This is an outdoor camping gathering with Indigenous Peoples coming from Canada, United States, Mexico, Central and South America. Non-Indigenous Peoples from environmental and human rights organizations will also be in attendance. There is NO PRE-REGISTRATION. However, at the entrance gate to the conference grounds, there will be on-site registration taking place. A fee of $5.00 will be collected at the gate as donation for food and other expenses. This is for all 4-days! Can’t beat that!

June 2000 on the banks of the Rio Grande General Information
Native America Calling, national call-in radio program will broadcast live.
Additional Information: directions, camping, amenities...

Conference 2000 Agenda
Conference 2000 Schedule
Map

Live audio from conference in Brownsville

Brownsville, Texas --Casa De Colores, a 35 acre resource center for indigenous peoples’ thought and culture, in Brownsville, Texas, will be the site for this summer’s Indigenous Environmental Network PROTECTING MOTHER EARTH Conference, the largest Indigenous peoples’ outdoor gathering in North America.

Located on the banks of the Rio Grande River, at the southernmost tip of Texas within a wildlife sanctuary, the beautiful grounds of Casa De Colores will witness the gathering of up to 1500 participants during the week of June 14-17.

"We feel that Casa De Colores is in an environmentally, economically and demographically strategic locale in regard to the issues addressed by IEN, " said Casa’s director Helga Garza. "Everyday we are witness to the environmental and economic injustices endured by the indigenous people of Texas and Mexico."

According to Garza the Rio Grande Valley is especially impacted due to the limited economic opportunities afforded to indigenous people of traditional culture. Although the Rio Grande Valley is enjoying a surge in tourism and its affiliated industries, these offer mostly service-oriented employment with no substantial income for families to rise above poverty.

Environmentally, the Rio Grande Valley suffers from the culminating journey of the waters of the Rio Grande carrying waste from industry and communities upstream to its mouth then into the Gulf of Mexico. Situated only eighteen miles above the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Gulf, and a couple of miles from a waste incinerator, Casa De Colores is faced daily with the adverse environmental impact upon the river’s delta and its people.

As an indigenous education and resource center, Casa De Colores focuses on the preservation of oral and written native languages, the practice of a ceremonial calendar and the production of natural products. In her role as director of the center, Garza works closely with indigenous peoples from both sides of the international border providing programs on traditional medicine, youth leadership and organizing for socioeconomic change.

Though historically tied to each other through family, tradition or logistics, some communities and native nations, which straddle the border, have been literally divided making it difficult to maintain traditional bonds. "Some of our relatives have had trouble coming across the border for ceremonies or other gatherings", explained Garza.

According to a March TIME magazine report, only 311 border patrol agents are stationed along the almost 4000 mile border between Canada and the U.S. In stark contrast along the approximately 1900 mile border between Mexico and the U.S., almost 8000 agents keep surveillance.

"We believe that hosting the 2000 IEN gathering will give participants first-hand opportunity to witness the environmental and economic injustices endured by native people of Texas and Mexico", said Domingo Gonzales, member of Casa De Colores.

The work of the Indigenous Environmental Network began in 1990 when an alliance was formed amongst several Indigenous peoples groups from across the country who were struggling with environmental issues in their territories. The yearly conference, IEN’s 11^th , is an integral part of that alliance bringing together native people from throughout North, Central and South America and their allies from other indigenous communities, tribal and federal agencies, scientists, researchers and journalists, to record, network and share information.

The Protecting Mother Earth gathering is hosted annually by a different indigenous group in a different region of the country", said Earl Tulley, IEN conference committee member from the Navajo nation. Each year, depending on the primary issue in that group’s territory, a theme for the conference is selected. This year’s theme is "Remembering Our Sacred Water; Purification, Healing and Activism".

According to IEN conference committee co-chair, Bill Simmons, a Choctaw from Oklahoma, "The main focus of workshops will compliment the theme. However, a diversity of issues affecting native people and their lands and culture will be discussed in plenary and caucus sessions throughout the four-day event. Things like treaties, sacred sites, building sustainable economies, nuclear issues and environmental health."

Many youth activities are scheduled as well. Participants will need to bring their own camping gear and eating utensils. The Protecting Mother Earth conference is a camp-out gathering with a traditional sacred fire burning continuously. Absolutely no alcohol, drugs or weapons will be allowed. To obtain more information call the IEN national office in Bemidji Minnesota at 218-751-4967 or log onto the IEN website at http://www.alphacdc.com/ien.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
JoKay Dowell, IEN Media Coordinator 918-457-5542 or
Helga Garza, Casa de Colores, 956-542-0833

"We want to focus on border justice and environmental issues", said Joe Leon the show’s director, "This is an historic broadcast event on the Mexican border. We’re looking forward to facilitating an international discussion between indigenous peoples of this hemisphere then broadcasting that discussion to the broader community to create awareness and understanding."

Conference organizers expect between 1500 and 2000 participants, both native and non-native community activists, researchers, scientists, journalists and anyone interested in learning about issues of concern to the indigenous peoples of North, Central, South America and Mexico and how those issues intertwine and relate to indigenous communities globally.

The gathering will run from Wednesday, June 14 through Saturday at the Casa de Colores, a center for indigenous thought and culture on the outskirts of Brownsville along the Rio Grande.

According to Tom Goldtooth, IEN’s national coordinator, "We are here to put our minds and hearts together and talk about these sacred waters, not only here…but throughout the hemisphere. Industrial and agricultural development have contaminated the water, the ecosystem and the health of indigenous peoples."

Sharing information, networking and skills-building are primary purposes of the conference. Goldtooth continued, "We are here to educate ourselves and others about environmental and economic injustices and develop strategies for addressing them. We will discuss how globalization and trade negotiations amongst industrialized countries affect the human right to live in a safe, clean and healthy environment. Toxins, such as persistent organic pollutants, dioxin and radiation contamination affect our health and futures."

Along with water rights and environmental contamination issues, economic injustice and the exploitation of people and resources by the maquilladoras along the 1900 mile border is of particular concern to the members of Casa de Colores. "And the maquilladoras economically sustain the border towns, making it a vicious cycle", says Helga Garza, director of the Casa center. "People have to work where there is work and the ‘maquillas’ make all the rules, or maybe I should say no rules, about child labor or worker rights."

With such emotionally heavy discussions IEN and Casa have also scheduled time for socializing. Each evening after supper, which is provided by the

host and sponsor, the agenda changes to a lighter context. Talent and cultural exchange will spur laughter and healing after a day in the hot sun. New friendships will be made and old ones solidified.

Youth activities are a big part of IEN and Casa and very important to Garza. "This generation is crucial to our survival as traditional people. We focus on them to reconnect with our native language and ceremonial calendar. We hope that every seed we plant will come to fruition in our young people to nurture the earth and our relatives." A large youth delegation from across the continents is expected.

Native America Calling will air from 11am to noon, Mountain Time Zone on Thursday June 15 during the morning plenary session of the conference. "We’ll be one hundred per cent live from the Casa De Colores", Leon continued. NAC is carried on over forty stations in the US, most of which are tribally owned. Interested listeners can find out where and how to log on to the live program by visiting the NAC website at www.nativecalling.org. To learn more about IEN and this year’s or past conferences and other topics visit the IEN website at www.alphacdc.com/ien.

Map

Directions: To Case de Colores (the name of the local organization that is hosting this years conference)

From the airport: We are providing daily shuttles between the airport and the conference site. Please fax your itinerary to the IEN office (218) 751-0561 or call to let us know when you arrive and depart. You could also email us the information. Send to: caldwell@northernnet.com

Driving by car: If your driving from out of town: Find Highway 77. This highway will bring you into Brownsville. Exit on Texas 4 International Gateway Bridge exit. Turn left on International Blvd. You will stay on your right hand lane, pass 3 traffic lights until you get to Southmost Rd. Turn right on Southmost Rd. You will stay on Southmost Rd for about 8 miles. Keep following this road until you get to Sabal Palm Rd, then turn right, cross the levee and it will bring you straight to Casa de Colores. There will be red cloth flag strips along the route in to help guide you. Signs will be posted. You know you are close when you see markers that say, Sabal Palm Wildlife Sanctuary, which is next door to Casa de Colores.

Weather: It will be in the 90’s, probably in the high 90’s. It will be humid. Dress cool and bring your water container. Evenings are also hot, but a little cooler. There is usually a nice wind along the Rio Grande River.

Meals: Meals will be provided three times a day free of charge. Casa de Colores has a experienced in-house chef that will be overseeing meal preparation and kitchen activities. Vegetarian and vegan meals will be provided in addition to meals for the meat eaters. Please try to bring your own eating utensils, if possible.

Water: Public drinking water is available at the campsite. There will be sources to purchase bottled water in town.

Camping: Designated campsites will be available. The grass will be mowed prior to the conference. Please bring appropriate shelter, tent and camping equipment, unless other arrangements have been made with the conference coordinator for sleeping arrangements.

Showers:
On-site shower facilities are available. The hot water access however, will be limited. However, please note the weather will be hot, so cold water will be bareable and probably welcomed. The water isn’t ice cold either. Some limited hot water will be reserved for elders. ONLY bio-degradable body/hand soup and shampoo is ALLOWED! Please pack this with you. We will try to provide some at the shower for people who forgot to bring some, or didn’t know. We will have security check on whether people are using bio-degradable or not (smiles).

Sanitation:
On-site portable toilets will be provided, with a couple handicap access facilities. It is always good to pack your own toilet paper, even though the contractor vendor provides it.

Bring you lawn chairs or those new type of "portable-packs-into-little-space" outdoor chairs. We will have benches and strawbales to sit on, but those will get hard after all day sitting.

There are mosquitoes, so pack some environmentally-sound repellant, or plenty of smudge material.

There are plenty motels, stores, and other conveniences in Brownsville. Contact the web site at: http://www.brownsville.org for a listing.

If you are coming with environmental and economic justice issues you are dealing with, please bring some documentation with you. There are many contacts you will be making. These conferences are good to build networks and share information with others dealing with similar issues. Always bring an extra bag to put information in.

We will be selling conference T-Shirts and Tote Bags on-site.

Vendors and Environmental Fair: There will be no food vendors. There is a section at the conference where organizations, groups, and craft makers can display their materials. Indigenous arts and crafts persons, please contact the conference coordinator (218) 751-4967.

The Rio Grande River is right next to the conference site. Please be careful.

Border stuff:
The Immigration Naturalization Service (INS) patrols the area. Mexico is right across the Rio Grande River. Please don’t be surprised or alarm if you see the INS driving through the conference site in the middle of the night.

There may be limited tours across the Mexico border to the city of Matamoros. Logistics for this may be tricky. In case you take part in this, please make sure you have proper ID, with picture and all your parking tickets paid. Conference coordinators will keep you informed on this development.

For more information:
Contact IEN Conference Coordinator at (218) 751-4967. Fax: (218) 751-0561. Email: Caldwell@northernnet.com

For more information at Casa de Colores, contact them at (956) 542-0833.

"An alliance of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous communities towards sustainable livelihoods, environmental protection of our lands, water, air and maintaining the sacred Fire of our traditions."

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Indigenous Environmental Network

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