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in the news
Canada: W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations recover Island
FEBrUAry
The W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations will recover SISȻENEM, an island in British Columbia that forms part of their territory and is culturally important. The transfer of land title to the First Nations community will give them the power to protect biodiversity, culture, traditions, and Indigenous rights.
Canada: Magpie river Is First Canadian river to receive personhood
FEBrUAry
The Magpie River is the first river in Canada to receive legal personhood, following precedent set in Ecuador and New Zealand. Personhood was granted after a decade of demands by the local municipality of Minganie, the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and several environmental groups following irreparable damage caused by the Hydro-Québec dam.
U.S.: lower Sioux Indian Community recovers land
FEBrUAry
On February 12, 114 acres of land near Redwood Falls, Minnesota, were returned to the Lower Sioux Indian Community after 20 years of legal battles.
U.S.: Indigenous Mobilization Halts Fracking project
MArCH
A fracked natural gas terminal project was cancelled due to the opposition of Indigenous communities and local organizations in Brownsville, Texas. The proposed Annova LNG terminal would have destroyed wildlife and put Esto’k Gna sacred sites and lands at risk.
Canada: First Bachelor’s Degree of Indigenous language Fluency Offered
MArCH
The University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, located in the territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, became the first university in Canada and one of the first in the world to offer a bachelor’s degree in an Indigenous language. The Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency program is designed to work along with Nsyilxcn speakers and promote a deeper understanding of language, culture, and customs.
on may 2, the ezln set sail for europe for a mission of solidarity and rebellion.
photo courtesy of Voices of movement twitter page.
U.S.: North Dakota Bill requires Schools to Teach Native American History
AprIl
With a vote of 72-21, ND Senate Bill 2304 passed requiring Native American history to be taught in North Dakota’s elementary and secondary schools. The bill was authored by Rep. Ruth Buffalo (D) (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation).
Canada: Madawaska Maliseet receive Compensation of $145 million
AprIl
The Madawaska Maliseet First Nation will receive $145 million CAD from the federal government over a disputed land claim of 15.78 square kilometers. The original dispute started in 1966, but the claim was not validated until 2017. It has taken an additional four years of negotiations to arrive at a settlement.
India: Indigenous peoples Gain Seats in Tripura
AprIl
The newly formed Tipraha Indigenous People’s Regional Alliance party from the State of Tripura in northeast India has won seats in a recent election, defeating India’s ruling party, BJP, and giving Indigenous Peoples there the right to their own political decision making.
AprIl
United States Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), announced the formation of a new Missing & Murdered Unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services to address the epidemic of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Mexico: Zapatistas Set Sail to Europe
MAy
A delegation of two men and five women from the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) departed for Spain from Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico, on May 2 for a mission of solidarity and rebellion. The voyage marks the anniversary of the 1519–1521 Spanish Conquest, 500 years after Hernán Cortés and his men invaded Mexico.
Mexico: Government Apologizes to Maya peoples
MAy
May 3 marked the anniversary of a 1901 battle that ended one of the last Indigenous rebellions in North America. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador issued an apology in Tihosuco in the Maya township of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, the headquarters of the rebellion, for centuries of brutal exploitation and discrimination.
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.
U.S.: DEpArTMENT OF INTErIOr WITHDrAWS AppEAl IN MASHpEE TrIBE’S lAND-IN-TrUST CASE
FEBrUAry
In a major victory for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s land rights, the U.S. Department of the Interior on February 19 withdrew a Trump administration-era appeal in U.S. District Court that aimed to revoke federal reservation designation for the Tribe’s land in Massachusetts. A federal judge in 2020 had blocked the attempted action. The Trump administration appealed that decision, but the current Department of the Interior, led by Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), withdrew the appeal. This comes after a long battle for Tribal sovereignty rooted in the Tribe’s plan for a $1 billion casino in Taunton, Massachusetts. In 2015, the Obama administration approved the Tribe’s decision to put 321 acres of land in trust. But in 2016, a group of Taunton residents sued, claiming that the Mashpee Wampanoag did not qualify as an Indian Tribe according to the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. A federal judge agreed, and the Tribe was informed in March 2020 that their land rights would be reversed. The recent withdrawal of the appeal effectively ends this attack on Mashpee land rights. In a statement, Tribal vice-chairwoman jessie “little doe” baird said, “We look forward to being able to close the book on this painful chapter in our history.... The decision not to pursue the appeal allows us to continue fulfilling our commitment to being good stewards and protecting our land and the future of our young ones and providing for our citizens.”
BrAZIl: KrENAK pEOplES SUBMIT INTErvENTION TO UN pErMANENT FOrUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES
AprIl
The Vanuire Indigenous Territory of Krenak and Kaingang communities of Tupa, along with Cultural Survival, submitted an intervention to the 20th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It reads, in part: “We, Krenak and Kaingang, are people from the Caatinga and the Atlantic Forest. We live in small territories surrounded by agribusiness and the colossal industry of Sao Paulo state. We defend what remains of our forest and biome.” The statement describes the extreme hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and calls on UN member states to urge the Brazilian government to fulfill their courtordered obligations to build sanitary barriers and to protect Indigenous communities. “Despite [an August 2020] court order, the Federal government did not implement the barriers, delayed medical care, delayed vaccines, and has left us vulnerable. We decry that since taking office, the Bolsonaro administration has demonstrated a disregard and hostility towards Indigenous Peoples. Numerous examples show Bolsonaro’s negligence while refusing to act to protect or prevent COVID-19 infections among Indigenous Peoples, which contributed decisively to the exponential spread of COVID and the widespread infection and death.”
NEpAl: JOINT INTErvENTION SUBMITTED TO UN pErMANENT FOrUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES
AprIl
The Sunuwar Welfare Society along with Cultural Survival, and the Indigenous Media Foundation jointly brought to the attention of the Forum the human rights violations of Indigenous Peoples of Nepal by the aggressive pursuit of hydropower generation in the lands and territories of Indigenous Peoples without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent and without adequate compensation. Currently, there are 84 hydropower projects being carried out across Nepal with investment from development banks and private companies. Another 217 hydropower projects have already obtained licenses. These projects are being carried out on Indigenous lands where communities are often entirely dependent upon rivers for their livelihoods. Hydroelectricity generation has destroyed cultural and spiritual sites, caused environmental and economic impacts, and displacement of Sunuwar Indigenous Peoples along with Sherpa and other non-Indigenous communities who have inhabited the area for generations. Companies have used force backed by government and police and have now completed half of their construction. UN member states are called on to urge the Nepali government to make hydropower developers and financiers accountable for protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to set standards of compensation for harms and damages caused. They also ask for benefit sharing and access to information in Indigenous languages, and to ensure that hydropower developers implement impact mitigation measures.
