A spokeswoman from Perupetro recently dismissed the existence of uncontacted Indigenous Tribes in Peru — saying “it is like the Loch Ness Monster.” “Everyone seems to have seen or heard about uncontacted peoples, but there is no evidence.”

From Survival International - Ms Quiroz also questioned the recent appearance of uncontacted Kayapó Indians in the Brazilian Amazon, an incident which happened over 1,500 kms away. Ms Quiroz implied that the Indians’ appearance was a fiction to scare off oil companies from bidding for the Peruvian lots.

Only last week a …

From 1964 to 1992 Texaco (now Chevron) built and operated oil exploration and production facilities in the northern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, known as the “Oriente”.

When the oil company arrived in the region, an area of more than 400,000 hectares was pristine rainforest inhabited by indigenous communities living in the ancestral style, in harmony with their natural habitat. Nearly three decades later, when Texaco pulled out, a vast area had been environmentally devastated.

Today, dozens of communities continue to suffer severe health effects, including surging rates of cancer. Meanwhile, indigenous …

Yes, slavery is cost effective! Yes, that leisure suit would save time! Yes, I would love to light one of those candles!
Have you ever heard of the Yes Men Before? If not, they are a group of activists who practice what they call “identity correction.” Starting out by creating gwbush.com and gatt.org, the Yes Men have attended numerous conferences and even made onto the mainstream news a few times, posing as individuals from the WTO, McDonalds, Dow, and most recently ExxonMobil. The best part? They …

The following article, written by Gwalgen Geordie Dent, was published on May 14 at the Dominion

Canada in the Congo War
Role of mining, resource extraction has been neglected

Even for those who follow world events, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is little known in Canada.

The DRC holds two major distinctions. First, it is the richest country in Africa in terms of mineral wealth: gold, diamonds, cobalt and chromium all exist in abundance. Second, it is the country in which the highest number of people – roughly, 4 to10 million …

From Amazon Watch - Los Angeles, CA – A report released today (link below), on the eve of Occidental Petroleum’s (Oxy) annual general meeting (AGM), reveals that the LA-based oil giant deliberately ignored industry standards and employed out-of-date practices for 30 years, resulting in severe cadmium and lead poisoning among indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

According to the report, based on information gathered by a team of experts in May 2006 – including a doctor, nurse, lawyers, soil scientist, agronomist, environmental engineer, and chemist – children from five Achuar …

BELOW: a press release of the Ixcán Community Development Council after a legally binding municipal referendum voted 90% ‘NO’ to big business hydro-electric dam and oil “development” projects. From Rights Action.

IXCÁN VOTES TO REJECT XALALA DAM AND OIL EXPLORATION
(translation by www.nisgua.org)

On April 20, 2007, the people of Ixcán, Quiché overwhelmingly rejected two types of proposed projects in their municipality. In 144 communities, 21,155 people – adults as well as children aged 7-17 – participated in the community consultation. They voted to approve or reject 1) the construction of the Xalalá …

Here is a story from Village Earth which focuses on the work of the Shipibo People in Peru to defend the rainforest and their own communities — as well as a project to aid in the defense and protection of Shipibo territory, by creating GIS layered maps of the region.

From the article “an aggressive program of Amazonian “development” has been promoted during the past 50 years, which has fragmented Shipibo territory by the incursion of non-indigenous colonists, government “development” projects, and foreign corporations exploiting the land by logging, hydrocarbon …

Groundbreaking Report on Mining, Oil and Gas Companies Released:
March 29, 2007

Civil Society and Industry Representatives Agree on Good Overseas Practices

(Ottawa) Canada could become a world leader on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) if the federal government and other stakeholders accept and act on the recommendations of a groundbreaking report released today.

The report comes out of a ten month government-led roundtable process that included representatives from civil society organizations, industry, academia, labour, and socially responsible investors acting as an Advisory Group, as well as representatives from communities affected by Canadian mining, oil and gas operations in the developing world.

The Advisory Group report …

Lubicon response to bald-faced lies about Lubicon water situation
from Friends of the Lubicon, March 16, 2007

Below please find an article from the magazine Alberta Views on the Lubicon situation called “No Deal”. Also, please find a letter to Alberta Views from Lubicon Elder Reinie Jobin regarding purposefully malicious, reprehensible bald-faced lies told about the terrible Lubicon water situation by a cowardly, unnamed federal government negotiator in the Alberta Views article.

Letter to Alberta Views from Lubicon Elder Reinie Jobin

Alberta Views …

Colombian court orders Ecopetrol to halt production on Bari land
by: Lisa Garrigues - www.indiancountry.com
February 26, 2007

LA PAZ, Bolivia - In a victory for the Bari people of Colombia, the national constitutional court has ordered the state oil company Ecopetrol to halt oil production on their land.

According to the judgment, ”We have observed not just damage to the fundamental right of the Motilon Bari Indigenous People to be consulted beforehand, but profound harm to the legitimate confidence that traditional authorities have deposited in government authorities.”

The judgment was first reported Feb. 2 in the Colombian newspaper La Republica, and later confirmed …