| Poor audio - B-Roll of Rally For Immediate Release: April 16, 2012 Winnemem Tribe DEMANDS forest service respect native women's rights • Agency Refuses to Provide Closure of McCloud River Necessary for Girls' Traditional Coming of Age Ceremony • Winnemem Women and Chief Demand Face-to-Face Meeting With Regional Forester at Vallejo Headquarters • Winnemem Men and Supporters Picket with Signs EDITORS NOTE: Tribal leaders will address the press directly at 11 am on the front steps of the US Forest Service office located at 1323 Club Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592 Vallejo, CA -- Today members of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe will challenge USFS Regional Forester Randy Moore at his Vallejo office on the issue of protecting Indigenous Women from racial slurs and physical harm during their coming of age ceremonies. The Tribe is demanding that the Shasta-Trinity National Forest provide a four-day mandatory closure of a quarter mile stretch of the McCloud River during a coming of age ceremony for a teenage girl, which is planned for late June. The Tribe's past two Coming of Age Ceremonies have been disrupted by racial slurs, alcohol use, and indecent exposure from passersby in motorboats who refused to honor a voluntary closure. These boaters also endanger the physical safety of young tribal members who swim across the river as part of the ceremony. Winnemem tribal members and their supporters will picket the Forest Service office while tribal women seek a face-to-face audience with the <b>...</b> | Views: 15 0 ratings |
