And now:"S.I.S.I.S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
* Please post widely *
We, the undersigned, wish to express our solidarity with native peoples of
the Pacific Northwest, who are currently suffering from a racist backlash
to the recent hunting of a whale by Makah people.
The backlash has included bomb threats against native schools, and threats
to shoot native people as "revenge" for the whale. Native people have been
refused service by white owners of stores and other businesses in the
Pacific Northwest. One native man was beaten so badly he is now in a
wheelchair.
This declaration is not about whether or not the Makah whale hunt is
"right" or "wrong". It is an assertion that racism is always wrong.
While we, the undersigned, have varying opinions about the hunting of
whales, we agree on the following:
1) Racism in all forms must be opposed. We reject any attempts by
environmentalists, animal rights activists, or any other groups to use
racism to gain support for a cause.
2) We call on all groups and individuals concerned about the whaling to
take a strong stand against the racist backlash that is currently happening
as a result of racist and inflammatory rhetoric used by environmental and
animal rights groups such as the Sea Shepherd Society.
3) We recognize and support the sovereignty of all native nations,
including the Makah. We reject attempts to use this whale hunt to undermine
native nations struggling to assert their sovereignty.
4) We reject the polarization of this issue into "Makah vs. the whales". We
believe that this oversimplification of the Makah whale hunt plays up
racist stereotypes instead of addressing questions of animal exploitation.
As the Makah have pointed out, non-native people kill animals deliberately
every day for food, clothing, entertainment, and experimentation, with no
regard for the suffering of the animals or the devastating effects on the
overall environment; non-native industry is responsible for the deaths of
countless whales every year.
While we, the undersigned, may differ in our opinions of the Makah whale
hunt itself, we are united in our condemnation of the racist tactics which
are being used to oppose the hunt.
We fully support native peoples of the Pacific Northwest and offer our
assistance to work towards stopping the racist backlash.
To express your support by signing this declaration, contact
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Signed:
Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty - Victoria, BC, Canada
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL : <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous
sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send
"subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
