Carrie Dann
(Western Shoshone) has, for over forty years along with her sister
Mary, been at the forefront of the Western Shoshone Nation’s struggle
for land rights and sovereignty. They are leading the political and
legal battle to retain ancestral lands in Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah. Dann has squared off against international gold mining corporations, the nuclear industry and the U.S. government. For
their courage and perseverance in asserting the rights of Indigenous
peoples, the Dann Sisters have received numerous awards including the
1993 Alternative Nobel Prize, the International Right Livelihood Award.
Dann, also the subject of countless film documentaries, articles and
books, is a living legend in the struggles of Native Americans.
"We,
the human children of this Earth, all have our own cultures and
traditions, languages, and we all like to keep them, as they identify
us as one of the many kinds of peoples of the Earth. Our Mother, the
earth (land) gives us all the necessities of life: it feeds us, gives
us clothes, shelter and cradles us. The US Government is acting like a dictator
in just taking our land. I have voiced again and again, Western
Shoshone land - our Mother Earth - is not for sale." [
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The Federal Government's has recently introduced bills and actions of extended aggression towards the Western Shoshone Nation, and the Dine' People of Big Mountain. And, the Dept of Livestock continues to slaughter the last remaining wild Buffalo.
These Indigenous women representatives have and are presenting these issues to the United Nations, and lawsuits in U.S. Courts.
The U.N. recently passed a Declaration by unanimous support for the proclamation by the Western Shoshone Nation of human rights violations of Indigenous People.
And, the Western Shoshone and others have filed a successful injunction in court to delay the reinstated bombing at the Nevada Test site, called 'Divine Strike'.
Dine and Hopi representatives have a lawsuit in court against a coal mining multinational for the depletion of our 2nd largest Aquafir. And, they are preparing injunctions to stop a bill in Senate that is the final relocation of the traditional Dine' People at Big Mountain. Their work has, and will, set precedence in national and international courts. We invite you to a very inspiring event. And to help Honor the work they have done and are doing. Nationally Sponsored by: Indigenous Women's Network, Seventh Generation Fund, Western Shoshone Defense Project , and, Feminists for a Gift Economy.