Carrie Dann to appear live on ArizonaNativeNet

Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone elder and human rights activist to appear live on ArizonaNativeNet at 3:30 p.m. (PST), Friday, September 28, 2007

The University of Arizona Rogers College of Law Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy (IPLP) Program is pleased to announce an upcoming webcast on ArizonaNativeNet featuring Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone elder and human rights activist. Please tune in to mms://128.196.84.6/aznnlive at 3:30 p.m. (PST) on Friday, September 28, to hear Ms. Dann discuss current environmental threats to Western Shoshone land and the United States' ongoing violation of international law. You will need to have the Windows Media Player, www.windowsmediaplayer.com, to view this webcast. If you are not able to join us for the live webcast, an archive will be available for free at www.arizonanativenet.com.

For over forty years, Carrie Dann (Western Shoshone), along with her sister Mary (now deceased), has been at the forefront of the Western Shoshone Nation's struggle for land rights and sovereignty. They have led a political and legal battle to retain ancestral lands in Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah. Ms. Dann has squared off against international gold mining corporations, the nuclear industry and the U.S. government. The United Nations and the Organization of American States have supported the Dann sisters in their fight to protect Western Shoshone territory. For their courage and perseverance in asserting the rights of Indigenous peoples, the Dann sisters have received numerous awards including the 1993 Alternative Nobel Prize and the International Right Livelihood Award. Ms. Dann is also the subject of countless film documentaries, articles and books, and is considered a living legend in the struggles of Native Americans.

The actions of the United States against the Western Shoshone have been condemned by both the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The IPLP Program, through Professor S. James Anaya, provides legal representation to Carrie Dann before these international institutions. Ms. Dann continues to push for implementation of the Inter-American Commission's decision, appearing before the Commission in March 2007 to urge the United States to comply with the Commission's recommendations and conclusions. The Western Shoshone Defense Project, a non-governmental organization set up to support Carrie Dann and her struggle, is leading the advocacy efforts before CERD. To access the case files and other documents on the CERD and IACHR actions, go to: www.law.arizona.edu/depts/iplp/advocacy/shoshone/index.cfm?page=advoc