Tag Archive for 'jurisdiction'Page 2 of 5

23
Jun

Judge Refuses to Stop Hog Farm on Sioux Land

A federal judge ruled last week that the Longview industrial hog farm in South Dakota is not within the Treaty lands of the Ihanktunwan People (Yankton Sioux).

In April, three Tribal members representing the Yankton Sioux Tribe Head Start Concerned Parents filed a lawsuit claiming the farm is within the Ihanktunwan’s jurisdiction as defined by the Treaties of 1851 and 1858.

According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit also stated the farm owners failed to meet federal environmental requirements, failed to follow federal laws requiring a search for historic and cultural sites, and violated federal regulations dealing with children’s health.

Dealing solely with the issue of jurisdiction, on June 18 the federal judge ruled the farm “is not in part of the area that this court ruled was part of the reservation;” adding, “Now that doesn’t mean that you can’t prove that …

Published on
June 23, 2008
  0 Comments 697 views

21
Jun

Radar Contamination on Mushkegowuk Territory

The Mushkegowuk Environmental Research Centre (MERC) has produced a video report that examines the issue of PCB contamination within the Traditional Territory of the Mushkegowuk Council, which represents 7 Indigenous communities in northern Ontario. Abandoned military radar sites along the “Mid Canada Line” have been steadily spilling PCB’s (and other toxic substances) on their land for the last 40 years.

During the Cold War, three separate lines of defense were constructed across Canada: The DEW (Distant Early Warning) line, which consisted of 58 sites along the 70th parallel; the Mid Canada Line, 90 unmanned sites across the 55th parallel; and the Pinetree Line, roughly 35 sites across the 50th parallel.

Briefly examined in this 2004 petition to the Auditor General of Canada - concerning the Mushkegowuk there are 16 nearby abandoned radar sites that are contaminating the surrounding region’s soil, …

Published on
June 21, 2008
  0 Comments 791 views

20
Jun

Stop Canadian Lakes from Becoming Mine Waste Dumps!

According to a recent report by the CBC, the Federal Government is set to ‘reclassify’ 16 lakes across the country as toxic waste dumps for the mining industry.

Under the Fisheries Act, companies are not allowed to place harmful substances into fish-bearing waters - however, there’s a provision under the Act known as “Schedule Two” which allows them to redefine any lake as a “Tailings Impoundment Area.”

Once a lake is redefined it’s no longer considered a natural body of water, and a mining company can go ahead and use it as a dumping ground.

The CBC notes that,

Since the introduction of Schedule Two of mining effluent regulations under the Fisheries Act, in 2002, 16 lakes have been proposed for reclassification as tailings dumps.

Four of the 16 are already being used as dumps — all in Newfoundland. Two of those are at the …

Published on
June 20, 2008
  1 Comment 1,240 views

19
Jun

Takla Lake First Nation Roadblock to Protect Territory

The Takla Lake First Nation set up a roadblock yesterday, formally suspending the use of Driftwood Forest Service Road for industrial activities.

In a statement (see below) the Takla say their land is being threatened to such an extent now that they had to take action. Otherwise,”the government will hand over our whole territory to mining and forestry companies and there will be nothing left for our children.”

Private property owners will be allowed to pass through the roadblock - but industry will just have to wait. Hours, days, weeks… It all depends on the government’s capacity to stand up and do it’s job by respecting Takla Lake FN’s Territory, culture, and rights.

For Immediate Release

June 18, 2008

Takla Lake First Nation Roadblock to Protect Territory

Takla Lake First Nation Territory: The Takla Lake First Nation hereby announce that we will not permit the use of Driftwood Forest …

Published on
June 19, 2008
  1 Comment 746 views

18
Jun

Malaysian Indigenous People Facing Arrests at Blockade

More than a hundred indigenous Kenyah peoples from Sarawak, Malaysia are currently facing arrests.

For the last month, the group has maintained a logging blockade to stop the operations of Samling Timber Company.

According to the Borneo Resources Institute (BRIMAS) in Miri, “the company simply encroached into their Communal land and Forest areas to carry out logging activities, without any consultation and consideration for their source of livelihood.” The operation has severely effected the indigenous peoples.

They resorted to [the blockade] after the company continued to ignore their demands and rights of access and benefits to their natural forest resources. Their numerous complaints to the authorities and the logging companies regarding their claims to the forest resources and the problems caused by logging have fallen on deaf ears.

The Kenyahs have forwarded some reasonable demands for social benefits and development of the community …

Published on
June 18, 2008
  0 Comments 630 views

15
Jun

Dene Sues Alberta Over Tarsands Project

Following the massive lawsuit filed by the Beaver Lake Cree Nation last month (and the one filed by the Woodland Cree last year), the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation came forward on June 4th to file their own lawsuit against the Alberta government.

The CPDFN say they weren’t consulted when the government leased away “the heart” of their traditional territory to MEG Energy Corporation for an oilsands (tarsands) project.

Focusing primarily on their Treaty Rights, CPDFN hope the lawsuit will require Alberta to hold ‘meaningful consultations’ so as to protect one of the few remaining places in their Traditional Territory where they can exercise their rights.

See below for a press release from the Chipewyan Dene Prairie First Nation.

First Nation Files Lawsuit Challenging Oilsands Tenure and Regulatory Approval System

EDMONTON, ALBERTA–(June 4, 2008) - Today the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation (”CPDFN”) filed …

Published on
June 15, 2008
  3 Comments 886 views

14
Jun

The Creek Runs Red

The Creek Runs Red is a documentary about the former mining town of Picher, Oklahoma, which the Environmental Protection Agency now regards as the most toxic place in America.

Located on the traditional lands of the Quapaw People, the mining town of Picher was once a hub for the world’s richest source of zinc and lead (a great deal of which went to making bullets for WW1 and WW2).

“During its boom, Picher’s population peaked at 20,000. Saloons and movie parlors lined the streets,” notes the Associated Press.

It truly was an American Dream. That is, despite the nightmarish towers of mine waste (”chat piles”) that were collecting in the distance.

Today, with a population under a thousand, Picher can no longer be called a mining town — but not because there have been no active mines for over thirty years, but rather because the nightmare usurped the …

Published on
June 14, 2008
  0 Comments 827 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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