"More than one in three Native American kids live in poverty, and 22 percent ages 25 and older have not finished high school, the lowest of any racial/ethnic demographic group across all schools. Only 13 percent of Native Americans have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 29 percent of the US population.

"SB 164 removes a significant barrier to breaking out of poverty through higher education by ensuring that all TANF/CalWORKS students receive the benefit of priority registration.

"SB 164 was approved by a unanimous, bipartisan vote in the Assembly Higher Education Committee Tuesday afternoon.

"The bill will now move to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before heading to the Assembly floor for a full vote."

California Bill SB 164 was approved by the governor on July 21, 2017! It passed!

From Greenpeace:
"We’ve reached our goal of getting 50,000 signatures on our petition to JPMorgan Chase, calling on the bank to stop funding the expansion of tar sands pipelines and environmental destruction. But I know we can rally more people to take a stand. So, we’ve upped our goal to 75,000 signatures.

"Last week JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon and many others agreed to disband Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum in disagreement with Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville. While Dimon might not be on Trump’s council anymore, he’s still doing Trump’s bidding by funding destructive tar sands pipelines. As the sixth-largest bank in the world — and one that publicly supported the Paris Climate Agreement — JPMorgan Chase and Dimon have a responsibility to cut ties to this climate and human rights disaster, keep their word on Indigenous rights, and be consistent with the moral stand Dimon took last week.

"Tell JPMorgan Chase and Jamie Dimon we will hold them accountable and demand that they cut ties to the tar sands oil pipelines.

"Our efforts in pressuring big banks to pull their funding from pipelines is working. For example, ING formally announced it will not be financing tar sands oil pipeline projects, including Keystone XL, after it received a letter sent by 20 Indigenous and environmental groups asking the bank to refrain from financing Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline. It’s clear that large banks are beginning to be wary of the risks associated with dirty tar sands oil — we must keep raising our voices. Please help us reach our goal of 75,000 signatures and keep up the pressure on JPMorgan Chase."

Sign and forward this petition. And share it on Facebook!

P.S. If you would like some ideas on how to customize your message to JPMorgan Chase, click here:

www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/how-to-contact-the-17-banks-funding-the-dakota-access-pipeline-20160929

"What does it mean to be a Native American today? ln our latest installment of The Times’s Conversation on Race project, we set out to include as many perspectives on native identity as possible...

"While there are naturally nuances to everyone’s personal story, we saw a profound universality in their experiences. No matter who you are, if you are Native American, your opinions and experiences are marginalized to the point of invisibility in American society and culture."

Click to watch the video.

Here is a call to action from Chase Iron Eyes of Lakota People's Law Project to drop charges against all Water Protectors and to hold ETP and TigerSwan accountable for their illegal, violent, and racist actions.

Please SIGN and circulate this petition far and wide. Watch the video!

Share the link on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/LakotaPeoplesLawProject/videos/10155003346967029/

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chase Iron Eyes, Lakota People's Law Project <info@lakotalaw.org>
Date: Tue, Aug 8, 2017 at 1:47 PM
Subject: Standing Rock Legal Update + Urgent Call to Action




More than 800 water protectors were arrested while resisting the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). I’m one of them. Holy Elk is one of them. Our legal trials in North Dakota will begin soon, and I’m writing today to ask you to take important and timely action to stand with us and all of the water protectors who have been falsely charged.

Recently leaked documents reveal that DAPL parent company Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) hired a private security firm, TigerSwan, that employed paramilitary-style tactics at Standing Rock and lied to North Dakota law enforcement, forcing them to waste millions of dollars targeting our peaceful and prayerful movement.

The movement you helped create at Standing Rock isn’t over. We’ve now entered a new phase that may be the most important yet. You can help defend the protectors by calling on North Dakota to DROP THE CHARGES against all those arrested and to HOLD ETP AND TIGERSWAN ACCOUNTABLE for their illegal, violent, and racist actions.

Our chief counsel, Daniel Sheehan, has a lifetime of experience battling in this type of arena. Together with our legal team, he is mounting a defense for me and for Holy Elk, a respected woman and activist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who was arrested with me at Last Child Camp. Our cases will expose ETP, TigerSwan, their illegal collusion with North Dakota law enforcement, and their campaign to suppress free speech and activism on behalf of Grandmother Earth.

Recently, Elevate Films interviewed Danny about Standing Rock, TigerSwan, and our campaign asking North Dakota to drop the charges against all water protectors. You can click here to watch the video and sign our petition to North Dakota’s elected officials. Together, we can flood their inboxes with an overwhelming call, so please share this action with everyone in your network.

These legal battles should matter not just to those facing jail time, but to all of us who cherish this land we are so blessed to share. These cases will safeguard not just the defendants, but all people who value their right to stand, speak out, and exercise their freedom of expression in a country now under the leadership of a man actively seeking to suppress the voice of the people for the sake of fossil fuel profits. 

Pilamaya—we thank you!

Chase Iron Eyes
Lakota People’s Law Project Lead Counsel

P.S. Your involvement has never been more crucial than it is today. Please keep standing with Standing Rock. When you sign the petition assigning accountability to the actual perpetrators in the Dakotas and asking the state to do right by the water protectors, you’ll reinforce that the hearts and eyes of the world remain in lockstep with our Lakota nation. To help us spread awareness, please be sure to share this action with your networks. You have our continued gratitude. 

Lakota People's Law Project
740 Front St. Suite 265
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
United States

Message from Mikki Willis of Elevate:

Mainstream Media will not be talking about this!
It's up to us, the people, to broadcast this BREAKING NEWS to the world.
If you care about things like: human rights, people over profit, the environment, water, truth, our future, etc. PLEASE SHARE THIS VIDEO FAR AND WIDE!

WE ARE THE MEDIA! ✊🏻

SIGN THE PETITION: https://www.lakotalaw.org/

Please share this video link on Facebook.
If you are not on Facebook, here's an alternate link for the video.

This video interview is with Daniel Sheehan of Lakota People's Law Project. Daniel Sheehan and Chase Iron Eyes will both speak at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley on Friday, 8/25. Don't miss this very special event!

AWAKE, A DREAM FROM #STANDINGROCK is out on @NETFLIX today!

Watch! - https://www.netflix.com/title/80184376

Share the news on Facebook to spread the word!

Click here for the trailer. 

#NODAPL #WATERISLIFE

Hosted by Lakota People's Law Project.

Chase Iron Eyes and Daniel Sheehan will speak at La Peña Cultural Center (MAP) in Berkeley on Friday, 8/25 at 7:00pm. Marvelous speakers!

If you don't have a Facebook account, here is detailed info about the event.

UPDATE:
The 7:00pm event has sold out and a second event from 5:00pm to 6:30pm has been added. RVSPs are strongly recommended.

Event info on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/364660883974886

RSVP link:
"Please RSVP today, and arrive on time with your tickets to be guaranteed admission."
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/standing-rock-legal-update-and-urgent-call-to-action-tickets-36912403994

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