Media Advisory: Who is an Immigrant?

April 29, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO -- (U.S. ASIAN WIRE) -- Indigenous peoples/migrant peoples of the Americas stand together to question who is an immigrant really in light of the recent signing of SB1070 in Arizona.

When: 12:30 pm Thursday, April 29th

Where: 16th street BART station - 16th & Mission in San Francisco

"Who is an immigrant in this stolen land?" said Muteado Silencio, indigenous, in/migrant and poverty scholar with Voces de inmigrantes en resistencia at Prensa POBRE.
Citing the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples and the Indocumentalismo Manifiesto as ground-breaking documents that introduce new frameworks for immigration, a group of migrants, indigenous peoples, in/migrant justice fighters and economic justice advocates have released this response to the signing of SB 1070, citing it as an illogical law considering the history of colonization and immigration from Europe to the Americas.

"The spiritual future of the United States will be largely dependent on how it treats the descendants of the first inhabitants of this hemisphere. The United States has an opportunity to implement the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples, acknowledging its past and present misgivings toward the native peoples of this land," said Tony Robles, Co-editor of POOR Magazine/Prensa POBRE.

With these documents POOR Magazine will be questioning European immigration, colonization, land and resource theft as well as respond to the lie of false borders, SB1070, the prison-industrial complex and the criminalization of gente pobre across pachamama which uses racist borders, legislation and the lie of immigration to incarcerate poor and indigenous people locally and globally.

"SB1070 is a racist bill which criminalizes indigenous brown people who are migrating across mother earth because of poverty, family or the forces of globalization," said Lisa Gray-Garcia, Co-editor, POOR Magazine/Prensa POBRE.

.
Article 35 From The UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples, in particular those divided by international borders, have the right to maintain and develop contacts, relations and cooperation, including activities for spiritual, cultural, political, economic and social purposes, with other peoples across borders.

From the Indocumentalismo Manifiesto

Indigenous-based. Indocumentalismo recognizes that the struggle for migrant rights is a struggle within the context of indigenous rebellion and indigenous liberation. We recognize our indigenous ancestry and see ourselves not as "immigrants" or "illegal aliens", but as Native descendants living in the Northern, Central and Southern continents. Our method of organizing is collective and communal. We imagine love to build this movement and a connection of the four elements (fire, earth, water, wind) to humanity. We embrace our mother earth and all life on this planet. Indocumentalismo is indigenous-based.

POOR Magazine is a poor people led/indigenous people led, non-profit, grassroots, arts, organization providing media access, education and advocacy for youth, adults and elders in poverty in California.

Press Contact:
Carina Lomeli/ PoorNewsNetwork (510) 435-7500 / PoorNewsNetwork (415) 863-6306