Intercontinental Cry

Riot squad arrest 5 Algonquins, including Chief

Ahni — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:03:22 +0000

Quebec’s provincial police and riot squad have arrested five Barriere Lake Algonquins, including Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway, during a series of roadblocks that were set up yesterday on highway 117. The initial roadblock was set up in the early morning by at least 70 Algonquins and 30 non-native supporters, with the hope of maintaining it [...]

Mass Tribal Uprising in West Bengal

Ahni — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:55:09 +0000

What we are witnessing in the tribal belt of West Bengal is [an] historical moment. A long oppressed people have risen up and are daring to confront their oppressors and question the logic of “development” that destroys their lives and livelihoods.” In what started out as a protest against police brutality, on November 7 more [...]

Alberta Chiefs Unanimously Support The Lubicon

Ahni — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:42:23 +0000

The Assembly of Treaty Chiefs, which represents Chiefs from Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 territories in Canada, have issued a unanimous resolution of support for the Lubicon Lake Cree Nation in their ongoing land rights struggle with TransCanada, the Alberta Utilities Commission, and the Provincial and Federal governments. “Notably, Treaty 8 covers the lands [...]

The Mapuche Reject Oil Company in Patagonia

Ahni — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:57:35 +0000

A Mapuche community organization in the Patagonia region of Argentina, has rejected a decision by the government to grant the state-owned company YPF-Pluspetrol rights to the Nirihuau hydrocarbon basin. The community, which gathers under the name Inkaial Wal Mapu Mew (We must defend the territory) “…issued a communique to reject the measure because it undermines their [...]

All That Glitters Isn’t Gold

Ahni — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:33:23 +0000

“All That Glitters Isn’t Gold - A Story of Exploitation and Resistance” is an hour-long documentary about the San Martin open-pit gold mine in the Siria Valley of Honduras, and the efforts of local indigenous communities to shut it down. Operating since 1998, the San Martin Mine has been a disastrous burden for the local population. [...]

Vedanta chased away by threatened Villagers

Ahni — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:46:47 +0000

Last week, a group of more than 500 villagers set up roadblocks in Orissa’s Puri district to protest the construction of “Dev Sanskrati Vishwavidyalaya” (Divine Culture University) a project funded by the rather-unenlightened company we know as Vedanta Resources. The villagers are angry that the institution, which will apparently establish “a Cultural Renaissance” in India, [...]

Defenders of the Land Gathering

Ahni — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:43:34 +0000

Organizers, leaders, and spokespeople from Indigenous communities involved in land struggles with the Canadian and Provincial Governments have assembled in Winnipeg for the Defenders of the Land Gathering, to share strategies and ideas for how to best achieve land rights and self-determination. The gathering runs from November 12-14th, 2008, and will feature presentations by members from [...]

Colombia: Open letter to President-Elect Barack Obama

Ahni — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:58:07 +0000

On November 10th, the Association of Indigenous Couincils of Northern Cauca (ACIN) released an open letter to US President-Elect Barack Obama, hoping to shed more light on their struggle and foster a relationship that will ensure “Life… can never again be transformed into means for private accumulation of power at the service of greed.” With Obama’s [...]

State of Mine: An investigation of Canada’s extractive industries

Ahni — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:29:44 +0000

The Dominion Paper, a Canadian-based Grassroots News Cooperative, is in the midst of putting together a special November issue on Canadian mining, titled State of Mine: An investigation of Canada’s extractive industries. The issue will consist of one original investigative article for every day of the month, and will provide a comprehensive look at all the [...]

Broken Rainbow (Forced Relocation of the Navajo)

Ahni — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:07:23 +0000

Broken Rainbow is a 1985 documentary film about the industry-led and government-enforced relocation of more than 10,000 Navajo from their traditional lands. On December 1974 Congress passed “The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act” which authorized the partitioning of the Joint Use Area (JUA) of the Navajo and Hopi Nations, and established the Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation Commission (NHIRC) [...]