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A decade-long struggle for the Maya villages of Conejo and Santa Cruz came to an unexpected, hopeful end last week. Chief Justice, Dr. Abdulai Conteh granted the order sought by the villages to have their customary land tenure practices acknowledged and secured under the Constitution.

Historically, the Government of Belize has systematically denied the Maya rights to their land, by claiming they were Guatemalan immigrants, therefore without a valid claim.

Under that premise, in 1993 the Government allowed logging on over 500,000 acres in the Toledo District, and granted …

During the second Latin American Parks Congress this week, the Wai Wai established a new precedent for Indigenous People, becoming the first to declare their territory a ‘Community Owned Conservation Area.’

Backed by a government decree and supported by US-based Conservation International (CI), they also banned miners and loggers from their section of the Amazon jungle in remote southern Guyana, near the border of Brazil–and pledged to pursue a sustainable economic strategy based on ecotourism, research and traditional crafts.

According to Cemci Sose, the Kayaritomo of the Wai Wai, …

Some positive news came out of British Columbia this week. The Kemess North Mine Joint Review Panel released its report regarding the Kemess North Copper-Gold Mine–recommending against the Kemess mine, worth $8 Billion, which would turn Amazay Lake into a toxic waste dump. This is quite possibly the first mine in Canadian history the government has made a recommendation against.

On top of that, the Review Panel has also given–or rather confirmed Indigenous Nations in BC have veto power over resource development projects on their respective territories.

This is by all …

Last week, a Judge in the state of Guerrero, Mexico ordered the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to suspend any further construction of La Parota dam.

The order came as a response to an August 14 request by campesinos for an injunction pending resolution of a lawsuit they filed to stop La Parota altogether. The judge ruled that continuing the project may cause “irreparable damages” to the campesinos. See here for background news and information.

From WW4 Report - On Sept. 13 Mexican federal district judge Livia …

Today, a National Political Body has been born for Indigenous People in Australia. It’s called the National Aboriginal Alliance (NAA), and it is the end result of a three-day gathering that took place in Alice Springs this week, which brought together about 100 Aboriginal People from around Australia.

Something like the NAA has been sorely absent for quite some time now. Indigenous People have been effectively trapped, unable to mobilize themselves and nowehere near a position to be heard or respected by the government.

That’s not to say they haven’t …

From August 31 to September 2, around 300 young people from the Tupinambá, Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe, Pataxó and Tuxá (state of Bahia), Tupinikim (state of Espírito Santo) and Xukuru (state of Pernambuco) peoples gathered at the 3rd seminar of Tupinambá young people at Serra do Padeiro in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

The Tupinambá (also known as the Tupi) have recently begun strengthening their struggle, encouraging its young people to organize themselves.

Based on the theme “Organized Youth, Strengthened Community,” the youth naturally focused on matters of organization, aswell as topics like public …

The Cimi-Assessoria de Imprensa, announced today that on August 28, the Brazilian government signed two decrees for the Tupinikim/Guarani, granting them title to 18,070 hectares of lands in the municipality of Aracruz, state of Espirito Santo, Brazil.

You may recall, late last month the Tupinikim/Guarani began a campaign to reclaim their lands. They set out exactly as they had announced, but just two weeks later, on August 11, they were once again evicted.

This recent decision, published in the Federal State Gazette and signed by the Minister of Justice Tarso …