Indigenous Activist

#NoDAPL Camp Responds To Eviction: Refuses To Give Up

November 27, 2016 Whitney Webb, www.nationofchange.org Resist! #NoDAPL, Indigenous Activist, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Standing Rock

By Whitney Webb for Nation of Change. The federal government finally made its intentions public when the Corps sent a letter to Sioux tribal leaders, telling them that their camps of peaceful protestors and water protectors would be evicted to protect “the general public.” To add insult to injury, the Corps’ commander told the protestors they could move to an officially sanctioned “free speech zone” away from the construction site. These hollow words are clearly more “spin” designed to distance the government from its obvious, though indirect support of the $3.8 billion pipeline project. The Cheyenne River tribe, who are co-litigants in a lawsuit against the pipeline, sharply rebuked the plan, citing that the area on which the targeted camps lie are Sioux territory per the 1851 Fort Laramie treaty signed by the Sioux and the US federal government. The leader of the Standing Rock Sioux, David Archambault II also seconded this statement, saying that the news of the eviction notice was “saddening” but not surprising considering the US government’s historical treatment of indigenous people.

83 People Arrested, Maced in North Dakota

October 23, 2016 Nadia Prupis, www.commondreams.org Resist! #NoDAPL, Dakota Access Pipeline, Indigenous Activist, Indigenous Rights, Pipelines

By Nadia Prupis for Common Dreams. More than 80 people were arrested in North Dakota on Saturday, as police armed with pepper spray descended on a protest near the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction site. The 83 water protectors were hit with charges ranging from rioting to criminal trespass, according to the Morton County sheriff's department. Saturday's arrests follow reports of escalating police abuse at the protest sites, including beatings and unnecessary strip-searches of those arrested. On Twitter, Ojibwe activist and attorney Tara Houska wrote: Journalists, attorneys, indigenous protectors arrested & maced while demonstrating today. Whose interest is North Dakota protecting? Construction on the pipeline is continuing despite a request from the federal government to put a halt on activity so that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can properly consider objections.

Tribal Activists Defy Lawsuit, Vow Continued Resistance Against Dakota Pipeline

August 17, 2016 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Resist! Indigenous Activist, North Dakota, Oil Pipelines, South Dakota

By Lauren McCauley for Common Dreams - An epic battle over land rights is being waged in the Dakotas, as a local Indigenous community, facing arrests and litigation, is standing firm in its resistance to a massive Bakken crude pipeline project. Developers of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access (also known as the Bakken) Pipeline filed suit in federal court on Monday against members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose days-long civil disobedience campaign last week stalled construction of the 1,200-mile pipeline.

Power Of Indigenous Activists At Summit Of Climate Justice Movement

August 3, 2016 Betsy Taylor, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Climate Justice, Indigenous Activist

By Betsy Taylor for The Huffington Post - I just witnessed one of the most moving and tragic tales of this country and its people I have ever encountered. A caravan of Indigenous people traveled more than 3,000 miles to come to a climate summit in Philadelphia and BEG for help. There was a grandma in her 90s, children and grandchildren. They were about 30 all told from many nations. Each one had stories to tell of how the white corporate structure and all the white consumers who support that structure has effected and affected them personally.

Charmaine White Face Honored For Lifelong Achievements

July 18, 2016 Staff, www.nsweekly.com Educate! Indigenous Activist

By Staff of Native Sun News - RAPID CITY –– Charmaine White Face of Rapid City has been commended as a Giraffe Hero, an award given to people around the world who stick their necks out for the common good. White Face was honored for her lifelong actions on behalf of her fellow Oglala- Sioux. She has fought against corruption that has left too many Oglala-Sioux in extreme poverty. In recent years, she has sounded the alarm on the dangers of ambient radiation from abandoned uranium mines in the area.

Mohawks Threaten To Block Energy East

March 14, 2016 Philip Authier, www.montrealgazette.com Resist! Canada, First Nations, Indigenous Activist, Pipelines, Protests

By Philip Authier for Montreal Gazette - The Mohawk nation is threatening to do everything legally in its power to block the Energy East pipeline project, calling it a threat to their way of life. Despite perceptions opposition to the project is harboured mainly by mayors in Quebec, a Mohawk-driven Canadian First Nations movement against the project is picking up steam in other parts of the country. Besides the official opposition of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec and Labrador representing 43 Quebec chiefs, the list against TransCanada’s pipeline now includes the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs...

Indigenous Activist Berta Cáceres Assassinated

March 3, 2016 Staff, www.soaw.org Resist! Environment, Honduras, Indigenous Activist, Indigenous Rights

By School of Americas Watch, HONDURAS - At approximately 11:45pm last night, the General Coordinator of COPINH, Berta Caceres was assassinated in her hometown of La Esperanza, Intibuca. At least two individuals broke down the door of the house where Berta was staying for the evening in the Residencial La Líbano, shot and killed her. COPINH is urgently responding to this tragic situation. Berta Cáceres is one of the leading indigenous activists in Honduras. She spent her life fighting in defense of indigenous rights, particularly to land and natural resources. Cáceres, a Lenca woman, grew up during the violence that swept through Central America in the 1980s. Her mother, a midwife and social activist, took in and cared for refugees from El Salvador, teaching her young children the value of standing up for disenfranchised people.

Human Rights Violations Of First Nations, Indigenous Fight Back

January 31, 2016 Daniel Lak, www.aljazeera.com Resist! Canada, First Nations, Human Rights, Indigenous Activist, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights

By Daniel Lak for Al Jazerra. Afederal Human Rights Tribunal issued a stinging ruling. For decades, the tribunal found, children living on reserves - aboriginal communities mandated by historic treaties between Ottawa and tribal groups - have been denied support, services and funding that every other Canadian child can count on. It's no surprise. In almost every category imaginable, Canada's aboriginal people - defined as First Nations, mixed-race Metis and the Inuit of the Arctic - fare poorly against the rest of the population.n Here's where we find signs of hope. Consider that phrase "taking matters into their own hands". Many aboriginal Canadians are acting to make change happen themselves, faster than governments and much faster than non-aboriginal society.

Indigenous Empowerment & Resistance: Voices From Frontlines

December 16, 2015 Staff, www.idlenomore.ca Strategize! Indigenous Activist

By Staff of Idle No More - This webinar will provide important updates from Indigenous land defenders who are currently resisting aggressive extractive industries supported by the provincial BC government. The BC government has given permits to pipeline companies as well as permits for the reopening and discharge at Mount Polly. This webinar will discuss the ongoing damage done by extractive industries, the problem of First Nations leadership who agree to these practices without consent of the people, and call out the BC government for their continued interference in Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty.

Remembering The Life And Legacy Of John Trudell

December 9, 2015 Alex Jacobs, indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com Educate! Indigenous Activist, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights

By Alex Jacobs for Indian Country Today. John Trudell, noted activist, poet and Native thinker, walked on this morning after a lengthy bout with cancer. His family included some of his last messages to Indian country in a press release. Among them: “I want people to remember me as they remember me.” John Trudell was a Santee Dakota activist, artist, actor, and poet, who led a life dedicated to indigenous human rights, land and language issues. He helped spark a spoken word movement that is a continuation of Native American oral traditions. He walked on December 8 at the age of 69. Born on February 15, 1946 in Omaha, he spent his early years living on the Santee Reservation in northern Nebraska. His father was Santee and his mother was of Mexican Indian heritage. Everything changed in 1969 when Native American students and organizers, Trudell among them, occupied Alcatraz Island from November 20, 1969 to June 11, 1970. That group became “Indians of All Tribes,” and they issued the manifesto, We Hold the Rock...

Indigenous Activists Stage Coup Denouncing REDD At COP21

December 9, 2015 Ayse Gursoz, www.indigenousrising.org Resist! Climate Change, COP21, Indigenous Activist

By Ayse Gursoz for Indigenous Rising - Inside the COP21 Solutions Concert, The Indigenous Environmental Network staged an action in coordination with Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh, denouncing the false solutions being peddled by corporations in Paris during the COP21. Xiuhtezcatl, who received the Community Service Award from President Obama in 2013 and is the youngest of 24 national changemakers chosen to serve on the President’s youth council, was invited to perform with Earth Guardians at Solutions COP21.

Tom B.K. Goldtooth Awarded Gandhi Peace Award

November 6, 2015 Stanley Heller, www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com Resist! Indigenous Activist

By Stanley Heller for Indian Country Today Media Network - Native activist Tom Goldtooth and peace advocate Kathy Kelly received the Gandhi Peace Award before a rapt audience at the United Church on the Green in New Haven last Friday (October 30). The prestigious award has been bestowed annually on select recipients for their outstanding contributions to world peace since 1960 by the national organization Promoting Enduring Peace. Past recipients include such luminaries as Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothy Day, Caesar Chavez and most recently to Bill McKibben and Medea Benjamin. Goldtooth was introduced by Lynn Malerba, Chief of the Mohegan Tribe whose land runs along the Upper Thames River in Connecticut.

Native American Activists Ramp Up Push To Rebrand Columbus Day

October 12, 2015 Laila Kearney, www.reuters.com Resist! America, Columbus Day, Indigenous Activist

By Laila Kearney for Reuters, NEW YORK, Oct 9 (Reuters) - About four miles from the world's largest Christopher Columbus parade in midtown Manhattan on Monday, hundreds of Native Americans and their supporters will hold a sunrise prayer circle to honor ancestors who were slain or driven from their land. The ceremony will begin the final day of a weekend "powwow" on Randall's Island in New York's East River, an event that features traditional dancing, story-telling and art. The Redhawk Native American Arts Council's powwow is both a celebration of Native American culture and an unmistakable counterpoint to the parade, which many detractors say honors a man who symbolizes centuries of oppression of aboriginal people by Europeans.

Save Oak Flat Fast On Its 10th Day

September 17, 2015 Kelsey Erickson, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! BXE, Indigenous Activist, Indigenous Rights, Oak Flat, Save Oak Flat

By Kelsey Erickson for Popular Resistance, Three people have been occupying and fasting at Oak Flat in protest of the land exchange bill that Senator McCain attached to a must-pass military appropriations bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. This bill essentially gave Oak Flat away to one of the largest copper mining corporations in the world, Resolution Copper. This absurdity of this land exchange is not only evident in the fact that Oak Flat is part of federally protected Tonto National Forest, but also in the fact that it denies rights of the Apache Nation to practice cultural traditions at this sacred site. Though the land exchange bill was passed, the Apache-Stronghold is determined to keep the mining megacorporation off their sacred land. They plan to occupy the Oak Flat campground indefinitely to ensure it's protection.

Leonard Peltier Birthday Letter From Prison

September 13, 2015 Leonard Peltier, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Indigenous Activist, Indigenous Peoples, Leonard Peltier, political prisoners, Racism

By Leonard Peltier for Popular Resistance - Well, today is another b-day for me — my 71st. I had hoped I would not be here at this age, but that's not to be. So, I have to take a deep breathe and slowly let it out… and prepare myself for yet another day in here. February 6th marks my 40th year in prison. Hey, did you know that the last time I went before the Parole Commission (2009), I was denied because I looked young and healthy… and a reason given for denying me parole was that I might be too much of an influence on the young Natives? Yeah, only in America. I've been encouraged by things I've read recently though. And looking back… It's been over 60 years, maybe a little longer. I was around 7 or 8 years old when I heard the old People talking about taking care of Mother Earth. But for me anyway, as with all young People, I did not really understand what they were trying to tell us, I guess? We spoke out against the destruction of Mother Earth, we were called a bunch of nuts. Well, today, it is called climate change, and there are now millions of us crying out against the destruction of out Mother Earth. Amazing, huh? Thankfully I have lived this long and can see we just might win this war.

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