#indigenousactivists — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #indigenousactivists, aggregated by home.social.
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Rueben George "We Are People of the Water" Voices from the Salish Sea
Faced with the economic smallpox of oil pipelines, Rueben George says hold tight to your spiritual intention
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews, November 20, 2024
SEATTLE -- "They never stopped fighting. Even when they cut off his grandfather's finger as a child in residential school because he couldn't speak English, even when they put them in jail for protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline, they never stopped fighting. Even when the appeals court decided that shipping the dirty tarsand oil was more important than the survival of the Orca whales, they did not surrender.
"'Even though we're almost extinct, we are still here," said Rueben George, səlilwətaɬ, Tsleil Waututh Nation.
'We're People of the Water. That's our First Mother,' George said at the Salish Sea Assembly in Seattle.Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/11/rueben-george-we-are-people-of-water.html#TransmountainPipeline #SalishSeaAssembly #ResidentialSchools #ReaderSupportedNews #WaterIsLife #WaterDefenders #LandBack #DefendTheSacred
#BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism
#ReaderSupportedNews #IndigenousActivists #IndigenousActivism #IndigenousNews #Resistance #MotherEarth #PacificNorthwest #PetrolState #PetroState #Oiligarchy #ResidentialSchools #StolenChildren #CulturalGenocide #RuebenGeorge, #TsleilWaututhNation -
Coast #Salish Water Warriors: Voices for the Water at the #SalishSea Assembly in #Seattle
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews at #Indybay, Nov. 8, 2024
"The defenders are battling the dirty energy #corporations poisoning the land, water and air in western #Canada and #WashingtonState, and the waters of the Salish Sea. The rivers from British Columbia in Canada and Washington State come together in the Salish Sea on their journey to the #PacificOcean.
"The dead birds floating in the Alberta tar sands #TailingPonds, the #ManCamps linked to missing and murdered Indigenous girls, and the increased oil tankers in the Salish Sea -- are all parts of the dirty oil business of the Trans Mountain pipeline pouring out of Alberta's dirty tar sands in Canada, bound for #OilTankers in the Salish Sea.
"The destruction, and theft of land, is a continuation of the #genocidal residential school system. Native children were kidnapped, ripped from their families, and incarcerated in the abusive schools operated by Canada and the churches.
"'We can't drink water from there any more,' said Jean, who lives close to the Alberta tar sands in her homeland. 'I was born into this destruction.
"'Thousands of birds are dead in the tailing ponds.'"
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/11/coast-salish-water-warriors-voices-for.html
#WaterDefenders #LandBack #DefendTheSacred
#BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism
#ReaderSupportedNews #IndigenousActivists #IndigenousActivism #IndigenousNews #Resistance #MotherEarth #PacificNorthwest #WaterIsLife #PetrolState #PetroState #Oiligarchy #ResidentialSchools #StolenChildren #CulturalGenocide #MMIW #MMIWG -
Coast #Salish #FreedomFighters: From Alberta #TarSands to the #SalishSea
By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews Nov. 7, 2024
SEATTLE -- "The dead birds floating in the #AlbertATarSands #TailingPonds, the #ManCamps linked to missing and murdered Indigenous girls, and the increased #OilTankers in the Salish Sea -- are all parts of the dirty oil of the #TransMountainPipeline pouring out of Alberta's dirty tar sands, bound for oil tankers in the Salish Sea.
"'We are not just #activists, we are #revolutionaries and we're radical and militant and we want to keep it that way, we don't want to get soft in our older years,' said #KanahusManuel, #Secwepemc and #Ktunaxa, describing her family's struggle to protect their land and stop the Trans Mountain pipeline.
"Speaking at the State of Emergency for The Salish Sea in #SeattleWashington on Thursday, Kanahus said, 'We are the title holders to the land.'"
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/11/coast-salish-freedom-fighters-from.html#LandBack #DefendTheSacred #BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism #ReaderSupportedNews #IndigenousActivists #IndigenousActivism #IndigenousNews #Resistance #MotherEarth #PacificNorthwest
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GLOBAL INDIGENOUS 2023: The Year in Review
Highlights of news from around the world on #Indigenous Issues in 2023
by Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
Dec 27, 2023Highs and lows: The year brought a wave of highs and lows for #IndigenousPeople around the globe on issues of land, #HumanRights, climate and the #environment, education, #CriminalJustice and health.
Recent victories
In #Brazil, a majority of the country's Supreme Court delivered an historic decision in September, rejecting an attempt to curtail the rights of Native peoples concerning protected reservations on their ancestral lands, Voice of America reported. The 9-2 ruling marks a significant triumph for Indigenous activists and advocates for #ClimateAction, VOA reported.
In #Ecuador, after more than 80 years of displacement because of war, the #Siekopai nation, an Indigenous community in the Ecuadorian #Amazon, secured legal victory in a court battle to reclaim ownership of their ancestral homelands. An Ecuadorian appeals court, in a ruling shared with CNN by the nonprofit organization Amazon Frontline, upheld the Siekopai nation's claim to #Pë’këya, a #biodiverse region situated in northeast Ecuador near the Peruvian border. The Siekopai people were originally displaced during the 1940s #PeruEcuadorWar.
In #Malaysia, #IndigenousActivists achieved two significant wins against timber giant #Samling in their longstanding efforts to protect #forests and territories in #Sarawak.
And in Canada, language revitalization got a boost with a decision by the University of Northern #BritishColumbia, which is now offering a groundbreaking bachelor’s degree in #Nisgaa language fluency. The program starts in September 2024.
Ongoing struggles
It has not all been cozy this year with the world’s Indigenous peoples, however. Native people continue to struggle with a host of issues that surface in communities around the globe.
Land rights and displacement
In #Ethiopia, the designation of #BaleMountains National Park as a UNESCO World Heritage Site could lead to the eviction of more than 20,000 people from farming communities on what were once homelands for the #Oromo people.
In Canada, federal prosecutors filed charges against numerous Indigenous fishers, setting up a court fight over constitutional and treaty rights for #FirstNations people that could end up in Canada’s highest court. The move comes just three years after the initiation of a self-regulated lobster fishery by a First Nation in #NovaScotia.
Health issues
A surge in #HIV infections among Indigenous people in #Manitoba, Canada, is being blamed on “systemic anti-Indigenous racism” in the health care system. In #Saskatchewan, another Canadian province, however, disparities prompted the #Ahtahkakoop #Cree Nation to work on building its own 24-hour urgent care center to offer options to residents.
In #Australia, meanwhile, the life expectancy of Indigenous people has increased by about nine years in the last 20 years but still falls short of the wider population. According to the Australian government department of health, Aboriginal communities experience higher rates of chronic diseases and lower life expectancies due to limited access to healthcare services and disparities in health outcomes.
Education
In #Canada, many Indigenous children living in remote reserves lack access to quality education facilities, resulting in lower graduation rates and limited prospects for higher education.
In #China, authorities banned a book on the early #MongolianPeople, invoking "historical nihilism" to suppress divergent historical perspectives.
But there were gains in Australia, where the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria and the nonprofit Yalari organization launched a three-year partnership to help support educational opportunities for Indigenous children from regional and remote communities.
Climate change and the environment
A coalition of countries agreed to a five-year plan to disburse $1.7 billion to support the land rights of Indigenous and local communities, but those funds are largely bypassing the very communities they are designed to help. The funding expenditures were detailed in a report released at the United Nations’ recent climate conference, known as COP28, held in Dubai.
#Protests emerged throughout the world over various mining projects, which largely targeted Indigenous lands with work that threatened vast environmental damage. In #Panama, for example, mass protests erupted against a government deal with Central America's largest #CopperMine over concerns about sovereignty, environmental damage, and the impact on the #PanamaCanal. And in #Brazil, more than four years after the rupture of a tailings dam in #BrumadinhoValley, #Brazil, the Indigenous #Pataxó and Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe people still suffer from the lack of secure land, water, and food.
And in the #Arctic region, The Christian Science Monior reported how tough it is for Indigenous guardians to preserve their culture in a warming world, highlighting the fact that the harsh realities of #ClimateChange are affecting most Indigenous people around the world.
Human rights
#HumanRights violations continue to be problems throughout the world.
In Japan, more than 150 activists, lawmakers and advocates urged leaders to investigate the Chinese government’s human rights abuses against the #Uyghurs in #Xinjiang.
The #Kenyan government has begun widespread destruction of homes and property of Indigenous #Ogiek people living in #MauForest, despite a 2017 legal victor acknowledging ancestral land rights.
Western Australia’s parliament, however, issued an historic apology and agreed to reimburse #Aboriginal and #TorresStraitIslander workers who were exploited between 1936 and 1972 under a system that some leaders compared to “slavery.”
Language, culture preservation
Australia, which once boasted more than 300 Indigenous languages, is now facing one of the planet’s most severe rates of language decline. Fewer than 30 Indigenous languages remain as primary tongues today.
In New Zealand, efforts to revitalize the Māori language and culture is an ongoing struggle, as colonization led to a decline in the use of the Māori language and traditional practices.
Access to justice
The arrest of five environmental activists battling #WaterPollution and #mining in #ElSalvador are believed to have been politically motivated, sparking global condemnation amid controversial court proceedings.
The same issues emerged in Norway, where activists protesting against a [GIANT] #WindFarm that they say obstructs the rights of the #Sami people to raise #reindeer in central and Arctic #Norway were removed from the entrances to two government offices by Norwegian police.
In #NewZealand, a study found that incarcerated Māori people are nearly twice as likely to face housing instability when released from prison as non-#Māori prisoners. The study calls for officials to provide stable housing for individuals re-entering society.
Source:
https://ictnews.org/news/global-indigenous-2023-the-year-in-review
#IndigenousRights #IndigenousActivists #ClimateJustice #IndianCountryToday #ProtectTheForests #LandBack #CriminalizingDissent #WaterIsLife -
Prosecutors add #HateCrime allegations in shooting over Spanish #conquistador statue
AP, November 3, 2023
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — "State prosecutors added hate-crime allegations Thursday to charges of attempted murder against a New Mexico man accused in the shooting of a #NativeAmerican #activist amid confrontations about aborted plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador in public, at a court hearing Thursday in northern New Mexico.
"Defendant Ryan David Martinez pleaded not guilty to all charges at the arraignment overseen by a district court judge from a courthouse in TierraAmarilla.
"Assistant District Attorney Tony Long indicated that his office will pursue sentence enhancements based on the use of a firearm and try to prove that the shooting was motivated by bias against a particular social group.
"Martinez was arrested on Sept. 28 after chaos erupted and a single shot was fired at an outdoor gathering in Española over canceled plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de #Oñate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.
"The shooting severely wounded #JacobJohns, of Spokane, Washington, a well-traveled #activist for #environmental causes and an advocate for #NativeAmericanRights who is of #Hopi and Akimel #Oodham tribal descent.
"He had joined other advocates for Native American rights as they celebrated with song, prayer and speeches the county's decision not to install the statue that day.
"Under state law, a hate-crime sentence enhancement could extend prison time by up to a year. The firearm-related enhancements could add up to eight years in prison.
"Initial felony charges against Martinez carry possible sentences of up to 16 years and six months in prison, along with possible fines and parole, Long told the court. A misdemeanor charge of reckless driving could add up to 90 days in prison.
"State District Court Judge Jason Lidyard scheduled a jury trial for May 2024. He has ordered that Martinez remain in jail pending trial."
#ClimateActivist #ClimateJustice #IndigenousActivists #NewMexico #MAGA #HateCrimes