Message from kris:
By Kevin Simpson A nearly 90-minute parade ran a gantlet of vocal demonstrators decrying the celebration of Christopher Columbus, the 15th century explorer they link to a murderous legacy. Protesters lined much of the downtown Denver route, but a massive police presence and strategic barricades kept the confrontation to a war of words. Police arrested only seven protesters, including six for disturbing the peace or disobeying a lawful order. Another had an outstanding warrant. Andrew Hudson, spokesman for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, said the city's preparations for the dueling events - about 600 officers were on duty, police said - produced the best possible outcome under circumstances that have simmered uncomfortably for years. "It was successful in the sense that the city protected the parade and the rights of the protesters," Hudson said. "It's just unfortunate that it got to this degree. But the air is free from tear gas. That's got to be positive." Both sides claimed a philosophical triumph shortly after the parade's rear guard of motorcyclists representing the Sons of Italy-New Generation roared past Colfax Avenue on Broadway. "The racist parade couldn't escape us," Glenn Morris of the American Indian Movement said as he addressed a post-parade gathering near the state Capitol. "Every step they took, every inch they walked, we were there. What they need to know is every year it's going to be more and more of us. History is not on the side of Columbus and racism, it's not on the side of that kind of hatred." At Rocky Mountain Lake Park in northwest Denver, parade organizer George Vendegnia enjoyed a relaxed celebration and claimed "a very big victory." "We outnumbered them, and I think they were a little surprised about that," Vendegnia said, although police estimates put protesters at 2,000 and paraders at about half that. "Denver PD was on their toes. We got as much protection as any president." Although Vendegnia allowed that some supporters might have been scared away by the threat of conflict, he said he thinks they'll return after seeing how safely the parade unfolded. And he guaranteed that his Sons of Italy group will be back again next year. On a day that began cloudy and cold, protesters converged on the heart of downtown with four separate processions. Tribal elders and chanting drummers led the groups on the Four Directions, All Nations March that culminated at Broadway and Colfax. Aztec dancers flourished colorful, feathered costumes and danced the "Tonantzin," a ritual for unity and peace. The deep thump of more rhythmic drumming and traditional song propelled protesters to the steps of the Capitol, where speakers addressed a wide array of causes. Some lashed out at the colonialism they link to Columbus himself, while others focused on everything from impending war in Iraq to the Palestinian situation to endangered old-growth forests, just a few of the issues they define as the "Columbian legacy." One 22-year-old woman who called herself Xylem, after the woody tissue that draws water into plants, said she'd traveled two days by bus from Oregon, where she volunteers for the Cascadia Forest Alliance. "I'm Italian," she said, "but we can celebrate without celebrating genocide and ecocide." A few blocks away, a stream of limousines, horse-drawn carts, floats and marchers readied for the parade, which was scheduled to begin hours after the Indian procession. "First of all, it's about freedom of speech," said Raffaele Vitale, who emigrated from Italy 32 years ago. "But it's also about my roots, my heritage." The event began without confrontation, but protesters met the parade at 17th and Tremont streets. About a block farther on, a few tried to breach the barricade but were quickly repelled by police. The procession played out to a few groups of well-wishers and persistent verbal volleys from protesters. Some chanted - "Celebrate your pride, not genocide!" - and saw their words met with waves and smiles. A few in the parade fired back at several protesters who had covered their faces with handkerchiefs or ski masks: "Why don't you show your face?" The Italian-American celebration moved along to the snare-drum cadence of Westminster High School's marching band, which belted out a rendition of "Louie, Louie" while a few roving vendors hawked American flags, horns and cotton candy. As the parade approached the main protest area, double-barricades and police in riot gear discouraged any close-range interaction between the two sides. But a few supporters of the parade waved Italian flags and gave the passing marchers a thumbs-up from among the dissenters. Kirk Williams of Denver exchanged invective nose-to-nose with some protesters who saw his red, white and green flag and challenged him, but eventually they left him alone. "I knew I wouldn't be expressing a popular view," he said, "but I didn't anticipate the vehemence and hate I felt from the other side." But Indian spokesman Clement Frost praised the protesters for their nonviolent display. "Not one of us touched their people," he said. "But how could we? They all had limousines." Brent Boyer and Jim Kehl of The Denver Post contributed to this report.
Denver Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 13, 2002 - A stream !
of Italian-American paraders and an Indian-led coalition of protesters marched to different drumbeats Saturday, but an annually contentious Columbus Day clash produced mostly the revving of rhetoric and motorcycle engines.
Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html
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