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<div>March 06, 2010<br>
<br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
<br>
Contact: Tracy Rector 206.387.2468 or<br>
<br>
Valerie Taliman 505.270.3092<br>
<br>
Longhouse Media condemns illegal use of "March Point" photo in hate
crime Native leaders in U.S and Canada demand protections for Native
youth<br>
<br>
SEATTLE -- Longhouse Media Executive Director Tracy Rector today
condemned the illegal use of a copyrighted photo of three teenagers
from the Swinomish, Grand Ronde, and Lummi Tribes in Washington that
was used in a hate crime against First Nations and Native American
youth.<br>
<br>
"We are appalled by the use of our image for such hateful and demeaning
purposes," said Rector, responding to an advertisement that appeared on
a Canadian online news site. "The photo of the three adolescent boys
was taken from promotional material for our film March Point, an
award-winning documentary," said Rector. "The film was made with three
young filmmakers and tells the story of their coming of age struggles
in a Native American community in the U.S. That this image would be
used for such deviant ends is deeply hurtful to these young men and
their families, and to the Native community as a whole."<br>
<br>
The advertisement headlined "Free Native Extraction Service" was placed
on the UsedWinnipeg.com website. The website is managed by
Victoria-based company called Black Press. They operate a network of
websites (47 in total) under the UsedEverywhere.com brand.<br>
<br>
Referring to Native youth, it began: "Have you ever had the experience
of getting home to find those pesky little buggers hanging outside your
home, in the back alley or on the corner???" It goes on to offer "free
extraction services to relocate them to their habitat," and continues
with other offensive remarks.<br>
<br>
"We condemn this as a hate crime, and will join with others to see the
perpetrators are brought to justice," said Rector. "This ad could
intimidate and incite violence against indigenous youth in North
America, and we are joining with Manitoba Chiefs to call for an end to
hate crimes such as these. We must all stand together to protect our
youth."<br>
<br>
Chairman Brian Cladoosby of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community said,
"We are saddened by the fact that some people still harbor extreme
hatred toward Native people as this advertisement demonstrates. But we
are also encouraged that many more people recognize this as a racist
attack on a generation of Native American youth who for the most part
are law-abiding citizens striving to overcome generations of poverty
and oppression, and live productive lives. We hope that calmer heads
prevail and that the individuals responsible for posting this ad are
prosecuted to the full extent of the law."<br>
<br>
While not an act of physical violence, it is one of intimidation and
threat. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, "a hate crime is
committed to intimidate, harm or terrify not only a person, but an
entire group of people to which the victim belongs. The victims are
targeted for who they are, not because of anything they have done. Hate
crimes involve intimidation, harassment, physical force or threat of
physical force against a person, a family or a property." Section
319(1): Public Incitement of Hatred, Criminal Code of Canada<br>
<br>
-more-<br>
<br>
Author and poet Sherman Alexie, a founding board member of Longhouse
Media from the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Tribes also spoke out, saying,
"As much as the world has changed for indigenous people in good ways,
there are still many violent and hateful folks out there who seek to
harm us, and we must condemn them in print and in action, and we must
do this together."<br>
<br>
###<br>
<br>
Reporters, for more information please contact:<br>
<br>
Tracy Rector: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="mailto:tr_nativelens@mac.com"
href="mailto:tr_nativelens%40mac.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ymailto="mailto:tr_nativelens%40mac.com">tr_nativelens@mac.com</a>
206.387.2468<br>
<br>
Valerie Taliman <a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="mailto:valerietaliman@gmail.com"
href="mailto:valerietaliman%40gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ymailto="mailto:valerietaliman%40gmail.com">valerietaliman@gmail.com</a>
505.270.3092<br>
<br>
Link to Longhouse Media website:<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" title="http://www.longhousemedia.org/"
href="http://www.longhousemedia.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.longhousemedia.org</a>
<br>
<br>
Link to story about advertisement:<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/04/man-aboriginal-websiteadvertisement.html#socialcomments#ixzz0hGVlPIyi"
href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/04/man-aboriginal-websiteadvertisement.html#socialcomments#ixzz0hGVlPIyi"
rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/04/man-aboriginal-websiteadvertisement.html#socialcomments#ixzz0hGVlPIyi</a>
<br>
<br>
link to Manitoba Chief video<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Aboriginal-group-objects-to-website-adpromoting-racism-86427167.html"
href="http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Aboriginal-group-objects-to-website-adpromoting-racism-86427167.html"
rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Aboriginal-group-objects-to-website-adpromoting-racism-86427167.html</a>
<br>
<br>
March Point link:<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/marchpoint/"
href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/marchpoint/" rel="nofollow"
target="_blank">http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/marchpoint/</a> <br>
<br>
March Point trailer:<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80nfzX7wzlQ"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80nfzX7wzlQ" rel="nofollow"
target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80nfzX7wzlQ</a> </div>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-------
wahjeh
rolland nadjiwon
</pre>
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