Press Release: March 25 Mobilization in Flagstaff : AZ IMC

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release: March 10th, 2006

Contact: Gabriel Yaiva (928) 699-9601

March 25th

Grassroots Mobilization for Sacred Sites and Human Rights in
Flagstaff, Arizona

Over a thousand people expected to converge in Flagstaff to march for Sacred Sites and Human Rights on March 25th.

The March for Sacred Sites and Human Rights will be held in
association with the National Conference of the Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (Chicano/a Student Movement of Aztlan) (M.E.Ch.A.), which will be taking place at NAU during that week. The theme of the national M.E.Ch.A. conference is “Human Rights will not be Denied” and it is expected to bring over eight hundred high school and university students from throughout the US to NAU.

"Every year, M.E.Ch.A. marches on an issue that the local chapter has been engaged with," said Kesia Ceniceros female co-chair of
M.E.Ch.A., "This year we have asked the Save the Peaks Coalition and other organizations to collaborate on our march to protect sacred sites and human rights of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

More than fifty community organizations, businesses, and institutions from throughout the US are sponsoring the March, among them are the Save the Peaks Coalition, Youth of the Peaks, E.C.H.O.E.S, Native Movement, Tona Tierra, and the Laguna Acoma Coalition For A Safe Environment.

“Attacks on sacred sites and colonial borders that divide our
families and peoples are a violation of our human rights as
Indigenous peoples within our own homelands,” said Evon Peter,
Chairman of Native Movement, “This March is a reflection of the
growing solidarity within communities that are working for human
rights, peace, and justice in the Americas.”

The March will start at 3pm on March 25th at the Aquatic Center on
NAU on San Francisco St. and conclude at the Flagstaff City Hall. The people will gather at City Hall to make speeches and call for the Flagstaff City Council to rescind the vote to sell reclaimed
wastewater to Arizona Snowbowl. Those at the march representing the rights of immigrants want to end the dehumanization of migrants and stop anti-immigration legislation.

"We are anticipating a thousand people to demonstrate their support for the movement to protect the San Francisco Peaks from Snowbowl's proposed desecration and for the human rights of Immigrants," said Kelley Nez of Youth of the Peaks, “This march unites the struggles to protect sacred places and the rights of working peoples, key issues that have been affecting us in the southwestern US and throughout the Americas. We are marching in solidarity with our people’s north and south against the ongoing efforts for a corporately controlled global economy, which continues to leave our communities with little or nothing.”

For more information regarding the “March for Sacred Sites – March
for Human Rights” please contact Gabriel Yaiva at (928) 699-9601 or email yaiva@nativemovement.org . For more information visit the Native Movement website at http://www.nativemovement.org or call the office at (928) 213-9063. For More info on the M.E.Ch.A. conference visit http://www.nau.edu/mecha .