#indigenousactivists — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #indigenousactivists, aggregated by home.social.
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Honoring the #Movements and People who Inspire us. #Warriors, #Writers and #Dreamers -- A Thread Runs Through Them. #CensoredNews 20th Anniversary.
'Know who you are, and never let anyone take your power from you.'
By #BrendaNorrell, Censored News, August 30, 2026
"We're coming up on our 20th anniversary at Censored News, and we are honoring the warriors, leaders, writers and dreamers who make Censored News possible.
When the Mohawks came for the border summit in 2006 and 2007, it was, as they say in the movie Casablanca, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Along with the Mohawks, leaders, writers and dreamers through the years became a sort of collective which makes Censored News what it is, a service to #IndigenousPeople and #HumanRights.
We lost many of our best, #Lakota Warrior Woman #DebWhitePlume, our longtime friend #KleeBenally, our French translator #ChristinePrat, and many more. But thanks to those who keep sharing their work, we keep Censored News going. This summer our page views increased by millions, thanks to their labors of love.
Today, we celebrate the movements and people who inspire us, as we celebrate our 20 Year Anniversary at Censored News."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/honoring-movements-and-people-who.htmlTo donate - [email protected] via PayPal. Link to donations page:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2019/08/donate-to-censored-news.html#IndigenousNews #ReaderSupportedNews #MicheleCook #OfeliaRivas #FloydWesterman #TohonoOodhamNation #BorderPatrol #Diné #Navajo #IndigenousActivists #LandDefenders #WaterDefenders #LandIsLife #WaterIsLife #MniWiconi #Marcos #Mexico #Chiapas #Maori #Aotearoa #IndigenousResistance #NoBorders #LeaveItInTheGround #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRock
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Honoring the #Movements and People who Inspire us. #Warriors, #Writers and #Dreamers -- A Thread Runs Through Them. #CensoredNews 20th Anniversary.
'Know who you are, and never let anyone take your power from you.'
By #BrendaNorrell, Censored News, August 30, 2026
"We're coming up on our 20th anniversary at Censored News, and we are honoring the warriors, leaders, writers and dreamers who make Censored News possible.
When the Mohawks came for the border summit in 2006 and 2007, it was, as they say in the movie Casablanca, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Along with the Mohawks, leaders, writers and dreamers through the years became a sort of collective which makes Censored News what it is, a service to #IndigenousPeople and #HumanRights.
We lost many of our best, #Lakota Warrior Woman #DebWhitePlume, our longtime friend #KleeBenally, our French translator #ChristinePrat, and many more. But thanks to those who keep sharing their work, we keep Censored News going. This summer our page views increased by millions, thanks to their labors of love.
Today, we celebrate the movements and people who inspire us, as we celebrate our 20 Year Anniversary at Censored News."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/honoring-movements-and-people-who.htmlTo donate - [email protected] via PayPal. Link to donations page:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2019/08/donate-to-censored-news.html#IndigenousNews #ReaderSupportedNews #MicheleCook #OfeliaRivas #FloydWesterman #TohonoOodhamNation #BorderPatrol #Diné #Navajo #IndigenousActivists #LandDefenders #WaterDefenders #LandIsLife #WaterIsLife #MniWiconi #Marcos #Mexico #Chiapas #Maori #Aotearoa #IndigenousResistance #NoBorders #LeaveItInTheGround #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRock
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Honoring the #Movements and People who Inspire us. #Warriors, #Writers and #Dreamers -- A Thread Runs Through Them. #CensoredNews 20th Anniversary.
'Know who you are, and never let anyone take your power from you.'
By #BrendaNorrell, Censored News, August 30, 2026
"We're coming up on our 20th anniversary at Censored News, and we are honoring the warriors, leaders, writers and dreamers who make Censored News possible.
When the Mohawks came for the border summit in 2006 and 2007, it was, as they say in the movie Casablanca, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Along with the Mohawks, leaders, writers and dreamers through the years became a sort of collective which makes Censored News what it is, a service to #IndigenousPeople and #HumanRights.
We lost many of our best, #Lakota Warrior Woman #DebWhitePlume, our longtime friend #KleeBenally, our French translator #ChristinePrat, and many more. But thanks to those who keep sharing their work, we keep Censored News going. This summer our page views increased by millions, thanks to their labors of love.
Today, we celebrate the movements and people who inspire us, as we celebrate our 20 Year Anniversary at Censored News."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/honoring-movements-and-people-who.htmlTo donate - [email protected] via PayPal. Link to donations page:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2019/08/donate-to-censored-news.html#IndigenousNews #ReaderSupportedNews #MicheleCook #OfeliaRivas #FloydWesterman #TohonoOodhamNation #BorderPatrol #Diné #Navajo #IndigenousActivists #LandDefenders #WaterDefenders #LandIsLife #WaterIsLife #MniWiconi #Marcos #Mexico #Chiapas #Maori #Aotearoa #IndigenousResistance #NoBorders #LeaveItInTheGround #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRock
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Honoring the #Movements and People who Inspire us. #Warriors, #Writers and #Dreamers -- A Thread Runs Through Them. #CensoredNews 20th Anniversary.
'Know who you are, and never let anyone take your power from you.'
By #BrendaNorrell, Censored News, August 30, 2026
"We're coming up on our 20th anniversary at Censored News, and we are honoring the warriors, leaders, writers and dreamers who make Censored News possible.
When the Mohawks came for the border summit in 2006 and 2007, it was, as they say in the movie Casablanca, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Along with the Mohawks, leaders, writers and dreamers through the years became a sort of collective which makes Censored News what it is, a service to #IndigenousPeople and #HumanRights.
We lost many of our best, #Lakota Warrior Woman #DebWhitePlume, our longtime friend #KleeBenally, our French translator #ChristinePrat, and many more. But thanks to those who keep sharing their work, we keep Censored News going. This summer our page views increased by millions, thanks to their labors of love.
Today, we celebrate the movements and people who inspire us, as we celebrate our 20 Year Anniversary at Censored News."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/honoring-movements-and-people-who.htmlTo donate - [email protected] via PayPal. Link to donations page:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2019/08/donate-to-censored-news.html#IndigenousNews #ReaderSupportedNews #MicheleCook #OfeliaRivas #FloydWesterman #TohonoOodhamNation #BorderPatrol #Diné #Navajo #IndigenousActivists #LandDefenders #WaterDefenders #LandIsLife #WaterIsLife #MniWiconi #Marcos #Mexico #Chiapas #Maori #Aotearoa #IndigenousResistance #NoBorders #LeaveItInTheGround #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRock
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Honoring the #Movements and People who Inspire us. #Warriors, #Writers and #Dreamers -- A Thread Runs Through Them. #CensoredNews 20th Anniversary.
'Know who you are, and never let anyone take your power from you.'
By #BrendaNorrell, Censored News, August 30, 2026
"We're coming up on our 20th anniversary at Censored News, and we are honoring the warriors, leaders, writers and dreamers who make Censored News possible.
When the Mohawks came for the border summit in 2006 and 2007, it was, as they say in the movie Casablanca, the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Along with the Mohawks, leaders, writers and dreamers through the years became a sort of collective which makes Censored News what it is, a service to #IndigenousPeople and #HumanRights.
We lost many of our best, #Lakota Warrior Woman #DebWhitePlume, our longtime friend #KleeBenally, our French translator #ChristinePrat, and many more. But thanks to those who keep sharing their work, we keep Censored News going. This summer our page views increased by millions, thanks to their labors of love.
Today, we celebrate the movements and people who inspire us, as we celebrate our 20 Year Anniversary at Censored News."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2026/08/honoring-movements-and-people-who.htmlTo donate - [email protected] via PayPal. Link to donations page:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2019/08/donate-to-censored-news.html#IndigenousNews #ReaderSupportedNews #MicheleCook #OfeliaRivas #FloydWesterman #TohonoOodhamNation #BorderPatrol #Diné #Navajo #IndigenousActivists #LandDefenders #WaterDefenders #LandIsLife #WaterIsLife #MniWiconi #Marcos #Mexico #Chiapas #Maori #Aotearoa #IndigenousResistance #NoBorders #LeaveItInTheGround #StandWithStandingRock #StandingRock
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Over the Edge/In Reverence - #KleeBenally
Premiered Nov 22, 2019
"I'm not sure if you got my letter
I could resend it but it just said,
let’s push it over the edge, again and again…
sometimes it's best not to make plans
there’s an art to crashing in
let’s push it over the edge again
we invoke this
disavow this
pledge no allegiance
did you see the future came and went
it was everything we made it
pushed it over the edge again and again
caught up in the moment
forgot where it began
let’s push it over the edge again
we invoke this
disavow this
pledge no allegiance
actions are our prayers
when we live our lives
in reverence
(and this feels just like, coming home)
disharmonious
the discordance
in the shadow of irreverence
what else can
bring justice when
nothing will grow and
what else can
bring justice when
the bullets are lodged so deep in
we invoke this
disavow this
pledge no allegiance
actions are our prayers
when we live our lives
in reverence"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoxxSr5jfMY
#RestInPowerKleeBenally #RIPKleeBenally #IndigenousActivists #IndigenousMusicians -
Report highlights disproportionate killings of #IndigenousEnvironmentalActivists
PBSNewshour, Nov 16, 2024
"Leaders at the United Nations’ #COP29 #CimateChange summit are being pressed this year to address the rising threats to #environmentalists and defenders of #HumanRights. Ali Rogin looks at the challenges facing these activists around the world and speaks with Laura Furones, a senior adviser at the environmental watchdog and advocacy group Global Witness, to learn more.
Watch / read transcript:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/report-highlights-disproportionate-killings-of-indigenous-environmental-activists#GlobalWitness #Phillipines #SouthAfrica #Malaysia #Colombia #Brazil #IndigenousActivists #MurderedActivists #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MegaInfrastructureProjects #Mining #Megaprojects #Deforestation #HumanRightsDefenders #ProtectTheForests #WaterIsLife
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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 -
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 -
#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists
Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.
by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.
“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.
“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.
“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.
“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?
“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.
“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.
“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.
“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.
“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.
“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.
“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.
“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.
“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.
“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.
"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.
“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.
“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.
“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."
https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/
#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock
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Exclusive: #Indigenous #ClimateActivist #JacobJohns Speaks Out After #MAGA Gunman Shoots Him in New Mexico
December 08, 2023
via #DemocracyNow"Broadcasting from #COP28 in Dubai, we speak with Jacob Johns, a #Hopi and Akimel #Oodham environmental defender who is leading the #IndigenousWisdomKeepers delegation at COP28. This is his first interview after surviving being shot in the chest by a far-right agitator in September. Johns and other #IndigenousActivists were holding a vigil opposing plans to reinstall a statue honoring the 16th century Spanish conquistador Juan de #Onate in Española, New Mexico, when a 23-year-old shooter wearing a red MAGA hat fired on the crowd. Johns says he died in the airlift on the way to the hospital and is still dealing with medical issues from the shooting, but wanted to come to the climate summit to share Indigenous wisdom with the world. 'We as Indigenous people understand that as the old world dies, that a new one is created and that we must focus on that creation process.'"
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/8/cop28_violence_against_climate_defenders
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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