Above photo: Ecuador rebellion during June 2022. Inflationary pressure in the region has also influenced the elections in Colombia. An alliance of Indigenous organizations in Ecuador have held daily demonstrations after sharp increases in the costs for fuel and food. The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) began their general strike actions on June 13 after huge price hikes crippled the capacity of rural and urban communities to access transportation and food for their households. In response to the demonstrations and an assortment of other forms of resistance, President Guillermo Lasso has declared a state of emergency in several provinces […]
Indigenous
Above Photo: Blockade Of The Access Road To Puyo City In The Province Of Pastaza, Ecuador, June 13, 2022. @Confeniae1 / Twitter. The Current Protests Are Taking Place In A Political-Institutional Environment That Is Potentially Very Dangerous For The Respect Of Human And Civil Rights. From the early hours of Monday, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) began a national strike against the government of Guillermo Lasso by blocking highways in provinces such as Pastaza, Napo, and Guayas. CONAIE President Leonidas Iza said that the social mobilization, which will continue for an indefinite period of time, emerges as a […]
For Self Determination – Decolonization. Los Angeles, CA – Gathering in independent formation as a continental alliance of Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala [Americas], the Continental Commission Abya Yala has convened in Los Angeles for a four-day gathering to advance a collective geopolitical agenda in defense of right of self-determination of Indigenous Peoples. Calling for the implementation of the international protocols and procedures for decolonization in the hemisphere as Indigenous Peoples, equal to all other peoples, the Encounter of Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala has denounced as illegitimate and discriminatory the continued normalization of the doctrine of “Internal Colonization” of Indigenous Peoples by the states […]
Above Photo: The Green Connection / Twitter. #Tohellwithshell Indigenous coastal communities and environmental organizations in South Africa argue that Shell did not consult affected communities, and did not obtain environmental authorization. On Monday, May 30, communities from South Africa’s Wild Coast gathered in front of a court in the city of Gqeberha. The day marked the beginning of a landmark 3-day legal challenge brought by these communities against gas and oil multinational Shell, Impact Africa, and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). The case is the culmination of a long struggle to protect the Wild Coast against oil and […]
Above Photo: Panelists speak during a session of the 2022 Alaska Just Transition Summit: Vol II, which took place May 20-22, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tanner Johnson. In the United States, the public and politicians are moving in opposite directions on climate change. Grassroots environmental activism is spreading on the local state, regional and national levels, while Congress generally continues with a “business-as-usual” approach, rejecting the foremost way to avoid the worst consequences of global warming: the Green New Deal. While the Green New Deal remains aspirational in the U.S., it has been adopted by the European Union, and scores of […]
“First of all, thank you all for being here and taking part in this movement to raise awareness. Together we will make our voices heard. Today, as we honor missing and murdered Indigenous people, I want to mention the importance of building up our young people and being sure they have a voice. Some of us adults are still looking for ours. “We have been historically underrepresented. Our people have been oppressed for far too long. We have to work to address the white, colonized, patriarchal systems that this country is founded on. We have to make sure that we count […]
Washington, DC – Yesterday Gabe Galanda, Chairman of the Huy Board of Advisors, delivered an intervention in Washington, DC to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, regarding obstacles Indigenous prisoners in the United States face to enjoying and exercising the right to freedom of religion or belief. Shaheed held a consultation with Indigeneous peoples from the United States regarding obstacles they face in exercising traditional religious freedoms. In October 2022, he will issue a report at the United Nations General Assembly regarding impediments to Indigenous religious rights worldwide. The Native American Rights Fund also delivered an intervention to the Special Rapporteur. […]
Above Photo: Dennis Willard, of Bellevue, Wash., carries a sign that reads “Where Is She” as he marches in support of missing and murdered Indigenous women during a rally to mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day in downtown Seattle, Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. AP Photo / Ted S. Warren. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day 2022. Portland, Oregon – It’s been five years since the city of Portland organized its first week of events aimed at increasing awareness of the high rates at which Indigenous people are murdered or go missing in Oregon and nationwide. Despite some changes to address the problem […]
Above photo: Maria Violet Medina Quiscue from Pueblo Nasa in Colombia. Tristan Ahtone, Grist. Women from the frontlines of extraction projects, and the boardrooms that fund them, came together to call for the end of extraction to ensure a sustainable future. At the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous leaders, women are talking about how to hold financial institutions accountable for fueling climate catastrophe through investments in the extractive industry. Michelle Cook, Navajo, was among those who offered powerful testimonies focused on the women at the frontlines of extractive projects, the boardrooms of financial institutions, and the halls of governments. Speaking at […]
Above Photo: Pictured is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) made an arrest based on a mistaken identification on April 18. Wet’suwet’en activists have stated that the arrest was a part of prolonged intimidation and harassment by the police. (Gidimt’en Checkpoint / Twitter) Traditional leaders and organizers of the Wet’suwet’en movement against Coastal GasLink have pointed out constant police incursions since March and heavy surveillance of protest sites. As the Indigenous anti-pipeline resistance against the Coastal GasLink (CGL) continues in the Wet’suwet’en lands in Canada, the police have been intimidating the protesters and residents of the land and conducting surveillance. On […]
Above Photo: “Escuchen a los trabajadores,” one sign reads at the Nov. 13, 2021, picket at Simi Winery. “Listen to the workers.” Brooke Anderson. Grape Harvesters Share Traditional Ecological Knowledge To Right Our Relationship With The Land—And Each Other. Anayeli Guzman was born into a Mixtec-speaking Indigenous community in San Miguel Chicahua in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her family raised chickens on their land, and as a child she would help plant corn, squash and radishes. They ate handmade tortillas with beans, eggs and salsa. Her grandparents taught her to care for the land and to revere the rain. Few people worked for wages. Rather, […]
US Attorney Drops Charges Against Indigenous Water Protectors and Allies Who Occupied Bureau of Indian Affairs Demanding Indigenous Rights Be Upheld. Washington, D.C. – The United States Attorney’s office has decided to not charge 33 Indigenous water protectors and their allies who were arrested while peacefully occupying the Bureau of Indian Affairs lobby in the US Department of Affairs building on October 14th, 2021. This was the first time since the 1972’s Trail of Broken Treaties that Indigenous leaders occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Indigenous leaders were met with extreme violence from the police leaving one Indigenous woman with a […]
Above photo: Cherokee Nation hosted the kickoff event for the United Nations’ International Decade of Indigenous Languages on January 5-7, 2022 at the Chota Conference Center in Tahlequah. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. opened the first day of the event with a welcome. The Cherokee Nation hosted the launch of the United Nations’ International Decade of Indigenous Languages in Tahlequah last week. The three-day event featured language leaders from around the world, both in person and virtually, to share information and best practices on language preservation efforts. The 10-year initiative continues the work of the United Nations General Assembly’s […]
Above photo: CIAT – CC BY-SA 2.0. And The Shame Of Shrinks. Roland Chrisjohn, lead author of Dying to Please You: Indigenous Suicide in Contemporary Canada, more effectively than anyone I know, confronts this tragic denial by mental health professionals: through their medicalizing and diseasing of sociopolitically-fueled suicidality, they are enabling suffering and increasing suicide. Chrisjohn is Onyota’a:ka of the Haudenausaunee, has a doctorate in psychology, and is currently an associate professor in the Department of Native Studies at St. Thomas University in Canada (Dying to Please You coauthors are Shaunessy M. McKay and Andrea Odessa Smith). Chrisjohn—to make it as easy as possible […]
Above Photo: Mi’kmaq grandmothers and supporters celebrate the cancellation of the Alton Gas project. Darren Calabrese. Plans to flush out salt caverns for gas storage hit a wall of Mi’kmaq grandmothers. Cheryl Maloney’s eyes glossed over with tears as she stood near the bank of the Stewiacke River in the middle of Nova Scotia. The news was finally sinking in. Behind her, about 100 people filled plates with spaghetti and fried chicken; the crowd included her 11-year-old grandson, Drake Nevin, one of many children who’d spent most of their childhoods fighting alongside Elders to protect this river system. She saw the […]
Above Photo: People Gather Outside The Yakama Legends Casino Events Center In Toppenish, Wash. Before The First Meeting Of The State’s New Task Force For Missing And Murdered Indigenous People On Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Emree Weaver / Yakima Herald-Republic File. Washington State – A bill proposed in Olympia would create an alert system for missing and murdered Indigenous women and people, the first of its kind in Washington and the United States. House Bill 1725 would create an alert to help identify and locate missing Indigenous women and people. Similar to “silver alerts” for missing vulnerable adults, it would broadcast information […]
A zoning law would have opened up the southern Argentinian province of Chubut to large-scale mining by multinational corporations. But the law was defeated in just five days by an alliance of environmentalists, workers, youth, and indigenous people. Their fight points the way forward for other movements around the world. The people of the southern Argentinian province of Chubut are celebrating more than just the holidays this December. After a fierce struggle against a recently enacted zoning law that would have opened the province up to large-scale silver, copper, and lead mining by multinational corporations like Canadian Pan American Silver, the […]
Above photo: Screenshot of a map of Enbridge’s pipeline system, Enbridge’s website, 12-3-21. On November 5, the Canadian oil company Enbridge announced that it plans to increase capacity on its pipeline system that connects a crude-oil storage hub in Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast, now that the Line 3 pipeline linking Alberta and Wisconsin is complete. The Carrizo Comecrudo and other Indigenous groups in the area, along with the Indigenous Environmental Network, have pledged to protect Indigenous sacred sites and oppose future pipeline developments. Increasing capacity may include building a new pipeline linking the Houston area to the Port of […]
Above Photo: Amazon tribal leader and climate activist Kreta Kaingang speaks during a demonstration in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 5, 2021, during the United Nations Climate Conference, known as COP26. Jon Super / AP Photo. Note: Global Indigenous is a weekly news roundup published every Wednesday by Indian Country Today with some of the key stories about Indigenous peoples around the world. Coverage around the world on Indigenous issues for Nov. 15-21, 2021. Around the world: First Nations people exposed to cancer-causing chemicals in Canada, Indigenous protests against a nickel mine and an oil pipeline, and Indigenous activists denounce a COP26 […]
Above Photo: Cover photo of Sid Mills by Frank Hopper. You Can Too An informal group of Northwest Indigenous warriors, headed by veteran Native rights protector Sid Mills, announced last week they plan to join a march in Southern California to demand the release of Indigenous children from immigration detention facilities. The four-day event, called The March for Freedom, will begin in Los Angeles on the National Day of Mourning, known to non-Native people as Thanksgiving, and will end on Sunday, November 28, at the Otay Mesa Detention Facility in San Diego. “Thousands of children are separated from their families at […]
Above photo: Colby Drake and Greg Archuleta of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde inspect a plant after a prescribed burn at Quamash Prairie, while Metro scientist Curt Zonick talks with Clifton and Christine Bruno. Metro. City leaders in Oregon are partnering with nonprofits and tribes to promote first foods, which may hold clues to climate change resilience while connecting urban Natives to important ancestral knowledge and practices. A city isn’t the most likely place for an Indigenous crop revival. But across the greater Portland area in Oregon, municipalities like Metro and the City of Portland have been partnering with organizations […]
Above Photo: Indigenous activists speak during a protest at JPMorgan Chase offices in Glasgow. ‘Shame On You.’ The major American bank is helping fund the Coastal Gaslink pipeline, which threatens First Nation lands in Canada. Glasgow, Scotland — Indigenous activists on Wednesday staged a protest outside JPMorgan Chase headquarters in central Glasgow as pressure on banks to halt oil and gas extraction grows. A crowd of over a hundred chanted “enough is enough” and “shame on you” outside the American multinational bank’s office building, just over a mile from where crucial talks at the COP26 climate conference are currently taking place. […]
Above Photo: Activists hold a memorial at Cop26 for the 1,005 environmental defenders murdered since the Paris agreement. Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian. ‘A Continuation Of Colonialism.’ Activists in Glasgow reject ‘big business’ approach to climate crisis as they commemorate murdered land defenders. As world leaders inside the COP26 conference centre in Glasgow boasted about pledges to slash greenhouse gas emissions and end deforestation, indigenous delegates gathered across the river Clyde to commemorate activists killed for trying to protect the planet from corporate greed and government inaction. At least 1,005 environmental and land rights defenders have been murdered since the Paris accords were signed six […]
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly on Monday released a report that says the federal response to the missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) crisis needs improvement. U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, called on the Biden administration to do more to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report finding that the government has not done enough to respond to the crisis. Sen. Cortez Masto has led efforts in the Senate to protect Indigenous women and girls, and she […]
Above image: Woven Art. Guilty on All Counts! After hearing from over 30 witnesses and receiving hundreds of documents, the Panel of Jurists founds the US government and its subdivisions GUILTY of Genocide and Gross Human Rights Violations. The Executive Summary Verdict which follows is their preliminary report, with a detailed and cited ruling to appear in the near future. Introduction: The Context of Our Work and Why We are Here The fact that the United States has committed an array of human rights abuses against Black, Brown, and Indigenous Peoples should be as uncontroversial as it is incontrovertible. There is […]
Above Photo: Outside the Interior Department in Washington where frontline Indigenous leaders and others held a sit in on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Indian Country Today. Indigenous environmental leaders occupied the BIA today for first time in nearly 50 years, dozens were arrested. Washington – Dozens of Indigenous leaders held a sit-in Thursday at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., in an effort to stop the extractive fossil fuel industries. Jennifer Falcon, Nakoda, Lakota and Dakota, with Indigenous Rising Media, was inside and said before Thursday’s sit-in at the Bureau of Indian Affairs that they warned President Joe Biden […]
Above Photo: A portion of a map that erases the borders Colonial powers drew, and shows instead the Indigenous territories, treaties and languages of North America. (Native Land Digital) Many events these days begin with land acknowledgments: earnest statements acknowledging that activities are taking place, or institutions, businesses and even homes are built, on land previously owned by Indigenous peoples. And many organizations now call on employees to incorporate such statements not only at events but in email signatures, videos, syllabuses and so on. Organizations provide resources to facilitate these efforts, including pronunciation guides and video examples. Some land acknowledgments are carefully […]
Above Photo: Indigenous groups and their allies march to the White House. Demands President Biden Declare A Climate Emergency And Stop Approving Fossil Fuel Projects. “Joe Biden, you have been making false promises. You stopped Keystone XL — what about DAPL, Line 5, MVP?” said Joye Braun of Indigenous Environmental Network, who was arrested at today’s action. “This is indigenous land. Indigenous Peoples will be here for 1000s of years. Biden, can you hear us now?” The demonstrations marked the first day of “People vs. Fossil Fuels,” a week of demonstrations and civil disobedience organized by Build Back Fossil Free, a coalition of […]
Above photo: Joey Montoya, Indigenous Rising Media. As the legacy of colonialism destroys our environment, Indigenous Peoples are at the forefront of fighting back. When Christopher Columbus landed on Turtle Island, which we now call North America, he brought with him a goal of making profit — of taking from the land and people to create commerce. Today, approximately 526 years later, that same pillaging continues to drive our planet further into the climate crisis and lead us into ecological collapse. Instead of honoring the violent colonization Columbus represents, we should use this day to call for truth and reconciliation — and honor the Indigenous communities at the […]
Above photo: Indigenous People’s Day flag ceremony in Philadelphia on October 7, 2021. Tom MacDonald/WHYY. Today is Indigenous Peoples Day. Across the country, a growing number of cities and states are recognizing this day in place of the traditional Columbus Day. This change reflects the growing awareness that holidays like Columbus Day are used to rewrite the past and uphold institutions of white supremacy, racism and settler colonialism. As Justin Teba writes, in Albuquerque, they issued a proclamation to recognize this as a day “ to reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous peoples on this land.” I can only write from […]
Above photo: Join the Red Nation as we celebrate victories towards collective liberation and continued organizing against extractive industries, greedy capitalists, and settler colonization. In 2015, The Red Nation and a coalition of Native and non-Native organizations led a successful campaign to rename the second Monday of October Indigenous Peoples’ Day (IPD) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Albuquerque City Council issued a proclamation abolishing Columbus Day that was signed by Rey Garduño, Ken Sanchez, Klarissa Peña, Isaac Benton, Brad Winter, and Diane Gibson, with three council members abstaining. The proclamation declared that the day “shall be used to reflect upon the […]
A Story Of Falsehood, Lies And US-Based Political Campaigns. Masaya, Nicaragua – Indigenous peoples and the rainforests that many inhabit are under threat. Everyone knows it. In Latin America especially, international NGOs like Global Witness and Frontline Defenders tell a story which seems self-evidently true: outsiders are exploiting natural resources, governments are indifferent or actively complicit, Indigenous people defend the forests and in return face expulsion or death. But what happens when real life is more complicated? In Nicaragua, local and international NGOs pursuing a political agenda are twisting the evidence about environmental conflicts. Nicaragua has the largest area of tropical […]
Above Photo: Indigenous women protesting on September 10 in Brazil. (@apibOficial/Twitter) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has given new license to the killing of Indigenous people in Brazil. Before he came to power in 2019, it wasn’t clear what he wanted to build, but he knew exactly who and what he wanted to destroy: the Indigenous people and the Amazon rainforest, respectively. “Bolsonaro attacked a woman first, the land, our mother,” the Indigenous leader Célia Xakriabá told me. “We have no choice but to fight back.” Since becoming president, the former Army captain, who served under the country’s last military dictator, has led an […]
Above Photo: Tukanos from Amazon rainforest. James Martins / CC. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has given new license to the killing of Indigenous people in Brazil. Before he came to power in 2019, it wasn’t clear what he wanted to build, but he knew exactly who and what he wanted to destroy: the Indigenous people and the Amazon rainforest, respectively. “Bolsonaro attacked a woman first, the land, our mother,” the Indigenous leader Célia Xakriabá told me. “We have no choice but to fight back.” Since becoming president, the former Army captain, who served under the country’s last military dictator, has led an unprecedented […]
Above photo: The United Nations 20th Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues began April 19, 2021. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Indigenous leaders are largely being excluded from participation in the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference as the world grapples with escalating problems from floods, fires, heat, drought and other disasters. Limited access to COVID-19 vaccines in certain regions, travel restrictions and quarantine in the United Kingdom for people from “red list” countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia, and rising costs of travel and lodging are hindering Indigenous participation, Indian Country Today has found. […]
Above photo: The Chichipicas spring is one of the San Huitzizilapan indigenous community’s water sources, in the Lerma municipality, in the state of Mexico -adjacent to Mexico City-, where several community systems manage the resource. Emilio Godoy / IPS. Lerma/Coyotepec, Mexico – In the San Lorenzo Huitzizilapan Otomí indigenous community, in the state of Mexico –adjacent to the country’s capital–, access to water has been based on collective work. “Public services come from collective work. What we have done is based on tequio (free compulsory work in benefit of the community), cooperation. The community has always taken care of the forests and […]
Above photo: A “Defend the Sacred” banner hanging outside Four Winds American Indian Council. Denver, CO – Under the hardline stance of Mayor Michael Hancock, Denver continues to sweep unhoused encampments—more than 80 this year alone—ignoring countless requests from unhoused residents and their advocates to stop, and refusing to negotiate any alternatives. Outside the Four Winds American Indian Council building in the Baker neighborhood, that cycle continued when, despite multiple attempts by Four Winds and other advocates to find some common ground and a different solution, the city swept a predominantly Indigenous encampment on August 31. “It’s kind of unfortunate that the Mayor […]
Above Photo: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signs SB 2304 on April 28, 2021. (ND Dem-NPL Caucus) It has been a long-running goal of many Native people to have more about their history and culture taught in schools For years, many tribes have felt their history has not been given its due by schools in Connecticut, a state that takes its name from an Algonquian word meaning “land on the long tidal river.” Soon, however, schools will be required to teach Native American studies, with an emphasis on local tribes, under a law passed this year at the urging of tribes […]
Decolonizing Thanksgiving And Supporting Indigenous Peoples By Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance. November 29, 2020 Decolonizing Thanksgiving And Supporting Indigenous Peoples2020-11-292020-11-29https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/indigland-e1606690222161.jpg200px200px This week, as some people in the United States celebrated the mythical ‘Thanksgiving’ dinner, Indigenous Peoples held a National Day of Mourning and continued their resistance to defend the land and water. As Native American, Matt Remle, writes: “Despite colonial efforts to exterminate, terminate, relocate, and assimilate Indigenous populations, Native communities continue to resist efforts to both desecrate Unci Maka and strip Native peoples of their languages, spirituality and communities.” Settler colonialism continues to this day in the United States and […]
Indigenous Land Defenders Shut Down Port Access By Ben Miljure, BC CTV News. November 29, 2020 Indigenous Land Defenders Shut Down Port Access2020-11-292020-11-29https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/port-e1606662201587.jpg200px200px Vancouver, BC – A group of Indigenous land defenders have taken over the intersection of East Hastings Street and Clark Drive in Vancouver, blocking one of the access routes to the Port of Vancouver. About 75 people first gathered at Grandview Park as part of a national week of action promoted by Indigenous leaders hoping to call attention to a number of issues including climate change and systemic racism. “This is what we have to do. We […]
Indigenous Women Lead Land Struggle Against Wealthiest People In The US November 29, 2020 Indigenous Women Lead Land Struggle Against Wealthiest People In The US2020-11-292020-11-29https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/shinnecock-e1606662605105.jpg200px200px Above photo: Warriors of the Sunrise addressing media after the lighting of a ceremonial fire to kick-off Sovereignty Camp 2020. While the United States shudders in the shambles of another election year, whether from a collective sigh of relief or fear of what’s to come, a different system of governance blooms in a swath of woodlands jutting into the Atlantic Ocean. This sandy shoreline now part of what is called Long Island has always been home […]
Why I’m Thankful For 500 Years Of Indigenous Resistance By Matt Remle, Last Real Indians. November 29, 2020 Why I’m Thankful For 500 Years Of Indigenous Resistance2020-11-292020-11-29https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/indigenous-scaled-e1606663153910.jpg200px200px Above photo: Protesters from the Heiltsuk First Nation in Vancouver on March 26, 2012 during rally against the proposed Enbridge pipeline. John Lehman. “There is resistance: in Canada it’s coming from First Nations. But it’s worth remembering that that’s a world-wide phenomenon. Throughout the world, the indigenous populations are in the lead. They are actually taking the lead in trying to protect the earth….It’s pretty ironic that the so-called ‘least advanced’ people are the […]
Indigenous Activists Are Occupying The Hamptons Until Thanksgiving By Loretta Graceffo, Waging Nonviolence. November 25, 2020 Indigenous Activists Are Occupying The Hamptons Until Thanksgiving2020-11-252020-11-25https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/hamptons.png200px200px Above photo: Tela Troge holding “Honk for Indigenous Rights” and Shinnecock elder Jennifer E. Cuffee-Wilson holding “This Indigenous Woman ‘I’m Done’” sign at rush hour. WNV/Matt Ballard. As a leader of Sovereignty Camp 2020, Shinnecock attorney Tela Troge discusses why they are protesting a lawsuit by New York state. Between the Atlantic Ocean and the Peconic Bay of Long Island, there is an isthmus known as Canoe Place. Thousands of years ago, the land was where the […]
Indigenous Peoples’ Victory: Largest Dam Removal In The World By Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. November 23, 2020 Indigenous Peoples’ Victory: Largest Dam Removal In The World2020-11-232020-11-23https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/klamath-e1606181812519.jpg200px200px After nearly four decades, Indigenous Peoples win an agreement for the largest dam removal in the world. Four of the six dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon will be taken down, allowing the water to flow freely again and the salmon to spawn. This is a powerful story of how four tribes put aside their past conflicts to work together and environmental groups participated in an indigenous-led campaign that took on […]
The Ongoing Incarceration Of California’s Indigenous Peoples By Morning Star Gali, Black Agenda Report. November 15, 2020 The Ongoing Incarceration Of California’s Indigenous Peoples2020-11-152020-11-15https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/indigenouscaptives_845x400.jpeg200px200px For 350 years, California has imprisoned and disenfranchised its Native peoples like few other places. For nearly a century, to be an Indigenous California Native was to live a life in hiding, anonymity, and denial of one’s own identity. This article is part of Abolition for the People , a series brought to you by a partnership between Kaepernick Publishing and LEVEL , a Medium publication for and about the lives of Black and Brown men. The series, which comprises 30 essays and […]
Indigenous Anarchic Hierarchy November 13, 2020 Indigenous Anarchic Hierarchy2020-11-132020-11-13https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/indig.jpg200px200px Above photo: Japingka Aboriginal Art. What is hierarchy outside of the European anarchist cosmology? Hierarchy is something that is often overlooked among Indigenous anarchics, but is essential for understanding social relations in Indigenous cosmologies. These forms of hierarchy are not based in the same relations and need to have broader discussion among Indigenous anarchics as we move forward outside of European political paradigms. Indigenous Historical and Cultural Understandings of Hierarchy It is possible to characterize positions of hierarchy within some Indigenous systems as hierarchies based on respect, not domination. People may hold […]
Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And Girls Committee Releases Final Report By Arizona Legislature Indigenous Peoples Caucus, Indian Country Today. November 3, 2020 Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And Girls Committee Releases Final Report2020-11-032020-11-03https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/11/mmiwg-e1604427576725.png200px200px Dozens of policy recommendations to address epidemic. Arizona’s Study Committee on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has posted its final report, including dozens of specific legislative, law enforcement and other policy recommendations to address the ongoing crisis. After nearly a year of in-depth research, which was slowed by COVID-19 and some enforcement agencies choosing not to participate, Arizona got its clearest picture to date of […]
Indigenous Knowledge Revives Ancient Clam Garden Practices By Monica Whitepigeon, Native News Online. October 23, 2020 Indigenous Knowledge Revives Ancient Clam Garden Practices2020-10-232020-10-23https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/swinomish_clamdistributiondiscussion_fb-e1603460032617.jpg200px200px Above photo: The Swinomish Department of Environmental Protection aims to protect and restore the natural environment, and the health and welfare of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Facebook. La Conner, WA – Tribal communities are reviving 3,500-year-old eco-friendly practices to create sustainable beaches along the Pacific Northwest Coast. Teams of tribal members and scientists in the U.S. and Canada have scouted various locations that are ideal areas for shellfish, like clams, and other small marine life to nestle […]
Solidarity With Colombia’s Indigenous Minga And National Strike! By the Alliance for Global Justice. October 21, 2020 Solidarity With Colombia’s Indigenous Minga And National Strike!2020-10-212020-10-21https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/indigenas-colombianos-768×433-1-e1603281028362.jpg200px200px Above photo: AFP. Take Action: Send an email to Colombian authorities in support of the Minga and national strike! Demand their rights be respected to demonstrate free of repression by the public forces. The people of Colombia are coming together yet again to demand an end to the right-wing political violence and repression that is ravaging the country. Under the leadership of the indigenous Minga, at least 7,000 original peoples and their allies have gathered in […]
Indigenous Defenders Are Front-Line Essential Workers October 17, 2020 Indigenous Defenders Are Front-Line Essential Workers2020-10-172020-10-17https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/sr_1492landback_03-e1602966777587.jpg200px200px Canada – Expect to work 24/7 on-site. There are no benefits, no days off, and shelter is not provided. You will likely face threats, violence, criminalization, and arrest. So, why are some of the most passionate, informed, brilliant, and resourceful people in Canada dedicating themselves to work that is insecure, dangerous, and unpaid? Indigenous cultures are distinct but we share values of community, holistic understandings of all life, and a deep connection to the land and water. We know that colonial definitions of livelihood are incomplete […]
An Indigenous Māori View Of Doughnut Economics By Juhi Shareef, Resilience.org. October 14, 2020 An Indigenous Māori View Of Doughnut Economics2020-10-142020-10-14https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/donut-1-e1602703446565.jpg200px200px Background My heritage – my whakapapa – has been shaped by 200 years of colonialism: I am a woman of Indian-Pakistani descent who was born in the UK. It is therefore perhaps no surprise that, when coming to New Zealand four years ago, I wanted to make sure that my sustainability practices here reflected – and were shaped by – the indigenous peoples of New Zealand. Working in sustainability, one understands that context is key. When we fail to identify or understand […]
Monument To Colonialism Toppled On Indigenous Peoples’ Day By Charles Davis, Business Insider. October 13, 2020 Monument To Colonialism Toppled On Indigenous Peoples’ Day2020-10-132020-10-13https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/santafe-e1602616056104.jpg200px200px Above photo: “Ogha Po’oge” is the indigenous, Tewa term for the city named “Santa Fe” by Spanish colonists. The Tewa language is spoken by the modern-day Puebo people. Charles Davis. Two protesters chained themselves to an obelisk in Santa Fe to protest the New Mexico capital’s failure to remove the celebration of settler victory over “savage” indigenous peoples. New Mexico – Visitors to the historic plaza in Santa Fe, a bastion of liberalism in northern New Mexico, will […]
One Of The Best Climate Solutions Is Giving Indigenous People Their Land Back By Eric Holthaus, The Phoenix. October 13, 2020 One Of The Best Climate Solutions Is Giving Indigenous People Their Land Back2020-10-132020-10-13https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/decol-e1602616876489.png200px200px Above image: Original art for The Phoenix by Laila Arêde. Decolonization means decolonization. On Indigenous People’s Day, we should remember that returning stolen land is a necessary step towards climate justice. The work of our time is both slow and fast, rapidly transforming human society in the short and long term simultaneously. That can’t happen without re-examining our relationships with each other and with every other living thing […]
Native Americans Tear Gassed, Arrested On Indigenous Peoples’ Day By Kenny Stancil, Commondreams. October 13, 2020 Native Americans Tear Gassed, Arrested On Indigenous Peoples’ Day2020-10-132020-10-13https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/oodham.jpg200px200px Above photo: A dozen land and water protectors were arrested after Border Patrol and Arizona State Troopers used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a Native American ceremony on Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 12, 2020. Rafael Samanez/O’odham Anti Border Collective. “It’s obscene and offensive to us that local and state governments move to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day while the federal government blows up our sacred sites, steals our kids, militarily occupies our communities, and […]
Police cleared the streets of central Portland after rioters pulled down the statues of two US presidents and carried out other acts of vandalism in the city, as part of an “Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage” protest. Demonstrators targeted statues of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln as they marched through downtown Portland on Sunday night. Footage shows a crowd cheering as the statue of Roosevelt mounted on a horse is pulled down. The statue was then covered in orange paint and “stolen land” and “murderer” were painted on the base of the sculpture. Roosevelt has been accused of supporting policies that […]
Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day By Supporting Indigenous Resistance By Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance. October 11, 2020 Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day By Supporting Indigenous Resistance2020-10-112020-10-11https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/10/ind-resistance-e1602420916405.jpg200px200px Above photo: Jenna Pope. This weekend, celebration of Indigenous People’s Day will replace the federal holiday, Columbus Day, in at least eight states and over 130 cities in 34 states. Along with the toppling of Columbus statues and the removal of a racial slur as a name for a major football team, this signals a shifting awareness in the United States of our colonial roots and ongoing Indigenous genocide and a desire for change. If, like me, […]
Fierce fighting continues over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as casualties mount daily. Daniel Lazare, investigative journalist and author of “America’s Undeclared War,” joins us to discuss the the longest-running land conflict in the former Soviet Union, occurring in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Since Sunday, Azerbaijani troops have been fighting forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian military, leaving nearly 100 people dead and perhaps hundreds more injured so far. What’s behind the madness? Shelly Martin, who made history last year as the first Mi’kmaq woman to be appointed as adjudicator of the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia, joins us to discuss the […]
‘We Have To Be Ever More Vigilant’ About The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples By Joaqlin Estus, Indian Country Today. September 21, 2020 ‘We Have To Be Ever More Vigilant’ About The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples2020-09-212020-09-21https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/09/nid-e1600690647492.jpg200px200px Above photo: Protesting against pipelines in Canada. The standard in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is Free, Informed and Prior Consent. Creative Commons. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples took 25 years of diplomacy until 144 nations agreed to sign it on September 13, 2007. Nations around the world are failing to meet the standards they set for themselves in the […]
New Fossil Fuel Projects Meet Indigenous Resistance By Randall Hyman, Truthout. September 19, 2020 New Fossil Fuel Projects Meet Indigenous Resistance2020-09-192020-09-19https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/09/new-mexico.png200px200px Above photo: Navajo Tribal Council Member Daniel Tso and Mario Atencio of Diné CARE study a map of oil leases in the Nation’s Eastern Agency. The Bureau of Land Management’s new guidelines will allow up to 3,000 more frack wells in the Greater Chaco region. Randall Hyman. New Mexico – The spicy pungency of sagebrush filled the air in Greater Chaco, New Mexico, in late July this summer as I watched towering, rain-laden clouds gather across the endless horizon — a reminder […]
New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, citing them as a “threat to the integrity and sovereignty” of the country in the wake of the border clashes with China. While new Indian apps have been launched to fill the space to promote ‘self-reliant’ India, global players are also looking to enter the lucrative new market. Several popular Chinese apps, including Tik-Tok, UC Browser and ShareIt, left the Indian market soon after the government imposed the ban. Investors lined up to back made-in-India alternatives to these apps, which had garnered millions of downloads within a day of launch. Talking about […]
Unprecedented Ruling For Indigenous Peoples By Matías Duarte, Diego Morales and Erika Schmidhuber Peña, Open Global Rights. July 7, 2020 Unprecedented Ruling For Indigenous Peoples2020-07-072020-07-07https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/07/lhaka-e1594151552948.jpg200px200px Above photo: From Argentina Indymedia. By the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has set a precedent with its decision to grant territorial and ancestral rights to Indigenous peoples in Argentina—how will this ruling affect the region? On April 2, a ruling issued in Costa Rica by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights resounded strongly in the arid north of Argentina. For more than two decades, the original communities of the province of Salta had […]
Miriam Amancay Colque, spokeswoman for the Bartolina Sisa Resistance movement, discussed the role of women and indigenous people in fighting the ongoing coup government as well as further updates on the crisis in Bolivia. Sputnik: How are grassroots movements like the Bartolina Sisa Resistance responding to the Campaign for Seven? Which actions will they take and how do they plan to confront the coup Bolivian government in this crisis? Miriam Amancay Colque: We are having a very positive response. The rights of those seeking asylum and refuge should be respected as these are enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of […]
The Associated Press has tweaked its popular style guide to suggest that ‘black’ and several other ethnic terms be capitalized. ‘White’, however, did not make the cut, at least immediately, prompting cries of hypocrisy. The AP’s vice president of standards, John Daniszewski, announced the style change in a blog post on Friday, arguing it was in line with “long-standing capitalization of other racial and ethnic identifiers such as Latino, Asian American and Native American.” “AP’s style is now to capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people […]
A Colombian Huitoto man sails on a raft along the Takana river in Leticia, Amazonas department, Colombia, on May 20, during the coronavirus pandemic. Tatiana de Nevó/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Tatiana de Nevó/AFP via Getty Images A Colombian Huitoto man sails on a raft along the Takana river in Leticia, Amazonas department, Colombia, on May 20, during the coronavirus pandemic. Tatiana de Nevó/AFP via Getty Images With nearly 40,000 deaths, Brazil has registered the world’s third-highest COVID-19 death toll and the second-highest confirmed caseload. Its neighbors fear the disease is spilling across Brazil’s borders. Indeed, one Colombian […]
Indigenous Studies Requirement Is A ‘No Brainer’ By Dalton Walker, Indian Country Today May 8, 2020 Indigenous Studies Requirement Is A ‘No Brainer’2020-05-082020-05-08https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/05/indigenous-peoples-day-celebration-at-the-troth-yeddha-campus.-nanooknation-university-of-alaska-fairbanks-facebook-e1588956717726.jpg200px200px Above: Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at the Troth Yeddha’ campus. #NanookNation (University of Alaska Fairbanks, Facebook) ‘This is needed at all universities because this is all Indigenous land in Turtle Island.’ A land full of rich Ojibwe culture and Dakota history that stretches back hundreds of years can go unnoticed to college students attending a northern Minnesota university in the thick of Indian Country. A small steering committee of faculty and students at Bemidji State University has a solution on how […]
Indigenous Leadership Points The Way Out Of The COVID Crisis By Yoav Litvin, Truthout. May 7, 2020 Indigenous Leadership Points The Way Out Of The COVID Crisis2020-05-072020-05-07https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.pngPopularResistance.Orghttps://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/05/indigenous-e1588860776918.jpg200px200px Above photo: A protester holds a sign in front of the White House during a demonstration against the Dakota Access Pipeline on March 10, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Indigenous communities already operate informal economies set up to sustain them amid government ineptitude and neglect. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images. The United States is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 1.2 million people and claimed over 70,000 lives. President Donald Trump has […]