Here’s some news from Brenda Norrell regarding the Zapatistas’ regional and international summits. There are to be four regional summits, followed by the Intercontinental Indigenous Summit. See below for details and contact information.

Yaqui and O’odham unite to plan Zapatista summits
By Brenda Norrell http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
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RANCHO EL PENASCO, Sonora, Mexico — Yaqui Zapatistas from Vicam Pueblo met with O’odham in Sonora and reached out to the world’s Indigenous Peoples, extending a warm invitation to come and support the Zapatistas’ regional and international summits to be held in October.

Gathered with O’odham …

Last Month I posted an article about a gathering to discuss the terms of a Treaty to form a United League of Indigenous Nations.

Well the gathering occurred as planned. In total, around 200 people representing 40+ Tribes (mostly from around the US) were in attendance. The gathering however, went a little different from what was being expected. Early on, everyone decided not to go over the terms of the Treaty, and instead decided to revamp and finalize it for immediate ratification.

According to the article on Indian Country, this course was prompted when Oren Lyons, Traditional Faithkeeper …

Coinciding with the launch of the First International Congress of the Anti-imperialist Indigenous Peoples of Latin America (Abya Yala), yesterday, Venezuelan vice-president Jorge Rodriguez handed over eleven communal titles to the lands belonging to the Pume, Yaruro, Karina and Warao peoples of Apure, Anzoategui and Bolivar States. The Vice President also handed over credits to indigenous communities for a series of projects to improve community standard of living.

The congress itself, which took place from August 7 to 9 in San Tome (see image) brought together more than a thousand delegates from 22 different countries…

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“the most important thing is to unite our struggles and thoughts against the capitalist system that continues to steal our labor. Our voice and our struggle is one that as we walk we learn and as we walk we teach… so that we can recuperate what the system has stolen from us.” — Ofelia, member of the Good Government Council during her speech at the inauguration of the 2 Encuentro.

The Second Encounter of Zapatista Peoples with the Peoples of the World should be winding down about now. It …

Related to the previous post, here’s some commentary by Julienne Xene Cross—who’s urging Indigenous Nations to Unite, let go of colonial niceties, and become self-sustaining. Survival depends on it.

This was originally posted at Brenda Norrell’s blog

A pen conquered us and a pen can wipe us out as a Nation
by Julienne Xene Cross

We, Indigenous People of North America, “Indian Country”, are inherent speakers for our Mother the Earth. We need to come together with one heart and mind to protect the future of our Great Nation.

When the United States drafted the Constitution, the word conquered written …

Well. For some incomprehensible reason, the AFN has been invited to participate in a gathering next week to work out the details of a “United League of Indigenous Nations” Treaty. There’s only one thing to say about this, and I will emphasize it:

If such a League is to have any kind of legitimacy, it cannot have a Non-Governmental Organization sitting at the table.

That’s really all I have to say, though it’s great to see something like this being put forward. It really needs to come from the people though.

Invitation to Treaty of Indigenous Nation Meeting - Lummi Indian Reservation - …

On the weekend, several social, cultural and environmental organizations met in Chile to draw out an initiative to create a unified movement in Chile, who will explicitly work to change the current system towards one that is respectful to “natural resources, social justice and cultural diversity.”

From Real World Radio - Representatives from the Student Federation of the University of Chile in Santiago, from the National Confederation of Artisanal Fishermen of Chile, from the Confederation of Sea Workers, from the Council in Defense of Valley de Huasco and from …

On June 24 and 25, Indigenous Peoples from around Argentina gathered for an historic event — the First National Meeting of Indigenous Nations and Peoples of Argentina. During the meeting, intensive discussions were held about land, identity, and other matters. And at the end, a consensus was reached: “We are uniting and joining forces, like small rivers which flow together to form a giant, revolutionary river.”

From Upside Down World “We have never been down on our knees, for over 500 years we have been on our feet fighting and …

The EZLN recently announced the details of the second encuentro, set for the end of July… The first encounter which took place in January of this year brought together thousands of community supporters and over 1,500 men and women from 40 countries around the world.

Compañeros and Compañeras:
Brothers and Sisters:

As was announced at the First Encounter of Zapatista Peoples with the Peoples of the World (held in January of this year), the Second Encounter will be held in the coming month of July. The objective of this encounter is that …

After reading the post “ways to begin gutting capitalism” Red Jenny recently brought up an important point on her blog, saying, “the first thing that I thought was yeah, but who has TIME for this. Neighbourhood associations, local currencies, growing my own food, it all sounds great, but geez, there’s practically no time to eat and sleep any more let alone adding all that face time with people.” (source)

I thought about this last night, while watching the tremendous lightning storm, and just finished writing up a response:

Hi Red Jenny. I’m glad you took the time to read …