[IPSM] Underreported Struggles #15

[willowtree at mts.net]

http://intercontinentalcry.org/underreported-struggles-15/


There were multiple offensives against indigenous people throughout the 
month of June. A Canadian court paved the way to reclassify 16 lakes as 
mine waste dumps; The US Supreme court issued at least three rulings 
against indigenous rights; Police in Australia barred a group of 
Indigenous People from visiting a scared site; and there was 
state-sanctioned violence against people in Guatemala, India, Brazil, 
Colombia, and Peru.


In other news, the O’odham of Gila River became the first Indigenous 
Community in the US (perhaps in the world) to ratify the UN Declaration 
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; The Anishinabek launched a campaign 
to abolish the term “Aboriginal;” a call for an independent government 
was established in the CHT; and finally, in northeastern India, 
Indigenous communities gathered for the first ever convention on peace 
and unity.

You will find these stories and more in this month’s edition of 
Underreported struggles.


      Special Feature

Indigenous Land: Canada’s Toxic Storehouse 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-land-canadas-toxic-storehouse/>
This is a draft report detailing the amount of toxins that currently 
exist within the territories of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Please 
take a moment to read it and share your thoughts or any additional 
material you know about. Also, I’m writing this on my own at the moment 
but I’m hoping some people will come forward to help make this a 
substantive resource. Please leave a comment at the above link if you’d 
like to help.


      Underreported Struggles #15

*June 30*
Anishinabek outlaw term ‘Aboriginal’ <http://www.taiaiake.com/28>
The Anishinabek have launched a campaign to get rid of the term 
“Aboriginal.” According to a recent press release, the Chiefs of the 42 
member-communities endorsed a resolution during their annual Grand 
Council Assembly that characterizes the word as “another means of 
assimilation through the displacement of our First Nation-specific 
inherent and treaty rights.”

Mayans Denounce Violence Against Women, Children 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/mayans-denounce-violence-against-women-children/>
Earlier this month, the Mayan community of San Miguel Ixtahuacán issued 
a public statement denouncing the recent actions of Guatemala’s National 
Civil Police. Acting on behalf of the Canadian-mining company Montana 
Exploradora de Guatemala (Goldcorp), on June 13th the police shot tear 
gas at local children and used force against women peacefully 
demonstrating their opposition to Goldcorp’s Marlin mine.

*June 29*
Secular, democratic govt needed for indigenous people in the CHT 
<http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=43382>
Speaking at a seminar that marked the 153rd Anniversary Of the Santal 
Revolution, a tribal leader from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in 
Bangladesh established the call for secular, democratic government to 
ensure the rights of the indigenous people as well as that of tribal 
students. “Unless we can form a secular, democratic and progressive 
government, we will not be able to solve the problems of the indigenous 
people as well as those of the tribal students,” he said.

*June 27*
Mining companies indicted for human rights abuses in Ghana 
<http://www.ghanaweb.com/public_agenda/article.php?ID=10591>
The Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has 
pronounced mining companies in Ghana guilty of various forms of human 
rights abuses in their host communities. CHRAJ found evidence of 
widespread violations which include pollution of water sources, 
deprivation, loss of livelihoods, health problems, use of both state and 
private security to torture community members and inadequate 
compensation. [refers to AngloGold Ashanti, Chirano Mines (part of Red 
Back Mining), Bogoso Gold Limited (part of Golden Star Resources)].

Systemic Discrimination in the Supreme Court 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/systemic-discrimination-in-the-supreme-court/>
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that literally punishes 
Alaska Natives for the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. The court told the 
company that they now only have to pay a tenth of the $5 billion in 
punitive damages that were awarded by a jury 14 years ago. In recent 
history, there have been a number of similar decisions by the court. In 
fact, since 1986 indigenous people have only won about 20% of their cases.

*June 24*
US Moves to Clean Up Uranium on Navajo Land 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/us-moves-to-clean-up-uranium-on-navajo-land/>
On June 13, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a 
five-year plan to start cleaning the radioactive waste left by more than 
40 years of mining uranium on Navajo lands. From 1944 to 1986, companies 
grabbed more than 40 million tons of uranium, producing 996 pounds of 
radioactive waste for every 4 pounds of uranium extracted. A great deal 
of that waste has never been cleaned up.

*June 23*
Brazil: 3.8 mln acres decreed Indian reservation 
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/23/content_8425113.htm>
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday decreed a new 3.8 
million acres Indian reservation in the heart of the Amazon rain 
forest’s logging frontier. The Kayapo Indians had sought the Bau 
reservation in Para state in their ancestral territory since 1994.

Cree remove roadblock after drivers “blast through” 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/mount-taylors-safety-assured-for-one-year/>
Members of the Kelly Lake Cree Nation (KLCN) took down a roadblock on 
Saturday because “angry and dangerous drivers” began blasting through, 
almost running over four people in separate incidents. The KLCN had set 
up the roadblock to raise awareness about a number of health and safety 
concerns brought on by oil and gas exploration on their traditional 
lands. The roadblock was set up in conjunction with a three-day 
“emergency disaster preparedness drill” they organized for themselves.

*June 20*
Stop Canadian Lakes from Becoming Mine Waste Dumps! 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/stop-canadian-lakes-from-becoming-mine-waste-dumps/>
According to a recent report by the CBC, the Federal Government is set 
to ‘reclassify’ 16 lakes across the country as toxic waste dumps for the 
mining industry. Atlest one of those One of those lakes is located in 
the northwestern B.C region known as the Sacred Headwaters, within the 
Traditional Territory of the Tahltan Indigenous People.

*June 18*
Another Mobilization Launched in Brazil 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/another-mobilization-launched-in-brazil/>
Three months after a week-long mobilization against corporations, Via 
Campesina and the Landless Workers Movement (MST) launched another 
mobilization in Brazil last week. According to the Associated Press, the 
mobilization started on June 10, with “thousands of landless rural 
workers invad[ing] dams, railways, plantations and corporate 
headquarters in a wave of protests across eight Brazilian states.”

Traditional owners locked out of sacred McArthur River site 
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/18/2278770.htm>
Traditional owners in the Territory’s McArthur River region have today 
been denied access to a sacred ceremonial site which they say will soon 
be destroyed by the expansion of a nearby zinc mine. Around 100 
Indigenous People went for one final ceremony, however police and mine 
security stopped them, saying only ‘one senior traditional owner could 
visit the sacred site’. The People have since set up a camp outside the 
mine, vowing to stay until they are all allowed to hold a ceremony.

Malaysian Indigenous People Facing Arrests at Blockade 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/malaysian-indigenous-people-facing-arrests-at-blockade/>
More than a hundred indigenous Kenyah peoples from Sarawak, Malaysia are 
currently facing arrests. For the last month, the group has maintained a 
logging blockade to stop the operations of Samling Timber Company. The 
company encroached into their Communal land to carry out logging 
activities without any consultation and consideration of their livelihood.

*June 17*
First Convention of indigenous people held in India 
<http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=42458&typeid=1>
Yesterday, Indigenous communities from the north eastern region of India 
gathered for a convention to promote peace and unity between one 
another. This is the first time such a convention has been held in the 
region. The convention resolved that all the indigenous groups in the 
region must unite under a common platform. It also agreed to protect the 
Indigenous people in a democratic way, to protect Women’s rights, and to 
hold cultural exchange programmes, youth festivals, and academic 
interactions in future.

Colombia: riot police attack indigenous land occupation 
<http://ww4report.com/node/5650>
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) reports nine 
were injured June 13 when a unit of the National Police Mobile Anti-Riot 
Squad (ESMAD) attacked more than 300 indigenous protesters participating 
in a land occupation at Hacienda la Emperatriz, near the indigenous 
reserve of Huellas Caloto, Cauca department. The ONIC statement said the 
nine protesters were receiving medical attention at a clinic in Toez 
village, but the attack had not broken the occupation, and urgently 
called for intervention from human rights monitors.

*June 15*
Dene Sues Alberta Over Tarsands Project 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/dene-sue-alberta-over-tarsands-project/>
Following the massive lawsuit filed by the Beaver Lake Cree Nation last 
month (and the one filed by the Woodland Cree last year), the Chipewyan 
Prairie Dene First Nation came forward on June 4th to file their own 
lawsuit against the Alberta government. The CPDFN say they weren’t 
consulted when the government leased away “the heart” of their 
traditional territory to MEG Energy Corporation for an oilsands 
(tarsands) project.

*June 12*
Tambogrande mine returns amidst two other conflicts 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/tambogrande-mine-returns-amidst-two-other-conflicts/>
The Peruvian mining company Arasi has announced it plans to reactivate 
the Tambogrande gold mine project in the Piura Region of northwestern 
Peru. The mine was closed in 2003, after 14 years of struggle on part of 
one local community. A few days before the renewed threat, 500 people 
from the town of Sandia occupied the Untuca mine in Puno, allegedly 
taking 29 workers hostage. Amidst this, a fraudulent referendum was held 
in the indigenous community of Michiquillay.

*June 11*
Japan Officially Recognises Ainu <http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42738>
In a historic move, Japan’s Diet (bicameral legislature) unanimously 
passed a resolution that presses the government to recognise the Ainu as 
indigenous people. This move in the Diet means that the representatives 
of the majority of Japanese people agree that their country is 
multi-ethnic and that its laws and policies should reflect that fact. 
Japan has long maintained that it consists of only ‘one language, one 
culture, one race.’

Kayapo tribe gets trust fund for Amazon protection 
<http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0611-kayapo.html>
The government of the Brazilian state of Pará and Conservation 
International-Brasil (CI) have established a trust fund to support 
conservation and sustainable development initiatives by indigenous 
Kayapó groups in the Amazon rainforest. The fund will have an initial 
endowment of 10 million reals (US$6.2 million).

Innu People Threatened with Evictions 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/urgent-innu-people-threatened-with-evictions/>
Following a lawsuit filed by dozens of Innu seeking to establish title 
to their traditional lands, the provincial government of Newfoundland 
Labrador has issued eviction notices to more than 100 Innu families; 
giving them 60 days to “remove all structures from Crown land and 
restore the site to its original conditions.” If they fail to do so, the 
government will demolish the structures themselves and charge the costs 
to the Innu families.

*June 9*
US Defers Leasing Teshekpuk Lake to Oil Companies 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/us-defers-leasing-teshekpuk-lake-to-oil-companies/>
The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced it will not 
open up the Teshekpuk Lake region to the oil industry - at least, not 
for another ten years. Home to more than a million migratory birds and a 
habitat for the 45,000-head Teshekpuk Lake Caribou Herd, Teshekpuk Lake 
is one of the most important tundra-wetland ecosystems left on the planet.

*June 8*
Commission Promised for Bhopal Victims 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/commission-promised-for-bhopal-victims/>
After protesting for a solid three months, victims of the 1984 Bhopal 
chemical disaster have gained some important victories. On May 29th, the 
Prime Minister of India agreed to some of their key demands: that a 
commission would be established to carry out their medical, social, 
economic, and environmental rehabilitation; and that by the end of this 
year Bhopali’s will have safe water (it is still contaminated from the 
massive chemical spill which occurred 23 years ago).

Displaced villagers protest at Indian steel plant 
<http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSB17793220080611>
Police in India fired teargas to disperse a violent protest against the 
construction of a steel factoryMore than 250 armed policemen held back 
hundreds of protesters at Bhushan Steel plant in Dhenkanal district in 
Orissa, the latest in a series of clashes between industry and the rural 
poor threatened with displacement.

*June 7*
Southern Palawan indigenous people want to manage their ancestral lands 
<http://thepalawantimes.wordpress.com/2008/06/07/southern-palawan-indigenous-people-don%E2%80%99t-want-pamb-to-manage-ancestral-lands/>
Indigenous Groups in southern Palawan (the Phillipines) have raised 
concerns over a plan by Conservation International to have Mt. 
Mantalingahan declared a ‘protected area.’ An advisor for a tribal 
council in the region says the Indigenous People fear that they will be 
deprived of utilizing resources in the area if it’s declared “protected.”

*June 5*
Pipeline Divides Indigenous Lands in South America 
<http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=15085>
Corpwatch reports on the Trans Caribe Antonio Ricaurte pipeline, which 
carries 150 million cubic feet of gas a day. Stretching for 225 
kilometers, the pipeline cuts through the territory of the Wayúu. All 
vegetation has died around the pipeline, and so their animals like goats 
and cattle are wanderig off to find food elsewhere. Access to water that 
the Wayuu depend on has also been effected. The Wayuu say they have not 
benefitted meaningfully from the pipeline, though they were told many 
times over that they would.

Canada’s TVI Pacific Faces Tribal Justice 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/canadas-tvi-pacific-faces-tribal-justice/>
The Canadian mining company TVI Pacific, who operates a gold mine in the 
Southern Philippines, has been found guilty of numerous crimes by the 
traditional justice authority of the Subanon People - the “Gukom.” Since 
1994, the company has occupied Mount Canatuan, a sacred site for the 
Subanon People. They have done so without the Subanon’s consent (FPIC). 
Throughout the occupation, TVI has committed numerous human rights 
abuses and violations of Subanon customary law.

Gila River ratifies the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples 
<http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2008/06/gila-river-pima-maricopa-ratifies-un.html>
On Wednesday the 21st of May in a precedent setting, hallmark move of 
commitment and solidarity with Indigenous Peoples worldwide, the Gila 
River Indian Community Council passed Resolution GR-126-08 which 
ratifies the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous 
Peoples. Thus making the Gila River Indian Community the first federally 
recognized tribal nation within the United States to embrace, support 
and ratify the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous 
Peoples.

Victory for Grassy Narrows! AbitibiBowater Retreats 
<http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/press/press-releases/abitibi-stops-logging-grassy-narrows>
The industrial logging giant AbitibiBowater announced yesterday that 
they are retreating from the Whiskey Jack Forest, three-quarters of 
which is Grassy Narrows’ traditional territory. This decision comes less 
than two weeks after Grassy Narrows and the Ontario government start a 
4-year negotiation process.


      Videos

Something’s Moving <http://intercontinentalcry.org/somethings-moving/>
Directed by Randy Vasquez, Something’s Moving tells the story of three 
Residential School Survivors in the United States, and their efforts to 
heal themselves, to restore what was taken by force, and to allow future 
generations to live a life that’s free from trauma, shame, fear, and 
self-loathing.

The Creek Runs Red <http://intercontinentalcry.org/the-creek-runs-red/>
The Creek Runs Red is a documentary about the former mining town of 
Picher, Oklahoma. Located on the traditional lands of the Quapaw People, 
the mining town of Picher was once a hub for the world’s richest source 
of zinc and lead (a great deal of which went to making bullets for WW1 
and WW2). Today however, Picher is known as the most toxic place in 
America.

Radar Contamination on Mushkegowuk Territory 
<http://intercontinentalcry.org/radar-contamination-on-mushkegowuk-territory/>
The Mushkegowuk Environmental Research Centre (MERC) has produced a 
video report that examines the issue of PCB contamination within the 
Traditional Territory of the Mushkegowuk Council, which represents 7 
Indigenous communities in northern Ontario. Abandoned military radar 
sites along the “Mid Canada Line” have been steadily spilling PCB’s (and 
other toxic substances) on their land for the last 40 years.

/Underreported Struggles is a monthly roundup of news relating to 
indigenous peoples around the world. You can find previous editions at 
http://intercontinentalcry.org/tag/underreported//