After more than a decade of direct action, the Asubpeeschoseewagong community at Grassy Narrows can finally rest easy. 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.

See below for a press release by Greenpeace and links to further coverage. (Stay tuned for comments from Grassy Narrows)

A victory for community and a step forward for the logging company

Toronto, International — Greenpeace today welcomed a decision by forest-products giant AbitibiBowater to end its logging operations in the traditional territory of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and support the community in its struggle for rights over its traditional lands. The move follows a near decade-long campaign by the Grassy Narrows First Nation to suspend industrial logging in the one million hectare Whiskey Jack Forest, near Kenora.

“We congratulate AbitibiBowater for announcing an …

Rebecca Sommer is in the midst of producing a video documentary about “the 2nd OF MAY REVOLT” at the recent session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York. It’s on youtube right now if you’re interested (see below for the links).

Indigenous Peoples representatives and organizations held a protest during the final day of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) two weeks ago. The delegates were angered over the Permanent Forum’s decision to endorse the World Bank’s REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries) initiative, and various other “carbon market solutions” to climate change.

Numerous comments were made throughout the forum which expressed deep concerns about these initiatives. As noted in a petition (pdf) authored by the Indigenous delegates leading up to the protest, REDD threatens to

[...] increase the violation of …

A land reclamation in Colombia, an historic gathering Brazil, and two massive lawsuits filed by Indigenous Nations in Canada highlight this month’s roundup of Underreported Struggles. The Permanent People’s Tribunal (PPT) also tried more than 20 corporations in Peru; and to the surprise of many, the Ontario Court of Appeals unconditionally released Ardoch Algonquin Bob Lovelace and the six members of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (the KI6) after spending months in jail for defending their traditional lands against mining.

On the not-so-good side of things, armed Mexican marines and federal police confiscated 9 tons of gulf corvina from the Zapatista-backed Cucapa Peoples; in Panama, a group of paramilitaries attacked the site of a 7-month indigenous blockade (police responded by raiding their communities); and last but not least, in Australia, the government started pushing the so-called “intervention” onto indigenous people in Urban areas.

Underreported Struggles for May,

…

Two weeks after China launched its full scale effort to suppress the Tibetan People, an effort that continues even now with almost daily arrests of Tibetan Men and Women, Channel 4’s Dispatches aired “Undercover in Tibet,” a report on ‘the hidden reality’ of Tibetan life under Chinese occupation. You will find the full report below.

Dispatches: Undercover in Tibet

Apr 4, 2008 - As Tibetan protesters take to the streets in the biggest and most bloody challenge to Chinese rule in nearly 20 years, Dispatches reports on the hidden reality of life under Chinese occupation after spending three months undercover, deep inside the region. Dozens are feared dead after the recent clashes and crackdown by Chinese troops, but with reporting so rigidly controlled from the region little is known of living conditions inside Tibet. To make this film, Tibetan exile Tash Despa returns to the homeland he risked his life to …

Thousands gathered in Altamira, Para-Brazil last week for the Xingu Forever Alive Encounter, an historic gathering of Indigenous Peoples and allies opposed to damming the Xingu River.

A similar gathering took place in 1989, “where the Kayapó and other tribes from the Xingu basin rejected the Brazilian government’s plans for a series of six hydroelectric dams on the river. As a result, the World Bank cancelled a loan for the dams, and plans to dam the Xingu were suspended for more than a decade,” notes survival International.

In recent years however, Brazil has again set its sights on the Xingu River, making it necessary for the Kayapo, Parakana, Asurini and others to once again come together in defense of the Xingu.

According to International Rivers, who has numerous updates about the encounter on their website, the primary focus was on protesting “the …

Robert Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquins and the group known as the KI6 were unconditionally released by Ontario’s Court of Appeal yesterday. The overcrowded courtroom burst into applause when the judges read their decision.

Quoting from the Canadian Press:

“It feels really good. It feels like justice is on our side,” said Bob Lovelace on the front steps of the courthouse, after being released from custody.

“I think I’m going to go out and put my feet in the grass. It’s been a long time.”

The eastern Ontario aboriginal leader was jailed in February for breaching an injunction that allowed Frontenac Ventures to conduct uranium exploration activities on his community’s traditional territory unhindered.

While the ruling does nothing to resolve the dispute, Lovelace said he hoped this “exercise” would prompt the Ontario government to engage in “meaningful” discussion and consultation on the matter which ultimately comes …

The Western Shoshone Defense Project (WSDP) has sent out an action alert warning of a renewed danger facing Mato Paha, a sacred place of prayer to over thirty Indigenous Nations across the Plains.

Located eight miles southwest of Sturgis, South Dakota, Mato Paha is steadily being surrounded by bars, camping grounds and venues that will attract tens of thousands of people.

One of those venues, as you may already know, is the infamous Sturgis County Line, which runs adjacent to Mato Paha. The developer, one Mr. Jay Allen, once boasted that he plans to change the name to “Sacred Grounds,” and that he’ll provide “hundreds of acres to party… in a safe haven, free from a policed environment, that’s what I’m talking about! … over 150,000 s.f. of asphalt for semi-tractor trailors… 22,500 s.f. of… ice cold beer… kick-butt music …