Form the Daily News, May 3 - An alliance of Coastal First Nations have thrown their support behind Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla and are calling on the federal government to resume its discussions with the Coast Tsimshian on the Prince Rupert Port expansion.

“We fully support the Coast Tsimshian on this issue,” said Art Sterritt. executive director of the Coastal First Nations. “There is no question of the existence of the rights and interests of all the Coastal First Nations and particularly those people closest to the project. The Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nations have been reasonable in their …

Indigenous peoples and the politics of recognition - By Glen Coulthard. From Issue 58 of New Socialist Magazine

Over the last 30 years, the self-determination efforts and objectives of indigenous peoples in Canada have increasingly been cast in the language of “recognition.” Consider, for example, the latest policy position on self-determination published by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in the spring of 2005. According to the AFN document, “a consensus has emerged […] around a vision of the relationship between First Nations and Canada which would lead to strengthening recognition and implementation of First Nations’ governments.”

This “vision,” the …

Recently,. the Metlakatla and Lax Kw’alaams Nations, known as the Coast Tsimshian People, announced they will be taking steps to stop a port in Prince Rupert from being completed.

From the Northern View - “There has been a build up of frustration that has been building up for close to a year now. When the port put us on notice that they were starting on phase II, we decided enough was enough. The government, which has the legal obligation to consult and deal with First Nations, has ignored us …

SPECIAL AUTONOMY HAS FAILED, THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT MUST CARRY OUT RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE WITH PAPUA

From adnki.com - More than 1,500 students on Friday gathered in front of the governors palace in Jayapura, the capital of the Indonesian province of Papua, demanding an end to the province’s special autonomy status, which they say does not work. The protestors called instead for dialogue with the government to decided the future of the province. “We want a three-way dialogue, involving Jakarta, a delegation from Papua and a representative …

Western Sahara: dueling proposals on territory future
from the WW4Report
April 11, 2007

Morocco and the Polisario Front independence movement have both turned proposals for the future status of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara over to the UN. The Moroccan proposal calls for regional autonomy for the region under Morocco’s sovereignty. The Polisario proposal calls for a referendum with three options: local autonomy, complete integration with Morocco, or independence. Polisario’s plan does offer a “special relationship” with Morocco, maintaining close economic and political ties, even in the case of independence.

The Moroccan plan “aims to allow all Saharawis to democratically manage their affairs, while respecting …

Declaration of Iximche’
III Continental Summit of Indigenous Nations and Pueblos of Abya Yala, March 26-30, 2007

We the children of the Indigenous Nations and Pueblos of the continent, self convened and gathered at the III Continental Summit of Indigenous Nations and Pueblos of Abya Yala realized in Iximche’, Guatemala the days of Oxlajuj Aq’abal, thirteen powers of the Spirit of the Dawn (26th of March) to Kaj� Kej, four powers of the Spirit of the Deer (30th of March, 2007):

We hereby affirm the Declaration of Teotihuacan (Mexico, 2000), the Declaration of Kito (Ecuador, 2004) and ratify our millennial principles of complementarity, …

I don’t know if you got the bit of hype over the last couple days, but the globe and mail published an article on Saturday saying the Canadian army’s new ‘counterinsurgency’ manual lumped aboriginals in with the Tamil Tigers, Hezbollah, and other Terrorist groups.

Not being suprised, I decided to write something about it - but as I was putting on the finishing touches, I caught wind of another globe and mail article, yesterday, saying now natives will not be listed as terrorists… So I won’t post the article I wrote, but I would like to say a few …

Sutikalh 7 Year Anniversary Gathering
Saturday May 5, 2007
http://sutikalh.resist.ca

Come to this anniversary gathering on Saturday May 5, 2007 and celebrate 7 years of resistance & sovereignty.

Sutikalh camp is located off Hwy. 99 midway between Mt. Currie & Lillooet.

For more info contact:
Rosalin Sam 604-894-2400 sutikalh2003@telus.net
Ramona Joe 604-894-2462

Background: On May 2, 2000, members of the St’at’imc nation and their allies established a permanent camp near Melvin Creek, located off Highway 99 between Mt. Currie/Pemberton and Lillooet, in the southern Interior region of BC.

Known as Sutikalh, the St’at’imc winter spirit of …

Convocation for Congress of Government and the Peoples
Cochabamba, Bolivia, 2-4 June, 2007
Evo Morales Ayma and Hugo Chavez

Considering that our continent is passing through a time of change towards a real integration based on sovereignty, dignity, harmony with nature and with the full participation of our peoples;

Committed to the process of social and structural transformation for the recuperation of our natural resources and the strengthening of our states in regards to the management of economic, social and cultural policies for the well being of the population;

Convinced that it is necessary to assume concrete measures between national, local and municipal governments, social …

Colonial Sovereignty - November 2, 2006
by Michael Lujan Bevacqua (and Jodi Blanco?)
http://minagahet.blogspot.com

According to Peter Fitzpatrick, the law becomes the curious fetish of the colonies. From the perspective of the colonizer, a sort of sudden sovereignty emerges at the moments of contact with a “new” world which cannot readily be accounted for in his current imagination. As he bumps up against this “new” gap in the symbolic network, which is never truly a gap, but only the appearance of one, sovereignty erupts as the ability to map not just this new land, but also himself. The double gesture which makes …