Buy Nothing Day Action Links Indigenous Cultural Survival & Environmental Justice

Indian People Organizing for Change(IPOC), Announces a Call To Action for
5th Annual Buy Nothing Day In Support of Indigenous Cultural Survival and
Environmental Justice.

The earth, sacred sites, and ancestors are sacred, consumerism
and money are not!

When: November 24th 12:00PM - 4:00PM
Where: Bay Street Mall Emeryville Shellmound

On the day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest days in the American
retail calendar and the unofficial start of the international
Christmas-shopping season, Indian People Organizing for Change
(IPOC), invites all to the 5th Annual Buy Nothing Day Demonstration.

The site for the demonstration is the Bay Street Mall in Emeryville, CA,
which was recently built atop the Emeryville Shellmound despite protests
and strong objections from IPOC and supporters. The shell mound was once
60 feet high and up to 600+ feet in diameter; it is older than
the pyramids in Egypt and formerly held at least four historical levels
of burial sites.

"Today these sites are threatened by developments that have no
respect for our way of life, and our spirituality, and our natural way of
life. We must continue to stand up for our beliefs. The spirit of the past
will rise to claim the future, that's what we are doing today" states
Jimbo
Simmons of the San Francisco based International Indian Treaty
Council.

Concerned citizens will come together at the Bay Street Mall, which has
been dubbed, "Dead Street Mall" to expose the environmental and ethical
consequences of over-consumption and bring attention to the ongoing
struggle for environmental justice and protection of Sacred Shellmounds
throughout the Bay Area and sacred sites everywhere from further desecration.

Ohlone activist and organizer Corrina Gould state,"We do this
the day after 'Unthanksgiving' even though the Shellmound, the land, has
been desecrated by this strip mall. We give out educational material
because it's a cemetery and ask people not to shop at the mall." "We will
give out educational material because this is a cemetery.

We will meet together to remember our ancestors and to educate shoppers
about the 3500 year old Ohlone burial site that was desecrated for
consumers shopping enjoyment.

We envision moving away from a culture of rampant consumerism and to a
culture of protecting sacred sites all over the world that are now in
danger from being desecrated such as what the Bay Street Mall has
done to Emeryville Shellmound.

Buy Nothing Day isn't just about changing your habits for one day.
It's about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and
producing less waste. Consumerism is desecrating the earth and its
resources. Thousands of activists and concerned citizens everywhere
will take a 24-hour consumer detox as part of the 14th annual Buy
Nothing Day, a global phenomenon.

IPOC has called this action to draw attention to the desecration and bring
justice to the sacred Shellmounds. A "die in" has been proposed to
signify has called this action to draw attention to the desecration and
bring justice to the sacred shell mounds. A "die in" has been proposed to
signify the grave sites that lay beneath the "dead Street Mall".


Contact Indian People Organizing for Change
to pick up fliers and to get involved!

Shellmoundwalk [at] yahoo.com