Stop Lewis and Clark Resistance Group will be in Bismarck,ND

The "Stop Lewis and Clark Resistance Group" will be in Bismarck, ND, on the days of October 21 and 22, to hold an educational forum as well as to protest the re-enactment of the invasion. We are asking all supporters, who can make the trip, to please attend and support the resistance group.

Here is the full text of their press release. For more information, please visit their website at www.stoplewisandclark.org

Stop Lewis and Clark Resistance Group
To Protest & Educate In Bismarck, ND
News Statement for Release October 13, 2004

The Dawn of Genocide represented by the re-enactment of the Lewis and Clark “Dawn of Discovery of 1804-1806” will be protested by a group of people who resist the message as portrayed as an $87 million travesty and delusion of historians who have ignored, and who continue to ignore, the voice of indigenous peoples and nations on this island.

A Rally sponsored by the Resistance Group on the evening of October 21, 2004 at United Tribes Technical College will educate those interested in learning the native version of the impact of Lewis and Clark opening the door to Indian Country.

Natives, and non-natives as well, are invited and encouraged to attend the Rally: The Seventh Generation Gathering to Protest the Commemoration of Genocide. The Rally will be held on the United Tribes Technical College campus at the James Henry Building, 3315 University Drive, and will begin at 5pm with an evening meal. The Rally will open with a ceremony by Lakota spiritual leaders, and the Lakota drum group Crazy Horse Singers of the Pine Ridge, SD homeland will be present to sing traditional Lakota social songs.

Native Hip-Hop artist Buggs Malone of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area will perform positive rap.

Speakers from the Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) in South Dakota will share their knowledge from the Lakota perspective about the impact of the Euro-American invasion on the indigenous nations.

Topic areas will include the effect of colonization and christenization of native nations on today’s people: the myriad of social problems caused by the cultural genocide against people of the Oceti Sakowin and thoughts on how to reverse this condition through the revitalization of traditional Lakota life ways and through people reclaiming their kinship system, Lakota language, and spiritual way of life: decolonization; as well as talks on sovereignty, treaty rights and human rights.

Experienced activists and leaders will share expertise and histories with the young activists and organizers.

The Rally will sponsor an “open microphone” to provide an opportunity for young activists to talk about issues facing their communities, bands, nations; and to open a dialog with other young people on how to impact the issues they feel are important.

Snapshot presentations at the Rally will include the proposed uranium mine near the Pine Ridge Reservation on the South Dakota-Nebraska state line, and the proposed nuclear waste dump Nebraska is planning for the Rosebud Reservation border with Nebraska; and the local issue of the proposed coal-bed strip mining for Couteau, North Dakota and its effects on sacred sites to the Oceti Sakowin. Other issues to be discussed include effective organizing and environmental racism.

The Stop the Lewis and Clark Resistance Group believes it is important to educate native nations and the general public about such topics, as these issues are a result of the invasion of native lands by the Euro-Americans who followed the blueprint laid out by Lewis and Clark.

Indigenous people and nations do not feel the same way about the “Louisiana Purchase” as do most Americans-that it was okay to purchase land at 3 cents an acre from someone who didn’t even own it! The indigenous perspective will be shared about this “Ämerican” historical event as well as other events in the Lewis and Clark version of the portrayal of “American” history.

The Stop the Lewis and Clark Resistance Group will protest the reenactment activities on October 22, 2004 scheduled for 11:00 am at Bismark, ND on the University of Mary Campus. The Resistance Group will portray the truth as seen from indigenous eyes through the non-violent direct action to protest this $87 million travesty.

Additional information is available at the website: www.stoplewisandclark.org