Indigenous Activism

‘Tiny Ripples Of Change’: An Interview With Tara Houska

March 20, 2023 Susan Maas, Progressive.org. Organize! Indigenous Activism, Indigenous culture, Minnesota, Tara Houska

Minnesota - Through her kitchen window, just outside of Ranier, Minnesota—a tiny town east of International Falls—water protector Tara Houska gazes out at Rainy Lake. Called Gojijiing in Ojibwe, the 360-square-mile lake straddles the border between Minnesota and Ontario, Canada. Among the many islands, capes, and peninsulas around the lake is Bald Rock Point, the site of a sixteen-acre former resort built almost a century ago. Bald Rock Point is also now home to a longtime dream for Houska, a member of Couchiching First Nation. It’s the future location of a “long-term resistance camp” where she intends to raise her infant daughter, host Ojibwe language classes, conduct trainings, hold retreats, and nurture other activists.

Indigenous Group Fighting Emissions Cap Supported By Oil Company

March 20, 2023 Geoff Dembicki, DeSmog. Educate! Canada, Corporatism, Indigenous Activism, Oil and Gas

A national Indigenous group is fighting a proposed federal limit on oil and gas sector emissions by arguing it will harm First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. But the group has a powerful non-Indigenous ally, according to corporate documents from Canada’s second-largest oil and gas producer. Cenovus, a Calgary-based oil sands company that last year had net earnings of $6.5 billion, says in those documents that it has paid for membership with the Indigenous Resource Network (IRN). Yet a spokesperson for the network called that a “misrepresentation.”

El Alto Bolivia: A History Of Anti-Neoliberal Struggle

March 12, 2023 Kawsachun News, Resumen English. Resist! Bolivia, Indigenous Activism, Neoliberalism, US coup

“El Alto on his feet, never on his knees!” is a slogan that reflects the combative character of the inhabitants of this indigenous Aymara city in Bolivia, which since 2003, has shaped the country’s history. This city led the uprising against the privatization of natural resources in 2003, and then the defense of democracy in the face of the 2019 coup. Both struggles resulted in numerous massacres against those of El Alto who stood up to defend the country. Located at more than 4,000 meters above sea level, it mostly comprises migrants from rural areas between La Paz and the Peruvian border.

How Tribes Of The North Are Taking Climate Matters Into Their Own Hands

February 19, 2023 Stephanie Masterman, Last Real Indians. Create! Alaska, climate crisis, First Nations, Indigenous Activism

It can be difficult to understand the true impacts of climate change when you are not directly facing its harsh effects. We see that communities in different regions and terrains around the world are experiencing different rates of global warming with different consequences. We also know that the Arctic, in particular, is experiencing climate change more rapidly and more severely than other parts of the world. In order to understand the diverse impact climate change has on different communities, it is also important to understand what community-based solutions are in place for adaptation and mitigation of climate change.

Northwest Climate Activists Fight A New Front To Stop Fossil Fuels

February 18, 2023 Nick Engelfried, Waging Nonviolence. Resist! climate crisis, Fossil Fuels, Indigenous Activism, Pipelines

On Monday, people across the Pacific Northwest convened online and at two in-person gatherings for a “people’s hearing” on what has become the latest front in the resistance to large fossil fuel projects in the region: a proposed massive capacity expansion of the Gas Transmission Northwest, or GTN, pipeline. Operated by Canadian corporation TC Energy, GTN connects to natural gas fracking fields in British Columbia and stretches across 1,354 miles of Idaho, Washington and Oregon. It is already one of the largest existing fossil fuel pipelines in the region.

Why I’m Thankful For 500 Years Of Indigenous Resistance

November 25, 2022 Wakíƞyaƞ Waánataƞ (Matt Remle), Last Real Indians. Resist! colonization, History, Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Rights

Starting in 1452, under the guise of the Papal Bull Romanus Pontifex and later the 1493 Papal Bull Inter Cetera, the Christian Doctrine of Discovery, European Christians began their efforts to expand colonial rule, and the Christian Empire, throughout the world. These Papal Bulls sanctioned European Christian Nations to “capture, vanquish, and subdue the saracens, pagans, and other enemies of Christ, to put them into perpetual slavery, and to take all their possessions and property” and were authorized “to take possession of any lands discovered that were not under the dominion of any Christian rulers.” Early colonial efforts centered on the western coast of Africa as Portugal “claimed” lands and engaged in the trafficking of African slaves.

Court Rules Against Waratah Coal Mine In Landmark Ruling

November 25, 2022 Jade Toomey, ABC Australia. Resist! Australia, Coal Mining, Indigenous Activism, Legal System

The Queensland Land Court has ruled human rights would be unjustifiably limited by a proposal to dig the state's largest coal mine in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland. First Nations-led activist group Youth Verdict challenged an application by mining company Waratah Coal, owned by billionaire Clive Palmer. The group of young Queensland activists challenged the mine on the basis it would impact the human rights of First Nations peoples by contributing to climate change. The coal mine would remove about 40 million tonnes of coal a year for export to South-East Asia, with a forecast life span of 30 years. It is the first time a group has successfully argued coal from a mine would impact human rights by contributing to climate change.

Indigenous Activists Call For Vote On Protect Native Heritage Act

November 14, 2022 Jean-Luc Pierite and Mahtowin Munro, Popular Resistance. Create! Harvard, ICWA, Indigenous Activism, Residential Schools

Speaker Ronald Mariano must call for an immediate floor vote towards the passage of An Act to Protect Native American Heritage. The November 10 Harvard statement is indicative of a broader issue of how our sacred objects and our human remains continue to be held captive for racist, eugenicist, and colonialist means,” said Jean-Luc Pierite, member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, and president of North American Indian Center of Boston, “We must act to refine the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) enforcement on the state level to include all publicly funded entities. Consultation and repatriation or rematriation are essential to putting our ancestors to rest. We mourn especially for children separated from their families and lost to boarding schools.

Indigenous Organizers And Allies Fight For Indian Child Welfare Act

November 9, 2022 Ikiya Collective, Indian Country Today. Resist! Indian Child Welfare Act, Indigenous Activism, Supreme Court, Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. - This morning Indigenous organizers and allies shut down the lobby of the Gibson Dunn law firm in Washington D.C, protesting their involvement in trying to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act for their big oil client, Energy Transfer. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Haaland v Brackeen today and will decide if they will gut ICWA in 2023, which will further weaken tribal sovereignty. Organizers entered the lobby with a drum singing prayer songs before security removed them from the building. Matthew McGill, a lawyer at Gibson Dunn, is representing the Brackeens in this case pro bono, alongside Paul Clement, an attorney who has a history of regularly attacking existing Indian law and worked to disestablish the Mashpee Tribe’s reservation in 2020.

Native Americans And White Farmers Form An Unlikely Alliance

October 26, 2022 Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News. Resist! Carbon Capture, Indigenous Activism, North Dakota, Pipelines, South Dakota

South Dakota - Since 2010, Joye Braun, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, has fought the construction of oil and gas pipelines in her region, working to protect sacred places where her forebears hunted and fished and lived and died. In many of those battles, Braun came up against white ranchers and farmers who supported the pipelines and received fees from the developers for the use of their land. Today, Braun is opposing a huge new pipeline that would transport carbon dioxide across five Midwestern states — Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota. But this time she finds herself in an unusual alliance with white landowners who are also against the pipeline, like Ed Fischbach, a South Dakota farmer.

Indigenous Women Are Defending Weavings From Cultural Appropriation

October 21, 2022 Jeff Abbott , Waging Nonviolence. Create! Cultural heritage, Guatemala, Indigenous Activism, Tourism, Weaving

The vibrant colors of the Indigenous weavings from Guatemala that appear on the traditional blouses known as huipiles, skirts and other items hold a deep symbolic meaning for communities across the Central American country, but they are also deeply intertwined with the promotion of tourism in Guatemala. The intricate designs greet tourists in promotional material at the airport, and companies and non-government organizations have sought to capitalize on the designs. For the last six years, Indigenous women have sought to challenge the exploitation of their sacred designs through the promotion of legislation that would protect their collective intellectual property rights. On Sept. 5, the Women’s Association for the Development of Sacatepéquez, or AFEDES, and the weavers of the Ruchajixik Ri Qana’ojbäl **movement, which means Guardians of Our Knowledge in the Kaqchikel language, presented their latest proposal for a law that would protect their weavings.

Building An Indigenous Agenda To Decolonize The United States

October 10, 2022 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast American genocide, Decolonization, Indian Child Welfare Act, Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Peoples Day

Today is Indigenous People's Day, still celebrated by some as the violent colonizer Christopher Columbus Day. Clearing the FOG speaks with Jean-Luc Pierite of the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB) and United American Indians of New England (UAINE) about the growing recognition of the trauma and murder of American Indian children who were sent to assimilation centers called residential schools across the US and Canada and how that theft of children's cultural heritage and identity continues today through the foster care system. A major Supreme Court case that could destroy the Indian Child Welfare Act is set to be heard in November. Pierite also discusses the campaign in Massachusetts to recognize Indigenous People's Day statewide, the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda and the work being done in solidarity with indigenous peoples around the world and the Black Lives Matter movement to create a path to a better future.

Boston Marches For Statewide Indigenous People’s Day

October 9, 2022 Jean-Luc Pierite and Mahtowin Munro, Popular Resistance. Resist! American genocide, Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Peoples Day, Massachusetts

Indigenous people and their allies rallied and marched in Boston on Saturday, October 8, 2022 to observe Indigenous Peoples Day in Boston and demand that the MA state legislature vote to establish the day statewide which will replace Columbus Day. They called on the presumed next Governor, Maura Healey, to make it a priority to support this and other Indigenous-centered legislation (MAIndigenousAgenda.org). Furthermore, because Indigenous liberation is intertwined with Black liberation, they also call edfor Faneuil Hall, named after a slaver, to be renamed. Marchers celebrated the declaration of Indigenous Peoples Day in Boston and urged city, state and federal governments to take further steps to address Indigenous community concerns.

Two Women Seek To Decolonize Thru-Paddle And Canoe

October 7, 2022 Akičita Šuŋka-Wakaŋ Ska, Unicorn Riot. Create! Decolonization, Feminism, Indigenous Activism, Paddle Thru

Lake Itasca, MN – Embarking on a voyage to feminize and “decolonize” the wilderness, two women in a canoe have started their expedition down the entirety of the Mississippi River. Immigrant Indigenous Latina, Cory Maria Dack, who’s also a transracial transnational adoptee, along with Espoir DelMain, a queer white woman are aiming to empower and inspire others to enjoy the outdoors and connect with nature. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in August, friends and family gathered at the Mississippi Headwaters in northern Minnesota to witness the launch of Cory Dack and Espoir DelMain’s 2,552 mile thru-paddle of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Dack and DelMain said they would like to “decolonize the concept of ‘thru-paddling’ to empower and inspire others from underrepresented demographics to see the wilderness as a place where they belong as well.”

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