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#landtheft — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #landtheft, aggregated by home.social.

  1. When it comes to standing up to #Trump, I laud #Maine Governor #JanetMills. But when it comes to #Wabanaki #Sovereignty, building wind terminals on undeveloped islands (#SearsIsland / #Wahsumkik ), destroying untouched forests to supply #WesternMass with electricity, or building highways through farmland (#MDOT), we definitely DO NOT always see eye-to-eye!

    Governor opposed to latest change to #SettlementAct backed by #WabanakiNations

    by Emma Davis
    Wed, April 9, 2025

    "Discussion of legislation to afford the Wabanaki Nations more authority over their land revealed that Gov. Janet Mills does not support the change, presenting a steep path for a plan that otherwise has bipartisan support.

    "After not testifying during the public hearing last week, the governor’s counsel, Jerry Reid, told the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that Mills’ concerns stem from the inability to predict the future needs of state government, an issue also raised in written testimony from the #MaineDepartmentOfTransportation, which was made available after the hearing.

    "When pressed by committee members, Reid said he doesn’t have a specific example of an infrastructure project that would warrant seizing tribal land but that, 'We need to write the law mindful of the potential for problems.'

    "While Reid and Wabanaki leaders noted that progress has and continues to be made to improve the relationship between the state and Wabanaki Nations, Reid added, 'the fact that we have such a good relationship right now might not always be true.'

    "The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, a principle known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws.

    "The 1834 federal Indian Nonintercourse Act prohibited land transactions with tribes unless authorized by Congress. However, the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act specified that that federal law was not applicable to the #HoultonBand of #Maliseet Indians, the #PassamaquoddyTribe and the #PenobscotNation.

    "This is the act that has overall resulted in the Tribes being treated more akin to #municipalities than #SovereignNations. So far, sweeping changes to the act have failed due to opposition from Mills, but the governor, lawmakers and Wabanaki leaders have successfully made some targeted adjustments, including expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes last year.

    "The legislation being considered this session, #LD958, would amend the Settlement Act to prohibit the state from exercising eminent domain on trust and reservation land, which is protected under federal law, though fee land — or private property for which the owner owns the title — would still be subject to the state taking.

    "The bill would also amend the 2023 #MikmaqNationRestorationAct to make this change for the Mi’kmaq Nation, which wasn’t included in the Settlement Act.

    "On Tuesday, the Taxation Committee unanimously voted in favor of a bill to ensure equal tax treatment among all of the Wabanaki Nations, which Mills supports. #LD982 would provide the #MikmaqNation the same rights to sales tax revenue on its land that the other three tribes of the Wabanaki Nations were granted in 2022 through an amendment to the Settlement Act.
    State hasn’t exercised this authority in decades, but argues it’s necessary

    "The state hasn’t exercised eminent domain over #TribalLands since the #SettlementAct. However, testimony from Wabanaki leaders and state government officials underscore that it is a possibility."

    Source:
    yahoo.com/news/governor-oppose

    #MaineSettlementAct #EminentDomain #LandTheft #FirstNations #WabanakiConfederancy
    #MaineFirstNations #Maine #MainePol
    #NativeAmericanNews #TribalSovereignty #SaveSmilingHillFarm #SaveTheForests #MainePol #IndigenousPeoplesDay

  2. Bipartisan lawmakers, Wabanaki leaders propose next change to Settlement Act

    by Emma Davis
    Fri, April 4, 2025

    "A bipartisan group of lawmakers presented legislation on Friday to prevent the state from being able to seize #Wabanaki land for public use without consultation.

    "For the past several Legislative sessions, leaders of the Wabanaki Nations have worked with lawmakers to try to overhaul the 1980 #MaineIndianClaimsSettlementAct that has resulted in the tribes being treated more akin to municipalities than #SovereignNations.

    "So far, sweeping change has failed due to opposition from Gov. #JanetMills, but the executive, lawmakers and Wabanaki leaders have successfully made some targeted adjustments, including expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes last year.

    "#LD958 represents the next area of focus, although an omnibus bill is still expected to be considered during the second regular session of the Legislature next year.

    "Sponsored by House Minority leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) and bipartisan co-sponsors, LD 958 would amend the #SettlementAct and the 2023 #MikmaqNationRestorationAct — as the Mi’kmaq Nation hadn’t been included in the earlier act — to prohibit eminent domain, a protection already afforded to almost all other federally recognized tribes.

    " 'Much of our land contains irreplaceable cultural, spiritual and ecological resources,' said #Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana, a co-sponsor of the bill who sits on the Judiciary Committee. 'This bill ensures those places are safeguarded and are not subject to #destruction or #appropriation. Too often in our history, our #TribalLands have been taken, divided and exploited under the guise of progress.'

    "The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the #FifthAmendment U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws.

    "Rep. Rachel Henderson (R-Rumford), a co-sponsor who sits on the Judiciary Committee, questioned whether the bill is in conflict with the Constitution. It is not, Faulkingham, tribal leaders and attorneys explained, because the Constitution outlines when eminent domain can be exercised but not that it can’t be further restricted.

    " 'There’s nothing in the Fifth Amendment that prohibits a state from enacting laws that says we won’t do that,' Faulkingham said.

    "LD 958 applies to land protected under federal law — trust and reservation land — but fee lands — private property for which the owner owns the title — would still be subject to state power of eminent domain. A constitutional amendment allows states to condemn individually owned plots within tribal reservations.

    "Maine has seized Wabanaki land from the start of their intertwined histories, as the state territory today had first been inhabited by the Wabanaki people."

    Read more:
    yahoo.com/news/bipartisan-lawm

    #MaineSettlementAct #FirstNations #WabanakiConfederancy
    #MaineFirstNations #Maine #MainePol #NativeAmericanNews #LandTheft
    #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyTribe #HoultonBand of #Maliseets #MikmaqNation #Dawnland #TribalSovereignty

  3. Behind #Israel’s ‘end game’ for #Gaza: Theft of #OffshoreGas reserves

    By Betsey Piette
    November 14, 2023

    "In 1999, #BritishGas (BG) discovered the existence of natural gas in the #GazaMarineFields, 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, at a depth of 610 meters below the surface. Further exploration by BG through two successful wells — Gaza Marine 1 and Gaza Marine 2 — determined the field could contain up to 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. (EgyptOil-Gas.com, April 5, 2018)

    [Fast forward to 2022...]

    "On June 18, [2022], Israel gave preliminary approval for the development of a gas field off the coast of Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming progress would hinge on 'preserving the State of Israel’s security and diplomatic needs' and coordination with the Palestinian Authority and neighboring Egypt. At the same time, Hamas official Ismail Rudwan told Reuters: 'We reaffirm that our people in Gaza have the rights to their natural resources.'

    "Two months before Oct. 7, [2023], the Pentagon began building a $35.8 million troop facility in Israel’s #NegevDesert, 20 miles from Gaza, allegedly as a radar site to monitor for missile attacks on Israel. The base is part of a 'secret' U.S. military presence in Israel. (The Intercept, Oct. 27)

    "Since Oct. 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel intends to kill as many Palestinians as possible in order to pressure others to leave the Gaza Strip and move to the Sinai in Egypt.

    "Netanyahu has been adamant in refusing to order a cease-fire to let in aid to stop the horrific genocide being carried out in Gaza.

    "The people of Gaza are well aware, as their grandparents experienced with the 1948 Nakba, that once Israelis forcefully remove Palestinians from Palestinian land, returning is a near impossibility.

    "Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians has not stopped the Israeli regime’s plans for further oil and gas exploration. On Oct. 29, Israel announced that it awarded 12 licenses for exploring additional offshore natural gas fields to six companies, including #BritishPetroleum and Italian energy giant #Eni. These awards show that Israel has no intention of letting the genocide it is carrying out against Gaza’s people interfere with its ongoing theft of Palestinian resources."

    Read more:
    iacenter.org/2023/11/15/behind
    #BigOilAndGas #BP #BG #Genocide #LandTheft #FreePalestine #GazaGenocide #Genocide #BibiIsAWarCriminal #IsraeliWarCrimes #KamalAdwanHospital #HumanRightsAreNeverWrong #StopArmingIsrael #IDF #GenevaConvention #HumanRightsViolations #NoWar #WorldWarBibi #GazaGasFields

  4. How to #decolonize your #Thanksgiving dinner in observance of #NationalDayofMourning

    Meredith Clark
    Wed, November 22, 2023

    "Thanksgiving is almost upon us, a time when many #Americans gather together to eat turkey and talk about what they’re most thankful for. Growing up in the #UnitedStates, almost everyone can recall the 'First Thanksgiving' story they were told in elementary school: how the local #Wampanoag #NativeAmericans sat down with the #pilgrims of #Plymouth Colony in 1621, in what is now present-day #Massachusetts, for a celebratory feast.

    "However, this story is far from the truth - which is why many people opt out of celebrating the controversial holiday.

    "For many #Indigenous communities throughout the US, Thanksgiving remains a National Day of Mourning - a reminder of the devastating #genocide and #displacement that occurred at the hands of European #colonisers following their arrival in the Americas.

    "Every year since 1970, #IndigenousPeople and their allies have even gathered near #PlymouthRock to commemorate a National #DayOfMourning on the day of Thanksgiving. 'Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the erasure of Native cultures,' states the official website for the United American Indians of New England. 'Participants in National Day of Mourning honour Indigenous #ancestors and Native resilience. It is a day of #remembrance and #spiritual connection, as well as a #protest against the #racism and #oppression that Indigenous people continue to experience #worldwide.'

    "This year, the 54th annual National Day of Mourning takes place on 23 November - the same day as Thanksgiving. While not everyone can support the event in person, there are still many ways people can raise awareness toward issues affecting Indigenous communities from wherever they are - by '#decolonising' their Thanksgiving dinner.

    "#Decolonisation can be defined as the active resistance against #settlerColonialism and a shifting of power towards Indigenous sovereignty. Of course, it’s difficult to define decolonisation without putting it into practice, writes Eve Tuck and K Wayne Yang in their essay, #Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor. Rather, one of the most radical and necessary moves toward decolonisation requires imagining and enacting a future for Indigenous peoples - a future based on terms of their own making.

    "Matt Hooley is an assistant professor in the department of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Dartmouth College, where he teaches about US colonial powers and Indigenous cultural production. 'Decolonisation is a beautiful and difficult political horizon that should guide our actions everyday, including during holidays like Thanksgiving,' he tells The Independent. 'Of course, Thanksgiving is a particularly relevant holiday to think about decolonisation because the way many people celebrate it involves connecting ‘the family’ to a colonial myth in which colonialism is inaccurately imagined as a peaceful event in the past.'

    "By decolonising our Thanksgiving, we can celebrate the holiday with new traditions that honour a future in which Indigenous people are celebrated. This year, we can start by understanding the real history behind Thanksgiving as told by actual Indigenous communities.

    "While Americans mainly dedicate one day a year to give thanks, Indigenous communities express gratitude every day with the #Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address - often called: 'The words that come before all else.' The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address is the central prayer and invocation for the #HaudenosauneeConfederacy, which comprises the #SixNations - #Mohawk, #Oneida, #Onondaga, #Cayuga, #Seneca, and #Tuscarora. When one recites the Thanksgiving Address, they’re giving thanks for all life and the natural world around them.

    "According to Hooley, one of the most straightforward actions people can take to decolonise their Thanksgiving includes supporting Indigenous land acknowledgments and land back movements. #LandBack is an ongoing Indigenous-led movement which seeks to return ancestral lands to Indigenous people and the recognition of Indigenous #sovereignty. While the movement is nowhere near new, it received international attention in 2016 during protests against the #DakotaAccesSPipeline - which continues to disrupt land and #water sources belonging to the #StandingRockSioux Tribe.

    "This year, sit down with family and friends to discuss an action plan and highlight the concrete steps you plan on taking to support Indigenous communities. 'Another, even simpler way would be to begin participating in what’s called a ‘Voluntary Land Tax,’ whereby non-Indigenous people contribute a recurring tax to the tribal communities whose land you occupy,' said Hooley.

    "Food is perhaps the most important part of the Thanksgiving holiday, with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes taking center stage. However, there are many ways we can make sure our dinner tables honour Indigenous futurisms too. Donald A Grinde, Jr is a professor emeritus in the department of Africana and American Studies at the University at Buffalo. Grinde - who is a member of the #YamasseeNation - tells The Independent that crops such as #corn, #beans, #squash, #tomatoes, and #potatoes are central to #IndigenousHistory and future.

    "'A good thing is to be thankful for the abundance in the fall and note that Native people created over 60 percent of modern #agricultural #crops,' he said. 'People can be thankful for the crops that Native people created, #medicines created, and traditions about #democracy, #WomensRights and #environmental rights.'

    "Rather than buying food from major corporations this year, Hooly also recommended people consciously source their Thanksgiving dinner from Indigenous producers. 'Industrial agriculture is one of the most devastating contributors to the destruction of land and water everywhere, including on Indigenous land,' he said. 'Instead of buying food grown or made by colonial corporations, people could buy their food from Indigenous producers, or even simply make a greater effort to buy locally grown food or not to buy meat harvested from industrial farms.'

    "Thanksgiving is just a day away. While it’s important that we’re actively working toward highlighting Indigenous communities on this special holiday, decolonisation efforts are something that should be done year-round.

    "'People can also learn about political priorities of the Indigenous communities near them and support those priorities by speaking to their representatives, participating in a protest, or by making sure that their local school and library boards are including Indigenous texts in local community education,' Hooley said."

    yahoo.com/lifestyle/decolonize

    #Decolonization #CorporateColonialism #LandTheft #CulturalGenocide #CulturalPreservation