The Nukak, one of the Amazon’s last nomadic Peoples, have once again been caught between the Colombian army and the left-wing FARC guerrillas.

According to a March 12 statement by Survival International, they were bombed “by the Colombian army in its attempt to fight the guerrillas who have violently taken control of much of the Nukak land. Many Nukak have fled their territory to a local town in recent days, and many more are expected to follow suit.”

This violence comes just months after many Nukak began returning to their territory, …

In the last month, two of the four States that opposed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People issued “apology resolutions” for the historical crimes they committed against indigenous people. First it was Australia on February 13th; and then America threw up an apology of it’s own a couple weeks later, on March 1st.

It’s particularly interesting considering how both States continue to utilize the very same policies they claim to be so sorry about. Or perhaps, that’s not why they’re apologizing?

The Australian Apology
Focusing primarily on the …

The following video is from the 1st annual Conference on Colonialism and Urban Education, which took place in Los Angeles, CA on November 10, 2007.

Organized by the Association of Raza Educators, the conference focused on “issues of social justice as they related to the question on the role of teachers and students in developing a decolonial education inside and outside the classroom. One of the conference main goals is to establish a Teachers of Color Congress organized against state violence in our schools and communities.”

Speakers at the conference included Dr. Carlos Tejeda, California State University; Ernesto Bustillos, …

Updated to version published on Upside Down World

There’s a new law being debated in Brazil that threatens to undermine the rights and livelihoods of all Indigenous people in this South American nation.

Through twisting the letter and intent of International Labour Organisation convention 169, among other International agreements and National legislation, this law proposes that Brazil perform a state-wide intervention campaign to “save” indigenous children from bad treatment, neglect, abuse, exploitation, and infanticide.

While not as comprehensive as the 700 pages of legislation that embodies the “Australian Intervention” this

…

In the following video, you will hear Indigenous scholar and activist Andrea Smith give a lecture on the topic of her book, “Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide.” The lecture took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 7, 2006.

In the first portion of the lecture, Andrea, a co-founder of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, primarily focuses on two issues: sexual violence within Indigenous communities, and the role of sexual violence and patriarchy in colonial policy.

She explores, for one, how America historically came to see the subjugation of women as a necessary to exert colonial …

With many signs emerging that the right wing in Bolivia is slowly preparing to destabilize the country and overthrow Evo Morales—along with him, the hopes and dreams of millions of indigenous and non-indigenous people throughout South America—On September 10th, more than 10,000 people gathered in Sucre to attend a Social Summit ‘for dialogue and defense of the Constituent Assembly’.

During the Summit, the social organizations resolved to “defend, including with our lives, the constituent assembly and this process of irreversible profound change being driven forward by the historic forces …

The Katkari are a people based in the Raigad and Thane Districts of Maharashtra, India. Never formally recognized by the state, the Katkari have for years found themselves in abject poverty, living as bonded laborers on their own land.

With no rights or freedoms, they are exploited and forced to work under sub-human conditions on the brick kilns. Sexual exploitation of Katkari women is common while men are often beaten up, and even killed.

Any sort of resistance is met with violence from the police—a fact common to many tribal Peoples in India—thanks no less to the foundation brought on by …

Yesterday I stumbled upon an article on Infoshop.org that discusses the 40 year-long genocidal campaign against Roma women in the Czech Republic. It also talks a little about the historical experience of the Roma, those commonly referred to as Gypsies…

I have been aware of “Gypsies” for years now but I never spent any time to learn about them—and up until yesterday I had never even heard of the Roma. I’m betting most people haven’t either, so in addition to posting the article I wanted to talk a bit …

Invoking the 15th century legal procedure we know as the Doctrine of Discovery, on August 2nd a Russian submarine placed a titanium Russian Flag on the Arctic seabed under the north pole, claiming sovereign ownership of the resources in the region, which includes an estimated 10 billion tons of oil and gas.

As discussed in some detail on Native America, Discovered and Conquered, “Russia is primarily relying on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea for its claim to the Arctic floor, and the estimated 10 …

Well, the bills which grant the government of Australia power to encroach upon, invade, and determine the lives of Indigenous People in the Northern Territory came to pass in a near-unanimous vote of 56 to 6.

Among many new privileges, the government effectively owns all Aboriginal Land. All Indigenous on Welfare have automatically had 50% of their payments ‘quarantined.’ The government can ‘observe’ any meeting held by Aboriginal or non Aboriginal organizations in the Territory which provide services to Aboriginal communities. The government can seize the assets of Aboriginal or …