Last week, members and supporters of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (Big Trout Lake) Nation gathered at a Thunder Bay courthouse to witness the proceedings against Chief Donny Morris, councilor Sam McKay, and other community members after they were charged with being in contempt of court for “obstructing the consultation process” last October.

By the looks of things, the proceedings went about as good as we could have expected (though the deck sure does seem to be stacked against the People of Big Trout Lake)… KI Chief Donny Morris was …

The following video is six-minute clip is from Poison Wind, a documentary that examines the devastating impact Uranium mining has had on Indigenous People in the four corners region of New Mexico and Northern Arizona.

“As a government’s cruel secret is carried on the face of the wind,” writes Jenny Pond, one of the film’s co-producers, “Poison Wind tells the story of a corrupt government, unconscionable greed and a policy of destruction aimed at the Aboriginal Homelands of Indigenous People from the 1940’s until today.”

It also tells the stories of those who worked at the mine, of those who struggle to …

Following the standard now synonymous with Canadian mining, Vancouver-based Continuum Resources has reactivated the historic “Natividad” mine site, an area of Oaxaca that’s been looted since before the 17th Century. Largely on Zapotec land, the site is reported to be Oaxaca’s richest gold and silver mine.

Historically, thousands of Zapotec have worked the mine, but today the consequences of development are too well understood. Over the course of 230 years, more than a million ounces of gold and 23 million ounces of silver have been extracted from the site, but …

A group of Algonquin warned on Friday they will ignore the court order issued last October and return to block the Uranium mine near Sharbot Lake unless the Province of Ontario calls a halt to the project.

“The destruction of the land, the consequence of a uranium mine being built, and the health effects will be devastating on our community,” said Chief Negotiator Robert Lovelace. “We have taken a stand that there will be no uranium mine in that area.”

Keith Leslie writes, “Lovelace [also] said he doesn’t …

The following is a trailer for the film Ever Decreasing Circles, a documentary that outlines the ongoing health crisis and human rights disaster that’s been thrown on the backs of one traditional farming community in Berezovka, Kazakhstan.

The situation is said to be an example of “the typical environmental and social exploitation occurring in the Caspian region at the hands of western oil consortiums and corrupt local officials. What is not typical about Berezovka is that the citizens are fighting back.”

Located nearly five-kilometers away from the fields, the community …

“All that Glitters is not Gold” is an informative and disturbing 6-minute video that looks at the Olympic Dam in Australia, the site of the world’s largest known uranium deposit.

Currently, BHP Billiton wants the federal and state government to approve a plan to bring 40 million tonnes of the radioactive ore to the surface every year for the next 50-100 years.

As relayed in the film, and in a press release for a related film, more than 80% of the radiation that will be brought up from deep within the earth will remain at the surface of the …

Black Mesa Indigenous Support has sent out an urgent call for people to help protect Yucca Mountain.

Located 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the Mountain range is located on Shoshone territory as defined in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. The US government however refuses to acknowledge the treaty and is currently planning to make the Mountain range into a major nuclear waste repository.

The Shoshone and numerous other Indigenous Nations, all of whom hold Yucca Mountain sacred, have been actively opposed to the plan from the beginning. …

Living in their Sierra Madre Mountains stronghold, for hundreds of years the Huichol People of Mexico successfully resisted the genocidal impact of the Spanish Conquest. Almost untouched, they were able to maintain their traditional culture, language and spiritual way of life.

“Today, the Huichol Indians are less isolated, increasingly vulnerable and exposed to inroads made by the Mexican Government, modern industry and tourism. Although in some areas of their homeland, their traditional co- operative way of life, intricate dress, diverse art forms and ancient shamanic ceremonials remain strong; elsewhere they have become only haunting echoes of the past.

Huichol culture is …

The following three-minute clip is a trailer for Silent Snow, a feature length documentary currently in the pre-production phase. This film will premiere at the end of the International Polar Year (IPY) early 2009.

From the Official Website: Against a background of melting ice Silent Snow focuses on a prelude to a worldwide problem of dramatic proportions: the poisoning of humans and animals by dangerous pesticides like DDT (Persistent Organic Pollutants – POPs). Via currents in the ocean they reach the arctic where they accumulate in plankton, fish and bigger animals like seagulls and polar bears. But they also travel …

A cross-border, investigative report was published last month by Eco Justice Canada (formally Sierra Legal) which details the amount of toxins released - and the impact it’s all having on the people living in Canada’s Chemical Valley–the region of Sarnia, Ontario.

Populated by at least 71,000 Canadians and three 3 Indigenous Nations, there is a total of 62 large industrial facilities currently in operation. On top of that, in the immediate vicinity on the other side of the US/CAN border, there are 16 more.

According to the report, …