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in the newS
u.S.: New Legislation Requires Tribal Consent
May
New Washington State legislation seeks to require consent of local Tribes before any projects occur on Indigenous land. The Climate Commitment Act additionally mandates that 10 percent of all carbon tax revenue will go to Washington Tribes, and public funding will be available for Tribes forced to relocate due to rising sea levels.
u.S.: Passamaquoddy Reacquire Pine Island
May
The Passamaquoddy Tribe has partnered with the Maine chapter of The Nature Conservancy to buy Kuwesuwi Monihq, also known as Pine Island. The return of this island secures the reinstatement of traditional hunting and fishing grounds.
u.S.: Papscanee Island Returned to StockbridgeMunsee Tribe
May
Papscanee Island in New York, once owned by a land conservation group called Open Space, is being returned to the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe. The island holds historical value for the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Peoples.
australia: Government Must Protect youth from Climate Crisis
May
Eight teenagers sought to prevent the environment minister of Australia from expanding the Vickery coal mine in New South Wales. In a landmark decision, the federal court of Australia found that the environment minister had a duty to protect young people against future harm from climate change.
u.S.: yurok Tribe Reclaims ancestral Territory in Northern California
SPRING/SuMMER
The Yurok Tribe has partnered with The Trust for Public Land to reacquire more than 2,000 acres of ancestral land surrounding Ke’pel Creek. Tribal members will be able to hunt, fish, and hold ceremonies on this land without facing intrusions from tourists, park rangers, or loggers.
photo: Wikimedia.
u.S.: 18,000 acres Returned to Tribes in Montana
JuNE
The U.S. Department of the Interior has returned 18,800 acres of land to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Montana. The lands were already in the bounds of the reservation and are now being restored to Tribal leadership, making this a milestone in efforts to reinstate ancestral lands to Indigenous Peoples.
australia: Indigenous Mirrar Peoples Regain Ownership of Town of Jabiru
JuNE
Jabiru, a town built in 1982 to support a nearby uranium mine on the edge of Kakadu National Park, has been transferred to its local and traditional owners, the Mirrar Peoples. Mirarr leaders plan to transform the local economy away from mining into tourism.
u.S.: Cherokee Nation to Self-Govern Tribal Transportation
JuNE
The Cherokee Nation has become the first Tribe to secure the right to plan and finance road improvements and projects without federal permission or oversight. Having autonomy over transportation finances is a monumental step for self-determination and self-governance for Cherokee Nation communities.
Mexico: Zapatista 421 Squad Sends Delegation to Galicia
JuNE
The Zapatista 421 Squad, mostly made up of Indigenous Peoples who are protesting inequality in southern Mexico, landed in Galicia, Spain to mark the 500th anniversary of the Spanish Conquest and will begin its tour of Europe.
u.S.: Saami Council Blocks Controversial Harvard Engineering Project
JuNE
The Saami Council, which represents regional Saami Peoples in northern Scandinavia and northwest Russia, successfully petitioned Harvard University to shut down its controversial Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment. The Saami Council argued that the project, which seeks to combat climate change by artificially blocking the sun’s rays, would damage natural systems.
Canada: Indigenous Peoples Reclaim Traditional Names on Passports
JuNE
People of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis backgrounds, especially those who were forced to change their names in residential schools, can now reclaim their traditional names on passports
and IDs. There are no fees for the name-changing process.
u.S.: Supreme Court Rules in favor of Tribal Police
JuNE
The United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that a Tribal police officer can temporarily detain and search non-Natives on Tribal land. This decision ensures that Tribal governments have the authority to protect their communities and lands.
Chile: Indigenous Mapuche Woman Elected President of New Constitutional Convention
JuLy
Elisa Loncón (Mapuche), an Indigenous Peoples’ representative, was elected President of Chile’s newly established Constitutional Convention, which is set to draft a new constitution. The drafting body for the new constitution includes 17 reserved seats for Indigenous candidates out of 155. The country’s existing constitution does not recognize Indigenous Peoples.
Canada: Canada appoints first Indigenous Governor General
JuLy
Inuk leader Mary Simon has been chosen as Canada’s next governor general. Simon, who made her opening remarks in her Native language of Inuktitut, is the first Indigenous person ever to be appointed to this role.
Advocacy Updates
cultural Survival’s advocacy program launches international campaigns in support of grassroots indigenous movements as they put pressure on governments and corporations to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of their communities.
BELIZE: Maya PEOPLES WIN LaWSuIT aGaINST BELIZE GOvERNMENT fOR vIOLaTING LaND RIGHTS
JuNE
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Belize ruled in favor of Maya land rights, upholding the community’s right to their customary lands. The case, Jalacte Village vs. the Attorney General, requires the return of Maya lands that had been taken without consent. The government of Belize is further ordered to pay compensation of more than $3 million USD. The land included 31.36 acres near the Guatemalan border of southern Belize where the government expanded a road and developed a border checkpoint. As a result of a 2015 ruling by the Carribean Court of Justice, the Maya Peoples’ customary land rights over this area are now constitutionally protected, making any government project plans in this area without the consent of the Maya Peoples illegal. The traditional governance structure of the Maya Peoples has continued to work with the government to negotiate an implementation plan of Maya land rights, including the development of a Free, Prior and Informed Consent protocol.
u.S.: CONTROvERSIaL KEySTONE PIPELINE XL OffICIaLLy CaNCELLED
JuNE
The firm behind the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have stretched from Alberta, Canada to the United States Gulf Coast, officially cancelled the project more than a decade after its planning began. Many Indigenous water protectors, advocating for Indigenous and environmental rights, have been instrumental in the cancellation of the pipeline. The pipeline would not only be a threat to the Ogallala Aquifer water source, but also would damage Indigenous burial and archaeological sites. Similar battles to stop pipelines in Montana, Minnesota, and Virginia are currently underway. The victory over the Keystone Pipeline XL provides a foundation for protecting water, land, and Indigenous rights worldwide.
HONDuRaS: EX-HEaD Of HyDROELECTRIC COMPaNy fOuND GuILTy fOR aSSaSSINaTION Of BERTa CáCERES
JuLy
President of the DESA hydroelectric company, Roberto David Castillo, has been found guilty of the assasination of Indigenous environmentalist Berta Cáceres. Cáceres, a human rights defender and winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, was killed two days before her 45th birthday in 2016 by hired hitmen. She spent years opposing Castillo’s Desarrollos Energéticos dam. The high court in Tegucigalpa ruled that Cáceres was murdered for leading the campaign to stop construction of the dam, which would have been environmentally destructive for the Lenca Peoples’ sacred Gualcarque River. The court further ruled that Castillo used paid informants as well as his military contacts to monitor Cáceres. He will be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison. This case represents a major win for the movement for justice for violence against Indigenous rights defenders, as it is the first conviction in recent history for a murder plot against an Indigenous leader.
