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Date Posted: 11:54:07 09/26/05 Mon
Author: John Katenay
Subject: ATTENTION ALL NATIVES: Venezuela Offers Support to U.S. Indigenous Communities

ATTENTION ALL NATIVES

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, is on a mission that concerns all of us! President Chávez, whose grandmother was a Pumé Indian, claims he is proud of his Indigenous roots. More than that, as President of Venezuela he has made historic commitments and progress for the Native peoples of South America. Today, Native American people in Venezuela are enjoying new rights, freedom and respect that they never had before. In Venezuela, Indigenous rights are written in the constitution! In Venezuela, the Natives have real political representation in the government! In Venezuela, no longer do greedy corporations exploit Native lands and destroy the environment and subsequently, the Native way of life. The Indian people are given their fair share, in Venezuela.

The Indian people all over South America have seen this, and Indigenous rights movements have grown and accelerated since President Chávez. Like us, the Native population of South America have been conquered, exterminated, and exploited for centuries. Indian people have been made slaves; Indian tribes have undergone genocide and have been made extinct! And even after they destroyed our people, they tried to destroy our culture. They wanted us gone forever! They tried much to do it, but they could not destroy all of our culture, and they could not destroy all of us!

The Indian people have suffered too much. Even today, the Indian people still stuffer! You KNOW this! You know about the broken homes. You know about the drugs, the violence, and the alcohol. You know about the poverty because you LIVE it! And I know that it can seem inescapable. How can we stand up when we have been born crippled? The Native Americans are in the grip of poverty and it is not going away by itself, the United States isn’t going to fix it for us, and Venezuela isn’t going to fix it for us. The Native people are they ONLY people that can fix our problems! These problems cannot be fixed in terms of years; they can only be fixed in generations. What are you going to do for the coming generations? If you understand you must stand up! Even if you stand alone you must stand tall and be proud to be a Native!

But you will not stand alone. President Chávez has stood up with the poor and Indigenous people of Venezuela. In doing so he has made many friends and enemies. Among his enemies are wealthy corporations and individuals, who in the past have grown very rich by exploiting the resources and the people. Corporations and individuals just like those that exploit Native resources even today, here in the United States. Mining and oil drilling on Native land worth billions every year, for which the Native people have been hustled into accepting pennies or even nothing at all. You know the tribes, the families affected, and you know the corporations and government interests that stand against us. And you know we’re still poor, and they’re still rich. No sovereign nation should stand for it, and Venezuela didn’t stand for it. President Chávez changed everything for his country. Oil profits no longer go towards the wealthy; it now goes towards the poor in the form of education, medical care, and infrastructure. Money is being used for good, not greed! This new humanitarian policy is making corporations, wealthy individuals, and U.S. officials very nervous.

Now, President Hugo Chávez has extended his hand of friendship to the Indian people here in the United States! He has offered to provide low-cost gasoline and heating oil to us and the poor here in the United States. We Indian people must not forget that we are sovereign nations, we were not destroyed! We have the right to self-determination and we must be determined to do what is right! We Indians have the power to be at the forefront of something new, something great and good! Even in the darkest hour of our people – pursued, massacred, starving, dying, and on the brink of extinction – our ancestors saved us. They thought of the coming generations and they saved for us what they could. Now it is our time. Our coming generations deserves a world in which the Indian people are no longer treated as wards of the United States! A world in which we are no longer abused, lied to and stolen from! A world in which corporate interests do not take precedence over the people’s interests! A world in which the Indian people stand on their own two feet! We could change our world for the better forever if we only stand up and walk!

Hugo Chávez has taken bold steps. We, too, must take bold steps.


http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1763

Venezuela Offers Support to U.S. Indigenous Communities

Seattle, September 20, 2005 .- While setting new global standards for the recognition of indigenous rights in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has made an offer to bring low-cost gasoline to the poor in the United States, including American Indian tribal communities.

Chavez has also offered free eye surgery for a certain number economically disadvantaged U.S. residents.

"There is an offer on the table for low-cost heating oil and gasoline for poor communities in the United States," said Robert Free Galvan, who is contacting tribes in the United States with Venezuela's offer.

"Hopefully, Indian tribes and Native entities will take advantage of this opportunity to become stronger in the global community."

Galvan's comments came after he attended the 16th World Festival of Students and Youth in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 7 - 15, which was attended by 40,000 people.

"I was amazed at 12-cent-a-gallon gas," said Galvan, adding that he fell in love with the beauty of the green mountains and blue ocean waters in Venezuela.

Chavez has already sent hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil to the region hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Venezuela owns CITGO Petroleum Corp., which has eight refineries in the United States, and has set aside up to 10 percent of its refined oil products to be sold directly to organized poor communities, and institutions in the United States without intermediaries.

Galvan said Chavez and his revolution for indigenous rights gained the respect of indigenous people at the world gathering in Venezuela. During the opening procession of nations, Chavez gave a "thumbs up" to the banner displaying the words "Leonard Peltier."

"Chavez acknowledged indigenous people by having them open and bless the gathering," Galvin said.

The first speaker was a Native woman, one of three indigenous representatives in the Venezuela Assembly (or Congress), who gave testimony to advances for indigenous people.

"Chavez hugged all the indigenous leaders in front of the world and gave deeds of territory to the tribes," Galvan said of the communal land titles given to six communities of the Karina, which is one of Venezuela's 28 indigenous peoples.

Chavez' Mission Guaicaipuro lists 15 more indigenous groups to receive their ancestral land before the end of 2006. Galvan pointed out that earlier Chavez called for a halt to the celebration of Columbus Day and replaced it with "Indigenous Resistance Day."

The U.S. government, Galvan said, has reacted to Chavez' leadership and far-sweeping reforms for indigenous rights with racism.

"The United States government is very racist. Chavez is indigenous and part black, and is in control of one of the world's largest oil reserves," Galvan said.

Galvan said he decided to attend the world gathering after hearing of the movement for "fair trade," as opposed to "free trade," which is igniting the indigenous rights movement in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, where the majority of the population is indigenous.

The economic alliance promotes fair trade as an alternative to the World Trade Organization, North American Free Trade Agreement or Central American Free Trade Agreement, he said.

"These trade agreements seem to favor the rich and powerful corporations. Chavez has spent billions of oil dollars on education, feeding and housing the people of his country in order to rebuild the situation in his government which was inherited from the previous government that had channeled much of the country's resources into a few hands," Galvan said.

During the world gathering, the contingent from the United States did not give Galvan the opportunity to present his PowerPoint presentation of indigenous issues at the world gathering or allow him to have a table of information.

The struggles of the Western Shoshone to protect their aboriginal lands in what is now called Nevada and the Gwich'in to protect the Arctic from oil exploration were two of the issues he wanted to present to the world community.

Galvan said Fourth World Rising, an Intra-American collective of indigenous peoples from the Lakota, Maya and Warm Springs nations, was also prevented by the U.S. organizers from presenting their information concerning the United Nations Draft Declaration of Indigenous Rights.

However, Galvan was able to show his presentation to a few Venezuelan government representatives, who were upset at the missed opportunity to present the information to the world gathering. They offered Galvan the opportunity to present it on Venezuelan national television, but his flight departure prevented it.

Finally, the Venezuelan government contacted Galvan at home in Seattle and set in motion a new effort to bring low-cost gasoline to Indian tribal members and cultural exchanges between indigenous of the north and south.

"The government of Venezuela contacted me by e-mails and phone calls for my opinion and feedback of the gathering in August. They heard my effort to bring indigenous struggles to be shared with the world was prevented by the organizers from the U.S. delegation to the conference.

"They were upset that it was not presented."

Galvan said he suggested Venezuela provide low-cost gasoline to poor U.S. communities while he was in Venezuela in August. "I suggested this to them while I was in Caracas. Maybe they were already thinking of this, or maybe I ignited the idea. I like to think the latter."

Galvan pointed out that Venezuela has already distinguished itself in the international arena of indigenous human rights. Venezuela has accelerated the process for indigenous tribes to be recognized by the government, while in the United States the strategy is delay.

Galvan also pointed out that Venezuela recognizes indigenous representatives regardless of how the community chooses to select their representatives, including those selected with traditional methods.

Venezuela's Bolivarian Constitution establishes indigenous rights of territory, intercultural and bilingual education and local political representation. The Constitution adopted in 1999 states the county's indigenous peoples have right to their ancestral territories.

Chavez' efforts have not gone unnoticed.

In August, the United States, Christian evangelist Pat Robertson called on the United States to assassinate Chavez.

Galvan said, "Pat Robertson represents fundamentalists which are at the same level as al-Qaida in terms of fanatical self righteousness. Indigenous people have known terrorism from self righteous fanatics."

Chavez told Ted Koppel on ABC's "Nightline" in September that he has proof that the United States is planning to invade Venezuela. Code-named "Balboa," Chavez said the U.S. recently carried out training maneuvers in Curacao, Venezuela. Chavez warned if the U.S. carries out this plan it would result in a 100-year war. Also, Chavez pointed out Venezuela sends 1.5 million barrels of oil to the U.S. each day.

Self-described as a revolutionary, Chavez said, "I've been in revolt for years against ignominy, against injustice, against inequality, against immorality, against the exploitation of human beings."

Native communities and entities wanting to learn more about Venezuela's offer of low-cost gasoline and heating oil can e-mail Robert Free Galvan at robtfree earthlink.net.

This news article published by Indian Country Today, and was slighlty updated by Venezuelanalysis.com to add Venezuela's recent offer of free eye surgery for U.S. poor.

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