O'Odham Solidarity Across Borders Issues Statement on the January 16 Day of Action

"After days of reflection, O'odham Solidarity Across Borders Collective (OSABC) would like to give our thoughts and analysis on what occurred on the January 16th National Day of Action Against Sheriff Joe: March for Human Rights.

As we all saw, heard and read, the march turned violent due to calculated moves by Phoenix Police to unfairly, and unjustifiably remove a contingent of marchers that expressed a voice and message that was foreign to them and national organizers, but all too familiar to the original people of the very land they walk on.

OSABC called for what we dubbed the “Dine'-O'odham-Anarchist/Anti-Authoritarian” (DOA) contingent, in order to voice what we recognize to be an unending historical condition of forced removal here in the Southwestern so-called United States..."

To read more, please visit the O'odham Solidarity Across Borders Collective or the recent AZ Indymedia article

Activists Confront Governor Ulises Ruiz; Are Charged with "Assaulting an Officer", then Released

On Thursday January 28, at around 9 p.m. Andrea Caraballo, Guadalupe Rodriguez Lopez, James Wells and Jennifer Lawhorne were eating ice cream in the zocalo of Oaxaca. At that time, one of us recognized the face of the governor of Oaxaca who was about nine feet away from us. As a friend of Brad Will, a U.S. journalist who was killed in Oaxaca in 2006, one of us took advantage of the governor’s presence to ask him about the case of Mr. Will, which to this day remains unresolved. We didn’t receive a response from the governor who continued walking and we continued strolling in the zocalo with our ice creams.

Five minutes later, between six and eight police agents, some in official uniform and others dressed in plainclothes, surrounded us, demanding to see our identifications and made us walk with them to a municipal police truck. While the police forced us to get into the back of the truck, we asked them why they were taking us away and to where they were going to take us. The police refused to give us any information. We were actually very afraid and worried for our safety... read the whole story>>>

Supporters Needed to Help Maintain Life, Land and Dignity of Traditional Resistance Communities

Although there’s been a recent victory against the reopening of the Black Mesa Complex, the Kayenta mine is still operating and elders on the front lines fighting the continued impacts of coal mining and forced relocation efforts are still requesting support.

After this year’s Caravan/Fall Wood Run to Black Mesa, Black Mesa Indigenous Support, a non-profit solidarity organization, is receiving an unprecedented amount of direct requests for on-land support from elders. BMIS is asking for direct on-land support on behalf of families of traditional resistance communities, during the difficult winter months... read more>>>

For more information visit: www.blackmesais.org

Police unleash pepper gas on non-violent protesters; 5 arrested

More than 10,000 demonstrators came out on January 16 to protest against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his repression of unauthorized immigrants. In the latest and largest in a series of protests against Sheriff Joe, demonstrators marched to MCSO's "tent city", an urban concentration camp where inmates, many arrested on immigration charges, are held 24-7 in the open air.

While marchers focused on Arpaio's 287g arrangement with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his high-profile immigration raids, other participants questioned the focus on immigration alone, given the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's role in forclosure evictions, and also that the Phoenix Police Department turned over more unauthorized migrants to ICE in fiscal year 2009 than did Arpaio's sheriff's department.

Toward the end of the day, police attacked marchers, indiscriminately deploying pepper spray in an area that included a number of young children and families. In addition to street medics, EMTs were called to provide emergency care to at least three individuals, including a a 2-year old child. Five individuals were singled out for arrest and are being charged with aggravated assault of a police officer. In most coverage of the march (such as this story in the Arizona Republic), mainstream media has repeated police statements that demonstrators attacked a police horse with metal poles, despite such allegations contradicting numerous eye-witness accounts and video which clearly shows that prior to the melee demonstrators were trying to keep their distance from the mounted police.

For more coverage, see: Phoenix PD attack marchers, mace children at Arpaio protest
More video: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Call for Diné, O'odham, anarchist/anti-authoritarian bloc at the 1/16 anti-Arpaio rally

The following is a call for a united Diné, O'odham, anarchist/anti-authoritarian bloc at this Saturday's (January 16th) anti-Arpaio march in Phoenix. The text of the article was developed and circulated initially by the Phoenix Class War Council and comrade collective O'odham Solidarity Across Borders over the last month. Several meetings took place and comments were solicited and received by comrades in town and throughout the state in order to clarify and expand our critique.

While this article does not and could not represent a complete articulation of the problems we see, it is an attempt to move towards a broader dialog within the movement, to point out perceived errors and to suggest another way of looking at the issue that we think could prove useful. It is, in a way, a statement of some of our common principles but it is not by any means the end of the conversation.

The bloc will converge before the 10:00 march at Falcon Park and then head with everyone else to Tent city. It's possible to take public transit to the park. People should be advised that we have information that, as usual, reactionaries/fascists/Minuteklan, etc, will be marching from another location to confront the protesters.

To view the call for the Diné, O'odham, anarchist/anti-authoritarian bloc please visit Fires Never Extinguished

See you on the streets. All out against white supremacy!

Environmental Groups Gain Victory Over Peabody Coal on Black Mesa

Peabody had been planning to combine both their Kayenta and Black Mesa mines, pump more water for transporting coal, reactivate the Black Mesa mine, and acquire a "Life of Mine" permit. Peabody's expansion plans were initially approved in a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) by the Bush Administration.

Environmental groups appealed the FEIS on grounds that Indigenous People's religious freedom would be violated, there was not enough outreach to impacted communities, and that the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Judge Robert G. Holt's decision stated, "OSM violated NEPA by not preparing a supplemental draft EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) when Peabody changed the proposed action. As a result, the Final EIS did not consider a reasonable range of alternatives to the new proposed action, described the wrong environmental baseline, and did not achieve the informed decision-making and meaningful public comment required by NEPA. Because of the defective Final EIS, OSM's decision to issue a revised permit to Peabody must be vacated and remanded to OSM for further action."

The DOI judge who reviewed the case did not rule on the religious freedom violation or other claims.

Peabody, the Navajo Nation & the Hopi Tribal Council still can appeal the decision. Peabody Coal is still operating their Kayenta mine.

Peabody Coal has been operating on Black Mesa for more than 40 years. Since 1974 more than 14,000 Dine' have been forcibly relocated from their ancestral homelands on Black Mesa due to mining interests.

Read more here: Black Mesa Water Coalition News Release, Forgotten People: Victory for Black Mesa, Censored News, Black Mesa Indigenous Support

Demonstrators gather in Tucson and Phoenix, demand justice for Marcia Powell

On December 17 and 18, demonstrators gathered in Tucson and Phoenix to demand human rights for prisoners and sex workers in Arizona. Participants held memorials for and focused on the case of Marcia Powell, a prisoner of the state of Arizona who was left in a cage in the desert sun last May and died. She was serving a 27-month prison term for prostitution.

On December 17, a "die-in" was held in Presidio Park in front of Tucson City Hall, followed by a vigil at El Tiradito shrine near the Tucson Convention Center.

This was followed on December 18 in Phoenix by a demonstration at the Arizona Department of Corrections calling the Director to take a leadership role in improving his employee's and profession's respect for human rights, an end to occupational, domestic, and institutional violence against sex workers, and an end to the neglect and abuse of prisoners, which cost Marcia Powell her life.

On May 19, 2009, after informing prison staff that she was suicidal, Marcia was placed in an uncovered outdoor cage at Arizona's Perryville prison for women, where she would presumably be "observed" until she was transferred to a more appropriate location. Reportedly, that's what they did with women who caused problems there: they put them in a cage and "waited them out". The same cages were used for "recreation" and as waiting rooms for those needing medical attention: the prisons filled up so cages were erected in the yards to add more space. Putting someone in there was routine; women were left in there all the time beyond policy, so no one thought much about Marcia complaining - except the other prisoners. Four hours later - after her pleas for water were ignored or mocked by guard after guard - she was found, collapsed, in 107-degree heat, and died on May 20th in the custody of the Arizona Department of Corrections.

For more information visit: SWOP USA and SWOP Tucson.
See also: Open Letter from the Sex Workers Outreach Project and allies to Charles L. Ryan, Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections

STOP AZ Snowbowl! Protests

The struggle to protect the Holy San Francisco Peaks and community health from ski area expansion and wastewater snowmaking continues.

Although a current lawsuit filed by the Save the Peaks Coalition and community members has halted the ski business' efforts to make sewage snow, community support is still needed.

While it is unclear as to how long the court case will stop Snowbowl from expanding and making sewer water snow, the Obama administration and AZ Snowbowl are doing everything in their power to put wastewater snow on the holy San Francisco Peaks.

On the opening day of Snowbowl (12/17), a small group of protesters held signs and banners to ensure that skiers/snowboarders were aware of public health threats and the desecration of the sacred mountain. Snowbowl employees called the Forest Service and County Sheriffs in an attempt to have the protesters and others with them arrested for "trespassing" on public lands. No charges were made.

On the following Saturday (12/19), concerned community members gathered on the Flagstaff City Hall Lawn from 10am to 2pm to express opposition to Snowbowl and their plans for expansion.

For more information and pictures, please visit Save the Peaks and Arizona Indymedia Article: STOP AZ Snowbowl! Protests

Sheriff Walks Out After Interrupted by Singers, Protesters Occupy Lobby

Prior to the song, other anarchists entered the lobby of the building and held a speak-out to share stories of racial profiling. News was shared that the sheriff had been shut down, after which the Haymarket Squares performed a few songs in the lobby before the crowd exited the building.

During the song, sung to the tune of the "Bohemian Rhapsody," Arpaio walked off stage and wouldn't continue the interview even though the singers left and there were 12 minutes left of the forum. The song received a lot of press coverage, but the message was not shared adequately.

More text, photos and videos at Why We Sang Sheriff Joe off the Stage and Anarchists, students, and pissed off people come out swinging at Arpaio's ASU appearance

Volunteers Vow to Continue Efforts, Demand End to Border Militarization

On Tuesday, August 11 No More Deaths volunteer Walt Staton (who is also an editor with Arizona Indymedia) was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and 1 year unsupervised probation by federal Magistrate Jennifer Guerin. Staton was convicted on June 3, 2009 for littering, after placing clean bottles of drinking water along known migrant trails in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR). Staton is also banned from entering the refuge for one year.

Staton, who is moving to the LA area next week to begin seminary school, stated that he will continue to support No More Deaths' life-saving work, and believes that both humanitarian groups and the government should pursue the most effective tactics possible to prevent needless suffering and death along the border.

Since the mid-1990s, U.S. border policy has been focused on channeling unauthorized migration into remote and fragile desert areas. This has resulted in more than 5,000 deaths along the U.S./Mexico border, and damage to protected wildlife habitat. Since 2001, officials with BANWR have refused to approve permits for humanitarian activities on the refuge.read more>>>

For more information visit: www.nomoredeaths.org
See also: "Land managers and humanitarian organizations caught in the crosshairs" (below)

13 Humanitarian Volunteers Ticketed on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

On Thursday, July 9th, as temperatures soared above 95 degrees, 13 humanitarians were cited for littering on the Buenas Aires National Wildlife Refuge, 118,000 acre grassland that borders US/Mexico, and approximately 45 miles southwest of Tucson. The dying season, which steals the lives of approximately 250 migrants in the Tucson Sector every year, weighed down on the 40 faith based individuals who looked on as members of clergy, teachers and students placed one gallon jugs of water on four different active migrant trails.

Just two days prior, the body of a migrant man was discovered on the refuge, the second this fiscal year. His body was found by Border Patrol off of Cemetery Road in the southwest corner of the refuge.

In an attempt to pressure land manger, Michael Hawkes, to increase water availability to migrants, volunteers with No More Deaths and Samaritans, stood in solidarity on the dusty shoulder of Arivaca Road, while others placed jugs of water along migrant trails. In June, No More Deaths sent an open letter to Mike Hawkes at BANWR and to Ken Salazar, Secretary, Department of Interior, requesting a meeting to discuss cooperative efforts to save lives on the refuge. Several attempts were made by NMD to discuss the measures outlined in the letter; however, Hawkes declined a formal meeting... read more>>>

Stories and Photographs 2007-2008 Posted by Slain Tucson Activist

Posted below are links to all of the stories Sally Grace Eiler posted to AZ Indymedia over the two years she was in Oaxaca. Sally's memory will live on in the hearts of those who continue to struggle...

July 2007: Update on Oaxaca: news and photos,
August 2007: Oaxacan Women´s March; Memorial March, Oaxaca; Oaxaca... In defense of the forest and community life
September 2007: 11th years of imprisonment
October 2007: October in Oaxaca
November 2007: Nov.2nd, Oaxaca, one year after the All Saints Battle; November 25th, one year later
June 2008: Army out of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the country!

More of Sally's photos from Oaxaca

Arizona Indymedia Correspondent Murdered in Oaxaca

Marcella "Sali" Grace Eiler, activist and correspondent with Arizona Indymedia, was found dead last week in Oaxaca with signs of a brutal rape and murder.

Sally had lived between Tucson and Oaxaca since 2006. When in Arizona, Sally helped raise awareness and support for the struggle in Oaxaca, as well as engaging in solidarity work on the U.S. / Mexico border and in the Tucson community.

Although the situation surrounding her death is still coming to light, news of Sally's brutal murder has left many in the Tucson community in shock and struggling for answers. Several impromptu memorials have taken place since September 26, when we learned of her death, including one on Sunday that brought together dozens of people who were touched by Sally's life, either as an activist, a dancer, a friend, a fighter, a musician or artist.

Whenever Sally was in Oaxaca, she posted regularly to Arizona Indymedia. Unfortunately, in recent months we've been unable to publish her updates, because our website has been down due to technical difficulties. Sally Eiler's final story, Army Out of Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Country! was submitted on June 21, 2008. In the coming days Arizona Indymedia will post a features archive of Sally's stories and photographs.

More coverage: Justice for Sali!, Hasta Siempre, Sally Grace, Mexican Activists Turn Over Mexico City Man to Police in Sally Grace Eiler Murder Case

Update: On September 30th, the day Sali would have turned 21, a march was held in Oaxaca demanding justice for Sali and an end to violence against women.