2011-10-16 by Dan Bacher:
On Friday, activists from Native American, student, labor and civil rights groups and Occupy Sacramento joined together in a march from Cesar Chavez Park to the Capitol for an Indigenous Day of Resistance protest to denounce the United States’ “glorification of the atrocities committed against native ancestors of the Americas during the Indigenous Holocaust let by Christopher Columbus.”
Like Carter and Sheehan, they emphasized the connections between the wars abroad and the war at home.
“With many severe cuts to education and social services nationwide, we call to question, why we continue to increase our $14.6 billion US National Debt to fund wars over seas,” according to a statement from the groups. “Instead we have a war at home, were millions are losing their homes and jobs while the banks are plundering our wealth. CA is #1 in Prison Spending and #43 in Education Nationwide. Why is that?”
“As for our Native Community surrounding the US/Mexican border, we are now being labeled as ‘Immigrants’ that was once home. We are tired of seeing migrants scapegoated for the failures of capitalism. It angers us to be called “illegal aliens” when it was our ancestors who inhabited this lands before Columbus came to conquer and plunder this land. Now in contrast our people are forced to risk their lives crossing a further militarized border. Over the last decade, it is estimated 10,000 died crossing the border.”
“We are calling to action here at the State Capitol for all communities to join the movement to defend families and education, because this is a people’s movement for human rights and to stand up against injustice. We will no longer be victimized by these racist laws or corporate greed restricting us of an education and split up the millions of families from one another.”
The event was endorsed by Occupy Sacramento, MEChAs from throughout northern California, United Indigenous Nations, United Native Americans Inc., the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement AFL-CIO Sacramento and numerous other organizations. The rally began and ended with Aztec dancing.
On the national level, a statement from Occupy Wallstreet proclaimed:
“From America to Asia, from Africa to Europe, people are rising up to claim their rights and demand a true democracy. Now it is time for all of us to join in a global non violent protest. The ruling powers work for the benefit of just a few, ignoring the will of the vast majority and the human and environmental price we all have to pay. This intolerable situation must end.
“United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future. We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers who do not represent us. On October 15th, we will meet on the streets to initiate the global change we want. We will peacefully demonstrate, talk and organize until we make it happen.”
