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PRESS RELEASE

Indigenous Peoples’ Border Summit of the Americas, Nov. 7 — 10, focuses on human rights and right of mobility

Del Rio, Texas, border and human rights activist Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr., among the speakers

TUCSON — A human rights crisis for Indigenous Peoples living along borders in the Americas threatens their survival, with rapidly expanding militarization and new laws which limit their mobility in their ancestral territories.

Responding to this crisis, the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation will host the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit of the Americas II, Nov. 7- 10, with support from the International Indian Treaty Council.

Mike Flores, Tohono O’odham summit organizer, said, “It is necessary for Tohono O’odham and other Indigenous Peoples of the border regions to collectively address the adverse impacts that are increasingly occurring on tribal lands. The Border Summit of the Americas II will provide us the opportunity to do just that,” Flores said.

San Xavier District Chairman Austin Nunez joins Flores in welcoming Indigenous Peoples to the Border Summit on Tohono O’odham land, located near South Tucson.

The Border Summit will host a human rights workshop by the International Indian Treaty Council. The summit will be broadcast live on the Internet at http://www.earthcycles.net as was done in 2006.

From the southern Andes to the northern Arctic, corporations intent on seizing natural resources have increased the oppression and displacement of Indigenous Peoples, resulting in their forced mobility across national borders. Further, free trade agreements, mining and exploitive development have forced Indigenous Peoples into exile in the Americas, displaced from their lands where they farmed, hunted or fished for survival.

In the United States, corporate profiteering for private migrant prisons, experimental spy technology, poorly trained border agents, privatized security and new laws for immigration threaten the right of mobility in ancestral territories.

The human rights crisis at the southern border of the United States and Mexico has resulted in over 4,000 migrant deaths in recent years, including deaths of women from Guatemala on Tohono O’odham tribal land in Arizona who died walking with their children in 2007. Migrants, including Indigenous Peoples from Mexico and Central America, die of dehydration and severe temperatures while walking in search of a better life. The Border Summit speakers will include Tohono O’odham Mike Wilson, who puts out water for migrants on tribal land.

“No one should die for want of a drink of water,” Wilson said.

The privatization of prisons, including the T. Don Hutto Residential Center and Raymondville migrant tent encampment, both near Austin, Texas, reveals the sinister motivation of profiteering from the plight of migrants. Hutto imprisons migrant and refugee infants and children. Speakers will include Jay Johnson-Castro, Sr., of Texas, among those organizing protests against the prisons.

Johnson-Castro, was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in the Alaskan wilderness. He is tri-lingual (English-Spanish-Albanian) and has served on the Tourism Advisory Committee, Officer of the Governor, Texas Historical Foundation and Texas Hotel & Lodging Assn., Los Caminos del Rio and Val Verde County Historical Commission.

Residing on the border in Del Rio, Texas since 1992, Johnson-Castro has mostly been noted for promoting heritage tourism all along the Texas-Mexico border. He has also been championing the ecology and environment of the Rio Grande Corridor, submitting the Rio Grande as an endangered river and filing suit against the Federal Government to protect endangered species in the Rio Grande region.

Johnson-Castro has most recently become recognized internationally as a human rights activist for his hundreds of miles of Border Wall-ks and has traversed the entire US-Mexico border in protest against the border wall. He has also walked against the “for profit” prison camps of thousands of immigrant refugees, especially T. Don Hutto prison camp where untold hundreds of children have been imprisoned for profit.

A father of four grown children and grandfather of seven, Johnson-Castro is a sculptor, writer, photographer, pubic speaker and gourmet cook. He is the founder of Border Ambassador and Freedom Ambassadors. He is a columnist for the Rio Grande Guardian, “Inside the Checkpoints” (http://www.riograndeguardian.com/columns3.asp).

In May, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for migrants, Jorge Bustamante, was denied entrance into Hutto, and Johnson-Castro, with the support of Amnesty International coordinated human rights protests that followed.

The border wall and border vehicle barriers along the southern border have resulted in the removal of ancestors’ remains of the Tohono O’odham and Kumeyaay from their final resting places. Further, the barrier wall on Tohono O’odham land is a barrier interfering with an ancient annual ceremony.

Since ceremonial leaders from Mexico often lead ceremonies in the United States, new immigration laws threaten the survival of ceremonies, culture and languages. Because many Indian people are born at home, or lack funds for visas and passports, crossing the border has become a harsh ordeal.

Further, at both the northern and the southern borders of Canada and Mexico, federal border agents ransack and violate ceremonial items. Speakers on the right of mobility at the northern border include representatives of Mohawks and other Six Nations.

With the increased militarization and surveillance at the borders, the dangers from speeding border agents, aerial vehicle crashes and abuse and harassment by border agents increase. Women, children and elderly along the border are most often the victims of oppression and suffer most often from the lack of food, safe drinking water and medicines.

With the militarization and oppression increasing for Indigenous Peoples around the world, the Border Summit of the Americas invites Indian people to offer their testimony while receiving information and training on human rights.

The International Indian Treaty Council will present a human rights training, following the United Nations adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The US will be examined by the UN Committee for Racial Discrimination (CERD) Committee in March of 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland.

“This workshop will provide information as to how Indigenous Nations, tribes and organizations can use this historic opportunity to inform the CERD Committee on the true state of racial discrimination in this country and how it affects Indian Nations, Peoples and communities. This information will be very important to help the UN CERD experts get a more accurate picture of racial discrimination in the US and hold the US accountable to their obligations under international human rights law,” IITC said.

“An additional focus will be on strategies to defend our human rights, border rights, and protecting our sacred sites and traditional land rights using the newly-adopted UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from the local to the international levels.”

The human rights workshop presenters will be Bill Means, Lakota cofounder of the Treaty Council; Andrea Carmen, Yaqui and Treaty Council executive director; Ron Lameman, Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, and Francisco Cali, CERD Member and Treaty Council board president.

For more information: bordersummit2007@yahoo.com

Website: http://indigenousbordersummitamericas2007.blogspot.com

Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr. jay@villadelrio.com (830)734-8636

by Greg Moses

CounterPunch / T Don Hutto Blog

About 100 people protesting the imprisonment of immigrant families at the T. Don Hutto Prison in Taylor, Texas on Sunday evening marched across a parking lot to the front door of the prison and then entered the prison lobby with toys and wrapping paper.

Jaime Martinez, National Treasurer of the League of United Latin American Citizens called for the march shortly after 5:30. Carrying a bullhorn, Martinez informed the protesters that prison officials had made a promise to come out and get the toys at 5 p.m.

When Martinez called for the people to take the toys to the children, the crowd pressed forward across a yellow line painted on the driveway marking official prison property.

“Bring the toys!” called Martinez from the prison door as volunteers grabbed boxes and bags of toys along with rolls of wrapping paper and rushed to the prison door.

One of the volunteers, Georgetown resident Peter Dana, later described carrying a box of toys through a metal detector. He said he thought about helping to engineer a metal detector years ago.

Inside the lobby, prison officials appeared to be accepting the toys for the children inside. Previous reports from various sources say that Hutto houses about 400 immigrants, half of them children.

The toy march was the high point of an active day that began with a longer march from downtown Taylor to the prison that lies upon a large, flat field at the outskirts of town, across the tracks.

Local LULAC Secretary Jose Orta began the day’s preparations by parking a rented trailer across the street from the prison. The trailer served as a stage for speakers during an afternoon rally.

At sundown, the final speaker of the day, Rev. Jim Rigby of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, asked the people to turn around and face the prison. By that time, most of the participants were holding lit candles as part of a sundown vigil.

Shortly after the crowd had turned around, Martinez began walking among the people with his bullhorn.

“Free the Children, Now!” chanted the crowd with Martinez.

“The children were out playing when we first marched here from town,” said Orta, recalling the day’s events. “They saw us, but they were taken inside.”

The Department of Homeland Security says the Hutto prison is dedicated to immigrant families with children.

Organizers and protesters agreed that eventually they want to close the prison and end the imprisonment of children altogether.

After the toy march, filmmakers Matthew Gossage and Lily Keber transformed the chilly night darkness into a screening of their new film, “Hutto: America’s Family Prison” which can be viewed at: americasfamilyprison.com/Hutto.mov. Keber was taping the day’s protest, including the toy march, so perhaps a sequel will be forthcoming.

Near the end of the screening, a few people made two more attempts to deliver more toys to the front door of the Hutto prison. The first attempt was rebuffed by a security guard, but the second attempt succeeded as a young man carrying a child took the bags past the guard to the front door. Inside the lobby, it appeared that people dressed in civilian clothes were processing the toys for delivery to the children inside.

Sunday’s protest marked the first anniversary of protests outside the Hutto prison. During more than a dozen protests since Dec. 16, 2006 security guards have jealously guarded the perimeter of the prison to discourage protesters from walking on prison grounds.

See also:

KVUE: “Detention center still subject of protest one year later”

News 8 Austin: “Anniversary march at T. Don Hutto”

Dear Friends:

The enclosed writings of Diez y Seis de Septiembre
from my beloved husband, Ramsey, are dedicated to the
youth. You are welcome to share his message in
Diez y Seis de Septiembre celebrations.

Irma Muniz

************

By Ramsey Muniz

It is with great pride and love that I share the
following message from this mode of darkness, which
imprisons my body to this day, though my soul continues
to be in an interior realm of spiritual freedom.

Everywhere from the roots of Mexico throughout
the entire Southwest within the United States of
America, Hispanics, Latinos, Chicanos, and Mexicanos
– whatever we decide to call ourselves – will be
celebrating one of our most profound historical days
of liberation. All the way from the mountains of
Mexico we will hear in our hearts “El Grito” which
symbolizes the struggle of a people against enslavement,
oppression, injustice, and death sentences through
imprisonment.

Mexicanos throughout will celebrate
this day like never before. For that reason it is
important for those who seek the enlightenment of
historical freedom to make sure that history is
recorded once again in the hearts and minds of the
masses. Does history repeat itself, or are its
repetitions only penance for those who are incapable
of listening to it? No history in the world is mute.

No matter how much they change it, destroy it, break
it, and lie about it, human history refuses to be
silent. Despite deafness and ignorance, the time that
WAS continues to tick inside the time that IS. Now
more than ever we must insist on it and act on it so
as not to repeat the past of oppression and injustice,
but to keep it from being repeated. The memories of
El Dies y Seis de Septiembre are in the air we breathe,
and from the air of liberation it breathes us.

During this incarceration of fourteen (14) years
I have many times been in solitary confinement where
I found the true spiritual enlightenment of our ancient
historical past regarding spiritual leaders and
heroes who carried liberation in their hearts.

With little light to read in a mode of darkness I
embraced our Mexicano sacred, indigenous spirituality and
was transformed by the humanistic passion I discovered about
our past. Now I perceive it in my own Mexicano soul, with
the destiny of sharing it with the entire world. From this
cold darkness I was destined and given access to a great and
profound secret. Now I know from the celebration of El Diez y Seis
de Septiembre the suffering, sacrifice, sorrow, sadness,
grief, and imprisonment of our ancient ancestors, our
warriors and our heroes, and it has become my own.

“For they had always known within themselves the
length of their days. The moon, the year, and the day
and the night, the breath of life were fulfilled and
they passed. The blood was fulfilled and came to the
place of its rest. As also it had come to its power and
its dignity. During their time they had repeated the
good prayers; they had sought the lucky days when the
good stars watched over them. Then they kept vigil, when
the good stars watched over them. Then all was good.”

Chilam Balam of Chumayel

Celebrations of this most glorious day in the history
of our lives will be received with an embrace of
spirituality, harmony, kindness, faith, courage, dignity,
forgiveness, and love for all humanity on this earth,
as we invite on behalf of our people. It was written in
our ancient manuscripts and symbols that we would encounter
oppression and injustices in the existence and essence of
our history. Within the hearts and minds of destined brothers
and sisters, however, we were to overcome and rise once again,
benefiting not only our people but ALL of humanity.

In the past, our entire ancient spiritual history was
composed and cultivated by our youth. I share with you the
spoken words of our last Mexicano Emperor, Cuauhtemoc.
On August 13, 1521, he stated the following just before his
death:

“Now we mandate our children also not to forget to
transmit to their children how it will be, how we will
reunite, how we will rise again, how we will reach out,
and how we will fulfill the great destiny of our race.”

From within this imprisonment of my life I dedicate
this Diez y Seis de Septiembre to our youth. Our freedom,
the Rising of the Sixth Sun, and the termination of
oppression and injustices against humanity will one day
end with the acceptance of our youth as our leaders today,
tomorrow, and in our next world. From the chains
and shackles that bear their marks on my body I ask youth
organizations in the barrios, community centers, and high
schools to prepare themselves culturally, spiritually,
with a hunger for intelligence. I have constant dreams of
young Hispanic/Latino/Chicano/Mexicano
brothers and sisters becoming the voice politically,
socially, economically of nuestra gente.

MEChA chapters and other organizations throughout universities
and colleges must now step forward and accept their destinies.
History is on our side and gradually the prophecies are
fulfilled by those who were chosen and destined from the
beginning.

I share spoken words from one of Mexico’s greatest
heroes of freedom and humanity. At times I feel that his
presence within this confinement, for he was incarcerated
not only in the prisons of Mexico, but in the end of his
most glorious powerful spiritual life he died at the
Leavenworth United States Penitentiary. In his writing
he once stated, “My dream of beauty and my beloved visions
of a humanity living in peace, love and liberty will
not die with me. While there is on earth a painful heart
or an eye full of tears, my dreams and my visions will
live” (Ricardo Flores Magon; March 16, 1922).

Almost eighty years later here I am, Ramiro Ricardo
Muniz, also confined but sharing with the entire world
that his dreams and visions were fulfilled as mine, will
be with our youth — our young Hispanics,
Latinos, Chicanos, and Mexicanos will one day embrace the
same dreams and visions for the life of freedom and justice
in his world and in our future.

Constantly the visions and
the message of our youth embracing, accepting and finally
becoming a part of our reawakening of our spiritual consciousness.
In our ancient writings it is called Mexicayotl. On September 16,
our heroes, those who took destiny into their hearts were also
recreating power of Mexicayotl. Celebrate this most profound day
of our history and know that on the 16th I will personally be in
meditation, seeking our ancient spirituality so that love for humanity
becomes a part of the lives of our youth.

In exile,
Ramsey – Tezcatlipoca

“We want only to show you something
we have seen and tell you something
we have heard .. that here and there
in the world and now and then in ourselves
is a new spiritual Mexicano creation.”

Ramsey Muniz

****************

www.freeramsey.com

For the information of you who are interested in the efforts of the US government to deliver Rrustem Neza, who identified the killers of Azem Hajdari, into the hands of those killers, here is an update.

Congressman Louie Gomert has promised to introduce a private bill in the Congress to stop the deportation.

The judge in whose court the government filed suit for permission to drug Rrustem has set a pretrial deadline of August 2008, and will set the trial for a date after motions for summary judgment have been submitted. I expect the government will be filing its motion for summary judgment any day now.

John Wheat Gibson
Dallas