[IPSM] Underreported Struggles for December

[Ahni]

Here you go...Ahni

>
> Underreported Struggles for December<http://intercontinentalcry.org/underreported-struggles-for-december/>
>
> In keeping with the patterns relayed in previous months, December was a
> time filled with both wanted and unwelcomed events.
>
> On the positive side, government officials in India acknowledged the
> Narmada dam was illegal; and in Canada, the Ontario Government announced
> they will be returning Ipperwash Park to the Chippewa.
>
> Elsewhere, in Australia, the Kuku Yalanji had 1300sqkm of rainforest
> returned to them in the largest freehold land transfer in Queensland's
> history; and in New Zealand, there was some movement to settle the claims
> for the historical Treaty of Waitangi. Around the world, there was also a
> great deal of paper pushing to stop the 'illegal' logging industry.
>
> I'm sure we can agree this is great news. But while it unfolded,
> governments and corporations took numerous steps to threaten and harm
> indigenous people tenfold over anything good that happened.
>
> Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil are all perfect examples. Currently,
> each of these States are pushing forward massive state-wide campaigns that
> intensely undermine Indigenous Land and Rights. And let's not forget about
> the Australia Intervention—the newly-elected Prime Minister recently
> announced this racist, draconian scheme will remain in full effect for at
> least another 6 months.
>
> For indigenous people in Russia, Burma, China, Tibet, Africa, America, and
> Mexico: the story is much the same. One step forward, ten steps back. It's
> like a wavering, full-spectrum war, and for which there are few indications
> that it will be letting up anytime soon.
>
> For the sake of future generations, we have to turn this situation for the
> better. And we have to do it on our own terms, as our own people.
> Underreported Struggles for December
>
> *December 31*
> Most censored in 2007: Silencing of traditional Indigenous People<http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/12/most-censored-in-2007-silencing-of.html>
> The most censored issue of Indigenous Peoples by the media in 2007 was the
> "Silencing of traditional and grassroots' voices by those in power,"
> according to readers voting on a poll at the Censored Blog. The elected
> councils in the United States and band councils in Canada attempted to
> silence Indian spiritual leaders and traditional people by way of silencing
> and distorting the news in 2007. Elected leaders also threatened and
> oppressed Indians speaking out in their own communities. Tailgating by
> tribal police, threats of harm and threats of membership removal increased
> for Indian activists, according to reports from across North America.
>
> *December 30*
> Criminalized for Defending Nature<http://intercontinentalcry.org/criminalized-for-defending-nature/>
> The World Rainforest Movement's Bulletin for December features an article
> by Guadalupe Rodriguez, a Campaigner for Tropical Forests and Human Rights,
> which discusses the ongoing criminalization of anyone opposed to the
> exploitative activities of transnational corporations in Ecuador. The
> article also discusses "the First Summit of Communities Criminalized for
> Defending Nature", which was held on November 16th at the Catholic
> University in Quito, Ecuador.
>
> Colombia to fumigate 'illicit' crops without consent<http://intercontinentalcry.org/colombia-to-fumigate-illicit-crops-without-consent/>
> According to this article on Narco News, Colombia's Anti-Narcotics Police
> will soon begin fumigating illicit crops inside of the country's Indigenous
> Territories without the fully informed consent of the People. The chemical
> they intend to use is none other than Monsanto-brand glyphosate (Roundup), a
> herbicide that is well known to cause irreparable damage wherever it is
> used.
>
> *December 29*
> Native Residential School Activist, Nora Bernard, Found Dead<http://mostlywater.org/native_residential_school_activist_nora_bernard_found_dead>
> Nora Bernard, the 72-year old Mi'kmaq woman that started the first
> class-action lawsuit for Residential Schools survivors in 1996–believed to
> be the largest class action lawsuit in Canadian history–died on December 27
> in what police are calling a "suspicious death." No more information has
> been released to the public as of yet.
>
> *December 28*
> Colombian indigenous people send an SOS from Cauca<http://flemishcentreforindigenouspeoples.skynetblogs.be/post/5374678/colombian-indigenous-people-send-an-sos-from->
> CRIC sent an SOS informing how Colombian army and police forces have
> attacked the protest movement of indigenous peoples on the Caloto-Corinto
> Road at the Department of Cauca. During the last few weeks, military tanks
> have been sent to the communities; indigenous leaders have been detained in
> their homes without legal representation and commoners (men, women and
> children) have been attacked with tear gas sprayed directly in their faces.
>
> *December 24*
> Ngati Aukiwa is fighting for their land<http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/74720/index.php>
> The Crown and Kahukuraariki Trust Board have signed an Agreement in
> Principle to settle the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngatikahu ki
> Whangaroa. The settlement offer includes acknowledgments of, and a Crown
> apology for, the Crown's historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and
> its principles, and the return of eleven Crown-owned sites of cultural and
> historical significance.
>
> Yucca Mountain Needs Your Help<http://intercontinentalcry.org/yucca-mountain-needs-your-help/>
> Black Mesa Indigenous Support sent out an urgent call for people to help
> protect Yucca Mountain. Located 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the
> Mountain range is located on Shoshone territory as defined in the 1863
> Treaty of Ruby Valley. The US government however refuses to acknowledge the
> treaty and is currently planning to make the Mountain range into a major
> nuclear waste repository.
>
> Penan Headman Kelesau reported missing<http://intercontinentalcry.org/penan-headman-kelesau-reported-missing/>
> A group of Penan from the Upper Baram region of the East Malaysian State
> of Sarawak have reported Headman Kelesau Naan has vanished without a trace.
> He was last seen on October 23, 2007. According to a media release by Bruno
> Manser Fonds, "The Penan leader, who was in his 70s, was last seen on 23
> October 2007 in the vicinity of his village in one of Sarawak's last intact
> rainforests. After two months, the Penan have decided to break the silence
> and have lodged a police report."
>
> *December 21*
> Honor the Earth has funding for Indigenous Initiatives<http://www.honorearth.org/grants/apply.html>
> Honor the Earth, a group that's comprised of representatives from the
> Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and the Indigenous Women's Network
> (IWN) is currently accepting proposals for funding to help Native-led
> organizations in Canada and the US who work in the areas of: Environmental &
> Energy Justice, Community Development, and Youth. The grants range from
> $1,000- $5,000. Proposals are due January 15th, 2007.
>
> *December 20*
> Batwa: Pride Restored <http://unpo.org/article.php?id=7425>
> The Batwa people, indigenous people living in the forest of Rwanda, have
> seen their situation change with the increase of aid and protection on
> indigenous minorities. One Batwa women explains "We thought we had no right
> to know any other people, or to come close to other people…" "We thought we
> had no right to be treated in any hospital. If people gave us any food, they
> themselves would not eat from the food they had given us. But nowadays,
> here, things have changed."
>
> *December 17*
> Sulfide mine violates Treaties, threatens Great Lakes<http://intercontinentalcry.org/sulfide-mine-violates-treaties-threatens-great-lakes/>
> The state of Michigan on Friday handed a huge defeat to Indigenous People,
> environmental groups and others who have actively opposed a controversial
> sulfide mine that the Kennecott Minerals Company - an international mining
> company with one of the worst environmental records in the world - wants to
> build in the pristine Yellow Dog Plains near Lake Superior. Kennecott plans
> to tunnel below a prime trout stream and use an acid-leaching process to
> extract nickel and other minerals - leaving in its place hundreds of
> thousands of tons of acid-leached waste rock (sulfuric acid, aka battery
> acid).
>
> Ontario Government To Return Ipperwash Park<http://intercontinentalcry.org/ontario-government-to-return-ipperwash-park/>
> At a press conference this morning, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael
> Bryant along with Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield announced
> Ontario will be returning Ipperwash Provincial Park lands to the Chippewas
> of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. This announcement comes in the wake
> of the Ipperwash Inquiry, which was concluded on May 31, 2007.
>
> Khmer Krom: Land Must Be Returned <http://unpo.org/article.php?id=7411>
> Hundreds of Khmer Krom farmers protested in front of government offices to
> demand the return of ancestral land, arguing that they do not wish to
> disrupt Vietnamese society but merely want Vietnam to respect the rights of
> Indigenous peoples.
>
> *December 15*
> Grassy Narrows Clan Mothers Issue Eviction Notice<http://intercontinentalcry.org/grassy-narrows-clan-mothers-issue-eviction-notice/>
> Following the the 5th anniversary of the logging road blockade at Grassy
> Narrows on December 2, 2002, another eviction notice has been given to a
> logging camp presently on Asubpeeschoseewagong Territory. According to this
> blog post on the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) website, "the women have
> not heard any response yet and are waiting and will continue with this land
> protection initiative."
>
> *December 14*
> Jumbo gas pipeline to cut through unceded Lubicon land<http://fola.ecope.ca/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=1>
> On November 22, the construction of a major new gas pipeline to "feed"
> tarsands exploitation in Alberta was announced. This proposed new pipeline
> will cut right through unceded Lubicon Territory! The Friends of the Lubicon
> ask you to take a moment to support the Lubicon by writing letters, emails,
> and phoning in your concerns about this new plan. See this article on the
> UN Observer <http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=4182&blz=1> for
> details.
>
> *December 13*
> Officials concede Narmada dam illegal<http://www.survival-international.org/news/2716>
> A director of the government agency responsible for India's controversial
> Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam has admitted that the construction of the dam to
> the height of 121.9 metres has led to the illegal submergence of houses
> and farms. The Bhil tribal people are among those affected.
>
> *December 12*
> Once Expelled Goldminers Come Back to Yanomami Territory<http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/8969/54/>
> Illegal goldminers have invaded the land of the Yanomami Indians in the
> Brazilian Amazônia. More than a thousand of them, according to an alarm
> raised by Yanomami living close to the areas where the miners are operating.
> Their presence has been confirmed when a military plane flew over the area
> at the Yanomami's request. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Yanomami suffered
> hugely from goldminers invading their land. The miners shot them, destroyed
> villages, and exposed them to diseases to which they had no immunity. Twenty
> percent of the Yanomami died in just seven years.
>
> Enawene Nawe blockade dam construction site<http://intercontinentalcry.org/enawene-nawe-blockade-dam-construction-site/>
> Continuing their struggle against a large hydroelectric dam project in the
> Brazilian Amazon, the Enawene Nawe set up a blockade at one of the dam
> construction sites late last week. The Enawene Nawe maintain the dams will
> have a devastating effect on the breeding cycle of the fish they depend on
> to survive. They say the fish might not even be able to make it to their
> breeding grounds. The grounds themselves are of great cultural and spiritual
> significance to the Enawene Nawe.
>
> *December 11*
> Blackfeet Tribe to help the US Military<http://www.reznetnews.org/article/blackfeet-tribe/blackfeet-factory>
> A $1.6 million grant was recently approved by President Bush, allowing
> Pikuni Industries, a corporation owned by the Blackfeet Tribe, to work with
> Radiance Technologies in developing "the Center of Expertise for Adaptive
> Lightweight Materials–" which will research and develop advanced structural
> composites for military use.
>
> Mapuche Hunger Strikers in Critical Condition<http://www.mapuche-nation.org/english/html/news/pr-69.htm>
> Six Mapuche political prisoners are fighting for their lives after 62 [as
> of 11 December 2007] days on hunger strike. Human rights groups worldwide
> are urgently pleading with the Chilean government for their release, but it
> is having little effect.
>
> *December 10*
> Title triumph as heritage land is returned<http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22896795-5013172,00.html>
> More than a century after being marched off their land and on to missions
> by successive waves of pastoralists and cane farmers, the Kuku Yalanji
> people of the Daintree rainforest yesterday had almost 1300sqkm of World
> Heritage-listed land returned. Almost a quarter of the land is reserved for
> their exclusive use, in the largest Aboriginal freehold transfer in
> Queensland's history.
>
> KI will peacefully defend their land and rights<http://intercontinentalcry.org/ki-will-peacefully-defend-their-land-and-rights/>
> After Friday's court hearing that accepted mining and exploration company
> Platinex Inc's motion for contempt against Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug
> (KI), Chief Donny Morris, councilor Sam McKay, and community member Mark
> Anderson announced they would gladly go to jail in defense of the land and
> their treaty rights. "I'm prepared to go to jail for my belief in the land,"
> said KI Chief Donny Morris. "This is a land issue based on our sovereignty
> and I'm prepared to give myself up if the court decides I've disrespected
> the November ruling to allow Platinex on our land…"
>
> Opening Up Indigenous Land to Foreign Investors<http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40417>
> Peruvian President Alan García plans to introduce in Congress a draft law
> that would facilitate the purchase by foreign investors of communally owned
> land in rural indigenous villages. Community owned land in the villages is
> "idle land, because the owner has neither the training nor the economic
> resources, which means it is owned merely in name. That same land sold in
> large plots would bring in technology," he argued.
>
> *December 6*
> Elders sue PacifiCorp for polluting the Klamath River<http://www.oregonwild.org/press-room/press-clips/1-billion-lawsuit-claims-klamath-dams-produce-hazardous-waste>
> A $1 billion lawsuit filed Thursday claims that PacifiCorp hydroelectric
> dams on the Klamath River produce hazardous waste in the form of toxic algae
> that harms salmon as well as people. The lawsuit was filed in U.S.
> District Court in San Francisco by Klamath Riverkeeper, elders of the Yurok
> and Karuk tribes, and the owner of rental cabins along the river.
> "PacifiCorp is both creating and releasing this algae, and they are refusing
> to take responsibility for the pollution their dams are creating," said
> Regina Chichizola of Klamath Riverkeeper, a nonprofit river conservation
> group.
>
> *December 5*
> Indigenous woman set free after being detained for 18 months<http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/good-news/indigenous-woman-set-free-20071205>
> Magdalena García Durán, an indigenous Mazahua street vendor and
> mother-of-five, was set free after spending more than 18 months in custody.
> Magdalena was arbitrarily arrested in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico State,
> during demonstrations in May 2006. Several police officers pulled her out of
> a van and beat and kicked her repeatedly. She was then handcuffed, covered
> and forced to lie on top of other detainees in a waiting vehicle. Officers
> repeatedly threatened to kill her "like a dog".
>
> Oaxacan police kidnap and beat Woman freedom fighter<http://elenemigocomun.net/1372>
> On Dec. 2, 2007, the woman Nancy Mota Figueroa, member of the August 1
> Coordinator of Oaxacan Women (COMO in its Spanish initials) of the Popular
> Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO), was brutally assaulted by subjects
> whose faces were covered with ski masks. They put her in a pick-up truck
> where they covered her eyes with wet blindfolds. They had her inside the
> truck for half an hour, taking her to different places until they left her
> at near the Hotel Fortin in a vacant lot. During the time that they had her
> kidnapped, they threatened to shoot her while asking her about different
> people from the APPO.
>
>
> Videos for the Month
>
> Daechuri <http://intercontinentalcry.org/daechuri/>
> Daechuri is a video that documents the struggles of the two farming
> communities in Pyeongtaek, Korea. In 2005, the government approved a request
> for imminent domain acquisition of the two villages, instantly making the
> farmers criminals trespassing on federal property. The people did everything
> they could before finally conceding to to the government, earlier this
> year–but they have not given up.
>
> For the Wichi Territory<http://intercontinentalcry.org/for-the-wichi-territory/>
> This ten-minute video, "Por el Territorio Wichi" (For the Wichi Territory)
> brings you to the heart of Indigenous struggle. It looks at the Wichi of
> northern Argentina, who's land has been steadily invaded over the last 100
> years.
>
> All that Glitters is not Gold<http://intercontinentalcry.org/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold/>
> This film is an informative and disturbing 6-minute video that looks at
> the Olympic Dam in Australia, the site of the world's largest known uranium
> deposit. Currently, BHP Billiton wants the federal and state government to
> approve a plan to bring 40 million tonnes of the radioactive ore to the
> surface every year for the next 50-100 years.
> *
>
> Underreported struggles is a monthly overview of news regarding the
> struggles of indigenous and landless people throughout the world. To view
> previous reports, please see:
> http://intercontinentalcry.org/tags/underreported*
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