Protest Leader Anquoe at “Huge International Stage” Visits United Nations

Sogorea Te Sacred Site Protest-Day 28

by Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Challenges. Discussion »

NEW YORK - Mark Anquoe (Kiowa), who has been at the Sogorea Te sacred burial site since the occupation began three weeks ago, left the occupation to fly to New York on Tuesday to attend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which is set to meet on May 16 - 27.

UN to Hear Protest

Anquoe, of the International Indian Treaty Council, spoke to the Native News Network from the United Nations in New York on Thursday evening.

“The United Nations is a huge international stage and people are discovering what the leaders in Vallejo, California are doing to American Indians,”

said Anquoe.

“My work really is at the United Nations for the International Indian Treaty Council, but needless to say, I have been focusing all of my attention on Glen Cove,” commented Anquoe. The International Indian Treaty Council has an office in San Francisco, where Anquoe lives.

He flew to New York early so that he could network with others and discuss options protest leaders have to save Sogorea Te, commonly known as Glen Cove.

“The response has been pretty good,” said Anquoe. “Many people from around the world are dealing with a lot worse situations, such as governments that come in a wipe out whole villages. But, when I explain the whole story about the sacred graves at Glen Cove that are 3,500 years old, people are very understanding.”

The International Indian Treaty Council alleges that the City of Vallejo violated the Human Rights of many Indigenous Peoples from the San Francisco Bay area. A number of International Human Rights Conventions were cited, particularly those pertaining to the right to practice religion and culture, and the right to access sacred and culturally significant sites.