Minneapolis, MN – Over 800 people gathered here, Nov. 7, to demand the Washington Redskins change their racist name. Marching from the Minneapolis American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue south of downtown to the Vikings stadium, the protesters rallied in front of the Metrodome chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, little red Sambo’s got to go!”

Plan to put U.S. government on trial

Minneapolis, MN – On Oct. 2 through Oct. 4, the U.S. government will be put on trial for “malfeasance in Indian Country,” according to a statement released at a press conference Sept. 4. Witnesses are being subpoenaed to appear in Oneida, Wisconsin for the three-day tribunal entitled “The Leonard Peltier International Tribunal on the Abuse of Indigenous Human Rights.”

Hayward, WI – A group of protesters are facing arrest in northern Wisconsin. Members of Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Ojibwe and others have been hosting a traditional harvest camp for nearly two months near a proposed mine site in Iron and Ashland counties. The mine, sought after by Gogebic Taconite, or GTAC, is a proposed open pit iron mine. Plans for the mine are moving ahead because of a mining law deregulation measure that was signed by Governor Scott Walker this past spring. The proposed open pit iron mine would be the largest in the nation.

Minneapolis, MN – After a spirited protest downtown, Indigenous rights leaders, including Nina Wilson, a founder of Idle No More, gathered here at the American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue, March 21, for a wrap-up of the day’s activities and to prepare for the next event. On March 22, Wilson and others will be present at the Environmental & Treaty Rights Symposium, also to be held at the American Indian Center.

Minneapolis, MN – About 150 people joined the American Indian Movement, the Indigenous Environmental Network and OccupyMN for a rally and march to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline, Oct. 27. Speaking in front of the Canadian Consulate, Clyde Bellecourt, of the American Indian Movement expressed solidarity with OccupyMN, denounced the oppression of native peoples and urged support for the movement to bock the pipeline.

Minneapolis, MN – Clyde Bellecourt of the American Indian Movement (AIM) organized a rich and moving Indigenous People’s day ceremony of speakers, dancing and drumming for OccupyMN at the People’s Plaza, Oct 10.

Winona, MN – On Jan. 3, an FBI agent contacted Waziyatawin, a well-known Dakota activist and scholar. The agent from the FBI’s Mankato, Minnesota office wanted to question her about her beliefs and about the content of a speech she gave in Winona on Nov. 8, 2010. Waziyatawin said she declined to talk with the FBI agent about the presentation or her viewpoints and instead referred him to her attorney.

Los Angeles, CA – The Guatemalan community, especially the indigenous Mayan sector, has been protesting and angry over the brutal killing of their community member Manuel Jamines. Jamines was shot in the head and body on a busy street in the late afternoon in the Pico Union, a Central American community, by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on Sept. 5.

I spent most of the month of May at Eagle Rock in the Yellow Dog Plains of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Yes, I am one of the people who was camped there in an effort to save Eagle Rock, a sacred site to the Native American community, from the grip of Kennecott Minerals Company. The site is about 25 miles from Marquette and 45 miles from the reservation of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), but what happens there has serious consequences for anyone living in the Lake Superior region.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles City council passed a motion to officially boycott the State of Arizona. Arizona’s new racist law SB1070 targets Mexican, Chicano, and Native American people for harassment. From California, right across the country, many people are outraged. Under the new Arizona law, local police will have the power to harass and arrest people based on immigration status. This will increase the already existing racist harassment and arrest of Mexican, Chicano, and Native American people. Many police, including the police chief of Tucson, AZ, publicly oppose the law because of the burden it places on them and because it promotes racial profiling.

Corvallis, OR – Over 300 students, campus workers, professors and community members rallied at Oregon State University on May 12, to protest the racist SB 1070 law in Arizona. Chanting “The people of Arizona are under attack, what do we do, stand up fight back!” the demonstrators marched from the Centro Cultural César Chávez to the center of campus, with banners and brightly-colored signs denouncing SB 1070, as well as another racist bill, HB 2281, which bans schools in Arizona from teaching ethnic studies.

Los Angeles, CA – As the March 4 Day of Action draws closer, campuses across California are getting restless.

Bloomington, MN – El lunes 23 de noviembre por la mañana, un grupo de activistas pro-inmigrante organizó una protesta al estilo del teatro popular para denunciar de forma dramática el racismo y la hipocresía de las redadas en contra de los inmigrantes latinos, separando familias y comunidades.

Bloomington, MN – On Monday morning, Nov. 23, a group of immigrant rights activists staged a guerrilla theater-style protest here to dramatically expose the racism and hypocrisy of immigration raids that target Latino immigrants, tearing apart families and communities.

On July 28, political prisoner Leonard Peltier had his first parole hearing in 15 years. Peltier’s supporters rallied outside the hearing demanding his freedom. The parole board is expected to announce the results of the hearing within three weeks.

On December 19, 1998, Governor Arne Carlson topped-off his career with Operation Cold Snap, a brutal assault on Native American and environmental protesters. 600 police and state troopers attempted to end a standoff at the Highway 55 re-route site. Protesters were maced, beaten and thrown in jail.

Minneapolis, MN – March 10, protestors fighting to stop the Reroute of Highway 55 celebrated seven months of a successful united stand against a multi-million dollar road project. Following the largest police raid in Minnesota history last December 20, there have been important developments in the struggle.

Minneapolis, MN - More than 500 people came together September 25 under the slogan “Stop the Land Grab!” The protest was organized by opponents of the Highway 55 reroute and activists who have been fighting against the demolition of public housing on the North side of Minneapolis.

Champaign-Urbana, IL – A protest by University of Illinois students shut down a meeting of the Board of Trustees in November. Chanting, “No excuses, no delay, ban the chief today,” 35 students stood up with signs after the Board refused to vote to get rid of the school mascot, ‘Chief Illiniwek.’ 50 more people were chanting from the hall, because the Board refused to move their meeting to a larger room to accommodate the public.

On May 22, 70,000 teachers went on strike in Oaxaca, Mexico, occupying the center of the city and a large area around it. Oaxaca is one of the poorest states in Mexico and has more indigenous people than any other Mexican state. The strikers took over the center of Oaxaca’s capital city, setting up hundreds of barricades. They demanded a raise for teachers, improved school facilities and meeting students’ needs. They also demanded an increase of the overall minimum wage in Oaxaca.