Anoka County Union letter about Indigenous Peoples rights

On December 19, 2008 – the following letter to the editor of mine was published in Minnesota’s Anoka County newspaper, the Anoka County Union. The population of Anoka County is 320,803 and its county seat is located in Anoka, Minnesota – a city located at the confluence of the ‘Rum’ and Mississippi rivers. I am the director of Rum River Name Change Organization.

Indigenous Peoples Rights

In an article published in Indian Country Today, the world’s leading American Indian news source, titled – Newcomb: World Conservation Congress endorses Declaration there are two statements that I would like to share with Anoka County Union readers.

With the passage of the document, “Implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” the WCC also acknowledges a connection between the colonization of Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories and several Vatican papal decrees and other similar documents from the fifteenth and later centuries. The motion explains that these were official authorizations to “invade, capture, vanquish” and “subdue” Indigenous Peoples, “subjugate” them and “reduce their persons to perpetual slavery” and “to take away all their possessions and property.”

The motion acknowledges that the effect of these authorizations, and the doctrines that followed from them, such as the “doctrine of discovery,” “terra nullius” and “terra nullus,” not only have been ecologically and culturally destructive for Indigenous Peoples, their lands, territories and resources, but also made passage of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples necessary.

source: http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/opinion/34082079.html?corder=reverse

A statement from my new article, ‘A Tribal Cultures Influenced Catholic Globalization Mission’, reads:

Indigenous Peoples Literature is an award winning site about indigenous peoples issues. This site has been accessed over 10,000,000 times. IPL posted my article, “Restoring The Fundamental Human Rights Of Indigenous Peoples”.  In response to this posting, both Steven Newcomb and Tony Castanha – the two internationally renowned leaders of the movement to restore the fundamental human rights of indigenous peoples by trying to influence the Vatican (Pope) to publicly revoke two 15th century Papal Bulls – contacted me. Newcomb wrote: ‘Thomas, good article’. And Rob Capriccioso, an author for Indian Country Today, the world’s leading American Indian news source, also contacted me and presented his ICT article about this topic. Tony Castanha has also contacted me to thank me for my youtube video wherein I protest against the Papal Bull Inter Caetera.

source, with reference links: http://www.towahkon.org/summary.html

Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer
Director of Rum River Name Change Organization, Inc.