By Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today While Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was holding his first Crown-First Nations summit with indigenous leaders at the Old Ottawa City Hall last month, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake gathered outside to rally against what members say is an unwanted and illegitimate council imposed on their community … Continue reading Algonquins of Barriere Lake continue protest against imposed council→
By Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch The International Indigenous Forum, in an unprecedented collective move, decided yesterday to withdraw from the discussions of the WIPO Committee on Genetic Resources taking place from 14-22 February. The move calls into question the legitimacy of the negotiations. As delegates were working on a compilation text at the twentieth … Continue reading Indigenous delegation, scorned by WIPO, withdraws from genetic resources committee→
By Wirikuta Defense Front The federal courts have definitively granted the suspension of the violations claimed by the Wixarika (Huichol) People in order that no exploitation permit be granted for the La Luz mining project, in the Municipality of Catorce in San Luis Potosí, so long as the core issue remains unresolved. Given the failure … Continue reading Mexican court suspends mining in sacred territory of the Wixarika→
By William Booth, The Washington Post REAL DE CATORCE, Mexico — For the Huichol Indians, the desert mountains here are sacred, a cosmic portal with major mojo, where shamans collect the peyote that fuels the waking dreams that hold the universe together. For a Canadian mining company, these same hills look like a billion dollars … Continue reading Mining corporations greedily eyeing sacred mountains of Huichol Indians→
By Ahni, Intercontinental Cry A Nyoongar Tent Embassy was established on Perth’s Heirisson Island this month in response to a Billion dollar proposal by the Western Australia government that would force the Nyoongar to surrender their land title, permanently. For elders like Uncle Richard Wilkes, surrendering his custodianship of land is unthinkable, as the proposed … Continue reading Nyoongar people of Australia reject billion dollar offer for land title→
By Survival International Security forces are cracking down on the Dongria Kondh tribe as they prepare for a religious festival this weekend at the top of India’s most contentious mountain. Hundreds are determined to attend the Niyamraja ritual in the sacred Niyamgiri Hills, which are at the center of a controversial mining project involving UK … Continue reading Indian police trying to prevent Dongria Kondh ceremony on sacred mountain→
By ICTMN Staff The Alaska Native group REDOIL has joined with eight environmental groups in an effort to stop a drilling ship from drilling in Arctic waters, the Associated Press reports. The drilling ship Noble Discoverer, operating for Shell Oil, was granted an air quality permit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to drill three … Continue reading Alaska Natives and environmentalists working together to fight Shell oil drilling permit→
The fate of a Dayak community deep in the interior of East Kalimantan demonstrates how Indonesia must safeguard the rights of indigenous people who practise a sustainable lifestyle if it is to meet ambitious targets to reduce emissions from deforestation, alleges an organisation that specialises in investigating environmental crimes. ... Continue reading →
By Shadrack Kavilu, Gáldu Despite years of outcry by international human rights institutions and local activists urging the government of Tanzania to recognize and respect indigenous rights, cases of systematic land alienation and forced evictions continue to be meted on indigenous people. Indigenous peoples’ ancestral land is mostly perceived by government as idle or underutilized and … Continue reading Tanzanian government dispossessing indigenous peoples for sake of foreign corporations→
Members of the Mapuche community say the Argentine government’s aggressive push to increase energy supplies by allowing oil companies to explore in their lands will cause irreversible environmental and social damage.
According to Argentina´s Energy Secretariat, close to 87 percent of Argentina’s energy is generated from fossil fuels. The government agency said that in 1988 Argentina had enough gas supplies for 36 years. But by 2009, this outlook was slashed to seven years. Oil supplies fell from 14 to nine in the same period. ... Continue reading →