Thirty-six years of civil war in Guatemala brought the deaths of over 200,000 people, most of them from Indigenous Nations. In the wake of an amnesty signed in 1996, those who took part in armed struggle against the Guatemalan dictatorship were finally able to return to their lives.

It was at this time that one hundred and sixty people, a diverse group of Quiche, Q’eqchi, Mam, Ladino (mixed Spanish and indigenous) and others decided to continue to struggle by creating a self-sustaining agricultural cooperative; a community that could serve as a just and peaceful model for Guatemalan …

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 …

On Jan. 7, about 100 campesinos successfully blocked the spraying of pesticides on soy fields in the Ybypé community of the department of San Pedro, Paraguay. Riot police were mobilized to protect the fumigation tractors, but in a rare and inspiring turn, the campesinos convinced the officers of their right to resist the spraying. The police then refused to break up the blockade.

The Campesinos have so far resisted every attempt to fumigate these fields since the land was sold to Brazilian soy growers, who removed the previous life with …

Sorry for the short notice, but in about half an hour–at 10:00 am PST–a coalition of individual property owners along with Indigenous and border community leaders will be holding a national telephonic media conference and briefing to announce their intent to fight the Department of Homeland Security’s threatened seizure of their property along the border. See here for background.

INDIGENOUS SPOKESPERSONS on the call will include Enrique Madrid, Jumano Apache community member, Texas Historical Commission, Redford, TX; Gabriel Carrasco, Chief of the Jumano Apache, Redford/El Paso, TX; José …

The World Rainforest Movement’s Bulletin for December features an article by Guadalupe Rodriguez, a Campaigner for Tropical Forests and Human Rights, which discusses the ongoing criminalization of anyone opposed to the exploitative activities of transnational corporations in Ecuador.

The article also discusses “the First Summit of Communities Criminalized for Defending Nature”, which was held on November 16th at the Catholic University in Quito, Ecuador.

You can read the full article at World Rainforest Movement website. Here’s an excerpt:

As announced in the call to the Quito meeting, [the …

In the following video, you will hear Indigenous scholar and activist Andrea Smith give a lecture on the topic of her book, “Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide.” The lecture took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 7, 2006.

In the first portion of the lecture, Andrea, a co-founder of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, primarily focuses on two issues: sexual violence within Indigenous communities, and the role of sexual violence and patriarchy in colonial policy.

She explores, for one, how America historically came to see the subjugation of women as a necessary to exert colonial …

Today, the Summit for Friendship and Integration of the Iberoamerican Peoples begins in Santiago, Chile. Yesterday, the presidents of Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, along with the vice-president of the Council of State of Cuba confirmed their presence in an act with the social movements and organizations of the region.

According to Real World Radio, “The summit was planned by tens of social movements and organizations of the country, for instance, the National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women (ANAMURI) and the Central Union of Workers. Political Chilean organizations have …

close up shot of 97 protesters holding up the recommendations from the ‘Little Children are Sacred’ report - recommendations which have been ignored in the Federal government’s heavy handed response. more photos here

On November 17, there is an international Day of Action for the Indigenous People in the Northern Territory of Australia, who have since June been the subjects of a thoroughly-planned-out draconian scheme that has undermined indigenous rights, done away with the …

This past weekend, 80 Representatives of communities effected by environmental conflicts met in Cobquecura, Chile, for the first of four meetings (noted on the map) to take place by the end of this year.

Summoned by the Action Network for Environmental and Social Justice (RAJAS), the meetings are being held “For the Resistance and Mobilization Against Looting;” all of which are aimed at discussing and organizing a consolidated strategy against the problems they commonly face–namely, those presented by socio-territorial mining projects, hydroelectric, urban and forest plantations and the cellulose industry.

According …

The long-awaited Intercontinental Encuentro came to an end a few days ago in Yaqui territory, Sonora, Mexico, bringing together some 547 Indigenous delegates from the around the continent, as well as over 800 observers from around the world..

Unfortunately, due to government interference the Zapatista could not attend in the numbers they had hoped–but it’s of little consequence. The main purpose of the Encuentro was to meet and learn from one another, and that was by all means achieved.

There will be more Encuentros in the future. And they …