And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Hwy. 55 debate is about preservation of Earth
by Sue Ann Martinson
Star Tribune Online front page
http://www.startribune.com/
Published Saturday, January 2, 1999
"The threat to biodiversity is a threat to every species on Earth.
We cannot continue to destroy wetlands, forests, marine and coastal
habitats with impunity; the destruction caused by humankind now will,
in turn, threaten to destroy future generations."
-- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Dec. 16, 1998.
The officials who authorized the early morning raid on the Stop-the-
Hwy. 55-Reroute Camp do not seem to understand that what is at stake is
so much larger than a few feet of road. What it is really about is land
management, about biodiversity, about all the things that Annan mentions
in his press release for the International Day of Biodiversity, which
was Dec. 29. That public officials are so shortsighted is sad for all
of us.
The Hwy. 55 reroute is not about anarchy, as some have declared,
although that is there for some of the people involved in the camp.
(They don't believe in a centralized government but believe in self-
government.) It is about sacred ground, whether sacred for the Mendota
Mdewakanton Dakota or for the rest of us, and about preserving the
Earth. To borrow words from Annan's statement, it is about "global
environmental problems, such as the loss of biological diversity,
deforestation, land degradation, and desertification which are
interlinked . . . . The ecological reality of these
interrelationships must be reflected in our political, legal, and
economic responses."
And now, the military action against a few nonviolent protesters
adds a new dimension. It raises questions of freedom of speech
and fundamental rights of U.S. citizens. Of use of force against
nonviolent people.
Because the very preservation of the Earth is at stake, and that is
where the Native Americans and the Earth Firsters come together, there
is no question of lying down and dying or of giving up for those who are
part of and who wish to stop the Hwy. 55 reroute.
Camp Coldwater Springs is not only a Native American site, it's the
site of an early settlement in Minnesota and has historical significance
for others as well. The Bureau of Mines has already destroyed it somewhat
by putting the road there. That road should be torn out and the spring
should be restored to its original form.
Alternative transportation should not destroy natural lands. It
should not destroy trees that are at the very least more than 100 years
old. The large tree stump by Camp Coldwater is clearly ancient and holy.
The weeping willow is beautiful. They plan to come within 440 feet of
Camp Coldwater, which is too close for comfort.
There are many more constructive uses for this land. It could be a
park or be given back to the Dakota for a school for their children.
This land could be saved from further degradation.
I have been on that land. I have had the privilege of hearing the
Indian drumming, of being in a community of peace, of being on sacred
land. Let's preserve this land for future generations.
-- Sue Ann Martinson, Minneapolis. Writer.
Copyright 1999 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
<<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>>
If you think you are too small to make a difference;
try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito....
African Proverb
<<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ =-=>>>>
IF it says:
"PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...."
Please Check it before you send it at:
http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm
