Letter from Margo Tamez

Hi all:

My mom has been ordered to appear on February 7, 2008, 10:00 a.m., Court #6, Federal Court, Brownsville Texas, Judge Hanen presiding.

At this time, I'm calling upon our allies, our relatives, our spiritual and medicine people, from all directions to put out a call to their relatives in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, that we openly invite folks to organize and coordinate with local Nde' volunteer, with Ruben Cordova, a veteran like my mom.

We would like folks to come to the valley if they are able, and to support mom visibly and peacefully. Our numbers are growing by the day, and the emails of support keeping coming from our indigenous people and our allies.

If you cannot come, please email this alert to all your friends, relatives and allies in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and ask them to put this date on their calendar. We'd like folks to be ready to be at the Court House, to stand with my mom in solidarity on this day, and to send a STRONG MESSAGE to Secretary Michael Chertoff and Department of Homeland security that the Nde' Hleh Pai family members and indigenous people are not going to fade away on this issue of the wall on indigenous homelands.

Please contact me and Ruben Cordova, ruedog2u@texasapachenation.com to coordinate efforts. We need folks on the ground in Brownseville to coordinate water, healthy snacks, sign making supportive of "Lipan Apache Women (El Calaboz) Title Holders Against the Wall", and a rally after the hearing, whereby the PEOPLE can speak to the public openly and articulately. This will certainly require the obtaining of a permit from the city. I suggest volunteers begin quickly to coordinate that effort.

ahi'i'e
Margo

From November email...

My mother and elders of El Calaboz, since July have been the targets of numerous threats and harrassments by the Border Patrol, Army Corps of Engineers, NSA, and the U.S. related to the proposed building of a fence on their levee.

Since July, they have been the targets of numerous telephone calls, unexpected and uninvited visits on their lands, informing them that they will have to relinquish parts of their land grant holdings to the border fence buildup. The NSA demands that elders give up their lands to build the levee, and further, that they travel a distance of 3 miles, to go through checkpoints, to walk, recreate, and to farm and herd goats and cattle, ON THEIR OWN LANDS.

This threat against indigenous people, life ways and lands has been very very serious and stress inducing to local leaders, such as Dr. Eloisa Garcia Tamez, who has been in isolation from the larger indigenous rights community due to the invisibility of indigenous people of South Texas and Northern Tamaulipas to the larger social justice conversation regarding the border issues.

However recent events, of the last 5 days cause us to feel that we are in urgent need of immediate human rights observers in the area, deployed by all who can help as soon as possible--immediate relief.

My mother informed me, as I got back into cell range out of Redford, TX, on Monday, November 13, that Army Corps of Engineers, Border Patrol and National Security Agency teams have been going house to house, and calling on her personal office phone, her cell phone and in other venues, tracking down and enclosing upon the people and telling them that they have no other choice in this matter. They are telling
elders and other vulnerable people that "the wall is going on these lands whether you like it or not, and you have to sell your land to the U.S."

My mother, Eloisa Garcia Tamez, Lipan Apache and descendent of Chiricahua descent elder, Aniceto Garcia, (passed away) who gave her traditional indigenous birth welcoming ceremony and the lightning ceremony, is resisting the occupation firmly. She has already had two major confrontations with NSA on the telephone since July--one in her office at the University of Texas at Brownsville, where she is the Director of a Nursing Program and where she conducts research on diabetes.

She reports that some folks have already signed over their lands, due to their ongoing state of impoverishement and exploitation in the area under colonization, corporatism, NAFTA and militarization.

This is an outrage, but more, this is a significant violation of United Nations Declaration on rights of Indigenous People, recently ratified and accepted. Furthermore, it is a violation of the United Nations CERD, Committee on Racism and Discrimination.