Tuesday, May 22, 2012

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Take Action & Resources


{tab=Letters & Petitions}   Contact the appropriate elected and appointed public officials: (outdated) View the contact list here.
  • REPEAL PL-9531! View the profiles, email addresses, phone numbers & addresses of appropriate public officials here. - Let them know that forced eviction of Dine' families on HPL is a crime against humanity. - Cease all efforts to evict the Dine' non-Acommodation Agreement signing familes of the HPL.
  • - The Accomodation Agreement is not a just resolution as it denies signers of the agreement their civil, human, and religious rights. - That a resolution already exists: respecting the Dine' people's traditional right to peacefully occupy their traditional homelands.
  • Educate yourself about issues dealing with Black Mesa.
  • Learn about and support the grassroots people at Black Mesa.
  • Contact the Hopi Tribal Council and urge them to respect religious practice and freedom, as they would want their ways respected.
  • - Urge them to act responsibly and humanely as the whole world is watching, and we will not tolerate human rights abuses.
  • - Urge them to heal the wounds that their assault on Camp Anna Mae ceremonial grounds has opened. - Tell them to cease all efforts to evict the Dine' non-Acommodation Agreement signing familes of the HPL.
  • Write letters to the editors of your local newspapers on the various issues of Black Mesa.
  • Organize prayer vigils in support of the traditional Dine' and Hopi People.
  • Act as a Human Rights Observer; stay with a family.
  • Stop Peabody, check out our section on things you can do to help stop Peabody Coal.
  • Improve your everyday lifestyle choices. Lessen your water and electricity usage, how much gas you use, what you consume. You play a part in this. We are all from the Earth.
{tab=Raise Awareness}  
  • Host or attend regional organizational meetings in your area: We strongly urge caravan participants to attend or organize regional meetings. More...
  • Raise Awareness about Black Mesa and the caravan. You can obtain literature from BMIS here.
{tab=Donate} Click here for the General Needs List
  • Donate. We are not receiving nor relying on any institutional funding for these support efforts, but are instead counting on each person’s ingenuity, creativity, and hard work to make it all come together. We are hoping to raise enough money through our community connections for gas, specifically for collecting wood and food for host families, and for work projects. Please write checks out to Black Mesa Indigenous Support and mail them to Black Mesa Indigenous Support P.O. Box 23501, Flagstaff, Arizona 86002. Thank you!
  • Organize fundraisers: At the weeks prior to every caravan, grassroots supporters from all over throw benefits to raise the much-needed funds for such things as supplies, wood, and direct, and on-land people-support. Please contact BMIS for guidelines prior to any fund-raising in the name of Big Mountain and Black Mesa.
  • Collect supplies: Chainsaws, axes, mauls, axe handles, tools of all kinds, organic food, warm blankets, and especially trucks --either to donate to families or to use for the week of the caravan--are greatly needed on the land to make this caravan effectively work! Check out our Needs List.
  • Find a Truck for a Big Mountain Organizer! Big Mountain resident, activist and organizer (Louise Benally) is requesting the donation of a truck.  For most of her life she has been actively resisting and organizing against the federally forced relocation laws and the multinational energy corporations destruction of her homelands and community.  She continues to travel outside Big Mountain, speaking on behalf of her people and the lands, networking with others, as well as traveling around her area organizing meetings and outreach.There is still so much pending and threatening with the Peabody intent on expanding its operations on Black Mesa. It is vital that the communities have the resources to organize themselves, and for residents have access to go to meetings.  In addition to all of this,the daily life of living at Big Mountain is an act of resistance and the ability to haul water, wood and navigate the muddy and snowy roads is necessary for that survival.  As well as an activist, Louise is a mother and a grandmother, and she is asking for our help.
  • IDEAL  TRUCK:1990’s model 4x4 Toyota (or other) Extended cab allows more riders for meetingsSomething that is in good working condition, a “junker” causes more hardships than help.Please fundraise in your community to support Louise! You can contact Black Mesa Indigenous Support volunteers for guidance. Having a vehicle for her by this fall is ideal.
{tab=Come to Black Mesa}
[caption id="attachment_2392" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="BMIS Colorado Caravan Fall 2010 Photo: Michelle Christiance"][/caption] Stay with a family on Black Mesa Continued residency by families throughout the Big Mountain of region has a significant role in the intervention of Peabody Coal Company's plans to desecrate Black Mesa & add to climate chaos. You can visit for several weeks to months or organize a work crew for about a week. Guests are expected to be adequately prepared prior to staying with families on Black Mesa, which is high desert and very remote. Since it is crucial to have good help out there, and not create more work for the families, all supporters are required to read and sign the Cultural Sensitivity Preparedness Guide. Direct, on-land support is an important opportunity for people of all backgrounds to work with the families of Black Mesa & to come together to strengthen our solidarity and find ways to work together to protect Black Mesa & our Mother Earth for all life.   Contact BMIS in advance so that we can make arrangements for your stay, answer any questions, and help put you in touch with a family. By assisting with direct, on-land projects you are helping families stay on their ancestral homelands in resistance to an illegal occupation. These courageous communities serve as the very blockade to coal mining! Each fall/spring long time support group Clan Dyken organizes a caravan to plant gardens on Black Mesa: www.clandyken.com for more information. WHEN IS IT ENOUGH? EVERY DAY THAT WE WAIT TO ACT, THE PROBLEM GETS HARDER TO SOLVE. {/tabs}