From the newswire: “Christopher Alex Cornstalk, age 44, died July 17, 2006 from natural causes in the city of Markham, Illinois… A funeral was held and Mr. Cornstalk was buried. The story should have ended there…[But] a number of "Chicago Rescue Workers" (emergency room, fire department and police staff from several Chicago-area cities and villages) participated in a Facebook group named ‘Did You Know This Alcoholic Indian?’.”

The group appears to violate the federal law which mandates strict confidentiality of medical information and identity. What’s more, Native American Facebook users who discovered the group expressed outrage over the characterization of the group. Facebook has since deleted the group, and the Chicago Fire Department has all but disavowed any connection, but the controversy continues. Read more

In spite of scorching temps and humidity, there were several hundred people who attended and waited for several hours until attorney Eric Seitz came out and addressed the crowd. He said the FBI did not have anything new to say but that he was able to present some additional evidence on Leonard's behalf to the board. Leonard spoke with the board and answered questions for 1-1/2 hours. The hearing officer said he would look over his documentation and make a recommendation within 24-48 hours, at which time the parole board has up to 3 weeks to make a final determination. Leonard has expressed his thanks for all of the efforts made on his behalf today. Eric Seitz said he feels "optimistic."

RELATED: Leonard Peltier and the Indigenous People: Our Lives Have Meaning II Leonard Peltier: Silence Screams

A vigil for Leonard Peltier
Monday July 27 6 PM
Pioneer Square
Downtown Portland
Speakers : Dorothy Ackerman, Sioux elder on the Grand Council of the American Indian Movement
Michael One Road, NW AIM

Leonard Peltier's first full parole hearing was held in 1993, at which time his case was continued for a 15-year reconsideration. Mr. Peltier has recently applied for and been granted a parole hearing. The hearing is scheduled for July 28, 2009. All supporters are encouraged to step up their efforts in support of parole for Leonard Peltier

www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

Incarcerated Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been granted his first full parole hearing in 15 years. The hearing is scheduled for July 27, 2009, at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where Peltier is currently imprisoned. Recently, Lakota Chief Leonard Crow Dog spoke to a large crowd on behalf of Peltier at the Native American Student and Community Center at Portland State University. Sponsored by local Peltier supporters and hosted by the Native American Studies Department, the evening also included drumming and singing by the local chapter of the American Indian Movement, flute by Isaac Trimble, and presentations by several other speakers. Paintings and drawings by Peltier and Bob Robideau were on display, provided by Bonnie Kahn's Wild West Gallery on NW 23rd, who represents both artists locally.

[Watch the] Video of Chief Leonard Crow Dog and Delaney Bruce> speaking on May 20th...

BACKGROUND
Peltier, a high-profile member of the American Indian Movement, was convicted in April, 1977, for his alleged role in the 1975 deaths of two FBI agents during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He received two life sentences. A model prisoner, over the past 33 years Peltier has become an accomplished painter and, from his prison cell, has spearheaded philanthropic support of Indian communities. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize each of the last six years. Peltier is legitimately eligible for release from prison. But, again, the FBI has launched a smear campaign to influence the parole board against him.

Letters in support of Peltier are needed now more than ever. Sample letters and more information are available at: Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee and Friends of Peltier

A coalition of 13 grassroots organizations in Boston delivered a letter today to the Peruvian Consulate to raise concerns over the military and police aggression against a peaceful protest of indigenous people in Bagua, Peru. On June 5th, police forces opened fire on a protest of more than thirty thousand people, representing several indigenous groups, who had held a 57-day strike to contest the enactment of new laws that would open indigenous lands to the exploitation of their natural resources. LISTEN TO AUDIO REPORT:

On June 5th, Peruvian national police attacked a roadblock near the city of Bagua in northwestern Peru, killing at least sizty people. Several thousand indigenous protesters had been blocking the main road to protest measures the government has taken to sell their ancestral land to energy companies. On Tuesday June 16th, over 30 people converged outside the Peruvian Consulate in San Francisco to amplify their concerns with the Peruvian and US Government's complacency in protecting indigenous rights

This from Barbara O'Connor, UIPD police chief: The University of Illinois Police Department seeks the public's help in identifying the suspect responsible for the theft of two artworks that occurred on Saturday (June 13) between 2:13 a.m. and 2:28 a.m. at 1206 W. Nevada St., Urbana.

The artworks, which resemble metal signs, are 18 inches by 36 inches and are painted white with red block lettering. One says, INILLI GNITHGIF, TODAY YOUR HOST IS PEORIA; the other says, INILLI GNITHGIF, TODAY YOUR HOST IS HO-CHUNK. The Peoria sign was removed from its location directly south of the Native American Studies Building. The Ho-Chunk sign was removed near the west entrance of the building.

Friday, June 12, 2009 LOS ANGELES -- Crowds of curious onlookers surrounded a group of indigenous rights activists, members of the Peruvian community, and environmentalists as they demonstrated in front of the Peruvian consulate today through dance, procession, chant, and speech.

At this latest in a series of demonstrations in front of the large building on the Koreatown stretch of Wilshire that houses the consulate, protestors angered by President Alan García's use of military force against indigenous rights activists decried the massacre of an unknown number of people. They also lashed out against the "free trade" policies the victims gave their lives fighting against. Full Report: Protest at Peruvian Consulate by Rockero

Three young men were arrested protesting Senator Schumer's support for "free trade" agreements

Activists charge Schumer with complicity in the murder of dozens of indigenous Peruvians killed over the weekend in a wave of repression against indigenous people engaged in nonviolent protest against the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement. Peruvian President Alan Garcia has used the FTA as a pretext to institute new laws that usher in an unprecedented wave of extractive industries – expanding logging, oil and gas drilling, mining, and destructive agriculture into the Amazon Rainforest. Read More & Pics | Related from Los Angeles: Local Peruvians and Environmentalists Protest at LA Peruvian Consulate

Currently housed in the federal prison at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Native American artist, writer, and activist Leonard Peltier––one of the most widely recognized political prisoners in the world––has spent more than 33 years in some of the cruelest prisons in the United States, unjustly condemned to a double life sentence for the shooting death of two FBI agents in 1975. His situation is now aggravated by health problems.

Leonard’s Parole Hearing has finally been scheduled for July 27, 2009, and is the focus of an international campaign in the coming months.

RELATED: Take Action in support of parole

Presentation/discussion about the ongoing genocide & ecocide carried out on unceeded, unsurrended Coast Salish territories and intensified by the coming Olympics. We will look at how different anti-Olympic communities lead lives of resistance and take direct-action against capitalism, colonization & social control.

Leonard Peltier is currently housed at the US Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. His first full parole hearing was held in 1993, at which time his case was continued for a 15-year reconsideration. On Wednesday, it was announced (in Portland, OR) that Mr. Peltier has recently applied for and been granted a parole hearing. The hearing is scheduled for July 27, 2009. All supporters are encouraged to step up their efforts in support of parole for Leonard Peltier.

RELATED: Leonard Peltier: Silence Screams, by Carolina Saldaña

On the morning of Friday, May 22, 2009 Immigrant and Indigenous Rights activists disrupted an event organized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) held at Fort Snelling in St. Paul, MN. Present at the meeting were representatives of several local and federal law enforcement agencies including, but not limited to, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Minneapolis and St. Paul police, the FBI, and the ICE Office of Detention and Removal.

Also present were representatives from local human rights groups, immigration lawyers and other non-profit advocacy organizations. Members and supporters of the Dakota community and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc) demanded answers to human rights abuses perpetrated by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. Among the abuses mentioned were the 92 documented deaths of detainees under ICE custody due to physical and psychological abuse and lack of medical attention, the deplorable and inhumane conditions at detention centers, the illegal deportation of U.S. citizens due to racial profiling, the separation of children from their parents as a direct result of ICE raids and deportations, and the lack of due process and legal representation.

NOTICE OF DEPORTATION.pdf