Member of Cherokee Nation Appointed to Key White House Post

Even more good news from the Obama Administration.

From the Miami News Record:

Kimberly Tehee of Oklahoma City and a member of the Cherokee Nation will serve as senior policy advisor for Ameirican Indian Affairs.

Great news on appointments two days in a row!

There's a great article today (June 29th) on her over at Indian Country Today.

More good news on an Obama Appointment

Today Vice President Biden, who authored the Violence Against Women Act while he was in the Senate, announced that Lynn Rosenthal has been named White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. OK, now we have this issue positioned at the ear of the President.

Here, from the Washington Post:

A longtime advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault was named to a new post Friday as a White House adviser on violence against women.

In announcing the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal, Vice President Biden said that creating the job allows the White House to revive a focus on domestic violence issues -- which Biden said were not at the forefront during the Bush administration.

"What I'm about to say is not a knock or a criticism on the last administration or anybody else," Biden said, but "one of the sins of omission is this has not been a front and center issue for the last eight years on the national agenda. It used to be."

The White House said Rosenthal will advise President Obama and Biden and work with government agencies to ensure that violence against women isn't ignored and the perpetrators are held accountable.

A former director of a women's shelter, Rosenthal was executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence from 2000 to 2006. And she worked as director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Good work, Joe and Barack!

Lets Make Sure the Violence Against Women Act is fully funded

Sorry for the absence, I've been in Nicaragua for the past couple of weeks.....

This is an important action. This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee is beginning its work on the budget. Given the state of the economy, it's important that we make sure that the programs funded by The Violence Against Women Act, such as women's shelters like Pretty Bird Woman House, don't undergo funding cuts.

Here's a message from the National Network to End Domestic Violence:

Ask your Senators to Support Full Funding for VAWA in the CJS Budget!
Senate Subcommittee to Vote on VAWA CJS Spending Measure.

Background
Tuesday, June 23, 2009. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) will begin work on its FY 2010 budget, which includes funding for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs.

Last week the House passed their version of the FY 2010 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill (HR 2847), which, thanks to your efforts included an increase of $17.5 million over the FY 2009 budget and the President's FY 2010 budget proposal for VAWA CJS programs.

Today we need you to call the members of the Senate CJS Subcommittee and ask them to fully fund VAWA programs at $683 million and raise the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Cap to $705 million.

Take Action Now!

Call the members of the Senate CJS Subcommittee and ask them to fully fund VAWA programs at $683 million and raise the VOCA Cap to $705 million.

Click here to see if either of your Senators sits on the CJS Subcommittee.

Never called your Senator before? Don't worry, it's easy!

Call 1-866-305-9428 toll free to be connected to the Capitol Switchboard. Tell them the name of your Senator and they will connect you to their office. Your call will be answered by a receptionist. Tell him or her:
"Hello, my name is ____ and I am a constituent, from [include your state and town or zip]."

"I urge Senator [last name] to fully fund the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs at $683 million and raise the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) cap to $705 million. VAWA programs have helped to make our country a safer place for families, victims and communities. By fully funding these vital, cost-effective programs, Congress will help to break the cycle of domestic and sexual violence in our country.
"Thank you."

Outlook and Next Steps

After the CJS subcommittee passes its budget, the full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on the CJS budget on Thursday, June 25th before the full Senate votes on the final CJS budget. Please stay tuned for updates.

Please Forward This Email

Send this email to your friends, family and colleagues and encourage them to call. Our strength is in our numbers and your calls make a difference! For more information please contact Tralonne Shorter at tshorter@nnedv.org or 202.543.5566

Go HERE for a briefing book on the Violence Against Women Act.

Huge Health Disparities in Health Among States, Esp. Among Women fo Color

From PR Newswire, a press release. This info shouldn't surprise you, but now at least we're accumulating a lot of documentation of this problem.

WASHINGTON, June 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A decade after U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher called for the elimination of racial disparities in health, women of color in every state continue to fare worse than white women on a variety of measures of health, health care access and other social determinants of health according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The report, "Putting Women's Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level," documents the persistence of disparities on 25 indicators between white women and women of color, including rates of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, AIDS and cancer, as well as insurance coverage and health screenings. It also documents disparities in the factors that influence health and access to care, such as income and education. Women of color fared worse than white women on most measures and in some cases the disparities were stark.

National statistics mask substantial state-by-state variation in disparities. The report moves beyond national figures to quantify where disparities are greatest, providing new information to help determine how best to combat the problem. The analysis also provides new state-level data for women of many racial and ethnic populations that are often difficult to obtain.

"This report demonstrates that disparities in health are not one problem but many and vary from state to state -- and that a variety of strategies will be needed if we hope to turn things around," said Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman.

American Indian and Alaska Native Women Experience Some of the Greatest Challenges

Among different racial and ethnic groups, American Indian and Alaska Native women had among the worst outcomes on many health indicators, often twice as high as white women. The percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native women in serious psychological distress was more than 1.5 times that of white women. They exhibited the highest rates of smoking and cardiovascular disease and had considerably higher rates of access problems, such as not having a recent checkup and not getting early prenatal care. One in three American Indian and Alaska Native women lived in poverty, and the median household income for such women was less than half that of white women.

At the same time, the report reveals tremendous variation among states within racial and ethnic groups. For example, among white women, the rate of diabetes was 7.5 times as high in West Virginia (6.0%) as in the District of Columbia (0.8%). Among women who are Asian American, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 10% in Ohio had late or no prenatal care compared to 34% in Utah. Forty-three percent of Hispanic women in Oklahoma had not had a mammogram in the past two years, compared to 14.5% in Massachusetts.

"We conducted this study in an effort to shed light on the many challenges and the variety of experiences women of color face across the nation," said the Foundation's Cara James, the study's lead author. "We hope that states can use this information as guidance in developing effective solutions to eliminating disparities."

Disparities In States Vary, As Do The Factors That Shape Them

Many forces contribute to the levels of disparities in the states. The report examined underlying factors such as poverty levels and high school graduation rates that are often beyond the control of state health officials. It also looked at some factors that officials do have a hand in shaping, such as the scope of states' Medicaid programs, which can influence how many people have health coverage in a state.

The report illustrates that there are substantial gaps across the board in some states, whereas in other states the differences among racial groups are narrower. For instance, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and Hawaii all had relatively small disparities between women of color and white women on health outcomes, health care access and the social factors that influence health outcomes and access. In contrast, disparities were larger in Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota.

In some states with relatively small disparities, such as Maine, white women and minority women were doing similarly well. In other states, such as Kentucky and West Virginia, they were doing similarly poorly.

The Foundation released the report today at a briefing at the Foundation's Washington office. Concise state-specific fact sheets detailing the disparities data and access to interactive data tables are available at http://www.kff.org/womensdisparities. A companion video produced by the Foundation that puts a human face on the data through interviews with patients and providers at a clinic in Northern Virginia is available online at http://www.kff.org.

The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, dedicated to producing and communicating the best possible analysis and information on health issues.
Website: http://www.kff.org

AddThis

Dakota Activists take on ICE

This is a really great act of solidarity, so I'm sharing the whole article. HERE'S the link.

Dakota and Immigrant Rights Activists Serve A Deportation Notice
Monday, June 01 2009 @ 10:29 AM CDT

Contributed by: YaBasta!

On the morning of Friday, May 22, 2009 Immigrant and Indigenous Rights activists disrupted an event organized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) held at Fort Snelling in St. Paul, MN. Present at the meeting were representatives of several local and federal law enforcement agencies including, but not limited to, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Minneapolis and St. Paul police, the FBI, and the ICE Office of Detention and Removal.

Also present were representatives from local human rights groups, immigration lawyers and other non-profit advocacy organizations. Members and supporters of the Dakota community and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc) demanded answers to human rights abuses perpetrated by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. Among the abuses mentioned were the 92 documented deaths of detainees under ICE custody due to physical and psychological abuse and lack of medical attention, the deplorable and inhumane conditions at detention centers, the illegal deportation of U.S. citizens due to racial profiling, the separation of children from their parents as a direct result of ICE raids and deportations, and the lack of due process and legal representation.

Pointing out the hypocrisy of holding an event organized by an agency dedicated to deporting individuals considered "illegal," representatives of the Dakota community accused ICE agents of occupying stolen ground where the Original Peoples were rounded up, forcibly removed, and murdered.

Public relations representatives from DHS's Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) office refused to address the civil rights concerns brought forth by members of the community. Activists refused to be silenced and continued their demands for answers and accountability by ICE. The meeting was terminated as members of the Dakota community presented the ICE agents with Notices of Deportation for the illegal occupation of Dakota land.

Activists demanded an immediate end to the meeting, and disallowed further proceedings with chants. The police then ended the meeting, forcing all attendees to vacate the building.

Activists made this statement:

ICE raids have torn children from parents whose only "crime" is to seek work and make a better life for their loved ones both here and in their home countries. These raids have terrorized and silenced workers who have attempted to organize their workplaces against wage theft, dangerous working conditions, and exploitation. Hundreds of detained immigrants have died in ICE custody and been denied essential medical care. Recent reviews conducted by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Government Accountability Office have all found that the rights of detainees are regularly violated, and that the systems supposedly set up to allow detainees to lodge complaints are unreliable at best.

One can no more refute the destruction of families and communities by raids, and the deaths and denial of human rights in I.C.E. detention centers, than one can deny genocide, ethnic cleansing, and the concentration camp that existed right here at Fort Snelling. Yet we continue to ignore these facts in order to uphold the illusion that we live in a just society. The "Homeland" Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties claims to exist to uphold civil rights yet does little more than create a false image of attentiveness used to rationalize the continuing injustices.

Though it is rarely acknowledged in our history books, Fort Snelling was an army post for the U.S. military that presaged the invasion and colonization of Dakota lands and extermination and ethnic cleansing of Dakota people. It was a concentration camp site where the U.S. government imprisoned Dakota people, primarily women and children during the winter of 1862-63. It also served as a training ground for American soldiers to participate in other campaigns and wars of imperialism against indigenous peoples, such as the Spanish-American War of 1898 which resulted in further expansion of U.S. colonialism. For all these reasons and more, Fort Snelling stands as the most prolific symbol of colonialism and genocide in our state.

We find it indefensible that I.C.E. has the audacity to attempt to justify raids, deportations and the detention of so called "illegal immigrants" while on the site of a colonial concentration camp aimed at wiping out the original inhabitants of this land. We seek to expose this hypocrisy, and make it clear that I.C.E. cannot claim legitimate authority to detain or deport anyone, much less those indigenous to the continent.

Neoliberal restructuring and free trade agreements such as NAFTA have negatively affected indigenous peoples throughout Latin America. Many have lost their land and viable forms of employment and have been forced to migrate north in order to support their families. We believe that when capital and commerce are able to operate without borders, it is hypocritical and disingenuous to discuss civil rights and liberties which presuppose state recognition. As such, we ask that people's human rights be respected.

Furthermore, there is evidence the raids aren't even meeting their stated goals. In a study conducted by the Migration Policy Institute, it was found that only 18% of the nearly 90,000 immigrants arrested through home raids had any prior criminal record, not even for entering the country without documents or low-level crimes like trespassing. More than 400 of those with no criminal record had been incarcerated for at least a year. In total, over 30,000 immigrants are detained every day, triple the number detained just ten years ago. It should be clear that these raids and deportations are a form of terror and have sowed fear in the hearts of many immigrant men, women, and their children. They must stop.

These raids are undertaken in an increasingly racist and xenophobic environment where hate crimes against Latinos have dramatically skyrocketed. These raids have also encouraged the most bigoted and hate-filled vigilantism. We believe that those, regardless of nationality, who earn a paycheck and have mouths to feed understand that these necessities override lines drawn upon a map. One does not wait in the face of a rumbling stomach. The cry of a hungry mouth requires no translation.

Because of the abundant evidence demonstrating the lack of true willingness to uphold human rights and civil liberties by ICE and the gross disregard for the Dakota people, we reject the legitimacy of this event and demand that it stop at once.

###

Amnesty International Raps Canada on Native Women's Issues Too

This from CaTV:

Amnesty International's annual report on human rights is criticizing Canada for its failure to protect native girls and women who are killed or go missing.

The survey also slams the Harper government for stalled native land claims, and for cutting funds to groups that advance women's rights.

...snip...

On the issue of missing and murdered native women, the Native Women's Association of Canada recently reported that 520 native girls and women have been killed or have vanished since 1970. About half the cases occurred in the last nine years.

Almost one-quarter of the total number of women are still missing. Among the 348 victims who were murdered, no one has been charged in 150 confirmed cases.

The federal government has said it is responding to the problem by spending $5 million on the Sisters in Spirit research campaign, and is also working on a second phase

You can read the whole article HERE

Read the Amnesty International 2009 Annual Report on the Global Status of Human Rights HERE.

Emotional Abuse in a Canadian School

Well, you could also call it a form of assault......

When you think of Canada, don't you think of peaceful people? And just? My grandfather was from Nova Scotia, so that's how I always thought of Canadians. Well, Canada has had the same attitude toward First Nations peoples as the U.S. has - "kill the Indian, save the man," and all the abuses that went along with boarding schools. They also have a huge problem with Native women disappearing.

Well, when I read this article it really made me think of classic boarding school abuse, except it's not 100 or 50 or 20 years ago, it's LAST WEEK!

Read on and get pissed off. You can find the whole article on the CBC news here.

A Thunder Bay woman is demanding an explanation after a teacher's aide at her son's school cut his long hair — an action her lawyer says is clearly assault while the Crown insists there are no grounds for charges.

CBC has agreed to the mother's request to remain anonymous.

The seven-year-old boy had chin-length hair before the incident last month. His mother said staff at McKellar Park Central Public School were aware her son was letting his hair grow so that he could take part in traditional First Nations dancing.

The mother told CBC News she was stunned when her son told her it was a teacher's assistant who lopped off 10 centimetres of his hair.

"I said, 'Why did she do this? Did she say anything?'" said the mother. "And he said, 'No, and after she cut my hair, she took me by the shoulders and forced me to stand in front of the mirror. She made me stand there and said look at you now.'"

Here is a statement posted in the comments section by someone who knows what he's talking about:

The Canadian Justice system and the school board are part of the systemic problem, a double standard.

There many questions needing to be asked. What are the school board policies and rules of conduct for staff towards students? What experience, if any, do the teachers and administrators have with First Nations cultural protocols and traditions. These would be First Nations policies and rules of behavior.

For First Nations groups the body is sacred as it is for many other cultures. More specifically, the hair of a First Nations person is directly connected to the spirit of that person. Only a family member is permitted to touch some one's hair.

This teacher's aid violated a sacred cultural protocol. We hope this aid has learned from this, but by not responding with equity, we endorse the wrongs of the past. This cultural violation screams a need for systemic reforms of cultural inclusion within both the justice system and the educational system.

William Morin
Chief Administrator
First Peoples National Party of Canada
fpnpoc.ca

Why in the world would a teacher's aide cut a child's hair without getting parental permission first? Hey, that's just basic.