars of the 1870s-1890s”.

A new treaty at Fort Laramie was written in 1868. This treaty was to bring peace between the Whites and the Sioux who agreed to settle within the Black Hills reservation in the Dakota Territory. The United States recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, set aside for exclusive use by the Sioux people. In 1874, however, General George A. Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills accompanied by miners who were seeking gold.

The United States would continue its battle against the Sioux in the Black Hills until the government confiscated the land in 1877. To this day, ownership of the Black Hills remains the subject of a legal dispute between the U.S. government and the Sioux.

TREATY OF FORT LARAMIE (1868)
ARTICLES OF A TREATY MADE AND CONCLUDED BY AND BETWEEN
http://tinyurl.com/h6lnjaf

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
1 quart of oil contaminates 250,000 gallons of water. Methane de-aerates the water.
In 2 Years, Energy Transfer Partners, the company Behind DAPL Reported 69 Accidents, Polluting Rivers in 4 States. The report lists 42 oil spills, 11 natural gas spills, nine gasoline spills, three propane spills, two “other” spills and two “unknown” spills. The 69 accidents led to eight injuries and five evacuations. There were 220 ‘Significant’ Pipeline Spills in 2016, more than 176,000 gallons of oil spilled in western North Dakota in Dec. 2016 alone.

There are 2.5 million miles of pipe, 55% of the U.S. network i.e. 135,000 miles are more than 45 years old. Based on data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the number of significant pipeline incidents grew 26.8 % from 2006 to 2015. A significant incident is defined as one that results in serious injury or fatality, costs more than $50,000, releases more than five barrels of volatile fluids such as gasoline or 50 barrels of other liquids, or results in a fire or explosion. In 2015, there were 326 such incidents—almost one per day. Of 466 incidents studied only 22 percent, or 105, were detected by advanced detection systems, ALL others were found in different ways, with the public finding 99 of the leaks.

Since 2010, over 3,330 incidents of crude oil and liquefied natural gas leaks or ruptures have occurred on U.S. pipelines. These incidents have killed 80 people, injured 389 more, and cost $2.8 billion in damages…. Dec. 13, 2016 Colorado a 6-inch fiberglass gathering line (byproduct of oil and gas extraction) pipeline leaked into local water in Saul’s Creek which is an intermittent stream flowing into Beaver Creek which meets the Los Pinos River shutting down 17 wells and an earthen dam, AND on Wed. Jan. 25, 2017 a 12-inch underground pipeline initially spotted in a farm field in north-central Worth County, Iowa leaked nearly 140,000 gallons of diesel. Feb. 7, 2017 an 8-inch pipeline owned by Hilcorp Alaska, LLC began leaking natural gas which is dissolving in the water. Feb. 16, 2016 in North-Central Iowa a 12” pipeline bursts and spilled over 130,000 gallons of diesel, Feb. 22, 2017 Hanlontown, Iowa, the Magellan Pipeline leaked 138,600 gallons of diesel fuel and Feb. 23, 2017 a six-inch line operated by Belle Fourche Pipeline leaked into the river northwest of Belfield in Billings County. By the time it was shut down, oil had traveled about 2.5 miles down the river. Or what about the Feb. 7, 2017 Hilcorp 8-inch undersea pipeline leaking at a rate between 210,000 and 310,000 cubic feet of gas a day, so don’t attempt to tell me how safe pipelines are. Creating a second Flint Michigan and killing people with environmental waste is not the way to make America great.

Map Displays Five Years of Oil Pipeline Spills http://tinyurl.com/j598jjs

America’s Dangerous Pipelines https://youtu.be/3rxqUXqPzog

When researching the routing of DAPL a PER CAP IMPACT INDICATOR and PROJECT THRESHOLDS STATISTICAL OBSERVANCE of how many people would be affected by a leak north of Bismarck the PER CAP IMPACT INDICATOR stated Bismarck had a relatively large amount of people who would be affected, however the number of people affected by a leak in Lake Oahe was listed as zero. What this means they felt is there was not one single person out of 18 million people who would be directly affected WHEN the pipeline breaks who were even considered.

The questions not asked were: How would the Dakota Access Pipeline be different from other pipelines? How a will leak impact the soil? How long is it expected to take before it starts leaking? Being under Lake Oahe how long before someone even notices the leak?

Every time the earth is drilled, she cries a little tear…

https://youtu.be/2PQkz6ozRIs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XitK5mcL0PI

https://youtu.be/8FDt180GgO0

 
 
News Articles and Updates ~ Oceti Sakowin
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
You Tube Video Archive ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
How You Can Help Standing Rock? #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG
Standing Rock history
http://standingrock.org/history/
Without Water We Can Not Exist
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
Stories from the Frontlines ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
Atrocities at Standing Rock and Police Weaponry
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
Trusted News Sources ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
Standing Rock Camps #Water Is Life
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR

Stories From the Frontline Jan. 1 thru Feb. 28, 2017

Photo Essay 1904-1924 ‘The North American Indian’
Born on a Wisconsin farm in 1868, Edward Sheriff Curtis grew up to become a commercial photographer in Seattle. In 1895 he photographed Princess Angeline, the daughter of the Duwamish chief Seattle, for whom the city was named. That encounter sparked Curtis’ lifelong fascination with the cultures and lives of Native American tribes. He soon joined expeditions to visit tribes in Alaska and Montana. In 1906, Curtis was approached by wealthy financier J.P. Morgan, who was interested in funding a documentary project on the indigenous people of the continent. They conceived a 20-volume series, called The North American Indian. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/noajnr7

2-26-17 ~ White Wolf Pack… Powerful Photos of the final hours at Standing Rock
The Oceti Sakowin camp was the largest of several temporary camps on the northern edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Protectors have been living on this land for months, in support of members of the Standing Rock Sioux.

The North Dakota Joint Information Center reports that 46 people were arrested. Others left the camp voluntarily throughout the day, according to a news release from the center.
Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/j5cuxxl

2-26-17 ~ ‎Andrea Zanardi‎
Okay.. Yes..
The enemy is great.
The enemy reinforced the ramparts and became more aggressive.
Waving like a flag his power for frighten us.
So what should we do? forget it? Let them do?
Remain silent? Leave our home with tail between the legs?
And what to say to our brothers and sisters who have sacrificed?
What to do of the tears, the pain suffered and the shed blood?
Think about the paradox of this struggle:
the enemy has deployed hordes of police, soldiers, National Guards.
Missing only the Marines and the Navy Seals. For what?
To counter a peaceful people movement and unarmed. Surreal.
The enemy knows only this language. Just this!
But we do not. We have different ways to go.
After a losing battle remain two things:
At first, the anger and the pain that he had to back away.
And then the pride and the desire for justice that do raise and continue the fight.
We are able to learn from everything .. it is victory or defeat.
In recent months we have learned a lot and we will treasure it all.
Sooner or later all the chickens come home to roost .. the rope eventually breaks.
And while they are still on their static certainties,
we grow and there we spread.
The enemy fights for base money.
We are fighting for human rights.
The difference is great and sooner or later events show which fight is more important.
Hug the Brothers and Sisters who have paid the price of this battle.
I can only promise that: We don’t give up! They can make us back away, they can hit us,
They can pretend that we take the despair.
But if they think this, then they have not understood anything.
They can try to stop those who fight for a just cause,
but the Revolution .. The Change .. are Unstoppable!
We take a breath, we take care of the wounds, we remain united and ready for the next step.
Surrender is not an option.
Hoka Hey, beloved Brothers and Sisters!..

2-26-17 ~ Tee Dub… To anyone who had made it to camp you would know how truly a special place it was. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”
#STILLHEREPROTECTING #WEWILLRISE #WATERIZLIFE

2-26-17 ~ I ILM Team San Francisco, CA … (Standing Rock, ND) Kate Arrington was arrested last night by Federal GFP officers at the prairie Knights casino.

Kate is what the water protectors are calling a keyboard warrior as she worked diligently on covering the events at Standing Rock and pushing media out from her hotel room at Prairie Knights Casino and Resort. Kate is well known in the Water Protector community and many are wondering why this mother, daughter and sister was arrested as her role in Standing Rock is providing the public with valid and factual information VIA Facebook and other media outlets. Her friends say she hasn’t done anything wrong besides covering standing Rock as media.

As the days role onward media in Standing Rock fear their rights may be violated by the militia police presence in and around Standing Rock.

What does one do when law no longer protects us as citizens of the United States and what does one do to protect themselves against illegal arrests and raids?

We will provide more information as it comes available.
ILM Team
San Francisco, CA

2-26-17 ~ Jana Stone… Our vision with the Rise of the 7th Generation/Blackhoop camp was to provide a safe space for fleeing refugees from the other camps, to at least rest a bit before their next move, and we succeeded in that, at least for awhile. But tribal land ownership is fractioned and complicated and we’re not totally legal to be here after all. We will be after probate on Thursday but the raid is tomorrow. We feel sure that’s why our eviction notice was originally 10 days but was soon shrunk to 5. DAPL’s influence is far reaching.

So, now we are to be the refugees, again, alongside all these other traumatized folks. We came to protect the water and indigenous rights, and we sure shed a lot of light on both. We are invited to join Sacred Stone as well as CRST, but we don’t know what we will do. We’re tired. Our trucks are broke.

The Humvees arrived at the barricade late last night. The wolves are near.

https://youtu.be/ChtRrRMWtn4
2-26-17 ~ NATIVE AMERICANS RESPOND TO #YESDAPL – 411 Truth

2-25-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Propane tanks used for heat are being banned at Sacred Stone Camp. Also water is being limited. Rosebud has a real militarized presence now!

Hours ago BIA blocked propane delivery used for heating at Sacred Stone Camp at their barricaded checkpoint. Reports of one water jug per person coming in. Feds including Park Rangers are all over the area. Rosebud Camp is now currently under what looks like a military occupation with the same vehicles used in the Oceti Oyate Camp Raid.

Invading a prayer camp would be shameful but when has that stopped the colonizers.

When have they listened to prayer?

I watched them destroy an inipi (Lakota Sweatlodge) from he hill up on Rosebud less than an hour after a grandmother was arrested praying outside it after not being able to finish her prayers.

I hope they listen to the prayers everyone is sending but I fear they will not.

2-25-17 ~ Hector Lavalle… “The 35-page legal analysis of the pipeline’s potential environmental risks and its impact on treaty rights of the Standing Rock Sioux and other indigenous tribes was authored in December by then-Interior Department Solicitor Hilary C. Tompkins, an Obama appointee who was — at the time — the top lawyer in the department.

“The government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Tribes calls for enhanced engagement and sensitivity to the Tribes’ concerns,” Tompkins wrote. “The Corps is accordingly justified should it choose to deny the proposed easement.”

Tompkins’ opinion was dated Dec. 4, the same day the Obama administration announced that it was denying an easement for the controversial crossing and initiating an environmental impact statement that would explore alternative routes for the pipeline. Tompkins did not respond to a request by ABC News to discuss her analysis or the decision made to withdraw it.”

2-25-17 ~ Julie Kurylowicz … BIA preparing for blockade to #SacredStoneCamp 2/25 This report : Propane Delivery person to Sacred Stone relaying what BIA checkpoint person said. No Propane Delivery allowed tomorrow as scheduled because both Sacred Stone and new 7 Generation camps to be cleared 2/26 . Let us not forget that ,apart from anything else, LaDonna was given permission and blessings to open Sacred Stone Camp last April by SRST Council,now the same people partnering with BIA.all federal agencies to bring this Shame upon their own people and allies. This divide and conquer is the oldest war tactic there is,but they UNDERESTIMATE the power of this movement. #BoycottNorthDakota Now.

2-24-17 ~ Alison Rossiter … “They just showed they can change the rules at anytime to suit them, they just showed stuff what’s right, we want it sorry rules have changed to suit us and get people excited about money and jobs, greed has taken over pipes will break because they have shown what they want greed. Compassion is what needed and stand for what is right is what is important, kids family and people will remember and not forget what treacherous act you have done to many good and peaceful families that lived there shame on you, the people will not forget and our generation will grow with caution not trust in what the law has proceeded to consciously go ahead even though it is completely wrong. You may as well not own your homes or stand up for what is right because if they want it they will take it they are evil” Alison Rossiter

2-24-17 ~ The White House lies AGAIN.
“The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reacted to yesterday’s false claims by White House Press Secretary Spicer that “our team has been in contact with all the parties involved” and also claimed that “we are constantly in touch with them” regarding the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL).

In fact, no one from the Administration has contacted the tribe according to a press statement sent to Native News Online this morning regarding issue. The tribe maintains Spicer twice lied about the President’s promise to negotiate a solution between Tribes and Energy Transfer Partners.

“NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. THESE ARE LIES ON TOP OF LIES. MY TEAM CONTACTED THE NEW ADMINISTRATION AT ALL LEVELS ONLY TO HAVE MEETINGS AND CONFERENCE CALLS CANCELLED AT THE LAST MINUTE,” SAYS CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX TRIBAL CHAIRMAN HAROLD FRAZIER. #NoDAPL ” – International Indigenous Unity Flag. Access here:

https://youtu.be/FCRHcFqpEtI

2-24-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Breaking News: BIA is invading Rosebud Camp! Share!! 20 trucks entering main gate: BIA has full control of Rosebud Camp, 2nd camp raided today.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier calls for the end of the BIA!
Send Prayers of Strength!
Share with the world the truth!

2-24-17 ~ Chase Iron Eyes. … Drilling complete under Missouri River reports DAPL, 43 days early…

https://youtu.be/xH9ZAgv8ZzM

2-24-17 ~ Digital Smoke Signals Myron Dewey… Yesterday’s events were difficult to document and witness, the independent media teams on the ground worked to make sure the narrative was told properly. While the camp was invaded by excessive military presence the drill pad was working away.

2-24-17 ~ Jordan Chariton … #NoDAPL BREAKING: North Dakota oil police owed $30 million in overtime…pricey business brutalizing unarmed people w/ militarized weapons on behalf on an oil company (who has publicly offered to pay overtime costs).

2-25-17 ~ Andrea Zanardi‎ … I hoped would not end this way.
Deep down I knew that, despite the great heart and great courage, evil would win. And ‘so it was.

Evil has bitten the brake, waited patient and then exploded in all its violence, vulgar, trampling Rights, Justice and Intelligence. Has burned, has crashed and destroyed .. slapped freedom and smothered in blood and tears a whole people.

Peaceful protests are as crystal: beautiful, fascinating and stimulating as extremely and sadly fragile.

Peaceful protests, to get results, take time and opponents with common sense, logical skills and a modicum of humanity.

Unfortunately, in the specific case of North Dakota, the time was not enough .. and the opponent was none other than a rabid monster, able to use only violence and money to achieve their personal goals.

You can not reason with those who are unable to communicate .. you can not deal with those who impose their will by threatening and military force .. you can not extend the hands to those who just want ammanettarle .. you can not explain your reasons to who do you tip him a weapon ready to shoot you.

Hard to talk to those who don’t listen .. difficult to show alternatives to those who can’t see beyond their nose .. hard to find meeting points with those who only know the language of violence.

In recent months, my brothers and my sisters in Standing Rock, showed a myopic world courage and self-sacrifice out of the ordinary .. have withstood the infamous militia of the government, the senseless violence, the unjustified arrests and cold winter and ruthless.
In recent days it has consumed the sad final momentary (?) of this History page.
I’m hurt to see our world remain silent and walk towards a shitty future like nothing had happened .. insensitive to the sacrifices made and the true values.

My heart is destroyed, tears in his eyes and the soul closer to my brothers and my sisters.
But there is still alive anger and hope that this struggle remains exemplary and is repeated in every place where the arrogance of power tries to trample on Human Rights.
Standing Rock has planted a seed.
Grow something.

https://youtu.be/rcWjv3RznBA
2-24-17 ~ Faces and voices from the stand at Standing Rock – Reveal

2-24-17 ~ Natalie Finch… In Loving Memory of the Oceti Sakowin encampment at Standing Rock 2016 – Feb 22, 2017

2-24-17 ~ Rob Wilson Photography… A Water Protector praying on the bank of the Cannon Ball River in front of the line of Riot Police that completed the takeover of the Oceti Sakowin Camp.

2-24-17 ~ Saul David Madrigal … It has been sad day for America. Welcome to the police state. You will follow your orders or be imprisoned and beaten if you resist. You have no rights. There are no laws that protect you. You are here to prop up the rich, your masters, your overlords.

We had unarmed civilians standing up for their rights, their treaty lands, the water, the air, with lethal weapons pointed at them. Journalists with credentials were walked off in hand cuffs. A civilian waiting for a tow truck on a public highway threatened by armed military personnel and militarized police in riot gear. There were groups of unarmed civilians, forced onto unstable ice over a river as swat teams cattle them.

The Standing Rock movement has indirectly created a training ground for the implementation of Marshal Law, for the police state, for the NWO. We have National Guard, federal and state law enforcement personnel and equipment from multiple states. They have been brainwashed and trained to follow orders and dehumanize those who stand against tyranny. They do not realize that they are on the same side of history as the Nazis in Germany. They are deaf, blind, dumb, and born to follow.

The mistake they made, however, was that while driving blindly towards us with all their force, they woke the world up and a new Army of protectors has risen. An Army who will never back down, for we know, the future of civilization depends on us. The time for rest is over. Every able minded and able bodied person alive on this planet today must take action, NOW. Find out what you are good at and perfect it and then teach your neighbor or friend. We can take back control, but it will take every single one of us, working tirelessly and supporting each other.
Game on.
Saul David Madrigal

2-24-17 ~ Energy transfer partners in a court document claims now that the drilling for the Dakota Access Pipeline is finished.

This is 43 days before their projected finish date of 60 more days needed to drill. They were projected to finish somewhere around April 8th if the drilling did commence on February 8th. This may be proof and it is a strong possibility that they were illegally drilling in times before the easement was granted. They claim they can lay the Pipeline under the river and have oil flowing by march 6th – April 1st.

The Standing Rock Sioux, Cheyanne River Sioux, and Oglala Sioux Tribes all have pending court dates suing Energy Transfer partners and DAPL. On February 27th the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe have a hearing in Washington DC about their temporary restraining order to stop drilling based on the religious freedom and restoration act and the American Indian religious freedom act. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is suing Energy Transfer Partners and DAPL on the basis of upholding the national historic preservation act, the tribal conservational provisions act and the Environmental Policy Act.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe is suing on the basis of the adequacy of the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and whether or not the Trump administration was arbitrary and wrongfully discarded the EIS all together to allow the drilling to continue. The Yankton Sioux Tribe is expected to file a lawsuit as well to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.
This fight is not over ! As Chase IronEyes stated earlier today. We must adapt. There are still the Sacred Stone and the Black Hoop camp remaining. They can’t stop us. #nodapl #standingrock

2-24-17 ~ Mashugashon Mesha Camp… “The next few days the media will focus on the trash and clean up at camp. The government would not let us clean up. They will make it ugly when the reality is if they had given us another week camp would be cleaned and everyone would have been moved … it was so unrealistic to not give the extra time. The mud after the snow melt was so deep .. So please please do not buy into their narrative..” – Mashugashon Mesha Camp

2-24-17 ~ ‎Isaac Ames‎ … Take heart my relatives, you are not alone and never will be again.

As I write this I reflect on the past few months, they’ve been cold and they’ve been difficult at times, not everyone agreed on the path and each chose their own according to their heart. There was conflict but that doesn’t matter anymore, what we have is a bond that can never be broken. Let us lift each other up in prayer, appreciation, and thankfulness. I do not agree with the path chosen by law enforcement, but I will pray for them as well. I will pray that their hearts will be turned one day and they will learn to walk the Red Road with all of us.

Take heart my relatives, you are not alone and never will be again.

Personally I would like to mention Jameson Dargen being the last holding ground at Oceti, sitting on a roof, holding the North Dakota flag, and not coming down until he decided to. He didn’t fight or antagonize; only engaged in peaceable protest and communication. That was his stand and I will always be honored to call him friend.

Take heart my relatives, you are not alone and never will be again.

One fire has been extinguished, but millions more are being ignited from it and from each that burns inside everyone of us; and one fire can ignite a wildfire that is unquenchable that can spread across nations and beyond oceans of distance and time.

Take heart my relatives, you are not alone and never will be again.

Regardless of circumstances, we have each other and those we’ve never met, those we may never meet. Regardless of what comes tomorrow, we have today. We have our love for the sacred and respect for it, this can never be taken from us.

Take heart my relatives, you are not alone and never will be again.

You are life, you are love, and you are everything you ever dreamed to be. From now until your last days, remember, you stood on a good side of history.

Take heart my relatives, you are not alone and never will be again.
Mni Wiconi.

Photos courtesy of Myron Dewey
2-24-17 ~ Linda Black Elk… Border Patrol being used to intimidate and monitor the Indigenous people of this land….this is almost too ironic for words. He has a weapon

2-24-17 ~ Tom Goldtooth … The following is a statement by Tom Goldtooth, the Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network:

“We are appalled by today’s forced evacuations of indigenous people at the Camp at Standing Rock, they are a violent and unnecessary infringement on the constitutional right of water protectors to peacefully protest and exercise their freedom of speech. It hinders the camp cleanup process and creates confusion and chaos that puts the Missouri River at risk of pollution from construction and camping debris.

“Today’s expulsion is a continuation of a centuries old practice, where the U.S. Government forcefully removes Indigenous people from our lands and territories. We urge supporters of the water protectors to continue to resist this travesty by organizing mass mobilizations, distributed actions, speaking out against the violations of the Treaty rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Seven Council Fires of the Great Sioux Nation, and continuing to source up the capacity for litigation and grassroots organizing against the Dakota Access pipeline.

“Our hearts are not defeated. The closing of the camp is not the end of a movement or fight, it is a new beginning. They cannot extinguish the fire that Standing Rock started. It burns within each of us. We will rise, we will resist, and we will thrive. We are sending loving thoughts to the water protectors along the banks of the Cannonball River, today. May everyone be as safe as can be. #noDAPL”

2-24-17 ~ Lyla June and Jodi Archambault Gillette are both correct. We scored a major victory on Feb 22-23 but the war is not over.
Why is it a victory?
Vietnam fighting in pajamas went up against the greatest super power on Earth and won. The USA had greater fire power and never lost a single battle, yet they lost the war. How can that be?

In war is that we have a condition called “moral authority”. The USA claims that they have the moral authority to fight communism because it was evil. They lost the moral authority when Americans start seeing dead children and women bombed and killed by the Americans. Also, the public was against the soldiers coming home dead in a war they did not want to participate in.

The USA had declared victory but during the Tet offensive that image of victory was shattered when troops poured into the capital city of Vietnam.

They pulled out of the war shortly after because public opinion and protests were crippling the America economy. The USA had lost their moral authority.

Victory at Standing Rock?
Flash forward to Standing Rock. When troops, armor vehicles and militarized police rolled into Standing Rock to arrest little old ladies, unarmed people in prayer and to occupy Treaty lands, the USA lost their “moral authority”. All mainstream media and alternative media covered it.

People all over the world are now even more outraged about the mistreatment of indigenous peoples.

This is the beginning of the end of Dakota Access Pipeline. Even if they finish the pipeline and oil flows through it, all the banks, governments and USA that support the pipelines will be crippled by the people of the world taking out the anger on the USA.

The USA has always claimed “moral authority” to be the heart and soul of the world. They preach that American capitalism is the best. How many people around the world and in the USA believe this narrative anymore?

Next Steps?
The Great Sioux Nation is well on its way to victory.
– 350 to 700 indigenous nations have come together
– indigenous issues are at the forefront of the world stage
– water, land and treaty rights are in the forefront
– injustice for indigenous peoples and oppressed peoples are in alliance with one another
– the USA moral authority is no longer existent for pipelines

Unity?
The SRST tribal council are not the enemy and the water protectors are not the enemy. The enemy is ETP, DAPL, banks and the system that supports their oppression.
Just a reminder that the fight is not over. The SRST still needs our full support to fight the battle in the courts and elsewhere. We may be judging the Chairman too harshly without knowing all the circumstances and all the information like Jodi Archambault-Gillette said with the slice and dice video taken out of context.

Most important aspect in the Art of War from Sun Tzu is “The Will of the People”. You lose the support of the nation and you lose the war. The leader must regain the trust of the people and the people must trust the leadership. Moral authority is a double edge sword. Time for a serious heart to heart pow wow for the tribal council to unite with the water protectors to defeat the black snake.

This confusion happened because outside forces are now controlling how the story is being written and told. It is no fault of anyone.

It is time to fix the problem.
>>>>>—David Kam, Ambassador of Free Nations ——>

2-24-17 ~ NDResponse… What a bunch of bs ..from nazi nd
Honoring a flag left behind at the Oceti Sakowin camp, law enforcement takes a moment in evacuation efforts to properly respect the symbol that represents our #freedom. #NDResponse #America #DAPL Supporting Our Veterans Morton County Sheriff’s Department North Dakota National Guard
COMMENTS:

Nate Curley It’s all for show!!! They only show what people want them to see. What they really don’t want people to see is the brutality that the unarmed protestors received at the hands of the cops.
Mnêmosynê VT Aú So the flag gets more respect than the people it represents. What a travesty.
Marcus Diaz Wow the nerve to use the word freedom when you just used force to move people. They probably took the flag down themselves and said natives left it on ground. America the imperialists
Jeryl Black Bear What a load of SHIT!!! Of All the Flags flown at the Camps, this flag, so “Happens” to be the Biggest and Cleanest flag, there on site!!! With Kirschmeir right there!!! Our Veterans would have NEVER left that or ANY flag behind…… Morton County at its Best… With yet Another Lie….
Maria Elena These cops are bottom feed

SPECIAL REPORT FEB. 23, 2017 STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1PI

SPECIAL REPORT FEB. 22, 2017 STANDING ROCK
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1Pg

2-21-17 ~ LomaStar Cleveland with Luta Wi Red Fawn…. Today my sister Red Fawn was moved from Stutsman County Jail to Bismarck, ND. I believe she will be held there until her trial, which is set for next month but will most likely be moved to a later date.
We have secured private counsel for Red Fawn, who will be led by Mr. Bruce Ellison. We would like to thank everybody who has donated/supported #FreeRedFawn thus far and humbly ask that y’all continue to SHARE our sisters story as we have a long way to go with our fundraising efforts!

If U haven’t donated yet…PLEASE go to
http://tinyurl.com/zoxt26o
Donate today as EVERY dollar counts!
Please continue to pray for our sister as things are rapidly approaching. My sister deserves to be FREE but until than she could
use a word of encouragement

701-223-8388 or a letter of kind words Red Fawn Fallis
Burleigh County Detention Center
PoBox 1416
Bismarck, ND 58502-1416

Thank You All for your continued support nd please help US #FreeRedFawn

2-21-17 ~ Unify… The snow is starting to melt at Standing Rock and flooding at the main campsite is still a strong possibility. So we are quickly hauling away all of the leftover trash on site so we leave it cleaner than we found it. We are 80% of the way there.

Meanwhile, the water protectors on site have been asked to leave by Wednesday. And there are many who have decided to stay standing at Standing Rock regardless of this threat..

We will continue support the water protectors, the U.S. veterans, and thousands of other people who support a clean future for the human race. We ask your to pray with us tomorrow and take action to support our efforts.
This is a prayer for the water that nourishes all of us. On all sides.

Help support our victory by donating now. Our team is working on site to deliver firewood, distribute food to the local communities, create media, and help the clean up of camp. Let’s support those who are coming together to protect our planet.

2-20-17 ~ Jennie Monet… The Prairie Knights Casino and Resort is swarming with rangers with the National Park Service; their vehicles are everywhere in the parking lot. Tonight, I observed them checking in to their hotel rooms. To witness a tribally-owned resort become the essential staging ground to remove its disowned water protectors — some of whom stood by and observed the rangers with me — is in a word, surreal. Today, the two groups shared eating schedules inside the casino buffet but held their own private meetings in separate conference rooms. The one I attended was called “Honoring the Grandmothers” where women came together for strength. Tears were shared. But in the other room, just steps away, the rangers were likely unpacking their plans of how to use force, if needed, to drive away these Lakota women and others from their ancestral homelands.

2-20-17 ~ 60:05 pm ‎Remi N Alaina‎ … Witnessing BIA Police blocking ambulance from using route to hospital.

#LetOurVoicesEcho #IndianHolocaust #StandingRock #OcetiOyate #MilitarizedPolice #LetOurVoicesEcho #IndianHolocaust #StandingRock #OcetiOyate #MilitarizedPolice

2-20-17 ~ Brandon Green… I haven’t done a live stream in a while. So I will go live tonight. I have a message in my heart I want to share. I was told I need to be careful with my feeds but I have to follow my heart and my path I am being guided down. I was told by an elder at Standing Rock that if I am ever unsure about what to do, to just simply follow my heart. These words have carried with me for months and they havent failed me yet. I refuse to censor myself. Its the transparency I have shown that has brought this love and support together. I refuse to not share my story and my journey because someone out there in the world may need to hear it. We are all human and we all make mistakes. I am willing to accept and learn from my mistakes and continue to grow but I will not censor my heart. This is the Rise of The 7th Generation. We are made up of all the races of man, all religions, all cultures. We are here and we are here to help change this world. Not just for native people, but for all people. Corporations no longer see color. They aim to dissolve all those who oppose their tyrannical reign over mother earth’s resources. They seek to destroy all those who oppose their system of modern day slaves. The 7th Generation is here to wake up the world, and we cannot do that if we censor our hearts! The heart is where our path is! Aho!

2-19-17 ~ Unicorn Riot… Puppies were born recently at the Oceti Sakowin #NoDAPL camp in North Dakota

2-19-17 ~ Roberta Vandehey … FAA PASSES LAW THAT IT IS ILLEGAL TO FLY OUR DRONE OVER OUR OWN PROPERTY TO … SURVALE LAW-BREAKERS ON OUR PROPERTY!

THE GOV. OWNS AIRSPACE OVER OUR PROPERTY? WHAT’S NEXT? THE SPACE BELOW OUR PROPERTY? OH, THAT’S RIGHT, THEY ALREADY CLAIM THAT!

2-19-17 ~ Bernie Sanders Brigade … Bernie Sanders Brigade Relief Effort for Water Protectors on the way. Our commitment to support Water Protectors remains firm. We will stand with strong hearts.

Specific supplies along with food, arctic and sub-zero gear are among items we will be delivering to those standing up for right to clean water.

Among some of the support you can continue to give for the cause:
1. Prayer
2. Contact your Representative and let them know you expect them to do the right thing.
3. Move your money out of big banks financing the Dakota Access Pipeline
4 Call on Federal, State & Local to provide better banking options by creating Public Banking. Let’s turn from Private Banking to Public Banking

2-19-17 ~ ‎Ray R Ferrer‎… Latinos of the Americas are decendents of the American Indian. Through DNA genetics it’s been scientifically proven that over 20,000 years ago the American Indian migrated from North America, through Mexico and South America up through the Caribbean Islands. Although the red, white, blue, one star Puerto Rican Flag thats depicted on my Taino Indian post is a product of the colonization from the USA, because Puerto Rico is a colony of the united States, doesn’t change the fact that we, descendants of the Taino/Arawak Indigenous people, all know who the enemy is. We support Standing Rock Water Protectors.

Standing Rock;
(If I Could Be Where You Are)
Had a dream last night
as I faded to sleep.
I could hear the breeze whisper
of a river that weeps.

As I stood on this rock
looking out towards the horizon.
I see the Eagle fly
above the dust of the Bison.

Images of thousands
In this far away land.
People standing tall
holding hand to hand.

I could feel their spirit
calling my name.
Telling me their blood
and mine are the same.

In the land of the brave
where my ancestors roam.
There’s an evil of greed
destroying their home.

Standing Rock Dakota
Sacred land so far.
Water Protectors
If I could be where you are.~RF©

Ray R Ferrer
Nov 28 2016

2-19-17 ~ Chase IronEyes… Let us continue to stand together for the rights of all humans

2-19-17 ~ Cass Gehrke and Kathleen Duncanson Heseltine … Yes!! So sad when people have to fight our government (the ones that are supposed be protecting us, and fighting for us not against us) to try and preserve earth and its resources….” Cass Gehrke

“Standing with Standing Rock… Our government MUST do better to protect the water rights of our country… These brave souls are facing great hardship to bring this message to the American people… Stand up for Standing Rock..” Kathleen Duncanson Heseltine

2-18-17 ~ LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard … It was a day of laughter and mud, everyone working hard to clean up the camps, getting things moved out, people working with each other, good songs, laughter and slipping in the mud, it is good to see smiling faces.

I do get a little down with the gossip I understand that is how a community lives instead of finding truth they live with lies, it comes from a long history of injustice. but I can’t let lies get me down I must stand by truth and prayer. The lies of DAPL, Morton County, Army Corp of Engineers, National Guard, governor of North Dakota, newspaper and local media. most of lies coming out of the community is just what they heard from media, every day you are either super human with super powers because some of the things people say you do when most of the time you are just wore out and want to sleep.

In this movement there are no leaders so it is hard when people think you should tell other people what to do when you don’t even know who everyone is. There is no hierarchy with water there just people standing up for the water. When there are no leaders it makes it hard for people to understand, my dear friend was questions last night and told to tell her people not to make threats and it is surprising because she is just a nice women who is not in charge of anyone. I pray that everyone take two steps back from the he said she said and find the truth, non-natives are having a hay day spreading gossip to the Indians to cause division again.
Photo Copyright: © Toni Cervantes 2017

2-18-17 ~ Jason George… Good morning beloved family. It truly is a beautiful day.The forces around us have closed ranks and as of yesterday they have cut off our supply routes. I am in prayer.My I mind is clear and my heart is clean. I am unafraid.stay sweet love each other and yourself.

https://youtu.be/E3jtkDnW69k
2-19-17 ~ Johnny Dangers ~ Oceti Oyate Clean-Up and Barricade Update – J Grady

https://youtu.be/E3jtkDnW69k

2-18-17 ~ Red Lightening… Thank you All Who Worked So Hard!
Excited to share a video of several deliveries of camp donations that have delivered to local Standing Rock communities..

For the past month Red Lightning has been supporting a Team of 10-14 Water Protectors called the Green Team that are focused on cleaning up and breaking down the main Oceti Sakowin.

The Green Teams Primary intentions are:

– Support community leaders, families, and elders with breaking down their camp structures and cleaning up the campsites. Also assisting in transporting and putting up the new structures at new camp

– Protect the water and land by focusing on cleaning up trash and waste before the spring thaw and water levels rise

– Focus energy on ensuring that all the blessings of food and clothing, blanket, and sleeping bags that flowed to the camps go to new camps being set up and becoming a blessing to surrounding tribal community.

Supporting in this phase of camp has been a blessings & an honor. One of the best parts is the donation runs. The scale of donations that are piled up in the camp from before the winter storms reduced the camp size from 12,000+ to under 1,000 is hard to communicate. There are many tents and structures full around camp.

The clean up crews that have come in from the Standing Rock tribe to help have been a blessing of heavy equipment, but also A challenge. A challenge because they have been bulldozing tents full of good materials and putting them in dumpsters for the landfill.

So far there have been 7 trailers loads from just the main kitchen supply and main camp donation tents. Each trailer has approx 4,000 – 5,000 lbs of food and clothing, blanket, and sleeping bag donations..
Roughly our team has moved 14+ tons of donations could possibly have ended up in the landfill Its been wonderful to make sure the blessings for the camps have become a blessings to local tribal families.

Deep gratitude to all the members of the Oceti Sakowin Camp who have been working so hard to clean up before the spring thaw.

Specifically like to acknowledge Red Lightning Green Team members:

Jonah Lee
Simone Schulz
Maya Rose Berko
Timothy Powers
Tristan Drizdan Bennett
Connor M Evans
Stan Smith
Alex KuroNeko Thanh
Dongles Walloo
Cyrus Mayer
LeRoy West
SunShine Bear – Sunny
Big Love to Media Team for capturing the magic and telling the story… while also cleaning up…
Kalen Wolf
Moon Mandel

Deeply grateful to Unify for supporting the Green Team and their awesome media team continuing to share the stories of Standing Rock.

The main camp is under an eviction notice from Army Coprs of Engineers by February 22nd. There is so much work to complete before then.

Red Lightning Camp will breakdown before the 22nd and will update later on what is next phase for Red Lightning @ Standing Rock.

Please continue to send prayers & blessings more now than ever!

There is still a need for funding to support camp move and the clean up for Spring.
The best ways to donate:
Main Camp Oceti Sakowin
www.OcetiSakowincamp.org </span>
Sacred Stone
www.sacredstonecamp.org
Last Real Indians:
www.facebook.com/lastrealindians/
To support the Red Lightning Village with our community dome, camp satellite internet and green team clean up crew go to http://www.redlightningtribe.org/standingrock/ or Paypal “friends and family” to standingrock@redlightningtribe.org
Aho Mitakuye Oyasin

2-18-17 ~ First Nations artist dies in Thunder Bay Jail and days later grieving sister killed in car crash
Moses Amik Beaver had struggled for years with mental-health issues. His sister and family members were on their way to see him. the art world lost famed indigenous artist Moses Amik Beaver after he was found dead in the Thunder Bay Jail.

Three days later, his grieving sister, Mary Wabasse, on her way to Thunder Bay in an SUV along with her family, was killed in a car accident outside the city limits when the vehicle collided with a transport truck. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/jysk6jq

2-17-17 ~ Adam Elfers‎ … I love Standing Rock. I love our elders, the youth, the water protectors, the land, the river, the sacred fire, the spirit of this movement & everything it has & continues to teach me. Humbling. Strengthening. Guiding.

Even though I’m far away right now. My heart is with them and all the water protectors.

We’ve all given so much of ourselves to this movement and we pray for the help of our families, Creator, and that the pipeline company and Morton County realize what they are doing is wrong and the effects and repercussions of their actions effect millions of people, born and unborn, the winged, the four legged and all in between.

No matter what happens, this movement has changed my life. I’m still #StandingWithStandingRock.

Are you???

2-17-17 ~ Citizen’s groups on Friday delivered a petition with more than 11,300 signatures to three of Japan’s mega-banks to demand they halt funding for the Dakota Access Pipeline reinstated by Army Corps of Engineers. A group of concerned citizens started the online petition at Change.org. They are calling on Mizuho Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to withdraw their funding for the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying the $3.7 billion project threatens Lake Oahe, the indigenous Standing Rock Sioux Nation’s only source of drinking water in North Dakota. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/zzt6vxh

2-17-17 ~ Adam Elfers‎ … In this time of uncertainty & change we must find our center, our pillar, our strength, return to our roots & ask:
What do we stand for?
& slowly, like the whispers of an ancient wind, these words arise:
*WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS; WE ARE THE HEALERS OF THESE TIMES; We STAND*
We stand for water
We stand for earthz
We stand for sacred sites
We stand for Native American rights
We stand for the coming together of the People:all colors, all tribes-
We stand for equality, justice, and thriving ecologies
We stand for a future where our children can drink fresh water and walk barefoot on lush, sacred grounds
We stand up to the invasion of the earth, the people, and the waterways by those who attempt to seize the rivers, forests, and native villages for their own short term monetary gain, private persons & corporations backed by military, police, and a corrupt judicial system.
We stand United, Stronger than ever. Knowing who we are, why we are here, and what it is we came to do.

Protect the Sacred. Honor The Earth. Unite the Tribes.
So repeat it with this mantra now:
W A T E R ~ I S ~ L I F E.

https://youtu.be/z_jA2ZdIXKo
2-17-17 ~ La Donna Allard Update for Sacred Stone Camp (2/17/2017) Live From Standing Rock With Toni Cervantes

2-17-17 ~ Is there any Native Nation actively supporting the #NoDAPL camp north of the cannonball river? Woke elder Helen Red Feather speaks Lakota, telling Tribal Leaders to stop kissing the BIA’s ass, & by extension the US Army Corp & the ND Governor, Republican legislature, & the collusion with local ND media & DAPL mercenaries. It’s time to be Lakota. #NoDapl Where is your heart?

https://youtu.be/JlpcSXXXUb8
2-17-17 ~ Jordan Explains How DAPL Just Revealed Pipeline Will BURST – TYT Politics

2-16-17 ~ ‎Adam Elfers‎… I’m sincerely asking every person reading this to remember Standing Rock & stay engaged. It’s going down. Everything is changing. Their are mass eviction notices. There are proposed laws that could put very mild charges into immediate felonies (10 year jail, 20,000 fine, myself and hundreds of others included) there is a military state getting closer to the camps. There are water protectors who know what it means to stand up for the sacred, for the next seven generations, regardless of these laws, brutality, injustice. & all of us, are still standing.
We need you engaged & ready to act.
We need you aware. Grounded & on call.
Thank you.
We are Standing Rock.
We’re Still Standing.

2-16-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin Support and Information group… “With between 300 to 400 campers still camping on Wednesday at Oceti Sakowin Camp, several have been attempted to leave the camp. Reports out of camp are Morton County Sheriff deputies have been stationed at the main entrance to the camp and been arresting some attempting to leave. Personal belongings are being confiscated.”
blockquote>ND GOVERNOR ORDERS IMMEDIATE EVACUATION OF OCETI SAKOWIN CAMP: MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICERS ARRESTING PEOPLE CAMP’S ENTRANCE

ND GOVERNOR ORDERS IMMEDIATE EVACUATION OF OCETI SAKOWIN CAMP: MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICERS ARRESTING PEOPLE CAMP’S ENTRANCE
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum on Wednesday afternoon issued an Evacuation Order of Oceti Sakowin camp “effective immediately.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/jl7s48x

2-16-17 ~ Jason George … A lot of people are falling back due to flooding. I and a handful of warriors have decided not to give up the breakwater bridge where so much of our blood has been spilt. They are seeing a weakness and will try to roll over us soon. I don’t share their vision. We stand strong with your prayers and we will give our all to safeguard our mother and the continued line of our relatives. We love you and should we fall, know that we have not broke.
With love I shall return.
Forever your warrior Jason George son of the Colville Nation and shield of the rainbow clan.

https://youtu.be/wVCdEVaO9nw
Elder Robert speaks about the Eviction Notice – J Grady

2-16-17 ~ Elder Robert speaks about the Eviction Notice
Breaking News: On Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council’s request the Bureau of Indian Affairs Police gave Sacred Stone Camp a stunning 10 Day Eviction Notice in person at camp that says the entirety of Sacred Stone Prayer Camp needs to go or property can be seized and people charged with trespassing.

LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard whose family has owned this beautiful land along the Cannonball River where so much healing is taking place for generations and Water Protectors are being targeted for standing up for the Water and Mother Earth!
We must ask ourselves why? Why?

2-16-17 ~ Redhawk… UPDATE: Army Corp has stated at a later meeting at Backwater Barricade that the February 22nd deadline is flexible.
3 different phones, 2 mobile wifi hotspots, and our media team couldn’t get a live feed out. It appears live feeds were being blocked. Today, Water Protectors met with members of the Governors office, Army Corp of a Engineers, National Guard, Indian Affairs, and others on the middle of Cannonball Bridge, located between the Standing Rock reservation, and Army Corp land . With the intention of discussing cleanup, officials avoided any questions from the camp regarding the pipeline, treaty rights, illegal property sales to DAPL and other concerns. Discussing further Camp assessment from Army Corp, camp voices including Holy Elk, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, Chase Iron Eyes and other camp voices are currently speaking with agencies to come into an agreement. Once again ignoring the camp locations above potential flood plains, the agencies are still set on the February 22nd eviction date.
-Redhawk

v

2-16-17 ~ Redhawk… LaDonna Allard has just been issued an eviction notice for Sacred Stone Camp. BIA has given 10 days notice. After that point access into camp via roads will be shut down for Water Protectors.
-Redhawk

2-16-17 ~ A reporter’s arrest crystallizes her commitment to cover Standing Rock
THE DAY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY granted the final easement for the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, I hopped into my pickup truck—a beater that I rent from a local—and drove straight to the Sacred Stone Camp. Darkness fell slowly over the yurt-village of campers, who were only then learning the news. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/h5phayc

2-15-17 ~ Herman Singh… If you listen and observe you can hear and see the wind and the ocean speak to you. They are the voices of Waheguru/Great Spirit, the ancestors, and our brothers and sisters who have returned back home to The Otherside Camp. When you stop, you will see that you are never alone and never without. They are always there around us all. Life is meant to be celebrated my friends! Live each day knowing it can be your last! Love one another with your whole heart; never hold back for life is short. And, life is beautiful. CHOOSE to see the beauty. LEARN to see the simplicity. Know love and let go of all that holds you down.
I will carry your shell my brother

2-15-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Police have moved the barricades up hundreds of feet to the edge of the Big Camp with 7 police off their snowmobiles stationed in front of the hills near camp on the right flank!

2-15-17 ~ Lee Sprague… Everybody is in legal jeopardy. The Morton County Sheriff is trying to frame Water Protectors and Allies to intimidate them.. Once arrested, they will overcharge an individual, and try to get them to snitch others out.

That’s not gonna happen.
.
You can see in my documents below that the Sheriff indicates that I confessed. The Sheriff also notes that I have two subjects with video cameras on. I can assure you, the Video Cameras do not show me confessing. If the Morton County Sheriff is willing to lie, when their are two cameras rolling, you can see the depths they will go to.

Pressure. Criminal Defense Attorneys barred in North Dakota are Not available for many water protectors. I did try contacting one criminal defense attorney, but there was no return call. I think they are busy. I have a brother on the Morton County Domestic Terrorism List. Others have charges filed against them also. A cousin who has had her trial delayed, and cannot leave the state. There are Tribal Members from my Triibe in SW Michigan and other Tribes who have members who are charged with Crimes while in Standing Rock.

So Legal Expenses seems to be the instrument they will try and use to break up the Water Protectors, get them to turn in evidence and start going after other Water Protectors. Then they go after family members and threaten them with financial intimidation, legal intimidation, to get family members to crack creating desperation and fear.. Its a common tactic.

It has been reported that Standing Rock used some of the money donated for a Legal Defense Fund for Water Protectors to clean up the camp. This may be a rumor.

So I at least have two video tapes of the incident, that is contradictory to what the Officer wrote down in his report regarding my so called “confession.”

I believe the Morton County Sheriff has overcharged Water Protectors and will increase the financial pressure on Water Protectors and their families to coerce confessions. This combined with the lack of criminal attorneys tp properly represent their defenses against baseless charges, will be used to create a sense of desperation, to get them to confess and point out other Water Protectors.

So I am gonna continue my quest for a criminal defense attorney that will work for nothing, and have the skills and time to properly defend those innocent. This is a snowball that is ready to start rolling down hill fast.

Everyone is in legal jeopardy at this point. And it wont stop us from fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline, Protect Water Protectors at Standing Rock, and Continue to build our Eco Village at Sacred Stone.

This Legal Resouce Site for Water Protectors is Legit. Great leveraging of resources and continuity of defense of Water Protectors. Volunteer Lawyers, who are here to help, and they can house water protectors when their court dates are needed.
https://waterprotectorlegal.org

2-14-17 ~ The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s Litigation on the Dakota Access Pipeline. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Asks Federal Court To Set Aside Trump’s Pipeline Reversal; Critical Motion Charges Trump Administration Circumvents Law And Ignores Treaty Rights.

Today, on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Earthjustice filed a motion for summary judgment on the major legal claims in the lawsuit filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline under Lake Oahe near tribal lands. The motion for summary judgment asks the judge to rule on major legal questions that have not yet been resolved during this case, including whether National Environmental Policy Act requirements have been met and whether the Corps’ actions violate the tribe’s treaty rights.

The judge appears ready to move forward on this case on an expedited basis, which is vital since attorneys for the Dakota Access Pipeline now say construction could be completed much sooner than they originally told the court. Dakota Access has been ordered to reply to our motion within three weeks. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/jb5btzu

2-14-17 ~ Lee Sprague… The Morton County Sheriff is trying to stop Veteran Water Protectors from reinforcing our prayer circles and peaceful resistance at Standing Rock North Dakota. There are several ways into camp from the South, It is marginally better, but the BIA and Tribal Police have blocked the bridge at the request of the Morton County Sheriff Department.

Try coming from the South to Prairie Knights Casino. Avoid Bismarck and Mandan on the way here. They target folks. I am not naming a specific way, so it does not become targeted by the Po Po.
In the article it mentions several items carried by the Veterans, that were used as a pretext to arrest and charge Veterans with crimes.

We take extraordinary measures to avoid being stopped and pulled over when we do go to Bismarck. We don’t take it for granted that is is ever safe driving rescue supplies, medical equipment, safety gear and supplies into camp to help keep people safe, and from harm by the National Guard, the Morton County Po Po and Mercenaries hired by the Dakota Access Pipeline.

2-14-17 ~ Veterans at Standing Rock see police retribution after arrest and charges
Police have filed charges against two US veterans supporting Standing Rock, holding one in jail for several days, raising concerns that law enforcement is trying to prevent them from aiding activists at the Dakota Access pipeline. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/hsfsqjz

2-14-17 ~ Edmonton photographer wins prestigious award for Standing Rock coverage
Albertan photographer Amber Bracken is the 2017 first prize winner of the World Press Photography award in the Contemporary Issues category. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/hye9ehf </span>

#LetOurVoicesEcho #OcetiOyate ##FtLaramieTreaty #SacredStone #StandingRock #

2-14-17 ~ Ivy Martin … People are cleaning up each day. Snow being cleared. Most choosing to take down their camps, but with challenges of ice and muddy exit roads. The snow has been melting but ice and frozen ground underneath. Some dwellings frozen to the ground with water inside. The Cannonball River system and local watershed has not even thawed yet, but with weather being unpredictable (like Trump), Spring weather could come earlier this year. “Facebook Hill”, is high-ground and is prime real estate (in a bad choice of words…haha). New camps being formed south of the river, on top of the hill, with camp names such as, “7th Generation Rising Camp (originally called Cangleska Sapa-Black Hoop camp), Cheyenne River Sioux Camp, Eagle Nest Camp (above Sacred Stone Camp) and another trying to be formed west of 1806, across the Cheyenne River camp.

Standing Rock Discussion with Holly Bird and Lee Sprague
https://youtu.be/808HX2ZMTi4
2-13-17 ~ Lee Sprague… We are at the North Dakota State Governed Office in Bizmark. Looking for the Governor’s office to clarify how justice is served in Standing Rock. Filing a complaint with the Morton County Sheriff is mystifying, seemingly to the Morton County Sheriffs Department as well. I have jail support and my attorneys phone numbers magic marked on my forearm. You never know…. Here we go, please share and ask your friends to follow us, the Michigan Canoe Cold Water Rescue team on Facebook.

2-13-17 ~ Douglas Mehring‎… A seed was planted in North Dakota. It was planted by the youth who saw that something was wrong. They nurtured it with their sweat and it became a plant. They watched and spoke out and it grew. They ran, carrying their words far and wide. People listened and it grew to become a sapling. These people showed up to see for themselves. They nurtured that sapling with their sweat and it became a tree. The taller this young tree grew the more people saw it. They came to add their sweat, to help it grow and so it did. Storms came as peoples camps were raided and that tree grew its own seeds. Nov 20th fire came to cut down this tree and some limbs fell, more seeds flew and people saw and came to add their tears to the sweat so the tree would grow stronger. The Vets showed up and added food to the prayers and tree matured. The winds took those seeds that had fallen and they began to grow. They grew in Texas and Florida. They grew in Iowa and Oklahoma. The more the winds blow the further the seeds spread. The more these younger trees grow the further their own seeds went. Tennessee and Ohio, West Virginia and New York now have seeds planted and trees growing. That tree in North Dakota is now old. It has lost limbs, Rattler and Red Fawn, Angry Bird and many others but it has given more than it lost and Its still alive. Its not just a tree anymore, its a great forest. Have you nurtured your seed today? Have you sweated and cried for it, marched and sang to it? Have you written and called your representatives today? Have you protected your local tree today? Will you dig and plant, speak and teach and help this forest grow?

2-13-17 ~ Doug McLean with Kenny Frost … Message In Boot-le…
This note was inside a pair of brand new insulated, waterproof boots donated to Standing Rock Water Protectors by a 24 year veteran…

2-13-17 ~ Pa’Ris’Ha … Recently someone asked me why I have Elders, and why do I think I need them. That we are our own teacher.

I hear that often, and I say to those who ask; my cup is only half full, your cup is running over, and there is no place for more, but for me, I not only have my life’s wisdom, We are all only a part of a whole, my Elders multiply my knowledge and with their guidance and experience that addition becomes a greater wisdom. Some read books to learn, I grow as my Elders share their lives with me.

2-13-17 ~ Isaac Ames… For everyone who’s never been arrested and had to fight charges this is a precursor of what to expect, completely, when one is arrested.

First, if you so much as make any element of putting those bracelets on difficult for the officer, according to the cops, that’s resisting arrest. These are people who are allowed to make a mistake in reaction and shoot you dead on the spot; however, you are always expected to have perfect reactions when they interact with you.

Seem unfair?
It is.

Innocent until proven guilty is a myth sold off in this country, don’t believe the hype. That’s why they arrest and process you; it lends weight to the prosecution in its creation by assuming the officer correct in arresting you. Ever hear the phrase, ‘If they were innocent they wouldn’t have been arrested’? This is where it stems from.

If they don’t read you your Miranda Rights you are technically not even arrested, you’re being detained. Don’t forget that under any circumstance. Be polite and courteous, even if they’re not. The key of the law is to be blameless before it.

You’re going to be transported and that transportation is going to be recorded with audio and video. So cussing, spitting, kicking around, and such is only going to be accessed against you. You’re going to go to a holding cell and you’re going to be processed into custody. You’ll get naked and it’s always a bit awkward the first time you have to squat, spread, and cough the first few times.

Take a breath and remember that this person has seen some heinous individuals in their career, and yes, things have been found hanging/falling out of people. They’ll fingerprint you and get information pertinent to your existence, one way or another. Try not to be belligerent to the processing/intake officer, they’re just admin after all.

You’ll be put in a holding cell that has no comfortable place to sit and the lights will be on always, if you’re lucky it won’t be that cold. Your shirt works as an eye mask for sleeping in these kinds of instances. No, you’re not guaranteed a phone call in immediacy, that’s TV bullshit. When you get housed you have protective custody (PC) or general population, each has their benefits and drawbacks. PC assumes you’ve been touching children, are a rapist, or are an informant; but you get a fair amount of isolation and privacy. However, this also marks you by the general population as someone in need of a beating; why else would you PC up?

General population means TV, human interaction, and such. However, you’ll get asked for favors like hustling extra privileges, food, and such (be amicable). Sometimes you’ll have people seem friendly and ‘look out for you’. Be careful about accepting generosity, you’ll be expected to pay it back and you might not have too much say about that. Not paying what you owe often results in violence or some form of retribution, learn to walk that fine line. Don’t look around scared, be calm and act like you’re supposed to be there or have been there before. Always decry the injustice of your incarceration when asked, when in doubt just say, ‘It’s bullshit’. There’s usually some form of rules and expected behavior, don’t be afraid to ask particulars like which toilet is for peeing and which is for poop; this is common in county lockups to be separated for privacy and hygiene.

Being quiet and minding your own business with your nose in a book usually doesn’t get people in trouble with the other inmates, usually. Speaking of, be polite and courteous. It doesn’t hurt to know a joke and laughter is a good way to make friends while you’re in.

Same goes for the guards.

They’ve seen tougher and harder than you, no one is going to be impressed with any show you put on. Best to mind your manners for everyone’s sake. Don’t forget, they can ask that person sleeping next to you to handle you when the lights go out for extra privileges, and that person might be willing to do it anyway if you’re an insufferable individual.
So what’s next?
Arraignment and trials.
Give me a minute to write it all out.

2-13-17 ~ Unify … With the pipeline easement being granted last week, people are flooding in to the site to join the movement and help keep our water safe. We believe that we must remain at Standing Rock to stand up for what we believe in.

We ask you to pledge your support by donating to the movement.

Grandmother, the Earth is called by so many here. And as she changes her clothes, shrugging off this long Winter and emerging into Spring, our work is made all the more urgent.

Along with the Standing Rock Tribe, we are excavating leftover supplies from the thousands of supporters, tourists and passersby who have lent their support, in myriad forms, these past many months. Time is of the essence, as rising flood waters from the Missouri River will soon wash away any trash or refuse that was left behind during evacuations from blizzard conditions.

Now we roll up our sleeves and do the difficult work of sorting through the thousands of donations and camping supplies which can still be repurposed to support the struggle to stop DAPL, or that may find new life in other nearby communities.

Already we have packed and delivered two shipments of clothing and non-perishable food to nearby charities and donation centers, with plans to send out our massive 28 foot trailer fully loaded two more times.

Our trucks roll through camp, excavating forgotten tents from the frozen ground, layers of ice and the all-concealing snow. Tools purchased with your contributions allow us to overcome these barriers to our success, and scrub from this sacred land every tarp, tent stake and cigarette butt we find.

But it’s not all about cleaning. Far too many elders have been left with the responsibility of breaking down their own camps, with little or no support. These have been homes for nearly a year, and are often full of yurts, large military tents, tipis and even some fully fledged houses. Unify identifies those members of the Standing Rock community who are being forgotten and we help.

You help. We could never do it without you. From the beginning, the movement against DAPL and to protect this water has relied on the aid of those whose support came from afar. We have rallied together each according to their ability. Each piece of this movement is sacred, as each cell in the body amounts to more than the sum of its parts. And now, more than ever, it is imperative we stay together.

Though the pipeline bores on, its infamy now burnished by the support of a new Presidency, the last impact of Standing Rock remains to be seen. Will we allow this movement to come stuttering to a halt, or can we find a way to fuel this new community in a responsible, sustainable manner?

Your support means direct aid on the ground as Water Protectors begin relocating to permanent ecovillages. Sacred Stone and Rosebud have no intentions of disbanding, and have secured their future on private lands directly neighboring the flood plain.

Unify will be here, sorting recycling, restoring the land and helping Grandmother wherever we can and in whomever we see her twinkling eye. Nothing in the future is certain, but we are certain not to abandon this place, not now when Standing Rock needs us the most, not ever.

Please join us in preserving and protecting this most magical of moments, and breathing new life into the most important movement in generations.

2-12-17 ~ Another AIM Legend, Fred Short.
Dennis Banks awarded Fred and Henry Dominguez with eagle feathers. He also said that The Standing Rock protectors who had been injured on the front lines would also receive eagle feathers from him personally. He said that at some point, the American Congress passed a law that only Native Americans could possess eagle feathers. Dennis pointed out that thousands of people from all Races and many nations have shown up in South Dakota to express their support. He said they absolutely are deserving of the honor because what they have done, standing up and walking to a problem, is what the eagle feather honor is about.

While Dennis was speaking prior to awarding the feathers, I noticed Fred looking down on the ground, and then getting out of his chair and gently herding something into his hand. I watched, fascinated, as he carefully and gently walked about 50 or 60 feet across the packed Earth to a spot of grass, and released whatever he had just rescued from his hand into the protective grass. Dennis stopped speaking for a moment, apparently wondering why Fred had wandered off. Everyone quietly watched Fred save a tiny little life that many people would not have even

https://youtu.be/6fMCctJITLM

2-12-17 ~ Brandon Green… Is One Of The Most Devoted Water Protectors And Always In Good Spirits!

2-12-17 ~ Kevin Martin… This is a military staging tactic wherein you demonize the populace and create an image of people that are hypocritical and less than honorable, that way they appear to be trouble makers, and liers.

The real truth will be told, because both sides have had a longer period of time to prepare, and our new government is embolden by a series of flagrant actions, and an aggressive narcissist for a leader.

His handshake with foreign Ieaders (Japan) is aggressive and dominating, and clearly without honor. This period of time is dangerous and all actions need consideration of our collective vulnerability in a termination staged political arena.

There would be a true uprising across the US if they were to attempt such a bold action, yet small bills ( North Dakota), have been written to allow access to tribal resources. The changes in the BIA, BIE should be watched carefully, and all supportive government branches (EPA, Parks) are being staged for a fire sale. A fire sale meaning, all environmental, social, and political propundents with any protective mission will have all support shut off at once.

Mass protest it’s possibly the biggest conundrum that throws a wrench in the action, and by disavowing the intelligence, and media , the billionaire cabal has a near silent coup (soft opening), of a fascist state. The obvious question on everyone’s mind is what will be the incident that pushes the population to direct action?

It’s hard to demonize a peaceful population, and nonviolence is working. It would be wise to offer sustainable Ecovilliage, and green energy solutions. The green energy companies will be looking for a new place to do business, and the tribes have the public support for such a sustainable venture.

Yes growing pains are hard, yet the truth cuts like a knife. Our country will stand together and fight, we are growing supporters by the day. All aggressive actions are being documented by the world, and a den of thieves cannot flourish in the light. Dumping trash on a camp site is a flagrant sign of a desperate and weak minded agressor.

We will all RISE, and create water in the mountains!

2-12-17 Pueblo U.S. Veteran Brandee Paisano: Why I, a veteran, joined the fight at Standing Rock
‘I bled in Iraq and you’re going to threaten to shoot me on a bridge in North Dakota?’ Laguna Pueblo U.S. Veteran Brandee Paisano. Veterans here say there are a number of reasons drawing them in, including standing up for Indigenous people, environmentalism and even seeing an opportunity to put specialized survival skills to use.

2-12-17 ~ Angelo Sison… Wanted to lay low for awhile but there’s been something I wanted to get off my chest. There’s been talk of a NODAPL calendar for awhile highlighting certain individuals and certain organizations. I openly say FUCK NO to the calendar idea….unless…you have a month or page for every wood hauler, every cook, every mechanic, every security guard, every medic, every culture, every tribe, every warrior, every person who’s marched, every person who’s divested, every person who’s given up their liberties to fight for clean water, and every person from Cannon Ball and surrounding communities. If I lose support for this post….I honestly don’t give a fuck. If you glorify a certain individual such as live feeders, then you are a part of the problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re at camp, on live feeds, at the casino, in a office, or at home in front of your computer. We all have our part to play in this revolution. This movement has no leaders.

2-12-17 ~ Margaret Tuka‎… I see people want to buy rooms for water protectors. Let’s not do this. The casino is swarming with feds. Not saying any names, but one of the protectors was arrested at the casino. Let’s work on getting them water heaters for showers instead. I think that $164 would benefit the entire camps, not just one person. Just an idea. We have to protect them, while they protect us. Don’t get my words misconstrued!! They don’t need us to play hero. They are the hero’s!! Let’s just try to ensure we don’t get anyone hemmed up by BIA, Morton County, or the feds. This is just my humble opinion!!

https://youtu.be/_wlRdkP3Q70

2-11-17 – Earthjustice… Phyllis Young Standing Rock speech to DAPL Company
The company building the Dakota Access Pipeline has claimed that if the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe had voiced their objections to the project earlier, “we could have changed the route.”

The company is lying, the Tribe did engage in discussions more than two years ago. A recording has been released of September 2014 meeting where the Tribal members told the company not to build the pipeline near their reservation.

2-11-17 ~ David Kitchen… International Indian Treaty Council: Trump’s Executive Orders Violate Treaties
Consistent with our previous statement by the International Indian Treaty Council in support of the SRST, it is our position that these actions taken by the President ignore both federal and international law to which the U.S. is obligated, including its legally-binding commitments under the Treaties concluded with the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota (“Great Sioux Nation”). The International Indian Treaty Council again asserts that President does not have the legal or moral authority to violate the U.S. Constitution, which states “treaties are the supreme law of the land.”

2-11-17 ~ Trey Davenport … Springtime conditions have come to Standing Rock today

2-11-17 ~ Mauna Kea To Standing Rock!

2-11-17 ~ Labor For Standing Rock… Colorado and Wyoming’s UFCW Local 7 has become the first union in the state to officially oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline. An amalgamated local of over 22,000 members from the food and medical industries they also donated $2000 which will go to the renewed effort to support the First Nations and end DAPL. #nodapl#laborforstandingrock Water is life.

2-11-17 ~ Fairess Reid‎ … Today the North Dakota house voted in favor of 5 bills that are specifically meant to target water protectors.

They passed the “run protesters over” bill, the mask bill, and bills that turn riot offenses, criminal trespass, and causing a business economic harm of $1000 or more Class C felonies. Meaning your punishment could be up to 5 years in prison and $10,000 in penalties.

They put an emergency clause on these bills so after today they will go straight to the Senate (as opposed to waiting for crossover which happens halfway through the legislative session) So these laws could be in effect very soon.+

They have officially sanctioned murder in North Dakota. Its time.

2-11-17 ~ Jenni Monet, a Native American journalist, was arrested last week while covering Standing Rock. You’d think that would trigger a lot of support from the national and regional news media.

There is an idea in law enforcement called the “thin blue line.” It basically means that police work together. A call goes out from Morton County and, right or wrong, law enforcement from around the country provides back up.

You would think journalism would be like that too.

When one journalist is threatened, we all are. We cannot do our jobs when we worry about being injured or worse. And when a journalist is arrested? Well, everyone who claims the First Amendment as a framework should object loudly.

Last Wednesday Monet was arrested near Cannonball, North Dakota. She was interviewing water protectors who were setting up a new camp near the Dakota Access Pipeline route on treaty lands of the Great Sioux Nation. Law enforcement from Morton County surrounded the camp and captured everyone within the circle. A press release from the sheriff’s Department puts it this way: “Approximately 76 members of a rogue group of protestors were arrested.” Most were charged with criminal trespassing and inciting a riot.

As was Monet. She now faces serious charges and the judicial process will go forward. The truth must come out.

But this story is about the failure of journalism institutions.

The Native press and the institutions that carry her work had Monet’s back. That includes Indian Country Media Network, Yes! Magazine, and the Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal. In Canada the Aboriginal People’s Television Network reported on the story during its evening news. And, The Los Angeles Times has now weighed as well in with its own story written by Sandy Tolan who’s done some great reporting from Standing Rock. The Native American Journalists Association released a statement immediately: “Yesterday’s unlawful arrest of Native journalist Jenni Monet by Morton County officers is patently illegal and a blatant betrayal of our closely held American values of free speech and a free press,” NAJA President Bryan Pollard said, “Jenni is an accomplished journalist and consummate professional who was covering a story on behalf of Indian Country Today. Unfortunately, this arrest is not unprecedented, and Morton County officials must review their officer training and department policies to ensure that officers are able and empowered to distinguish between protesters and journalists who are in pursuit of truthful reporting.”

Yet in North Dakota you would not know this arrest happened. The press is silent. (UPDATE on Feb. 7: Bismarck Tribune reports on the arrest.)

I have heard from many, many individual journalists. That’s fantastic. But what about the institutions of journalism? There should news stories in print, digital and broadcast. There should be editorials calling out North Dakota for this egregious act. If the institutions let this moment pass, every journalist covering a protest across the country will be at risk of arrest.

After her release from jail, Monet wrote for Indian Country Media Network, “When Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman was charged with the same allegations I now face—criminal trespassing and rioting—her message to the world embraced the First Amendment. ‘There’s a reason why journalism is explicitly protected by the U.S. Constitution,’ she said before a crowd gathered in front of the Morton County courthouse. “Because we’re supposed to be the check and balance on power.”

The funny thing is that journalism institutions were not quick to embrace Goodman either. I have talked to many journalists who see her as an “other” because she practices a different kind of journalism than they do.

Monet’s brand of journalism is rooted in facts and good reporting. She talks to everyone on all sides of the story, including the Morton County Sheriff and North Dakota’s new governor. She also has street cred … and knows how to tell a story. Just listen to her podcast — Still Here — and you will know that to be true.

So if we ever need journalism institutions to rally, it’s now. It’s not Jenni Monet who will be on trial. It’s the First Amendment. Journalism is not a crime.

2-11-17 ~ Andy Ziegler… Good evening water protectors and those everywhere who Stand w/Standing Rock. Now is not the time to be arguing about who left what at the camps, the support or nonsupport in spirit or $ from the SRST, and it is not the time to sit down and shed tears.

I hear of the “last stand” happening now and I say no…This is not the last stand, this is only the beginning. Yes they are drilling, and my heart wants it to stop, but my mind knows this snake will flow w/its poison. I have read many stories of people’s journey to SR. online, and all who I talked to at Oceti, all say the same thing–It was a calling they could not ignore, at they felt “healed” or “renewed” and even those who could not make the journey were called to engage and help as they could.

I believe our creator called us together from across the country and world like the vision of Crazy Horse, but this was not the final battle, we are meant to be the seeds. The 1st Nations has shown the world once again that standing together in peace and prayer renders a military and police force defenseless. DAPL and our Gov. think they have defeated us but they fail to realize it’s a hollow victory, as People are “STANDING” everywhere, do not think it’s over. Do not argue over trash. I will return as many times as needed-risking criminal charges if I must–to restore the area to a better cond. than before. As seeds now is the time to take root wherever we’ve returned to and continue the fight for mother Earth. Prayers to all… Mni Wiconi

2-11-17 ~ Army Veterans Have Just Returned To Standing Rock To Form a Human Shield Against Police
The growing group of military veterans could make it harder for police and government officials to try to remove hundreds of activists who remain camped near the construction site and, some hope, could limit use of excessive force by law enforcement during demonstrations. “We are prepared to put our bodies between Native elders and a privatized military force,” said Elizabeth Williams, a 34-year-old air force veteran, who arrived at Standing Rock with a group of vets late on Friday. “We’ve stood in the face of fire before. We feel a responsibility to use the skills we have.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/h3ex957

2-10-17 ~ Unify FEB 10th: STANDING ROCK Update: The struggle is heating up, and we need your support more than ever in the coming weeks. The campsite is growing, thousands of veterans have committed to joining in solidarity with us. And we are on site providing support to Grandmother, the Earth is called by so many here. And as she changes her clothes, shrugging off this long Winter and emerging into Spring, our work is made all the more urgent. Rising flood waters from the Missouri River will soon wash away any trash or refuse left behind by the waves of supporters, tourists and passersby who have lent their support, in myriad forms, these past many months.

Now we roll up our sleeves and do the difficult work of sorting through the thousands of donations and camping supplies which can still be repurposed to support the struggle to stop DAPL, or that may find new life in other nearby communities.

Already we have packed and delivered two shipments of clothing and non-perishable food to nearby charities and donation centers, with plans to send out our massive 28 foot trailer fully loaded two more times.

Our trucks roll through camp, excavating forgotten tents from the frozen ground, layers of ice and the all-concealing snow. Tools purchased with your contributions allow us to overcome these barriers to our success, and scrub from this sacred land every tarp, tent stake and cigarette butt we find.

But it’s not all about cleaning. Far too many elders have been left with the responsibility of breaking down their own camps, with little or no support. These have been homes for nearly a year, and are often full of yurts, large military tents, tipis and even some fully fledged houses. Unify identifies those members of the Standing Rock community who are being forgotten and we help.

You help. We could never do it without you. From the beginning, the movement against DAPL and to protect this water has relied on the aid of those whose support came from afar. We have rallied together each according to their ability. Each piece of this movement is sacred, as each cell in the body amounts to more than the sum of its parts. And now, more than ever, it is imperative we stay together.

Though the pipeline bores on, its infamy now burnished by the support of a new Presidency, the last impact of Standing Rock remains to be seen. Will we allow this movement to come stuttering to a halt, or can we find a way to fuel this new community in a responsible, sustainable manner?

Your support means direct aid on the ground as Water Protectors begin relocating to permanent eco-villages. Sacred Stone and Rosebud have no intentions of disbanding, and have secured their future on private lands directly neighboring the flood plain.

Unify will be here, sorting recycling, restoring the land and helping Grandmother wherever we can and in whomever we see her twinkling eye. Nothing in the future is certain, but we are certain not to abandon this place, not now when Standing Rock needs us the most, not ever.

Please join us in preserving and protecting this most magical of moments, and breathing new life into the most important movement in generations.

2-10-17 ~ Salina Manson… I actually saw this guy at Standing Rock. But since he wanted privacy it wasnt spoken about. I felt like he didn’t want to become a distraction. I’m sure folks will always say something critical and mean about people but I felt like he just wanted to be respectful. Wasn’t a limelight moment for him. I really respect that.

It’s all about the actions unsaid. Where no credit is needed. A million things happened at SR we all didn’t share on-line because resistance movements aren’t speaking every detail. They are too busy staying focused.
Great job Leo!

Leonardo DiCaprio Helps Pull Out $2.6 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Investments
Leonardo DiCaprio has long since come out against big oil companies and their effect on the environment. Now in an influential display of force this past fall, DiCaprio and over 2,000 people and 400 institutions have pulled out their funds in fossil fuel companies, representing an extraordinary $2.6 trillion in investments.
Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/hkzoonp

2-9-17 ~ Brenda Crawford‎ … I was watching for eagles on a dark, overcast day and a single ray of sunlight illuminated the tree line across the lake. It looked like a line of ghosts marching across the water. This is what one ray of light can do. Dedicated to the Native people and water protectors at Standing Rock. May the ray of light and love of God/The Creator shine upon you..

2-9-17 ~ CHEYENNE RIVER SIOUX TRIBE REACTS TO BIA POLICE BRUTALITY … Recent images of Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) agent brutality beating a water protector have emerged from the Sacred Stone Camp. Sources present at the incident indicated that BIA agents drove toward individuals with around seven (“7”) vehicles marked “BIA” and the officers identified themselves as BIA agents. Video images of the incident have been uploaded to various media and internet outlets showing water protectors being beaten with security batons in the legs until they fall. Audio from the video clearly picks up the water protectors’ screams. Once fallen, the water protectors were arrested. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/j3mcjvd

https://youtu.be/pbgT2fWY5J8

2-9-7 ~ Video Shows Morton County Dumping Trash Inside Standing Rock Camp To Frame Protesters …
Puente narrates that a man — whom he describes as employed by Morton County — can be seen standing near the quickly amassing pile of waste, taking pictures of the progress and attempting to persuade a few of the crew to pose in lawn chairs in front of it. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/zk8ccmr

2-9-17 ~ Lauri Hust Zupan… This is crazy !! These cases should not be taking place anywhere near Morton County !!! With the way things are a person has nowhere to go to dispute this !! We need to help find a way to get these moved and retried !! There has to be a way !! EVERYBODY reach out to everybody you know to help find a way to end this madness!! We need to make all this reach out beyond our circle of water protectors !! It may seem like the world knows but when you start to connect with those outside our news feeds on Facebook you see that it’s still too quiet ! WE NEED TO LIFT OUR VOICES BEYOND what we know to bring more awareness. There are still so many people that are not aware of Standing Rock or its happenings and how it’s affecting the country as a whole. Think about how much do you really hear about all the other pipelines going in everywhere else in the country (we need to unite). That is how much we are being heard about Standing Rock!! Many are tired but we are just in the beginning of this fight !! RECHARGE and let’s make some noise and share your knowledge from Standing Rock with other Water Protectors and Treaty Enforcers from other pipeline fights as they are all our fight for the future , so all these pipeline associated cases around the world are being heard (UNITE AS ONE ) . We need this to be talked about around the world at every water cooler and dinner table in the world each and every day until there is a solution to this madness !!! Our future generations are depending on us!! Continue Reading Four More Water Protectors Indicted on Federal Charges
http://tinyurl.com/h8yoqkn

2-8-17 ~ MORTON COUNTY SHERIFF KIRCHMEIER: Today’s decision from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is a step toward the closure necessary for pipeline construction. If protestors continue to take unlawful actions in response to the Corps’ decision, law enforcement will be forced to continue to put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the rule of law. Our hope is that the new administration in Washington will now provide North Dakota law enforcement the necessary resources to bring closure to the protests. This has never been about the pipeline or the protests. This has always been about the rule of law, protecting both residents and peaceful protestors from criminal elements that have significantly harmed people and property – all with very little assistance from the federal government in the last administration.

COMMISSIONER SCHULZ: The last administration in Washington decided against granting an easement to DAPL even through the career experts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommended approval and a federal court denied a request to stop it. And they refused to give North Dakota law enforcement the much needed resources to deal with professional protestors who have assaulted police officers, bullied residents, killed livestock, and angered the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for treating their land with disrespect. But today’s decision from the Corps shows that this new administration will not politically meddle in a thorough review of a project that will have an enormous positive effect on the economy and public safety in our area. With professional protestors continuing to engage in criminal activities, we have new hope that we didn’t have before: an administration that will help law enforcement provide public safety for the citizens of Morton County instead of turning their backs on them.

https://youtu.be/XLdNLPUUmXw

On the morning of Feb. 1, a group of water protectors established a new camp, Last Child Camp, on higher ground west of HWY 1806, which is contested treaty land. Lakota activist and LPLP attorney Chase Iron Eyes spoke with law enforcement officials at the barricade before returning to camp, where he was later arrested and charged with “inciting a riot”—a class C felony with a max sentence of five years. This video is a recap of the day and some of the wisdom Chase had to impart about this treaty stand.

2-8-17 ~ Kat N Jamie Moore… Here ya go let’s all so this. They saying the polls we sign on fb aren’t legit electronic signatures don’t count. So please send a signed no DAPL post card to the address below on the date stated.

Lorins Lewis comment to post of Trump saying he hasn’t received any negative calls about the pipeline. On March 15th, each of us will mail Donald Trump a postcard that publicly expresses our opposition to him. And we, in vast numbers, from all corners of the world, will overwhelm the man with his unpopularity and failure. We will show the media and the politicians what standing with him — and against us — means. And most importantly, we will bury the White House post office in pink slips, all informing Donnie that he’s fired.

Each of us — every protester from every march, each congress calling citizen, every boycotter, volunteer, donor, and petition signer — if each of us writes even a single postcard and we put them all in the mail on the same day, March 15th, well: you do the math.

No alternative fact or Russian translation will explain away our record-breaking, officially-verifiable, warehouse-filling flood of fury. Hank Aaron currently holds the record for fan mail, having received 900,000 pieces in a year. We’re setting a new record: over a million pieces in a day, with not a single nice thing to say.
So sharpen your wit, unsheathe your writing implements, and see if your sincerest ill-wishes can pierce Donald’s famously thin skin.

Prepare for March 15th, 2017, a day hereafter to be known as #TheIdesOfTrump

Write one postcard. Write a dozen! Take a picture and post it on social media tagged with #TheIdesOfTrump ! Spread the word! Everyone on Earth should let Donnie know how he’s doing. They can’t build a wall high enough to stop the mail.

Then, on March 15th, mail your messages to:

Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

It might just be enough to make him crack.
Not my original post but someone else’s great idea!
Copy and repost.

From someone that cares…not a bad idea and obviously not just the women or democrats or yada yada…

2-8-17 ~ Jordan … It is with a heavy heart that I can no longer be in Standing Rock at this time and every time I am on Facebook I see members of my NODAPL family being arrested, mistreated and wrongfully accused with false allegations and charges. For the simple act of trying to protect our Mother Earth and practice our constitutional right to assemble and speak against our government. There have been over 676 of arrests since the NODAPL movement started. Imagine peacefully protesting one minute then after being beat and brutalized by police you are suddenly facing felonies as well as 10 years to LIFE in prison?! That is the reality for most of those who have been arrested in the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. For standing? For praying? For trespassing? For being a leader? The corruption in legal system in Morton County and countless lies being told by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department (MCSD) and ATF is ruining peoples lives. I may no longer be physically in Standing Rock but my heart and spirit stays with my warriors.

I know this may just be another Facebook story to many of you but for myself and so many others these people are my friends and my family. These people have children, wives, husbands; these protectors have lives. Don’t abandon those who have risked everything to protect the Earth and stand up against injustices for future generations. Spread awareness. Find out how you can help. Don’t let a corrupt system continue to go unnoticed and unaccountable.

Below is a great video by TYT Politics that will give you an idea about what is going on in regards to those being charged.

Hell, they have not yet been held accountable for the 100’s of injuries I have personally seen caused by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters and DAPL employees. Lets at least hold them accountable for being unjust in arresting our water protectors.

North Dakota Supreme Court: 701-667-3350
Morton County Sheriff (Morton County Sheriff’s Department): 701-667-3330
Department Of Justice (The United States Department of Justice): 202-514-2001

2-7-17 ~ Floris Ptesáŋ Huŋká… Today us ladies met with Alicia Custer, the grandniece of General George Armstrong Custer. My grandfather killed her grandfather. I know exactly what most are going to feel immediately. Still processing this among so many other things including the Army Corps granting DAPL easement to drill under Mni Sose.

She’s a mother. She brought her daughter. She’s actually a supporter of us in this fight against DAPL. She’s brought donations and wood to the camp. So she’s helped the people keep warm through this brutal winter. She takes responsibility for her grandfather and apologized. Her family has no male births and the girls are unsica. She came for forgiveness. It struck me when she said “You’re fighting for my daughter too.” It’s true. Just like we are fighting for MCSD’s children’s water, the pipeline workers water.

She doesn’t carry an honorable name. That name is synonymous with the death of women and children. We don’t carry that burden. Our ancestors fought and died defending their families, honorably. It’s their sacrifices and honor that we draw strength from.

She had some good words the pipeline workers and MCSD could use. The stains on their legacy families incur for “just following orders”.

2-6-17 ~ Water Protector Recalls Moment National Guard Took Selfies With Caged Protectors In Background
When our bus pulled in to the Morton County facility, we saw that the bus before us had already unloaded the other Water Protectors into the dog kennels and they had been stripped down to their base layer of clothing and it was freezing cold in the garage.

There were police officers and National Guards standing around casually eating pizza and joking with each other. From my window I had a view of the cage where they were holding the men. I could hear them singing and chanting #mniwiconi to keep their spirits up. It felt good to hear that, I felt connected to them even though they were outside of the bus we were on because we are all one heart, one mind and one prayer.

As we were looking out the window, someone pointed out that 2 National Guard officers were taking selfies with their personal phones with a view of the men in the cage behind them. Sure enough, there they were smiling and laughing as they posed and snapped pictures of our Water Protector brothers in cages behind them who were doing their best to hold each other’s spirits up. It was disgusting to see them take such pleasure in it.

We sat on the bus for hours and most of us had to pee so bad but our requests to use the bathroom were denied. At one point the female guard said “ok, stand up if you have to go bathroom and can’t hold it” so we all stood up. She laughed and walked off the bus. I was in the very back of the bus and a young woman who was in the seat across the aisle couldn’t hold it anymore and pee’d in her pants then jumped out of the back of the bus with zip ties still on. I assume they took her to get cleaned up but I never saw her again after that. When they had our bags labeled there was a Jane Doe bag that none of us recognized so it may have been hers. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/hfwxvj5

2-6-17 ~ Marcos Ramirez … Yes, I’m here at Standing Rock … I’ve been here for over two weeks now, working through sickness (we have incredible medical support), cold , through the night. We’ve moved houses, modified heavy equipment, provided jail support, and supported the Warriors / Water Protectors in ways that I can only speak of quietly with the sponsors that have supported us…. We awoke Wednesday to the beautiful sight of 7 teepees on a hill, treaty land to the Lakota ( Sioux ) Nation. That day’s action would show the hypocrisy of the 6 month bridge blockade that was torn down within hours, and also thrust treaty rights back into the court system. Is there a special court, or justice system for whites vs Indigenous people? We shall see …..

I haven’t always had the time or energy to post, but I’m always watching, observing. Below is some of my photographs and short clips

2-6-17 ~ Photo by Myron Dewey… Currently taken at 7:00pm this evening at Sacred Stones Camp…across from Dakota Access Pipeline

2-6-17 ~ Dallas Goldtooth… Today during a federal court status conference, DOJ lawyers told the Judge that the Corps has forwarded a “review and analysis” to the Army leadership for a decision on the easement. They did not state what that decision was of course. They expect to announce the decision as early as friday.

Once the Army makes a decision it goes to Congress for notification. While Army policy is to wait 14 days after notification, the Presidential memo says waive that waiting period, and the DOJ did not indicate its position on this either.

The other fact that came out today under the Court’s questioning is that it would take DAPL a minimum of 83 days from the start of construction until the pipeline is fully in operation. After 60 days there could be some oil in the pipeline underneath Lake Oahe.

In layman terms. The department of army will most likely released its determination on the easement this Friday. Whereupon the tribal immediately file for an injunction.

2-6-17 ~ Ronda Hanning‎… After reading so many things these past weeks on opposing opinions, and seeing people’s frustration pouring out I feel compelled to share my thoughts.

There are many who feel victory can only be had if the DAPL is completely stopped. I too would like this outcome but do not believe we are defeated if it gets finished. I feel victory has already been achieved in many ways and that more victories will come.

Victories:
A. THE AWAKENING: The Sioux Nation awakened a staggering amount of people to not only the destruction these pipelines cause but to the injustices past and present perpetuated on them. This will continue like a domino affect until the bigger victories can be made. The only way to make sure this domino affect continues is to stay committed. To continue exposing the devastating affects of big oil and oppression of Native Americans.

B: THE UNITING: Good people, black, brown, red, yellow, white, gay, straight, catholic, muslim, baptist, wican, old, young, rich, poor, democrat, republican, german, irish, african, japanese, veterans, pacifists, teachers, students, doctors, the dieing, lawyers, the addicted and the recovering have come together. The list is endless. We all have gained insight to the others experiences, pain, joys, traditions, information, struggles and opinions. From this we are a powerful collective to right the wrongs of our past and make a better future for all.

C: THE HEALING: Individually each of us has had to confront our ignorance, our character flaws, our wrong doings, our biases, our egos, our lack of self worth, our spiritual disconnect or self-righteousness. This helps unpollute our souls so we can continue to stand for goodness.

These victories will carry us forward in truth and in light and should not be forgotten when we feel nothing has changed for the better in our efforts.

2-14-17 ~ Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn … The Dog Pack From The Camp

2-13-17 ~ Larry Eagleheart Broome‎ … WHERE ARE THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH? BUT BETTER THAN THAT, WHAT ARE THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH AND WHO ARE THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH? THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH DO NOT LOVE MONEY. THEY DO NOT DISRESPECT MOTHER EARTH. NOR DO THEY DISRESPECT THE CREATOR. THEY LOVE ONE ANOTHER. AND WILL FIGHT FOR ONE ANOTHER. THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH HAVE RESPECT ONE FOR ANOTHER. THEY PROMOTE EACH OTHER AND NOT THEIRSELVES. AMONG THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH, THEIR WOMEN ARE ALWAYS HELD IN THE HIGHEST REGUARD. THERE IS COMING A NEW WORLD ORDER WHERE LOVE IS ALL, AND NO ONE WILL LOVE MONEY. AND NONE WILL BE DISRESPECTED IN ANY WAY. NO ONE WILL BE HUNGRY OR COLD AND THERE WILL BE NO MORE WARS. THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH ARE BURNING LIGHTS AND WHEREVER THEY GO THEY DISPELL DARKNESS AND ALL THAT IT BRINGS. WHERE ARE THE TRUE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH, WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE ARE YOU. YOU ARE THE ONES WITH THE SPIRIT OF AN EAGLE AND THE HEART OF A LION. PLEASE COME FORWARD FOR WE NEED YOUR LIGHT.
Eagleheart

2-13-17 ~ Moana Maaka‎ …Our time here at Standing Rock is now, no matter where you stand we at will can allow our good energies and prayers to flow to where they need to be, that’s the beauty of prayer and blessings xx

Mother Earth and our Ancestors hear and feel our vibrations connecting. They are forgiving as we go about our lessons needed to be learned but also to be taught, she is patient even as greed becomes so disconnected to their destructive ways, lessons to the watching world will be to see the level of corruption and discontent they will go to to make a dollar, no more can they hide their greed they have televised, social networked, spread their lies and their intentions for all the world to see..

As peaceful Water Protectors we are merely a vessel bought here to give and show compassion, to give love, strength and bring Unity. Our connection goes deep and we understand that respect and appreciation must be given to all things living it’s Natures Law…

2-13-17 ~ Allison Peacock … A CALL TO ARMS: STANDING ROCK NEEDS YOU
The spring thaw is just around the corner. And if the movement that made the world sit up and notice doesn’t rally back to camp, well, we should all be ashamed.

A small group of very dedicated volunteers and a few paid contractors who come by to haul things away are doing the work of thousands. At times heavy equipment arrives to scoop up snow into large piles and clear the way for movement around camp to remove trash and debris.

The amount of debris a few people are trying to sort through is overwhelming to behold.

Some say it’s hard to imagine how ten thousand people who love the earth and the water so much would leave behind this kind of tonnage in waste. Yet no one can outwit a blizzard.

When people around the world heard the call, they came. And if they couldn’t come, they sent clothing. They sent sleeping bags. They sent food.

And then, on December 5, a massive blizzard hit the Cannonball area. I can personally attest to the fierceness of the white out conditions. I was stuck in a casino nearby unable to drive for several days until the state gave the all clear on the roads. By that time tents full of donations and provisions had been buried. Well-meaning campers, thinking they were providing for the next person who came along, left tents, food, and gear.

It is the Standing Rock way. Share what you have with your neighbor and we’ll all be just fine.

It’s hard to imagine how so much actual trash made it onto the ground as well. We all tried so hard to be self-contained and live light on the earth while in camp. I personally carried my every scrap of food wrapper and used Kleenex out of camp with me in my own trash bag. I carried my orange peels to the community compost. Yet there are thousands of bags of trash left behind anyway.

Somehow in all of the massive outpouring of humanity, we all weren’t as thoughtful as we could have been.

I personally picked up three bags full today between shuttling media and documenting stories. I realized my first day back that I would have to keep a trash bag in my pocket and pick things up as I walk to the compost toilets or to interview a crew organizer. It would hurt my soul not to bend over and pick up the old batteries or crushed carton of eggs when I pass by – screws in my back or not. It’s a start.

Now if only 200 more people would come and do the same.

Camp Oceti needs us. Teams of people are needed to clean up and clean up hard. Rally your football teams, fraternities, Boy Scout troops, youth groups, and VFW groups.

Where are the veterans who raised $1 million to come to camp for four days? I saw none today cleaning up. I hope they’re here. I hope they’re picking up trash as I did today.

Mother Earth deserves it. We can’t become the great irony of the water protection movement. Please come. Bring your work gloves. Bring your trash bags. Just come.

Tomorrow I’ll post instructions on how you can help clean up our beloved Camp Oceti.

2-13-17 ~ These 10 Quotes From an Oglala Lakota Chief Will Make You Question Everything About Our Society
Luther Standing Bear was an Oglala Lakota Sioux Chief who, among a few rare others such as Charles Eastman, Black Elk and Gertrude Bonnin occupied the rift between the way of life of the Indigenous people of the Great Plains before, and during, the arrival and subsequent spread of the European pioneers. Raised in the traditions of his people until the age of eleven, he was then educated at the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School of Pennsylvania, where he learned the English language and way of life. (Though a National Historical Landmark, Carlisle remains a place of controversy in Native circles.) Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/zwqcwcf

2-13-17 ~ Wopida to the Akicita with #VeteransRespond who have sent some people out to camp to help with cleanup and be on hand for any other need the people may have. We appreciate our veterans across the country for everything they’ve done and pray for all the things they have yet to do. They’re a group I trust and have had a blast getting to know, I’ll paste their fundraiser link below.

2-5-17 ~ Chief Crazy Horse
I salute the light within your eyes where the whole universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am at that place within me, we shall be one.
~ Chief Crazy Horse
Oglala Sioux, 1877

2-5-17 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi… LaDonna Allard, Standing Rock and No DAPL
I read LaDonna Allard’s post a couple of hours ago, but needed to wait and comment after letting her words sink in. Now I will comment since LaDonna is one of those people who has become so much more than just LaDonna. This has happened not through ego or intention, but because of the leadership and spirit she has shown.

When friends asked me to begin a Facebook support page for the Standing Rock Protestors in August I knew little of what was going on – and little of Standing Rock. The Black Hills – Pine Ridge – yes, but Standing Rock and North Dakota – no. I was busy running our educational non-profit, Sanctuaries of the Earth Mother, with Sue, my wife and did not need more work. But, after three calls and requests I agreed to do it. As we talked on the phone we spoke of how the people beginning to mass at Standing Rock were Protectors. So the group name of Standing Rock Protectors – Pipeline Protestors was used.

The group grew quickly and we were 30,000 strong by September. In October Sue and I headed to Standing Rock and Sacred Stone Camp. So, that is the beginning of the virtual support and how I came to meet LaDonna. After we were at Sacred Stone 5 days or so we walked back to our little RV one evening and saw LaDonna and her husband sitting by one of the fires. We went over and we all began to speak. I have written about this before and will post that again another day. This is about LaDonna and the Protectors. I was immediately impressed by her strength and commitment. And by her words. She spoke of the young ones who had come to her about the pipeline. And mentioned her son. We spoke of the pipeline and the sacred ground. She shared how that camp was on her land and she would fight to keep it there. Her husband spoke of LaDonna’s long time commitment to her families land and untiring work at stopping the pipeline now.

I told her of the virtual group supporting her and the main camp and how many people were already in it. She said that piece was critical and wanted us to do whatever it took to tell more people, spread the word and tell them why the pipeline was bad for Standing Rock and all people along the rivers fed by the Missouri. We told her we would do all in our power. And we would try to help with donations and materials. Then we spoke of re-routing the pipeline and she was the first who said to me this was about stopping, not re-routing, the pipeline. Under the river was bad, no matter where it was done. She gave us permission to film and record those willing and we got press passes and did so for a week.

Since that time our group has followed LaDonna’s work and all the camps at Standing Rock. And promoted and educated. And watched groups appear around the world. Now with over 134,000 in this group we continue the work Standing Rock – and LaDonna and all the elders began. They are the heroes. And they have won SO much that has captivated and amazed people around the world.

Some of the things LaDonna told me were: 1) this had to be and remain a peaceful protest and 2) have the people send prayers – lots of prayers and 3) talk about all people working together.

Other elders told me similar things as LaDonna, but Sue and I heard her words first and with our hearts. This we have done and will continue. The Standing Rock protest is not over – the venue changes now. But the successes and wins do amaze me. The biggest, most incredible success of these camps is that everyone there was working together – shoulder-to-shoulder. We worked with red, white, black and yellow… old and young… male and female… citizens of the U.S. and many other countries. And I watched Native American friends from tribes long considered enemies embracing. This is truly the prophecy of the four colors coming together and sharing their wisdom playing out. When Sue and I went to camp meetings we heard LaDonna also speak to this.

For months now we in our virtual group have spoken of Water is Life the Movement and how that must be the next evolution of this water protection work. I have long said Standing Rock or any individual protest will eventually be decided – win or lose. And that ends the issue. But a united movement for clean water around the world goes on and on – each protest connected to all the others. A tsunami of clean water demands that cannot be stopped. Now I see that is also the best way to honor LaDonna and all the camps and protectors of Standing Rock – carry on the Water is Life Movement with the same fervor as is being shown at Standing Rock… and Flint… and Florida… and Texas… and everywhere.

The Red Nations began Standing Rock and welcomed in the White, Black and Yellow. Other protests were first led by the Black Nation or White or Yellow. Together, being colorblind now, we move ahead.

Lately there have been some dark comments – some divisive ‘one color only’ comments – some ridicule – some hate talk. Those doing this have no understanding at all of what Standing Rock is about. The majority in the movement know we must be all one and welcome and share with ALL people – regardless of their color or race. That is the current huge legacy of Standing Rock.

Thank you LaDonna. Thank you Protectors.

2-5-17 ~ Lorna R Knowshisgun… Sacred Stone Camp today when the BIA forced their way into the upper entrance to the camp due to a phone call made by the gentleman in the house who is pointing. In the process 3-4 people were abused and one person sustained a possible broken arm.

It is unclear why the BIA were called to the house. It is possible the owner complained about the mutually shared driveway was being blocked. However, it seems strange that 6 BIA vehicles and countless BIA police were necessary to answer a call that could have been handled by one car, one man.

2-5-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin Camp… Kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) | Less Than Lethal Weapons on US Civilians

**Name ONE of these injuries that Water Protectors have NOT sustained at Standing Rock. Where else are these happening in the United States?**

“EYES
Direct trauma to the eye from KIPs nearly always causes total blindness in that eye, due to rupture of the globe (eyeball) as well as trauma to nearby structures. KIPs can also penetrate through the eye socket and enter the brain, causing brain injury.

CARDIORESPIRATORY SYSTEM
KIPs can cause bruising of the lungs or heart, and penetration into the chest may cause serious, possibly fatal injuries such as bleeding, pneumothorax, and heart attacks.

SKELETAL SYSTEM
Injuries to the muscles and bones may cause sprains, bruises, and fractures. Deeper injuries can cause permanent damage to the neurovascular structures, leading to amputations or compartment syndrome.

BRAIN
Blunt trauma to the brain can cause concussions and bruising inside the brain (contusions) as well as different types of bleeding in the brain (intracranial hemorrhage) and skull fractures. KIPs have also been known to penetrate the skull or enter the brain tissue, causing hemorrhage, injury to the spinal cord, and severe brain injury from the foreign body.

HEAD and NECK
The delicate structures of the face and neck are particularly vulnerable to traumatic injury. The bones of the face and skull, the spinal cord, and the blood vessels in the neck are all close to the skin surface.

ABDOMINAL
Blunt injuries can cause bleeding in the solid organs such as the liver, kidney, and spleen; penetrative injuries can also cause bleeding, perforations, and urogenital injuries.

SKIN and SOFT TISSUE
KIPs can cause bruising and contusions of the skin and soft tissue, as well as superficial and deep lacerations, some of which may cause muscle or nerve damage as well as bleeding.”
**Where else in the United States are we seeing injuries like these, delivered by Law Enforcement to control crowds of peaceful protesters?**

Download the Full Fact Sheet Here:
http://tinyurl.com/h2qvazf

Photo by AdaMedia Med Mera

2-4-17 ~ TO SAVE THE WATER, WE MUST BREAK THE CYCLE OF COLONIAL TRAUMA… Ladonna Bravebull Allard says, “This movement was started by the people, and led by our youth. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s decision to negotiate with the State and disown the people who came to fight for our water is risking more than they understand. We have had many thousands of people ready to stand together in front of those machines. The Indigenous nations of Turtle Island had united as never before. But as division grows, it is very difficult to see a path forward. We have no choice but to break the cycle of trauma so our future generations can have a better life.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/gt9f4a4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_TA3RUVnKk&feature=youtu.be

2-4-17 ~ Luba Williams… Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault has been criticized for things he recently said. Without getting into specifics the Chairman indicated perhaps the battle is not best fought in person. There were other comments made about water and the pipeline which seemed unusual and odd, not very supportive of the Water Is Life movement.

At first you may be in shock when you hear these words. But if you look at the mans face his posture the tone of his voice and facial expressions he does not believe what he is saying. To me he looked like an emotional blackmailed hostage. Forced to say things he did not want to say. I cannot say if this is true nor why and by whom, but that is just my personal opinion. So he will now take heat from both sides and be surrounded by negative energy. When in fact I think this is the time perhaps some positive prayerful energy needs to surround him, his family and every single person involved directly or indirectly at Standing Rock camps. Remember he is not the enemy and he is not the one wanting to build this pipeline. But he is the focus of speculation and the one that the powers who make decisions in this country will focus their sites on. That is not an easy position to be in.

We are living in a time where money is very powerful and people and companies have power to do very sinister things. There are concerns about poisoning of people with rodent killing chemicals at Standing Rock. Imagine if that’s just the start. What else could the sinister do?

What else and how else could people be affected. The pipeline is dangerous, but what else is also ? We know the pipeline may eventually leak. But we also know that direct deliberate actions may be more dangerous right now. What is the solution, I don’t know. Yet I strongly believe we need to be thoughtful of our words and intentions and how we feel about others right now.

2-4-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin Camp… Kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) | Less Than Lethal Weapons on US Civilians

Though the law enforcement agents used no weapons on the Water Protectors during the Last Child Camp raid on February 1, they were fully armed with them. At close range, rifles like these were trained on the assembled people gathered, all of whom have no reason to begin trusting that this sort of unregulated weaponry won’t be used.

Why must military-grade weapons be used to manage a peaceful assembly of people, a First Amendment Right? How does this ongoing show of force protect and serve anyone?

“KIPs are commonly known as rubber and plastic bullets, are used for crowd-control purposes by law enforcement worldwide in multiple forms and are shot from myriad types of guns and launchers. The findings of a systematic review of medical literature carried out by Physicians for Human Rights indicate that KIPs cause serious injury, disability, and death. KIPs are inherently inaccurate when fired from afar and therefore can cause unintended injuries to bystanders and strike vulnerable body parts; at close range, they are likely to be lethal. Therefore, KIPs are not an appropriate weapon to be used for crowd management and specifically for dispersal purposes.

HEALTH EFFECTS
KIPs can cause blunt or penetrative trauma. Penetrative injuries are those that pierce the skin or soft tissue. Blunt injuries are those that cause internal damage without breaking the skin barrier.”

Download the Full Fact Sheet Here:
http://tinyurl.com/h2qvazf

2-4-17 ~ Help still needed for the clean up effort. That December 4th stunt really left the protectors with a lot of clean-up to do. Making good progress.

Keep in mind when they announced victory on Dec 4th with all the world watching nearly 8000 people disappeared over night. Also there were many supplies that were bought with donation money so those who used it likely did not think it was theirs to take.

2-4-17 ~ Joshua Smith… With great reluctance I wanted to throw some actions out into the public, and honestly they might give some firepower to those against the Standing Rock Movement. There are many rumors of Financial Malfeasance by David Archambault and other members of the Tribal Council but I will stick to the ones which there is verifiable evidence for. It appears as though SRST Tribal Council and Chairman David Archambault may have MISAPPROPRIATED the $6.5 million in donations, and are now working with the federal government to crush the grassroots movement of those still there opposed to the pipeline.

The stench of malfeasance doesn’t smell any better just because it emanates from an ally. In some sense, I do have to say they are still on the forefront of the legal battle challenging DAPL in court.

Lateral Violence is when two different factions within a given movement criticize the other in a manner which creates division and also provide those opposed to the movement reasoning to criticize us. That being said I believe it is incumbent upon any movement to not close ranks and hide facts. In the spirit of that I’m urging individuals who support the Water Protectors and are part of the NoDAPL movement to consider the following actions and if you find it appropriate either withdraw your support and/or demand accountability from Dave Archambault and the Standing Rock Tribal Council.

I want you to consider their actions in the last few months. I also want you to consider throwing all your support behind Sacred Stone Camp, LaDonna Allard and Chase Iron Eyes. Understand that within any movement there is not one voice, but many voices and groups. I would like to point out that the SRST Chairman and Tribal cCouncil are but a small portion and have been allied, but have not been Leaders of the Camp Movement. Also remember, they are a political organization. Early on they made huge appeals for people to come to Standing Rock, and we did. Since mid-December, they have taken numerous actions that I believe are extremely questionable, which have been widely reported in the media but also documented as they were discussed and voted on in public council sessions. It appears they have misappropriated the money donated to them and at this time are trying to evict those that came to stand in solidarity with the NoDAPL Movement.

They are making numerous statements implying that this movement is led by themselves and are now portraying themselves as the only legitimate Water Protectors and calling Sacred Stone and the other people camped out as rogue factions. I can only surmise that perhaps they are trying to co-opt the movement in an attempt to silence the movement.

THIS WAS A YOUTH MOVEMENT WHICH STARTED BY & YOUTH’S CAMPED OUT ON LADONNA ALLARD’S PRIVATE PROPERTY. It was NOT organized or requested by the Tribal Government.

Last count IIRC they have accepted more than $6.5 million dollars in donations and while they have provided some support financially to the camps, purportedly they also voted to Use a large chunk of this money to pay Debt which Pre-existed the movement. This was adopted by a recorded council resolution and once again reported by the independent media. Call SRST Council and demand accountability for where they spent your money if you donated.

Also In December, after they called for the Water Protectors to go home, It was found that an entire warehouse owned by the tribe was filled with months full of Mail as well as monetary and purchased items addressed to both individual water protectors but also Sacred stone Camp (a separate entity) had been stockpiled and not delivered to whom they were addressed. The Council Asserts this was an administrative Error. Given the totality of their actions I question this.

Cody Two Bears, a council member has been very vocal and has also publicly advocated now that the federal government and federal law enforcement assist them in clearing the camps. One such camp, Sacred Stone, is purportedly on private ground owned by Ladonna Allard. In the Past SRST has made numerous statements supporting that this Camp is a safe camp because it is on Ladonna’s private ground.

In a stunning reversal they requested Federal Law enforcement and BIA officials, along with ATF and ACOE enter her private property without a warrant yesterday for an “Assessment.” They are now claiming that the tribe not Miss Allard has majority ownership of the property. I would challenge this claim, based on their previous statements.

I would urge you to call the tribal Government to:
Demand an accounting of your money.
Express your opinion of their actions.
Ask them about their recent collaboration with Federal officials.

Ladonna Allard and Chase Iron Eyes are still on the ground still standing up against the DAPL Movement and I believe these actions of protest have ensured our success thus far. Consider withdrawing your support from the SRST tribal Council and Dave Archambault, and support those still on the ground, still standing up for the water.

2-4-17 STANDING ROCK Update:
Greetings from Standing Rock, where the struggle to bring compassion and awareness into the thoughts and minds of all peoples in all parts of the world continues. We are here on the ground, partnering with local organizers, native communities and you, the generous supporters of our continued efforts to restore the land to the pristine state in which we found her.

Grandmother, the Earth is called by so many here. And as she changes her clothes, shrugging off this long Winter and emerging into Spring, our work is made all the more urgent. Rising flood waters from the Missouri River will soon wash away any trash or refuse left behind by the waves of supporters, tourists and passersby who have lent their support, in myriad forms, these past many months.

Now we roll up our sleeves and do the difficult work of sorting through the thousands of donations and camping supplies which can still be repurposed to support the struggle to stop DAPL, or that may find new life in other nearby communities.

Already we have packed and delivered two shipments of clothing and non-perishable food to nearby charities and donation centers, with plans to send out our massive 28 foot trailer fully loaded two more times.
Our trucks roll through camp, excavating forgotten tents from the frozen ground, layers of ice and the all-concealing snow. Tools purchased with your contributions allow us to overcome these barriers to our success, and scrub from this sacred land every tarp, tent stake and cigarette butt we find.

But it’s not all about cleaning. Far too many elders have been left with the responsibility of breaking down their own camps, with little or no support. These have been homes for nearly a year, and are often full of yurts, large military tents, tipis and even some fully fledged houses. Unify identifies those members of the Standing Rock community who are being forgotten and we help.

You help. We could never do it without you. From the beginning, the movement against DAPL and to protect this water has relied on the aid of those whose support came from afar. We have rallied together each according to their ability. Each piece of this movement is sacred, as each cell in the body amounts to more than the sum of its parts. And now, more than ever, it is imperative we stay together.
Though the pipeline bores on, its infamy now burnished by the support of a new Presidency, the last impact of Standing Rock remains to be seen. Will we allow this movement to come stuttering to a halt, or can we find a way to fuel this new community in a responsible, sustainable manner?

Your support means direct aid on the ground as Water Protectors begin relocating to permanent ecovillages. Sacred Stone and Rosebud have no intentions of disbanding, and have secured their future on private lands directly neighboring the flood plain.

Unify will be here, sorting recycling, restoring the land and helping Grandmother wherever we can and in whomever we see her twinkling eye. Nothing in the future is certain, but we are certain not to abandon this place, not now when Standing Rock needs us the most, not ever.

Please join us in preserving and protecting this most magical of moments, and breathing new life into the most important movement in generations.

2-4-17 ~ ‎Joshua Taflinger… We have been in camp all week collecting information face to face directly from camp coordinators and leaders in Oceti Oyate, Rosebud, and the new Black Hoop Camp. **(Didn’t spend time in Sacred Stone, so can’t report facts on that one. Check out live feeds for those updates)

All camps agree that Dave Archambault and the SRST are corrupt politicians that have been bought and have bailed on the people that THEY called out to stand and help protect the water, land, and sacred sites.

The Army Corps announced an eviction notice to Oceti Oyate(main camp) and the sections of Rosebud that the Army Corps has illegally (based on the treaties) claimed for February 22nd. Many are cleaning up, packing up, and heading out.

Many Water Protectors are dedicated to stay and stand and are praying for you, Veterans, anyone to stand and resist with us on the 22nd!

The numbers in camp are dwindling and with these declining numbers, when police raid on the 22nd, they will have no problem clearing out the resistance. We cannot quit now. If we give them this victory they will just keep taking more and more until there is nothing left to stand for.

Now more than ever, people are being called to camp. It would logistically be much more difficult/improbable for police to clear out camp if there were 1,000’s present on the 22nd.
Come prepared to resist and potentially be arrested. If you don’t come, this will be over!

Rosebud camp is focused on major clean up efforts as well as working out logistics to move their camp up the hill to higher ground to the new Blackhoop Memorial Camp.
This will be an invitation camp. People will be vetted to make sure there are as few “agitators”.
This will be a peaceful prayer camp.

All camps, especially Rosebud, need help cleaning up the grounds to prevent the debris from getting washed into the river if flooding occurs. Please go NOW!! You are NEEDED and encouraged to help with clean up efforts if possible. Many hands make light work.

And this is directly from those who are committed to staying and resisting DAPL. There is a call for the VETERANS to begin arriving before the 22nd, set up, and dig in and prepare. If you do not come in large numbers, the camp will be crushed and cleared out.

Face your fears! Get in your car and get your butt to Standing Rock!! This is our last chance to STAND and kill this Black Snake! We need you!

2-3-17 ~ Redhawk Standing Rock Rising
RESIST.
RISE.
YOU ARE THE RESISTANCE.
WE ARE THE RESISTANCE.
WE ARE OUR ANCESTORS WILDEST DREAMS COME TRUE.
WE ARE THE FRONTLINE FOR MOTHER EARTH.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW DEFINES THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET.
HOLD. YOUR. GROUND.
MNI WICONI
-Redhawk

c

2-3-17 ~ Redhawk… During the police sweep of Last Child Camp, Water Protectors were all charged with “engaging in a riot” along with “trespassing” on treaty land.

In this photo, to the right, you can see all the Water Protectors holding a prayer circle around the Sacred Fire.

On the left, you can see law enforcement approaching the Water Protectors.

Not quite sure where this “riot” is.
False charges.
-Redhawk

2-3-17 ~ Andrew Alexis Varvel… “I think Chase Iron Eyes set a trap for the Morton County Sheriff and Dakota Access LLC and they fell in. Firstly, Sheriff Kirchmeier had been claiming that the Backwater Bridge needed to be closed down because it needed repairs – his very use of that bridge exposes Morton County’s blockade of that bridge as entirely punitive in nature. Secondly, Chase Iron Eyes now has a clearcut case testing his rights as a member of Oceti Sakowin to press territorial claims under the Fort Laramie Treaty. Thirdly, his arrest exposes the flimsy nature of Dakota Access LLC’s claim to own (and at that, temporarily own until the end of this year!) the Cannonball Ranch – the Attorney General had to twist North Dakota’s farming law into a pretzel (in defiance of over three-fourths of the electorate as expressed in last June’s referendum!) to accept Dakota Access LLC’s justification that it needed to use the property as a security perimeter around its state-granted easement. Fourthly, Chase Iron Eyes has now become a political prisoner, which helps bring more publicity for the cause. Fifthly, his arrest can show the outside world how morally corrupt the local news media’s demonization of him has really become.

Chase Iron Eyes is a lot smarter than his opponents give him credit for. I would not underestimate him.”
– ‎Andrew Alexis Varvel‎ // #LastChildCamp #IndigenousRising

2-3-17 ~ Ken Ward tried to save our water and was sentenced to 20 years for his efforts. These oil companies have the country’s judicial and law enforcement in their pockets. they want profits and we need water. The people of this country need to rise up NOW!! We need to tell everyone we know what’s happening to our water ways and water ways all over the world. The last war will be for water!

2-1-17 ~ US Army Corps ordered to allow the completion of the Dakota Access pipeline
Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer had “directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with the easement needed to complete the Dakota Access pipeline,” and that Congressional notification was “imminent”. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/hf2drtg

Standing Rock Last Child Camp Raid 2/5/17
https://youtu.be/ZLLzpR41qxY

2-1-17 ~ Lindsey Norton… DAPL has set fire the the new camp set up across from Oceti. The DAPL men are now having a celebration around the burning remains of the arrested protector’s homes and property.

Standing Rock Camp Raided, Mass Arrests
https://youtu.be/njW9JAAWlsw

2-1-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Police arrested 76 Water Protectors at the New Camp Raid after dismantling the barricade and rolling in like an Army!

Tin Soldiers and DAPL’s Army
Completely exhausting day. I hope the arrested can be bailed out quickly.

Mass Arrests by shameful Miltarized police at New Camp Raid! Humvees and military gear line our streets and we stay silent? Will you?
Share Everywhere! Protect the Water!!

Follow Johnny Dangers and Johnny K. Dangers for continued on the ground updates and more on defeating the Black Snake that is the Dakota Access Pipeline! Click where it says “Follow” on my profile and change it to “See First” to not miss any #NoDAPL updates.

2-1-17 ~ Last Child Camp. It’s gone now. Torn down and burned.

2-1-17 ~ Updates from Sacred Stone Camp… requests for Standing Rock allies to physically provide support at Sacred Stone Camp. But you must be self-sufficient. The kitchens are closed down there now. you need to be able to feed yourself….and provide your own winter gear and camping gear etc. once at Camp you will be put to work.

If you can’t go to Standing Rock…..please go to any of the Army Corps of Engineers and do a peaceful, prayerful sit-in. Do not leave until they force you to leave. Finally, divest your money from the banks that fund the pipeline

2-1-17 ~ Gary Rice… In honor of the Last Child Warrior Society, the only such society created by Crazy Horse we are asking all frontliners in camp to come to the high ground west of the Oceti camps to put out a call for others to join this stand. It’s time brothers & sisters. Our conscience won’t let us back down. In the spirit of Crazy Horse.

1-31-17 ~ LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard… calling all veterans and Standing Rock allies to go to Standing Rock! They need everyone’s help to fight the black snake! LaDonna says if you can go support them at Standing Rock do so asap!

1-30-17 ~ The Standing Rock Water Protectors … had some apprehension about returning to Standing Rock due to all of the sensational and mostly false reports about military invasions and mass eviction of the camps. It was a relief to find most of the people calm and not too concerned about deadlines. There was one report of “Massive military buildup”. I never saw it. When I arrived I found the camp at work organizing a move to higher ground but it was a controlled plan and very methodical. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/j4akpbu

1-30-17 Cheryl Angel, Sicangu Lakota – Rose Bud, SD… “I felt an obligation, because the water was under attack. It wasn’t a Lakota calling. It was an Earth calling. And the river she called, and thousands came..

There is so much work to be done here on so many different levels. So the work I’ve done, I would say is — I’m a gatherer of resources, of people, of prayers. That’s what I’ve been doing. And then I’m a giver, also. I give praise. I give thanks. I try to give good words to encourage people, and my time. I give of my time. If I’m walking somewhere to do something and someone needs time, help, or encouragement, then I’ll stop and do what I can to encourage that person, and then I’ll just get to where I’m going later.”

1-30-17 ~ The Trump presidency and the United States’ First Nations are on a collision course brought about purely by Trump’s racism and hatred of anyone who gets in his way.

After Trump took power, the White House website was changed and its Native American page was taken down. The pages for civil rights, people with disabilities and climate change also disappeared. In their place was a biography of Melania Trump.

Earlier, Obama renamed Mount McKinley in Alaska to Mount Denali, which is the Native American name for the mountain. This incensed Trump, who vowed that when he became president he would return the name Mount McKinley to the country’s highest mountain. This is a small matter, but it illustrates Trump’s temperament and micromanagement approach.

The Trump government is quickly proving that it’s no fan of Native Americans, and Trump’s negative relations with Native Americans goes way back.

In the 1990s, when Native American casinos were expanding, they began to cut into his gambling profits. He began a fake news campaign that Native American casinos were run by the mafia and career criminals. He even stated that some tribes were faking their ancestry.

Meanwhile, Trump tried to strike a management deal with the Agua Caliente Band in Palm Springs; they turned him down, further inflaming his bruised ego.

In 2000, the St Regis Mohawk tribe at Akwesasne planned a casino, and a series of ads came out in local newspapers with pictures of hypodermic needles and lines of coke. The caption read, “Are these the kind of neighbours you want?” The ads were sponsored by an organization called the New York State Institute for Law and Society. As it turned out, Donald Trump was the principal funder.
The repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also called ObamaCare, will have a serious effect on Native American tribes. When the act was passed it included the Indian Health Care Act and a funding stream was established to fund Indian health care. Since ObamaCare is about to be repealed, no allowance has been made for Native American health care.

Like Canada, health care is promised in many of the treaties in the United States, but their implementation is spotty.
This brings us to the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been under attack by the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. President Obama refused to grant a licence to tunnel under the river, instead calling upon the Army Corps of Engineers to find an alternate route. The Republican state governor, along with the Republican representatives, were all in favour of pushing ahead. North Dakota state Senator John Hoven (Republican) has been elected chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Hoven has been an outspoken opponent of the action taken by the Standing Rock tribe.

Standing Rock faces a perfect storm of law makers from the president on down who have no qualms about crushing opposition to the pipeline.
Trump signed a presidential memorandum calling for the re-authorization of the Dakota Access Pipeline in spite of the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers had denied Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline owner, an easement to tunnel under the Missouri River at Standing Rock. The Army Corps is currently studying alternate routes for the pipeline.

The question is, can the environmental process be rescinded by a presidential memorandum?

The Dakota Access Pipeline has become the line in the sand where America’s next Indian war will be fought; the new battlefield will be the courtroom. The Standing Rock tribe has stated that they will take the government to court and tie them up for years.

The tribe can move forward on three fronts: first, they have the moral authority to protect their land and water; second, they have the legal authority based on their treaties; third, they have the political authority based on a nation to nation relationship with the United States, and unilateral action by one party cannot be allowed.

It’s becoming obvious that Trump has little regard or knowledge of process and the role of government. Governments are not there to be run like a corporation, but have checks and balances and due process. It’s a lesson the Standing Rock Sioux Nation is about to teach him.

2-1-17 ~ Chase Iron Eyes Arrested, Police Look To Make Example – J Grady
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfF1odI2VX8

2-1-17 ~ Myron Dewey ~ Update on Oceti Resistance prayer camp – J Grady
https://youtu.be/z1EOIBm3a6M

2-1-17 ~ Chase Iron Eyes Arrested, Police Look To Make Example – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/tfGYwgScSEc

2-1-17 ~ Police raid Standing Rock camps as Army Corps moves forward on construction review – RT America
https://youtu.be/QoRtTunyUOg

2-1-17 ~ Standing Rock – 02/01/17 – Keytha Fixico – 331pm – Update #2 – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/MQb-OXBXkOk

2-1-17 ~ EXPLAINED: Standing Rock Protectors’ BOGUS Charges – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/yfx9THlHVFQ

2-1-17 ~ Serious action happening NOW at Standing – Uprising TV
https://youtu.be/ni7Pc1t6JK8

DISCLAIMER ~ The photo of the above tipi’s burning is not from Standing Rock it is from the movie trailer Wounded Knee. HOWEVER 76 Water Protectors were arrested for saying Treaty Rights should be respected. The police arrested those brave people on stolen Treaty land make no mistake. We hope for their quick release.

2-1-17 ~ Police Raid Standing Rock Camp, Destroy Tipis and Are Burning What Remains… 68 arrested.. The 7 tipi’s were burned. Chase Iron Eyes and Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn are among the ones arrested. Morton County is overwhelmed so other counties are taking in the arrested. I am sick to my stomach with worry. Many of those arrested are the ones who broadcast out the most.”

UPDATE 2-3-17 ~ Law enforcement showed up at LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard’s front door on Thursday, claiming the need to perform an “assessment” of the Camp of the Sacred Stones — the original Dakota Access Pipeline opposition camp erected in early April — but refused to offer a warrant or explanation for the sudden appearance Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/jdn7cnm

MORE LIES
1-30-17 ~ Who is Coming Into Camp?
This morning, everyone in camp is seeking clear answers.
This morning, we NEED to know what is going to be happening in the next couple of days.

This is a statement from the people who plan to bring heavy machinery into camp. There WILL NOT be a raid. We were assured multiple times last night at Prairie Knights Casino by several government representatives including the Executive Director of Indian Affairs from North Dakota, and the Brownfield Coordinator from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe EPA.

This conversation happened in the presence of the Communications Director from the Governor’s Office, General Al Dohrmann, the North Dakota Commander of the National Guard, the Director of Emergency Services, someone from the State Health Department, the Department of Transportation, and the Army Corps of Engineers, the BIA and Morton County. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) from Thunder Valley and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will be sending volunteers to help as well.

What is not clear is the timeline, but we should be prepared, and representatives from camp were also present to emphasize what our priorities are in terms of:
Protecting the Water by making sure the camp site is clear, so that nothing washes into the river with the floods we are expecting.
2. Keeping everyone in camp safe, with careful attention paid to the perpetual stress and pressure everyone has been exposed to.
3. Doing all we can to avoid a violent or armed conflict.
4. Assuring all Law Enforcement and State Agencies that people in camp have worked very hard to develop an efficient plan in line with public safety and environmental health.

Water Protectors have been here and offered to help us with this large task are standing strong together, ready to come help with camp clean up and with moving those who want to stay to higher ground.

Leaders from Rosebud/Sicangu Camp, Oceti Sakowin Camp, Tribal Elders, the Medics and Healer’s Council, Cannon Ball community, and Water Protectors were there to talk with the Tribal, State and Law Enforcement Agencies. Concerns for the community relationships of Standing Rock and neighboring cities and towns were discussed at length. We need to leave this sacred ground better than we found it, environmentally, physically, emotionally and with special regard to racial tensions.

2-1-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With #NoDAPl Warrior Angie Spencer (2/1/2017) Serious Action Happening NOW! – Mystic Dave
https://youtu.be/O0qnS8Owlzo

2-1-17 ~ Lost Child camp is being overtaken by Morton County Militia – Uprising TV
https://youtu.be/JtdDvDrAsMs

2-1-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With #NoDAPL Warrior Johnny Dangers (2/1/2017) We Resist!
https://youtu.be/JPR8OQ8MQQM

2-1-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With #NoDAPL Warrior Angie Spencer (2/1/2017) New Camp Set Up On Treaty Land – Mystic Dave
https://youtu.be/09Dg8LkFSWM

2-1-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With #NoDAPL Warrior Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn (2/1/2017) New Camp – Mystic Dave
https://youtu.be/pupAtaeyQJ0

2-1-17 ~ Johnny Dangers ~ Mass Arrests by shameful Miltarized police at New Camp Raid – J Grady
https://youtu.be/LR1Mk2VjSQQ

Sacred Water: Standing Rock Part I – RISE (Full Episode)
https://youtu.be/38rl_kSvfrs

Red Power: Standing Rock Part II – RISE (Full Episode)
https://youtu.be/RbQP7Z2t0hs

1-29-17 ~ Standing Rock Update… We are told that the 1806 blockade is going to be removed. DAPL side is to back off the bridge and the parts of Turtle Island we can see so as not to be such an agitating presence. They say they will remove weapons from their side. Given the current administration, many are dubious about this news. The tribal council says they will not be sending in people to remove us but still ask us to leave by the 30th. We wonder if ACOE is about to give jurisdiction to Morton County to come in and remove us. Some assume the tribal council may be privy to a move of such sort and as such think the 30th leave date is a warning. I stay as far away from speculation as possible while remaining aware of my surroundings. We continue to question and denounce Trump’s decisions. My phone seems to be taking screenshots by itself. Things are ever changing. Media has been around the last several days but we have a hard time finding what is being said about camp because of connectivity issues. We send our love to all supporters (and non supporters) and our families and appreciate the sacrifice our families make having us out here.
Many people are making a call for more protectors to come.

1-28-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin Camp, The Horn
January 28th, 2016
Local Leadership comes to decision, Oceti Sakowin Headsmen meet with ND Governor.
Cannon Ball River, ND – After days of deliberation between the North Dakota Governor’s office, the Oceti Sakowin Headsmen Council and numerous Tribal Reps – the state will begin taking apart the backwater bridge barricade. Removing razor wire, and some of the concrete. They have also agreed to pull back the visible amount of the Nat’l Guard on the hills overlooking camp. The Governor’s office has also stated that they will encourage law enforcement near the backwater bridge to not have any weapons (lethal or non-lethal) on their person during this desecalation.

So we, the Headsmen Council, are asking everyone respect this process and let them remove the barricade in order to ensure the task is managed safely.

This was NOT a negotiated agreement between our parties. The Governor, based on demands given by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Headsmen Council, decided to take the aforementioned steps of his own volition with only the verbal commiment by our party to tell the camps of the Governor’s plans.

Monday January 30, 2016
We will begin the process of cleaning up discarded and abandoned camp sites and unneeded trash and/or supplies. We will have volunteers bringing heavy machinery, dump trucks, drop boxes and bobcats to help.

Meanwhile, we have a call out for allies and people across the country to stand up where they are, and enact mass civil disobedience as a showing of solidarity for Standing Rock. The fire of the Oceti Sakowin has been taken by 10,000 potential organizers from across Turtle Island, people who have been trained in Nonviolent direct action and we need you to hit the ground immediately to help educate others and further this movement.

We continue to be thankful and encourage all to stand strong and take courage.

Lila Wopila,
Oceti Sakowin Camp Leadership

1-25-17 Laurie Frenette… I have been holding off on doing a post about my experience at the Women’s March on Washington until I had time to process a lot of the emotions surrounding it. I want to make clear that anything I do express is simply my opinion and my opinion only – not fact. This is also going to be somewhat stream of consciousness, so if you’re going to jump on my sentence structure or grammar, you may want to just move along. By the same token, this is probably going to be too long for any of you to really want to read, so again, move along.

Personally, I had some real concerns about some of the things about the march to the point of which I was unsure about going. There were things that I felt that were being expressed and done that the media and those opposing the march could grasp onto and focus on instead of trying to report or understand what the march was actually about. Unfortunately, that has proven to be true to a degree, but overall my experience with the march and the people I interacted with was positive and I truly believe that this is just the beginning of women around the world taking a stand and letting this administration know that we are not easily dismissed and that we will be watching the actions of those that represent us.(Yes, that was a run on sentence. Move along English teachers, move along!)

Any of you that know me know that the events that I have seen happen at Standing Rock have shaken me to the core. I am ashamed that it took me so long to become informed on this issue and to try to become involved in some small way. What indigenous people understand is that we are not separate from the planet we live on – we are not here to rule it, we are here to take care of it. If we continue to rape the earth, pollute our water and air and drive animals into extinction we are destroying our very future – the future of our children and grandchildren.

I have watched as militarized forces have attacked Native Americans and their allies with unnecessary force and brutality and then lied about what they did even when confronted with video and photographic evidence. I watched the live stream videos from the Backwater Bridge on November 20th, with tears rolling down my face and a strangled scream in my throat. I finally realized just how corrupt our government has become and how civil rights are cast aside as they were nothing when it benefits the powers that be. I lost complete and total faith in a president that brought that allowed that violence to come about by saying “Let’s let this play out” in the weeks before instead of being a true and just leader and stepping in to take action that could have avoided innocent people being severely injured.

I marched on Washington because of the Water Protectors and the young warriors at Standing Rock. I marched on Washington because American citizens should not be subject to such a blatant disregard of civil rights. I marched on Washington because I have finally gained at least some small understanding of white privilege. I marched on Washington because no man should have the right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body. I marched to ease my own damn feelings of guilt for being so naive and so complacent for so damn long. I did not march to protest Trump being elected president, I marched because the whole freaking system is generally fucked and we are quickly moving towards to destroying ourselves. So hate away haters, and I will take a lesson learned from the good people of Standing Rock – I will pray for you and for your children.

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez… The March for Women sham was originally planned by the Democratic Party to celebrate Clinton’s victory but didn’t pan out so they went with an anti-Trump rally instead. The obvious first question should have been: why a communal march in the streets as a form of protest?

Female activists succumbed to one of the most enduring myths of contemporary American protests: the comforting belief; “if you can get enough people in the streets from diverse demographics, unified behind a message, the powers that be will be forced to cave in to the crowd’s wishes”.

The Women’s March was destined to be ineffective because there was never any message, no organizational agenda, no set goal for the protest other than “I’m woman hear me roar”; There was no clear path from marching about reproductive rights, equal pay, affordable health care, clean water or anything of value to march toward. No one bothered to ask “What was supposed to come afterward?”

With no specific goals or objectives other than meeting their personal psychological need for love and belonging, this event was nothing more than an amusing communal coffee klatch to build self-esteem; a feel good pretentiousness of festooned (primarily) White women in knitted pink pussy hats (did these snowflakes not realize not everyone’s genitalia is pink), women costumed in cartoon female pudenda, not even caring if they don’t actually know where their vagina’s are, their faces depicting vaginal orifices with faux (I hope) menstrual blood waste smeared across their cheeks simulating war paint.

These females were a laughingstock; by mocking their own bodies they demeaned and reduced themselves to tragic vaudevillian caricatures, focused solely on summarizing women as body parts rather than emulating the efforts of historically consciousness-raising women who made a positive healing impact on equality. Instead these cosmic yahoo’s over shadowed those who came to embrace the women’s liberation movement i.e. Feminist Movement with power; not a pity party of victimization.

The Women’s March comedic extravaganza was merely a show of shriveled jellybean feelings plunging them into a psychological coma of mass therapy, a seductive substitute for action countering Trump’s butt hurt tantrum. The only awareness raised from this ridiculous embarrassment to all women only gave more comedic fodder to the media “Isn’t that cute, women are such amusing little creatures. Now go sit down so we can get back to business.”

The Women’s March was nothing more than a social experience; crowds of people mutually experiencing a feel good moment and allowing themselves to erroneously conclude they’d actually accomplished something profound; forever forging togetherness as elite members of an enlightened and cohesive community, but ultimately the only thing they managed to prove was a bunch of vulgarly dressed gaggling women holding up signs could get together and gather a bigger crowd than attended Trump’s Inauguration.

1-27-17 ~ Eric Poemz… An important update from E-Poemz! Eric phoned the Poison Control Ctr about symptoms he was having. Poison Control Ctr told Eric to go to emergency asap to get tested for Rozol and other poisons!
If you were or still are at Standing Rock:
If you have any of the following symptoms:
-back pain
-dizziness
-nausea
-coughing
-coughing up blood
-vomiting
-headaches
-confusion
-nose bleeds
phone the Poison Control Ctr at (800) 222-1222…..talk to them first before going to emergency…..if you are referred for testing at emergency the Poison Control Ctr will contact the emergency department you are going to on your behalf….and you will be seen right away for testing etc.

1-26-17 ~ You may have known that the Indian Treaties of 1851 and 1868 declare the Standing Rock Reservation to be much bigger than it is today, including encompassing land that the Dakota Access Pipeline is being illegally built on. But there is a clause you might not have heard about. That clause allows Natives to take up arms and ARREST “Bad men among the whites” who violate the treaty,

The “Bad Men” clause of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty provides: “If bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States, shall commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians, the United States will, upon proof made to the agent and forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington City, proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained.”

This means that the “Bad Men Among the whites” using police brutality, stealing land, breaking these treaties all in the pursuit of their imagined profit can be arrested by armed Native Americans.

This is not a call to take up arms, it is a call to educate yourself about the rights that have been promised to you by these treaties.

Remember, the U.S. Constitution itself says that treaties supersede later laws. That means no matter what land the government later annexed from Standing Rock, that is STILL Native Land legally and constitutionally!
Transcript of Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) ARTICLE I
http://tinyurl.com/jcazevf

1-26-17 ~ Grennan Milliken… “A barrier would sever animal populations living in the fragile desert ecosystems of the US-Mexico border from food resources, mates, and important migration routes. Such a disruption would deal an irreparable blow to countless species, including extraordinarily rare ones like the Sonoran jaguar and Mexican gray wolf.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/jrbv4l6

1-26-17 ~ MICHAEL J. SAINATO… Ed Blackcloud was the lone dissenter at the council meeting, criticizing the council’s actions, insisting it was wrong to force the protesters to go home. The founder of the original protest camp, Sacred Stone Camp at Standing Rock, LaDonna Tamakawestewin Allard, refused to attend the council meeting and has said she does not intend to close down her camp, which lies on her own private land. Allard formed a 510c3 with plans to build a permanent green energy camp at the site.

In addition to this recent bad news on two different fronts for water protectors against the Dakota Access Pipeline, an EPA investigation found that 40,000 pounds of rat poison were illegally distributed on ranches very close to the Standing Rock camps. The Save the Buffalo Nation issued a press release advising Standing Rock water protectors they may have bene unknowingly exposed to the rat poison chemicals;“many people have come back from the camps reporting symptoms and illnesses of what is referred to as the “DAPL” cough, bloody noses, fatigue and some people have reported to have coughing up blood.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/z6w6o3u

1-26-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin… “We are putting a call out immediately for allies and people to stand up where they are, mass civil disobedience as a showing of solidarity for standing rock, the fire exists within them and now is the time to let them reignite.

The heart of standing rock beats everywhere, the fire has been taken by 10,000 potential organizers nationwide and we need you to hit the ground immediately. Demand people Divest from big banks and help us Defund DAPL!

We are the revolution and the resistance continues.”

– Camp Leadership

#LetOurVoicesEcho #NoDAPL #StandingRock #RubbetBullet #MilitarizedPolice

1-26-17 ~ Olowaan Plain… I just want to say that water protectors wearing protective gear is NOT an act of aggression it is an act of protection for our lives.. We don’t want to get shot but as we all know Morton County Sheriff’s Department does shoot us.. Rubber bullets are real bullets as told to us by the representative from the UN Council on human rights violations.. We all know that those bullets go through clothing and skin.. We want to live!! We want to be able to go home to our families.. I love you all.. Please be safe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toxqFDXErBU&t=20s

1-26-17 ~ Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn… Remember camp is NOT CLOSED. WE ARE UNDER THREAT OF EVICTION. BUT HAS NOT PASSED NOR IS GRANTED (YET) or how they will proceed. This land we are on is Treaty Land. It is part of many tribes Land that was promised via TREATY long ago. So many people are still here. There is still room. They are saying eminently the water flood will come. (Me not so sure) nor do a lot of relatives know either. But will become muddy and ucky if does attempt to flood. So. Camp is still open. You are welcome to join.

But remember. We are under threat of Standing Rock installing BIA official cops roadblocks (rumor) and they asked Morton or somebody to aide them in removal of the Camps.

Also, new camps are being established as we speak. Be patient as we know more. You know more. But as of right now this day. CAMP IS OPEN

Guess this is a rumor disclaimer lol. Safe travels and prayers to all

Actions ,that go on, are Purely prayer. Those disregarding these rules will be asked to Leave. This is a responsible community and we have a task at representing ourselves as the water protectors full of strength and determination to protect the land.

1-25-17 ~ Chase IronEyes… Sometime last night My Facebook was suspended for a post calling out TrumpTyranny. This isn’t the 1st time my accounts been disabled, the last time I posted a pic of my mom with other grandmothers posing with a stolen Nazi flag when white supremacists attempted a takeover at Leith, ND. I’m creating a MEWE acct to supplement fb & Twitter @chaseironeyes

1-25-17 ~ Linda Black Elk… I’d just like to express a heartfelt “wopila,” THANK YOU to Ronda Rousey (and her amazing friend, Pauline!) for her ongoing support of the water protectors and for all of the amazing food and supplies that she dropped off in camp. She is an amazing woman and athlete, and an inspiration to women everywhere.

1-25-17 ~ Jim Fergie Chambers… Yesterday DAPL dipped in and out of our campgrounds with snowmobiles all day, and began posing as camp security on radios to lure people out to certain locations, in one instance promising “hot frybread and food for anyone who can come meet at the bridge.”

Over the evening, we heard reports of trucks creating road barricades by semi-solitary encampments, and then two more arrests on turtle island. In that case, those arrested also had their windows shot out by DAPL.

Notice I don’t usually specify troopers, sheriff, DAPL security, etc. We often don’t know and we never care. They’re all DAPL, they’re all ETP, they’re all Trump, they’re all America.

The raid did not occur; the scare was planted by them, though in this instance, whatever they did was enough to have folks out here, especially the elders, believing it more than other times. The threat still lingers, especially as they seem very emboldened. We await with barricades.

More Akicitas have arrived, and there is talk of Anipis going up, and more ceremonies returning. Hope is here.

Today it’s colder again, and snow is falling, but it’s still relatively mild and more folks are joining camp again. All is well.

1-23-17 ~ David Kam… For Immediate Release

PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING AND ADVISORY FOR STANDING ROCK
“Possible Chlorophacinone (ROZOL) dangerous rat poison exposure”
Cannonball, North Dakota, Jan. 23, 2017 – This public health warning and advisory for Standing Rock is being issued by us as a precaution to those who have passed though the camps in and around the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Water protectors (aka known as protesters) who have been camped out since April 1st, 2016 at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation area may have been unknowing exposed to a dangerous and toxic rat poison known as Chlorophacinone (ROZOL).

An article appeared in the Bismark Tribune below that has more details for the poisoning inclident.

Meyer ranch buffalo under quarantine for ROZOL poison, LAUREN DONOVAN Bismarck Tribune, Jan 22, 2017. http://tinyurl.com/h2ewf25

Some 350 indigenous nations and up to 20,000 people passed through the camps to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, setting up camps in various locations in and around the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation. Many people have come back from the camps reporting symptoms and illnesses of what is referred to as the DAPL cough, bloody noses, fatigue and some people have reported to have coughing up blood.

The 900 buffaloes at the David Meyer’s former Cannonball Ranch near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation as well as on the former Wilder Ranch to the south have been under quarantine due to the illegal application of Chlorophacinone (ROZOL) until September of 2017. David and Ernie Fisher who shared a grazing lease on the same pesticide laced Cannonball Ranch had another herd of 600 animals on the same ranch. They reported having as many as 14 dead or missing animals, which they claimed were killed and eaten by the water protectors (protesters).

The article in the Bismark Tribune states, “The situation dates to April, when six dead bald eagles and dead bison were discovered at the former Wilder Ranch. An Environmental Protection Agency-led investigation found that 40,000 pounds of ROZOL poison had been illegally distributed across more than 5,400 acres on both ranches, according to EPA documents.” Upon investigation by the EPA, the ranch had dead bald eagles, dead prairie dogs, and dead bison.
Chlorophacinone makes creatures that ingest it bleed from every orifice and stagger around for the week or two or three it takes them to die, attracting predators and scavengers. Whatever eats the anticoagulant-laced victim dies, too. The creatures meat is unfit for human consumption and can cause blood clots. Highly toxic if it enters the food chain. Exposure to Chlorophacinone can come from skin contact of an infected animal, handling feces and urine, consuming the meat of the animal and direct contact with land and water contaminated with Chlorophacinone.

Even the feces from the animals are considered bio-hazard material. The effects of long term exposure of Chlorophacinone is unknown and there are no safe limits to having safe amounts of Chlorophacinone in your system after exposure.

“The EPA order for the cleanup was to : tilling of all misapplied ROZOL to ensure there is no longer any ROZOL on the surface of the pasture land or any other land;”

This means the 40,000 pounds of ROZOL poison was just to bury it in the soil, contaminating the water and soil around the ranches area. This means there was no real clean up of the contaminated land.

The adult buffalo are under quarantine until September 2017, though yearlings were released from the no-sale hold on Jan. 1, 2017. Upon calling the EPA, it was reported that 100 yearlings under quarantine until Jan 1, 2017 were sold on Jan 7, 2017 to unsuspecting buyers who might put the bisons into the food chain. Beverly Fisher in the article says that none of these yearlings were ever under quarantine that was sold. The EPA reports that some of the bisons sold were those under quarantine. Someone is not telling the truth here.

From the EPA docket Docket No. RCRA-8-2016 for the bison incident was dated April 22, 2016, just right after protests started for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The case is still under investigation.
http://tinyurl.com/j42m5el
About the Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign

The Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign is a campaign to create Buffalo Sanctuary Cooperatives to return and restore 250,000 buffaloes to their ancestral lands, starting with locations near the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

The Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign is headed by Mother Earth Trust, a sovereign that manages World Heritage Sanctuaries and also manages the World Basic Income Program.

The Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign is also supported by Free Nations United to Heal Our Mother Earth, a sovereign that manages Water is Life Unity Alliance that is supported by 20 indigenous nations and sovereigns.

Contact:
Campaign: Save the Buffalo Nation
Spokesperson: Ambassador David Kam
Email: help@savethebuffalo.com
Tel: 562-353-7288
Website: http://SaveTheBuffalo.com

1-23-17 ~ Standing Rock Protectors – Pipeline Protest… I’m seeing 3 breaking stories about Standing Rock from the past couple of days that must get out. Two of them are so bad I am feeling the onset of shock and more trauma for all upon hearing them. One of them is beautiful, but given the information in the first story below, I am having a hard time cerebrating the good that is happening.

The first story from yesterday is about possible massive Rozol poisoning of Protectors. Yes- massive poisoning. It looks like there has to have been an EPA cover-up, or at least a ‘failure to notify’ Protectors of massive amounts of this poison on the ground at Standing Rock. Many animals have died. Many people have reported symptoms… This is the ground Protectors have been camped on for many months. The ground where animals and children played for months. The ground where floods happen and carry all poison downstream. Meyers Ranch owners are responsible. All Protectors who have been to camp may have been victims of exposure to this poison. All Protectors must be tested immediately and should seek treatment if they have any health issues at all. It could be because of this poison.
http://tinyurl.com/zywkyon

The second breaking story is about the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST) asking the federal government to evict all camps, including Sacred Stone Camp. This is the same federal government who has been brutalizing the Protectors for months. It is a deep betrayal we are seeing be uncovered. Much deeper than I can comprehend right now. It may very well be that the SRST had this plan from the beginning and never thought this movement would be a real movement, or that it would be so big and last so long. They want it to go away now and clearly don’t care how. The Chairman got the name DAPL Dave a while back, but I was reserving judgment. Seems pretty clear now – the SRST council is likely on the DAPL payroll and are trying to cover-up the Rozol poison story before it gets out.
http://tinyurl.com/z2pr2b2

f

The third story, after the previous two, is really bittersweet… It is a letter from the Protectors sharing their guided, beautiful, legitimate direction. They plan to stay at camp no matter what happens. I don’t know if they know about the poison yet.
http://tinyurl.com/6df9wo
I cannot believe things have come to this. This world can be such a horrific place. My heart hurts..

1-22-17~ Eryn Wise… Yesterday’s Women’s March on Washington was overwhelming. Upon our arrival Thomas and I were faced with the short tempers, inconsiderate nature and intensity of women we were supposed to be standing in solidarity with.

The indigenous folx present were able to carve out a space in front of the National Museum of the American Indian large enough to form a circle where we spoke, sang, and danced in honor of our foremothers. It was the only space in the march that, for me, felt inclusive and welcoming. After our rally as we tried to enter the march I watched many women be pushed, shoved, yelled at, and cut short by other women. An indigenous woman grabbed my hand, trying to lead me further into the march so that we could catch up with our group and at every turn there was another woman planting her feet before us and saying, “You can’t go by me here. You’ll have to go around.” When this happened friends looked on, nodding their approval and leading some others to even say that “these Indian girls lost their drums. That’s why they’re trying to get through us.”

I realized that I was in a space that had been created with good intention, under the guise of unification but in reality was for white feminists and their vaginas. I thought about my sweet trans, queer, non-identifying, intersectional, and non-white sisters that seemed absent in the crowd. For every ten pink pussy signs waving in my face, I saw one, maybe two, signs that represented women of color. It was weird and uncomfortable. Once the bubble of indigeneity was gone from around me I was desperate to leave.

I became frustrated with the crowd screaming, “This is what democracy looks like!”

SO many sisters and womyn were absent that I began to cry. Women who had only minutes earlier been shoving me out of their way began stopping to ask me what was wrong. “This is fake,” I found myself repeating. “I hate this.” Some tried to blame it on the size of the crowd. Others tried in very gentle ways to ask me if I was on or approaching my moon. Unintentional sexism dripped from the tongues of these women as they tried to calm me.

“Whose land? OUR LAND!” they chanted. “Whose bodies? OUR BODIES!” they cried. “THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!”

Not in my eyes, but I’m just one woman. Outside of my own experience, I have seen hundreds of my sisters uplifted by the Women’s Marches held around the globe. Many of them had never attended a rally, felt like they belonged so fully, or mattered as much. For these reasons, I am grateful that the marches took place. I just wish a more inclusive space had been created for the non-white feminists who truly need a voice, especially in the onset of Trump’s administration.

I am lucky enough to say that I was raised by many inspiring, and impactful women. My chosen family is full of brave, radical, two-spirit, and beautiful women; many of whom are with me in D.C. right now. I was able to attend the rally/march to speak and sing alongside women I deeply love and respect — for these gifts, I am grateful.

I write this to call upon the women out there reading along. Please do not forget your fellow women of color. Trans sisters. Undocumented sisters. Sisters of different faiths. Sisters without vaginas. Sisters with vaginas of different shapes, sizes, and colors — we do not all have perfect pink pussies – please do not encourage the narrative that there is only one way for a body to be. Please remember that the wounds of women first start with the great, intentional, and continual wounding of our Mother Earth. May we continue to rise together, with all our sisters, in honor of each other and Unci Maka.

1-22-17 ~ Lee Sprague… Standing Rock Tribal Council votes for Indian Removal Act. It’s Trail of Tears version includes allied Water Protectors. Making Indian People move in the dead of winter, because someone wants the land for farming, ranching, or industrial activities, sounds familiar to me. Now the Standing Rock Tribal Council wants to Trail of Tears us out of camp? It raises historical trauma, similar to our relatives who were force marched at the hands of the US Government, from their lands.

*Concerned about the loss of revenue to the Standing Rock Tribal Programs, Council votes to dip into the 6.5 million in legal funds that were contributions to Water Protectors.” Now they want to close down each Camp?
If the concern is public safety, as stated, sheltering in place during the harsh North Dakota Winter is the safest way forward, except for DAPL cowboying it up. The main camp is not on ‘Standing Rock’ lands, it should be though. The Army Corp of Engineers claims the land we are camped on.

In this picture is Alex. I stayed in his TIPI most of this winter until it became unlivable. Thanks Alex. Lots of good times in the Tipi. We kept our batteries and controllers in there for our solar wind power system. Ben moved it. Now folks know how to set up a solar/wind now thanks to Brad Kallio.
We all could use the legal funds.

1-22-17 Jacky Smith‎… As a white European woman, I’ve been watching this feed & commenting – I think this is the first time I’ve posted here. But I read something yesterday that hit home hard and I think it’s something people like me should notice. Someone who lives near Standing Rock said that they were scared about what might happen when the visiting water protectors go home, because they remembered the terrible things that happened at Pine Ridge after AIM went home in the 70’s. Well in the 70’s I was an activist and I noticed what was going on – but I couldnt figure out a way to find out more, or to do anything about it. And then I got involved in anti-apartheid, and didnt have time for any other campaigns. I apologise for that, from the bottom of my heart. This time, we have social media and a shedload of people all round the world are watching. We need to carry on watching, and noticing, and talking about it – and we need you guys living at Standing Rock to keep posting, keep telling us what’s going on, keep talking to us. This time I won’t get distracted, you’re top of my list. There are a lot of issues that the new president will be fighting on, we have to make sure that yours is one of the big ones. The UN are coming to investigate, the ACLU are out there, the guys that monitor the ethics of the government can be dragged kicking & screaming into the fight, climate change is getting to the point where only a combover dumbo who never goes outside can ignore it, the Chinese are making renewables so cheap that coal prices cant be propped up, gas prices are still so low that fracking makes a loss, the demand for oil is tanking. All these things are on your side, exactly as your ancestors predicted. Now is the time to keep praying, chanting, singing, dancing, talking and above all hoping. We are with you, and we’re not going to let go. Mni wicone!

https://youtu.be/kkwWxygosSk

1-21-17 ~ Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn… Leaders of Standing Rock ask all camps to clean up and leave is the messages from Facebook Updater Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn “We get frozen Rubber Bullets that can penetrate wood and skin. That’s the gift that we get. That’s the special the Indians get out here. We don’t 30 feet of distance before we get shot. We are lucky if we get 7 feet. I apologize if I put anything at risk for you at Standing Rock I only meant good will.” Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn Read More http://tinyurl.com/z9dz8un

http://tinyurl.com/zty79ad
1-21-17 ~ Lyla June…I am a Diné (Navajo) woman but I wrote this last verse in Spanish because our native brothers and sisters in Central and South America experience a deeper suppression of thier culture and identity than we do up here in the “the states”. The Eagle and the Condor are coming together. This is why we are mislabeled “hispanic” or “latino”. Don’t let the imaginary border fool us. We are one tribe of Turtle Island! I also want to acknowledge that some of the first Indigenous Peopeles that were forced into hiding were the medicine women of Old Europe. They estimate that 6-9 million women were raped, beaten, tortured, burned alive or drowned alive for being “witches.” Let us reclaim our Earth Selves no matter what “race” you are and do it soon! The earth may depend on it.

Yo soy una mujer Diné, pero escribí el segundo parte en español por que reconozco que la mayoria de nuesrtas hermanas y hermanos indígenas del central y sudamérica experimentan una mayor supresión de su cultura e identidad. Es por esto que estamos mal etiquetadas “hispano” o “latino”. No deje que la frontera imaginaria nos engañe! Somos una tribu de la isla de la tortuga! El Aguila reconozca el Condór! 😀 También quiero reconocer que algunos de los primeros pueblos indígenas que se vieron obligados a esconderse eran las curanderas de Europa Vieja. Se estima que 6-9 millones de mujeres fueron violadas, golpeadas, torturadas, quemadas vivas o ahogadas vivas por ser “brujas”. Recupere su mismo como Genta de la Tierra, no importa la “raza” que usted es, y lo hace pronto! La tierra puede depender de esta subida de conocimiento ancestral.

Come join us at the Black Hills Unity Concert this weekend! September 9-11, 2016. www.TheUnityConcert.com. Many are headed to http://sacredstonecamp.org/ in Cannonball, ND after the concert to protect the water from DAPL. If the judge rules in our favor some might come to the concert to celebrate. #NoDAPL #ProtectMaunaKea #DoodaFracking#Run4Salmon

1-21-17 ~ Kaelly Salazar… Sorry for the poor photo quality, but I had to share this.
They are targetting those of us trying to document the situation. He was aiming right at me with his weapon. Jon Ziegler was targetted last night for live streaming and nearly lost his pinky. They were aiming for his phone. (Anyone have an update on him?)
Pray for these officers… Pray for us.

1-21-17 ~ Confluence Documentary with Dallas Goldtooth … WATER IS LIFE
The Lakota have long prophesied that one day a great black snake would slither through the land, pollute the water, and bring great destruction to the people and the Earth…. In 2014, Energy Transfer Partners announced plans to build a pipeline that would transport fracked crude from the Bakken formation to refineries in the Gulf Coast. Obama had recently lifted the ban on exporting petroleum via the international market; big oil needed to find a way to capitalize on this. Using the smokescreen of “energy independence from the Middle East,” as propaganda, the public in North Dakota believed that this was about decreasing our dependency on foreign oil. In all actuality, it was just about profits for oil companies and would create very few jobs here in the US. The Dakota Access Pipeline originally proposed route crossed the Missouri River near Bismarck, but was re-routed through native land in violation of several treaties signed with the government and threatened their drinking water supply (as well as for near 30 other million people downstream). When construction began and sacred burial sites were being destroyed, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe realized that this was the manifestation of the prophecy of the black snake. It needed to be stopped.

In April of 2016, after runs across the country to raise awareness, members of the Youth Council set up camp along the Missouri River to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. After putting out a call for support, the camps have swelled to as many as 10,000 Water Protectors from around 500 tribes as well as non-native allies who showed solidarity to the cause. An unprecedented peaceful demonstration, water protectors began praying and chaining themselves the DAPL construction equipment. Many were arrested by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, who essentially was working as a private security force for Energy Transfer Partners.

In the beginning, there was a complete media blackout and independent journalists who were arriving to tell the story were being specifically targeted. Water protectors and free press were brutalized, shot with rubber bullets, attacked by viscous police dogs, shot with tear gas canisters, concussion grenades and pepper sprayed for protesting peacefully. Communications have been jammed using sting rays and dirt boxes; Indigenous leaders have been spied on in this advanced Orwellian surveillance state. To date, Energy Transfer Partners has spent near 200 million dollars in private security on top of 22 million in tax payer money for law enforcement to finance the paramilitary spectacle. Arrestees have been strip searched for misdemeanor trespassing offenses and held in cages that resemble dog kennels, often times in their underwear for 12 hours or more. The scene goes in direct contrast with what the United States of America supposedly stands for; although Native Americas would beg to differ that America is a just nation founded on principles of so-called democracy and human rights. The pipeline is a direct extension of the legacy of colonization and genocide that their people have endured for hundreds of years.

As the election distracted most of the public, politicians turned a blind eye to Standing Rock as it would disrupt the Democratic energy platform for the next 40 years… Most of Hillary Clinton’s top campaign contributors were financing the pipeline and Donald Trump had personally invested millions. Standing Rock chairman David Archambault II testified in front of the UN to ask for help pleading that water is a human right. As the fight against the DAPL began to pick up steam, the powers that be could no longer turn a blind eye to the human rights abuse and disregard for the law. Much spin has attempted to quell the support of the movement, but… it kept growing. An influx of media and celebrities brought even more attention to the camp. Actress Shailene Woodley, Amy Goodman, and even Presidential candidate Jill Stein were charged/arrested during front line actions. Water protectors like Red Fawn were illegally detained and held without bail. They have endured all of this to protect life’s most basic need…water.

On December 4, 2016, The Army Corps of Engineers gave the water protectors of Standing Rock a major victory when they refused to grant permits for DAPL to drill under the Missouri River. This decision shows that the power of the people cannot be ignored. Although significant, the victory is only temporary as the pipeline company is appealing the decision in federal court. Thousands of Water Protectors have remained diligent through blizzards and sub zero temperatures and remain to this day.

…the fight continues. Please stand with Standing Rock and support the indigenous led resistance against not just the DAPL, but all the other pipeline black snake construction projects around the country that threaten our water….

Water is Life. Mni Wiconi
Music by: Will Evans
Footage credits: Tim Yakitis, Eddie Mnoian (Viral Viral Appetite Productions), Myron Dewey (Digital Digital Smoke Signals), Kandi Mosset (Indigenous Indigenous Environmental Network), Shiyé Bidzííl (Dr0ne2bWild), Jonathan Klett, Renegade Media, Unicorn Riot, Dallas Goldtooth (Indigenous Environmental Network), Richard Bluecloud Castaneda, Spencer Keeton Cunningham, The Young Turks, Daniel Speers, Indian Law Resource Center, Democracy Now

1-21-17 ~ Ricardo Jasper… Hi my name is Ricardo Jasper I’m a native American from the Diné nation aka Navajo Nation, im Originally from Tuba City Arizona, I’m a bitter water clan and Manygoat clan..

The reason why I’m here is because I wanted to share what I have experience in standing rock and to bring awareness to the movement, it all started with the Colorado River being contaminated when the mining company, Gold King Mine, in Silverton Colorado a team of workers with environmental protection agency accidentally released 3million gallons of toxic waste into the river, which the Animus River in Colorado had turned orange as a toxic spill continued to flow downstream and through other states, this is when I realized what was going on with fracking, and how all these oil companies were digging into our mother earth to look for oil. That’s when i started looking into more about fracking, then I heard about Standing Rock battling with oil corporations and the State of North Dakota, these companies have come so close together that the people are at a moment where they don’t feel like their voices are being heard, and so the last thing that was left for us is to assemble, is to gather together and to protest or protect, and I had the urge to go out there and help my relatives protect the water , our future generation, our kids future.

When I drove up to the camp site (Oceti Sakowin Camp) it was breathtaking my heart started to cry, the feeling was unbearably beautiful, you could feel the positive energy, you could feel the spirit around you and the love and peacefulness, the people were so kind and generous, very helpful, everybody loved each other, everybody helped each other, and if you needed help they would have volunteers there waiting to help you right away, you would wish the whole world would be like Oceti Sakowin Camp, I stayed there for like 2½ months I helped with the construction part of the camp we built Tarpees. The reason why we called them Tarpees was because they look like Tepees but they were made out of tarp, the other buildings were teepees, yurts, and hogan’s.

We started to winterize the camp and I helped out with the actions too. Actions were being on the front lines of stopping the construction of the pipeline, people sacrifice their lives, tying themselves to the equipment’s and peacefully praying for the company to stop from hurting our mother earth, to stopped them from desecrating our ancestral burial grounds, I was always at the front lines getting shot with rubber bullets being pepper sprayed for no reason, all we did was pray and try to talk to the officers and pray with them some of them would stand there and cry some were in shocked at what their fellow comrades were doing to the people, some of them would stare at you and smile then point the gun at you some would have a blast shooting people and laugh about Tear gassing us, shoot percussion grenades at the people, spraying us with cold water with water cannons in 15 degree weather, and it would go on for hours, everybody there was dedicated to protect the water, to protect what’s right for all of us, it wasn’t just an Indigenous thing it was about everybody. I told people “if I bleed red and you bleed red it’s your problem too” “It’s not about being a hero, we have no egos, and it wasn’t about being important, it was about being part of the team we stand in solidarity with standing rock we wanted to tell people that we should realize that if they should being upset about ISIS destroying those artifacts in Syria Iraq they should be twice as upset as they are desecrating them graves, destroying those ancient sites, if they’re going to be angry at the injustice around the other world then they need to start talking about the injustice here in America as well, there still Colonization going on and you can see it in the ground that she is bleeding right now, and when you look up around the other world, you see there is a river in Russia that is now red blood red because of the dirty chemicals from a metal plant that’s there now and we gonna have the same thing here, this is the company that’s done this before and this isn’t anything that we can get rid of, and you know I remind people that we can’t eat green paper, we can’t drink that Gucci purse sweetheart All we have is this water, all we have is this Land, and we have to protect it, we belong to the earth, the earth doesn’t belong to us, we just protect her, she doesn’t ask for money, all she asks is to take care of her as she will take care of us.

My experience in Standing Rock is something that I will never forget, it was beautiful it was emotional but we all stood together, we all looked after each other, some of us may have PTSD but we are all here for each other, now I have all these beautiful, beautiful people, my new extended family from all over the world, different nations, different tribes, different nationalities, if we keep standing together fight for what’s right for our people for our mother earth, for our future generations, we can the change the world.. We are the people we don’t need one person to run our country, we have the power to be ONE LIFE, ONE LOVE, ONE NATION.. AHÒ I could talk for hours and hours about Standing Rock… I will never forget it !!

1-21-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Pro DAPL North Dakota Republican Congressman Cramer said earlier today Trump will rescind the EIS and approve Missouri River crossing possibly as soon as Monday. We will soon see how #Trump actually acts on the pipeline and if he respects the process.
Share! #NoDAPL #WaterisLife #J20

“By next week the EIS will be rescinded,” Cramer told me referring to the lengthy environmental study President Obama initiated in his final days in office. The Congressman said the Trump administration has the authority to rescind it because, in legal filings responding to the pipeline company’s request that the study be enjoined, the Obama administration itself argued that this was the case.

Cramer also said a decision granting permission for the pipeline to cross the Lake Oahe reservoir is imminent. “The easement will be issued maybe as early as Monday,” he said.

1-21-17 ~ ‎Jim Petoskey‎… Do not sit around waiting for the next great leader to come along. That’s how we got into this mess to begin with. Sitting around waiting for the next, Kennedy, the next Crazy Horse, the next Sitting Bull, the next Pontiac or Tecumseh. Martin Luther King or Ghandi . When they do come, they kill them off. Instead of giving a damn about the khardashians, the Super Bowls, worry about how to respect all life and what that really means. Become a participant in life. Give a sincere damn about our neighbors, the sick, the aged, the future of generations to come. We sat back and watched others do what everyone should be doing. We let people exploit the resources, pollute the land water and food and wonder why we are sick. We all have a brain, use it, but make sure your heart is connected. Nurture your spirits, not man made religions. DO NOT be afraid to be curious, question things, That’s exactly what they want. They have successfully dumbed down education and in turn dumbed down us. Now do yourself and the world a favor THINK. Even question what I just told you.

1-21-17 ~ Elizabeth Hoover… Was sitting on the plane editing photos that I took at Standing Rock over the past several days, and noticed the ladies next to me peering at my screen. They asked if I was a war photographer- where were these photos taken? Right here in the US of A, ladies. Yes those are unarmed civilians those National Guard and police officers are shooting at. Indian reservations have again become military training grounds

1-20-17 ~ Jon Ziegler… Here’s an update from the journalist who almost got his pink blown off a couple nights ago… Jon. Please send prayers for his healing. .

“Surgery went well. Took longer than expected as part of the bone was smashed “like a chicken bone hit with a hammer”-DR

Your well wishes and support will get me through this and out on the front lines asap. It has been my honor and a privilege to stream the truth for you these last 5 years. From Chicago to Ferguson; Baltimore to Oakland; NY and elsewhere, I have never stopped learning and being inspired by all the passionate ppl I have come to know, some of whom I now consider family. And that goes for many of you online as well!

I will be in a hotel resting and elevating my hand (picture make more sense now? ) for the next few days.

1-20-17 ~ Lee Sprague… This is the Larceny and Theft report I filed. I’m alleging the Sheriff Department stole and destroyed four of my canoes, paddles, rescue first aid kits, Also stolen, part of my canoe trailer.
Report Filed

Not accurate is officer 4973’s written comment that I confessed to bringing goods to to Turtle Hill.
“We carry warm clothes and blankets, gloves, mittens in water proof bags. We carry watersheds to the prayer lines. We carry people hurt by the Morton County Sheriff, Because they don’t respond to water protectors in harm’s way. Harm visited on the Water Protectors by the Morton County Sheriff Department.“

The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Lawman Who Lived With Native American Indians
The real “Lone Ranger,” it turns out, was an African American man named Bass Reeves (July 1838 – 12 January 1910), who the legend was based upon. Perhaps not surprisingly, many aspects of his life were written out of the story, including his ethnicity. The basics remained the same: a lawman hunting bad guys, accompanied by a Native American, riding on a white horse, and with a silver trademark. Continue Reading http://tinyurl.com/kr6zycg

1-19-17 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi‎… Take care Friends in the light—Finger Pointers, Name Callers and Dissent Sowers are everywhere

I have tried to not comment on negativity, dissension causers, finger pointers and attackers – but a lot of people in this group and others keep asking me about these things. And want to know why it seems to be increasing. They ask why groups are questioning groups… and why some are attacking posters and video people… and on it goes.

I see people attacking others in the camps, on the virtual support and education pages, on personal pages and elsewhere. Questioning motives and trustworthiness. Questioning money use and intentions. Asking why they are not white or red or yellow or black. Speaking total lies. Working with all their might to create dissent so it will destroy everyone’s work from within. I have seen people I know to be working with all they can for clean water being attacked and villefied. And when I have come to their defense, watched myself attacked. And others. Several we watch in the group attack a list of water protectors each day. Sadly, some believe too many lies.

I see more attacks as we create the Water is Life Movement because that scares the hell out of the business people and politicians. Each day on our Standing Rock Protectors group we add hundreds of people – and about 25% are phony accounts when we check.

If we let these trolls and company plants divide us we will collapse into chaos. Or even those people still stuck in thinking one group or protest or people can lead this entire peaceful revolution.

Question what you see and hear. And when you think you know the truth – question further. Continue to come together as one. In the way of the prophecy of the four colors uniting.

Together we will win this war. The worse enemy now is ourselves if we allow the dessention sowers to divide and conquer. None of us are perfect, but we are all standing for Standing Rock, clean water and other camps everywhere. Focus there and let the hate mongers flow over us like a wind.

Thanks for hearing me.
~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi

1-19-19 ~ Cody Two Bears… Hau’ Mitakiyapi (All My Relatives) I am Cody Two Bears (Mah’to Nun’pa) Councilman of the Cannon Ball Community (Eyapaha) for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. I am Yanktonai (From the Cut Head Band) My Ancestors come from the east side of the Missouri River and lived there for 125 years before 1862 when the Minnesota Uprising and White Stone Hill Massacre moved us to the west side of the Missouri River. I speak to you today with a strong heart. I wanna share some concerns with you that we has a tribe and has a community do not agree with the current situation going on at the Backwater Bridge north of Cannon Ball. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and elders have consistently asked people not to confront DAPL and law enforcement since after the Decision was made on December 4, 2016 and to stay away from the Bridge. We all know the Bridge was tested and it needed minor repairs to open it back up. But with what’s been happening the past three nights have hurt those chances of it being open again. Our Membership need that bridge open for emergency and daily commutes. We have elderly and people with a lot of health issues, dialysis, diabetics, heart problems. We have community members that have business that are being affected. Not only that but we know drugs and alcohol use has been in these camps recently. We the Tribe and its membership know this fight isn’t over. But the more unnecessary actions that take place north of Cannon Ball hurts our chances with winning this fight in court and at the government level moving forward. I feel we are in a great position now that Native Nations will have a big Voice Moving forward. We owe a great thanks to everyone that has came and support us with this fight. But we feel now the peace and prayerful actions are not happening anymore. I see violence happening from our side the people that came here to help us. We the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and our Membership don’t support these actions it’s only hurting our chances moving forward. Once again We ask people to stand down. If we truly believe in prayer and trust in it we will win. Let our prayers do all our actions. Let’s not stoop to there level cause once we do we are no better than them!! They want us to start to be violent so The Tribe it’s membership and this whole movement will lose everything we have gained. Please be respectful and honor the wishes of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe it’s elderly and it’s membership.. Thanks to you all once again. Hau Mitakuye Oyasin..

1-19-17 ~ Tomas Karmelo Amaya… “Women are traditionally associated with water and men with fire, but this moment made me think of the culmination of the two forces. As the shadows cast across the sides of the teepee, a home that represents the womb from which we are reborn daily, I also thought of a blazing ember. Fire cannot burn without oxygen and water contains oxygen just like our women hold the answers to our deepest tribulations. They are our ultimate medicine, our healers, our guardians of the future.”

The night before Morton County law enforcement attacked water protectors, Jade and I drove around camp looking for Faith Spotted Eagle so that we could interview her for @indigenousrising. Once we arrived to her location, I was not allowed to enter the teepee because a women’s meeting was in session. As I walked away I noticed the silhouettes of my aunties and sisters projected on the structure.

Women are traditionally associated with water and men with fire, but this moment made me think of the culmination of the two forces. As the shadows cast across the sides of the teepee, a home that represents the womb from which we are reborn daily, I also thought of a blazing ember. Fire cannot burn without oxygen and water contains oxygen just like our women hold the answers to our deepest tribulations. They are our ultimate medicine, our healers, our guardians of the future.

I left shortly after taking this photo and I would not see Jade until several hours later. Although she did not get to interview Faith, she came back more powerful than ever.

Photo and Story by Tomas Karmelo Amaya

1-19-17 ~ Nataanii Means… “Today I board a plane to Utah still tasting the tear gas and mace pellets, still hearing the rounds of rubber bullets and bean bags being fired off like popcorn. Last night a group of young men put a tipi up on the road on our side of the bridge. Signifying our continued fight for treaty rights. The police then crossed the bridge and tore down our sacred home and took the poles.

Last night when I arrived it was hectic; you know there will be people that are agitators that do jeopardize a lot with how they act on frontlines like this. We de-escalated them, and you also have to understand young men who have been taking this abuse for months, who have been made to feel lower than low by the police that support corporate entities like DAPL. I’m not making excuses for them, but there are ways to talk with them. After all the commotion we remained prayerful, we sang our sacred songs, we prayed for Leonard Peltier who was denied clemency, we prayed for our treaty rights, we continued to try and clean the bridge as best we could. Again I want to stress that I know our fight is not with the police, that it is in the courts, but we have to let the world know the violence is still happening, that the lights are still up, in no way have we negotiated a situation that benefits us, we’ve been weak. As long as we keep these police out, we exhaust them and their resources, if they want to continue to make the conscious choice to protect a pipeline, then we will make them stand in the cold with us. Continuing to live on treaty land with lights in our faces, heavy police forces, and a drill sitting there is a slap in the face.

The police reacted in violence last night. They reacted to prayer in violence. Like always. We have NO WEAPONS, we know what THEY are capable of so we protect ourselves with shields, we are not looking to fight, but we will protect ourselves as we try our best to protect the water and make these statements. DO NOT look at us any other way than what we are, that is young people caring for our children’s future. Support us and remember we are people of strength, stop showing our weakness by questioning everything someone does.

If only the old leaders were alive to remind us who and where we come from. But we are the next, the young generation. And we are here standing with NO FEAR. I watched Russell Means stand with no fear, and we are trying our damn best to do what we can. My dad was shot on Standing Rock by BIA police after Wounded Knee. I also know he would be ashamed and sad of what is happening here, how OUR OWN PEOPLE ARE TREATING OUR OWN FOR ONLY WANTING TO BE FREE!

Somebody said last night “If we cross the barricade they’ll stop the EIS” well first we DID NOT want to cross it, second, why do we have to act from a position of fear. That is a direct threat on our own treaty land. That is a scare tactic, I just want to know where is our strength, I haven’t seen it since my father passed. The olders here act and say everything from fear, I understand that, but I’m not used to that.

So here we are. Young people remaining in prayer and unarmed strength. I love you all.

Again, I am no one. Here, I am just ikce wicasa, I’m only a common man that wants clean water for the future. I am not a leader, nor do I want to be, just updating the social atmosphere with my thoughts. A’ho…”

1-19-17 ~ International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee… I woke up this morning excited, happy, hopeful and imaginging the upcoming weekend. I was going to pick Uncle Leonard up from prison and drive him up north. I was going to stop at his daughter Marquetta’s in Kansas, his sister Betty Ann’s in Fargo, ND, and his grandchildren Cyrus and Alex in Grand Forks and lastly his hometown in Turtle Mountain.

The family has been commuicating constantly in these last hours, so excited about our future plans and finally having the eldest man in the family home.

We have had thousands of people from all over the world praying for his freedom, which could only be given by Obama. We all believed and had so much faith in our President. We believed he truly cared for Leonard.

I had just finished visiting with a friend with so much joy that Uncle Leonard would be free and home by this weekend. Not even fifteen minutes later, i was given the heart wrenching news he was denied clemency. Basically a death sentence. I am asking all of you to let Obama hear our OUTCRY over and disappointment with his decision today.

Call, email, tweet. Use Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and your powerful prayers… whatever is your means of communication… to let him know we are not happy. The people are not happy. His family is not happy. You can change your mind, Obama. You have the power.

I beg and plead. Hear our outcry!
On behalf of Leonards family
Kari Ann Boushee
Co-Director of the ILPDC

1-19-17~ Mitra Singh‎… I found this tent buried in snow, Rosebud camp at Standing Rock, in the excavation I found an item I would consider of great value and notebook paper with handwriting that says owner arrived on Aug 10 and was arrested on Aug 11. If you can name the valuable item I can hold it if you are returning. I am camped next to your old spot

1-19-17 ~ Margo Talk… Something is going wrong. There are instigators and outsiders provoking violence, laughing, swearing and yelling death threats at authorities tonight. Myron asks our research help to check whether DAPL is trying to distract all from something else. Are they taking action to illegally pump oil thru the gas pipeline already there? I cannot tell my friends from my enemies in this. So this will be my last post. Prayers for all involved. Please follow Myron Dewey/Digital Smoke Signals for the truth. Link to his livestream here:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php…

1-1-19 ~ ‘Stormfronts’ of North Dakota’s Streets… White supremacists not finished with the Peace Garden State, form hit list of small towns. Since the town of Leith’s victory against white supremacists, eleven towns across North Dakota made their hit list. The towns range from populations of 16 to nearly 7,000. Listed by names, pictures, and real estate advertisements by Pioneer Little Europe North Dakota, a white supremacist operation welcoming Nazis, the Creativity Movement, Ku Klux Klan, militants, white nationalists, and racialists, the North Dakota towns are the group’s next targets to become Aryan enclaves. Continue Reading http://tinyurl.com/hope3x4

1-19-17 ~ This was posted 45 mins ago by someone who is at Standing Rock currently. “All call. DAPL has turned off all its lights overlooking oceti sakawin Rose bud and Sacred stone. They have NEVER turned off the lights an only Jonny Danger live feed showed for a minute to see absolute dark….. Something is happening. Even if not something is and calls need to be made. Post numbers in comments if you have them. Help standing rock before this company and government allow the unthinkable. Hasn’t this gone on long enough. Haven’t enough been injured and mistreated for simply wanting to live. Do something”

1-19-17 ~ I can Confirm all DAPL lights across the river are off. We don’t know why and this has never happened before. #NoDAPL
Fog is also extremely thick right now.

1-18-17 ~ JOURNALIST TARGETED BY MORTON COUNTY SHERIFFS AND THUGS… Morton County law enforcement and thugs target journalist on the front lines at Standing Rock last night.
Last night Jon Ziegler was targeted as a journalist. “Law enforcement” called out his name and then law enforcement specifically shot at the hand he was holding his camera live streaming. His pinky is completely broken, and his leg is injured as well, he is getting medical care at the moment.
This is what Morton County calls using none lethal weapons on water protectors, when will we put a stop to this?

1-18-17 ~ Mike Fasig’… In listening to several Live Feeds, while the Protectors stood and prayed and drummed the Police went and stole and tore down prayer Tipi they had stationed and flags. Obvious instigating anger.

1-18-17 ~ Jason George… Hello loved ones.Hope that you and all are well and warm. There was violence here last night. I am well and still stand strong, but there were shots fired gas deployed and protesters arrested. Please pray for us all that we might be gifted the ability to show our lost brothers and sisters the good red road without further bloodshed. That we might help give them the courage to pull down that barricade and join us in this beauty and warmth that our mother has lovingly set before us. I send love from all of us here in standing rock to all of you wherever you may be. J.(High hat)

1-18-17 ~ Lee Sprague… I’m here at the Attorney General’s Office at the North Dakota State Capital to file a complaint for the theft and destruction of our canoes, rescue equipment, my cell phone, my paddles, my canoe trailer lids to trailer storage boxes were also stolen.
The Attorney Generals Office said to me, Morton County has to take my formal complaint. The Attorney General has no jurisdiction over the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

Hmmm, the old run around by the government trick. Like I’m the first Indian to figure that out

https://youtu.be/R5i_qQcFVeo

1-17-17 ~ “My struggle is what made me who I am…. I want my children to be proud of their culture, and mostly, their dad.” Watch and listen to what Kansas has to say about being a strong Native American man. #NativeHope #SeasonOfHope

1-17-17 ~ Colter Hoyt… It’s happening NOW at Standing Rock! All day tear gas, rubber bullets to the face, multiple shots. March and prayer attempted to reach the DAPL drill sight.
The Backwater bridge is active THIS second!
Pray for the brave unarmed Water Protectors!!
Mni Wiconi!

1-17-17 ~ Linda Black Elk… “This is not rumor: one of our water protectors was hit by a cop on a snowmobile…hard. Medics couldn’t reach her. Police called an ambulance and it appears that she has been transported off site. PLEASE, PLEASE pray for this young woman. Call the State of North Dakota Department of Heath and Morton County law enforcement demanding that she receive immediate care! #NoDAPL”

1-17-17 ~ Chase IronEyes… “Strength to the brothers and sisters on the bridge right now getting maced, shot & arrested. That bridge blockade is an economic sanction to punish Standing Rock for standing up, punitive measures to force Native people back into 2nd class citizenhood, to turn tribal & state public opinion against the water protectors & its working. This is why we are kept poor, in tutelage. They can manipulate by withholding rations. The chains are there if you look. This is about more than a pipeline. This is about an inevitable and natural liberation from the state of oppression being perpetrated on not only Native Nations but all human beings.”

Calling my beloved adoptive caravan of veterans. Calling all veterans. Calling all protectors able to withstand subzero elements. Your strength is needed. Your presence is needed. My heart pulls me to return immediately, but camp is requesting I stay in DC to bring information to the public.

Billy Taylor, your skill set as front-line peacekeeper and the skill sets of our DNC teammates would be of great help in Standing Rock now if you are able and up for it.

SHARING IS CARING.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
SHARE THE LOVE, TEAM.

https://youtu.be/Vsr5v9_xCa8

1-17-17 ~ Myron Dewey… Updates About Standing Rock With #NoDAPL Warriors Digital Smoke Signals (1/17/2017) The Movement North Dakota Bill Would Protect Drivers Who ‘Accidentally’ Hit And Kill Protesters A bill that state GOP Rep. Keith Kempenich introduced would exempt drivers from liability if they *accidentally hit* a pedestrian, including but not limited to off-roading snowmobiles.

1-17-17 ~ Jon Ziegler… Anti-drone missile system confirmed on top of a hill guarding the DAPL drill pad. Many water protectors made it further around the bend to the east closer to the drill site and were met with police and reports of mace used. We climbed up the hill on the west side right up next to the launcher.

1-17-17 ~ Anoli Wood‎ … So last night I am cooking dinner and suddenly got a coughing fit. It just kept getting worse the longer I cooked. Sat down to eat but couldn’t catch my breath so I put my plate to the side until I could breathe. Came upstairs to try and relax. I log on Facebook to see live feed that the water Protectors being attacked with tear gas and shot in the backs with rubber bullets. My coughing fit was just like being hit with the tear gas. I couldn’t take a breath and my eyes were tearing up. All this is happening to me at the same time they were being attacked. I think it was a sign. Such is life as an empath… across the ocean in England I felt their distress. When I woke up this morning I have a bad painful back right below my left shoulder blade. I had hubby look at it and it’s bruised. Someone there was channeling me. #lookingforanswers.

1-17-17 ~ Dallas Goldtooth… Take a good look at this. This an AN/TWQ-1 Avenger vehicle. It shoots missiles and is used for surface-to-air defense scenarios.

It is now deployed to overlook the #NoDAPL camps. That’s right. North Dakota has deployed more military vehicles to the Cannonball river area. This is intimidation tactics 101. Demonstrate the extent of your power in hopes to deter action.

To be clear, there is no indication that this vehicle is armed. Numerous veteran allies have stated that this vehicle is mostly likely being used for its FLIR system (Thermal, Night, and Infrared Vision). This will allow the police to track movement at night or in snowy conditions.

However, it DOES NOT BELONG in the area of what remains an overall peaceful demonstration. How can the state hope to further the message of peaceful resolution when they continue to escalate the situation?

https://youtu.be/YDErnWD79Ek

1-16-17 ~ SHOTS FIRED! #NODAPL BACKWATER BRIDGE STANDING ROCK- xBLACKxOPSxSECRETSx
Militarized Police standing on ancestral graves, running over people with snowmobiles and shooting them in the back with rubber bullets as they’re walking off the bridge, many being maced with pepper spray. The water tanker was filling water cannons.

https://youtu.be/_WncuDuzowU

1-16-17 ~ CRAZY! ANTI-DRONE MISSILES AT #NoDAPL SITE, LAW TO RUN OVER ACTIVISTS – DAHBOO77
These shocking images were caught by Rebelutionary Z on twitter. As you can see, there is a surface to air anti-drone system now setting on the top of the ridge.

1-16-17 ~ Simon R Jones … Camp was pretty intense this evening, so much going on and being said…
100 people made it to the Drill pad, they were target w rubber bullets,
Turtle island action (1 arrest)
DAPL & military are mobilizing,
Planes flying over camp all day,
Helicopters flying lower each day, circling camp
We remain in Prayer Strong

1-16-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Police mobilizing for Large Peaceful Prayer Walk on Day of Action! We are now near the Cannonball River near the Drillpad! Water Protectors went on another Prayer Walk to the Cannonball River and placed 2 Prayer flags for the one the police stole!
Earlier today police stole the Water Protector’s Prayer Flag on Standing Rock Sioux Reservation land since yesterday’s Prayer Walk!!!
Do they not care about freedom of religion?

1-16-17 ~ Wicapi Otto‎… We need people on the phone and sending letters questioning the DAPL contents.
Why did DAPL take 146 million gallons of water from the Missouri River. That amount is extremely excessive for water sampling. That is NOT a sampling amount, that is just shy of the amount Nestle’ just purchased from Michigan for bottling. The man who believes that water is not a human right. Current Wall Street Trends are showing that water is a commodity that is turning to Gold in the market.

We need to question the motives of DAPL on whether this is about the oil or the oil AND the water. Demand an investigation to what happened to 146 million gallons of water taken by DAPL today. Contact your state representative, contact the White House, contact Army Corp of Engineers and demand to know what happened to all that water TODAY.

To Contact the Army Corp, go here for the form or telephone number:
http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Contact/
Go here to find your state legislator:
https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
Click here to write to the White House:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact#more

1-16-17 ~ Water Protectors went on another Prayer Walk to the Cannonball River and placed 2 Prayer flags for the one the police stole! Share!
Earlier today police stole the Water Protector’s Prayer Flag on Standing Rock Sioux Reservation land since yesterday’s Prayer Walk!!!
Do they not care about freedom of religion?

1-16-17 ~ Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance… “We have to keep repeating the prayers over and over again. When I reflect on my life of 79 years, I see a flat road of destruction. Youths are dying of drugs and ozone layer is depleting. The most powerful tool with us is to pray and pray with other communities for world peace.” – Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance

https://youtu.be/K17fexiHTTo
1-15-17 ~ North Dakota Bill Would Protect Drivers Who ‘Accidentally’ Hit And Kill Protesters

Vanessa aka Sioux Z, Navajo Nation … “Last week, a week and a half ago, when everybody was moving the trucks off the bridge I was given a head shot by Morton County’s Sheriff Department. Six, five, six? I’m not sure how many. There were quite a few of them tear gas canisters launched, aimed at my head. Also after I was hit in the eye with one of the tear gas canisters as I left to run; I was also shot with a rubber bullet in the back, my lower leg, my lower butt, my upper thigh area. Yeah, that’s what happened.

I am a dispatcher for Oceti Sakowin Akitchita. I’m a warrior. I’m a dispatcher of information. Right now, my role is kind of changing now that I can’t be…..I’m still here. I still answer dispatcher calls, but not being able to go to the front lines any more, which I’m still going to go. The Veterans are here, so I’m going to run with the Veterans over there, but my goal now is to really look at our health care system as being Native American, which is also in our treaties. You know, I didn’t get the care that I needed within 72 hours to save my eye because I had IHS from Navajo and Arizona Medicaid, and nobody would work with me, you know? I’ll never see again, and it’s just so sad that our system is broken in so many ways. And I just want the world to know that there’s a lot more things to our treaties other than land. Healthcare was included in these treaties, and our government needs to start honoring these treaties, so my role is changing a little bit.”

Please consider donating to Vanessa’s gofundme, so that she may get the medical care she needs. She also asks that you pray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSemy17p3sQ
1-14-17 ~ The Water Protectors Who Stayed At Standing Rock – teleSUR English

1-14-17 ~ Indigenous leader and celebrated author Arthur Manuel has passed away suddenly at the age of 66 years old.

His lifetime of fighting for Indigenous rights began when he first became president of the Native Youth Association in the 1970’s.

He then became chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band, chair of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council and leader and Spokesperson for the Interior Alliance.

He often travelled, meeting Indigenous peoples from all over the world and spoke at numerous rallies and events. He strongly believed in the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People and supported numerous environmental causes.

Funeral arrangements are currently underway and will take place in Adams Lake, BC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_k7Shqg0Jk
1-14-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With #NoDAPL Warrior Brandon Green (1/14/2017) Camp Life

1-14-17 ~ ‎Brandon Phinazee‎… Any pilots in the air that need a friendly place to land and rest for today’s peaceful protest are more than welcome to land, at your own risk, on our grass runway at Kitty Hawk Estates Airpark. If you need to rest or drive to the site, we have a safe field that you can taxi your plane to. There is a lot of State Trooper activity around the area, everyone please be safe and contact me if needed. This is owner’s permission. Good luck out there today, fighting the good fight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFy5kn9xvU
1-13-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Police mobilizing the Water Cannon, Humvees, Snowmobiles, Side by Sides and multiple vehicles for a peaceful Prayer Walk towards the Drillpad and Cannonball River! Share!!! We are Peaceful! We Stand for the Earth, Water and Children!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmmUZsuCqlk
1-13-17 ~ These are powerful words from Chase IronEyes today.

He points out that the incoming administration has indicated it will pursue a policy that accelerates extraction, big financial interests, and the rights of the corporatocracy. It will advance the longstanding program to absorb and eradicate native peoples, their lands and their cultures. IronEyes advocates continuing the unarmed opposition to these forces at Standing Rock. “We are the ghost dancers of our time. Only this time we have a world of allies.”

Chase IronEyes: “This may be the only opportunity that we have while the world is not only watching us–but the world is waiting on us. The world needs us to lead. We may be the only people–the only natural human beings–who still maintain that spiritual connection to the Universe, to the sacred sites, to water, to all the elements of Creation from which we derive our identity and our civilization.Those are our gifts. We may be the last real ones–the people who could provide that moral and spiritual authority to liberate from those forces which seek to oppress that in us, which have been at work in a very effective manner for a thousand years…. What we are saying is we are committed to this stand.”

“There was a concerted effort to turn us into a nation of beggars, to dehumanize us, to make us hate ourselves, to steal our dignity. But fortunately, our people are strong, our people are survivors, and we are here standing.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3FfBtShwmI
1-13-17 ~ Strawbale School at Standing Rock – Miguel Cobalot

1-12-17 ~ Chief Dan George (July 24, 1899–September 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band located on Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an author, poet, and an Academy Award-nominated actor.

Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band whose Indian reserve is located on Burrard Inlet in the southeast area of the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an actor, poet and author; his best-known written work was “My Heart Soars”.As an actor, he is best remembered for portraying Old Lodge Skins opposite Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Born as Geswanouth Slahoot in North Vancouver, his English name was originally Dan Slaholt. The surname was changed to George when he entered a residential school at age 5. He worked at a number of different jobs, including as a longshoreman, construction worker, and school bus driver, and was band chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation from 1951 to 1963 (then called the Burrard Indian Band).

In 1960, when he was already 60 years old, he landed his first acting job in a CBC Television series, Cariboo Country, as the character Ol’ Antoine (pron. “Antwine”). He performed the same role in a Walt Disney Studios movie Smith! (1969), adapted from an episode in this series (based on Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse, a novella by Paul St. Pierre). At age 71, he received several honors for his role in the film Little Big Man (1970), including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He continued to act in other films, such as Cancel My Reservation (1972), Alien Thunder (1974), The Bears and I (1974), Harry and Tonto (1974), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Shadow of the Hawk (1976), Americathon (1979), Spirit of the Wind (1979) and Nothing Personal (1980), and on television, including a role in the 1978 miniseries Centennial, based on the book by James A. Michener, as well as appearing in a 1973 episode of the original Kung Fu series and in several episodes of The Beachcombers.

He played the role of Rita Joe’s father in George Ryga’s stage play, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, in performances at Vancouver, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Washington, D.C..

During his acting career, he worked to promote better understanding by non-aboriginals of the First Nations people. His soliloquy, Lament for Confederation, an indictment of the appropriation of native territory by white colonialism, was performed at the City of Vancouver’s celebration of the Canadian centennial in 1967.This speech is credited with escalating native political activism in Canada and touching off widespread pro-native sentiment among non-natives.

In 1971, George was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2008 Canada Post issued a postage stamp in its “Canadians in Hollywood” series featuring Chief Dan George.
He died in Vancouver in 1981 at the age of 82. He was interred at Burrard Cemetery.

1-12-17 ~ THE GATHERING by Chief Sitting Bull
The Turning of The Tide

It is very important that as many people as possible, in different places, should take part in the Gathering. Decide where and when and how to gather, your participation is needed. This is the beginning of the break we are all waiting for. This is the beginning of the turnaround. We have waited so long for the change. It is time. This is the beginning of the end of the old ways, the turning of the tide. State what you believe is true. Exchange the information and hopes you have. Always in the world, a change starts with a few people. These few speak the feelings and thoughts of a multitude. They speak the heart of humanity’s soul. The people who are coming together will ring in a return, a turnaround. There will come a flow on Earth which will burst the dark energies surrounding you and your planet. Let your self-belief be your guide, and follow your heart. Realise the greatness you have within yourself, and go ahead. This is the time so many have waited so long for. That which you believe is true must be stated.

Spirit message from Chief Sitting Bull

1-13-17 ~ Heart of Standing Rock… Photo by Emma Hall
A strong woman
is one who feels deeply
and loves fiercely.
Her tears flow
just as abundantly
as her laughter.

A strong woman
is both soft and powerful.
She is both
practical and spiritual.

A strong woman
in her essence
is a gift to all the world.

1-12-17 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi‎… Someone posted this today as I was beginning to write about attacks and slander and divisive actions being taken. I will post what I am writing later – but think about this. It is easy to stay seated and takes courage to stand and be a target. Remember our children’s children are watching.

1-12-17 ~ Wicapi Otto‎ … Army Corp of Engineers needs to understand just how many people are affected by not only this pipeline, but many pipelines across the world. This is for everyone, there is absolutely no exclusion of nation, country, background…etc.

This is going to be given to the tribe and Army Corp of Engineers. I have never understood how things go viral, but I guess for a first time attempt, let’s see how this goes, because I need viral on this. A petition is one thing, it makes a statement, and this is to reflect the effect on human activity. Our connectivity as a human race is a human activity and a simple one to show them how many people object to not only DAPL, but as our voice to oppose all. Trolls are welcome as well, your number will be added to the count of people that matter and are affected to human activity as well. I only ask those in support not to respond to them and waste precious time and energy with negativity. This is very important.

I only need you to state “I am affected” and your location. It does not need to be specific, just please keep it simple as I have to convert this to a document after and wasted data only wastes time.

Thank you everyone everywhere for helping with this. Pilamiya!

PS. If every now and then, someone can tag my name for check in, I have a couple of these going around of this exact same post and it will help me locate and check. Thank you!

1-12-17 ~ Daphne Singingtree… Camp Update. We need people on site more than ever. A recent meeting between the Standing Rock Tribal Council and Camp Leaders from Oceti Sakowin, Sacred Stone and Rosebud showed the need for increased communication. Sacred Stone is located on higher ground and is building a permanent, sustainable, culture camp. This is an extraordinary outcome from the protest that will serve provide a space for people in the area to come and learn skills from permaculture, to green energy & building, as well as be a base for the movement to protect the water and the Earth. The Oceti & Rosebud camps will need to move to higher ground. Land has been set aside by the Standing Rock Tribe for a camp that can house many people, plans include solar/wind power, yurt and tipi villages, greenhouses and gardens, and a long term sustainable community. It is unclear to me at this point how many folks will be moving to the new tribe site, or the higher ground on the current Oceti site (Facebook Hill), or some of the other protest camps such as Texas. Moving the tipis, yurts and other structures will be a lot of work, especially to accomplish before snow melt.

Everyone shares concerns about the amount of trash, abandoned tents, and other items that are located in the floodplain. Without timely removal, there is a risk of contaminating the very river we are protecting. No one expected thousands, at one point ten thousand people to show up at camp. Then the severe weather came, most people left, leaving behind a lot of stuff and not enough people to process the donations, and then clean up afterwards.

We need able bodied people who are able to work in the cold, please plan on coming to help, even for a week or two, anytime over the next month or two. The burden is falling on people who work incredibly hard, they are getting sick, burned out, and it is easy to get discouraged when faced with such a monumental task. We particularly need people with 4×4 trucks and trailers. Let’s not forget our Water Protectors and Water Warriors. Let’s not leave a giant mess on people who can ill afford to clean it up.

Some of the resources donated will be relocated to other camps. Other supplies need to be protected from the elements until spring or distributed in the local community. All of this takes work, and the medics are busy keeping people safe and healthy. We need help to recycle and remove trash, as well as helping move the yurts and tipis to the new site. So many people have left that there are sleeping spaces available, if you don’t have a contact with someone in camp and want to help Zaniyan at Rosebud, I can get you connected.

The fight is not over, the movement has just began, we have much hard labor ahead of us, and still need the help and support of all. #nodapl #waterislife

1-12-17 ~ Trystan Foundation… Our friend Bobbie invited us to her outdoor kitchen and taught us the proper way to make Diné fry bread. Cooking video will be posted in the future!⠀ ⠀ -Heather

1-11-17 ~ Canadian Native Youth Arrive at Standing Rock After Walking for Almost a Month – Buffalo greeted the youth as they arrived at the #NoDAPL camp site.

Three youth from the Woodland Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, arrived to the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock in North Dakota yesterday (January 10) after walking since November 26, 2016. This journey symbolized their solidarity with the #NoDAPL movement against the 1,172-mile long Dakota Access Pipeline set to cut through sacred territories of the Sioux people. Contine Reading http://tinyurl.com/gmvz45n

1-11-17 ~ Luta Wi Red Fawn… Hello all my friends, family and support. As you know I had a hearing yesterday and I was formally charged, and the charges carry sentences that add up to 25 years to life in federal prison.

I’ve been getting messages about a lot of you being concerned and worried. So I wanted to let you know that I stand strong, I stay in prayer, and I never falter from my beliefs as a protector of all things sacred.

I’m doing good, I’m clear headed, I appreciate my strong support system. I appreciate the 20+ letters and cards I get everyday. As they remind me to believe in all good things .

“When will they open their eyes and heart and listen to our cries and please and prayers to protect our dying Mother Earth. I believe this is the time when we as protectors of this land . We need to stand up, stand strong, and never give up. We are obligated to the protection of this earth, we have been taught this from child hood. Our ancestors made sure we would know our creation stories, our histories and our instructions to continue the care taking, the protection and the spiritual obligations to this land for our next seven generations and to our ancestors. My heart, my prayers and my strength are with you all.

Mitakuye Oyate”
If you want to talk or get ahold of me, inbox me your phone number . I love you all.
Lililililililililili

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMr-T7tofv8
1-11-17 ~ Standing Rock Update With #NoDAPL Warrior Lorna R Knowshisgun (1/11/2017) First Nation Walkers – Mystic Dave

1-10-17 ~ Paul Schmidtlein… O ci yo, A Lesson from Standing Rock; Border towns are still oppressive. Not much has changed since the reservation system was set up. People from around the world saw images and video of what Natives have been going through for generations in towns next to reservations.

The gathering of Indigenous Nations in Standing Rock showed unity between each other because of a common shared belief, Water is Life. Another shared belief might bring them together again to organize Indigenous Nations Peace Keepers to act like a shield when indigenous peoples try to exercise their treaty rights and Constitutional rights.

1-10-17 ~ The youth have made it…they walked 1200 miles to get to Standing Rock from Saskatchewan, Canada…The buffalo came to welcome them, the horse nations came to guide them in…..History was made today!!!…..I am one proud Canadian in Alberta, Canada who is crying with joyful tears witnessings this event

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCJmWJwg2M
1-10-17 ~ More than a pipeline – trailer
The official TRAILER of the documentary film MORE THAN A PIPELINE. A film about Standing Rock, about the effects of the destruction by large corporations and banks to our environment and our planet. About the people of the Great Sioux Nation and their helpers who are standing up to them in compassion and prayer. About the earth we leave for the next seven generations…

Here is how you can all help ensure Red Fawn is given the best possible chance to get be granted her freedom.
http://tinyurl.com/zoxt26o
1) Keep her in your prayers and thoughts
2) Support the offical legal fund posted on http://tinyurl.com/za5lkkp
3) Share and like this post
4) If you wish to donate a larger sum to the fund, offer free legal support, or help with t-shirts, social media support.
Please email freeredfawn@gmail.com and cc letyoursoulplay@gmail.com
5)To contact Red Fawn Fallis go to http://tinyurl.com/h3kjl6y
She is in North Dakota, Stutsman County
6) To get Red Fawn Fallis phone cards please visit http://tinyurl.com/zbcel74
http://tinyurl.com/jcpodpy

1-10-17 ~ Heart of Standing Rock… Dignity is a sculpture on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River near Chamberlain, South Dakota. The 50-foot high stainless steel statue, by South Dakota artist laureate Dale Lamphere, depicts an Indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt. According to Lamphere, the sculpture honors the culture of the Lakota and Dakota peoples who are indigenous to South Dakota.

“My intent for this is to have the sculpture stand as an enduring symbol of our shared belief that we are in a sacred place and that we are all sacred,” Lamphere said. “I’m humbled and so grateful to have this chance to contribute to the future landscape of South Dakota and the Great Plains.”

“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.” – Michael J. Fox

1-10-17~ The new head chef at Standing Rock! This sneaky husky managed to steal some meat while everyone was distracted by the snow storm.
-Heather

1-1-2017 ~ Waniya Locke, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
“I came to help. I came home to help, because I want to protect the future. And part of protecting our future is learning our language. So Lakota language is the essence of who we are; it’s the spirit of who we are. You can strip a person of food and clothing, and even their spirituality and they’ll be okay. But once you strip a person of their language, they lose everything. They lose all their identity. They lose their connection to their land, to their ancestors, and to their own relatives. So Lakota Revitalization was a path that was found for me. It wasn’t something I went out seeking. I fell into language, and I ended up being really good at it, and all these doors unlocked for me to become a language teacher.

I teach 140 students a day. They come through my classroom forty minutes a day, every day, Monday through Friday. So I teach five classes a day, Monday through Friday to 140 students. And we revitalize the language. We actually speak in our language. But language is the foundation of everything. So that entails our stories, entails our history, that entails our spirituality, our songs and our dance. Lakota language is really vital to who we are. A lot of people don’t realize this; there’s four prongs that make the people sovereign. You have to have people. You have to have land base. You have to have culture. And you have to have a language. And that’s according to the United Nations, in order for people to be sovereign. If one of those prongs is missing, like language, then we can lose our sovereignty rights. And that’s really vital to who we are.”

Heart of Standing Rock… Patty Porter, Colville Confederate Tribes – Paddled 250 miles down the head waters of the Missouri river to the Oceti Sakowin Camp.

“We started our paddle from Bismarck, and we came down about 23 – 24 miles. Then the storm hit. We had a massive storm. It was a life altering storm. Some (fellow paddlers) were on the left side of the river that had to get out. Some were way behind that got left and jumped into a cabin. There were like 30 people out of the dug outs in one cabin, and my partner and I were stuck in the middle. And he goes, “Should we turn back?”, and I say, “No, we can’t turn back or we’ll die.”

I told him all we could do is go to the lights. They’re flashing the lights, and our brothers were on the shore flashing lights, and we’re just going. The hail just had to been massive big. We had lightning and thunder all the way around us just hitting. The water was so unbelievable. we couldn’t even see the end of our kayak. We had a massive white out, and I got hit in the eye with a hail and I could hardly see. And we tipped over a couple times, and I was told kayak can’t tip over. Well, we were real close a couple times.

I froze, and all I could hear was my dad, “Holler. Holler!” So I did. To me, it was close. It was real close, and I thought to myself when I froze, “Nobody’s going to come out and save you. You gotta dig, woman.” So I started digging and I could hear my dad, “Holler.” So I did, “Whooooooooo!” I hollered as loud as I could, and I don’t know how many times and we couldn’t even see the lights. That’s how my brothers on shore could know where we were.
The storm of my life.”
Interviewed by Toni Cervantes Photo by Autumn Fire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcEvofEejQY
One does not sell the Earth the people walk upon Crazy Horse Poem by the – J Grady
This short digital film features a historic moment that happened on the front line against the Dakota access pipeline. On November 5th, 2016 representatives of the Seven Council fires of the Oceti Sakowin gathered to reignite the sacred fire of the resistance camp and establish the “horn” of the nation, a camp layout where 7 lodges are placed in a circle formation.

This moment was marked by the entrance of over 200 horseback Riders and the arrival of 50 runners who traveled over 1,200 miles to Standing Rock from Arizona.

The last time such an event occurred was in the late 1800s! That’s The Power of this movement. That’s The Power of our prayer.
“Crazy Horse” Poem by the legendary John Trudell

Film by Indigenous Rising Media, a project by the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Shot by Dr0ne2bwild Photography & Video
Edited by Josué Rivas Fotographer

Think Twice About Wasting Water

An 86-year old Sioux elder arriving at the Sacred Stone Camp

1-1-17 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi… If Not a War, What is It?

I had a good friend ask me last night why I use the word ‘war’ when I speak of the events going on around us and the actions we take as we seek a better, healthier place to live. This is someone I know and respect, so I reflected on the question. It is a good question – a valid one. ‘War’ can be a charged word – a word with negative connotations. We chatted a while over this question and then I went to smudge and send my prayers and wishes to Great Spirit.

This morning the question is still with me. I realized 2 days ago I wrote a poem – I Am A Warrior. I post it here since it relates to this discussion. No coincidences my friends. So, I am going to capture my views on this – at least those I currently see – and I invite yours.
I Am A Warrior

I stand up for what I see needs to be changed,
But I do not hate those who disagree.
I speak with conviction about the healing we need,
But I listen to others speak in contrary ways.

For years I have fought for peace and equality,
But I no longer throw rocks – I send prayers.
Those who disagree with me sometimes hate me,
I will not hate back.

Those wishing to silence me will do whatever they can to still my voice.
But I will not be silent – I will speak peacefully, without stop.
When those destroying our planet attack my friends.
I will stand beside them and will not move.

There is a war being waged now for our planet and our lives.
They fight with bullets and hoses and corrupt laws.
I fight with words and love and trust.
So that we will reach our true potential as humans.

They are haters.
I am a warrior.
A spiritual warrior. A peaceful warrior.
I fight in peace with those ready to stand with me.

We are warriors.
~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi

Here is some of what I responded to the question:
It is a war – a peaceful revolution. But I don’t want people thinking we can just pray and all will be good. Creator wants to see actions, which he/she can then put energy towards. Likewise the ancestors – angels, prophets, whatever name – do nothing until we pray, act and ask for help and guidance.

I was taught this by many different cultures and have seen it hold true. War does not have to be negative nor have only negative connotations. This definition for example – “a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end”

What other word will stir people awake? The conflict within self of the light and dark wolf is also called the war of the self.

We have envisioned the world of good – the light wolf. Still we need to feed that wolf so the dark wolf, who has been dominant for so long, becomes the lesser part of us.

Thanks for bringing back these teachings to me and reminding me of those who shared them with me long ago.

When I do ceremonies, teachings, sound healing, spiritual work I exist in a place of light – all light. When I am in a spiritual activist role I am helping move us to the light. Part is by recognizing the dark and the struggle we now have.

Standing Rock is a great example. Many of the elders and leaders speak of this battle in a larger war. The war is Water is Life. Then they go on to speak as I am – this is a new war and we are peaceful warriors.

When I work with and speak to children my whole energy and word use shifts. Not younger or less mature – more light. They do not need to be awakened and motivated. They are.

Some images need to be before us so we can make the changes needed.
Here are two others that give me pause:
* Cutting the head off of the black snake
* Letting the Phoenix die so she can rise

Based on the wishes of the elders and leaders at Standing Rock and elsewhere for peaceful protests I think we should discuss the use of our words as well as our actions. If there is a better word to guide us – let’s find it.

Thanks for hearing me.
~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi
Standing Rock Protestors support
Water is Life Movement

1-1-17 Chase IronEyes… Wounded knee Survivor Runners are set to arrive at Oceti Oyate, Oceti Sakowin, All Nations camp at 7pm central today! Come run with us

1-1-17~ Robert Ferguson... Paid Water Protectors. Did you know in almost every town there are people paid to protect your drinking water? They work at the places that draw water from either the ground or a surface source and then filter the water to make sure it is drinkable. Then there are a multitude of other government employees who work as environmentalists to ensure the surface and groundwaters do not become too polluted. In most cases these employees do a good job. Not so much in Flint or Corpus Christi. … Anyway, for most of the time these water protectors are left alone to do their jobs without much fanfare. But on occasion they find problems that lead back to some industry saving money by allowing pollution to enter the environment, and then their bosses can get real ugly. It pays to learn who in your area is a paid water protector and let them know you appreciate their efforts and are willing to Stand with them when they feel the need to expose pollution or even potential pollution. They will thank you and the water you save together might be your own.

12-31-16 ~ Penny Fruth…. I leave my basement door open as shelter for animals who might need it. This morning, before sunrise, I heard a hen sing out her death cry and ran downstairs. I saw the hen, still squatted down, waiting for the next blow. I looked and saw a large owl. I spoke calmly to the owl and tried to herd it toward the open door where there was only darkness. The owl wanted to go toward the light and kept crashing into walls. Finally, after much reassurance, the owl flew into the darkness and found the wind that lifted him up.

The owl is a powerful symbol that relates to the Water Protectors and the Seventh Generation. It is a strong symbol of transformation that often comes through darkness, not light. Just as the owl preferred the light, but finally realized he needed to go to the dark; the Water Protectors’ bravery and endurance have led them to go into the dark, with no assurance of success. Through their courage and perseverance, they are bringing light to the darkness and I am grateful. Thank you.

12-31-16 ~ Crystal Houser… Today has been a tough one. Will likely be a tough night. Trying to center. Trying to have some semblance of celebratory spirit on this holiday.

When it all boils down to it, I am where I need to be. I love you all, family, old friends, new friends, new family. Happy new years from Standing Rock.

It’s a happy new year here. Boy, I love it here with all these great people,” said Lee Sprague ~ Pottawaomi/Ottawa

12-31-16 ~ Youth Unity Journey for Sacred Waters… Journey continues to Standing Rock, Our Walker’s Marge Roberts Mckenzie, Charrjalz N Mikeroberts have the determination, Resilience, and Perseverance to reach there destination (y) Awesome to be helping out and extremely proud of them to be Walking this far in North Dakota, USA

12-31-16 ~ Daphne Singingtree… Long post about the current controversy about Standing Rock funding including the tribe’s decision to use some of the donated funds to address deficits from impact of the legal and logistical issues around the protest.

How we share resources is our biggest challenge today. The cause of most wars, our fight for clean water, protection of the earth, is all about those who wish a bigger piece of pie for themselves, sometimes the whole pie. In traditional indigenous cultures a core value is taking care of those in need. Those who have more, share, and it lifts everyone. Simple concept, but one we have gotten away from as modern life and the culture of self has supplanted the idea of care of others. The future is endangered by the 1% who use their wealth as power to produce more wealth at the expense of water and the earth and those who live upon her. It is the heart of colonialism. Money is power, and as the NoDAPL movement grows economic pressures are going to be essential to long term victory.

Standing Rock donations have come in from around the world providing vital support we would not be able to function without. However, as a movement, we are still in a gestational stage, working without traditional leadership, developing organically, and a source of pain as we labor right now revolves about money, donations, and how resources are allocated. We are trying to figure out a way to do things differently, that is more inclusive, less hierarchical, less based on colonial models.

At Standing Rock we are a microcosm of society as a whole, and as such are facing avarice, selfishness, egos, and competing agendas. There has been misuse of donated funds, I know people who raised money specifically for the Wellness space at Rosebud and not one dime reached us. There has been theft and resources not used or ruined because of a lack of organization and proper stewardship. But there also has been tremendous generosity, not only from those donating money or supplies, but those giving their time to do fundraisers and organize political events at home, and those who work so incredibly hard at camp. I have seen so many people give up well-paying jobs, put school and their lives on hold, all for Standing Rock. It gets into your soul and becomes the only thing that matters. I get it, I have a small business before Standing Rock making and selling herbal products. After I was gone months, had to lay off my part time staff, and no longer have the time to make products, and truthfully making and selling stuff is not how I want to spend my time, as my work with Standing Rock is so much more important to my grandchildren’s future.

I was a part of the Occupy Movement and see so many similarities with the early support and enthusiasm, then personalities, egos, lack of leadership and focus, the movement crumbled as much from within as from without. I was a midwife for 30 years, my role was support the natural birth process, yet be aware in case intervention was needed. Sometime intervention is simple sometimes complicated, but if not done in time, consequences can be devastating. As one of the many midwives helping birth this movement that started with Standing Rock, I am listening to the heartbeat with concern. While I am concerned about the misuse or theft of funds, I believe a greater threat is the infighting about it. The finger pointing, the accusations, the negativity, the divisiveness can sweep up good people as well as the bad. I have seen from personal experience how unfounded accusations, haters and Internet trolls can destroy someone’s life and important work. Transparency and accountability is important. We can make a full accounting with receipts for all the funds donated to either my Gofundme page or to Zaniyan.org, and will continue to do that. The Medic and Healer Council is in the process of organizing a separate nonprofit which will do the same.

While people are still braving the weather and a protest camp will remain at Standing Rock until the pipeline is gone for good, longer term sustainable community projects, including an integrative health clinic, a birth center, are all in the planning stages, and can result from some of the positive energy generated for this cause. We still need support and help from the global community to fight the black snake and protect the water for all of us. The Standing Rock tribe has incurred a lot of expenses and losses from this protest, monies donated will not go to any one person or family, and that is more than I can say for a lot of other fundraising efforts.

I see one of the biggest needs right now in terms of funding is paying the fines and legal fees of arrested water protectors. While there are specific camp needs such as firewood and propane we are still working on, we are now looking other protest camps in Texas, Cheyenne River, British Columbia, & Florida. At both the Medic Healer Council and Zaniyan, we are looking at how to allocate resources to best serve the most people.

Standing Rock needs continued support as well as a healthy discussion of donated funds and how best to use them. What we don’t need is people from outside, who do not know all the facts or whole picture making judgments or accusations that can result in funding being pulled entirely. Facebook is powerful weapon, use it responsibly. Let’s focus on what is needed, where, how it is best used, and how to have transparency. #nodapl#waterislife #divestbank

12-31-16… Red Fawn is a Lakota from Denver, Colorado, who had been one of the water protectors. The 37 year old was known by many of the younger protectors as mom. She was always checking on people to make sure they had everything they needed. Her mother had been at the Wounded Knee occupation in the seventies, and sadly just recently passed away. One day a young girls hand was broken by a Morton County cop, and Red Fawn was right there to get her out of harm’s way. Later the cops grabbed Red Fawn who was walking away from the front line and threw her to the ground on her face. Three cops had their knees in her back and on her legs. Suddenly shots were fired. They claimed Red Fawn had a gun hidden behind her back, pulling it out and fired shots. But there is video that clearly shows they had her face down on the ground, not on her back so the cops were lying. They tried to charge her with attempted murder. Now how could a small woman with three cops on top of her pull out this mysterious gun and get off three shot ? After being held in jail without bail, Monday a Judge stated that the murder charges were dropped, but now she’s charged with concealing a weapon. Those lying cops knew that these false charges would never hold up in court. If she had really done it there is no way in hell they would drop those charges. They also never did a test to prove she had fired a weapon, because they already knew she hadn’t. So now the cops are going to ruin her life with a lie about a concealed handgun. Prayers for you Red Fawn, you are a true warrior and hero, unlike those lying cops in the Morton County Sheriff’s department. PEACE & BLESSINGS DOC

12-30-16 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi… Thanks for an Amazing Year of Support and Action.
It is time to share energy and give thanks. So I am saying thanks for all the support you have each given Standing Rock and all Water is Life movement protests everywhere. The heroes of Standing Rock have done amazing things and spiritually and morally led us all. Their place in history as energizing movements to save our planet is set. We all thank and honor them – and continue to support what they are still doing.

That said, each of you now look in a mirror, smile and say wopila – many thanks – to the one you see there. To yourself. Early on we were asked to spread the word about the efforts at Standing Rock and we answered that call. As we still are. Without the virtual effort to bring Standing Rock to the masses, I fear they would have been stopped long ago. This effort takes us all – those at Standing Rock and those virtually around the world.

So many have taken the Standing Rock example to heart and begun their own protests around the U.S. and the world. To them I also say thank you. I am working with a group we created here in Colorado to stand against fracking and save our water. I hope many more of you find local groups as well.

As is the way on my spiritual path as taught to me by Two Bears and my other elders, I also thank those at Standing Rock and those in these virtual communities for all they will be doing in 2017. I see it already – and it is beautiful to behold. Watching the four colors of prophecy come together. I have no words. I thank you for taking this movement to the next level. I thank you for your continued peaceful revolution. And I thank you for the seven generations who cannot yet speak – but are watching us all.

2017 is the year we must work even harder to connect ALL the Water is Life efforts. Even if we are swamped with our local protests, we must allow some time for the council of protests to form. To truly win this war I know this is so. I ask those at Standing Rock to also play a leadership role in this. I look forward to returning to Standing Rock to embrace my friends and relatives there with my thanks again. And I also thank you, here, for your leadership. Mni Waconi – water IS life… the Movement.

This thank you comes from deep in my heart and spirit. It is an honor to walk with you all. And I know the other admins feel the same way. I invite them to comment here if they wish.

I tap into my Mayan relatives teachings with a reminder as I end this: In Lak’ech Ala K’in – I am you and you are me. This has never been so true.

~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi
Standing Rock Protectors Support Group

12-30-16 ~ Jim Petoskey‎… I was in the Marines for 9 years. I was stationed at Camp Lejuene, NC for 8 years and every Marine since 1959 has been drinking benzine, TCE, PCB and other chemicals from the contaminated wells. I was also at Fort McClellan, AL where we were exposed to nuclear particles in the air and Agent Orange in the water that was dumped by the Monsanto plant next to the fort. I have lost many friends I served with who died from diseases related to those chemicals. I feel like I am on borrowed time. I have 4 young children ages 8,9,9 and 11. So what ever time I have left I have vowed to fight for clean water for them and , as we say in my culture, the 7 generations to come. Stand strong.

12-30-16 ~ With all the talk going on I just wanted to focus on a positive right now, this is Randy…He has been one of the consistent roles here this winter at camp. His program and bill is fitted by the tribe, regardless of any misconception. He has been out in all conditions to help people stay warm and safe here at camp and across the reservation. He shared a story about seeing and helping a guy who rolled his vehicle recently, breaking glass to get this guy out and into a safe position eventually getting him into an ambulance. These silent heroes are the foundation of what’s going on here in #StandingRock #NoDAPL

12-30-16 ~ Johnny Dangers

12-30-16 ~ Anthony Liccione… This I would wish, that there was no time or sleep. No more past, or future, and everything we did was good the first time, for the day. Without the need of looking back to learn from the past, and no future to hope for the better. No more tiredness, or having a need to dream, and no nightmares to fear. If there was a second time, this is how I would like to start over. Nor pipelines ever ever ever

12-30-16 ~ Mikeroberts N Charrjalz… Today was a good day I’m so thankful we made it to cross the border walking 😁that’s such a big achievement I struggled today before crossing. I was so worried thinking and overwhelming myself just about to have an anxiety attack didn’t know what to expect in United States, our first time going there. But I prayed and gave it to the creator and just let go of everything and smudged and walked, I felt good about myself and our group that we were gonna pass the border. And now were here but our journey is not over were determined to keep walking to standing rock Standing Rock were coming WATER IS LIFE MINI WICONI

12-29-16 ~ To better comprehend Standing Rock, throughout the past century, prime Indian land has been seized or “bought” by the Federal government or corporations with no regard for Native rights or needs. This Associated Press photo from 1948 shows the Secretary of the Interior “buying” 155,000 acres of Indian land in North Dakota for a government reservoir. The weeping face of the Fort Berthold Tribal councilman says it all.

At a certain point, people have to say “ENOUGH.” Which is what the Standing Rock resistance is all about.
Read the original http://tinyurl.com/zkmaga7

12-29-2016 ~ A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY TO THINK ABOUT.…… December 29, 2016 marks the 126th Anniversary of the murder of 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. These 297 people, in their winter camp, were murdered by federal agents and members of the 7th Cavalry who had come to confiscate their firearms “for their own safety and protection”. The slaughter began after the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms. The Calvary began shooting, and managed to wipe out the entire camp. 200 of the 297 victims were women and children. About 40 members of the 7th Cavalry were killed, but over half of them were victims of fratricide from the Hotchkiss guns of their overzealous comrades-in-arms.

TWENTY members of the 7th Cavalry’s death squad, were deemed “National Heroes” and were awarded the Medal of Honor for their acts of [cowardice] heroism.

We hear very little of Wounded Knee today. It is usually not mentioned in our history classes or books. What little that does exist about Wounded Knee is normally a sanitized “Official Government Explanation”. And there are several historically inaccurate depictions of the events leading up to the massacre, which appear in movie scripts and are not the least bit representative of the actual events that took place that day.

Wounded Knee was among the first federally backed gun confiscation attempts in United States history. It ended in the senseless murder of 297 people.

Before you jump on the emotionally charged bandwagon for gun-control, take a moment to reflect on the real purpose of the Second Amendment, the right of the people to take up arms in defense of themselves, their families, and property in the face of invading armies or an oppressive government. The argument that the Second Amendment only applies to hunting and target shooting is asinine. When the United States Constitution was drafted, “hunting” was an everyday chore carried out by men and women to put meat on the table each night, and “target shooting” was an unheard of concept. Musket balls were a precious commodity and were certainly not wasted on “target shooting”. The Second Amendment was written by people who fled oppressive and tyrannical regimes in Europe, and it refers to the right of American citizens to be armed for defensive purposes, should such tyranny arise in the United States.

As time goes forward, the average citizen in the United States continually loses little chunks of personal freedom or “liberty”. Far too many times, unjust gun control bills were passed and signed into law under the guise of “for your safety” or “for protection”. The Patriot Act signed into law by G.W. Bush, was expanded and continues under Barack Obama. It is just one of many examples of American citizens being stripped of their rights and privacy for “safety”. Now, the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is on the table, and will, most likely be attacked to facilitate the path for the removal of our firearms, all in the name of “our safety”.

Before any American citizen blindly accepts whatever new firearms legislation that is about to be doled out, they should stop and think about something for just one minute-

Evil does exist in our world. It always has and always will. Throughout history evil people have committed evil acts. In the Bible one of the first stories is that of Cain killing Abel. We can not legislate “evil” into extinction. Good people will abide by the law, and the criminal element will always find a way around it.

Evil exists all around us, but looking back at the historical record of the past 200 years, across the globe, where is “evil” and “malevolence” most often found? In the hands of those with the power, the governments. That greatest human tragedies on record and the largest loss of innocent human life can be attributed to governments. Who do the governments always target? “Scapegoats” and “enemies” within their own borders…but only after they have been disarmed to the point where they are no longer a threat. Ask any Native American, and they will tell you it was inferior technology and lack of arms that contributed to their demise. Ask any Armenian why it was so easy for the Turks to exterminate millions of them, and they will answer “We were disarmed before it happened”. Ask any Jew what Hitler’s first step prior to the mass murders of the Holocaust was- confiscation of firearms from the people.

Wounded Knee is the prime example of why the Second Amendment exists, and why we should vehemently resist any attempts to infringe on our Rights to Bear Arms. Without the Second Amendment we will be totally stripped of any ability to defend ourselves and our families.

12-29-16 ~ Chris Turley… I visited Wounded Knee once. Theres some powerful emotions and energy there. Times may have changed, however we will never forget.

Remember Wounded Knee Massacre December 29, 1890
300 Men, Women and Children. May our relatives rest in peace, for they are not forgotten.

12-29-16 ~ Remembering the Fallen on this 29th day of December while praying for our future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jrFcBpz3Dg

12-28-16 ~ DAPL Hero Charged With Felony Terrorizing For Saving Lives by De-escalating Deadly AR15 Standoff
In return for heroically de-escalating a situation in which an employee of the Dakota Access Pipeline pointed a loaded AR-15 at bystanders, Brennon Nastacio is being charged with a felony — and has been placed on the Morton County Sheriff’s most wanted list. Read More http://tinyurl.com/z4tl6h8

12-28-16 ~ Wicapi Otto… or those of you needing facts. Here is a fact that I can undeniably refute. DAPL has the media purporting that Standing Rock never objected. Well they never counted on someone like me that actually reads stuff like their boring reports.

An article was passed recently that had an audio recording from 2014 of the tribes objection. However this report was taken directly from the Army Corp of Engineers website and is the public report submitted by DAPL and the ACE. It was published in 2015 and updated in 2016. If anyone says the tribe did not do due diligence proof is here. You can click the link and see the publishing dates and click the PDF to read. Um…it is 1261 pages long though…good thing to do if at Oceti Oyate and learn about what we are fighting.
http://tinyurl.com/j7t2q44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZFpS4DFtTY

12-28-6 ~ Magpie Waters… O ci yo I thought it was a sign of hope when the United States Veterans announced that they were organizing and heading to the freezing North Dakota plains at Standing Rock, to stand with and stand in front of the water protectors to get them out of harms way. Nobody new what kind of effect that it would have on the situation. It was monumental (remember that word) in this unprecedented gathering of Indigenous people.

Never in the time of Indigenous people has a gathering like this taken place and pow-wows don’t count. What was monumental was not just former military members coming to protect Water Protectors, but the healing that took place, between the two groups and the tribes. Water is Life unified all people gathering to fight the Black Snake. Veterans prayed with the Water Protectors and, asked for forgiveness for past atrocities that the United States military had committed in the genocide of our ancestors. They then acted as mediators to bring peace were none had been for so long.

Here is Magpie Waters video number four, for the year. At the time this video was produced with a misspelled cavalry(where Jesus died) in the title instead of the kind that are part of the military. I thought it was a sign of hope when the United States Veterans announced that they were organizing and heading to the freezing North Dakota plains to stand with and stand in front of the water protectors to get them out of harms way. Nobody new what kind of effect that it would have on the situation. It was monumental (remember that word) in this unprecedented gathering of Indigenous people.

Like many people around the world the night of November 20 sparked not only outrage but activity in writing the President, the North Dakota governor and many others I would have never guessed that veterans would be the answer in solving the violence against Water Protectors.

I shouldn’t have been surprised by the healing either. Anyone, who has been around our elders, Sun Dancers, Pipe Carriers and Medicine People understand their genuine love for our earth and all who walk, slither, swim, fly and crawl on it. They have the power of peace. This peace allows healing to take place in times when no one else can.

The veterans stood tall at Standing Rock and are true American heros. Wado and blessings to them all and to all the Water Protectors on the front lines of battle and everywhere in between. All my Relations, Magpie Waters

12-28-16 ~ Jason L.George… I need to speak, and I wish to be heard. I am Jason L.George, a proud and patriotic son of our nation (Colville confederated tribes). I am in standing rock North Dakota and am resident of oceti ohyahteh ,the northern most and front line camp. I’ve come here to represent our 12 tribes with nothing in my pockets, but with good will, and honor in my heart. I have become known and well thought of as High hat a person to seek out if you need help of any kind. A warrior who will hold shield position and not abandon those behind him.Even after being wounded, gassed and frozen I have kept my shield high and strong. I wish to represent and honor my nation as best and as long as I’ve the strength and life to do so. I am not a person who readily requests help from another. But I am here now to beseech any who may be inclined to, and in a position to help. I have repeatedly requested that flag of our tribe to be sent to me, so that I might fly our colors high and proud above my lodges. So that all who seek my assistance or counsel might have our beautiful star to guide them to my lodge flap, and any of our tribal relation who may travel to this distant land may find a piece of home to welcome them in. I’ve been informed by our counsel that as an individual I cannot represent us in such a fashion. I am not requesting financial backing,nor am I not asking for a counsel seat. I just want the world to see that we are here to be counted among those who choose life over wealth for us and our loved ones living and yet to be born.If anyone of you has access to our (Colville) flag and can find it in your heart to give,loan or sell said article to me. I would truly be appreciative to you and yours eternally. The postal workers in cannonball have been forthright and honorable in making sure supplies sent to them for us be delivered without incident or circumstance barring their path. So an acceptable address for me would be. Jason George (High hat) c/o Oceti ohyahteh camp,general delivery,Cannonball ND 58528
Thank you (Lim lint) ….

12-28-16 ~ Youth walking over 400 miles from Saskatchewan to the #NoDAPL frontline camps!

12-28-16 Casey Eugene Leydon… (i am very tired but I have to give you this message to listen too and to share.)
My coughing never really went away…though it has been growing since the Night of November 20 that I was struck by a rocket on the Hwy I806 backwater bridge …

I returned to Florida December 4 but my cough stayed with me…and grew.

Tuesday I began having an asthma attack that I had been building for days… feeling was building into a death for me…. It became so intense it took my breath and nearly my life… My roommate and dear friend Carol R. Brown Lmt saved my life.
She called the ambulance..she coached the EMTS on the medical procedure I had to have to save my life…She held my hand the entire time…she looked into my eyes and kept me calm…kept me from panicking and pushing my life over the edge of no return…I made the long ride from the woods to Florida memorial hospital in Flagler…because EMT named Roy held my hand and looked me in the eyes and talked me thru each painful inhale and exhale….I have been here a few days …totally exhausted from the pushing air in and out…breathing is exhausting….the STERIODS lines are fighting the fluids in my lungs… Medications fight the side effects of the STERIODS and fight my panic and anxiety attacks from struggling to breath..other medications are fighting the pneumonia…and hourly breathing machine with meds to fight asthma…it seems the tear gas rocket that hit my chest on the bridge emptied a lot of acid powder in to the air I breathed and I got a lot of powder deep in my lungs…I still smell the acid when I cough…the result is That i will stay here under extra care and medicine while my body finishes coughing and removing all the tear gas powder.

I am hurting and tired but I am in a loving hospital..the group of caregiver’s all know about #NoDAPL and the Water Protectors and the Lakota and the treaty rights and the bridge on November 20th…they knew before I got here…they send there love to all on the frontline…they treat me with honor and respect and love because of you.
The Water Protectors…

They say they promise to heal me …to tell the frontline that they will heal this warrior….because they love the Frontline…
How beautiful is that.

Here in Florida a group of healthcare givers are all knowing and supporting the frontline…
Creator sometimes shouts ….but sometimes also will whisper us to us in our hospital bed a thousand miles a from the backwater bridge on Hwy 1806….”get up my faithful healing warrior…you are winning…do not lay down for long…you are winning.. Get up …rise up…

Can you hear your sisters and brothers?
the Liberators are calling your name.”
I will not lay down for long.
I have heard my brothers and sisters.
I will return.
We will let the world hear us.
Get up.
Rise Up.
The liberators are calling you name.

12-27-16 ~ Olowaan Plain… 15-20 with shields, 6-8 armored vehicles, bunch of vans, sound cannon and water cannons rolled out AGAIN this time around Turtle Island sacred site and Heyoka Camp. Nothing has changed. We are still here protecting ourselves against imperialism and ecocide.

Earlier we went to the bridge and prayed, took a few pictures. Concrete barriers and razor wire are still up, vehicles were moved days ago, bridge inspection will take “thirty days”…A gun was pulled on us by DAPL mercenaries stated that if we touched the barbed wire we would be shot. People tried speaking to them reasonably. When I told them the pollution from these oil spills invades my womb and breast milk for the next seven thousand generations they walked back to their cars…we will post video later. We went up on the bridge again later praying with the drum, got on our knees and prayed. Some people, unarmed as always, walked off into the field not far from the bridge and were shot with rubber bullets by cops.

Unfortunately 4 scouting from Sacred Stone were arrested, but this was unrelated to our group.

I didn’t go on Turtle Island. Prayers have been laid there. I told the feds to get off the gravesites and sacred site.

12-27-16 ~ North Dakota law enforcement stalked a group of people who were praying along the Cannonball River and began arresting them. Not sure what the charges are at this point or if police can legally arrest people simply for gathering near the river on Army Corps land. This seems more like an infringement on religious rights than anything else.

Find out how much water you should be drinking per day
http://tinyurl.com/zmva868

12-27-16 ~ Native Blood… One of the earliest photos showing a Native American with a wolf – unlike the myths created about wolves by settlers, Native Americans maintained a close and respectful relationship with wolves.

12-27-16 ~ Jon Eagle Sr… Dakota 38 Wokiksuye Riders completed their commitments today. A 330 mile prayer on horseback that brought healing and reconciliation across the land as they came. Today we remembered the 38 Dakota who were sentenced to be hung by President Abraham Lincoln in what came to be known as the largest mass execution in US history.

Yesterday it rained as they rode into Land of Memories Park. We knew it was a blessing when the Wakinyan showed themselves. Today when the ceremony was done many of the riders and people in the crowd remembered Standing Rock and the Water Protectors and yelled,”Mni Wiconi!”

12-27-16 ~ This is an image of history made just today. These burnt trucks were removed from the now famous Highway 1806 blockade. This life-threatening war crime by Morton County is finally being stopped and dismantled. It is a war crime against all people of this region of North Dakota, including the Protectors, according to Article 24 of the Geneva Convention. This war crime is ending just now, after two months, and it is the People who are ending it. That is why this picture means so much.

“Please keep the Protectors in your prayers tonight. The action taken today on Highway 1806 was by the People. That means that Morton County may act in retaliation soon (illegally). The Protectors are talking about DAPL security moving certain equipment in this live video from earlier this evening (https://www.facebook.com/julie.kurylowicz/videos/10212407964180816/?hc_location=ufi). We still need confirmation that the entire blockade on Highway 1806 will be cleared, but at least the contentious burnt trucks do seem to have been cleared. But again, they were cleared by the People, and Morton County is scary in its disrespect and brutalization of the People. The giant concrete blocks still need to go, and that is a lot to do in a blizzard with Morton County against you. It may take days to finish removing all of the blockade, and I am not sure of the

12-27-16 ~ HolyElk Lafferty… The Sami were teaching how to make shoes today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Yggsye8wY

12-26-16 ~ Digital Smoke Signals… If DAPL cannot ask for forgiveness for the desecration of “Sacred Lands”, if the Governor & Morton County police department of North Dakota cannot humble themselves and ask for forgiveness for human rights and civil rights violations of unarmed peaceful water protectors……then we will have to demonstrate and role model the power of unity and good teachings,

“We will have to pray for them”
Myron Dewey
Paiute/Shoshone
Digital Smoke Signals

12-26-16 ~ Luca Majno… The Day After Christmas ~ 1862 ~ THEN and TODAY ~

12-26-16 ~ Beautiful things can happen when we stand firm in our faith, keep love and compassion in our hearts and see everyone as our sisters and brothers, and speak the truth openly. Here is an inspiring story from water protector Salix Roots, who broke the ice with some National Guardsmen at a hotel in Bismarck when they were socked in together by the blizzard.

I had breakfast downstairs this morning in a hotel in Bismarck, ND, where I await for the next possible flight back to Santa Fe. A blizzard rolled in, cancelling all potential flights I was booked for. I’ll be heading to the airport as soon as the roads are clear enough so I can be on standby for the next available flight. In the meantime, find me snowed in at the Expressway Suites and processing the experience that I’ve had this past week at Standing Rock. I can’t quite articulate just what it means yet, but soon I will take a gander.

In the meantime, at breakfast today, I sat next to three National Guard Military members who have been going back and forth between Standing Rock and Bismarck. We are all stuck here in this hotel together.

There they were, those mysterious people stationed up on that hill with those bright, blinding lights casting down on the peaceful Water Protectors 24/7. I wanted to engage. I had seen them wandering around the hotel and wanted to interview them and hear their story but naturally, they were guarded and didn’t even want to tell me their names. So, I told them mine, and I shared my story with them.

I told them about my experience at Standing Rock, and how we’ve been praying for them to listen to what we are trying to say. Praying for them to come around. Praying in Sweat Lodges, praying in meetings, praying quietly to ourselves as we drift off to sleep each night. I quickly started to cry, tears dripping like jewels from the reservoir of anguish that I’ve been carrying. They looked at me when I spoke. They nodded in empathy. They listened. I did not feel any slither of judgment from these militarized men who are just doing their best to live their lives the way that they know how.

I told them how badly we want reconciliation, constructive dialogue, environmental protection for future generations, indigenous sovereignty, and the honoring of treaties. They didn’t argue with any of it. They just heard me and held that space.

They’re guard dissolved right before my very eyes. I felt their humanity. I maintained my vulnerability. Soon we were laughing together. I sensed they understood the futility of perpetuating continued violence towards native peoples and all who are out there, doing their best to protect what matters most to them. We are all just doing our best, after all.

We have been indoctrinated into a system that none of us is to blame for, but each of us is responsible for transforming when injustice is present and we become aware and compassionate enough to do something about it. Sometimes that can be a simple, honest dialogue with the perceived enemy where you can transmute the illusory differences that keep you separate. Sometimes it’s realizing that the enemy is really just another reflection of you.

If there’s anything that I learned from my week at Standing Rock, its that help will come because people are desiring a new way to listen. Some new kind of energy is moving through our bloodstreams, we are dropping our guards, realizing the enormous task of healing that is underway and how we each have a part to play in this, no matter which tribe you belong to or which hill you stand on. We have what it takes to do so much better. We have what it takes to respect one another, and listen to more stories then the ones that we keep telling ourselves.

Photo taken by Macon Verteskjall at Standing Rock. I’m sitting in the snow here with The National Guard // DAPL lights off in the distance. I wish I could have walked right up that hill and said to them what I said to the men I had breakfast with today, but for now…baby steps, baby steps, baby steps…may we learn how to crawl, stand, and walk together, united, all in due time.

12-26-16 ~ LRInspire… Dakota 38 + 2 wokiksuye, remembering the 38 Dakotas who were hung on this day in Mankato, Minnesota the largest mass execution in US colonial history. painting by Patrick Campbell

On December 26th 1862, the United States Army hanged 38 Dakota warriors in Makato, Minnesota. It was, and remains, the largest mass execution in American colonial history. Two Dakota warriors who had escaped into Canada were eventually captured, returned to the United States, and hanged at Fort Snelling in 1865. #NeverForget

12-25-16 ~ Olowaan Plain… I have never experienced thunder snow until today…

STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINE 2016
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE

PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PAGE

HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

INDEX

News Articles and Updates ~ Oceto Sakowin
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
You Tube Video Archive ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
How You Can Help Standing Rock? #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG
Standing Rock history
http://standingrock.org/history/
Without Water We Can Not Exist
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
Stories from the Frontlines ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
Atrocities at Standing Rock and Police Weaponry
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
Trusted News Sources ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
Standing Rock Camps #Water Is Life
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

INDEX

News Articles and Updates ~ Oceti Sakowin
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
You Tube Video Archive ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
How You Can Help Standing Rock? #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG
Standing Rock history
http://standingrock.org/history/
Without Water We Can Not Exist
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
Stories from the Frontlines ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
Atrocities at Standing Rock and Police Weaponry
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
Trusted News Sources ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
Standing Rock Camps #Water Is Life
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR

SPECIAL REPORT Feb. 23, 2017 Standing Rock

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

Rudy TwoMoon ~ “Personal stories, truth, the fight for survival, sadness and joy. Many of you have no idea the history you witnessed or ignored. This is bigger than you realize. It will be talked about for generations as the “movement to start all movements”. The movement which shifted balance back to protection of the earth and ourselves. In a flash of time, you’ll be telling the younger generation, I remember when we almost almost lost ourselves. Your story will probably start like this… “Not long ago, the world was getting darker. No, we weren’t without light, we just couldn’t see any longer. It was children, babies, who brought the light back to the grandmother’s with song…..”

2-23-17 ~ Grandma Regina was arrested today…my heart is heavy…prayers
EDIT: just saw this post she is released and safe… http://tinyurl.com/jzhxleu
Grandma Regina Brave, a survivor of Wounded Knee II in 1973, was released yesterday after being arrested for her actions standing up for treaty rights as police raided Oceti Sakowin. She has a message for all of her supporters and all who follow the movement.

https://youtu.be/7rftUIUZNsY

2-23-17 ~ Dave Archambault… FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-23-17
Standing Rock Sioux Chairman responds to Secretary Spicer’s statements

Cannon Ball, N.D.— Dave Archambault II, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, today refuted White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s statements that the White House has been involved in any way with the Tribe.

“Spicer claimed that the Trump administration has been ‘constantly’ in contact with our Tribe. That clai m is absolutely false,” Archambault said.

“We repeatedly asked for meetings with the Trump administration, but never received one until the day they notified Congress that they were issuing the easement. I was on a plane to Washington, D.C. when I learned the easement was issued at the airport. It was an insult to me and to the Tribe. I cancelled the meeting upon hearing this news. We have since filed a lawsuit for the immoral and illegal issuance of the easement and suspension of the environmental impact study.”

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe remains adamant that the Dakota Access Pipeline is a dangerous project that threatens our water. The tactics to divide our fight against the real enemy, Energy Transfer Partners, are counterproductive and detract from the goal to stop the denigration of our sovereign rights to protect our treaty resources.

2-23-17 ~ The most telling photo at Standing Rock … Raymond Kingfisher giving closing prayers upon leaving camp. Thanking the Protectors .

2-23-17 ~ Redhawk … This afternoon I was asked to take a photo of the Sacred Fire right before the final prayer walk, where nearly 100 Water Protectors peacefully, and prayerfully stepped back on to the reservations they have been confined to for over a century. For those of you not aware, the Sacred Fire has always been off limits for media, as it contains the spirits. I was honored to be asked to do this.

I am trying my best to explain the emotions that went through my heart today. Anger, fear, excitement, but mostly pain. Pain to see so many people so close to mother earth oppressed by this country for money, greed, and the overall fact the United States does not want to admit it stole this land from Native Americans. America’s dirty little secret.

We spent the last 2 days planning on how we as media could work together to keep this camp safe. Originally, I planned to remain until the end. After being asked to document the sacred fire, and participate in the prayer walk, my mind changed. Once I crossed the river with the tribes, my heart told me it was my time to go. As much as I wanted to turn around and step back over that bridge, I knew I wouldn’t be doing the right thing. I could feel something bad would happen to me. I then walked all the way to Cheyenne River camp. I sat for a bit, cried a bit more, and thought about all the emotions I had just gone through. There were many.

Looking back on the nearly 6 months of being here in solidarity, there have been many ups and downs. Small victories, and small defeats. I have had hypothermia, gone nights without sleeping bags, slept in an emergency shelter for a month while trying to assist with the shelter, had rubber bullets wiz past my head, tasted tear gas, had electronics sabotaged, “dapl’d”, items stolen, friendships lost, and a few times questioned about my intentions based off the color of my skin. Through all that, I know I still had it much easier than many. Most even. So many have sacrificed so much to be here. They have given up homes, lost marriages, lost jobs, lost children, and so many more. All to defend mother earth and human rights. Looking back, I know I am nothing more than a man, and I have received so much inspiration through watching the strength of our Native American brothers and sister.

Today was not a loss. Today was a win. Standing Rock has awoken the sleeping giant of humankind. The knowledge that people can band together, and make a statement of unity, prayer, love, and compassion. This is just the beginning of a greater whole. I believe we can change the world. We have already proven the world can hear our calls.

I am still trying to process everything, and maybe this post doesn’t make sense, but I knew it was my time to go. I followed that intuition, and followed my heart over that bridge. I cried more today than I ever have in my life. I was honored to see my heart open so much from my time here.

So many people have banded together, but for me, my focus has always been getting the media out. I’ve been very humbled to be able to work beside the Oceti Sakowin Camp media team, and try to represent the camp in a good way. The last few nights of media meetings worked. I felt that independent media, alongside veterans, medics and most of all the prayers of the Water Protectors kept the camp in peace, and no major conflicts took place today. I am still in awe over the dedication of all those media that took the stand on the front lines of 1806 today, and helped the police back away from camp. I am eternally grateful to work alongside so many dedicated and true journalists, using their abilities to document the reality of this world.

This is not about journalism tho. This is about taking a stand for 500 years of oppression for our Indigenous brothers and sisters. This is about honoring treaties. This is about native children abductions. This is about man camps destroying native families. This is about protecting the earth from corporate rape for profit. This is about being HUMAN. This is about love, and compassion, and understanding, and empathy, and prayer.

This is about leaving this world knowing you stood on the right side of history.

Today I walked away from the Oceti Sacred Fire for the last time, but all of us have left with the fire in our hearts. That fire will never burn out. It is embedded and engrained in our souls, blood, sweat, tears forever.

WE ARE FOREVER BURNING
WE ARE FOREVER STANDING
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING.

MNI WICONI.
Redhawk

2-23-17 NY TIMES… The largest protest camp at Standing Rock was cleared on Wednesday. Some protesters set fire to semipermanent structures before the 2 p.m. deadline.

“It’s an act of defiance,” Nick Cowan said as he watched a fire burn after living here for more than 2 months. “It’s saying: ‘If you are going to make us leave our home, you cannot take our space. We’ll burn it to the ground and let the earth take it back before you take it from us.’”

Vanessa Red Bull shared her perspective: “I think that’s why people are setting things on fire: as a way of a last homage to what had become many people’s homes. A community was here.”

2-23-17 ~ US Customs & Border Protection at Standing Rock!
Oh, the irony.
“Militarized police, the National Guard, and US Customs have descended on Standing Rock with humvees and rifles to protect the Dakota Access Pipeline from unarmed protestors and journalists.”

2-23-17 ~ Linda Black Elk … I waited until after midnight to write this. Today, some exemplary medics and healers waited until every last person was out of the Oceti Sakowin camp before they narrowly escaped personal harm and arrest by the long arm of county, state and federal law enforcement.

I have never known better people. Never. They are brave and generous; they are tough but fair; they are cautious but honest. They have become my family, and I love them.

Over the last seven months, my medics, midwives, mental health professionals, MDs, herbalists, traditional healers, street medics, first responders, body workers, and other volunteers have sacrificed everything …everything…to protect the protectors. I am so so thankful for them.

2-23-17 ~ Watching the place I called home burn while my Friends are been arrested leaves a hole in my heart. I met many awesome People at Medic Healer Council who gave of their all, Doctors Nurses Natural Medicine in conditions that resembled conditions as bad or worse than third world countries. My stay was one of service and while I went to tell a story I became part of it and even fell in love. We learned a lot at the Standing Rock Protectors – Pipeline Protest as Veterans and as water protectors. We learned a lot about ourselves the People we met and the things we and others did. There is healing that is taking place for we as they made mistakes, tradition was forgotten and the sacred trampled. The Lakota tradition is nomadic giving Mother Earth time to heal. At this sacred place there is more than burial grounds, battles have been won and lost this one yet to be decided much less the ones that came before. Moving forward to fight the Black Snake we know requires unity with each other and harmony with Mother Earth. The lessons learned here are just the beginning not the end for while the fire here has been stomped on the ambers have spread far an wide awakening a movement of awareness of what the future holds for our children. Change is never easy, on days as today even harder but that cannot stop us. The Tribes are talking and many have united as many more come together as relations between the water protectors Veterans and other groups start to heal. Moving forward there will be Eco Villages and places that live in the Lakota way in Peace with the land. There will be self-sustaining movements teaching and doing what it takes to ensure stability and continuity of our natural resources because there is only one other choice, the Black Snake seen here as the evil it can be spewing pollution into the air and contaminating the water. That it was burned and I was not there to move it makes me sad for this structure unlike the Tipi’s was made of plastics. This is not what we stand for as water protectors, regardless of who set it ablaze, them or us it was wrong. We take from this what we will, no one person will interpret these words the same. It is time to heal the wounds of war and look forward with an eye on the past for without respect for history the mistakes are doomed to be revisited. #ImaginePeace for Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. #Change #ForTheChildren#WaterIsLife.

2-23-17 ~ Ed Higgins was arrested today while covering the #LastStand at Standing Rock along with Evan Duke and dozens of veterans, journalists, and water protectors. We will NOT stand idly by while the government declares a war on our rights to assemble and free press

2-23-17~ Redhawk… Look who is out of custody, out of the hospital, and wanting to talk about how police treat Water Protectors and independent media.
Facebook live interview w Eric Poemz in a couple hours.
-Redhawk

https://youtu.be/Lv74nENQ71M

2-23-17 ~ An unstoppable force met immovable objects. A convoy of 200 law enforcement vehicles, including a Bearcat armored personnel carrier, 16 Humvees and more than 200 policemen and National Guard Soldiers entered the Oceti Sakowin #DakotaAccessPipeline protest camp Thursday morning. #DAPL

2-23-17 Jesse Ventura … Welcome to the Fascist States of America. What happened to the 1st Amendment? As a veteran I hang my head in shame. They say they’re giving protesters the chance to “leave peacefully” today, but we’re seeing video footage of arrests since yesterday.

Pic Flag Row, Oceti Camp. Josué Rivas Fotographer
2-23-17 ~ Adam Elfers‎… For all our Standing Rock friends, we all know watching these live feeds is tough for everybody. Watching people with such little reverence and understanding dismantle with militarized vehicles and weapons what we all built so sacredly. Not for money or power or fame, but for water, for the coming together of Tribes, of people all over the world, indigenous tribes from Ecuador, Hawaii, New Zealand, Alaska, and all over Native America. Standing rock is one of the single largest solidarity movements in world history. World history. That means ever. Think about it. How many times in the history of the world have people come together across so many differences of culture and language to #stand together. To stand United against a human greed represented in the business plans of billionaires who invade sacred land and steal water rights, all the while backed by the very men who promised to protect and serve the common welfare of the people and planet.

We withstood everything. Snow. Ice. Rubber bullets. Mace. Tasers. Tear gas. Concussion grenades. Propaganda. Lies. Water hoses in sub zero temperatures. Over 700 people were arrested for this #stand. I was one of them.

No matter what happens from here, no matter how this goes down, no matter how they evict and dismantle our camp, we know the truth:

Something was born at Standing Rock. Something Ancient & Spiritual was brought to form in modern life. & for all of us who were part of it…

We will never ever forget.

Standing Rock is in our blood. Our DNA. We are forever changed. & no matter what history gets told about the struggle for clean water that is becoming ever more common and urgent on planet earth, when our great granddaughter looks into our aging eyes & asks, “grandma, grandpa, what did you do to protect the water, to preserve the earth?” It is us, not them, who will be able to look in that little girl’s eyes with honor & say…
“Baby, I was at Standing Rock; I am a Water Protector.”

To all our Standing Rock Tribe worldwide, I love you so much. I can never thank you enough. Thanks for changing my life. Thanks for standing up and showing the world that something more is possible.
This is just the beginning.

Long live Standing Rock. Long live *Oceti Sakowin* camp, Sacred Stone, Rosebud & the rest.
#StandingRock #StillStanding #JustTheBeginning #StandingRockLives

2-23-17 ~ Prolific TheRapper… Be smarter than their propaganda. All eyes on Camp. After using force their next move will be propaganda to justify their injustices for the past several months… #nodapl

2-23-17 ~ The last man left in Oceti Sakowin Main Camp. Sitting on the roof.

Chase Iron Eyes, an American Indian activist and a member of the Standing Rock
https://youtu.be/OutY-an8TP4

2-23-17 ~ NY Times…. Chase Iron Eyes, an American Indian activist and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, is live from Canon Ball, North Dakota after yesterday’s evacuation order by the Army Corps of Engineers and North Dakota’s governor.

2-23-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… 100% of the Oceti Oyate Camp is now in Government Control! Riot Police, Armored Humvees, Reports of M4 guns and more are raiding the Oceti Oyate Camp!!! Armored Vehicles shamefully line the banks of the Cannonball River. Armed Riot Police have raided 80% of camp and are squeezing the remaining Water Protectors onto the semi-frozen Cannonball River! Grandmother arrested by the sweatlodge. Share! Send Prayers of Strength! Share with the world the truth!

2-23-17 ~ Redhawk… There was a reported 8-10 arrests yesterday at Oceti. What mainstream media failed to recognize is that a vast majority if not ALL of those arrested were independent & grassroots media taking a stand for the camp, and refusing to allow corporation controlled law enforcement to seize the camp with no documentation. Exercising the 1st amendment, and defending the liberties of this country, this is now a war of information as well as a spiritual war.
There is still independent media embedded inside the camp, and they will continue to defend the right to document for treaty rights and the rights of our Native American brothers and sisters.
WE ARE THE MEDIA NOW.
-Redhawk”

2-23-17 ~ Police Remove Last Of Dakota Access Pipeline Protesters From Camp
Officers on Thursday arrested 46 protesters and forced out all other people who remained in a camp that had been the epicenter of opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Morton County sheriff’s department announce Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/h593bnj

2-23-17 ~ North Dakota Dismantles #NoDAPL Oceti Camp
Just after 11 am, the combined eviction forces began their approach into the camp. Between a few dozen to a hundred water protectors were estimated remaining in camp at that time, with most having left the previous day but some having returned that morning by walking across the frozen Cannonball River. Bypassing the main entrance, two Bobcat-type skid steer loaders were used to clear a path down the snowy hill into the north end of Oceti Oyate. Bearcat and MRAP armored vehicles, accompanied by a large number of Humvees and sheriff’s deputies, police with riot gear and live weapons, descended down the path into the camp. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/gkwqeay

2-23-17 ~ Gov. Burgum signs 4 DAPL-inspired bills into law
Gov. Doug Burgum signed four bills into law Thursday afternoon. The bills all have ties to the Dakota Access pipeline protests.House Bill 1293 expands the scope of criminal trespass under state law, but reduces the offense to a $250 citation rather than criminal charges. House Bill 1304 makes it a misdemeanor to wear a mask or hood when committing a crime. House Bill 1426 increases penalties for riot offenses. It allows prosecutors to charge those who take part in a riot in a manner consistent with the potential for actual harm to health safety and well-being. Senate Bill 2302 allows the Attorney General to appoint ad hoc special agents. An example of this would be an out-of-state officer who comes to North Dakota responding to a request for assistance. All four bills have emergency clauses that make them effective immediately. Continue Reading http://tinyurl.com/zfz23eh

2-23-17 ~ Trump administration withdrew legal memo that found ‘ample legal justification’ to halt Dakota Access pipeline
http://tinyurl.com/zpy3c3p
The 35-page legal analysis of the pipeline’s potential environmental risks and its impact on treaty rights of the Standing Rock Sioux and other indigenous tribes was authored in December by then-Interior Department Solicitor Hilary C. Tompkins, an Obama appointee who was — at the time — the top lawyer in the department. “The government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Tribes calls for enhanced engagement and sensitivity to the Tribes’ concerns,” Tompkins wrote. “The Corps is accordingly justified should it choose to deny the proposed easement.” Continue Reading

2-23-17 ~ BREAKING: Trump Orders Army to Evict Sioux from Standing Rock at Gunpoint
American forces are storming lands that rightfully belong to Native Americans per U.S. treaties. Trump’s hearkening America back to one of its ugliest historical legacies. The only difference is that our soldiers aren’t on horseback this time. Now, they’re using snipers, bulletproof armor, and Humvees to storm the Native Americans’ protest camps. Continue Reading…
http://tinyurl.com/jn2avx2

2-23-17 ~ Militarized Police Just Evicted The Sioux Tribe From Standing Rock At Gunpoint
Federal authorities have begun their raid to evict the water protectors from the Oceti Sakowin camp, and the images coming out of the protest site are extremely disturbing. History is repeating itself as heavily militarized United States law enforcement storm Native American treaty land to run them off- only this time they’re riding in Humvees and not on horses. Continue Reading …
http://tinyurl.com/zw478g2

2-23-17 ~ Dakota Access oil pipeline camp cleared of protesters
It took 3 ? hours for about 220 officers and 18 National Guardsmen to methodically search the protesters’ temporary homes. Authorities said they arrested 46 people, including a group of military veterans who had to be carried out and a man who climbed atop a building and stayed there for more than an hour before surrendering. Continue Reading …
http://tinyurl.com/homxjkh

2-23-17 ~ FRONTLINE at Standing Rock-Holding the Line 2/23/17 – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/54_kRedHCsU

2-23-17 ~ North Dakota Police CHASE Journalists – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/uteg0nLUu2g

2-23-17 ~ The Chairman Is Having A Meeting At Oceti (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/EmpP4ykm6S4

2-23-17 ~ Armed Police & Military Are Now Inside Oceti (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/9pllMLiyDSg

2-23-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With Myron Dewey 2/23/2017 Good Morning – 411 Truth
https://youtu.be/oBHgppVqMuQ

2-23-17 ~ Armed Police & Military Are Now Inside Oceti 2/23/2017 Live From Standing Rock – 411 Truth
https://youtu.be/SBlG8xQQp4o

2-23-17 ~ Johnny Dangers Armed Riot Police have raided 80% of camp 2/23/17 – 411 Truth
https://youtu.be/FCRHcFqpEtI

2-23-17 ~ Oil Police BRUTALIZE Water Protector Who Questioned Them – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/kUtVsOsW7vg

2-23-17 ~ Jameson Dargen speaks with Law Enforcement as they try to get him out of Camp – J Grady
https://youtu.be/2OgW-JynQwQ

2-23-17 ~ Myron Dewey ~ Update from camp after Yesterdays Removal – J Grady
https://youtu.be/MRxKCO9d-rI

2-13-17 ~ Drone Footage Of Oceti Raid Part 1 (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock With Stephanie Big-Eagle – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/YHUmqAFrtGE

2-23-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With Myron Dewey (2/23/2017) Good Morning – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/0cAmn031sZ0

2-23-17 ~ On The Ground In Oceti The Raid Continues (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/7DYozgKAjt8

2-23-17 ~ We Have to Keep Fighting: Water Protectors Vow Continued Resistance to DAPL as Main Camp Is Evicted – Democracy Now!
https://youtu.be/SQuH5Zlq8bs

2-23-17 ~ Standing Rock Documentary: Who, What and Why of the DAPL Protests (Must Watch) – Protect Mother Earth
https://youtu.be/H8oEi4RkCKE

2-23-17 ~ Last stand Oceti Oyate heartbreaking – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/hPH6_Fi4n_w

2-23-17 ~ Definitely a homeland security helicopter at oceti Camp – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/pclKmSrMoqo

2-23-17 ~ This is so sad, we have no choice but to stop this from continuing – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/uSvxvHNJlCY

2-23-17 ~ Oceti Camp Is Being Raided! (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock With Johnny Dangers – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/4pC7WCCQJ_E

2-23-17 ~ On The Ground In Oceti With Raid Updates (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/dRQWo0KIPTI

2-23-17 ~ Standing Rock Police Raid Oceti Sakowin Camp 2-23-17 12:13 pm – MeMy SelfAndi
https://youtu.be/cYSQ_QKGI_E

2-23-17 ~ 2/23/17 NoDAPL Live Stream of Oceti Sakowin camp invasion from across river – 411 Truth
https://youtu.be/yGJgswOOx4w

23-23-17 ~ Lastrealindians ~ The raid of the north camp is almost complete – J Grady
https://youtu.be/VF3OiAXXJ7U

2-23-17 ~ Drone Footage Of Oceti Raid Part 2 (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock With Stephanie Big-Eagle – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/EJF3E1VXPZI

2-23-17 ~ They have four armed standing on the ridge behind Cheyenne River North – J Grady
https://youtu.be/bkU2967T5mY

2-23-17 ~ Myron Dewey ~ Live raid of Oceti resistance prater camp – J Grady
https://youtu.be/zpcWwHxapl0

2-23-17 ~ BIA In Rosebud The Oceti Raid Continues (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/DtQMrT14CNY

2-23-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With Chase Iron Eyes Part 2 (2/23/2017) Oceti Raid Updates – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/51c4wLtqAIM

2-23-17 ~ Jameson Dargen speaks with Law Enforcement as they try to get him out of Camp – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/iX5KvzSvWuU

2-23-17 ~ Standing Rock Police Cause Broken Hip! 02/23/17 #NoDAPL – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/l5fHdkZyF7o

2-23-17 ~ America Lawlessly Dishonors Supreme Laws of it’s own Land. | 02/23/17 KFYR TV – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/Lv74nENQ71M

2-23-17 ~ Unicorn Riot ~ Militarized police fall face-first in attempts to tackle water protectors – J Grady
https://youtu.be/m8QgA6oqmo0

2-23-17 ~ Drone Footage: Raid On Oceti Resistance Prayer Camp Part 1 (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/U3EvvpY2rBc

2-23-17 ~ Drone Footage: Raid On Oceti Resistance Prayer Camp Part 2 (2/23/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/k5Vev0nqQPU

2-23-17 ~ USA: National Guard clear out remaining protesters at Standing Rock camp – Ruptly TV
https://youtu.be/fL9W93BWIbU

2-23-17 ~ Americans Shame – Sad Day at Standing Rock as Protester Picked Off – LIVE SATELLITE NEWS
https://youtu.be/xH9ZAgv8ZzM

2-23-17 ~ Military Vehicles and Snipers at Standing Rock Protest – LIVE SATELLITE NEWS
https://youtu.be/KLXHrbIFgIk

2-23-17 ~ Police Arrest American Indians at Standing Rock – LIVE SATELLITE NEWS
https://youtu.be/01biWGaPpmI

2-23-17 ~ Police News Conference at Standing Rock Protest – LIVE SATELLITE NEWS
https://youtu.be/G-a4gxoKNUo

 
 

  INDEX
 
 
 
News Articles and Updates ~ Oceti Sakowin
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
You Tube Video Archive ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
How You Can Help Standing Rock? #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG
Standing Rock history
http://standingrock.org/history/
Without Water We Can Not Exist
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
Stories from the Frontlines ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
Atrocities at Standing Rock and Police Weaponry
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
Trusted News Sources ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
Standing Rock Camps #Water Is Life
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR

Special Report Feb. 22, 2017

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.
 
 

  INDEX
 
 
 
News Articles and Updates ~ Oceti Sakowin
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
You Tube Video Archive ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
How You Can Help Standing Rock? #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG
Standing Rock history
http://standingrock.org/history/
Without Water We Can Not Exist
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
Stories from the Frontlines ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
Atrocities at Standing Rock and Police Weaponry
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
Trusted News Sources ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
Standing Rock Camps #Water Is Life
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR

2-22-17 ~ Brandon Green… I love our water protectors who have been here for so long fighting! Through blizzards, wood shortages, hatred, lack of fund (who have never asked for a dime), who ended up having to build their shelters of the left over scraps of those a little more well off, who entire outfit is from the donations brought in. I love our water protectors who are so humble. They never came in like a savior here to save the day. They are here out of love for the water and for mother earth. These are the purest souls and have earned all my praises. I love you guys!
( shh don’t tell anybody but we still here)

2-22-17 ~ Sacred Stone Camp … Riot Police from Wisconsin and North Dakota chasing down Eric Poemz as he was reporting from the frontline. Police disgustingly appear to take photos with Eric Poemz after injuring him (like hunting photos).

2-22-17 ~ Native Americans Cherokee … This morning at Standing Rock, many women participated in a sacred ceremonial Women’s Jingle dance and this was the first time it was allowed to be recorded. The dancers invited the media to record it because they want the healing power to be shared with the world.

2-22-17 ~ The Fight is not over
Over 450,000 of you took action demanding Obama halt construction. Thank you!

Now we need your help finishing the fight.

On January 18th, the Department of the Army published the Notice of Intent to require an Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register. This is another small victory in defeating the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline.

The fight, however, is still not over.

This notice opens the public scoping phase and invites anyone interested to help them to identify potential issues, concerns, and reasonable alternatives that should be considered in an EIS.

While the EIS is exactly what we called for, we must ensure that it fully takes into consideration tribal treaty rights, natural resources, cultural and sacred places, socio-economical concerns, environmental justice, and the health and wellbeing of those downstream who rely on our drinking water.

We need your continued support as this process moves forward.

The Department of the Army’s Civil Works division will be accepting public comment until February 20th, 2017

Submit a comment to the Army Corps:
95,190 Letters Sent
Please sign http://tinyurl.com/hlpeh3q

2-22-17 ~ In a symbolic gesture, the protesters set fire to their camp
“People have said their last prayers, and offered cedar to the sacred fire and are also burning these structures we have ceremonially built, so they must be ceremonially removed,”
http://tinyurl.com/z4u259j

2-22-17 ~ Update. We made it to Standing Rock around 230 am local time. We sat around a drum circle for the last several hours singing beautiful songs. Tomorrow I will be arrested on felony charges for refusing to leave. I take everything that is coming to me in the hope that we can make a difference here. They have already released dogs, burned down their encampments and sent in the army to shoot the unarmed crowds, so who knows what is in store for those of us on the front line tomorrow, especially with Trump in office! Thank all of you for your blessings and warm thoughts. Please continue to keep me and everyone else in Standing Rock in your prayers and meditations. At this point the whole world needs your prayers.
— at #DakotaAccessPipelineResistanceCamp

https://youtu.be/bjWQHZBUwwQ
2-22-17 ~ North Dakota Access pipeline protesters prayed and set fire to a handful of wooden structures on Wednesday, hours ahead of a deadline set by the Army Corps of Engineers to close the camp.
Some of the praying protesters said burning the structures — which appeared to include a yurt and a teepee — was part of the ceremony of leaving. As heavy rain turned to snow, some said they expected no trouble during the eviction, despite a heavy law enforcement presence.

https://youtu.be/eFWeJ7iWEUs
2-22-17 ~ At the 2:56 minute mark ND officers just BROKE Eric Poemz hip (yes, really), took his phone, and it continued to live feed as they incriminated themselves… asked him to apologize… classic Morton County “justice”. I don’t know how to save the feed other than just clicking the Facebook button to save the video but as we’ve learned… If they delete the video entirely, there is nothing that’s then being saved… video will appear as “not found”. If you know a way around this, please save that video for Eric because he will need it later.

12-22-17 ~ THE LAST AKICITA ~ Final Day at #NoDAPL’s Oceti Camp. by Ythsta Resovich
He stands, quiet leaning against the War Pony, looking out over the camp with a faraway stare, seeing the past five months of who and what he is now like a movie playing in his mind. I didn’t understand, couldn’t understand until I got here, the phrases “there is no time” and “that’s old news”. I didn’t see the world the way it is here, all too safe and secure in my white-bread existence. Continue Reading http://tinyurl.com/hy7jetx

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock & the Fight to Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground
Right now, water protectors are being evacuated from the main camp at Standing Rock. The state of North Dakota issued an emergency evacuation last week for the main camp, formerly known as Oceti Sakowin, that goes into effect today. While some are optimistic as new camps emerge on higher ground and as the land is returned to its former state, others can’t help but feel heartache to see the camp pack up and to see Dakota Access prepare to drill under the Missouri River. Continue Reading
<a href="http:// http://tinyurl.com/ztaskmo ” target=”_blank”> http://tinyurl.com/ztaskmo

2-22-17 ~ Indigenous Rising Media… Water protectors are hard at work making sure to leave the Oceti Sakowin camp area better than we found it. Fake news about the ‘mess’ is rampant, so hopefully this clears up questions. We are still committed to protecting the water of the Missouri River. But if the camp is evicted or raided, it will only hinder or stop the cleanup. Please watch and share.

2-22-17 ~ Ernesto Burbank… More water protectors arrested today @ Standing Rock. Witnesses are saying many without being read their rights or any charges being stated. This is a sad day simultaneously for America and the Earth. When corporate profiteers totally hold the strings on the law enforcers and Government. The slope just got very steep and slippery. I said this was a test case for the world and that’s why I would stand loud and strong with the cause. It’s not just a blow for Standing Rock. It sets a new directive for the modern Western World. I’m not liking this directive at all.

2-22-17 ~ 10 arrested as Oceti Sakowin DAPL protest camp evacuated Wednesday
http://tinyurl.com/zjwdt44
Governor Burgum and other state authorities say Thursday at 9 a.m. they will re-start clean up efforts at the Oceti Sakowin Camp. And they’re giving protesters still left at the camp one more chance to leave.

2-22-17 ~ LA TIMES… 10 arrested as authorities close in on Dakota Access pipeline protest camp
http://tinyurl.com/h37we4a
The standoff marked the culmination of one of the nation’s largest and longest environmental protests, which at its peak drew thousands of activists who said the project would threaten the water supply and sacred sites of the North Dakota tribe.

2-22-17 ~ Scheduled Eviction of Main #NoDAPL Encampment
http://tinyurl.com/htgsqgj
After nearly a year of struggling against the Dakota Access Pipeline’s construction underneath the Missouri River, water protectors are now scheduled to be evicted from their main encampment. The encampment, on unceded Fort Laramie Treaty land and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers, has a few hundred water protectors still holding steady as the eviction looms.
Ceremonial fires have been raging throughout the snow-filled morning.

2-22-17 ~ These last moments of the Standing Rock protest will break your heart
http://tinyurl.com/z4u259j
After a Trump administration executive order, the Army Corps of Engineers ordered protesters to vacate the camp by 2 p.m. local time on Feb. 22, 2017. Authorities were set to physically remove everyone in the way of the Dakota Access Pipeline’s construction upon sacred Native American land.

2-22-17 ~ Last Remnants of Dakota Access Pipeline Protest Camp Are Engulfed in Flames
http://tinyurl.com/hsc9o3q
Some of the last remnants of the Dakota Access pipeline protest camp went up in flames Wednesday as opponents of the project set fire to makeshift wooden housing as part of a leaving ceremony ahead of a government deadline to get off the federal land.

2-22-17 ~ Dakota Access Protesters Arrested As Deadline Passes To Depart Camp
http://tinyurl.com/hkug6zc
Images showing clashes with law enforcement and pipeline security workers motivated thousands of Americans to support the tribe by donating hundreds of thousands of dollars or joining Oceti Sakowin and the other water protector camps. It also provided a model for environmental protests that essentially went viral as camps sprang up to halt pipelines in Texas, Florida and other spots around the country. “The camp was the light in the middle of the dark,” said Indigenous Environmental Network organizer Dallas Goldtooth. “It was the fire that fueled so many fights across the country,”

2-22-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With Eric Poemz (2/22/2017) BIA Won’t Let Us Into Oceti Oyate! – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/eFWeJ7iWEUs

2-22-17 ~ HEARTBREAKING: Standing Rock Camp Burns Before Raid – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/-gvQbC6QFB4

2-22-17 ~ The Final Hours of Oceti Camp (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/tdO7YuZ8rus

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock – Oceti Camp , Front Gate – Lakota People Project – 02/22/17 – 241pm – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/hRu_by5s2Bg

2-22-17 ` Vets talking to cops asking for more time – J Grady
https://youtu.be/9NrALYT-lcQ

2-22-17 ~ Unicorn Riot ~ Cam 1 Eviction of Main #NoDAPL Camp – J Grady
https://youtu.be/h2_Es6eBK_E

2-22-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With Jon Ziegler (2/22/2017) Raid Updates From The Ground – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/IjhkpLQKpDc

2-22-17 ~ Raid Updates From The Ground At Oceti (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock With Angie Spencer – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/WcEXY7E4Rgs

2-22-17 ~ Cops Talk to us about leaving Oceti Camp Right now. Standing Rock – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/3No4Wx1j1aw

2-22-17 ~ On our way to help sacred stone. Standing Rock – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/BxXV5E3oL5U

2-22-17 ~ Interview with Oglala Lakota Elder from Pine Ridge About today’s Treaty Stand #StandingRock – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/cBviBuJ6Iog

2-22-17 ~ Oceti Camp Final hour’s Water protectors…. Standing Rock – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/3tXWAiXOVjI

2-22-17 ~ Oceti Oyate in the Seventh Generation kitchen huddled around the fire with spirits high – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/JEIwmaVQEJE

2-22-17 ~ From Rosebud camp!!! People earning their fathers. Conquistador’s are live and well – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/AQq4HD-iP_c

2-22-17 ~ Oceti Oyate eviction date has arrived… And the reason for Burning – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/DoynCcCvxy0

2-22-17 ~ Oceti Camp Updates With Myron Dewey (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/iXPfvk2k_FI

2-22-17 ~ Cops Moving In Now! (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock With Jon Ziegler – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/X272B3q7nuE

2-22-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With Ed Higgins (2/22/2017) Rumor Mill Check – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/ILynH7ILT6s

2-22-17 ~ Last Stand for Standing Rock isn’t quite over – RT America
https://youtu.be/OjS8vmnlsRQ

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock – Eviction of Main Camp 255pm – 02/22/17 – Unicorn Riot – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/8rtMDzqn11I

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock – Oceti Camp Drone 131pm – 02/22/17 – DSS – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/ZL-VAT0AB5U

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock – International Prayer Movement w/ Chase IronEyes – 02/22/17 – LastRealIndians 214pm – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/wE1wxR0Q5V4

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock – 2nd Raid 402pm – Indigenous Rising Media – 02/22/17 – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/aQTMKp0_3To

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock – FOX News Feed 322pm – – Hour half – Oceti Camp – 02/22/17 – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/jInum8P8qIE

2-22-17 ~ 748 tribes and 22 cities have signed letters supporting stopping DAPL! We Stand! – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/-pfzAZBpvUU

2-22-17 ~ Moment of Arrest of Standing Rock Water Protectors 02/22/17 #NoDAPL – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/g9hdyc3S8Q4

2-22-17 ~ Police Rush and Arrest Protesters at Standing Rock Protest Camp – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/gaEqS3BuqcQ

2-22-17 ~ Snow and Fire – Standing Rock protest Camp in FLAMES – LIVE SATELLITE NEWS
https://youtu.be/bjWQHZBUwwQ

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock Deadline Day #NoDAPL – Native American Life
https://youtu.be/0u8tCzfaNpM

2-22-17 ~ Lakota People’s Law Project was live – J Grady
https://youtu.be/1KMkvFcOw8A

2-2-17 ~ 748 tribes and 22 cities have signed letters supporting stopping DAPL! We Stand! – J Grady
https://youtu.be/6LO8DU5nwec

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock LIVE: Anti-DAPL camp as enforced evacuation deadline reached – RT
https://youtu.be/WL5nT99KOas

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock Braces For Police Raid TODAY – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/I4WXFCiNaY4

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock: #NoDAPL Frontline Action- UWN FEED – DAHBOO777
https://youtu.be/RZbi5K-hm4A

2-22-17 ~ Myron Dewey ~ Update from Prairie nights casino – J Grady
https://youtu.be/7gl37i-dQbQ

2-22-17 ~ Myron Dewey ~ Morning update Good morning all my relatives – J Grady
https://youtu.be/Aazse4m-eRQ

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock Deadline Day #NoDAPL – J Grady
https://youtu.be/g28YxOBaEm8

2-22-17 ~ Targeted Native Reporter’s Court Hearing Is TODAY – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/frHXqAc-ePs

2-22-17 ~ Today the Oceti Sakowin camp is expected to be evicted after 2pm – Native American Life
https://youtu.be/8-SKy9_1jhU

2-22-17 ~ Unicorn Riot ~ Cam 1 Eviction of Main #NoDAPL Cam – J Grady
https://youtu.be/PhruY1ZNo_Q

2-22-17 ~ Water Protectors Singing One Last Time At Oceti (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/pIk9WEaLAdQ

2-22-17 ~ Vets Talk To Cops & Ask For More Time (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/Wpk8G-sWmT0

2-22-17 ~ They Are Fully Armed, Pray (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock With Women’s Indigenous Media – Mystic Dave2
Mystic Dave2

2-22-17 ~ Indigenous elder explains how some plan to passively resist evacuation of the camp:02/22/17 – 411 TRUTH
https://youtu.be/aBMC3xS8nHo

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rocks Protests, Nine Arrests were Made – PewWORKS TV
https://youtu.be/fotr5X7PQ7I

2-22-17 ~ Breaking News Riot Police ran at Water Protectors at the entrance of Oceti – J Grady
https://youtu.be/fn9fhv0w0CQ

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock – Update – Riot Police run at Water Protectors – 526pm – 02/22/17 – Jdangers – Valley Forge Network
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHCPmSsi_Q8

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock: Police Start Camp Eviction, Arrests Made – UWN FEED – DAHBOO777
https://youtu.be/iYUFH7mGojU

2-22-17 ~ Standing Rock’s Last Stand- #NoDAPL Camp Eviction — Chase Iron Eyes Interview – Acronym TV
https://youtu.be/ITxfcfoNCDI

2-22-17 ~ Evicted NoDAPL protesters ‘taking their fight outward’ – photojournalist – RT America
https://youtu.be/S1uo4dMtsKc

2-22-17 ~ The thunders are returning less than 20 hours from the armed raid – Native American Life
https://youtu.be/5KhmW1UlkeU

2-22-17 ~ The thunders are returning less than 20 hours from the armed raid – Native American Life
https://youtu.be/5KhmW1UlkeU

2-22-17 ~ It’s snowing and it’s the final meeting with the army corps. #NoDAPL – The One And Only Power
https://youtu.be/2OR9nVvUoJE

2-22-17 ~ It’s The Final Meeting With The Army Corps (2/22/2017) Live From Standing Rock – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/4P9dWo6TBFI

2-22-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With Myron Dewey (2/22/2017) BIA Barricade – Mystic Dave2
https://youtu.be/BsVX0l_8LTQ

Stories From the Frontline Feb. 6, 2017

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.
 
 

  INDEX
 
 
 
News Articles and Updates ~ Oceto Sakowin
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
You Tube Video Archive ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
How You Can Help Standing Rock? #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG
Standing Rock history
http://standingrock.org/history/
Without Water We Can Not Exist
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
Stories from the Frontlines ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
Atrocities at Standing Rock and Police Weaponry
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
Trusted News Sources ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
Standing Rock Camps #Water Is Life
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR

2-5-17 ~ Chief Crazy Horse
I salute the light within your eyes where the whole universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am at that place within me, we shall be one.
~ Chief Crazy Horse
Oglala Sioux, 1877

2-5-17 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi… LaDonna Allard, Standing Rock and No DAPL
I read LaDonna Allard’s post a couple of hours ago, but needed to wait and comment after letting her words sink in. Now I will comment since LaDonna is one of those people who has become so much more than just LaDonna. This has happened not through ego or intention, but because of the leadership and spirit she has shown.

When friends asked me to begin a Facebook support page for the Standing Rock Protestors in August I knew little of what was going on – and little of Standing Rock. The Black Hills – Pine Ridge – yes, but Standing Rock and North Dakota – no. I was busy running our educational non-profit, Sanctuaries of the Earth Mother, with Sue, my wife and did not need more work. But, after three calls and requests I agreed to do it. As we talked on the phone we spoke of how the people beginning to mass at Standing Rock were Protectors. So the group name of Standing Rock Protectors – Pipeline Protestors was used.

The group grew quickly and we were 30,000 strong by September. In October Sue and I headed to Standing Rock and Sacred Stone Camp. So, that is the beginning of the virtual support and how I came to meet LaDonna. After we were at Sacred Stone 5 days or so we walked back to our little RV one evening and saw LaDonna and her husband sitting by one of the fires. We went over and we all began to speak. I have written about this before and will post that again another day. This is about LaDonna and the Protectors. I was immediately impressed by her strength and commitment. And by her words. She spoke of the young ones who had come to her about the pipeline. And mentioned her son. We spoke of the pipeline and the sacred ground. She shared how that camp was on her land and she would fight to keep it there. Her husband spoke of LaDonna’s long time commitment to her families land and untiring work at stopping the pipeline now.

I told her of the virtual group supporting her and the main camp and how many people were already in it. She said that piece was critical and wanted us to do whatever it took to tell more people, spread the word and tell them why the pipeline was bad for Standing Rock and all people along the rivers fed by the Missouri. We told her we would do all in our power. And we would try to help with donations and materials. Then we spoke of re-routing the pipeline and she was the first who said to me this was about stopping, not re-routing, the pipeline. Under the river was bad, no matter where it was done. She gave us permission to film and record those willing and we got press passes and did so for a week.

Since that time our group has followed LaDonna’s work and all the camps at Standing Rock. And promoted and educated. And watched groups appear around the world. Now with over 134,000 in this group we continue the work Standing Rock – and LaDonna and all the elders began. They are the heroes. And they have won SO much that has captivated and amazed people around the world.

Some of the things LaDonna told me were: 1) this had to be and remain a peaceful protest and 2) have the people send prayers – lots of prayers and 3) talk about all people working together.

Other elders told me similar things as LaDonna, but Sue and I heard her words first and with our hearts. This we have done and will continue. The Standing Rock protest is not over – the venue changes now. But the successes and wins do amaze me. The biggest, most incredible success of these camps is that everyone there was working together – shoulder-to-shoulder. We worked with red, white, black and yellow… old and young… male and female… citizens of the U.S. and many other countries. And I watched Native American friends from tribes long considered enemies embracing. This is truly the prophecy of the four colors coming together and sharing their wisdom playing out. When Sue and I went to camp meetings we heard LaDonna also speak to this.

For months now we in our virtual group have spoken of Water is Life the Movement and how that must be the next evolution of this water protection work. I have long said Standing Rock or any individual protest will eventually be decided – win or lose. And that ends the issue. But a united movement for clean water around the world goes on and on – each protest connected to all the others. A tsunami of clean water demands that cannot be stopped. Now I see that is also the best way to honor LaDonna and all the camps and protectors of Standing Rock – carry on the Water is Life Movement with the same fervor as is being shown at Standing Rock… and Flint… and Florida… and Texas… and everywhere.

The Red Nations began Standing Rock and welcomed in the White, Black and Yellow. Other protests were first led by the Black Nation or White or Yellow. Together, being colorblind now, we move ahead.

Lately there have been some dark comments – some divisive ‘one color only’ comments – some ridicule – some hate talk. Those doing this have no understanding at all of what Standing Rock is about. The majority in the movement know we must be all one and welcome and share with ALL people – regardless of their color or race. That is the current huge legacy of Standing Rock.

Thank you LaDonna. Thank you Protectors.

2-5-17 ~ Lorna R Knowshisgun… Sacred Stone Camp today when the BIA forced their way into the upper entrance to the camp due to a phone call made by the gentleman in the house who is pointing. In the process 3-4 people were abused and one person sustained a possible broken arm.

It is unclear why the BIA were called to the house. It is possible the owner complained about the mutually shared driveway was being blocked. However, it seems strange that 6 BIA vehicles and countless BIA police were necessary to answer a call that could have been handled by one car, one man.

2-5-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin Camp… Kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) | Less Than Lethal Weapons on US Civilians

**Name ONE of these injuries that Water Protectors have NOT sustained at Standing Rock. Where else are these happening in the United States?**

“EYES
Direct trauma to the eye from KIPs nearly always causes total blindness in that eye, due to rupture of the globe (eyeball) as well as trauma to nearby structures. KIPs can also penetrate through the eye socket and enter the brain, causing brain injury.

CARDIORESPIRATORY SYSTEM
KIPs can cause bruising of the lungs or heart, and penetration into the chest may cause serious, possibly fatal injuries such as bleeding, pneumothorax, and heart attacks.

SKELETAL SYSTEM
Injuries to the muscles and bones may cause sprains, bruises, and fractures. Deeper injuries can cause permanent damage to the neurovascular structures, leading to amputations or compartment syndrome.

BRAIN
Blunt trauma to the brain can cause concussions and bruising inside the brain (contusions) as well as different types of bleeding in the brain (intracranial hemorrhage) and skull fractures. KIPs have also been known to penetrate the skull or enter the brain tissue, causing hemorrhage, injury to the spinal cord, and severe brain injury from the foreign body.

HEAD and NECK
The delicate structures of the face and neck are particularly vulnerable to traumatic injury. The bones of the face and skull, the spinal cord, and the blood vessels in the neck are all close to the skin surface.

ABDOMINAL
Blunt injuries can cause bleeding in the solid organs such as the liver, kidney, and spleen; penetrative injuries can also cause bleeding, perforations, and urogenital injuries.

SKIN and SOFT TISSUE
KIPs can cause bruising and contusions of the skin and soft tissue, as well as superficial and deep lacerations, some of which may cause muscle or nerve damage as well as bleeding.”
**Where else in the United States are we seeing injuries like these, delivered by Law Enforcement to control crowds of peaceful protesters?**

Download the Full Fact Sheet Here:
http://tinyurl.com/h2qvazf

Photo by AdaMedia Med Mera

2-4-17 ~ TO SAVE THE WATER, WE MUST BREAK THE CYCLE OF COLONIAL TRAUMA… Ladonna Bravebull Allard says, “This movement was started by the people, and led by our youth. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s decision to negotiate with the State and disown the people who came to fight for our water is risking more than they understand. We have had many thousands of people ready to stand together in front of those machines. The Indigenous nations of Turtle Island had united as never before. But as division grows, it is very difficult to see a path forward. We have no choice but to break the cycle of trauma so our future generations can have a better life.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/gt9f4a4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_TA3RUVnKk&feature=youtu.be

2-4-17 ~ Luba Williams… Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault has been criticized for things he recently said. Without getting into specifics the Chairman indicated perhaps the battle is not best fought in person. There were other comments made about water and the pipeline which seemed unusual and odd, not very supportive of the Water Is Life movement.

At first you may be in shock when you hear these words. But if you look at the mans face his posture the tone of his voice and facial expressions he does not believe what he is saying. To me he looked like an emotional blackmailed hostage. Forced to say things he did not want to say. I cannot say if this is true nor why and by whom, but that is just my personal opinion. So he will now take heat from both sides and be surrounded by negative energy. When in fact I think this is the time perhaps some positive prayerful energy needs to surround him, his family and every single person involved directly or indirectly at Standing Rock camps. Remember he is not the enemy and he is not the one wanting to build this pipeline. But he is the focus of speculation and the one that the powers who make decisions in this country will focus their sites on. That is not an easy position to be in.

We are living in a time where money is very powerful and people and companies have power to do very sinister things. There are concerns about poisoning of people with rodent killing chemicals at Standing Rock. Imagine if that’s just the start. What else could the sinister do?

What else and how else could people be affected. The pipeline is dangerous, but what else is also ? We know the pipeline may eventually leak. But we also know that direct deliberate actions may be more dangerous right now. What is the solution, I don’t know. Yet I strongly believe we need to be thoughtful of our words and intentions and how we feel about others right now.

2-4-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin Camp… Kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs) | Less Than Lethal Weapons on US Civilians

Though the law enforcement agents used no weapons on the Water Protectors during the Last Child Camp raid on February 1, they were fully armed with them. At close range, rifles like these were trained on the assembled people gathered, all of whom have no reason to begin trusting that this sort of unregulated weaponry won’t be used.

Why must military-grade weapons be used to manage a peaceful assembly of people, a First Amendment Right? How does this ongoing show of force protect and serve anyone?

“KIPs are commonly known as rubber and plastic bullets, are used for crowd-control purposes by law enforcement worldwide in multiple forms and are shot from myriad types of guns and launchers. The findings of a systematic review of medical literature carried out by Physicians for Human Rights indicate that KIPs cause serious injury, disability, and death. KIPs are inherently inaccurate when fired from afar and therefore can cause unintended injuries to bystanders and strike vulnerable body parts; at close range, they are likely to be lethal. Therefore, KIPs are not an appropriate weapon to be used for crowd management and specifically for dispersal purposes.

HEALTH EFFECTS
KIPs can cause blunt or penetrative trauma. Penetrative injuries are those that pierce the skin or soft tissue. Blunt injuries are those that cause internal damage without breaking the skin barrier.”

Download the Full Fact Sheet Here:
http://tinyurl.com/h2qvazf

2-4-17 ~ Help still needed for the clean up effort. That December 4th stunt really left the protectors with a lot of clean-up to do. Making good progress.

Keep in mind when they announced victory on Dec 4th with all the world watching nearly 8000 people disappeared over night. Also there were many supplies that were bought with donation money so those who used it likely did not think it was theirs to take.

2-4-17 ~ Joshua Smith… With great reluctance I wanted to throw some actions out into the public, and honestly they might give some firepower to those against the Standing Rock Movement. There are many rumors of Financial Malfeasance by David Archambault and other members of the Tribal Council but I will stick to the ones which there is verifiable evidence for. It appears as though SRST Tribal Council and Chairman David Archambault may have MISAPPROPRIATED the $6.5 million in donations, and are now working with the federal government to crush the grassroots movement of those still there opposed to the pipeline.

The stench of malfeasance doesn’t smell any better just because it emanates from an ally. In some sense, I do have to say they are still on the forefront of the legal battle challenging DAPL in court.

Lateral Violence is when two different factions within a given movement criticize the other in a manner which creates division and also provide those opposed to the movement reasoning to criticize us. That being said I believe it is incumbent upon any movement to not close ranks and hide facts. In the spirit of that I’m urging individuals who support the Water Protectors and are part of the NoDAPL movement to consider the following actions and if you find it appropriate either withdraw your support and/or demand accountability from Dave Archambault and the Standing Rock Tribal Council.

I want you to consider their actions in the last few months. I also want you to consider throwing all your support behind Sacred Stone Camp, LaDonna Allard and Chase Iron Eyes. Understand that within any movement there is not one voice, but many voices and groups. I would like to point out that the SRST Chairman and Tribal cCouncil are but a small portion and have been allied, but have not been Leaders of the Camp Movement. Also remember, they are a political organization. Early on they made huge appeals for people to come to Standing Rock, and we did. Since mid-December, they have taken numerous actions that I believe are extremely questionable, which have been widely reported in the media but also documented as they were discussed and voted on in public council sessions. It appears they have misappropriated the money donated to them and at this time are trying to evict those that came to stand in solidarity with the NoDAPL Movement.

They are making numerous statements implying that this movement is led by themselves and are now portraying themselves as the only legitimate Water Protectors and calling Sacred Stone and the other people camped out as rogue factions. I can only surmise that perhaps they are trying to co-opt the movement in an attempt to silence the movement.

THIS WAS A YOUTH MOVEMENT WHICH STARTED BY & YOUTH’S CAMPED OUT ON LADONNA ALLARD’S PRIVATE PROPERTY. It was NOT organized or requested by the Tribal Government.

Last count IIRC they have accepted more than $6.5 million dollars in donations and while they have provided some support financially to the camps, purportedly they also voted to Use a large chunk of this money to pay Debt which Pre-existed the movement. This was adopted by a recorded council resolution and once again reported by the independent media. Call SRST Council and demand accountability for where they spent your money if you donated.

Also In December, after they called for the Water Protectors to go home, It was found that an entire warehouse owned by the tribe was filled with months full of Mail as well as monetary and purchased items addressed to both individual water protectors but also Sacred stone Camp (a separate entity) had been stockpiled and not delivered to whom they were addressed. The Council Asserts this was an administrative Error. Given the totality of their actions I question this.

Cody Two Bears, a council member has been very vocal and has also publicly advocated now that the federal government and federal law enforcement assist them in clearing the camps. One such camp, Sacred Stone, is purportedly on private ground owned by Ladonna Allard. In the Past SRST has made numerous statements supporting that this Camp is a safe camp because it is on Ladonna’s private ground.

In a stunning reversal they requested Federal Law enforcement and BIA officials, along with ATF and ACOE enter her private property without a warrant yesterday for an “Assessment.” They are now claiming that the tribe not Miss Allard has majority ownership of the property. I would challenge this claim, based on their previous statements.

I would urge you to call the tribal Government to:
Demand an accounting of your money.
Express your opinion of their actions.
Ask them about their recent collaboration with Federal officials.

Ladonna Allard and Chase Iron Eyes are still on the ground still standing up against the DAPL Movement and I believe these actions of protest have ensured our success thus far. Consider withdrawing your support from the SRST tribal Council and Dave Archambault, and support those still on the ground, still standing up for the water.

2-4-17 STANDING ROCK Update:
Greetings from Standing Rock, where the struggle to bring compassion and awareness into the thoughts and minds of all peoples in all parts of the world continues. We are here on the ground, partnering with local organizers, native communities and you, the generous supporters of our continued efforts to restore the land to the pristine state in which we found her.

Grandmother, the Earth is called by so many here. And as she changes her clothes, shrugging off this long Winter and emerging into Spring, our work is made all the more urgent. Rising flood waters from the Missouri River will soon wash away any trash or refuse left behind by the waves of supporters, tourists and passersby who have lent their support, in myriad forms, these past many months.

Now we roll up our sleeves and do the difficult work of sorting through the thousands of donations and camping supplies which can still be repurposed to support the struggle to stop DAPL, or that may find new life in other nearby communities.

Already we have packed and delivered two shipments of clothing and non-perishable food to nearby charities and donation centers, with plans to send out our massive 28 foot trailer fully loaded two more times.
Our trucks roll through camp, excavating forgotten tents from the frozen ground, layers of ice and the all-concealing snow. Tools purchased with your contributions allow us to overcome these barriers to our success, and scrub from this sacred land every tarp, tent stake and cigarette butt we find.

But it’s not all about cleaning. Far too many elders have been left with the responsibility of breaking down their own camps, with little or no support. These have been homes for nearly a year, and are often full of yurts, large military tents, tipis and even some fully fledged houses. Unify identifies those members of the Standing Rock community who are being forgotten and we help.

You help. We could never do it without you. From the beginning, the movement against DAPL and to protect this water has relied on the aid of those whose support came from afar. We have rallied together each according to their ability. Each piece of this movement is sacred, as each cell in the body amounts to more than the sum of its parts. And now, more than ever, it is imperative we stay together.
Though the pipeline bores on, its infamy now burnished by the support of a new Presidency, the last impact of Standing Rock remains to be seen. Will we allow this movement to come stuttering to a halt, or can we find a way to fuel this new community in a responsible, sustainable manner?

Your support means direct aid on the ground as Water Protectors begin relocating to permanent ecovillages. Sacred Stone and Rosebud have no intentions of disbanding, and have secured their future on private lands directly neighboring the flood plain.

Unify will be here, sorting recycling, restoring the land and helping Grandmother wherever we can and in whomever we see her twinkling eye. Nothing in the future is certain, but we are certain not to abandon this place, not now when Standing Rock needs us the most, not ever.

Please join us in preserving and protecting this most magical of moments, and breathing new life into the most important movement in generations.

2-4-17 ~ ‎Joshua Taflinger… We have been in camp all week collecting information face to face directly from camp coordinators and leaders in Oceti Oyate, Rosebud, and the new Black Hoop Camp. **(Didn’t spend time in Sacred Stone, so can’t report facts on that one. Check out live feeds for those updates)

All camps agree that Dave Archambault and the SRST are corrupt politicians that have been bought and have bailed on the people that THEY called out to stand and help protect the water, land, and sacred sites.

The Army Corps announced an eviction notice to Oceti Oyate(main camp) and the sections of Rosebud that the Army Corps has illegally (based on the treaties) claimed for February 22nd. Many are cleaning up, packing up, and heading out.

Many Water Protectors are dedicated to stay and stand and are praying for you, Veterans, anyone to stand and resist with us on the 22nd!

The numbers in camp are dwindling and with these declining numbers, when police raid on the 22nd, they will have no problem clearing out the resistance. We cannot quit now. If we give them this victory they will just keep taking more and more until there is nothing left to stand for.

Now more than ever, people are being called to camp. It would logistically be much more difficult/improbable for police to clear out camp if there were 1,000’s present on the 22nd.
Come prepared to resist and potentially be arrested. If you don’t come, this will be over!

Rosebud camp is focused on major clean up efforts as well as working out logistics to move their camp up the hill to higher ground to the new Blackhoop Memorial Camp.
This will be an invitation camp. People will be vetted to make sure there are as few “agitators”.
This will be a peaceful prayer camp.

All camps, especially Rosebud, need help cleaning up the grounds to prevent the debris from getting washed into the river if flooding occurs. Please go NOW!! You are NEEDED and encouraged to help with clean up efforts if possible. Many hands make light work.

And this is directly from those who are committed to staying and resisting DAPL. There is a call for the VETERANS to begin arriving before the 22nd, set up, and dig in and prepare. If you do not come in large numbers, the camp will be crushed and cleared out.

Face your fears! Get in your car and get your butt to Standing Rock!! This is our last chance to STAND and kill this Black Snake! We need you!

2-3-17 ~ Redhawk Standing Rock Rising
RESIST.
RISE.
YOU ARE THE RESISTANCE.
WE ARE THE RESISTANCE.
WE ARE OUR ANCESTORS WILDEST DREAMS COME TRUE.
WE ARE THE FRONTLINE FOR MOTHER EARTH.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW DEFINES THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET.
HOLD. YOUR. GROUND.
MNI WICONI
-Redhawk

c

2-3-17 ~ Redhawk… During the police sweep of Last Child Camp, Water Protectors were all charged with “engaging in a riot” along with “trespassing” on treaty land.

In this photo, to the right, you can see all the Water Protectors holding a prayer circle around the Sacred Fire.

On the left, you can see law enforcement approaching the Water Protectors.

Not quite sure where this “riot” is.
False charges.
-Redhawk

2-3-17 ~ Andrew Alexis Varvel… “I think Chase Iron Eyes set a trap for the Morton County Sheriff and Dakota Access LLC and they fell in. Firstly, Sheriff Kirchmeier had been claiming that the Backwater Bridge needed to be closed down because it needed repairs – his very use of that bridge exposes Morton County’s blockade of that bridge as entirely punitive in nature. Secondly, Chase Iron Eyes now has a clearcut case testing his rights as a member of Oceti Sakowin to press territorial claims under the Fort Laramie Treaty. Thirdly, his arrest exposes the flimsy nature of Dakota Access LLC’s claim to own (and at that, temporarily own until the end of this year!) the Cannonball Ranch – the Attorney General had to twist North Dakota’s farming law into a pretzel (in defiance of over three-fourths of the electorate as expressed in last June’s referendum!) to accept Dakota Access LLC’s justification that it needed to use the property as a security perimeter around its state-granted easement. Fourthly, Chase Iron Eyes has now become a political prisoner, which helps bring more publicity for the cause. Fifthly, his arrest can show the outside world how morally corrupt the local news media’s demonization of him has really become.

Chase Iron Eyes is a lot smarter than his opponents give him credit for. I would not underestimate him.”
– ‎Andrew Alexis Varvel‎ // #LastChildCamp #IndigenousRising

2-3-17 ~ Ken Ward tried to save our water and was sentenced to 20 years for his efforts. These oil companies have the country’s judicial and law enforcement in their pockets. they want profits and we need water. The people of this country need to rise up NOW!! We need to tell everyone we know what’s happening to our water ways and water ways all over the world. The last war will be for water!

2-1-17 ~ US Army Corps ordered to allow the completion of the Dakota Access pipeline
Acting Secretary of the Army Robert Speer had “directed the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with the easement needed to complete the Dakota Access pipeline,” and that Congressional notification was “imminent”. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/hf2drtg

Standing Rock Last Child Camp Raid 2/5/17
https://youtu.be/ZLLzpR41qxY

2-1-17 ~ Lindsey Norton… DAPL has set fire the the new camp set up across from Oceti. The DAPL men are now having a celebration around the burning remains of the arrested protector’s homes and property.

Standing Rock Camp Raided, Mass Arrests
https://youtu.be/njW9JAAWlsw

2-1-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Police arrested 76 Water Protectors at the New Camp Raid after dismantling the barricade and rolling in like an Army!

Tin Soldiers and DAPL’s Army
Completely exhausting day. I hope the arrested can be bailed out quickly.

Mass Arrests by shameful Miltarized police at New Camp Raid! Humvees and military gear line our streets and we stay silent? Will you?
Share Everywhere! Protect the Water!!

Follow Johnny Dangers and Johnny K. Dangers for continued on the ground updates and more on defeating the Black Snake that is the Dakota Access Pipeline! Click where it says “Follow” on my profile and change it to “See First” to not miss any #NoDAPL updates.

2-1-17 ~ Last Child Camp. It’s gone now. Torn down and burned.

2-1-17 ~ Updates from Sacred Stone Camp… requests for Standing Rock allies to physically provide support at Sacred Stone Camp. But you must be self-sufficient. The kitchens are closed down there now. you need to be able to feed yourself….and provide your own winter gear and camping gear etc. once at Camp you will be put to work.

If you can’t go to Standing Rock…..please go to any of the Army Corps of Engineers and do a peaceful, prayerful sit-in. Do not leave until they force you to leave. Finally, divest your money from the banks that fund the pipeline

2-1-17 ~ Gary Rice… In honor of the Last Child Warrior Society, the only such society created by Crazy Horse we are asking all frontliners in camp to come to the high ground west of the Oceti camps to put out a call for others to join this stand. It’s time brothers & sisters. Our conscience won’t let us back down. In the spirit of Crazy Horse.

1-31-17 ~ LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard… calling all veterans and Standing Rock allies to go to Standing Rock! They need everyone’s help to fight the black snake! LaDonna says if you can go support them at Standing Rock do so asap!

1-30-17 ~ The Standing Rock Water Protectors … had some apprehension about returning to Standing Rock due to all of the sensational and mostly false reports about military invasions and mass eviction of the camps. It was a relief to find most of the people calm and not too concerned about deadlines. There was one report of “Massive military buildup”. I never saw it. When I arrived I found the camp at work organizing a move to higher ground but it was a controlled plan and very methodical. Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/j4akpbu

1-30-17 Cheryl Angel, Sicangu Lakota – Rose Bud, SD… “I felt an obligation, because the water was under attack. It wasn’t a Lakota calling. It was an Earth calling. And the river she called, and thousands came..

There is so much work to be done here on so many different levels. So the work I’ve done, I would say is — I’m a gatherer of resources, of people, of prayers. That’s what I’ve been doing. And then I’m a giver, also. I give praise. I give thanks. I try to give good words to encourage people, and my time. I give of my time. If I’m walking somewhere to do something and someone needs time, help, or encouragement, then I’ll stop and do what I can to encourage that person, and then I’ll just get to where I’m going later.”

1-30-17 ~ The Trump presidency and the United States’ First Nations are on a collision course brought about purely by Trump’s racism and hatred of anyone who gets in his way.

After Trump took power, the White House website was changed and its Native American page was taken down. The pages for civil rights, people with disabilities and climate change also disappeared. In their place was a biography of Melania Trump.

Earlier, Obama renamed Mount McKinley in Alaska to Mount Denali, which is the Native American name for the mountain. This incensed Trump, who vowed that when he became president he would return the name Mount McKinley to the country’s highest mountain. This is a small matter, but it illustrates Trump’s temperament and micromanagement approach.

The Trump government is quickly proving that it’s no fan of Native Americans, and Trump’s negative relations with Native Americans goes way back.

In the 1990s, when Native American casinos were expanding, they began to cut into his gambling profits. He began a fake news campaign that Native American casinos were run by the mafia and career criminals. He even stated that some tribes were faking their ancestry.

Meanwhile, Trump tried to strike a management deal with the Agua Caliente Band in Palm Springs; they turned him down, further inflaming his bruised ego.

In 2000, the St Regis Mohawk tribe at Akwesasne planned a casino, and a series of ads came out in local newspapers with pictures of hypodermic needles and lines of coke. The caption read, “Are these the kind of neighbours you want?” The ads were sponsored by an organization called the New York State Institute for Law and Society. As it turned out, Donald Trump was the principal funder.
The repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also called ObamaCare, will have a serious effect on Native American tribes. When the act was passed it included the Indian Health Care Act and a funding stream was established to fund Indian health care. Since ObamaCare is about to be repealed, no allowance has been made for Native American health care.

Like Canada, health care is promised in many of the treaties in the United States, but their implementation is spotty.
This brings us to the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been under attack by the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. President Obama refused to grant a licence to tunnel under the river, instead calling upon the Army Corps of Engineers to find an alternate route. The Republican state governor, along with the Republican representatives, were all in favour of pushing ahead. North Dakota state Senator John Hoven (Republican) has been elected chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Hoven has been an outspoken opponent of the action taken by the Standing Rock tribe.

Standing Rock faces a perfect storm of law makers from the president on down who have no qualms about crushing opposition to the pipeline.
Trump signed a presidential memorandum calling for the re-authorization of the Dakota Access Pipeline in spite of the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers had denied Energy Transfer Partners, the pipeline owner, an easement to tunnel under the Missouri River at Standing Rock. The Army Corps is currently studying alternate routes for the pipeline.

The question is, can the environmental process be rescinded by a presidential memorandum?

The Dakota Access Pipeline has become the line in the sand where America’s next Indian war will be fought; the new battlefield will be the courtroom. The Standing Rock tribe has stated that they will take the government to court and tie them up for years.

The tribe can move forward on three fronts: first, they have the moral authority to protect their land and water; second, they have the legal authority based on their treaties; third, they have the political authority based on a nation to nation relationship with the United States, and unilateral action by one party cannot be allowed.

It’s becoming obvious that Trump has little regard or knowledge of process and the role of government. Governments are not there to be run like a corporation, but have checks and balances and due process. It’s a lesson the Standing Rock Sioux Nation is about to teach him.

2-1-17 ~ Chase Iron Eyes Arrested, Police Look To Make Example – J Grady
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfF1odI2VX8

2-1-17 ~ Myron Dewey ~ Update on Oceti Resistance prayer camp – J Grady
https://youtu.be/z1EOIBm3a6M

2-1-17 ~ Chase Iron Eyes Arrested, Police Look To Make Example – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/tfGYwgScSEc

2-1-17 ~ Police raid Standing Rock camps as Army Corps moves forward on construction review – RT America
https://youtu.be/QoRtTunyUOg

2-1-17 ~ Standing Rock – 02/01/17 – Keytha Fixico – 331pm – Update #2 – Valley Forge Network
https://youtu.be/MQb-OXBXkOk

2-1-17 ~ EXPLAINED: Standing Rock Protectors’ BOGUS Charges – TYT Politics
https://youtu.be/yfx9THlHVFQ

2-1-17 ~ Serious action happening NOW at Standing – Uprising TV
https://youtu.be/ni7Pc1t6JK8

Stories From the Frontline Feb. 1, 2017

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho
HIGHLIGHTED LINKS UNDERLINED IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE FULL ARTICLE IN A NEW TAB.

INDEX

News Articles and Updates ~ Oceto Sakowin
http://wp.me/P6lD99-17T
Nov. 2016 You Tube Video’s ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1cM
2016 You Tube Video Archive ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1fI
How You Can Help Standing Rock? #NODAPL
http://wp.me/P6lD99-VG
Standing Rock history
http://standingrock.org/history/
Without Water We Can Not Exist
http://wp.me/P6lD99-N4
Stories from the Frontlines ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1dE
Atrocities at Standing Rock and Police Weaponry
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1ac
Trusted News Sources ~ Standing Rock
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1i6
Standing Rock Camps #Water Is Life
http://wp.me/P6lD99-1hR

DISCLAIMER ~ The photo of the above tipis burning is not from Standing Rock it is from the movie trailer Wounded Knee. HOWEVER 76 Water Protectors were arrested for saying Treaty Rights should be respected. The police arrested those brave people on stolen Treaty land make no mistake. We hope for their quick release.

2-1-17 ~ Police Raid Standing Rock Camp, Destroy Tipis and Are Burning What Remains… 68 arrested.. The 7 tipi’s were burned. Chase Iron Eyes and Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn are among the ones arrested. Morton County is overwhelmed so other counties are taking in the arrested. I am sick to my stomach with worry. Many of those arrested are the ones who broadcast out the most.”

UPDATE 2-3-17 ~ Law enforcement showed up at LaDonna Tamakawastewin Allard’s front door on Thursday, claiming the need to perform an “assessment” of the Camp of the Sacred Stones — the original Dakota Access Pipeline opposition camp erected in early April — but refused to offer a warrant or explanation for the sudden appearance Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/jdn7cnm

MORE LIES
1-30-17 ~ Who is Coming Into Camp?
This morning, everyone in camp is seeking clear answers.
This morning, we NEED to know what is going to be happening in the next couple of days.

This is a statement from the people who plan to bring heavy machinery into camp. There WILL NOT be a raid. We were assured multiple times last night at Prairie Knights Casino by several government representatives including the Executive Director of Indian Affairs from North Dakota, and the Brownfield Coordinator from Standing Rock Sioux Tribe EPA.

This conversation happened in the presence of the Communications Director from the Governor’s Office, General Al Dohrmann, the North Dakota Commander of the National Guard, the Director of Emergency Services, someone from the State Health Department, the Department of Transportation, and the Army Corps of Engineers, the BIA and Morton County. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) from Thunder Valley and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will be sending volunteers to help as well.

What is not clear is the timeline, but we should be prepared, and representatives from camp were also present to emphasize what our priorities are in terms of:
Protecting the Water by making sure the camp site is clear, so that nothing washes into the river with the floods we are expecting.
2. Keeping everyone in camp safe, with careful attention paid to the perpetual stress and pressure everyone has been exposed to.
3. Doing all we can to avoid a violent or armed conflict.
4. Assuring all Law Enforcement and State Agencies that people in camp have worked very hard to develop an efficient plan in line with public safety and environmental health.

Water Protectors have been here and offered to help us with this large task are standing strong together, ready to come help with camp clean up and with moving those who want to stay to higher ground.

Leaders from Rosebud/Sicangu Camp, Oceti Sakowin Camp, Tribal Elders, the Medics and Healer’s Council, Cannon Ball community, and Water Protectors were there to talk with the Tribal, State and Law Enforcement Agencies. Concerns for the community relationships of Standing Rock and neighboring cities and towns were discussed at length. We need to leave this sacred ground better than we found it, environmentally, physically, emotionally and with special regard to racial tensions.

2-1-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With #NoDAPl Warrior Angie Spencer (2/1/2017) Serious Action Happening NOW! – Mystic Dave
https://youtu.be/O0qnS8Owlzo

2-1-17 ~ Lost Child camp is being overtaken by Morton County Militia – Uprising TV
https://youtu.be/JtdDvDrAsMs

Sacred Water: Standing Rock Part I – RISE (Full Episode)
https://youtu.be/38rl_kSvfrs

Red Power: Standing Rock Part II – RISE (Full Episode)
https://youtu.be/RbQP7Z2t0hs

1-29-17 ~ Standing Rock Update… We are told that the 1806 blockade is going to be removed. DAPL side is to back off the bridge and the parts of Turtle Island we can see so as not to be such an agitating presence. They say they will remove weapons from their side. Given the current administration, many are dubious about this news. The tribal council says they will not be sending in people to remove us but still ask us to leave by the 30th. We wonder if ACOE is about to give jurisdiction to Morton County to come in and remove us. Some assume the tribal council may be privy to a move of such sort and as such think the 30th leave date is a warning. I stay as far away from speculation as possible while remaining aware of my surroundings. We continue to question and denounce Trump’s decisions. My phone seems to be taking screenshots by itself. Things are ever changing. Media has been around the last several days but we have a hard time finding what is being said about camp because of connectivity issues. We send our love to all supporters (and non supporters) and our families and appreciate the sacrifice our families make having us out here.
Many people are making a call for more protectors to come.

1-28-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin Camp, The Horn
January 28th, 2016
Local Leadership comes to decision, Oceti Sakowin Headsmen meet with ND Governor.
Cannon Ball River, ND – After days of deliberation between the North Dakota Governor’s office, the Oceti Sakowin Headsmen Council and numerous Tribal Reps – the state will begin taking apart the backwater bridge barricade. Removing razor wire, and some of the concrete. They have also agreed to pull back the visible amount of the Nat’l Guard on the hills overlooking camp. The Governor’s office has also stated that they will encourage law enforcement near the backwater bridge to not have any weapons (lethal or non-lethal) on their person during this desecalation.

So we, the Headsmen Council, are asking everyone respect this process and let them remove the barricade in order to ensure the task is managed safely.

This was NOT a negotiated agreement between our parties. The Governor, based on demands given by Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Headsmen Council, decided to take the aforementioned steps of his own volition with only the verbal commiment by our party to tell the camps of the Governor’s plans.

Monday January 30, 2016
We will begin the process of cleaning up discarded and abandoned camp sites and unneeded trash and/or supplies. We will have volunteers bringing heavy machinery, dump trucks, drop boxes and bobcats to help.

Meanwhile, we have a call out for allies and people across the country to stand up where they are, and enact mass civil disobedience as a showing of solidarity for Standing Rock. The fire of the Oceti Sakowin has been taken by 10,000 potential organizers from across Turtle Island, people who have been trained in Nonviolent direct action and we need you to hit the ground immediately to help educate others and further this movement.

We continue to be thankful and encourage all to stand strong and take courage.

Lila Wopila,
Oceti Sakowin Camp Leadership

1-25-17 Laurie Frenette… I have been holding off on doing a post about my experience at the Women’s March on Washington until I had time to process a lot of the emotions surrounding it. I want to make clear that anything I do express is simply my opinion and my opinion only – not fact. This is also going to be somewhat stream of consciousness, so if you’re going to jump on my sentence structure or grammar, you may want to just move along. By the same token, this is probably going to be too long for any of you to really want to read, so again, move along.

Personally, I had some real concerns about some of the things about the march to the point of which I was unsure about going. There were things that I felt that were being expressed and done that the media and those opposing the march could grasp onto and focus on instead of trying to report or understand what the march was actually about. Unfortunately, that has proven to be true to a degree, but overall my experience with the march and the people I interacted with was positive and I truly believe that this is just the beginning of women around the world taking a stand and letting this administration know that we are not easily dismissed and that we will be watching the actions of those that represent us.(Yes, that was a run on sentence. Move along English teachers, move along!)

Any of you that know me know that the events that I have seen happen at Standing Rock have shaken me to the core. I am ashamed that it took me so long to become informed on this issue and to try to become involved in some small way. What indigenous people understand is that we are not separate from the planet we live on – we are not here to rule it, we are here to take care of it. If we continue to rape the earth, pollute our water and air and drive animals into extinction we are destroying our very future – the future of our children and grandchildren.

I have watched as militarized forces have attacked Native Americans and their allies with unnecessary force and brutality and then lied about what they did even when confronted with video and photographic evidence. I watched the live stream videos from the Backwater Bridge on November 20th, with tears rolling down my face and a strangled scream in my throat. I finally realized just how corrupt our government has become and how civil rights are cast aside as they were nothing when it benefits the powers that be. I lost complete and total faith in a president that brought that allowed that violence to come about by saying “Let’s let this play out” in the weeks before instead of being a true and just leader and stepping in to take action that could have avoided innocent people being severely injured.

I marched on Washington because of the Water Protectors and the young warriors at Standing Rock. I marched on Washington because American citizens should not be subject to such a blatant disregard of civil rights. I marched on Washington because I have finally gained at least some small understanding of white privilege. I marched on Washington because no man should have the right to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body. I marched to ease my own damn feelings of guilt for being so naive and so complacent for so damn long. I did not march to protest Trump being elected president, I marched because the whole freaking system is generally fucked and we are quickly moving towards to destroying ourselves. So hate away haters, and I will take a lesson learned from the good people of Standing Rock – I will pray for you and for your children.

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez… The March for Women sham was originally planned by the Democratic Party to celebrate Clinton’s victory but didn’t pan out so they went with an anti-Trump rally instead. The obvious first question should have been: why a communal march in the streets as a form of protest?

Female activists succumbed to one of the most enduring myths of contemporary American protests: the comforting belief; “if you can get enough people in the streets from diverse demographics, unified behind a message, the powers that be will be forced to cave in to the crowd’s wishes”.

The Women’s March was destined to be ineffective because there was never any message, no organizational agenda, no set goal for the protest other than “I’m woman hear me roar”; There was no clear path from marching about reproductive rights, equal pay, affordable health care, clean water or anything of value to march toward. No one bothered to ask “What was supposed to come afterward?”

With no specific goals or objectives other than meeting their personal psychological need for love and belonging, this event was nothing more than an amusing communal coffee klatch to build self-esteem; a feel good pretentiousness of festooned (primarily) White women in knitted pink pussy hats (did these snowflakes not realize not everyone’s genitalia is pink), women costumed in cartoon female pudenda, not even caring if they don’t actually know where their vagina’s are, their faces depicting vaginal orifices with faux (I hope) menstrual blood waste smeared across their cheeks simulating war paint.

These females were a laughingstock; by mocking their own bodies they demeaned and reduced themselves to tragic vaudevillian caricatures, focused solely on summarizing women as body parts rather than emulating the efforts of historically consciousness-raising women who made a positive healing impact on equality. Instead these cosmic yahoo’s over shadowed those who came to embrace the women’s liberation movement i.e. Feminist Movement with power; not a pity party of victimization.

The Women’s March comedic extravaganza was merely a show of shriveled jellybean feelings plunging them into a psychological coma of mass therapy, a seductive substitute for action countering Trump’s butt hurt tantrum. The only awareness raised from this ridiculous embarrassment to all women only gave more comedic fodder to the media “Isn’t that cute, women are such amusing little creatures. Now go sit down so we can get back to business.”

The Women’s March was nothing more than a social experience; crowds of people mutually experiencing a feel good moment and allowing themselves to erroneously conclude they’d actually accomplished something profound; forever forging togetherness as elite members of an enlightened and cohesive community, but ultimately the only thing they managed to prove was a bunch of vulgarly dressed gaggling women holding up signs could get together and gather a bigger crowd than attended Trump’s Inauguration.

1-27-17 ~ Eric Poemz… An important update from E-Poemz! Eric phoned the Poison Control Ctr about symptoms he was having. Poison Control Ctr told Eric to go to emergency asap to get tested for Rozol and other poisons!
If you were or still are at Standing Rock:
If you have any of the following symptoms:
-back pain
-dizziness
-nausea
-coughing
-coughing up blood
-vomiting
-headaches
-confusion
-nose bleeds
phone the Poison Control Ctr at (800) 222-1222…..talk to them first before going to emergency…..if you are referred for testing at emergency the Poison Control Ctr will contact the emergency department you are going to on your behalf….and you will be seen right away for testing etc.

1-26-17 ~ You may have known that the Indian Treaties of 1851 and 1868 declare the Standing Rock Reservation to be much bigger than it is today, including encompassing land that the Dakota Access Pipeline is being illegally built on. But there is a clause you might not have heard about. That clause allows Natives to take up arms and ARREST “Bad men among the whites” who violate the treaty,

The “Bad Men” clause of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty provides: “If bad men among the whites, or among other people subject to the authority of the United States, shall commit any wrong upon the person or property of the Indians, the United States will, upon proof made to the agent and forwarded to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington City, proceed at once to cause the offender to be arrested and punished according to the laws of the United States, and also reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained.”

This means that the “Bad Men Among the whites” using police brutality, stealing land, breaking these treaties all in the pursuit of their imagined profit can be arrested by armed Native Americans.

This is not a call to take up arms, it is a call to educate yourself about the rights that have been promised to you by these treaties.

Remember, the U.S. Constitution itself says that treaties supersede later laws. That means no matter what land the government later annexed from Standing Rock, that is STILL Native Land legally and constitutionally!
Transcript of Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) ARTICLE I
http://tinyurl.com/jcazevf

1-26-17 ~ Grennan Milliken… “A barrier would sever animal populations living in the fragile desert ecosystems of the US-Mexico border from food resources, mates, and important migration routes. Such a disruption would deal an irreparable blow to countless species, including extraordinarily rare ones like the Sonoran jaguar and Mexican gray wolf.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/jrbv4l6

1-26-17 ~ MICHAEL J. SAINATO… Ed Blackcloud was the lone dissenter at the council meeting, criticizing the council’s actions, insisting it was wrong to force the protesters to go home. The founder of the original protest camp, Sacred Stone Camp at Standing Rock, LaDonna Tamakawestewin Allard, refused to attend the council meeting and has said she does not intend to close down her camp, which lies on her own private land. Allard formed a 510c3 with plans to build a permanent green energy camp at the site.

In addition to this recent bad news on two different fronts for water protectors against the Dakota Access Pipeline, an EPA investigation found that 40,000 pounds of rat poison were illegally distributed on ranches very close to the Standing Rock camps. The Save the Buffalo Nation issued a press release advising Standing Rock water protectors they may have bene unknowingly exposed to the rat poison chemicals;“many people have come back from the camps reporting symptoms and illnesses of what is referred to as the “DAPL” cough, bloody noses, fatigue and some people have reported to have coughing up blood.” Continue Reading
http://tinyurl.com/z6w6o3u

1-26-17 ~ Oceti Sakowin… “We are putting a call out immediately for allies and people to stand up where they are, mass civil disobedience as a showing of solidarity for standing rock, the fire exists within them and now is the time to let them reignite.

The heart of standing rock beats everywhere, the fire has been taken by 10,000 potential organizers nationwide and we need you to hit the ground immediately. Demand people Divest from big banks and help us Defund DAPL!

We are the revolution and the resistance continues.”

– Camp Leadership

#LetOurVoicesEcho #NoDAPL #StandingRock #RubbetBullet #MilitarizedPolice

1-26-17 ~ Olowaan Plain… I just want to say that water protectors wearing protective gear is NOT an act of aggression it is an act of protection for our lives.. We don’t want to get shot but as we all know Morton County Sheriff’s Department does shoot us.. Rubber bullets are real bullets as told to us by the representative from the UN Council on human rights violations.. We all know that those bullets go through clothing and skin.. We want to live!! We want to be able to go home to our families.. I love you all.. Please be safe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toxqFDXErBU&t=20s

1-26-17 ~ Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn… Remember camp is NOT CLOSED. WE ARE UNDER THREAT OF EVICTION. BUT HAS NOT PASSED NOR IS GRANTED (YET) or how they will proceed. This land we are on is Treaty Land. It is part of many tribes Land that was promised via TREATY long ago. So many people are still here. There is still room. They are saying eminently the water flood will come. (Me not so sure) nor do a lot of relatives know either. But will become muddy and ucky if does attempt to flood. So. Camp is still open. You are welcome to join.

But remember. We are under threat of Standing Rock installing BIA official cops roadblocks (rumor) and they asked Morton or somebody to aide them in removal of the Camps.

Also, new camps are being established as we speak. Be patient as we know more. You know more. But as of right now this day. CAMP IS OPEN

Guess this is a rumor disclaimer lol. Safe travels and prayers to all

Actions ,that go on, are Purely prayer. Those disregarding these rules will be asked to Leave. This is a responsible community and we have a task at representing ourselves as the water protectors full of strength and determination to protect the land.

1-25-17 ~ Chase IronEyes… Sometime last night My Facebook was suspended for a post calling out TrumpTyranny. This isn’t the 1st time my accounts been disabled, the last time I posted a pic of my mom with other grandmothers posing with a stolen Nazi flag when white supremacists attempted a takeover at Leith, ND. I’m creating a MEWE acct to supplement fb & Twitter @chaseironeyes

1-25-17 ~ Linda Black Elk… I’d just like to express a heartfelt “wopila,” THANK YOU to Ronda Rousey (and her amazing friend, Pauline!) for her ongoing support of the water protectors and for all of the amazing food and supplies that she dropped off in camp. She is an amazing woman and athlete, and an inspiration to women everywhere.

1-25-17 ~ Jim Fergie Chambers… Yesterday DAPL dipped in and out of our campgrounds with snowmobiles all day, and began posing as camp security on radios to lure people out to certain locations, in one instance promising “hot frybread and food for anyone who can come meet at the bridge.”

Over the evening, we heard reports of trucks creating road barricades by semi-solitary encampments, and then two more arrests on turtle island. In that case, those arrested also had their windows shot out by DAPL.

Notice I don’t usually specify troopers, sheriff, DAPL security, etc. We often don’t know and we never care. They’re all DAPL, they’re all ETP, they’re all Trump, they’re all America.

The raid did not occur; the scare was planted by them, though in this instance, whatever they did was enough to have folks out here, especially the elders, believing it more than other times. The threat still lingers, especially as they seem very emboldened. We await with barricades.

More Akicitas have arrived, and there is talk of Anipis going up, and more ceremonies returning. Hope is here.

Today it’s colder again, and snow is falling, but it’s still relatively mild and more folks are joining camp again. All is well.

1-23-17 ~ David Kam… For Immediate Release

PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING AND ADVISORY FOR STANDING ROCK
“Possible Chlorophacinone (ROZOL) dangerous rat poison exposure”
Cannonball, North Dakota, Jan. 23, 2017 – This public health warning and advisory for Standing Rock is being issued by us as a precaution to those who have passed though the camps in and around the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Water protectors (aka known as protesters) who have been camped out since April 1st, 2016 at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation area may have been unknowing exposed to a dangerous and toxic rat poison known as Chlorophacinone (ROZOL).

An article appeared in the Bismark Tribune below that has more details for the poisoning inclident.

Meyer ranch buffalo under quarantine for ROZOL poison, LAUREN DONOVAN Bismarck Tribune, Jan 22, 2017. http://tinyurl.com/h2ewf25

Some 350 indigenous nations and up to 20,000 people passed through the camps to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, setting up camps in various locations in and around the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Reservation. Many people have come back from the camps reporting symptoms and illnesses of what is referred to as the DAPL cough, bloody noses, fatigue and some people have reported to have coughing up blood.

The 900 buffaloes at the David Meyer’s former Cannonball Ranch near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation as well as on the former Wilder Ranch to the south have been under quarantine due to the illegal application of Chlorophacinone (ROZOL) until September of 2017. David and Ernie Fisher who shared a grazing lease on the same pesticide laced Cannonball Ranch had another herd of 600 animals on the same ranch. They reported having as many as 14 dead or missing animals, which they claimed were killed and eaten by the water protectors (protesters).

The article in the Bismark Tribune states, “The situation dates to April, when six dead bald eagles and dead bison were discovered at the former Wilder Ranch. An Environmental Protection Agency-led investigation found that 40,000 pounds of ROZOL poison had been illegally distributed across more than 5,400 acres on both ranches, according to EPA documents.” Upon investigation by the EPA, the ranch had dead bald eagles, dead prairie dogs, and dead bison.
Chlorophacinone makes creatures that ingest it bleed from every orifice and stagger around for the week or two or three it takes them to die, attracting predators and scavengers. Whatever eats the anticoagulant-laced victim dies, too. The creatures meat is unfit for human consumption and can cause blood clots. Highly toxic if it enters the food chain. Exposure to Chlorophacinone can come from skin contact of an infected animal, handling feces and urine, consuming the meat of the animal and direct contact with land and water contaminated with Chlorophacinone.

Even the feces from the animals are considered bio-hazard material. The effects of long term exposure of Chlorophacinone is unknown and there are no safe limits to having safe amounts of Chlorophacinone in your system after exposure.

“The EPA order for the cleanup was to : tilling of all misapplied ROZOL to ensure there is no longer any ROZOL on the surface of the pasture land or any other land;”

This means the 40,000 pounds of ROZOL poison was just to bury it in the soil, contaminating the water and soil around the ranches area. This means there was no real clean up of the contaminated land.

The adult buffalo are under quarantine until September 2017, though yearlings were released from the no-sale hold on Jan. 1, 2017. Upon calling the EPA, it was reported that 100 yearlings under quarantine until Jan 1, 2017 were sold on Jan 7, 2017 to unsuspecting buyers who might put the bisons into the food chain. Beverly Fisher in the article says that none of these yearlings were ever under quarantine that was sold. The EPA reports that some of the bisons sold were those under quarantine. Someone is not telling the truth here.

From the EPA docket Docket No. RCRA-8-2016 for the bison incident was dated April 22, 2016, just right after protests started for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The case is still under investigation.
http://tinyurl.com/j42m5el
About the Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign

The Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign is a campaign to create Buffalo Sanctuary Cooperatives to return and restore 250,000 buffaloes to their ancestral lands, starting with locations near the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

The Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign is headed by Mother Earth Trust, a sovereign that manages World Heritage Sanctuaries and also manages the World Basic Income Program.

The Save the Buffalo Nation Campaign is also supported by Free Nations United to Heal Our Mother Earth, a sovereign that manages Water is Life Unity Alliance that is supported by 20 indigenous nations and sovereigns.

Contact:
Campaign: Save the Buffalo Nation
Spokesperson: Ambassador David Kam
Email: help@savethebuffalo.com
Tel: 562-353-7288
Website: http://SaveTheBuffalo.com

1-23-17 ~ Standing Rock Protectors – Pipeline Protest… I’m seeing 3 breaking stories about Standing Rock from the past couple of days that must get out. Two of them are so bad I am feeling the onset of shock and more trauma for all upon hearing them. One of them is beautiful, but given the information in the first story below, I am having a hard time cerebrating the good that is happening.

The first story from yesterday is about possible massive Rozol poisoning of Protectors. Yes- massive poisoning. It looks like there has to have been an EPA cover-up, or at least a ‘failure to notify’ Protectors of massive amounts of this poison on the ground at Standing Rock. Many animals have died. Many people have reported symptoms… This is the ground Protectors have been camped on for many months. The ground where animals and children played for months. The ground where floods happen and carry all poison downstream. Meyers Ranch owners are responsible. All Protectors who have been to camp may have been victims of exposure to this poison. All Protectors must be tested immediately and should seek treatment if they have any health issues at all. It could be because of this poison.
http://tinyurl.com/zywkyon

The second breaking story is about the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (SRST) asking the federal government to evict all camps, including Sacred Stone Camp. This is the same federal government who has been brutalizing the Protectors for months. It is a deep betrayal we are seeing be uncovered. Much deeper than I can comprehend right now. It may very well be that the SRST had this plan from the beginning and never thought this movement would be a real movement, or that it would be so big and last so long. They want it to go away now and clearly don’t care how. The Chairman got the name DAPL Dave a while back, but I was reserving judgment. Seems pretty clear now – the SRST council is likely on the DAPL payroll and are trying to cover-up the Rozol poison story before it gets out.
http://tinyurl.com/z2pr2b2

f

The third story, after the previous two, is really bittersweet… It is a letter from the Protectors sharing their guided, beautiful, legitimate direction. They plan to stay at camp no matter what happens. I don’t know if they know about the poison yet.
http://tinyurl.com/6df9wo
I cannot believe things have come to this. This world can be such a horrific place. My heart hurts..

Stories From the Frontline Jan. 23, 2017

Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PAGE

1-22-17~ Eryn Wise… Yesterday’s Women’s March on Washington was overwhelming. Upon our arrival Thomas and I were faced with the short tempers, inconsiderate nature and intensity of women we were supposed to be standing in solidarity with.

The indigenous folx present were able to carve out a space in front of the National Museum of the American Indian large enough to form a circle where we spoke, sang, and danced in honor of our foremothers. It was the only space in the march that, for me, felt inclusive and welcoming. After our rally as we tried to enter the march I watched many women be pushed, shoved, yelled at, and cut short by other women. An indigenous woman grabbed my hand, trying to lead me further into the march so that we could catch up with our group and at every turn there was another woman planting her feet before us and saying, “You can’t go by me here. You’ll have to go around.” When this happened friends looked on, nodding their approval and leading some others to even say that “these Indian girls lost their drums. That’s why they’re trying to get through us.”

I realized that I was in a space that had been created with good intention, under the guise of unification but in reality was for white feminists and their vaginas. I thought about my sweet trans, queer, non-identifying, intersectional, and non-white sisters that seemed absent in the crowd. For every ten pink pussy signs waving in my face, I saw one, maybe two, signs that represented women of color. It was weird and uncomfortable. Once the bubble of indigeneity was gone from around me I was desperate to leave.

I became frustrated with the crowd screaming, “This is what democracy looks like!”

SO many sisters and womyn were absent that I began to cry. Women who had only minutes earlier been shoving me out of their way began stopping to ask me what was wrong. “This is fake,” I found myself repeating. “I hate this.” Some tried to blame it on the size of the crowd. Others tried in very gentle ways to ask me if I was on or approaching my moon. Unintentional sexism dripped from the tongues of these women as they tried to calm me.

“Whose land? OUR LAND!” they chanted. “Whose bodies? OUR BODIES!” they cried. “THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!”

Not in my eyes, but I’m just one woman. Outside of my own experience, I have seen hundreds of my sisters uplifted by the Women’s Marches held around the globe. Many of them had never attended a rally, felt like they belonged so fully, or mattered as much. For these reasons, I am grateful that the marches took place. I just wish a more inclusive space had been created for the non-white feminists who truly need a voice, especially in the onset of Trump’s administration.

I am lucky enough to say that I was raised by many inspiring, and impactful women. My chosen family is full of brave, radical, two-spirit, and beautiful women; many of whom are with me in D.C. right now. I was able to attend the rally/march to speak and sing alongside women I deeply love and respect — for these gifts, I am grateful.

I write this to call upon the women out there reading along. Please do not forget your fellow women of color. Trans sisters. Undocumented sisters. Sisters of different faiths. Sisters without vaginas. Sisters with vaginas of different shapes, sizes, and colors — we do not all have perfect pink pussies – please do not encourage the narrative that there is only one way for a body to be. Please remember that the wounds of women first start with the great, intentional, and continual wounding of our Mother Earth. May we continue to rise together, with all our sisters, in honor of each other and Unci Maka.

1-22-17 ~ Lee Sprague… Standing Rock Tribal Council votes for Indian Removal Act. It’s Trail of Tears version includes allied Water Protectors. Making Indian People move in the dead of winter, because someone wants the land for farming, ranching, or industrial activities, sounds familiar to me. Now the Standing Rock Tribal Council wants to Trail of Tears us out of camp? It raises historical trauma, similar to our relatives who were force marched at the hands of the US Government, from their lands.

*Concerned about the loss of revenue to the Standing Rock Tribal Programs, Council votes to dip into the 6.5 million in legal funds that were contributions to Water Protectors.” Now they want to close down each Camp?
If the concern is public safety, as stated, sheltering in place during the harsh North Dakota Winter is the safest way forward, except for DAPL cowboying it up. The main camp is not on ‘Standing Rock’ lands, it should be though. The Army Corp of Engineers claims the land we are camped on.

In this picture is Alex. I stayed in his TIPI most of this winter until it became unlivable. Thanks Alex. Lots of good times in the Tipi. We kept our batteries and controllers in there for our solar wind power system. Ben moved it. Now folks know how to set up a solar/wind now thanks to Brad Kallio.
We all could use the legal funds.

1-22-17 Jacky Smith‎… As a white European woman, I’ve been watching this feed & commenting – I think this is the first time I’ve posted here. But I read something yesterday that hit home hard and I think it’s something people like me should notice. Someone who lives near Standing Rock said that they were scared about what might happen when the visiting water protectors go home, because they remembered the terrible things that happened at Pine Ridge after AIM went home in the 70’s. Well in the 70’s I was an activist and I noticed what was going on – but I couldnt figure out a way to find out more, or to do anything about it. And then I got involved in anti-apartheid, and didnt have time for any other campaigns. I apologise for that, from the bottom of my heart. This time, we have social media and a shedload of people all round the world are watching. We need to carry on watching, and noticing, and talking about it – and we need you guys living at Standing Rock to keep posting, keep telling us what’s going on, keep talking to us. This time I won’t get distracted, you’re top of my list. There are a lot of issues that the new president will be fighting on, we have to make sure that yours is one of the big ones. The UN are coming to investigate, the ACLU are out there, the guys that monitor the ethics of the government can be dragged kicking & screaming into the fight, climate change is getting to the point where only a combover dumbo who never goes outside can ignore it, the Chinese are making renewables so cheap that coal prices cant be propped up, gas prices are still so low that fracking makes a loss, the demand for oil is tanking. All these things are on your side, exactly as your ancestors predicted. Now is the time to keep praying, chanting, singing, dancing, talking and above all hoping. We are with you, and we’re not going to let go. Mni wicone!

https://youtu.be/kkwWxygosSk

1-21-17 ~ Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn… Leaders of Standing Rock ask all camps to clean up and leave is the messages from Facebook Updater Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn “We get frozen Rubber Bullets that can penetrate wood and skin. That’s the gift that we get. That’s the special the Indians get out here. We don’t 30 feet of distance before we get shot. We are lucky if we get 7 feet. I apologize if I put anything at risk for you at Standing Rock I only meant good will.” Steven Jeffrey Chrisjohn Read More http://tinyurl.com/z9dz8un

http://tinyurl.com/zty79ad
1-21-17 ~ Lyla June…I am a Diné (Navajo) woman but I wrote this last verse in Spanish because our native brothers and sisters in Central and South America experience a deeper suppression of thier culture and identity than we do up here in the “the states”. The Eagle and the Condor are coming together. This is why we are mislabeled “hispanic” or “latino”. Don’t let the imaginary border fool us. We are one tribe of Turtle Island! I also want to acknowledge that some of the first Indigenous Peopeles that were forced into hiding were the medicine women of Old Europe. They estimate that 6-9 million women were raped, beaten, tortured, burned alive or drowned alive for being “witches.” Let us reclaim our Earth Selves no matter what “race” you are and do it soon! The earth may depend on it.

Yo soy una mujer Diné, pero escribí el segundo parte en español por que reconozco que la mayoria de nuesrtas hermanas y hermanos indígenas del central y sudamérica experimentan una mayor supresión de su cultura e identidad. Es por esto que estamos mal etiquetadas “hispano” o “latino”. No deje que la frontera imaginaria nos engañe! Somos una tribu de la isla de la tortuga! El Aguila reconozca el Condór! 😀 También quiero reconocer que algunos de los primeros pueblos indígenas que se vieron obligados a esconderse eran las curanderas de Europa Vieja. Se estima que 6-9 millones de mujeres fueron violadas, golpeadas, torturadas, quemadas vivas o ahogadas vivas por ser “brujas”. Recupere su mismo como Genta de la Tierra, no importa la “raza” que usted es, y lo hace pronto! La tierra puede depender de esta subida de conocimiento ancestral.

Come join us at the Black Hills Unity Concert this weekend! September 9-11, 2016. www.TheUnityConcert.com. Many are headed to http://sacredstonecamp.org/ in Cannonball, ND after the concert to protect the water from DAPL. If the judge rules in our favor some might come to the concert to celebrate. #NoDAPL #ProtectMaunaKea #DoodaFracking#Run4Salmon

1-21-17 ~ Kaelly Salazar… Sorry for the poor photo quality, but I had to share this.
They are targetting those of us trying to document the situation. He was aiming right at me with his weapon. Jon Ziegler was targetted last night for live streaming and nearly lost his pinky. They were aiming for his phone. (Anyone have an update on him?)
Pray for these officers… Pray for us.

1-21-17 ~ Confluence Documentary with Dallas Goldtooth … WATER IS LIFE
The Lakota have long prophesied that one day a great black snake would slither through the land, pollute the water, and bring great destruction to the people and the Earth…. In 2014, Energy Transfer Partners announced plans to build a pipeline that would transport fracked crude from the Bakken formation to refineries in the Gulf Coast. Obama had recently lifted the ban on exporting petroleum via the international market; big oil needed to find a way to capitalize on this. Using the smokescreen of “energy independence from the Middle East,” as propaganda, the public in North Dakota believed that this was about decreasing our dependency on foreign oil. In all actuality, it was just about profits for oil companies and would create very few jobs here in the US. The Dakota Access Pipeline originally proposed route crossed the Missouri River near Bismarck, but was re-routed through native land in violation of several treaties signed with the government and threatened their drinking water supply (as well as for near 30 other million people downstream). When construction began and sacred burial sites were being destroyed, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe realized that this was the manifestation of the prophecy of the black snake. It needed to be stopped.

In April of 2016, after runs across the country to raise awareness, members of the Youth Council set up camp along the Missouri River to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. After putting out a call for support, the camps have swelled to as many as 10,000 Water Protectors from around 500 tribes as well as non-native allies who showed solidarity to the cause. An unprecedented peaceful demonstration, water protectors began praying and chaining themselves the DAPL construction equipment. Many were arrested by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department, who essentially was working as a private security force for Energy Transfer Partners.

In the beginning, there was a complete media blackout and independent journalists who were arriving to tell the story were being specifically targeted. Water protectors and free press were brutalized, shot with rubber bullets, attacked by viscous police dogs, shot with tear gas canisters, concussion grenades and pepper sprayed for protesting peacefully. Communications have been jammed using sting rays and dirt boxes; Indigenous leaders have been spied on in this advanced Orwellian surveillance state. To date, Energy Transfer Partners has spent near 200 million dollars in private security on top of 22 million in tax payer money for law enforcement to finance the paramilitary spectacle. Arrestees have been strip searched for misdemeanor trespassing offenses and held in cages that resemble dog kennels, often times in their underwear for 12 hours or more. The scene goes in direct contrast with what the United States of America supposedly stands for; although Native Americas would beg to differ that America is a just nation founded on principles of so-called democracy and human rights. The pipeline is a direct extension of the legacy of colonization and genocide that their people have endured for hundreds of years.

As the election distracted most of the public, politicians turned a blind eye to Standing Rock as it would disrupt the Democratic energy platform for the next 40 years… Most of Hillary Clinton’s top campaign contributors were financing the pipeline and Donald Trump had personally invested millions. Standing Rock chairman David Archambault II testified in front of the UN to ask for help pleading that water is a human right. As the fight against the DAPL began to pick up steam, the powers that be could no longer turn a blind eye to the human rights abuse and disregard for the law. Much spin has attempted to quell the support of the movement, but… it kept growing. An influx of media and celebrities brought even more attention to the camp. Actress Shailene Woodley, Amy Goodman, and even Presidential candidate Jill Stein were charged/arrested during front line actions. Water protectors like Red Fawn were illegally detained and held without bail. They have endured all of this to protect life’s most basic need…water.

On December 4, 2016, The Army Corps of Engineers gave the water protectors of Standing Rock a major victory when they refused to grant permits for DAPL to drill under the Missouri River. This decision shows that the power of the people cannot be ignored. Although significant, the victory is only temporary as the pipeline company is appealing the decision in federal court. Thousands of Water Protectors have remained diligent through blizzards and sub zero temperatures and remain to this day.

…the fight continues. Please stand with Standing Rock and support the indigenous led resistance against not just the DAPL, but all the other pipeline black snake construction projects around the country that threaten our water….

Water is Life. Mni Wiconi
Music by: Will Evans
Footage credits: Tim Yakitis, Eddie Mnoian (Viral Viral Appetite Productions), Myron Dewey (Digital Digital Smoke Signals), Kandi Mosset (Indigenous Indigenous Environmental Network), Shiyé Bidzííl (Dr0ne2bWild), Jonathan Klett, Renegade Media, Unicorn Riot, Dallas Goldtooth (Indigenous Environmental Network), Richard Bluecloud Castaneda, Spencer Keeton Cunningham, The Young Turks, Daniel Speers, Indian Law Resource Center, Democracy Now

1-21-17 ~ Ricardo Jasper… Hi my name is Ricardo Jasper I’m a native American from the Diné nation aka Navajo Nation, im Originally from Tuba City Arizona, I’m a bitter water clan and Manygoat clan..

The reason why I’m here is because I wanted to share what I have experience in standing rock and to bring awareness to the movement, it all started with the Colorado River being contaminated when the mining company, Gold King Mine, in Silverton Colorado a team of workers with environmental protection agency accidentally released 3million gallons of toxic waste into the river, which the Animus River in Colorado had turned orange as a toxic spill continued to flow downstream and through other states, this is when I realized what was going on with fracking, and how all these oil companies were digging into our mother earth to look for oil. That’s when i started looking into more about fracking, then I heard about Standing Rock battling with oil corporations and the State of North Dakota, these companies have come so close together that the people are at a moment where they don’t feel like their voices are being heard, and so the last thing that was left for us is to assemble, is to gather together and to protest or protect, and I had the urge to go out there and help my relatives protect the water , our future generation, our kids future.

When I drove up to the camp site (Oceti Sakowin Camp) it was breathtaking my heart started to cry, the feeling was unbearably beautiful, you could feel the positive energy, you could feel the spirit around you and the love and peacefulness, the people were so kind and generous, very helpful, everybody loved each other, everybody helped each other, and if you needed help they would have volunteers there waiting to help you right away, you would wish the whole world would be like Oceti Sakowin Camp, I stayed there for like 2½ months I helped with the construction part of the camp we built Tarpees. The reason why we called them Tarpees was because they look like Tepees but they were made out of tarp, the other buildings were teepees, yurts, and hogan’s.

We started to winterize the camp and I helped out with the actions too. Actions were being on the front lines of stopping the construction of the pipeline, people sacrifice their lives, tying themselves to the equipment’s and peacefully praying for the company to stop from hurting our mother earth, to stopped them from desecrating our ancestral burial grounds, I was always at the front lines getting shot with rubber bullets being pepper sprayed for no reason, all we did was pray and try to talk to the officers and pray with them some of them would stand there and cry some were in shocked at what their fellow comrades were doing to the people, some of them would stare at you and smile then point the gun at you some would have a blast shooting people and laugh about Tear gassing us, shoot percussion grenades at the people, spraying us with cold water with water cannons in 15 degree weather, and it would go on for hours, everybody there was dedicated to protect the water, to protect what’s right for all of us, it wasn’t just an Indigenous thing it was about everybody. I told people “if I bleed red and you bleed red it’s your problem too” “It’s not about being a hero, we have no egos, and it wasn’t about being important, it was about being part of the team we stand in solidarity with standing rock we wanted to tell people that we should realize that if they should being upset about ISIS destroying those artifacts in Syria Iraq they should be twice as upset as they are desecrating them graves, destroying those ancient sites, if they’re going to be angry at the injustice around the other world then they need to start talking about the injustice here in America as well, there still Colonization going on and you can see it in the ground that she is bleeding right now, and when you look up around the other world, you see there is a river in Russia that is now red blood red because of the dirty chemicals from a metal plant that’s there now and we gonna have the same thing here, this is the company that’s done this before and this isn’t anything that we can get rid of, and you know I remind people that we can’t eat green paper, we can’t drink that Gucci purse sweetheart All we have is this water, all we have is this Land, and we have to protect it, we belong to the earth, the earth doesn’t belong to us, we just protect her, she doesn’t ask for money, all she asks is to take care of her as she will take care of us.

My experience in Standing Rock is something that I will never forget, it was beautiful it was emotional but we all stood together, we all looked after each other, some of us may have PTSD but we are all here for each other, now I have all these beautiful, beautiful people, my new extended family from all over the world, different nations, different tribes, different nationalities, if we keep standing together fight for what’s right for our people for our mother earth, for our future generations, we can the change the world.. We are the people we don’t need one person to run our country, we have the power to be ONE LIFE, ONE LOVE, ONE NATION.. AHÒ I could talk for hours and hours about Standing Rock… I will never forget it !!

1-21-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Pro DAPL North Dakota Republican Congressman Cramer said earlier today Trump will rescind the EIS and approve Missouri River crossing possibly as soon as Monday. We will soon see how #Trump actually acts on the pipeline and if he respects the process.
Share! #NoDAPL #WaterisLife #J20

“By next week the EIS will be rescinded,” Cramer told me referring to the lengthy environmental study President Obama initiated in his final days in office. The Congressman said the Trump administration has the authority to rescind it because, in legal filings responding to the pipeline company’s request that the study be enjoined, the Obama administration itself argued that this was the case.

Cramer also said a decision granting permission for the pipeline to cross the Lake Oahe reservoir is imminent. “The easement will be issued maybe as early as Monday,” he said.

1-21-17 ~ ‎Jim Petoskey‎… Do not sit around waiting for the next great leader to come along. That’s how we got into this mess to begin with. Sitting around waiting for the next, Kennedy, the next Crazy Horse, the next Sitting Bull, the next Pontiac or Tecumseh. Martin Luther King or Ghandi . When they do come, they kill them off. Instead of giving a damn about the khardashians, the Super Bowls, worry about how to respect all life and what that really means. Become a participant in life. Give a sincere damn about our neighbors, the sick, the aged, the future of generations to come. We sat back and watched others do what everyone should be doing. We let people exploit the resources, pollute the land water and food and wonder why we are sick. We all have a brain, use it, but make sure your heart is connected. Nurture your spirits, not man made religions. DO NOT be afraid to be curious, question things, That’s exactly what they want. They have successfully dumbed down education and in turn dumbed down us. Now do yourself and the world a favor THINK. Even question what I just told you.

1-21-17 ~ Elizabeth Hoover… Was sitting on the plane editing photos that I took at Standing Rock over the past several days, and noticed the ladies next to me peering at my screen. They asked if I was a war photographer- where were these photos taken? Right here in the US of A, ladies. Yes those are unarmed civilians those National Guard and police officers are shooting at. Indian reservations have again become military training grounds

1-20-17 ~ Jon Ziegler… Here’s an update from the journalist who almost got his pink blown off a couple nights ago… Jon. Please send prayers for his healing. .

“Surgery went well. Took longer than expected as part of the bone was smashed “like a chicken bone hit with a hammer”-DR

Your well wishes and support will get me through this and out on the front lines asap. It has been my honor and a privilege to stream the truth for you these last 5 years. From Chicago to Ferguson; Baltimore to Oakland; NY and elsewhere, I have never stopped learning and being inspired by all the passionate ppl I have come to know, some of whom I now consider family. And that goes for many of you online as well!

I will be in a hotel resting and elevating my hand (picture make more sense now? ) for the next few days.

1-20-17 ~ Lee Sprague… This is the Larceny and Theft report I filed. I’m alleging the Sheriff Department stole and destroyed four of my canoes, paddles, rescue first aid kits, Also stolen, part of my canoe trailer.
Report Filed

Not accurate is officer 4973’s written comment that I confessed to bringing goods to to Turtle Hill.
“We carry warm clothes and blankets, gloves, mittens in water proof bags. We carry watersheds to the prayer lines. We carry people hurt by the Morton County Sheriff, Because they don’t respond to water protectors in harm’s way. Harm visited on the Water Protectors by the Morton County Sheriff Department.“

The REAL ‘Lone Ranger’ Was An African American Lawman Who Lived With Native American Indians
The real “Lone Ranger,” it turns out, was an African American man named Bass Reeves (July 1838 – 12 January 1910), who the legend was based upon. Perhaps not surprisingly, many aspects of his life were written out of the story, including his ethnicity. The basics remained the same: a lawman hunting bad guys, accompanied by a Native American, riding on a white horse, and with a silver trademark. Continue Reading http://tinyurl.com/kr6zycg

1-19-17 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi‎… Take care Friends in the light—Finger Pointers, Name Callers and Dissent Sowers are everywhere

I have tried to not comment on negativity, dissension causers, finger pointers and attackers – but a lot of people in this group and others keep asking me about these things. And want to know why it seems to be increasing. They ask why groups are questioning groups… and why some are attacking posters and video people… and on it goes.

I see people attacking others in the camps, on the virtual support and education pages, on personal pages and elsewhere. Questioning motives and trustworthiness. Questioning money use and intentions. Asking why they are not white or red or yellow or black. Speaking total lies. Working with all their might to create dissent so it will destroy everyone’s work from within. I have seen people I know to be working with all they can for clean water being attacked and villefied. And when I have come to their defense, watched myself attacked. And others. Several we watch in the group attack a list of water protectors each day. Sadly, some believe too many lies.

I see more attacks as we create the Water is Life Movement because that scares the hell out of the business people and politicians. Each day on our Standing Rock Protectors group we add hundreds of people – and about 25% are phony accounts when we check.

If we let these trolls and company plants divide us we will collapse into chaos. Or even those people still stuck in thinking one group or protest or people can lead this entire peaceful revolution.

Question what you see and hear. And when you think you know the truth – question further. Continue to come together as one. In the way of the prophecy of the four colors uniting.

Together we will win this war. The worse enemy now is ourselves if we allow the dessention sowers to divide and conquer. None of us are perfect, but we are all standing for Standing Rock, clean water and other camps everywhere. Focus there and let the hate mongers flow over us like a wind.

Thanks for hearing me.
~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi

1-19-19 ~ Cody Two Bears… Hau’ Mitakiyapi (All My Relatives) I am Cody Two Bears (Mah’to Nun’pa) Councilman of the Cannon Ball Community (Eyapaha) for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. I am Yanktonai (From the Cut Head Band) My Ancestors come from the east side of the Missouri River and lived there for 125 years before 1862 when the Minnesota Uprising and White Stone Hill Massacre moved us to the west side of the Missouri River. I speak to you today with a strong heart. I wanna share some concerns with you that we has a tribe and has a community do not agree with the current situation going on at the Backwater Bridge north of Cannon Ball. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and elders have consistently asked people not to confront DAPL and law enforcement since after the Decision was made on December 4, 2016 and to stay away from the Bridge. We all know the Bridge was tested and it needed minor repairs to open it back up. But with what’s been happening the past three nights have hurt those chances of it being open again. Our Membership need that bridge open for emergency and daily commutes. We have elderly and people with a lot of health issues, dialysis, diabetics, heart problems. We have community members that have business that are being affected. Not only that but we know drugs and alcohol use has been in these camps recently. We the Tribe and its membership know this fight isn’t over. But the more unnecessary actions that take place north of Cannon Ball hurts our chances with winning this fight in court and at the government level moving forward. I feel we are in a great position now that Native Nations will have a big Voice Moving forward. We owe a great thanks to everyone that has came and support us with this fight. But we feel now the peace and prayerful actions are not happening anymore. I see violence happening from our side the people that came here to help us. We the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and our Membership don’t support these actions it’s only hurting our chances moving forward. Once again We ask people to stand down. If we truly believe in prayer and trust in it we will win. Let our prayers do all our actions. Let’s not stoop to there level cause once we do we are no better than them!! They want us to start to be violent so The Tribe it’s membership and this whole movement will lose everything we have gained. Please be respectful and honor the wishes of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe it’s elderly and it’s membership.. Thanks to you all once again. Hau Mitakuye Oyasin..

1-19-17 ~ Tomas Karmelo Amaya… “Women are traditionally associated with water and men with fire, but this moment made me think of the culmination of the two forces. As the shadows cast across the sides of the teepee, a home that represents the womb from which we are reborn daily, I also thought of a blazing ember. Fire cannot burn without oxygen and water contains oxygen just like our women hold the answers to our deepest tribulations. They are our ultimate medicine, our healers, our guardians of the future.”

The night before Morton County law enforcement attacked water protectors, Jade and I drove around camp looking for Faith Spotted Eagle so that we could interview her for @indigenousrising. Once we arrived to her location, I was not allowed to enter the teepee because a women’s meeting was in session. As I walked away I noticed the silhouettes of my aunties and sisters projected on the structure.

Women are traditionally associated with water and men with fire, but this moment made me think of the culmination of the two forces. As the shadows cast across the sides of the teepee, a home that represents the womb from which we are reborn daily, I also thought of a blazing ember. Fire cannot burn without oxygen and water contains oxygen just like our women hold the answers to our deepest tribulations. They are our ultimate medicine, our healers, our guardians of the future.

I left shortly after taking this photo and I would not see Jade until several hours later. Although she did not get to interview Faith, she came back more powerful than ever.

Photo and Story by Tomas Karmelo Amaya

1-19-17 ~ Nataanii Means… “Today I board a plane to Utah still tasting the tear gas and mace pellets, still hearing the rounds of rubber bullets and bean bags being fired off like popcorn. Last night a group of young men put a tipi up on the road on our side of the bridge. Signifying our continued fight for treaty rights. The police then crossed the bridge and tore down our sacred home and took the poles.

Last night when I arrived it was hectic; you know there will be people that are agitators that do jeopardize a lot with how they act on frontlines like this. We de-escalated them, and you also have to understand young men who have been taking this abuse for months, who have been made to feel lower than low by the police that support corporate entities like DAPL. I’m not making excuses for them, but there are ways to talk with them. After all the commotion we remained prayerful, we sang our sacred songs, we prayed for Leonard Peltier who was denied clemency, we prayed for our treaty rights, we continued to try and clean the bridge as best we could. Again I want to stress that I know our fight is not with the police, that it is in the courts, but we have to let the world know the violence is still happening, that the lights are still up, in no way have we negotiated a situation that benefits us, we’ve been weak. As long as we keep these police out, we exhaust them and their resources, if they want to continue to make the conscious choice to protect a pipeline, then we will make them stand in the cold with us. Continuing to live on treaty land with lights in our faces, heavy police forces, and a drill sitting there is a slap in the face.

The police reacted in violence last night. They reacted to prayer in violence. Like always. We have NO WEAPONS, we know what THEY are capable of so we protect ourselves with shields, we are not looking to fight, but we will protect ourselves as we try our best to protect the water and make these statements. DO NOT look at us any other way than what we are, that is young people caring for our children’s future. Support us and remember we are people of strength, stop showing our weakness by questioning everything someone does.

If only the old leaders were alive to remind us who and where we come from. But we are the next, the young generation. And we are here standing with NO FEAR. I watched Russell Means stand with no fear, and we are trying our damn best to do what we can. My dad was shot on Standing Rock by BIA police after Wounded Knee. I also know he would be ashamed and sad of what is happening here, how OUR OWN PEOPLE ARE TREATING OUR OWN FOR ONLY WANTING TO BE FREE!

Somebody said last night “If we cross the barricade they’ll stop the EIS” well first we DID NOT want to cross it, second, why do we have to act from a position of fear. That is a direct threat on our own treaty land. That is a scare tactic, I just want to know where is our strength, I haven’t seen it since my father passed. The olders here act and say everything from fear, I understand that, but I’m not used to that.

So here we are. Young people remaining in prayer and unarmed strength. I love you all.

Again, I am no one. Here, I am just ikce wicasa, I’m only a common man that wants clean water for the future. I am not a leader, nor do I want to be, just updating the social atmosphere with my thoughts. A’ho…”

1-19-17 ~ International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee… I woke up this morning excited, happy, hopeful and imaginging the upcoming weekend. I was going to pick Uncle Leonard up from prison and drive him up north. I was going to stop at his daughter Marquetta’s in Kansas, his sister Betty Ann’s in Fargo, ND, and his grandchildren Cyrus and Alex in Grand Forks and lastly his hometown in Turtle Mountain.

The family has been commuicating constantly in these last hours, so excited about our future plans and finally having the eldest man in the family home.

We have had thousands of people from all over the world praying for his freedom, which could only be given by Obama. We all believed and had so much faith in our President. We believed he truly cared for Leonard.

I had just finished visiting with a friend with so much joy that Uncle Leonard would be free and home by this weekend. Not even fifteen minutes later, i was given the heart wrenching news he was denied clemency. Basically a death sentence. I am asking all of you to let Obama hear our OUTCRY over and disappointment with his decision today.

Call, email, tweet. Use Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and your powerful prayers… whatever is your means of communication… to let him know we are not happy. The people are not happy. His family is not happy. You can change your mind, Obama. You have the power.

I beg and plead. Hear our outcry!
On behalf of Leonards family
Kari Ann Boushee
Co-Director of the ILPDC

1-19-17~ Mitra Singh‎… I found this tent buried in snow, Rosebud camp at Standing Rock, in the excavation I found an item I would consider of great value and notebook paper with handwriting that says owner arrived on Aug 10 and was arrested on Aug 11. If you can name the valuable item I can hold it if you are returning. I am camped next to your old spot

1-19-17 ~ Margo Talk… Something is going wrong. There are instigators and outsiders provoking violence, laughing, swearing and yelling death threats at authorities tonight. Myron asks our research help to check whether DAPL is trying to distract all from something else. Are they taking action to illegally pump oil thru the gas pipeline already there? I cannot tell my friends from my enemies in this. So this will be my last post. Prayers for all involved. Please follow Myron Dewey/Digital Smoke Signals for the truth. Link to his livestream here:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php…

1-1-19 ~ ‘Stormfronts’ of North Dakota’s Streets… White supremacists not finished with the Peace Garden State, form hit list of small towns. Since the town of Leith’s victory against white supremacists, eleven towns across North Dakota made their hit list. The towns range from populations of 16 to nearly 7,000. Listed by names, pictures, and real estate advertisements by Pioneer Little Europe North Dakota, a white supremacist operation welcoming Nazis, the Creativity Movement, Ku Klux Klan, militants, white nationalists, and racialists, the North Dakota towns are the group’s next targets to become Aryan enclaves. Continue Reading http://tinyurl.com/hope3x4

1-19-17 ~ This was posted 45 mins ago by someone who is at Standing Rock currently. “All call. DAPL has turned off all its lights overlooking oceti sakawin Rose bud and Sacred stone. They have NEVER turned off the lights an only Jonny Danger live feed showed for a minute to see absolute dark….. Something is happening. Even if not something is and calls need to be made. Post numbers in comments if you have them. Help standing rock before this company and government allow the unthinkable. Hasn’t this gone on long enough. Haven’t enough been injured and mistreated for simply wanting to live. Do something”

1-19-17 ~ I can Confirm all DAPL lights across the river are off. We don’t know why and this has never happened before. #NoDAPL
Fog is also extremely thick right now.

1-18-17 ~ JOURNALIST TARGETED BY MORTON COUNTY SHERIFFS AND THUGS… Morton County law enforcement and thugs target journalist on the front lines at Standing Rock last night.
Last night Jon Ziegler was targeted as a journalist. “Law enforcement” called out his name and then law enforcement specifically shot at the hand he was holding his camera live streaming. His pinky is completely broken, and his leg is injured as well, he is getting medical care at the moment.
This is what Morton County calls using none lethal weapons on water protectors, when will we put a stop to this?

1-18-17 ~ Mike Fasig’… In listening to several Live Feeds, while the Protectors stood and prayed and drummed the Police went and stole and tore down prayer Tipi they had stationed and flags. Obvious instigating anger.

1-18-17 ~ Jason George… Hello loved ones.Hope that you and all are well and warm. There was violence here last night. I am well and still stand strong, but there were shots fired gas deployed and protesters arrested. Please pray for us all that we might be gifted the ability to show our lost brothers and sisters the good red road without further bloodshed. That we might help give them the courage to pull down that barricade and join us in this beauty and warmth that our mother has lovingly set before us. I send love from all of us here in standing rock to all of you wherever you may be. J.(High hat)

1-18-17 ~ Lee Sprague… I’m here at the Attorney General’s Office at the North Dakota State Capital to file a complaint for the theft and destruction of our canoes, rescue equipment, my cell phone, my paddles, my canoe trailer lids to trailer storage boxes were also stolen.
The Attorney Generals Office said to me, Morton County has to take my formal complaint. The Attorney General has no jurisdiction over the Morton County Sheriff’s Department.

Hmmm, the old run around by the government trick. Like I’m the first Indian to figure that out

https://youtu.be/R5i_qQcFVeo

1-17-17 ~ “My struggle is what made me who I am…. I want my children to be proud of their culture, and mostly, their dad.” Watch and listen to what Kansas has to say about being a strong Native American man. #NativeHope #SeasonOfHope

1-17-17 ~ Colter Hoyt… It’s happening NOW at Standing Rock! All day tear gas, rubber bullets to the face, multiple shots. March and prayer attempted to reach the DAPL drill sight.
The Backwater bridge is active THIS second!
Pray for the brave unarmed Water Protectors!!
Mni Wiconi!

1-17-17 ~ Linda Black Elk… “This is not rumor: one of our water protectors was hit by a cop on a snowmobile…hard. Medics couldn’t reach her. Police called an ambulance and it appears that she has been transported off site. PLEASE, PLEASE pray for this young woman. Call the State of North Dakota Department of Heath and Morton County law enforcement demanding that she receive immediate care! #NoDAPL”

1-17-17 ~ Chase IronEyes… “Strength to the brothers and sisters on the bridge right now getting maced, shot & arrested. That bridge blockade is an economic sanction to punish Standing Rock for standing up, punitive measures to force Native people back into 2nd class citizenhood, to turn tribal & state public opinion against the water protectors & its working. This is why we are kept poor, in tutelage. They can manipulate by withholding rations. The chains are there if you look. This is about more than a pipeline. This is about an inevitable and natural liberation from the state of oppression being perpetrated on not only Native Nations but all human beings.”

Calling my beloved adoptive caravan of veterans. Calling all veterans. Calling all protectors able to withstand subzero elements. Your strength is needed. Your presence is needed. My heart pulls me to return immediately, but camp is requesting I stay in DC to bring information to the public.

Billy Taylor, your skill set as front-line peacekeeper and the skill sets of our DNC teammates would be of great help in Standing Rock now if you are able and up for it.

SHARING IS CARING.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
SHARE THE LOVE, TEAM.

https://youtu.be/Vsr5v9_xCa8

1-17-17 ~ Myron Dewey… Updates About Standing Rock With #NoDAPL Warriors Digital Smoke Signals (1/17/2017) The Movement North Dakota Bill Would Protect Drivers Who ‘Accidentally’ Hit And Kill Protesters A bill that state GOP Rep. Keith Kempenich introduced would exempt drivers from liability if they *accidentally hit* a pedestrian, including but not limited to off-roading snowmobiles.

1-17-17 ~ Jon Ziegler… Anti-drone missile system confirmed on top of a hill guarding the DAPL drill pad. Many water protectors made it further around the bend to the east closer to the drill site and were met with police and reports of mace used. We climbed up the hill on the west side right up next to the launcher.

1-17-17 ~ Anoli Wood‎ … So last night I am cooking dinner and suddenly got a coughing fit. It just kept getting worse the longer I cooked. Sat down to eat but couldn’t catch my breath so I put my plate to the side until I could breathe. Came upstairs to try and relax. I log on Facebook to see live feed that the water Protectors being attacked with tear gas and shot in the backs with rubber bullets. My coughing fit was just like being hit with the tear gas. I couldn’t take a breath and my eyes were tearing up. All this is happening to me at the same time they were being attacked. I think it was a sign. Such is life as an empath… across the ocean in England I felt their distress. When I woke up this morning I have a bad painful back right below my left shoulder blade. I had hubby look at it and it’s bruised. Someone there was channeling me. #lookingforanswers.

1-17-17 ~ Dallas Goldtooth… Take a good look at this. This an AN/TWQ-1 Avenger vehicle. It shoots missiles and is used for surface-to-air defense scenarios.

It is now deployed to overlook the #NoDAPL camps. That’s right. North Dakota has deployed more military vehicles to the Cannonball river area. This is intimidation tactics 101. Demonstrate the extent of your power in hopes to deter action.

To be clear, there is no indication that this vehicle is armed. Numerous veteran allies have stated that this vehicle is mostly likely being used for its FLIR system (Thermal, Night, and Infrared Vision). This will allow the police to track movement at night or in snowy conditions.

However, it DOES NOT BELONG in the area of what remains an overall peaceful demonstration. How can the state hope to further the message of peaceful resolution when they continue to escalate the situation?

https://youtu.be/YDErnWD79Ek

1-16-17 ~ SHOTS FIRED! #NODAPL BACKWATER BRIDGE STANDING ROCK- xBLACKxOPSxSECRETSx
Militarized Police standing on ancestral graves, running over people with snowmobiles and shooting them in the back with rubber bullets as they’re walking off the bridge, many being maced with pepper spray. The water tanker was filling water cannons.

https://youtu.be/_WncuDuzowU

1-16-17 ~ CRAZY! ANTI-DRONE MISSILES AT #NoDAPL SITE, LAW TO RUN OVER ACTIVISTS – DAHBOO77
These shocking images were caught by Rebelutionary Z on twitter. As you can see, there is a surface to air anti-drone system now setting on the top of the ridge.

1-16-17 ~ Simon R Jones … Camp was pretty intense this evening, so much going on and being said…
100 people made it to the Drill pad, they were target w rubber bullets,
Turtle island action (1 arrest)
DAPL & military are mobilizing,
Planes flying over camp all day,
Helicopters flying lower each day, circling camp
We remain in Prayer Strong

1-16-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Police mobilizing for Large Peaceful Prayer Walk on Day of Action! We are now near the Cannonball River near the Drillpad! Water Protectors went on another Prayer Walk to the Cannonball River and placed 2 Prayer flags for the one the police stole!
Earlier today police stole the Water Protector’s Prayer Flag on Standing Rock Sioux Reservation land since yesterday’s Prayer Walk!!!
Do they not care about freedom of religion?

1-16-17 ~ Wicapi Otto‎… We need people on the phone and sending letters questioning the DAPL contents.
Why did DAPL take 146 million gallons of water from the Missouri River. That amount is extremely excessive for water sampling. That is NOT a sampling amount, that is just shy of the amount Nestle’ just purchased from Michigan for bottling. The man who believes that water is not a human right. Current Wall Street Trends are showing that water is a commodity that is turning to Gold in the market.

We need to question the motives of DAPL on whether this is about the oil or the oil AND the water. Demand an investigation to what happened to 146 million gallons of water taken by DAPL today. Contact your state representative, contact the White House, contact Army Corp of Engineers and demand to know what happened to all that water TODAY.

To Contact the Army Corp, go here for the form or telephone number:
http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Contact/
Go here to find your state legislator:
https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/
Click here to write to the White House:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact#more

1-16-17 ~ Water Protectors went on another Prayer Walk to the Cannonball River and placed 2 Prayer flags for the one the police stole! Share!
Earlier today police stole the Water Protector’s Prayer Flag on Standing Rock Sioux Reservation land since yesterday’s Prayer Walk!!!
Do they not care about freedom of religion?

1-16-17 ~ Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance… “We have to keep repeating the prayers over and over again. When I reflect on my life of 79 years, I see a flat road of destruction. Youths are dying of drugs and ozone layer is depleting. The most powerful tool with us is to pray and pray with other communities for world peace.” – Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance

https://youtu.be/K17fexiHTTo
1-15-17 ~ North Dakota Bill Would Protect Drivers Who ‘Accidentally’ Hit And Kill Protesters

Vanessa aka Sioux Z, Navajo Nation … “Last week, a week and a half ago, when everybody was moving the trucks off the bridge I was given a head shot by Morton County’s Sheriff Department. Six, five, six? I’m not sure how many. There were quite a few of them tear gas canisters launched, aimed at my head. Also after I was hit in the eye with one of the tear gas canisters as I left to run; I was also shot with a rubber bullet in the back, my lower leg, my lower butt, my upper thigh area. Yeah, that’s what happened.

I am a dispatcher for Oceti Sakowin Akitchita. I’m a warrior. I’m a dispatcher of information. Right now, my role is kind of changing now that I can’t be…..I’m still here. I still answer dispatcher calls, but not being able to go to the front lines any more, which I’m still going to go. The Veterans are here, so I’m going to run with the Veterans over there, but my goal now is to really look at our health care system as being Native American, which is also in our treaties. You know, I didn’t get the care that I needed within 72 hours to save my eye because I had IHS from Navajo and Arizona Medicaid, and nobody would work with me, you know? I’ll never see again, and it’s just so sad that our system is broken in so many ways. And I just want the world to know that there’s a lot more things to our treaties other than land. Healthcare was included in these treaties, and our government needs to start honoring these treaties, so my role is changing a little bit.”

Please consider donating to Vanessa’s gofundme, so that she may get the medical care she needs. She also asks that you pray.

Stories From the Frontline Jan. 16, 2017

Kristeen Hernandez aka Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

HIGHLIGHTS IN BLUE ARE EMBEDDED LINKS TO NEWS SOURCES. CLICKING OPENS THE SOURCE IN A NEW TAB.

Reminding people not everything is bad; stories of truth, of connecting with old friends and making new ones, learning new skills, showing respect and integrity, love, laughter, fun and working together as a community. PLEASE share these stories with you friends and acquaintances; the world needs to know, not only about the atrocities being committed but of the good which has come from the enormity of this stance against evil. Sincerely, Kristeen Irigoyen-Hernandez

PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PAGE

This is Angry Bird. He has protected Water Protectors at camps since Sacred Stone Camp was founded. He’s been singled out by Morton County for months and is being wrongfully accused with trumped up charges. Here’s a clip of an interview we did with him. Share and get to know James White aka Angry Bird a little more. Petition to drop charges and another interview coming soon.
http://tinyurl.com/gpqnqel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSemy17p3sQ
1-14-17 ~ The Water Protectors Who Stayed At Standing Rock – teleSUR English

1-14-17 ~ Indigenous leader and celebrated author Arthur Manuel has passed away suddenly at the age of 66 years old.

His lifetime of fighting for Indigenous rights began when he first became president of the Native Youth Association in the 1970’s.

He then became chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band, chair of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council and leader and Spokesperson for the Interior Alliance.

He often travelled, meeting Indigenous peoples from all over the world and spoke at numerous rallies and events. He strongly believed in the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People and supported numerous environmental causes.

Funeral arrangements are currently underway and will take place in Adams Lake, BC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_k7Shqg0Jk
1-14-17 ~ Live From Standing Rock With #NoDAPL Warrior Brandon Green (1/14/2017) Camp Life

1-14-17 ~ ‎Brandon Phinazee‎… Any pilots in the air that need a friendly place to land and rest for today’s peaceful protest are more than welcome to land, at your own risk, on our grass runway at Kitty Hawk Estates Airpark. If you need to rest or drive to the site, we have a safe field that you can taxi your plane to. There is a lot of State Trooper activity around the area, everyone please be safe and contact me if needed. This is owner’s permission. Good luck out there today, fighting the good fight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFy5kn9xvU
1-13-17 ~ Johnny Dangers… Police mobilizing the Water Cannon, Humvees, Snowmobiles, Side by Sides and multiple vehicles for a peaceful Prayer Walk towards the Drillpad and Cannonball River! Share!!! We are Peaceful! We Stand for the Earth, Water and Children!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmmUZsuCqlk
1-13-17 ~ These are powerful words from Chase IronEyes today.

He points out that the incoming administration has indicated it will pursue a policy that accelerates extraction, big financial interests, and the rights of the corporatocracy. It will advance the longstanding program to absorb and eradicate native peoples, their lands and their cultures. IronEyes advocates continuing the unarmed opposition to these forces at Standing Rock. “We are the ghost dancers of our time. Only this time we have a world of allies.”

Chase IronEyes: “This may be the only opportunity that we have while the world is not only watching us–but the world is waiting on us. The world needs us to lead. We may be the only people–the only natural human beings–who still maintain that spiritual connection to the Universe, to the sacred sites, to water, to all the elements of Creation from which we derive our identity and our civilization.Those are our gifts. We may be the last real ones–the people who could provide that moral and spiritual authority to liberate from those forces which seek to oppress that in us, which have been at work in a very effective manner for a thousand years…. What we are saying is we are committed to this stand.”

“There was a concerted effort to turn us into a nation of beggars, to dehumanize us, to make us hate ourselves, to steal our dignity. But fortunately, our people are strong, our people are survivors, and we are here standing.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3FfBtShwmI
1-13-17 ~ Strawbale School at Standing Rock – Miguel Cobalot

1-12-17 ~ Chief Dan George (July 24, 1899–September 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band located on Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an author, poet, and an Academy Award-nominated actor.

Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band whose Indian reserve is located on Burrard Inlet in the southeast area of the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an actor, poet and author; his best-known written work was “My Heart Soars”.As an actor, he is best remembered for portraying Old Lodge Skins opposite Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Born as Geswanouth Slahoot in North Vancouver, his English name was originally Dan Slaholt. The surname was changed to George when he entered a residential school at age 5. He worked at a number of different jobs, including as a longshoreman, construction worker, and school bus driver, and was band chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation from 1951 to 1963 (then called the Burrard Indian Band).

In 1960, when he was already 60 years old, he landed his first acting job in a CBC Television series, Cariboo Country, as the character Ol’ Antoine (pron. “Antwine”). He performed the same role in a Walt Disney Studios movie Smith! (1969), adapted from an episode in this series (based on Breaking Smith’s Quarter Horse, a novella by Paul St. Pierre). At age 71, he received several honors for his role in the film Little Big Man (1970), including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He continued to act in other films, such as Cancel My Reservation (1972), Alien Thunder (1974), The Bears and I (1974), Harry and Tonto (1974), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Shadow of the Hawk (1976), Americathon (1979), Spirit of the Wind (1979) and Nothing Personal (1980), and on television, including a role in the 1978 miniseries Centennial, based on the book by James A. Michener, as well as appearing in a 1973 episode of the original Kung Fu series and in several episodes of The Beachcombers.

He played the role of Rita Joe’s father in George Ryga’s stage play, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, in performances at Vancouver, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Washington, D.C..

During his acting career, he worked to promote better understanding by non-aboriginals of the First Nations people. His soliloquy, Lament for Confederation, an indictment of the appropriation of native territory by white colonialism, was performed at the City of Vancouver’s celebration of the Canadian centennial in 1967.This speech is credited with escalating native political activism in Canada and touching off widespread pro-native sentiment among non-natives.

In 1971, George was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2008 Canada Post issued a postage stamp in its “Canadians in Hollywood” series featuring Chief Dan George.
He died in Vancouver in 1981 at the age of 82. He was interred at Burrard Cemetery.

1-12-17 ~ THE GATHERING by Chief Sitting Bull
The Turning of The Tide

It is very important that as many people as possible, in different places, should take part in the Gathering. Decide where and when and how to gather, your participation is needed. This is the beginning of the break we are all waiting for. This is the beginning of the turnaround. We have waited so long for the change. It is time. This is the beginning of the end of the old ways, the turning of the tide. State what you believe is true. Exchange the information and hopes you have. Always in the world, a change starts with a few people. These few speak the feelings and thoughts of a multitude. They speak the heart of humanity’s soul. The people who are coming together will ring in a return, a turnaround. There will come a flow on Earth which will burst the dark energies surrounding you and your planet. Let your self-belief be your guide, and follow your heart. Realise the greatness you have within yourself, and go ahead. This is the time so many have waited so long for. That which you believe is true must be stated.

Spirit message from Chief Sitting Bull

1-13-17 ~ Heart of Standing Rock… Photo by Emma Hall
A strong woman
is one who feels deeply
and loves fiercely.
Her tears flow
just as abundantly
as her laughter.

A strong woman
is both soft and powerful.
She is both
practical and spiritual.

A strong woman
in her essence
is a gift to all the world.

1-12-17 ~ Jim Graywolf Petruzzi‎… Someone posted this today as I was beginning to write about attacks and slander and divisive actions being taken. I will post what I am writing later – but think about this. It is easy to stay seated and takes courage to stand and be a target. Remember our children’s children are watching.

1-12-17 ~ Wicapi Otto‎ … Army Corp of Engineers needs to understand just how many people are affected by not only this pipeline, but many pipelines across the world. This is for everyone, there is absolutely no exclusion of nation, country, background…etc.

This is going to be given to the tribe and Army Corp of Engineers. I have never understood how things go viral, but I guess for a first time attempt, let’s see how this goes, because I need viral on this. A petition is one thing, it makes a statement, and this is to reflect the effect on human activity. Our connectivity as a human race is a human activity and a simple one to show them how many people object to not only DAPL, but as our voice to oppose all. Trolls are welcome as well, your number will be added to the count of people that matter and are affected to human activity as well. I only ask those in support not to respond to them and waste precious time and energy with negativity. This is very important.

I only need you to state “I am affected” and your location. It does not need to be specific, just please keep it simple as I have to convert this to a document after and wasted data only wastes time.

Thank you everyone everywhere for helping with this. Pilamiya!

PS. If every now and then, someone can tag my name for check in, I have a couple of these going around of this exact same post and it will help me locate and check. Thank you!

1-12-17 ~ Daphne Singingtree… Camp Update. We need people on site more than ever. A recent meeting between the Standing Rock Tribal Council and Camp Leaders from Oceti Sakowin, Sacred Stone and Rosebud showed the need for increased communication. Sacred Stone is located on higher ground and is building a permanent, sustainable, culture camp. This is an extraordinary outcome from the protest that will serve provide a space for people in the area to come and learn skills from permaculture, to green energy & building, as well as be a base for the movement to protect the water and the Earth. The Oceti & Rosebud camps will need to move to higher ground. Land has been set aside by the Standing Rock Tribe for a camp that can house many people, plans include solar/wind power, yurt and tipi villages, greenhouses and gardens, and a long term sustainable community. It is unclear to me at this point how many folks will be moving to the new tribe site, or the higher ground on the current Oceti site (Facebook Hill), or some of the other protest camps such as Texas. Moving the tipis, yurts and other structures will be a lot of work, especially to accomplish before snow melt.

Everyone shares concerns about the amount of trash, abandoned tents, and other items that are located in the floodplain. Without timely removal, there is a risk of contaminating the very river we are protecting. No one expected thousands, at one point ten thousand people to show up at camp. Then the severe weather came, most people left, leaving behind a lot of stuff and not enough people to process the donations, and then clean up afterwards.

We need able bodied people who are able to work in the cold, please plan on coming to help, even for a week or two, anytime over the next month or two. The burden is falling on people who work incredibly hard, they are getting sick, burned out, and it is easy to get discouraged when faced with such a monumental task. We particularly need people with 4×4 trucks and trailers. Let’s not forget our Water Protectors and Water Warriors. Let’s not leave a giant mess on people who can ill afford to clean it up.

Some of the resources donated will be relocated to other camps. Other supplies need to be protected from the elements until spring or distributed in the local community. All of this takes work, and the medics are busy keeping people safe and healthy. We need help to recycle and remove trash, as well as helping move the yurts and tipis to the new site. So many people have left that there are sleeping spaces available, if you don’t have a contact with someone in camp and want to help Zaniyan at Rosebud, I can get you connected.

The fight is not over, the movement has just began, we have much hard labor ahead of us, and still need the help and support of all. #nodapl #waterislife

1-12-17 ~ Trystan Foundation… Our friend Bobbie invited us to her outdoor kitchen and taught us the proper way to make Diné fry bread. Cooking video will be posted in the future!⠀ ⠀ -Heather

1-11-17 ~ Canadian Native Youth Arrive at Standing Rock After Walking for Almost a Month – Buffalo greeted the youth as they arrived at the #NoDAPL camp site.

Three youth from the Woodland Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, arrived to the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock in North Dakota yesterday (January 10) after walking since November 26, 2016. This journey symbolized their solidarity with the #NoDAPL movement against the 1,172-mile long Dakota Access Pipeline set to cut through sacred territories of the Sioux people. Contine Reading http://tinyurl.com/gmvz45n

1-11-17 ~ Luta Wi Red Fawn… Hello all my friends, family and support. As you know I had a hearing yesterday and I was formally charged, and the charges carry sentences that add up to 25 years to life in federal prison.

I’ve been getting messages about a lot of you being concerned and worried. So I wanted to let you know that I stand strong, I stay in prayer, and I never falter from my beliefs as a protector of all things sacred.

I’m doing good, I’m clear headed, I appreciate my strong support system. I appreciate the 20+ letters and cards I get everyday. As they remind me to believe in all good things .

“When will they open their eyes and heart and listen to our cries and please and prayers to protect our dying Mother Earth. I believe this is the time when we as protectors of this land . We need to stand up, stand strong, and never give up. We are obligated to the protection of this earth, we have been taught this from child hood. Our ancestors made sure we would know our creation stories, our histories and our instructions to continue the care taking, the protection and the spiritual obligations to this land for our next seven generations and to our ancestors. My heart, my prayers and my strength are with you all.

Mitakuye Oyate”
If you want to talk or get ahold of me, inbox me your phone number . I love you all.
Lililililililililili

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMr-T7tofv8
1-11-17 ~ Standing Rock Update With #NoDAPL Warrior Lorna R Knowshisgun (1/11/2017) First Nation Walkers – Mystic Dave

1-10-17 ~ Paul Schmidtlein… O ci yo, A Lesson from Standing Rock; Border towns are still oppressive. Not much has changed since the reservation system was set up. People from around the world saw images and video of what Natives have been going through for generations in towns next to reservations.

The gathering of Indigenous Nations in Standing Rock showed unity between each other because of a common shared belief, Water is Life. Another shared belief might bring them together again to organize Indigenous Nations Peace Keepers to act like a shield when indigenous peoples try to exercise their treaty rights and Constitutional rights.

1-10-17 ~ The youth have made it…they walked 1200 miles to get to Standing Rock from Saskatchewan, Canada…The buffalo came to welcome them, the horse nations came to guide them in…..History was made today!!!…..I am one proud Canadian in Alberta, Canada who is crying with joyful tears witnessings this event

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCJmWJwg2M
1-10-17 ~ More than a pipeline – trailer
The official TRAILER of the documentary film MORE THAN A PIPELINE. A film about Standing Rock, about the effects of the destruction by large corporations and banks to our environment and our planet. About the people of the Great Sioux Nation and their helpers who are standing up to them in compassion and prayer. About the earth we leave for the next seven generations…

Here is how you can all help ensure Red Fawn is given the best possible chance to get be granted her freedom.
http://tinyurl.com/zoxt26o
1) Keep her in your prayers and thoughts
2) Support the offical legal fund posted on http://tinyurl.com/za5lkkp
3) Share and like this post
4) If you wish to donate a larger sum to the fund, offer free legal support, or help with t-shirts, social media support.
Please email freeredfawn@gmail.com and cc letyoursoulplay@gmail.com
5)To contact Red Fawn Fallis go to http://tinyurl.com/h3kjl6y
She is in North Dakota, Stutsman County
6) To get Red Fawn Fallis phone cards please visit http://tinyurl.com/zbcel74
http://tinyurl.com/jcpodpy

1-10-17 ~ Heart of Standing Rock… Dignity is a sculpture on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River near Chamberlain, South Dakota. The 50-foot high stainless steel statue, by South Dakota artist laureate Dale Lamphere, depicts an Indigenous woman in Plains-style dress receiving a star quilt. According to Lamphere, the sculpture honors the culture of the Lakota and Dakota peoples who are indigenous to South Dakota.

“My intent for this is to have the sculpture stand as an enduring symbol of our shared belief that we are in a sacred place and that we are all sacred,” Lamphere said. “I’m humbled and so grateful to have this chance to contribute to the future landscape of South Dakota and the Great Plains.”

“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but cannot be taken away unless it is surrendered.” – Michael J. Fox

1-10-17~ The new head chef at Standing Rock! This sneaky husky managed to steal some meat while everyone was distracted by the snow storm.
-Heather

1-1-2017 ~ Waniya Locke, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
“I came to help. I came home to help, because I want to protect the future. And part of protecting our future is learning our language. So Lakota language is the essence of who we are; it’s the spirit of who we are. You can strip a person of food and clothing, and even their spirituality and they’ll be okay. But once you strip a person of their language, they lose everything. They lose all their identity. They lose their connection to their land, to their ancestors, and to their own relatives. So Lakota Revitalization was a path that was found for me. It wasn’t something I went out seeking. I fell into language, and I ended up being really good at it, and all these doors unlocked for me to become a language teacher.

I teach 140 students a day. They come through my classroom forty minutes a day, every day, Monday through Friday. So I teach five classes a day, Monday through Friday to 140 students. And we revitalize the language. We actually speak in our language. But language is the foundation of everything. So that entails our stories, entails our history, that entails our spirituality, our songs and our dance. Lakota language is really vital to who we are. A lot of people don’t realize this; there’s four prongs that make the people sovereign. You have to have people. You have to have land base. You have to have culture. And you have to have a language. And that’s according to the United Nations, in order for people to be sovereign. If one of those prongs is missing, like language, then we can lose our sovereignty rights. And that’s really vital to who we are.”

Heart of Standing Rock… Patty Porter, Colville Confederate Tribes – Paddled 250 miles down the head waters of the Missouri river to the Oceti Sakowin Camp.

“We started our paddle from Bismarck, and we came down about 23 – 24 miles. Then the storm hit. We had a massive storm. It was a life altering storm. Some (fellow paddlers) were on the left side of the river that had to get out. Some were way behind that got left and jumped into a cabin. There were like 30 people out of the dug outs in one cabin, and my partner and I were stuck in the middle. And he goes, “Should we turn back?”, and I say, “No, we can’t turn back or we’ll die.”

I told him all we could do is go to the lights. They’re flashing the lights, and our brothers were on the shore flashing lights, and we’re just going. The hail just had to been massive big. We had lightning and thunder all the way around us just hitting. The water was so unbelievable. we couldn’t even see the end of our kayak. We had a massive white out, and I got hit in the eye with a hail and I could hardly see. And we tipped over a couple times, and I was told kayak can’t tip over. Well, we were real close a couple times.

I froze, and all I could hear was my dad, “Holler. Holler!” So I did. To me, it was close. It was real close, and I thought to myself when I froze, “Nobody’s going to come out and save you. You gotta dig, woman.” So I started digging and I could hear my dad, “Holler.” So I did, “Whooooooooo!” I hollered as loud as I could, and I don’t know how many times and we couldn’t even see the lights. That’s how my brothers on shore could know where we were.
The storm of my life.”
Interviewed by Toni Cervantes Photo by Autumn Fire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcEvofEejQY
One does not sell the Earth the people walk upon Crazy Horse Poem by the – J Grady
This short digital film features a historic moment that happened on the front line against the Dakota access pipeline. On November 5th, 2016 representatives of the Seven Council fires of the Oceti Sakowin gathered to reignite the sacred fire of the resistance camp and establish the “horn” of the nation, a camp layout where 7 lodges are placed in a circle formation.

This moment was marked by the entrance of over 200 horseback Riders and the arrival of 50 runners who traveled over 1,200 miles to Standing Rock from Arizona.

The last time such an event occurred was in the late 1800s! That’s The Power of this movement. That’s The Power of our prayer.
“Crazy Horse” Poem by the legendary John Trudell

Film by Indigenous Rising Media, a project by the Indigenous Environmental Network.
Shot by Dr0ne2bwild Photography & Video
Edited by Josué Rivas Fotographer

Think Twice About Wasting Water