Fifty years ago, the Waorani lived a lifestyle identical to that of an uncontacted, nomadic people. But with the discovery of oil and an onslaught of Christian missionaries in the years following, the Waorani were abruptly dragged into the modern world. Soon after contact, they were put under missionary control–but only for a few short years.

Upon returning to their Ancestral lands, the Waorani, known to be some of the fiercest Warriors in the Amazon, found that they were no longer allowed to live as they did …

Over the past few years, policies for Indigenous People in Russia have effectively disappeared. But wouldn’t you know it, a new policy was formed not too long ago, resembling the same one we find all over the world today… The government passed Legislation that gave businessmen the right to purchase the traditional territories of Russia’s Indigenous People.

Naturally, businessmen have seized this opportunity; but they’ve been doing more than just buying lands. They’ve also been imposing on the lives of Russia’s indigenous.

As a direct …

Due to the grave crisis in which Colombian People find themselves in under the government of Alvaro Uribe Velez, a 3-day National Popular and Agrarian Mobilization will begin throughout Columbia tomorrow, October 10.

Organized by campesinos, workers and grassroots organizations, they will be seeking to raise awareness about the current reality of Columbia–a reality that’s nowhere near the image of prosperity and advancement we find in the mainstream media.

A central point in the crisis, as explained in a communique from the National Commission of Communications for the …

This is a trailer to the film Tambogrande (2003), the story of proud fruit growers from Peru’s northern coast who came together to defend their lands and culture from foreign (Canadian) mining interests.

Canadian-based Manhattan Minerals was granted concessions by the government in the 1990’s to extract an estimated US$1 billion in gold, silver, copper and zinc from beneath the streets of Tambogrande.

The people were at no point consulted about this; and even though Manhattan made some significant offers to them, it was just not worth …

The Kadar, a people living in the Southern of region of India, found out a month ago that the government of Kerala has decided to go ahead with a controversial dam that will force the removal of Two Kadar communities–permanently disjointing them from their cultural life.

The dam, which has been found to be ecologically unsound and anti-development, will also destroy the habitat of numerous endangered species and substantially reduce the water flow of the Chalakkudy river, which tens of thousands of families depend on.

The government …

Here’s a recent communique from the EZLN which discusses the goals and locations of the upcoming Intercontinental Encuentro - as well as the four introductory meetings that precede it.

Communiqué from the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee—General Command of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation, Mexico

September 16, 2007

To the People of Mexico:

To the Adherents of the Sixth Declaration and the Other Campaign:

Brothers and Sisters:

Compañeros and Compañeras:

On this new anniversary of the struggle for the first independence of Mexico, the EZLN communicates the following:

About the Encounter of the Indigenous Peoples of …

Today, a National Political Body has been born for Indigenous People in Australia. It’s called the National Aboriginal Alliance (NAA), and it is the end result of a three-day gathering that took place in Alice Springs this week, which brought together about 100 Aboriginal People from around Australia.

Something like the NAA has been sorely absent for quite some time now. Indigenous People have been effectively trapped, unable to mobilize themselves and nowehere near a position to be heard or respected by the government.

That’s not to say they haven’t …

Following the return of Women for Wik, a group of prominent Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian women, an International Women’s Day of Action has been planned for Friday, October 19th to protest against the Australian Government’s action in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.

Women for Wik, originally formed in 1997 to combat the Howard Government’s attempts to extinguish native title, is calling on Australian women around the world to organise similar events on October 19.

(There are several other National and International events in the works aswell. )

Worldwide Women’s Protest Against Federal Action In The Northern Territory
An …

The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) has expressed some major concerns about the possibility that Canada, the World’s largest Uranium Producer, may soon join the US-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), a “group of nuclear powers dedicated to spreading nuclear technology into developing countries.”

As a price of entry to the GNEP, President George Bush has suggested that countries like Canada and Australia should agree to accept the disposed nuclear waste from the countries to which they sell the uranium. IEN’s concern here is that Canada will therein become …

Here’s an article which looks at the struggles of the People of Xanica, Oaxaca. Many people from this region are principally involved in the general struggles of Oaxaca, but they too have have their own local problems, which they tend to with equal heart and diligence.

If they did not do this, how could they a part of the greater struggle? After all, struggle itself is not just an event we plan out or a place we go to party and get laid, or whatever . It is a part …