Indigenous Activism

Native Activist Found Not Guilty In Border Protest

January 21, 2022 Paul Ingram, Tucson Sentinel. Resist! Border Wall, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Indigenous Activism, Victory

Amber Ortega, a Southern Arizona border activist facing two federal charges for protesting the construction of the border wall near Quitobaquito Springs, was found not guilty by a federal judge on Wednesday. Following a short motions hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie A. Bowman ruled that the federal government had imposed a "substantial burden" on Ortega's exercise of her religious faith by closing access to the border road that runs just south of Quitobaquito Springs — an area that remains central to the spiritual practices of the Hia C-ed O’odham. The on-the-spot change in the verdict felt like "a dream," Ortega said. Ortega and her friend and mentor Nellie Jo David were arrested on Sept. 9, 2020, by National Park Service officers just beyond Quitobaquito — about 120 miles southwest of Tucson...

Tulalip Flag Soars At Every Marysville School District Campus

December 6, 2021 Michael Rios, Last Real Indians. Create! Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Sovereignty, Public schools

For the first time ever, the red, white and black colors of the Tulalip flag are soaring over every Marysville School District campus. Tulalip’s iconic orca was raised up at each elementary, middle school, high school, and even District headquarters during the week of November 17th. In each instance, the 3 foot by 5 foot cloth signifying the Tulalip Tribes as a sovereign nation was raised by a proud student representative and young Tulalip culture bearer. “About a decade ago, my coworker Ricky Belmont and I started asking the schools we work at to fly the Tulalip Tribes flag out of recognition for the tribe being a sovereign nation and to honor the treaty lands that schools are built upon,” explained Matt Remle, Indian Education Program Coordinator for Marysville School District.

It’s Time To Free Leonard Peltier, Longest Serving Political Prisoner

December 3, 2021 Robert Scheer, ScheerPost.com. Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Indigenous Activism, Leonard Peltier, Political Prisoner

Too few have heard of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who has been imprisoned for 44 years based on accusations that were never proven and a trial that was appallingly mishandled. Based on his mere presence in South Dakota’s 1975 Pine Ridge Reservation shoot-out, where one Native American activist and two FBI agents were killed, Peltier has spent the better part of his life behind bars. As the website FreeLeonard.org points out, this gross miscarriage of justice has been condemned by everyone from by Amnesty International and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rev. Jesse Jackson, among many others who consider him America’s longest serving political prisoner.

Line 3 Replacement Has Been Completed So Why Are Activists Still Camping Out?

November 30, 2021 Yasmine Askari, MinnPost. Resist! Indigenous Activism, Line 3 Pipeline, Pipelines, Water Protectors

Every few days, Jaike Spotted-Wolf walks over to a well near Camp Migizi to refill several five-gallon water containers. At the camp, where Spotted-Wolf is one of several matriarchs, there is no plumbing, no pipes and no faucets. Residents take turns getting water, which they need for basics such as cooking and showers. The camp was — and is — one of several resistance camps formed to oppose Enbridge’s now-completed Line 3 project, which replaced a corroding oil pipeline built in the 1960s with a new, larger pipeline. The pipeline runs through northern Minnesota to Superior, Wisconsin. Nearly a month and a half after oil-laden tar sands began flowing through the pipes, activists are still living at Camp Migizi and other sites.

Global Indigenous: Chemicals, Climate And Consultation

November 28, 2021 Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Indian Country Today. Resist! Canada, Guatemala, Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Resistance, Peru, Scotland

The Ontario-based Aamjiwnaang nation is surrounded on all sides by petrochemical facilities, and members had long suspected that the facilities in “Chemical Valley” had exposed them to potentially dangerous chemicals. The data, which had been held secret for many years, was disclosed by the environment ministry following questions from Global News. The Aamjiwnaang people, situated along the Michigan border, think that the government of Ontario has been disrespectful by withholding the data from them. “This is just the continuation of the Canadian legacy of putting Indigenous people, people of color, at a lower place,” Janelle Nahmabin, also known as Red Cloud Woman and chair of Aamjiwnaang’s environment committee, told Global News.

After Ida, This Louisiana Tribe Is Organizing Its Own Recovery

November 19, 2021 Joseph Bullington, In These Times. Create! Community organizing, Indigenous Activism, Mutual Aid, Natural Disasters

After the hurricane, the garden took on a new role as a staging ground for the tribe’s disaster response to distribute supplies, coordinate mutual aid groups and help tribal members, who, along with other Native people in south Louisiana, were among the hardest hit. In the long run, Aronson hopes Yakani Ekelanna can combine these functions to become a sort of “laboratory”— a place for building tribal sovereignty and resilience against an uncertain future.

New Campaign To Drop Charges Against Line 3 Pipeline Water Protectors

November 17, 2021 Resist Line 3, Popular Resistance. Resist! Indigenous Activism, Legal System, Line 3 Pipeline, Minnesota, Water Protectors

Anishinaabe Akiing, Minnesota - Today, defendants arrested while opposing the construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline launched a campaign calling on Minnesota’s elected leadership to drop all criminal charges against over 700 water protectors. A Drop the Charges petition to MN Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison has already garnered over 13,000 signatures. Organizers of the campaign describe the charges as unjust based on the brutal policing tactics that the Enbridge corporation directly funded, the violation of Anishinaabe treaty rights, and the project’s contribution to catastrophic climate change. Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth, said about the campaign launch, “It's entirely wrong that Enbridge—a foreign oil corporation— has committed egregious crimes against the water and people, yet it’s us who are being prosecuted.

Water Protectors Show ‘Another World Is Possible’

October 27, 2021 Eileen Flanagan, Waging Nonviolence. Organize! Fossil Fuels, Indigenous Activism, Joe Biden, Water Protectors

A medic walked around the circle of 50 people occupying the lobby of the Department of the Interior, squirting water into our eager mouths before the police hauled us away. At the time, I had no idea that I wouldn’t be released until midnight, 12.5 hours after the action began. I just knew it was smart to stay hydrated, so I accepted every squirt of water offered, grateful for the care our Indigenous-led group was showing each other in circumstances designed to dehumanize us. The Oct. 14 action occurred during the People vs. Fossil Fuels mobilization in Washington, D.C., a historic week of civil disobedience to pressure President Joe Biden to stop fossil fuel projects and declare a climate emergency. For Indigenous people, the protection of Mother Earth is deeply intertwined with the long struggle for Indigenous sovereignty, as destructive fossil fuel projects — like Line 3 in northern Minnesota — continue to be built through their territories without their consent.

Climate Activists Resume Weeklong Protest At Capitol

October 17, 2021 Matthew Daly And Padmananda Rama, Indian Country Today. Resist! climate crisis, Fossil Fuels, Indigenous Activism, Joe Biden

Indigenous groups and other environmental activists marched to the Capitol Friday as they continued a weeklong protest demanding that Congress and the Biden administration stop new fossil fuel projects and act with greater urgency on climate change. Nearly 80 people were arrested on the fifth day of the “People vs. Fossil Fuels” protest. That brings the total arrested during the week to more than 600, organizers said.

Indigenous Demonstrators Make Statement At Interior

October 15, 2021 Jourdan Bennett-begaye, Indian Country Today. Resist! climate crisis, Department of Interior, Indigenous Activism, Washington DC

Washington - Dozens of Indigenous leaders held a sit-in Thursday at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., in an effort to stop the extractive fossil fuel industries. Jennifer Falcon, Nakoda, Lakota and Dakota, with Indigenous Rising Media, was inside and said before Thursday’s sit-in at the Bureau of Indian Affairs that they warned President Joe Biden to “respect us or expect us” and he didn’t listen. “So we're going to keep showing up until we die,” Falcon said. There’s been a historic surge in Indigenous resistance in Washington since Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, where “expect us” was written on a Andrew Jackson’s statue. On Thursday, roughly 55 Indigenous leaders were at the federal agency for a sit-in in what is believed to be for the first time since the 1970s.

Indigenous People Lead White House Protest

October 12, 2021 People Vs. Fossil Fuels. Resist! climate crisis, Fossil Fuels, Indigenous Activism, Joe Biden

“Joe Biden, you have been making false promises. You stopped Keystone XL — what about DAPL, Line 5, MVP?” said Joye Braun of Indigenous Environmental Network, who was arrested at today’s action. “This is indigenous land. Indigenous Peoples will be here for 1000s of years. Biden, can you hear us now?” The demonstrations marked the first day of “People vs. Fossil Fuels,” a week of demonstrations and civil disobedience organized by Build Back Fossil Free, a coalition of hundreds of Indigenous and climate, social, economic and racial justice organizations. More protests are planned at the White House each day this week except for Friday, when protestors will march from the White House to Congress to risk arrest on the steps of the Capitol.

Water Protectors Vow To Keep Fighting As Line 3 Completed

September 30, 2021 Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams. Resist! Fossil Fuels, Indigenous Activism, Line 3 Pipeline, Pipelines

Indigenous and environmental activists on Wednesday vowed to keep up the fight against Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline expansion after the Canadian company announced the completion of the multi-billion-dollar tar sands project. Calgary-based Enbridge on Wednesday announced the "substantial completion" of the 1,097-mile Line 3 expansion, which will enable the flow of up to 760,000 barrels of crude tar sands oil—the world's dirtiest fuel—from Alberta to the port of Superior, Wisconsin. Line 3 traverses Anishinaabe treaty land without the consent of the Indigenous peoples who live there. The pipeline's route crosses 200 bodies of water and 800 wetlands, raising serious concerns about its climate impact, as well as accidents and leaks that are endemic to pipelines, and other issues including sex trafficking by Line 3 workers.

Denver Refuses To Negotiate, Sweeps Indigenous Encampment

September 18, 2021 Alex Binder, Unicorn Riot. Educate! Denver, Homelessness, Indigenous Activism, State Violence

Denver, CO – Under the hardline stance of Mayor Michael Hancock, Denver continues to sweep unhoused encampments—more than 80 this year alone—ignoring countless requests from unhoused residents and their advocates to stop, and refusing to negotiate any alternatives. Outside the Four Winds American Indian Council building in the Baker neighborhood, that cycle continued when, despite multiple attempts by Four Winds and other advocates to find some common ground and a different solution, the city swept a predominantly Indigenous encampment on August 31. “It’s kind of unfortunate that the Mayor decided that he’s going to say that [the encampment] is unsafe and unclean without even being here, without even visiting and seeing it first-hand and being willing to sit down with our relatives and hear their stories and even break bread with them or anything like that.”

Indigenous Leaders Face Barriers To UN Climate Conference

September 18, 2021 Mary Annette Pember, Indian Country Today. Educate! climate crisis, COP26, Indigenous Activism, United Nations

Indigenous leaders are largely being excluded from participation in the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference as the world grapples with escalating problems from floods, fires, heat, drought and other disasters. Limited access to COVID-19 vaccines in certain regions, travel restrictions and quarantine in the United Kingdom for people from “red list” countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia, and rising costs of travel and lodging are hindering Indigenous participation, Indian Country Today has found. Even those who manage to get to Glasgow, Scotland, for what is shaping up to be one of the world’s most important meetings on addressing climate change may have little access to influence the discussion, despite the UN’s recognition that Indigenous knowledge is key to long-term success.

Water Protectors Shut Down Major US-Canadian Tar Sands Terminal

September 7, 2021 Last Real Indians. Resist! Indigenous Activism, Line 3 Pipeline, Minnesota, Pipelines

Clearbrook, MN - This morning, Water Protectors erected multiple blockades at a major U.S.-Canadian tar sands terminal in Clearbrook, Minnesota in direct opposition to Enbridge’s Line 3. From grandmothers to young people, Water Protectors of all walks of life continue to stand up for the sacred. On one end of the mile-long blockade, grandmothers led beautiful solidarity with Anishinaabe treaty territory and Mother Earth, in front of a boat painted with MMIWG2S messages. “We, elder women, stand in loving solidarity with our Indigenous relatives and all Water Protectors.

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