Saturday, June 22, 2002

QUOTE OF THE DAY - "Our treatment of Indians...still affects the national consciousness...It seems a basic requirement to study the history of Indian people. Only through this study can we as a nation do what must be done if our treatment of the American Indian is not to be marked down for all time as a national disgrace" -- John F. Kennedy 6:36:27 AM    comment

Rhino here: I write from The Black Hills of South Dakota, here supporting a Lakota Sioux Sundance ceremony; a religious practice that was banned by the U.S. Government for 100 years. The ban ending in 1978. The air here in South Dakota is clean, the water tastes wonderful, and the hills are beautiful, but there's a stench of racism that can't be denied. "Wild" Bill Janklow, governor of South Dakota, has been considered by most to be the guiding force behind the state's perpetuation and acceptance of racism.  He has finally reached his term limits and is now running for the Senate, where it is feared he will do even further damage to the people who remain locked in a whirlpool of lies and deceit that originated with the states historical treatment of Native Americans. There is also concern that Janklow will continue his fight to remove all Indian land in South Dakota. Please consider signing the petition located at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SDRacism/petition.html 6:33:42 AM    comment

URGENT: END RACISM IN SOUTH DAKOTA! Wed, 19 Jun 2002 PLEASE FORWARD FAR AND WIDE!!! The treatment of Native Americans in South Dakota is an embarrasment to our country. How can we criticize Human Rights in other countries and yet tolerate the inhumane treatment of our own original people? This is not a third world country and we will not stand quietly by while people's children are taken from them for minor offenses, while Native people are targeted by racial profiling, while prisoners and incarcerated children are prohibited from practicing their religions, and communities control voting rights in districts that specifically exclude Native people from participating in a way that will make their voices heard. It is time to end this outrage. In 1999, South Dakota's Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights issued their report, entitled: Native Americans in South Dakota: An Erosion of Confidence in the Justice System. This report exposes the kind of extreme racism this country has not seen since the 1950s in the Deep South. ~ Murders of homeless Indian men rolled in their sleep into a river ~ A handicapped Indian man stuffed into a garbage can and left for dead ~ Uninvestigated deaths of Indian activists and community members ~ Shootings that seem to resemble sport directed at Indian people ~ Imprisoning Indian children ~ Constant harassment at reservation border towns by the police The wars are over, its time to treat Native Americans as human beings and citizens of this country. To read the news articles, CCR report, a 20/20/ investigation and personal stories, go to Racism: Is South Dakota Burning http://www.turtletrack.org/STAR/SDBurning/index.htm To Join the Fight to End Racism Against Indian People in South Dakota and keep "Wild" Bill Janklow being elected to the senate sign the petition at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SDRacism/petition.html 6:30:57 AM    comment

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