Every year on Thanksgiving, a sunrise ceremony at Alcatraz Island (famous as home to a US military prison and then federal prison until 1963) brings indigenous peoples from many parts of the globe as well as local supporters to celebrate the indigenous takeover of Alcatraz and ongoing indigenous resistance movements.
The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition was thankful to have the opportunity to meet and speak with Ariel Traipi Huilipan, a representative from the Mapuche nation in Chile, who participated in the sunrise ceremony and spoke with us about the ongoing Mapuche prisoner hunger strike (that we mentioned last month).
As Huilipan explained, the striking Mapuche prisoners are being accused of terrorism – an allegation that he calls “unfounded” and said hasn’t been proven in any court, whether local or international. Rather, Huilipan said that Mapuches are being targeted in order for the Chilean government to get access to raw materials, which they are not willing to give up: “Respect the earth. We only have one.”
Source: Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, November 28th, 2012 (you can see the YouTube video at this link)