AIM Protestors Plan Anti-Columbus Day Camp Without Permits From "Illegal Colonizer"

Apparently AIM--with the likes of Ward Churchill--plans to nullify or sidestep state and local law by seeking the "permission" of the "original tribes" in order to camp in Veterans Park, rejecting permits from "an occupying power" and "illegal colonizer":

The American Indian Movement and other activist groups plan to camp at Denver's Civic Center without permits this weekend to protest Saturday's Columbus Day parade.

They say they don't need a permit from "an occupying power" to use their own land.

State and Denver police said Monday they see things otherwise.

If the protesters choose to occupy Veterans Park next to the Capitol as planned, State Patrol officers will remove them, said Department of Public Safety spokesman Lance Clem.
. . .
But the group will not ask permission to set up camp, Spagnuolo said.

"Asking an illegal colonizer for permission to be on land that doesn't belong to them doesn't work for us," he said.
. . .
Still, he said, "We made a decision that we are no longer respecting the authority of the city of Denver. And we have requested permits from the original tribes."

Three tribes have given the protesters the right to camp in central Denver, he said.

AIM's tack this year claims to avoid direct confrontation with the parade itself, but it remains to be seen to what extent protestors interrupt, delay, or block the Italian-Americans' Columbus Day parade. Last year's large Friday anti-Columbus Day rally drew hundreds, and a similar number is likely to camp or congregate in Veterans Park this year. Challenging police to take action will make the focus of the news the protestors and their interaction with police, negating any publicity for the parade itself. Silencing opposition by diverting attention, a tried and true scheme from the moonbats on the left.

David Yeagley, a Comanche, challenged the protestor's logic and motivation:

"Columbus never made it to the mainland (the United States) and never met an American Indian," said David Yeagley, who said he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in music composition, as well as a master's degree from Yale University's School of Divinity.

"The dominant image of this parade is that American Indians are opposed to anything white or European. I don't consider Columbus to be a threat to American Indians. I consider (CU professor) Ward Churchill to be more threatening to American Indians," Yeagley said.

The Columbus Day parade in Denver has become the proxy for attacks on all "dead white men", colonialism, and any perceived "oppression" from racism and sexism to claims of "genocide" and even Iraq protests. Led by Glenn Morris and Ward Churchill, the local AIM chapter has decided to make an annual spectacle of an otherwise innocuous celebration of cultural history and a celebration of discovery. Blaming Columbus for subsequent wrongs, and their were undoubtedly many that should not be overlooked, represents an oversimplification of a rather complex history between Europeans and Native Americans. Year after year, instead of engaging in "dialogue", a term so endeared by the left, protestors devolve into name-calling and ridiculous "civil disobedience" actions that waste taxpayer money by the need for heavy police protection.

Don't like the parade? Hold your own separate rally, and allow others to hold theirs. It's called free speech.

technorati: columbus day american indian movement ward churchill colorado denver civic center italians christopher columbus