#indigenousactivism — Public Fediverse posts

She's baaaack!

#CensoredNews Hits 13 Million Pageviews -- A Labor of Love!

By #BrendaNorrell
@bsnorrell.blogspot.com

"We're just about to hit the 13 million mark at Censored News! That's 13 million pageviews since we began more than 10 years ago! We did it without advertising, grants, salaries or revenues. Why did we do it? Because of the love of truth. Because of the censorship in the media. Because we wanted to be part of creating a better world. And because of our love of authentic journalism. We've been able to continue because people care, and the articles, photos and videos are given to you as labors of love. Thanks to everyone who has been part of Censored News.

We will be live at the American Indian Movement West Coast Conference in San Francisco, beginning Monday, with Govinda of Earthcycles. Our live show will include guests, and call-in guests, covering the issues from throughout Indian country. Our friends at radio stations are welcome to rebroadcast the programs and interviews.

We are reader supported news. Please donate to help us keep going!"

To donate:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/11/censored-news-hits-13-million-pageviews.html

#NativeAmericanNews #IndidgenousNews #ReaderSupportedNews #IndigenousActivism #IndigenousResistance

#ApacheStronghold 'We Are Still Fighting'

Statement from Dr. #WendslerNosie Sr.
March 20, 2026

"Many of you have heard that on Friday, the Ninth Circuit again refused to stop the Government from giving #OakFlat to #ResolutionCopper for destruction. This is sad news. But we will never stop fighting to protect Oak Flat and each place that is sacred to our people. And we are still fighting—in the courts, in Congress, and, most importantly, spiritually.

In the courts, there are still four lawsuits seeking to protect Oak Flat. All four cases are still going. And any one of these cases could still put a stop to the Government’s and Resolution’s plans to destroy Oak Flat:

- In Lopez v. United States, on the day after Friday’s ruling, seven brave Apache women filed an emergency appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to stop the mine and protect Oak Flat. The Supreme Court could rule on that appeal any day. The women in that case can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling in their case. The deadline to ask for reconsideration is April 27, 2026. That case focuses on religious freedom.
- In #SanCarlosApache Tribe v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, the Tribe can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the Tribe’s rights, tribal consultation, and the inadequacy of the government’s decision-making process.
- In Arizona #Mining Reform Coalition v. United States, also part of Friday’s ruling, several environmental groups and the Inter-Tribal Association of Arizona can also ask the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its ruling and/or appeal to the Supreme Court. That case focuses on the government’s unfair appraisal of Oak Flat and inadequate #EnvironmentalReview.
- Apache Stronghold v. United States, which is our case, has been 'stayed' (or temporarily put on hold) waiting for the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, which came on Friday. Now that the Ninth Circuit has ruled, our case will start again in the district court. We will continue making every possible legal claim to protect Oak Flat.

In Congress, on Tuesday, Representative #AdelitaGrijalva introduced legislation to preserve public lands in the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District and fight back against the proposed mine. This bill is an important part of the fight to protect Oak Flat.

But even more than legally and politically, we are continuing to fight spiritually. This fight has never been primarily about law or politics. It is about who we are as human beings, religiously and spiritually. If we allow sacred places to be destroyed for profit, we are saying that nothing is truly sacred. We are losing something essential about our humanity—our ability to respect #MotherEarth, to honor what is holy, and to live in balance with the world around us.

That is why we are calling on all people to continue raising their voices, in prayer and protest, to protect Oak Flat—to protect the sacred. We, the Apache Stronghold, invite you to an upcoming spiritual gathering on March 28-29, 2026 at Oak Flat.

The legal system may try to reduce our struggle to questions of ownership and profit. But our connection to Mother Earth predates those systems. It is something each one of us is born into, something we carry in our prayers, our songs, and our way of life. No matter what the courts rule, no matter what the government tries to do, we will never stop fighting to preserve our sacred places. We will not lose our connection to the Creator."

Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/03/apache-stronghold-we-are-still-fighting.html

#ChíchilBiłdagoteel #ProtectOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper #Arizona #RioTinto #SaveOakFlat #CopperMining #Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #IndigenousNews #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews

#OakFlat March and Run: #ApacheStronghold Photos

By Apache Stronghold, Censored News, Feb. 9, 2026

"12th Annual #OakFlatMarch/Run. The final day of the run, Saturday, February 7, 2026, the experienced runners passed through the final corridor, ending at the Oak Flat campground. The annual gathering followed, with speakers representing many tribes, backgrounds, and ages sharing their thoughts on Oak Flat and the importance of protecting this sacred and irreplaceable site. Photos by Molly Peters.

Apache Stronghold is battling to protect Oak Flat from becoming the gigantic crater of a copper mine, that would destroy the Sacred Ceremonial Place, seize and pollute the water, and poison the air and land."

Source (includes photos):
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/02/oak-flat-march-and-run-apache.html

#ProtectOakFlat #SanCarlosApache #ResolutionCopper #Arizona #ChichilBildagoteel #RioTinto
#SaveOakFlat #CopperMining
#Fight4OurExistance #SacredLand #TontoNationalForest #WesternApaches #ProtectTheSacred #IndigenousNews #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #DefendTheSacred #OakFlatRun #CensoredNews #ReaderSupportedNews

#PrayerHorseRide's Third Annual March Ride Begins March 17, in Schurz, Nevada

Reconnecting and Revitalizing #Traditional Ways of Life Threatened by Destructive #Mining Resource Extractions Supporting "#GreenEnergy"

By Prayer Horse Ride, via #CensoredNews

SCHURZ, Nevada -- "Prayer Horse Ride "#NanesootuhinaPookooGoobakatudu," is getting ready to begin our annual ride March 17th-26th, from Schurz, #Nevada through Yerington, Fallon, Wadsworth and Nixon, through Lovelock, then Orovada, and ending in #PeeheeMuhuh (#ThackerPass in the McDermitt Caldera), in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the #Paiute, #Shoshone, and #Bannock.
The Riders, walkers, and runners carry the prayer with each community. They'll move forward to raise awareness regarding lithium mining in Peehee Mu'huh and the McDermitt Caldera; AND also raise awareness to #CopperMining in the #PineNutHills, a holy place known to the #Nuwu; in honor and remembrance of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women / People (#MMIW/P) in Nevada; and to revitalize and restore cultural identity, languages, creativity, and supportive lifeways in our indigenous communities.

"Northern Nevada is the home of the #NorthernPaiute, #WesternShoshone, #Washoe, and #Bannock people. We, as descendants of them, will continue to give voices to the voiceless on #MotherEarth. To all of our relations.

"'We do this prayer ride to reconnect and revitalize our way of life,' says Josh Dini, Sr, a member of Walker River Paiute Tribe, #WaterProtector and #PrayerHorseRider, and a member of #AmericanIndianMovement Northern Nevada (#AIMNNV).

"Indigenous communities in the Great Basin and McDermitt Caldera are experiencing fast-tracked #mining and industrial development to support 'green energy,' and are threatened by #ecologically and #sociologically destructive resource extraction processes, most notably, #lithium and #copper mining, in areas in proximity to or within #communities, #reservations and #LandTrusts, and #SacredSites.

"#HeavyMetals extraction #poisons lands, air, and water. Sacred sites for ceremony, where ancestors are buried, where medicines grow, and where lifecycles are anchored, are destroyed.

"'Copper mining in our Pine Nut Hills takes away our knowledge and our identity of who we are,' says Dini, who explained the mining threatens an important Paiute medicine food, as well as numerous traditional campsites and sacred places that have been used for innumerable generations.

"'We ride in honor of the people on the land before extraction industries, past - present - and future. Here in Nevada we have places important to the indigenous culture that are considered America's sacrifice zones in search of 'green energy.'

"'We are Paiute and Shoshone allied with many of the federally recognized tribes in Nevada. We lead this prayer for Mother Earth,' says Gary McKinney, a Duck Valley Shoshone Paiute, water protector and Prayer Horse Rider, People of Red Mountain spokesperson, AIMNNV council member, and SIRGE Coalition Steering Committee member.

Prayer Horse Ride will visit #Indigenous northern Nevada communities affected by these issues including #WalkerRiver Paiute Tribe, #Yerington Paiute Tribe, #Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, #Lovelock Paiute Tribe, and #PyramidLake Paiute Tribe. As Riders reach each community, they may share meals, engage in ceremony, share stories and songs, and teach and learn traditional arts, bringing the communities together to celebrate and remember the traditional ways.

"McKinney says, 'We ride to honor the land and the people - of the past, present, and the future. #LifeOverLithium."

"About Prayer Horse Ride: Established in 2022 to honor the late #MyronDewey, Water Protector, Paiute Shoshone journalist and drone pilot, and to continue prayers for cultural sites like Peehee Mu’huh (Thacker Pass), we are an indigenous led prayer group and community service organization that advocates for our indigenous communities, to protect what we have left and to raise your awareness to what our communities face, and most importantly, in gathering tribes back together to stand in unity, not by separation.

"'We'll continue this ride in the Vision of our Ancestors, for Healing, Strength and Awareness, in Prayer and Unity.'

"Prayer Horse Riders have a story to tell and you can reach out to PHR media liaison André Wesner for inquiries: [email protected]

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/02/prayer-horse-ride-2024-in-honor-of.html

#PrayerRide #WaterIsLife #WaterProtectors #IndigenousLands #IndigenousActivism #EnvironmentalRacism #CulturalGenocide #NoUraniumMining #NoMining #LandBack #LandDefenders #CorporateColonialism

Understanding #TribalSovereignty

"For more than 40 years, the state of #Maine has used legislation passed in 1980 to deny the #WabanakiNations’ inherent tribal sovereignty, excluding the Houlton Band of #Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, #PassamaquoddyTribe, and #PenobscotNation from many rights and protections guaranteed by Federal Indian Law. This has resulted in decades of social and economic barriers for the #Wabanaki people and surrounding communities."

Who We Are

"In June of 2020 the tribes in Maine (Mi’kmaq Nation, #HoultonBandOfMaliseetIndians, Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation) formed the #WabanakiAlliance. The Wabanaki Alliance was formed to educate people of Maine about the need for securing sovereignty of the tribes in Maine.

"In 1980, the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act was passed by Congress and ratified by the tribes and the State of Maine. The Settlement Act was supposed to be a living document that would be improved upon. Under political duress the tribes agreed to the Settlement Act but with the hope to continue improving the relationship between the State of Maine and the tribes. For forty years this has not happened.

"Because of the 1980 Settlement Act the Tribes in Maine have had their sovereignty stripped from them. The promise of improving the Settlement Act has never been fulfilled. Now the Tribes in Maine are treated less than every other federally recognized tribe in America. The Wabanaki Alliance is not asking for special privileges but fairness by having the same or similar sovereignty as the more than 500 other tribes across America.

"We ask all those who support the sovereignty of the Tribes in Maine to educate themselves on the issues, why they are important and join us in securing sovereignty.

"Use the resources on this page to learn more about the issue and its history, and then visit our Take Action page to find out how you can support Wabanaki sovereignty."

https://www.wabanakialliance.com/sovereignty/

#MaineSettlementAct #IndigenousSovereignty #WabanakiTribes #Micmac #Miqmak #IndigenousActivism
#FirstNations #MaineTribes

Advocates demand halt to #uranium #mine near the #GrandCanyon

#EnergyFuels says #nuclear power is necessary to fight #ClimateChange, but #Indigenous tribes fear losing their homes

By Matthew Rozsa
January 31, 2024

"The Grand Canyon truly lives up to its name, being the largest canyon on Earth and one of the most popular national parks in America. But due to #UraniumMining in the area, some advocates are warning it could become the site of a future #EnvironmentalDisaster, which threatens to make one Indigenous village 'extinct.'

"More than 80 groups signed onto a statement on Monday — representing Indigenous communities, scientists and environmental nonprofits such as the #SierraClub and the #CenterForBiologicalDiversity — directed at President #JoeBiden and #Arizona Gov. #KatieHobbs, demanding they close the #PinyonPlain uranium mine, which is located near the Grand Canyon.

"'We have a choice in front of us. Allowing the Pinyon Plain mine to proceed is subjecting this landscape and its interconnected waters to a legacy of devastation and disregarding the rights of the #IndigenousPeoples on the land,' Sanober Mirza, Arizona program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said in the statement. 'Or we can choose a different path — one that holds a promise of protecting the Grand Canyon’s cultural sanctity, its people and natural resources.'

"To understand why the mine's opponents feel so strongly, one can turn to #AmberReimondo, who work as energy director at a conservationist non-profit called the #GrandCanyonTrust. Reimondo explained to Salon by email that, on the one hand, #Biden permanently banned mining operations on nearly 1 million acres of federal managed lands by creating the #BaajNwaavjo I'tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in August 2023. Yet the Pinyon Plain mine was #exempt from this prohibition, and Reimondo argues that the impact on the region has been 'several fold.'

"'What they've created here is a long-term, slow motion #EnvironmentalDisaster."

"'The Grand Canyon region as a whole and especially the location of the mine, is deeply significant to Indigenous cultures and is a place where tribal members have conducted #ceremonies, collected medicine, hunted, and more, for centuries,' Reimondo said. 'The mine also overlies critical and complex [and] not well understood groundwater systems. One #aquifer in particular — the #RedWallMuavAquifer — is the sole source of water for the remote #HavasupaiVillage of #Supai inside the Grand Canyon. The mine poses a #contamination threat to these #groundwater resources not just today, but importantly, after the mine's mere 28-month operational lifespan has concluded and the mining operator 'cleans up' and moves on.'

"Supai is so remote, it's only accessible only by helicopter or an 8-mile mule ride or hike, Reimondo explained, noting that if the newly-oxygenated groundwater comes into contact with nearby rocks, minerals like #arsenic and #uranium will be dissolved by the groundwater and enter aquifers used by the local community and essential to local ecology, including #HavasuFalls. Taylor McKinnon, Southwest Director for the Center for Biological Diversity, expressed similar concerns.

"'Ultimately, this mine is going to require political leadership,' McKinnon told Salon in an interview, referring to both the Biden and #Hobbs administrations. 'Those administration's agencies have the authority to fix this problem if they so choose, and that's what they should do.'

"We have detailed strenuously for years that neither regulators nor industry can ensure against the permanent and irretrievable damage to Grand Canyon's aquifers and springs," McKinnon added. "This mine was approved originally in 1986, under a record of decision from the US Forest Service under a presumption that it was highly unlikely that the mine would encounter groundwater, and further unlikely that if it did, it had the potential to contaminate deeper aquifers in the springs that they feed. Subsequent state permitting from the #ArizonaDepartment OfEnvironmentalQuality has basically parroted those same assumptions.'

"Yet McKinnon alleges that in 2016 the mine punctured a perched aquifer, causing roughly 10 million gallons of water per year to drain into the mine workings. From there he asserts that a surface pond formed with water that has concentrations of uranium and arsenic far in excess of the Environmental Protection Agency (#EPA)'s water quality standards. Not only does this threaten the local endangered and endemic species, but it also impacts the nearby Havasupai tribe.

"Havasupai means 'people of the blue-green water,' McKinnon said. "It's their longstanding cultural identity, and it is the water they drink, they farm with and that provides for all of their tourism economy because it is this just a beautiful series of massive verdant waterfalls that flow through the village and down into a series of waterfalls and pools where people camp and they derive tourism dollars.'

"In a 2022 letter of opposition, the Havasupai Tribal Council, laid out what is at stake in the uranium mining controversy.

"'Our identity as a people is intrinsically intertwined with the health of #HavasuCreek and the environment to which it gives life,' the tribe’s letter explained. 'We use this water for drinking, #gardening and irrigating, municipal uses, and #cultural and #religious uses. If the water source becomes contaminated like we have seen in other areas of Arizona due to uranium mining, we will no longer be able to live in our homes and Supai Village will become extinct.'

"These fears are based on precedent. The nearby #NavajoNation is scattered with old uranium mines — over 500, in fact — awaiting cleanup, exposing locals to risk of '#LungCancer from inhalation of #radioactive particles, as well as #BoneCancer and impaired kidney function from exposure to #radionuclides in drinking water,' according to the EPA. Likewise, members of the #UteMountain #Ute tribe in #WhiteMesa, Utah have protested against uranium mines they say have contaminated local groundwater, air and even wildlife."

https://www.salon.com/2024/01/31/advocates-demand-halt-to-uranium-mine-near-the-grand-canyon/

#NoNukes #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #CulturalGenocide #EnvironmentalRacism #CorporateColonialism #NoMining #UraniumMining #NuclearPowerNoThanks #IndigenousActivism