Solidarity day planned with indigenous peoples

In planning an August 18 conference, "Indigenous Peoples Under Siege," organizer John Amidon is taking that advice literally.

"I would like to see people's consciousness raised. The American people are really unaware of what's going on in Central America," said Mr. Amidon, a member of the Interfaith Alliance and of Veterans for Peace, which is sponsoring the conference.

Spraying stopped

The Plan Colombia project has been widely criticized as dangerous to the environment and people in the areas; the Colombian courts suspended the spraying at the end of July after people in the affected areas developed skin rashes and other crops were destroyed by the herbicide.

"People here have no idea what it is to take a big chunk of the country and spray it with [the herbicide] Roundup, what it means to have your river and water poisoned, and then you have to relocate," Mr. Amidon stated. "The indigenous in Colombia are being poisoned by Roundup."

Training school

When demands that the federal government close the center reached their peak, the center was renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). Mr. Amidon says nothing has changed but the name, calling WHISC an acronym for "Where History Is Subverted and Corrupted."

The people of Latin America "need us to speak on their behalf, particularly when it is our foreign policy and government that are creating some of the problems," he said.

He noted that two elderly Franciscan nuns, Sisters Dorothy Marie and Gwen Hennessey, are currently serving six-month sentences in federal prison for protesting at WHISC.

Crosses

"I consider it a gentle but powerful way of consciousness-raising," said Mr. Amidon.

He noted that the Kateri Shrine is the perfect place for a conference on indigenous peoples, since Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was a Native American. "The shrine is a historical intersection of cultures," he said.

("Indigenous Peoples Under Siege" will be held August 18, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda. Speakers include anti-WHISC activist Ed Kinane, Guatemalan native Luis Yat and activist Ann Tiffany of Syracuse. Flautist Chris Melco will also offer a concert of "native flute music." A voluntary $5 donation is requested to cover the lunch that is provided and advertising. For information, call John Amidon at 482-1562 or Shrine director Rev. Kevin Kenny, OFM Conv., at 853-3371.)

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