On March 18, 2008, three Indigenous Elders and Spiritual Leaders from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta took part in a presentation at the Poder forum in Miami, Florida, to discuss their land reclamation and restoration efforts.

Home to some 50,000 indigenous people from four different ethnic groups – the Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco and Kakuamo, all descendants of the Tayronas - the Sierra Nevada is the the world’s tallest coastal mountain range and one of the world’s most unique ecosystems.

The People say it is “the heart of the world,” a …

The following 40-minute video is a segment from last year’s “Mato Paha-Bear Butte Spiritual Forum,” an event that brought together Traditional Healers (Medicine Men) and Spiritual Leaders from many Tribal Nations to provide ancestral teachings about the spiritual significance of Mato Paha. It was the first time in decades that such a gathering took place.

Bear Butte is held sacred by the Cheyenne, Arapaho, the Sioux nations, as well as to the Kiowa and Arapaho, among others.

The Lakota believe it to be “the most powerful land mass in their religion. They consider Bear Butte sacred for its location …

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) have responded to the recent sentencing of Chief Donny Morris and 5 other members of the community. In no uncertain terms, they will continue to struggle for their land and rights. See the full Press Release below.

PRESS RELEASE

March 20, 2008

Kitchenuhmaykoosib, Ontario - We are saddened today that our leaders have been jailed for contempt and they’re there for what they strongly believe – to protect Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) Homelands!

As a result of our community assembly on March 18, 2008, the present Chief and Council notably, …

The Algonquins of Barriere Lake have sent out an urgent call for support, asking people to help them prevent Canada from illegally replacing their Traditional Government.

Canada is attempting to do so by taking advantage of a leadership problem that began last September, according to the Ottawa Citizen, “when former chief Jean Maurice Matchewan stepped down after being charged with gun- and drug-related offences. He remained on council, and Benjamin Nottaway was named acting chief.”

The “New Chief” said this change was made without consultation, so his supporters held their …

Six of the seven members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation were sentenced yesterday to six months in jail for opposing unsanctioned development on their Traditional lands. (video)

KIFN has yet to make any formal statements about the ruling, but Deputy Grand Chief Glen Hare, representing the 42 member communities of the Anishinabek Nation, has spoke out in support of the Six.

“In one breath we hear Ontario talk about the importance of First Nations sharing in the wealth of the province’s resource revenues, and in the next breath …

Racism is on the rise in the colonial centres of the world, and so it’s becoming increasingly important for us to develop healthy inter-cultural relationships that are founded on respect and mutual understanding. If we do not begin to develop such relationships, than the malignant ways of racism will be allowed to develop and fester without any substantial challenge (that is, challenge beyond words and argument).

First and foremost, we need space to develop such relationships; but we also need to be able to understand one another; that is, to develop a first-hand awareness of what other people mean according to …

The Festival of a Thousand Stars is a celebration of music and culture for Southern Ethiopia, home to more than 55 distinct Indigenous Peoples. It is held every December in Arba Minch, the centre of the Rift valley.

In the video below you will find footage from the 2005 festival which brought together 500 performers and some 40,000 visitors. According to Gughe Indigenous Art and Music Association, the festival organizers, last year’s festival “involved over 1000 performers representing more than 56 ethno-linguistic groups from all over the south of Ethiopia… Many came from very remote areas. The event attracted well over …

Moving along with its pleasant-sounding “comfortable housing program,” a lofty endeavor that aims to forcefully move 250,000 Tibetans into featureless apartment blocks under the auspices of ‘protecting the environment and boosting living standards,’ the Chinese Government announced it will relocate more than 52,000 Tibetan herders and farmers this year.

Human rights groups have been consistently speaking out against this program because the resettlements are in fact lowering the Tibetan Peoples’ standard of living. This is made evident in the report “No one has the Liberty to …

The International Indian Treaty Council will soon present the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination with a document that reveals America’s legacy of systemic racism, forced assimilation and apartheid of Indigenous Peoples.

The 87-page Consolidated Indigenous Shadow Report, which has been prepared with testimony from a number of individuals, covers issues such as: environmental racism, border injustices, the destruction of sacred places, violence against women, and most tellingly, the “overwhelming disparities in income, life expectancy, poverty and unemployment” in what can only be described as a system of …

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 …