Tag Archive for 'Sacred Grounds'Page 2 of 6

11
Aug

Court reverses decision protecting San Francisco Peaks

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued its long awaited ruling surrounding Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks, and the religious freedoms of 13 Indigenous Nations who hold the Peaks sacred.

In a split decision, the court decided to reverse the previous March 2007 ruling that opposed the Arizona Snowbowl’s plan to add fake snow made from treated sewage wastewater on to the Peaks so their resort can play host to an extended Ski season.

“The Court found that using reclaimed sewer water to make snow for skiing on an admittedly sacred site posed no ’substantial burden’ on the Plaintiffs’ exercise of religion in this case,” explains a recent press release from the Save the Peaks Coalition.

“According to the Court, the ‘only effect of the proposed upgrades is on the Plaintiffs’ subjective, emotional religious experience. That is, the presence of recycled wastewater on …

Published on
August 11, 2008
  0 Comments 585 views

26
Jun

Colombian army wants base on indigenous sacred ground

Last week, a group of indigenous Kofan expressed concern about a new base Colombia’s army is building at a site called “Finca Maravales” in the Guamués valley in Putumayo, reports the Colombian newspaper El Espectador.

The group had traveled to Bogota to take part in a press conference marking the creation of a 10,000-hectare bio-reserve for traditional medicines used by the Kofan and other Indigenous Peoples in the region.

When it came time for the Kofan to speak, they took the opportunity to read a statement concerning the new base. The Kofan explained that Finca Maravales “is Kofán ancestral territory, and is a part of the Shelter of Santa Rosa Guamués,” which was first occupied in the 1960’s.

For more than two years, the Kofan have been aware that the army wanted to permanently establish themselves in the region. …

Published on
June 26, 2008
  1 Comment 613 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 1,245 views

16
Jun

Mount Taylor’s Safety Assured for One Year

Over the weekend, New Mexico’s state Cultural Properties Review Committee voted 4-2 in favour of giving Mount Taylor emergency protection as a cultural property.

Held Sacred by the Navajo, Hopi, Acoma, Laguna and Zuni Nations, uranium mining companies recently set their sights on the mountain, filing permits to start more than 50 exploratory drilling projects.

As noted in Las Cruces-Sun, the five Nations immediately came forward and “asked the state to approve the listing… to protect it from an anticipated uranium mining boom, according to the nomination report.”

The listing will last for one year, at which time the committee will decide on whether or not the mountain should be listed permanently as a cultural resource.

“We’re quite happy,” said Acoma Pueblo Lt. Gov. Mark Thompson, who attended the meeting.

But he said those who support the mountain’s listing on the state registry have a lot of …

Published on
June 16, 2008
  0 Comments 584 views

05
Jun

Canada’s TVI Pacific Faces Tribal Justice

The Canadian mining company TVI Pacific, who operates a gold mine in the Southern Philippines, has been found guilty of numerous crimes by the traditional justice authority of the Subanon People - the “Gukom.”

Since 1994, the company has occupied Mount Canatuan, a sacred site for the Subanon People. They have done so without the Subanon’s consent (FPIC). Throughout the occupation, TVI has committed numerous human rights abuses and violations of Subanon customary law, as you’ll see reflected in the Gukom’s verdict.

First a bit on the trial…It began around seven months ago, after the Philippine legal system failed to address an assault charge layed against a member of the company’s private military force. In January 2007, Vivian Anoy Balingit, daughter of Timuay (or Chief) Jose “Boy” Anoy, was threatened and then struck with a weapon after refusing to acknowledge …

Published on
June 5, 2008
  0 Comments 800 views

28
May

Letters needed to protect Mato Paha (Bear Butte)

The Western Shoshone Defense Project (WSDP) has sent out an action alert warning of a renewed danger facing Mato Paha, a sacred place of prayer to over thirty Indigenous Nations across the Plains.

Located eight miles southwest of Sturgis, South Dakota, Mato Paha is steadily being surrounded by bars, camping grounds and venues that will attract tens of thousands of people.

One of those venues, as you may already know, is the infamous Sturgis County Line, which runs adjacent to Mato Paha. The developer, one Mr. Jay Allen, once boasted that he plans to change the name to “Sacred Grounds,” and that he’ll provide “hundreds of acres to party… in a safe haven, free from a policed environment, that’s what I’m talking about! … over 150,000 s.f. of asphalt for semi-tractor trailors… 22,500 s.f. of… ice cold beer… kick-butt music …

Published on
May 28, 2008
  13 Comments 820 views

29
Apr

No Toxic Dump on O’odham Land!

On March 29, Traditional O’odham leaders and International Supporters gathered in the small village of Quitovac in Sonora, Mexico, to organize against a toxic waste dump that threatens one of the O’odham’s most sacred Ceremonial sites.

“The gathering in Quitovac represented yet another chapter in the fight to stop the building of the toxic dump proposed to be built by the Mexican company CEGIR,” wrote the O’odham Solidarity Project shortly after the gathering came to a close.

“Since early in 2006 the traditional O’odham residing in the occupied territories of Northern Mexico and the South Western United States (and their international supporters) have persistently and patiently organized, protested and petitioned to try to convince the Mexican government federal Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat (SEMARNAT) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop CEGIR from building this toxic dump. So far, …

Published on
April 29, 2008
  1 Comment 808 views

Eight Mayan Women

Eight Mayan Women is a story of continued resistance to the Canadian mining company Goldcorp.

For the past three years the company has been extracting gold and silver in the municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, Guatemala. The people of San Miguel have been opposed the operation, primarily out of a concern that it is destroying the environment and draining the region of its water. Many also say they were deceived and forced into selling their lands, and that …


Underreported Struggles #20, November 2008

In the month’s Underreported Struggles: Talisman decides to ignore warning from the Achuar to “get out now”; A spontaneous tribal uprising forms in West Bengal; Vedanta Resources gets chased away by more than …


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 …


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