Tens of Thousands Rally to Stop Keystone XL Pipeline & Urge Obama to Move "Forward on Climate"

We play highlights from the "Forward on Climate" rally that drew tens of thousands to Washington D.C.’s National Mall Sunday. Protesters from across the United States and Canada urged President Obama to reject the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would deliver tar sands oil from Alberta to refineries along the Gulf Coast. Organizers described Sunday’s protest as "the largest climate rally in history," and Reverend Lennox Yearwood compared it to Martin Luther King’s 1963 March on Washington for civil rights. We hear from speakers including Van Jones, Obama’s former Green Jobs advisor, Canadian indigeous leader Chief Jacqueline Thomas of the Saik’uz First Nation, and Bill McKibben of 350.org. [Includes rush transcript]

GUESTS:

Van Jones, President Obama’s former Green Jobs Advisor.

Jacqueline Thomas, Chief of the Saik’uz First Nation from British Columbia, Canada.

Bill McKibben, longtime environmentalist and founder of 350.org.

Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actor.

Casey Camp, indigenous leader with the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma.

Tens of Thousands Rally to Stop Keystone XL Pipeline & Urge Obama to Move "Forward on Climate" | Democracy Now!

more from DNow! Keystone XL Oil Pipeline | Democracy Now!

see also

what next: #ForwardOnClimate - photos | 350

whats up: photos: Coalition Against Nukes U.S.A. joins with Forward on Climate! to Bust the Nuclear Myth in Washington D.C.

#ForwardOnClimate - photos | 350

photos of #ForwardOnClimate in Washington, DC, on February 17, 2013 via 350.org's flickr stream

more: Largest Climate March in US History |  350.org

see also: whats up: photos: Coalition Against Nukes U.S.A. joins with Forward on Climate! to Bust the Nuclear Myth in Washington D.C.

Shift of the Ages Available Free On-line Viewing until February 5

The Idle No More Movement and other related Global Movements, whether understood by all, as yet, are deeply rooted in the long held prayers and prophecies of Indigenous Elders and Visionaries. These Prophecies, including the 8th Council Fire, the Hopi’s, the Mayan’s Black Elk, Sweet Medicine, Handsome Lake, Deganiwida, Quetzalcoatl, Viracocha, Chilam Balam, the Reunion of the Condor and the Eagle, The Slaying and the Return of the White Buffalo and others foretold that after a long, bitter spiritual wintertime that a new spiritual springtime would arise and that Indigenous Peoples and other allies of the Human Family would arise, at first slowly and then with great spiritual strength and create a new global civilization. This new global civilization will be founded in social, environmental, economic justice and cultural and spiritual harmony and respect.

These prophecies are highlighted in the new film, Shift of the Ages, a dramatic documentary film that reveals the story of the Mayan culture and its sophisticated prophecies of time, as told for the first time by the Grand Elder of the Mayan people, Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj. Commissioned on behalf of the Maya nation, the Shift of the Ages is the first official discourse to the world from the Mayan Council of Elders, intended to dispel misconceptions and replace them with the positive story long foretold in many Indigenous Prophecies about the emergence of the “5th Sun and the unfolding of a new global civilization based justice, harmony for all members of the Human Family! Known as “Wandering Wolf,” Tata Alejandro is the elected Grand Elder of the living Maya and mystical Aj Q’ji, or timekeeper of tradition.

Free On-line Viewing of Shift of the Ages Available Until February 5, 2013 - The Four Worlds International Institute

see also: what next: deep ecology

#idlenomore - YouTube Playlist

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Canada's indigenous movement gains momentum

Inside Story Americas - Canada's indigenous movement gains momentum - YouTube

Canada's Idle No More movement began as a small social media campaign - armed with little more than a hashtag and a cause. But it has grown into a large indigenous movement, with protests and ceremonial gatherings held almost daily in many of the country's major cities. The movement is spearheaded by Theresa Spence, the leader of the Attawapiskat, a small native band in northern Ontario. Spence is now 22 days into a hunger strike on Ottawa's Victoria Island just across from the Canadian Parliament

Idle No More Courtenay BC - YouTube

Her name is Ta'Kaiya Blaney, she is11 years old, she will steal your heart away
Idle No More protest and march
December 29, 2010
Simms Parck
Courtenay B.C. video Billie Harlow

Idle No More :|: Movement Spreads Like Wildfire :|: #idlenomore

  

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Canada's 'Idle No More' Movement Spreads Like Wildfire

Chief Theresa Spence on 14th day of hunger strike

- Craig Brown, staff writer

The 'Idle No More' movement, a campaign of grassroots First Nations protests, has spread like wildfire over the past week in response to bills passed by the conservative Canadian government.

First Nations protesters march towards Parliament Hill during a demonstration as part of the spreading 'Idle No More' movement in Ottawa, Canada, December 21, 2012. REUTERS/Chris WattieAnger to the recently passed C-45, the Harper government omnibus budget bill, has fueled the growing movement.

Bil C-45 includes changes to the Canadian Indian Act regarding how reserve lands are managed, making them easier to develop and be taken away from the First Nation people.

The bill also removes thousands of lakes and streams from the list of federally protected bodies of water. “This is unacceptable. They have made a unilateral decision remove the protection of waterways... Shell Canada has proposed to mine out 21km of the Muskeg River, a river of cultural and biological significance. This ultimately gives the tar sands industry a green light to destroy vital waterways still used by our people," stated Eriel Deranger, Communication Coordinator for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

Atiwapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence has been on a hunger strike since December 11th, resolved to starve herself to death unless Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets to discuss treaty rights, and Canada’s relationship with its Indigenous peoples. She is currently living in a teepee on Victoria Island, in Ottawa, just a kilometer away from the Parliament buildings. So far, Harper has rejected calls to meet with Spence.

more: Canada's 'Idle No More' Movement Spreads Like Wildfire | Common Dreams

twitter: #idlenomore

HARPER NO MORE - FLASH MOB - TREATY 7 - Calgary Alberta Canada

HARPER NO MORE - FLASH MOB - TREATY 7 - Calgary Alberta Canada - YouTube