Tag Archive for 'business'Page 16 of 52

02
Mar

Underreported Struggles for February

It was pretty much ‘business as usual’ for the month of February. Corporations continued acting as innocent third parties while Governments continued to demand indigenous People allow the theft of their lands and destruction of their cultures without question. “It’s in your best interests,” we’re told. “It’s for the greater good.”

Amidst this however, there was one important shift in the world this month–one that we can only hope will catch on in greater force. Governments began pulling back the reins of development, and a few corporations and Shareholders started withdrawing from and speaking against development projects because of the dangers they pose to indigenous people and the environment. This happened more in February than in the last 6 months combined.

Considering how schizophrenic the government-backed development industry is, it’s doubtful this shift will develop into something substantial any time soon. After all, change …

Published on
March 2, 2008
  0 Comments 804 views

01
Mar

Sentencing for KIFN assertion of rights on March 17

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (KIFN) Chief Donnie Morris and five other members of the community will soon find out if they, like Ardoch Algonquin spokesperson Robert Lovelace, will be fined and incarcerated for asserting their own rights—that is, for attempting to stop a molestation by walking away from Canada’s so-called consultation process and refusing to accept unsanctioned development on their land as “a given.”

According to a recent Press Release by KIFN, which you can find below, sentencing will take place on March 17 at the Superior Court of Justice, 277 Camelot Street in Thunder Bay at 10:00 a.m.

If you would like some background about this case, there are several articles available on Intercontinental Cry. You can also visit www.kitchenuhmaykoosib.com for more news and to learn how you can support the KIFN.

First Nation Leaders to be

…

Published on
March 1, 2008
  0 Comments 690 views

29
Feb

Drilling suspended on Minago Nickel Project

After meeting with the Chief and Council of Norway House, representatives from Manitoba’s Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines announced they will be suspending a drilling permit issued to Victory Nickel for their Minago Nickel Project. To date, the Manitoba government has issued three permits to Victory Nickel, however they did not consult or notify Norway House Cree doing so.

In a Press Release dated Feb. 22, Norway House Chief Marcel Balfour points out that under section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act, “governments are required to consult First Nations when they are contemplating conduct that may adversely impact aboriginal or treaty rights.”

Chief Balfour stated, “We made it clear to the representatives from Manitoba that they had broken the law by issuing those permits without properly consulting us. We are very pleased that Manitoba has suspended the …

Published on
February 29, 2008
  0 Comments 631 views

27
Feb

Chavez Orders Immediate Liberation of Indigenous Peoples

Over the weekend, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was informed that Agroflora, an affiliate of the British Vestey Group, illegally set up a fence that encircled 200 Yaruro indigenous people. According to the denunciations filed by Representative Cristóbal Jiménez, “the farm put up a fence around them and they can’t get out without permission from the farm owners.” Another 800 People remained outside of the fence.

After learning this on Sunday, Chavez quickly ordered the National Guard to demolish the fence, allowing the indigenous people to once again move freely. “If they want to demand something from the State, then they shall demand it, but we cannot permit them to fence in an indigenous community,” Chávez proclaimed.

Elias Jaua, The Minister of Agriculture and Land, also took steps to ensure the Yaruro will be able to move freely on a continued basis. He informed …

Published on
February 27, 2008
  0 Comments 731 views

25
Feb

People of Candarave say NO to mining

A popular consultation (referendum) was held in Peru last week, drawing out some 7500 people from the Province of Candarave to vote on whether or not they would support the initiation of new mining activities in the region—and if they would agree to the use of underground water resources for those mining activities.

Despite an effort by one mining company (Southern Copper,a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico) to illicit a YES vote, the People of Candarave made their voice abundantly clear. 90 percent of the participants voted “NO” to both questions…

While some may have bought into the propaganda, Southern Copper should have known better than to challenge what stands so vividly in everyone’s memory. For years, People in Candarave have been suffering because of the exploitation and contamination of their water supplies by mining. According to Ordonez Salazar, President …

Published on
February 25, 2008
  0 Comments 603 views

23
Feb

The Fluoride Deception

Have you ever wondered why the government puts fluoride in Water? Or perhaps, just where that fluoride comes from? How about other uses? Can fluoride do more than “fight cavities?”

If you’ve asked such questions, than I trust you won’t be surprised to hear that fluoride–the same ingredient in your toothpaste–is also used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, to prepare Sarin nerve gas, and to make Teflon plastic. It’s also an active ingredient in pesticides, and in the pharmaceuticals: Prozac and Cipro. I guess that’s why every bottle of toothpaste has a label explicitly warning you not to swallow any… But then why is fluoride being dumped into our water?

As for where it comes from… would you believe that almost 90 percent of the fluoride added to water is actually industrial waste…

While these points are are not closely examined …

Published on
February 23, 2008
  3 Comments 1,062 views

22
Feb

Tribal Forest Rights Act is just the first step

On January 1st of this year, the government of India took a major step toward respecting Indigenous Rights. They enacted the Tribal Forest Rights Act, a law which has been often said to correct the “historical injustice” where India’s forest dwelling indigenous population has been systematically excluded from having rights, and forced to abandon their lands, cultures, and livelihoods under the guise of forest preservation and the protection of wildlife.

The Forest Rights Act brings an end to this, it is said, through giving India’s forest-dwelling Peoples authority to forbid non-sustainable use or the exploitation of their lands, as well as primacy when land claims are disputed, and the right to rehabilitation for those who have been illegally evicted or displaced from their lands (prior to December 13, 2005). The law also forbids the sale of lands …

Published on
February 22, 2008
  2 Comments 1,494 views

Video activism and the Chiapas Media Project

In the following presentation, Claudia Magallanes-Blanco from the University of Western Sydney talks about the role of video activism as a world-wide tool for empowerment and the Chiapas Media Project, a collaborative effort based in Mexico that provides indigenous Zapatistas in Chiapas and peasants in Guerrero with training and equipment to produce their own videos.

Since forming in 1998, CMP has distributed over 6000 videos, including: Zapata’s Garden, a film that looks at the society the Zapatista’s are building; …


I Am A Defender of the Rainforest

Known as ‘Soy defensor de la selva’ in Spanish, I am a Defender of the Rainforest is an award-winning documentary that was filmed, edited, and directed by members of the Sarayaku community in southern Ecuador.

The film shows how the …


Underreported Struggles #19, October 2008

In this month’s Underreported Struggles: 400,000 Guatemalans Reject Development Model, Philippines Indigenous People Unite for the Land, Riot Police Target Algonquin Blockade, Chagos Islanders Denied the Right of Return, and 17 other stories …


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