Arizona Indymedia Correspondent Murdered in Oaxaca

Marcella "Sali" Grace Eiler, activist and correspondent with Arizona Indymedia, was found dead last week in Oaxaca with signs of a brutal rape and murder.

Sally had lived between Tucson and Oaxaca since 2006. When in Arizona, Sally helped raise awareness and support for the struggle in Oaxaca, as well as engaging in solidarity work on the U.S. / Mexico border and in the Tucson community.

Although the situation surrounding her death is still coming to light, news of Sally's brutal murder has left many in the Tucson community in shock and struggling for answers. Several impromptu memorials have taken place since September 26, when we learned of her death, including one on Sunday that brought together dozens of people who were touched by Sally's life, either as an activist, a dancer, a friend, a fighter, a musician or artist.

Whenever Sally was in Oaxaca, she posted regularly to Arizona Indymedia. Unfortunately, in recent months we've been unable to publish her updates, because our website has been down due to technical difficulties. Sally Eiler's final story, Army Out of Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Country! was submitted on June 21, 2008. In the coming days Arizona Indymedia will post a features archive of Sally's stories and photographs.

More coverage: Justice for Sali!, Hasta Siempre, Sally Grace, Mexican Activists Turn Over Mexico City Man to Police in Sally Grace Eiler Murder Case

Update: On September 30th, the day Sali would have turned 21, a march was held in Oaxaca demanding justice for Sali and an end to violence against women.

Stories and Photographs 2007-2008 Posted by Slain Tucson Activist

Posted below are links to all of the stories Sally Grace Eiler posted to AZ Indymedia over the two years she was in Oaxaca. Sally's memory will live on in the hearts of those who continue to struggle...

July 2007: Update on Oaxaca: news and photos,
August 2007: Oaxacan Women´s March; Memorial March, Oaxaca; Oaxaca... In defense of the forest and community life
September 2007: 11th years of imprisonment
October 2007: October in Oaxaca
November 2007: Nov.2nd, Oaxaca, one year after the All Saints Battle; November 25th, one year later
June 2008: Army out of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and the country!

More of Sally's photos from Oaxaca

Tribes & Environmental Groups Affirm Commitment to Protect Holy Mountain

Flagstaff, AZ -- On August 8, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a long awaited ruling today in the case to protect the environmental and cultural integrity of Arizona's San Francisco Peaks. The split decision overturned a previous court ruling and has temporarily denied attempts by tribes and environmental groups to stop Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort from expanding development and making fake snow from treated sewage effluent on the holy mountain.

"The cultural survival of more than 13 Indigenous Nations is directly intertwined with the environmental integrity of the holy San Francisco Peaks," said Jeneda Benally, a volunteer with the Save the Peaks Coalition. "Today's decision not only places these ways of life in peril but sets the stage for an ecological and public health catastrophe. We have no choice but to uphold our commitment to protect the holy San Francisco Peaks," continued Benally.

The United States Forest Service manages the San Francisco Peaks as public land and has faced multiple lawsuits by the Navajo Nation, Hopi, White Mountain Apache, Yavapai Apache, Hualapai, and Havasupai tribes, as well as the Sierra Club, Flagstaff Activist Network, Center of Biological Diversity, and others after it initially approved the proposed ski area development in 2005... read more>>>

Calendar of Upcoming Events for Taala Hooghan Community Center

All events are free unless otherwise listed. Donations are always accepted! Please contact us if you are interested in hosting an event or meeting.

Taala Hooghan needs volunteers to help keep the community space alive! If you're sick of seeing green spaces bulldozed and big boxes go up support and sustain the community based alternatives! Specifically, people are needed to staff, put on or help with events, do outreach, organize books, copy 'zines, table at other events and more! Volunteer as little or as much as you like.

Come check out 'zines, CDs, DVDs, Zapatista coffee & honey, and books on Indigenous issues, Feminism, Anarchism, and more... Infoshop is open Tues. - Fri. 4-8pm, Sat. 2pm-8pm.

Click here to see a list of upcoming events.

Site back live after four month freeze

Arizona Indymedia is back up and running after having been frozen as a result of technical difficulties since May 2008. Over the coming weeks we'll be going through a back-log of features and updating the site regularly

In the meantime, please be patient with us. And please, keep publishing your content!!

Dozens Denied Chance to Comment in Packed City Council Meeting

On July 8 the Tucson City Council voted unanimously to approve "Downtown Links", a new roadway connecting Aviation Parkway (and Davis Montham Air Force Base) to I-10. Neighborhood groups, downtown residents, artists and representatives of local businesses packed the meeting, and though a few claimed that the roadway would bring private investment downtown, dozens were prevented from speaking against the roadway when comment was cut off after only 30 minutes.

As a result of the roadway the Dunbar/Springs neighborhood will be almost completely isolated from the downtown area. Dunbar/Springs has been among the most ecologically forward-thinking neighborhoods in the city, setting the model for Tucsonʻs sustainable city initiative. The neighborhood will be rewarded for its efforts with a highway built through the middle of it. Click here to read a letter from the Dunbar Springs Neighborhood Association opposing the new roadway.

The current Downtown Links alignment was railroaded through after only six weeks of exploring alternatives. The Community Advisory Committee had previously pledged in May to spend three months investigating the full cost of the roadway and alternative routes by which it could be constructed. As of yet it is still unclear whether funding will be available for the amenities promised to neighborhoods in exchange for the road. Downtown Links is not scheduled to be completed until 2021, although construction could begin within three years. Many neighborhood groups have vowed to continue fighting against what they call an ill-conceived project.

For more information visit www.rethinkthelink.com

Rally to tell city council not to balance their budget on the backs of the poor

On Tuesday, June 17 at 5:15 pm demonstrators will gather in front of the Tucson city hall (255 W. Alameda) to demand that the city council not increase Sun Tran bus fares. The city council is due to vote on the issue the same day.

Given the economic downturn the city is facing a budget crisis. While the city continues to subsidize developers and pump millions into hair-brained schemes like a new stadium and convention-center, the Democrat-dominated city council wants to balance the books by hiking bus fares on the already cumbersome Tucson bus system. With gas prices as high as they are, and the rising threat of global warming, it is strange that the city would choose now as the time to discourage bus transit and make it more difficult for those who have no other options.

Tuesdayʻs rally is being organized by Casa Maria Catholic Worker Kitchen, and will feature speakers, music, and free hot dogs and lemonade.

Council people that can be contacted and pressured:
Nina Trasoff - 791-4601
Shirley Scott 791-3199

Solidarity Event to Include Art Auction, Film, Potluck and More

On Friday, May 30th, a benefit will be held at the Dry River Collective (740 N. Main) to support political activists facing repression in Aotearoa (New Zealand). On 15th October 2007, over 300 police invaded Maori villages and arrested 17 indigenous, anarchist, environmental and anti-war activists across the country. The police initially wanted to charge 12 activists under the Terrorism Suppression Act, however to date no evidence of a so-called terrorist plot has been revealed. After 4 weeks in jail, everyone was released and new charges concocted. A trial is set to take place for alleged possession of weapons.

The Tucson event will include a screening of 'Tuhoe: A History of Resistance' which provides background for the recent repression and illuminates the richness of indigenous resistance in Aotearoa. There will also be an art auction, potluck dinner, and a presentation on the raids providing current information. English/Spanish translation will be provided.

For more information visit october15solidarity.info

Chairman testifies that border wall construction violates federal law, destroyed graves

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS -- Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris, Jr., testified at a Congressional hearing that the construction of the border wall has plowed through the graves of the Hohokam and fragments of human bone have been found in the contractor's heavy equipment tracks.

"Imagine a bulldozer in your family graveyard," Norris testified at the Congressional field hearing on April 28. "In the words of the U.S. Supreme Court, Indian tribes predate the United States. We are older than the international boundary with Mexico, but our nation is now cut in half."

Norris said Homeland Security's desire to move forward with inflexible time guidelines has damaged the environment and cultural areas. Norris testified that the contractor, Boeing, has destroyed graves, cultural sites and created a barrier of the Tohono O'odham ceremonial route. When the Tohono O'odham Nation acted to delay construction of the border wall in endangered jaguar territory, the construction continued as planned, despite promises to the contrary.

"I am here to urge you to restore the rule of law," Norris said, adding that the price being paid is too high for the people and their ancestors for the border wall. "Today it is as if Congress never passed NEPA," Norris said, referring to the National Environmental Policy Act. "We support border security, but not at the price that is now being paid." Norris said the US/Mexico border crossed the Tohono O'odham people and their land. Today, the border construction has divided a salt pilgrimage route and Tohono O'odham families. "We didn't cross the 75 miles of border on our reservation, the border crossed us."

Read more at: bsnorrell.blogspot.com, or click here to see video of the hearing.

Community Advisory Committee postpones decision on new roadway until August as opposition overwhelms public meeting

During an open house public meeting on the proposed Tucson Downtown Links Roadway on Monday, May 12, the city's Department of Transportation voted to reconsider the path of a roadway connecting the Aviation Parkway to I-10. TDOT stated that a decision for the roadway will be postponed until August. The roadway, in it's currently proposed route, would level dozens of historic buildings, displace artists, community groups and businesses, and isolate downtown neighborhoods from one another.

Dozens of roadway opponents packed the meeting, many from the downtown warehouse artist's district and the Dunbar Springs and West University neighborhoods - constituencies who would be heavily impacted by the roadway's construction along it's current route. Many downtown residents, artists and community groups claim that the roadway would be a death sentence for these vital downtown areas.

With the threat of global warming and rising gas prices, still others questioned the wisdom of any new roadway construction while the city ignores alternative transportation options. The funding that allowed for the new road itself was approved in a November 2006 referendum; the Pima County's Democratic Party has filed suit against the referendum results and the County's elections department, claiming that the vote was fraudulently tampered with.

While, for now, all options remain on the table for Downtown Links, the three month delay for any decision will give neighborhood advocates some breathing room as opposition grows to this potential boondoggle. For more information on Downtown Links and community opposition, visit: www.rethinkthelink.com and www.downtownlinks.info

Local anarchists leave an early morning greeting to delegates of the state Republican convention in Mesa

MESA, AZ - In the early hours of Saturday, May 10, 2008, a group of anarchists, in solidarity with all the disenfranchised of Arizona and the United States, carried out a warning action against the GOP state convention in the Mesa Convention Center.

Letters of notice, proclaiming "You are not welcome here. We are watching. See you in St. Paul" were pasted to the convention center facade. Slogans, including "No government like no government," "Smash the state!," and "See you in St. Paul" were spray-painted to the venue, along with anarchist circle-As. Additionally, fliers were laid out with care on the delegate tables.

St. Paul Minnesota is the place of the national Republican presidential nominating convention and takes place September 1-4... read more>>>

Circulated Petition to be Presented to Governments of the United States and Mexico

In a gathering on March 29, 2008, traditional O’odham leaders and international supporters arrived in the small village of Quitovac in the Northern Sonoran State of Mexico to honor the land, the sky, the water, and all life, and to continue organizing to stop the building of a toxic waste dump that’s planned to be placed just a few miles from one of the most sacred ceremony sites of the O’odham.

Since early in 2006 the traditional O’odham residing in the occupied territories of Northern Mexico and the South Western United States (and their international supporters) have persistently and patiently organized, protested and petitioned to try to convince the Mexican government federal Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (SEMARNAT) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop the company CEGIR from building this toxic dump. So far, protest and international attention has held back the initial phases of the dump construction, but there have been no official statements from SEMARNAT, CEGIR or any other entity that the plans to build the dump have actually been officially canceled.

Traditional O'odham are asking for help in the continued effort to stop the toxic waste dump on O'odham ceremonial grounds, through the circulation of a petition that will be included in the original statement from the Traditional O'odham Elders to be re-submitted to Mexico's and United States government agencies, to request for an official statement not to pursue the project. CEGIR is presently waiting for a change in the local government to push this project for an approved land permit to dump 45,000 tons of toxic waste a year... read more>>>

For more information visit: the O'odham Solidarity Project and www.greenaction.org.

Demonstrators Demand an End to Border Patrol Raids and Militarization, Equal Rights for All

More than 1,000 people came out for International Worker's Day in Tucson, to demand an end to Department of Homeland Security raids, an end to border militarization, and equal rights for all regardless of immigration status.

Demonstrators began gathering at 8:00 a.m. at Southgate Shopping Center in South Tucson. By the time the march left it was easily 800 people strong. All along the route people joined the march, including several south Tucson charter high schools - this despite the threat from Tucson Unified School District bureaucrats that no student would be excused for missing classes on May 1. At Armory Park the rally continued with speakers, music, a maypole, food and folks gathered for networking, education and conversation. A Mayday march was also held on May 1 in Tempe, AZ.

May 1st, International Workers' Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in every country except the United States, Canada, and South Africa. This, despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the United States, after the martyrdom of eight anarchists during the fight for an eight-hour work day.

Read More>>>

Russell Pearce Sponsored Bill Passes State House Appropriations Committee, Advances to House and Senate Floor

Arizona schools whose courses “denigrate American values and the teachings of Western civilization” could lose state funding under the terms of legislation approved Wednesday by a House panel. SB 1108 also would bar teaching practices that “overtly encourage dissent” from those values, including democracy, capitalism, pluralism and religious toleration. Schools would have to surrender teaching materials to the state school superintendent for review, who could withhold state aid of districts that broke the law.

Another section of the bill would bar public schools, community college and universities from allowing organizations to operate on campus if it is “based in whole or in part on race-based criteria,” a provision Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said is aimed at MEChA, the Moviemiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a student group he described as racist... read more>>>

Peabody Coal Seeking to Expand Operations; Resistance to Forced Relocation Continues

On behalf of their peoples, their ancestral lands, and future generations, more than 350 Dineh residents of Black Mesa continue their staunch resistance to the efforts of the US Government-- acting in the interests of the Peabody Coal Company—to relocate the Dineh and destroy their homelands. This land is the basis for the Black Mesa peoples’ traditions, livelihoods, and spirituality.

At this moment the decision makers in Washington D.C. are planning ways to seize tribal lands to extract mineral resources. The coal companies are funding both the Republican and Democratic parties because they have huge interests at stake. Presidential candidate John McCain recently sponsored forced-relocation legislation targeting these Dineh families. Peabody Coal, the world's largest coal company, currently has plans to expand its strip mine operations and to seize more deep aquifers beneath these indigenous lands. Peabody Coal Company has completely dug up burials, sacred sites, and shrines designated specifically for offerings, preventing religious practices. Not only were the principal concerns of the communities directly affected by the legislation never addressed, those communities were not even notified.

On April 19 a benefit will be held in Flagstaff to support native resisters at Black Mesa. Other upcoming events include the Annual Spring Planting Project, to help elders plant fields that would otherwise remain fallow. Help is especially needed this year due to the heavy rains. In addition, a Fall 2008 Support Caravan is currently being planned... read more>>>

Click here to see a list of upcoming events in support of Black Mesa.

For more information visit Black Mesa Indigenous Support at: www.blackmesais.org

In honor of "Fossil Fools Day", Tucson activists hung banners condemning two proposed highways from each side of the city’s iconic “Snake Bridge”

On April 1st, as part of "Fossil Fools Day," Tucson activists hung a banner condemning the proposed Downtown Links and I-10 Bypass highways from each side of the Snake Bridge at the intersection of Broadway Blvd and Aviation Hwy in the early hours of April 2. The banners were clearly visible for the duration of the morning commute, and were removed by city officials at 9:30 a.m.

Reading "No New Roads: Put the Brakes on Global Warming!", the banners were situated just above the proposed starting point of Downtown Links in full view of commuter traffic. The action was meant to highlight the role of new roads in promoting runaway carbon dioxide emissions as part of an international day of protest focused on "climate criminals."

The proposed Downtown Links highway would connect I-10 to Aviation Highway, punching through the downtown Warehouse Arts District. Area residents have condemned the planned road, saying it would destroy community spaces and historic buildings without providing any local benefit.

The proposed I-10 Bypass would stretch 250 miles from the Willcox area to Buckeye, allowing freight trucks to avoid Phoenix and Tucson traffic. The road has met widespread local opposition on the grounds that it would destroy sensitive wildlife habitat, degrade the character of rural communities and pave the way for sprawl in relatively undisturbed areas. read more>>>

Tucson Community Builds Autonomous Park In Path of Proposed Roadway

Tucson Events to Highlight Repression and Resistance in Mexico; Groups Call for Pressure to Stop Plan Mexico

NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, driving migration, fueling social unrest, and undoing environmental, health, labor and land protections. Under "NAFTA-plus" - the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) - trinational negotiators continue to chip away at our rights and living standards, but now without even public knowledge of the procedures and the decisions that affect our lives.

Yet the U.S. Congress and President Bush - in bed with corporate interests - have ignored popular opposition and passed more Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)! Under Plan Mexico, Bush wants to send more lethal aid to the Mexican security forces involved in beating and murdering anti-globalization activists.

Unlike the behind-the-scenes negotiations of the SPP, funding for the $550 million plan must be approved by the U.S. Congress. We have an opportunity to stop this initiative before it goes through! Plan Mexico would not effectively support Mexico's fight against organized crime or improve the binational relationship. The "aid" in Plan Mexico goes to corrupt & brutal Mexican security forces and U.S. defense companies! Many local and national groups are urging others to take action today to Stop Plan Mexico... read more>>>

Several upcoming events in Tucson will highlight repression and resistance to neo-liberalism in southern Mexico. On Saturday, March 29 a dinner, photo, film and variety show will highlight and raise money for indigenous groups in Oaxaca who are fighting for land and autonomy. Sally, an arizona indymedia journalist who just returned from several months living in Oaxaca, will share stories and experiences from her travels.

On Sun, April 6 a member of "Friends of Brad Will" will be showing the film "One More Night at the Barricades", about Brad's life and the struggle in Oaxaca for which he gave it. Brad Will was a New York City indymedia journalist assassinated by government death sqauds in Oaxaca City in November 2006. His murderers, filmed by Brad himself moments before his death, have yet to be brought to justice - one more indication of the impunity with which government forces are repressing social movements throughout Mexico.