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Welcome to c/indigenous, a socialist decolonial community for news and discussion concerning Indigenous peoples.

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“The land of Pë’këya has always been and will always be ours. For over 80 years, we have been fighting to get our land back," the Siekopai president said.


On Nov. 24, the Provincial Court of Sucumbios' Appeals Court ruled in favor of the recourse filed by the Siekopai people against the Ecuadorian Environment Ministry, which has been overseeing the Cuyabeno Wildlife Production Reserve since 1979.

The Siekopai nation successfully secured recognition from the Ecuadorian State of their ownership of Pë"këya, a 42,360-hectare area that was incorporated into the Cuyabeno reserve without their prior consent.

Described as a "hypnotic labyrinth of blackwater lagoons and flooded forests," it is considered a spiritual epicenter for the Siekopai nation, the organization Amazon Frontlines said.

Pë"këya is home to some of the planet's most biodiverse ecosystems, hosting at least 200 species of reptiles and amphibians, around 600 bird species, and 167 mammal species.

"The Siekopai’s court victory recognizing Pë’këya marks a major stepping stone in this binational struggle for the reunification of their ancestral territory," Amazon Frontlines stressed.

"After centuries of violence, racism, and conquest by colonizing missions, rubber corporations, and governments, the court’s recognition of the Siekopai as the owners of Pë’këya is an indispensable step towards restoring justice and guaranteeing their collective survival and the continuity of their culture," it added.

The Sucumbios ruling marks the first time that the Ecuadorian state will grant land title to an Indigenous people whose ancestral territory is within the national protected areas system. It establishes an invaluable precedent for all Indigenous peoples fighting to reclaim their lands.

The verdict mandates that the Environment Ministry issue the land title for 42,360 hectares of Amazonian territory within 45 days and publicly apologize to the Siekopai elders and youth for the violation of their collective territorial rights.

The Siekopai were displaced when their ancestral territory was divided by the Rio de Janeiro Protocol, which delineated the border between Ecuador and Peru following the 1941 war between the two countries. Subsequently, they were prevented from returning when the Ecuadorian government unilaterally declared Pë’këya as part of the Cuyabeno reserve.

With a population of only 800 inhabitants in Ecuador and 1,200 in Peru, the Siekopai or Secoya aim to reclaim over 200,000 hectares of what they consider their ancestral territory.

“This is a historic moment. The land of Pë’këya has always been and will always be ours. For over 80 years, we have been fighting to get our land back. Despite all the evidence regarding our land title claim – even historians testified that our ancestors dwelled in the area since the time of conquest – the Ecuadorian state failed to uphold our land rights time and time again," said Elias Piyahuaje, the president of the Siekopai Nation of Ecuador.

"We are fighting for the preservation of our culture on this planet. Without this territory, we cannot exist as Siekopai people. Today is a great day for our nation,” he added.

read more: https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadorian-Court-Recognizes-Siekopai-Indigenous-Territory-20231129-0009.html

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A small group of protesters stepped away from the larger group and gathered at the pier railing, looking out at the large U.S. military ship docked at the Port of Tacoma in the early hours of Monday, Nov. 6, that some people was thought to be headed to Israel.

This article was originally published by McClatchy News in the News Tribune.

A U.S. Coast Guard boat and a Tacoma Police Department boat could be seen near the MV Cape Orlando at all times, but off in the distance, a traditional Native American canoe carrying seven Indigenous water warriors floated in solidarity with the protesters on the pier.

Members of the Puyallup, Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Yakama , Suquamish and Cowlitz tribes joined hundreds of other protesters during the Block the Boat protest that occurred on the traditional homelands of the Puyallup Tribe. The News Tribune previously reported that the protesters believed the MV Cape Orlando was going to be loaded with weapons and equipment that would be delivered to Israel. While some protesters used their cars to block the entrance to a pier at the port in an effort to prevent workers from loading the ship, Indigenous water warriors took to the waters in an attempt to physically block the ship from leaving the port.

Indigenous Paddlers Protest Military Ship

Hundreds of protesters arrived at the port before dawn with signs that read “Free Palestine Now” and “Ceasefire Now.” Protesters were spread out in three different sections along 11th Street and marched in circles for 12 hours until about 4:30 p.m. Organizers announced that the ship had been partially loaded but said their protest was successful in delaying the ship for eight hours. With a day’s notice, tribal members and water warriors came together and organized in solidarity with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), International League of Peoples Seattle-Tacoma, Samidoun Seattle, Falastiniyat. The water warriors rode in a traditional canoe that belongs to the Nisqually Tribe. Patricia Gonzalez, a member of the Puyallup Tribe and organizer of the Water Warriors Council in Puyallup, said they were only able to use one Nisqually canoe because all other tribes in the area had put their canoes away for the winter.

“At this time in the winter, we usually put our canoes away, and this is about the time we do that ceremony which is why a lot of other canoes couldn’t come out because they were already past that ceremony point,” Gonzalez said. “But Nisqually, they had a loss in their community, and they weren’t able to do that [ceremony] and postponed it out of respect, so they still had their canoes awake. it was just a beautiful blessing from the Creator that that happened the way that it did and everything fell into place the way it did.” Gonzalez said that some warriors from the Nisqually Tribe heard about the protest and offered their canoe to join the effort. “They knew that the canoe was awake, so they had the perfect opportunity to just get up and bring that canoe up, so it was a joint effort for a lot of the canoe work,” Gonzalez said. “For Nisqually, it was just something that sits on their heart to bring that fight here to be with the Palestinian people.”

Gonzalez said they chose to join the fight by canoe because of the strong connection the Puyallup people have with the water. “The waters are very, very spiritual for us. We’re connected to them. They ground us in a very humbling way. They teach us how to be patient. They teach us how to suffer up for our prayers, for good causes. When we’re out there, it’s a full prayer ceremony in itself, and each time you dip your paddle into the water, it’s a new prayer,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez explained that the prayers that were done before and during the protest were very powerful and emotional, especially since her ancestors were victims of genocide.

“It’s very simple, we oppose genocide. There is no form, no desensitization that can happen that will make us ever be OK with that, because that is a wound for us that is still not yet healed and is still open and we are trying our best,” Gonzalez said. “When we saw that that’s what was going on, we knew we had to do the most powerful thing in our culture that we know how to do and for us that was warrior up. Get on the water and stand your ground and that’s exactly what we went out there to do.” Several demonstrations with thousands of people in attendance have occurred all over Washington, including in Olympia and in Tri-Cities, since the block-the-boat protest that happened earlier this month, all with the same message of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The war started on Oct. 7 after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group governing the Gaza Strip, attacked southern Israel. About 1,200 Israelis and more than 12,700 Palestinians have been killed and about 240 others were taken captive by Hamas since the start of the war, according to the Associated Press. According to a United Nation press release, Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, said “that Palestinians are in grave danger of mass ethnic cleansing and called on the international community to urgently mediate a ceasefire between warring Hamas and Israeli occupation forces.”

read more: https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/native-water-warriors-took-to-canoes-during-recent-port-of-tacoma-protest-here-s-why

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article is slightly out of date given this happened on Thursday in the US

On this Thursday morning, before sunrise, hundreds of American Indians – and non-Native allies – will gather on Alcatraz Island for “The Indigenous Peoples Gathering Sunrise Ceremony.” The annual event is organized by the International Indian Treaty Council.

The annual event began in 1975. Since then, with exception to during the Covid-19 pandemic, American Indians have journeyed from the mainland to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay on Thanksgiving Day. Previously the day was called “Un-Thanksgiving Day.”

In modern times, Alcatraz Island has become a symbol to American Indians. It is a symbol of both struggle and hope. The affinity American Indians have with Alcatraz Island goes deep.

For years, the island was home to a federal penitentiary there. Called the “Rock,” the penitentiary’s most famous inmate was notorious gangster Al Capone.

After the prison closed in 1963, American Indians began to petition the federal government to put it into “Indian land.”

From November 1969 to July 1971, a group of American Indians took over and occupied Alcatraz Island led by Mohawk, Richard Oakes; LaNada Means (Shoshone Bannock Tribes), now known as Dr. LaNada War Jack; Grace Thorpe, (Sac and Fox), who was the daughter of Olympic great, Jim Thorpe and Tuscarora medicine man, Mad Bear Anderson. The group was called the Alcatraz Red Power Movement and was also known as the “Indians of All Tribes.”

Every year since 1975, American Indians have journeyed from the mainland to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay on Thanksgiving Day. Previously the day was called “Un-Thanksgiving Day.”

( Grace Thorpe, Sac and Fox, who was the daughter of Olympic great, Jim Thorpe and Tuscarora medicine man, Mad Bear Anderson. The group was called the Alcatraz Red Power Movement and was also known as the “Indians of All Tribes.”

Throughout the occupation, numerous American Indians went to Alcatraz Island to participate in the occupation. Among them, several members of the American Indian Movement, including Dennis Banks, Russell Means, and Clyde Bellecourt, went there. Another iconic name among American Indian leaders who went there was Wilma Mankiller, who became the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.

read more: https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/hundreds-to-participate-in-the-indigenous-sunrise-gathering-on-alcatraz-island

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submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by tree@lemmy.zip to c/indigenous@hexbear.net
 
 

Opinion. The most-read story on Native News Online this National Native American Heritage Month has not been about celebrating Indigenous heritage but is about how one Lakota elder’s culture was stolen from him in a hospital bed by a pair of scissors.

https://nativenewsonline.net/sovereignty/colorado-hospital-finally-admits-to-cutting-lakota-elder-s-hair-without-his-permission

The story started when Arthur Janis (Oglala Sioux Tribe), who resides on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, began experiencing severe abdominal pains in August. He went to a Rapid City hospital, where staff determined they couldn’t provide him with adequate medical attention. He was then flown via medical air transport to UC Health Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, some 375 miles–or a six-hour drive– from Pine Ridge.

While in UCHealth’s care, Arthur suffered a life-threatening heart attack and stroke. His family was told by hospital staff he likely had only two days to live.

Arthur pulled through but unfortunately lost the ability to speak and is currently in a diminished mental state that does not allow him to make his own medical decisions. Arthur was transferred to a nursing home that would provide him with long-term care.

During a video call to discuss his medical progress, Arthur’s sister noticed his waist-long hair was cut. Disturbed because of the traditional beliefs of the Lakota tied to hair, she called their brother Keith Janis. The hospital would not take responsibility for Arthur’s hair being cut and gave the family unsatisfactory responses about the incident.

On Saturday morning, Keith Janis spoke to me on the phone about the sacredness of traditional Lakota wearing their hair long. He says hair represents strength and connection to our ancestors.

“If you cut your hair, your soul and your spirit bleeds,” he said. “Your hair contains your memories and things that you grew up with…that your matriarch, your mom, and your aunties put into your hair. So, it contains all your memory, all your joy, your strength. In our culture, this is really important because we have this tradition, ceremonial tradition that goes with our secret tight keeping up the soul.”

Keith said in traditional Lakota beliefs, locks of hair of a deceased family member or friend are cut off and put in a bundle. The person who holds the bundle becomes the deceased spirit keeper. During a full year of mourning, the spirit keeper cannot sing or drum at powwows – or even attend powwows. A year after the passing of the loved one, a ceremonial feast is held where loved ones remember and reflect on the deceased. The spirit — held in the bundle of hair — is then released. The bundle is then given back to the earth by the spirit keeper.

Keith confirmed what I already knew: Lakota and other Native Americans consider hair sacred. That is why the Janis family is upset with the cutting of their brother Arthur’s hair. It was as if part of his culture–part of his spirit–was cut off with a pair of scissors.

On Friday, after a two-week public relations campaign stating the institution has “deep respect for our patients and their individual beliefs and customs,” UC Health Hospital finally admitted to Keith Janis that someone on its staff cut Arthur’s hair off to prevent him from getting bed sores. They did so while Arthur was in an incapacitated medical state and without his family’s permission.

In another story in Mission, Kansas, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday sent a letter to Girard School District describing how an 8-year-old Native American boy was forced to cut his hair due to the school district's policy forbidding boys from having long hair. The school district maintains long hair on boys and violates state and federal laws.

November is indeed National Native American Heritage Month. It is a month to celebrate the Indigenous people of the country and their culture. It is a time to get past the fascination Americans have with the mythical Native Americans who fed the Pilgrims in the constructed first Thanksgiving. Instead, it is a time to learn about Native American culture and traditions and why they matter.

The story of what happened to Arthur Janis is a prime example of the importance of learning about each other’s cultural traditions and why they matter. Had the UC Health Hospital staff known, a great portion of Arthur’s spirit would not have been taken from him.

Thayék gde nwéndëmen - We are all related.

link: https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/why-lakota-and-other-native-americans-consider-hair-sacred

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When studying the US or Canada, we are not studying a nation, but rather a prison house of nations bent on replacing the native or totally assimilating. Like Israel, this is the stated goal of the US project and it is no wonder why ‘manifest destiny’ bears barely any discernible differences from ‘lebensraum’ or ‘Zionism’. The most important aspect to these projects is the myth making that underlies their so-called rights to the land, and none of them are particularly unique. Instead all find themselves firmly justifying and creating the “white” identity, ever fluid, they pick and choose who constitutes ‘white’ and define it based on exclusion of an ‘other’. This is a trend we see manifest itself in medieval antisemitism which lies at the root of the story of the Zionist entity's creation. We also see the beginnings of whiteness form in the crusades and Spanish Reconquista, which sought to reclaim land they believed to be rightfully theirs. During this Reconquista we would see the same brutality Columbus would import to the “New World” on behalf of Spain, only adding to the rhyming.

This is the prologue to the story of Thanksgiving, and it's a very poignant history as settlers call a ceasefire to celebrate their genocidal Thanksgivings as they always have. Here I plan to cover three major topics, the true history of Thanksgiving, only the surface of the true extent and face of colonial occupation, and the current movement settler-Marxists are alienated from due to one reason or another. It will not have any order and we will revisit topics as I like in a real tradish way, it's gonna be fun. This of course could be a book but we will have to settle for an effort post until I have more time. This prison house of nations of course finds its foundations not in Spanish colonialism, but English, although the Spanish did have to supply what amounts to a venture capitalist endeavor to send Columbus west where most people assumed they’d find another continent or find a path to Asia.

Our first myth we will dispel is the term Indian, commonly we are told Columbus was confused and thought we were in the East Indies or India and therefore the name Indian is just the result of a doddering fool. In reality the term is far more insidious and not the result of ignorance, no, instead it is the result of the settlers dehumanization of themselves as they begin to feed on the blood of the colonized. Russel Means (anti-communist and former leader of AIM) in a speech given in 1980, that would be problematic by today's standards, said: “did we really know what it meant to be Indian?” This question has a lot of layers, you have what does it mean to be a second class citizen? To be actively genocided? What is the origin of the term? “I got a letter while I was in prison last year, from a professor at the University of Turin in Turin, Italy. He said ‘you probably already know this, but I… got to tell you anyway.’ He said Columbus was not looking for India, or the Indies. He wasn’t looking for the far east, but India had not yet been colonized by Britain and there was no such country called India or the Indies, in 1492. India was then known as Hindustan so if he was looking for Hindustan we would be called Hindus, if that is the truth of what the white man has been telling us and the world. But this professor, and I have since got the correct translation from other Italian people, but when Columbus first encountered the red people in the Caribbean he saw them and he wrote in his journals that we were ‘generous to a fault’. That we would ‘share everything’ every one of our possessions, even the clothes off our body, and because we were so generous we would ‘make excellent slaves’. He did take back 500 of us to Spain as slaves. Another tidbit of history did you know that the majority of slaves in America were Indians up to and including the year 1715? Something else they don’t tell anybody else, but we were not a ‘good’ economic risk. Number one we died from all their diseases, or else we’d split for the woods. Economics is whats pressured them into bringing in the African people as their slaves, but up until 1715 we were the majority of the slaves in the United States alone. Getting back to Columbus he called us ‘Indios’ and the correct translation from Italian into English; ‘Dio’ in Italian means ‘God’. ‘In-’ and ‘-s’ with it, put together means ‘people in with God’. That’s the correct translation of ‘Indios’ ‘people in with God’”

There is plenty we skipped, plenty to criticize, but what we have here is a very surface level examination of what being Indian actually meant in full historical context. Russell Means is hardly somebody I endorse, but I will not he is Oglala and is my Great Uncle, and for that I am responsible for demystifying his achievements and must inform people that for one reason or another any good he did, he severely out weighed with bad. My favorite story is about these warriors' courageous efforts to stop a Thanksgiving feeding happening only a few miles down the road. See the land our org acquired with help from donors here, is where this exact scene took place, and is that close to the Means ranch and the LIbertarian project “Republic of Lakotah”. My uncle David Swallow Jr. who we actually do support, was feeding people under the thought “the churches are the only group feeding people today and they lie to us and brainwash us” so he provided a Lakota feed with Lakota spirituality, and an oral history. Russell and company destroyed the feast in protest, I wonder why they couldn’t go to a church instead? He also ran guns to the Contras, but this is a story for another time, the Thanksgiving story makes it in here because of the theme, and because I need a way to talk about the Contra thing despite its brief mention we are just clearly off course.

That brings us to a discussion on the Colonial land divides, which all come once again from the Pope (see there is a theme here in why I claim Reconquista and Crusades as first iterations) and the infamous ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ established over several Papal Bulls meant to settle the squabbles of Empire. First the world is divided between Spain and Portugal, then France and England insert themselves into the equation. This led to a crisis of irreconcilable economic based conflict, that was eased through the idea of terra nullius, nobody owns the land if Christian’s do not own the land. This left the majority of the world conveniently vacant and to be tamed. When there were what appeared to be people “discovered” on these lands, they simply were not people until they accepted Christ, and even then their treatment would make one wonder what the Spanish thought Jesus meant when he said “treat others as you would want to be treated”. Now this seems so far away it's a wonder why I am insisting knowing this is so important, I must refer to the Marshall Trilogy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg's rulings with regard to NoDAPL. What these cases establish is the Doctrine of Discovery is the very basis of not only “International Law” but US Law.

This brought the original settlers of Anglo-America here first with the colony of Roanoke, which ended in the strange disappearance of the settlers as the story goes. In reality this common folklore of the events that occurred comes to hide the failures of English rule, for how could Europeans die but savages be so successful that the settlers starving to make profit for merchant guilds in Europe, would abandon the colony and integrate into the Croatoan Island community. This forced England to launch Jamestown which enabled the cartography necessary for the Mayflower to make its famous journey. The map they used brought them to the Cape Cod area, and yet another piece of mythology comes about. Instead of Plymouth Rock being the first place they landed, in reality, it was first encounter beach where the first interaction they had with Indigenous people would be by the Nausett whose food stores the religious zealots stole, resulting in the chasing of the settlers back to their ship and forcing them to sail to Plymouth Rock.

On their map was the town Pawtuxet, an Indian town with significant population and agriculture. They expected to find people when they came into the town but what they found was an apocalypse unfolding as people had died of disease leaving the town essentially empty with enough room for the settlers to move in. This came after a harsh winter where out of paranoia they turned their fellow pilgrims who died to illness or starvation, into scarecrows armed with muskets to make the Mayflower appear to be well guarded and armed. In their letters they pretend to have dignified them with burials, but when they finally moved into the town apparently emptied by an act of God; the lifeless towns now life filled smoke stacks let neighbors know someone had moved in. “Hello Englishman” was the first words heard by the puritans establishing Plymouth Rock, or more so squatting on existing Indigenous infrastructure. The look on their faces must’ve been one of wonder and fear, but overall it convinced them they were meant to be here.

Thomas Morten wrote in his description of the Indians of New England, 1637; "The Hand of God fell heavily upon them, with such a mortal stroke that they died in heaps as they lay in their houses; and the living, that were able to shift for themselves, would run away and let them die, and let their carcasses lie above the ground without burial. For in a place where many inhabited, there hath been but one left alive to tell what became of the rest; the living being not able to bury the dead, they were left to crows, kites, and vermin to pray upon..." This was Patuxet, and the mandate from God the pilgrims were meant to be there, just look at the timing. The Indian who said “Hello Englishman” was named Samoset, an Abanaki sagamore (a type of sachem or minor ‘chief’) who learned English not from God, but the sadistic acts of a “forward thinking” colonizer named Sir Ferdinando Gorges who routinely kidnapped populations England wanted to colonize, taught them English and transplanted back in their homes to act as translators for future colonizers. This is how he earned his name “The Grandfather of Anglo Colonialism” and also how Tisquantum (often called Squanto) also learned English.

After explaining where they were, and what had happened in Patuxet, Samoset would leave to talk to the nearby Grand Sachem, or Massasoit. As you might notice there are quite a few myths in the making at this point in our story, and one of the oddest ones is the renaming of a man to his title by settlers. A Massasoit was an inter-tribal Chief in charge of settling disputes of a larger federation, and handling redistribution of their tributary system. Even his descendents wrongly name him this due to the profound effects of colonialism on education, but Ousemequin is his true name. They returned with 60 men and signed a treaty formally ceding Patuxet to the settlers. This is then the first treaty, which means it's the first of many to be broken, however the terms were one of mutual defense, and that if an Indian hurt a white man that they should be turned over for justice. This is also where Tisquantum finally meets the pilgrims, he is placed here to act as their interpreter as he was from Patuxet. Unfortunately by the time Sir Ferdinando sends him home to fulfill his destiny, the angel of death passed over Patuxet and smallpox ravaged them. The myth became, “the single most perfect human being on the continent to help the pilgrims” by PragerU and a “...special instrument sent of God...” by Plymouth governor William Bradford.

The spring after the Mayflower returns to Europe, the pilgrims try to pay for looting the graves and food stores of the Nauset people who attacked them on First Encounter Beach, as it is known today. It would then be that fall, prior to the arrival of the next ship the Fortune, that the classically depicted idea of “Thanksgiving” happened. That is a harvest party where Indians and Pilgrims come together in the first ever melting pot! In reality our only written account of the event comes from Edward Winslow who wrote in a letter, “Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massosoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others…” Despite common belief, this wasn’t upon invitation but instead it was Ousemequin upholding their end of the treaty because he believed the settlers were under attack, when in fact they just loved to shoot guns when they partied. Thanksgiving however would be something entirely else, where the devout would spend their day in church giving thanks to God, and was a fast. After this point relations between the settler and the Wampanoag would worsen.

This was primarily because Tisquantum used the English to usurp power from Ousamequin, and collect tributes from other sachem in place of the Massasoit. When the settler found out they switched translators, Tisquantum would die disgraced within a year of that first so-called Thanksgiving. In the summer of 1622, the Merchant Adventurers sent a third ship and established a new colony north of Plymouth named Wessagusset in Massachusett territory (that is the people from whom the state takes its name.) Ousemequin falls ill and is brought back to health by a settler from Plymouth, and then tells the settlers about a plan the Massachusetts had to destroy Wessagusset and Plymouth due to the poor relations that capitalist greed in Wessagusset was causing. Then while Wessagusset was besieged, Plymouth colonists are informed by a survivor who escaped the siege of the situation and a group of men are sent to “negotiate” resulting in the execution of the Masschusette sachems under the guise of peace talks. This then resulted in a power vacuum that Ousemequin used to gain more influence in the region, as in his eyes he was the ruler of these lands and the pilgrims were now part of his people. However the treaty they signed would claim the Womponoag people as subjects of King James. The Merchant Adventurers go bankrupt in 1626, and their debt is then shifted onto the settlers who had yet to turn a profit. The following year the Anglo-French War of 1627-1629 was declared and due to the French domination of the beaver market, and English high society losing their source, the pilgrims then capitalized on this market by expanding extraction into Maine. It would be due to King Charles I’s decision to disband parliament, due to Puritans within voicing discontent over his marriage to a Catholic, that would send 80k Puritans leaving England in the Great Migration between 1629-1640. A thousand of whom would go to New England to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony next to Plymouth. Here John Winthrop, who was the captain of the ship, said the famous line “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world.”

This of course is the real version of the story we tell children in kindergarten as they craft hand turkeys, but in reality the first day of Thanksgiving celebrated by the pilgrims came only a few years after the massacre of Massachusetts' sachems. 1637 during the “Battle” of Ft. Mystic, at the end of the Great Migration, our proto-Zionist found themselves looking more and more to replace the natives instead of living alongside them. It was the Green Corn festival in what is now Groton, CT that Dutch and English settlers surrounded the celebration and ordered everyone leave the Fort Mystic stronghold (at the time one of the largest forts in the world equivalent in military technology to the Europeans besides the guns) and then subsequently massacred them and burned the fort down. After the murder of 700 unarmed women, children, and men the settlers would begin murdering villages wantonly stealing land. Those who survived were sold into slavery, and for a long time ships of up to 500 Indian slaves would leave New England's ports regularly. After a raid in Stamford, CT the Wampanoags had lost, and Metacomet and his people were beheaded, their heads mounted on spikes for decades and at the time kicked down the road like a soccer ball.

That brings us to today. The National Day of Mourning for Indigenous activists, which is a yearly event that's been ongoing since the 1970 Occupation of the Mayflower II by United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and AIM (American Indian Movement) which was one of 71 Red Power occupations that occurred from 1965 to 1973. This event stems from a very specific person named Wamsutta, or Frank B. James, a Wampanoag (you might recall them from Trumps recent attempt to bring back the Termination Era) and is continued by his granddaughter Kisha James (Oglala, Wampanoag) and her parent Mahtowin (Oglala). I will quote heavily from their website, but this began because Wamsutta was asked to write a speech for the 350th anniversary of the landing at Plymouth:

“Three hundred fifty years after the Pilgrims began their invasion of the land of the Wampanoag, their "American" descendants planned an anniversary celebration. Still clinging to the white schoolbook myth of friendly relations between their forefathers and the Wampanoag, the anniversary planners thought it would be nice to have an Indian make an appreciative and complimentary speech at their state dinner. Frank James was asked to speak at the celebration. He accepted. The planners, however , asked to see his speech in advance of the occasion, and it turned out that Frank James' views — based on history rather than mythology — were not what the Pilgrims' descendants wanted to hear. Frank James refused to deliver a speech written by a public relations person. Frank James did not speak at the anniversary celebration.”

Instead the grassroots organizers got in contact with the just budding American Indian Movement, who by this time were regularly doing demonstrations as well as combating police brutality with their Red Car Patrol. From an optics standpoint they even looked like “real life Indians from the movies” to quote my super traditional uncle, and so when AIM came the news focused on them. Now when we remember this moment in time we remember the red paint thrown by AIM onto the sail, even though this was the idea of the grassroots organizers, and the later burying of Plymouth Rock by AIM. That is why I’ve gone around the country the last 3 years investigating the on-the-ground conditions of the current US, while deep diving the radical history hidden from view, and interviewing veterans of the movement as well as current day organizers in 53 reservation communities so far. I want people to hear about the uncommon history of the movement, because I believe it is this hidden history that we will find the answers to overcome our current roadblocks as we recognize how many wheels are being reinvented and lessons we are not learning.

This post is about the true history of Thanksgiving, yes, and that is settler-colonialism. So as settlers everywhere gorge themselves in thankfulness their bombs don’t fall on them, take the time to educate yourselves about this history. Because this genocide didn’t stop, it isn’t 350 years old either. For my people these stories and these celebrations happen much more recently at the end of the 19th century, and as Marx was just about to pen his first sentences of Capital; my people were already waging national liberation against it. This is the project we support that has continued to this day, and we want to bring the communist movement to the head instead of watching as we can’t even find the tail to follow. Right now the western left thinks painting the claws of the Beast is heroic, as they ignore real revolutionaries who have stood and fought the government, while the communists of the time ran when the guns started shooting. It was the BPP who gave us hope the communists might have something to offer and when they were neutralized, the feds turned their scopes on us. I could go on and on and never end, but then you wouldn’t need another post from me. So be sure to follow our other social medias all found under linktr.ee/chunkalutanetwork and learn more about our project and program as more details become public.

We really want to encourage people who are unable to organize regularly to donate $5 a month on our patreon.com/chunkalutanetwork or donate to $ZitkatosTinCan on cashapp or @zitkato on venmo. Lastly we were recommended we start one of these https://liberapay.com/ChunkaLutaNetwork/ so please if you have a lot of money and don't know where it will be best used, I highly recommend it come to us. We are building a community center to house 9 people, provide the first ever laundromat to the Pine Ridge reservation, re-establish the former AIM Survival School in Porcupine, building food forests, community gardens and a buffalo prairie to decommodify our ceremonies that ranchers currently profiteer on, we already have provided 2 house for families there, and have kept countless people alive. There are plenty of reasons to support so please ask questions, please come look, and if you don't believe us we can raise money for you to come visit the land base yourself and see first hand what we can publicly do. We don't post much about anything besides our Pine Ridge operations as that is backed with a lot of organic gun ownership due to the people we support suffering under a reign of Terror in the 70s. You see the government installed a dictator and armed his right wing militia with armor piercing rounds on the Pine Ridge reservation, who went on to murder a per capita number of people similar to Pinochet the first 3 years after his coup. This is in your backyard and you ignore it, dont anymore, we will remember.

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cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1139273

Aho hau mitakuyepi (hello my relatives) I am Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, my name is Sungmanitu Bluebird and I founded the Chunka Luta Org. Theres a lot of questions our agent who was handling our instance on this website couldn't answer for one reason or another. However I will be doing my best to handle posting and replying on here. I never really used reddit or any old forum, I frankly didnt use the internet actively besides Minecraft and steam games til I was 16 maybe? I am currently 24 and this came about as last year a major winter storm hit Pine Ridge And we lost a lot of people. I knew winters were hard so had already started raising money before the emergency happened, but when it did we were able to raise 5k and bring a uhaul full of blankets and wood and water to the Rez it was a terrifying drive and by the time we got there my uncle had dug out an elder name Eli Tail Sr. who unfortunately passed this fall to the cold despite all our efforts to try and better prepare for winter this year. His fire went out while he slept. That was the impetus, since then we raised another 10k to help the people and put on an important ceremony known as Sundance which hosted 200+ people and fed them for 4 days, and bring organizers from across the continent there to meet in person and have the discussions we cant here, as well as taste the pear of decolonization. After that ceremony the leaders approached us about buying the land for 10k which took us 2 weeks to raise in the previous fundraiser. We did this, raised money for a camera mans labor to take professional photos and video with a drone, helped get kids school supplies and clothes helped save someones life from a black widow bite, helped move a house for the traditional headsmen of the nation which ended up being more costly due to its strange architecture, and are still raising the last bit for a wheelchair for a comrade who asked for help getting a new chair as theyre facing down homelessness with ever worsening sores. linktr.ee/chunkalutanetwork will bring you to all our social media efforts where you can learn more (and eventually our website where we will host all our stuff) as well as a go fund me and a patreon where you can become a monthly supporter of these people. Every dollar I make 25 percent goes back to my homelands like many immigrants here, except my homelands are occupied by the United States and people like Hinkle and Haz pretend colonization is over. Another portion of my income also goes to my homeless mom in Eureka. Another way you can help us is we are building a community center on that land and part of the 30k we are raising goes towards the labor involved in constructing it. This is the approximate land we need to get a land survey done, and the forest to the left we also manage on behalf of the tribe and use the wood for ceremony or keeping people alive. These are the first iteration of the blueprints, and I am sure there is something I forgot to mention we did this year. Along with this mutual aid, the community center is part of our steps toward dual power and national liberation. The building will let us feed the people, by cooking the food we will also be growing utilizing the land for food forests, and community gardens. Our most exciting project imo is the regeneration of prairie land to host buffalo and foodstuffs for ceremonial use and to feed those in need, this will lead to the decommodification of our ceremonies which currently white ranchers will charge up to 2k for a buffalo and let parts go to waste. We would do it for free and not waste a thing. We will also be utilizing this land base to reclaim other family allotments of similar size next to the bad lands and a bombing range that was stolen during WW2 under the Indian Reorganization Act, where we will plant trees to combat the desertification of the reservation due to the badlands erosion and the prairie dog problem (yes we have a solution for this too). Out of the community center we also will be starting a traditional drum group that will transition into reestablishing the former We Will Remember Survival School which AIM started back in the day in the same town we are building outside of. The people also believe we can bring back a toy drive once the community center is done that made sure every kid got a gift on christmas. They believe in us already so I think you should too. So $ZitkatosTinCan for cashapp, @zitkato for venmo, bandsofturtleisland@gmail.com for paypal or use the gfm link or patreon on the linktree. Thank you for your time

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The Aymara or Aimara people are an indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America; about 2.3 million live in northwest Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru

History

The region where Tiwanaku and the modern Aymaras are located, the Altiplano, was conquered by the Incas under Huayna Capac (reign 1493–1523), although the exact date of this takeover is unknown. It is most likely that the Inca had a strong influence over the Aymara region for some time. Though conquered by the Inca, the Aymaras retained some degree of autonomy under the empire.

The Spanish arrived in the western portions of South America in 1535. Soon after, by 1538, they subdued the Aymara. Initially, the Aymara exercised their own distinct culture now free of Incan influence (earlier conquered by the Spanish) but acculturation and assimilation by the Spanish were rapid. Many Aymara at this turbulent time became laborers in mines and agricultural fields.

In response to colonial exploitation by the Spanish and elite in the fields of agriculture, mining, coca harvesting, domestic work, and more the Aymara (along with others) staged a rebellion in 1629. This was followed by a more significant uprising mostly by Aymaras in 1780 in which the Aymara almost captured the city of La Paz and many Spaniards were killed. This rebellion would be put down by the Spanish two years later. However, uprisings would continue to occur against Spanish rule intermittently until Peruvian independence in 1821.

The War of the Pacific started in 1879 and led Chile to occupy Peruvian territory with Aymara populations already by 1880. Tarapacá Department was formally annexed in 1883 and Arica in 1929. When compared with the Mapuche people of Araucanía who were also incorporated into Chile in the late 19th century the Aymara obtained relatively unfavorable views as "foreign elements" by Chilean elites contrasting with Mapuches who were seen as "primordial" Chileans.

The major reforms caused by the Bolivian Revolution of 1952 resulted in the Aymara being more integrated into mainstream Bolivian society. This also caused many Aymara to become severed or not affiliated with their native communities any longer. Most Bolivian Aymara today engage in farming, construction, mining, and working in factories though a growing number are now in professional work. The Aymara language (along with Quechua) is now an official language in Bolivia and there has been a rise of programs to assist the Aymara and their native lands

Geography

Most present-day Aymara speakers live in the Lake Titicaca basin, a territory from Lake Titicaca through the Desaguadero River and into Lake Poopó (Oruro, Bolivia) also known as the Altiplano. They are concentrated south of the lake. The capital of the ancient Aymara civilization is unknown. The present urban center of the Aymara region may be El Alto, a 750,000-person city near the Bolivian capital, La Paz.

Culture

The Aymara flag is known as the Wiphala wiphala ; it consists of seven colors patched together with diagonal stripes.

The native language of the Aymaras is Aymara. Many of the Aymaras speak Spanish as a second or first language when it is the predominant language in the areas where they live.

Most of the contemporary Aymaran urban culture was developed in the working-class Aymara neighborhoods of La Paz such as Chijini, and neighboring El Alto. Both Quechua and Aymara women in Peru and Bolivia took up the style of wearing bowler hats in the 1920s.

The luxurious, elegant, and cosmopolitan Aymara Chola dress, which is an icon of Bolivia (bowler hat, aguayo, heavy pollera, skirts, boots, jewelry, etc.) began and evolved in La Paz. It is an urban tradition of dress. This style of dress has become part of ethnic identification by Aymara women. Another recent innovation drawing on the Cholas' colorful aesthetics is buildings designed in a "Neo-Andean" style concentrated in El Alto

The Aymaras have grown and chewed coca plants for centuries, using their leaves in traditional medicine as well as in ritual offerings to the father god Inti (Sun) and the mother goddess Pachamama (Earth). During the last century, there has been conflict with state authorities over this plant during drug wars; the officials have carried out coca eradication to prevent the extraction and isolation of the drug cocaine. However, the ritual use of coca has a central role in the indigenous religions of both the Aymaras and the Quechuas. Coca is used in the ritual curing ceremonies of the yatiri. Since the late 20th century, its ritual use has become a symbol of cultural identity.

Chairo is a traditional stew of the Aymaras. It is made of chuño (potato starch), onions, carrots, potatoes, white corn, beef, and wheat kernels. It also contains herbs such as coriander and spices. It is native to the region of La Paz.

Politics

The Aymaras and other indigenous groups have formed numerous movements for greater independence or political power. These include the Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army, led by Felipe Quispe, and the Movement Towards Socialism, a political party organized by the Cocalero Movement and Evo Morales. These and other Aymara organizations have led political activism in Bolivia, including the 2003 Bolivian Gas War and the 2005 Bolivia protests.

Evo Morales is an Aymara coca grower from the Chaparé region. His Movement Toward Socialism party has forged alliances with both rural indigenous groups and urban working classes to form a broad leftist coalition in Bolivia. Morales has run for president in several elections since the late 20th century, gaining increasing support. In 2005 he won a surprise victory, winning the largest majority vote since Bolivia returned to democracy. He is the first indigenous president of Bolivia. He is credited with the ousting of Bolivia's previous two presidents.

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I saw this news while I was hate-browsing /r/canada and thought I should share it here! I edited the headline somewhat.

If you would like to talk about this news in-person, the April 2022 Guide to Indigenous Organization and Services, which was made in collaboration with Indigenous representatives, lists the approximate pronunciation of the nation as "quick-wa-sut-uh-nook / ha-kwuh-meesh". Folks, this nonstandard notation pains me to write. However, I couldn't find an IPA transcription. In the meantime, I've sent them an email suggesting they add IPA.

IPCAs are supported by the provincial government of B.C. and do not need to be approved by it. They are unilateral declarations by First Nations over their own territory. You can read more about them here: https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/about-ipcas as well as here https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/ipca-faqs

Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20231118212944/https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-broughton-indigenous-protected-area/

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Article https://www.somoselmedio.com/artistas-y-activistas-se-unen-en-el-festival-resonancias-del-caracol-en-apoyo-al-zapatismo/

See you at the "Resonancias del Caracol 40-30-20" festival to fight, resist, dance and have fun with La Alegre Rebeldía in celebration of our compañeros the Zapatistas.

November 15, 2023, Mexico City - A few days before the "Resonancias del Caracol" festival, the Red Universitaria Anticapitalista organized a press conference broadcast live on its Facebook page. The event was attended by artists invited to the festival, such as Daniel Giménez Cacho, Rebeca Lane and LET, who discussed the relevance of the Zapatista movement and its influence on their artistic works. During the conference, more bands and artists were announced to join the festival, demonstrating strong support for the cause of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).

The conference, moderated by the Network's Libertad Huerta, explored the artists' perspectives on Zapatismo and its importance in today's political and social landscape. Daniel Giménez Cacho, when asked about the relevance of celebrating Zapatismo, highlighted the "ideological crisis" facing humanity and the lack of clear positions in both left and right wing politics. He highlighted that the Zapatista movement represents a "light" in the current "disarticulated society" and emphasized the importance of supporting and collaborating with this autonomy project.

LET, for his part, expressed his honor to be invited to the festival, recognizing the Zapatistas as an organizational and collective reference. The artist, who has always sympathized with the EZLN, stressed the importance of contributing to their cause.

Libertad Huerta surprisingly announced more artists invited to the festival, such as Las Musas Sonideras, Audry Funk, DJ Dubson and Edson Pm, as well as a surprise artist from the north. He highlighted the self-management of the festival and invited the public to purchase tickets at the points of sale or at the box office.

Rebeca Lane, a prominent rapper, closed the conference by emphasizing the role of rap as the new protest song, especially for women and dissidents. She spoke about the situation in Chiapas and Guatemala, immigration policies and the importance of ancestral organizations in the defense of democracy. Lane emphasized that, through her music, she addresses political issues related to the state, corruption and decolonialism.

Finally, Libertad Huerta invited everyone to the festival, recommending to bring blankets, hats and a lot of desire to dance, reiterating the commitment of the Anticapitalist University Network with the release of Manuel Gomez Vasques, a Zapatista political prisoner.

From Somos el Medio, we encourage you to participate in the festival "Resonancias del Caracol 40-30-20" to fight, resist, dance and enjoy the joyful rebellion in celebration of Zapatismo.

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submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net to c/indigenous@hexbear.net
 
 

Article https://www.somoselmedio.com/los-7-principios-del-zapatismo/

The seven principles of Zapatismo

On January 1, 1994, one month after Ernesto Zedillo was sworn in as President of Mexico and on the same day that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, thousands of indigenous men and women declared war on the Mexican State. From deep within the state of Chiapas, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) emerged.

For years, the Zapatista movement has not only survived the attacks of paramilitary groups and media strategies by PRI governments, but has also made multiple contributions to the political and social life of the country, according to political analysts and historians.

One of them, possibly the most important, was the recognition by Mexicans of the racism, marginalization and abandonment of Mexico's indigenous peoples.

Along with these contributions, the 7 principles of Zapatismo for a good government also stand out:

Obey and not command.

The people have, at all times, the power to revoke the leader who does not fully comply with his function. The government obeys the needs of each community or locality without deciding what is the best way to live our lives, simply complying with organizing and planning. Whoever rules, obeys the will of the people.

Represent and not supplant

The principle of all government is in the representation of a will. Representatives are elected on a rotating basis, even without their request, but it is not seen as an imposition, but as a service to the community. Their work is just as important as that of any other person in the community.

Going down and not up

Zapatismo does not aspire to take power because it knows that power comes from the people. To build community is to put knowledge and techniques at the service of society, to accept that any work is just as important as a public position.

To serve and not to serve oneself

Cooperation from public office to any activity requires solidarity and disinterested action. Serving the community is not a bureaucratic procedure or a paid job, it is an expression of the community.

Convincing and not defeating

Fundamental principle for the creation of a new world. Absurd electoral contests and campaigns that do not represent the real interests of the people are useless. The new politics is made through conviction, not through the decision of a few.

To build and not to destroy

The construction of a new world does not have an instructive; neither Zapatismo nor anyone else has the truth or the capacity to choose what form of government is most appropriate for each people and nation that make up the Latin American and world reality.

To propose and not to impose

Breaking with the politics that dominate society requires a radical change. Proposing through action and word, acting in consequence with reality and with a social purpose is a maxim for both individuals and government to achieve a transformation in society.

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Left to right: Huitaca, Chía, Bachué, Sué and Bochica

The Muisca (or Chibcha) civilization flourished in ancient Colombia between 600 and 1600 CE. Their territory encompassed what is now Bogotá and its environs and they have gained lasting fame as the origin of the El Dorado legend. The Muisca have also left a significant artistic legacy in their superb gold work, much of it unrivalled by any other Americas culture.

Society & Religion

The Muisca lived in scattered settlements spread across the valleys of the high Andean plains in the east of modern-day Colombia. Important annual ceremonies related to religion, agriculture, and the ruling elite helped unite these various communities. We know that such ceremonies involved large numbers of participants and included singing, incense burning, and music from trumpets, drums, rattles, bells, and ocarinas (bulbous ceramic flutes). The communities were also linked by trade and there was even a movement of skilled craftsmen, especially goldsmiths, between Muisca cities.

Founded by the legendary figure of Bochica, who came from the east and taught morality, laws, and crafts, the Muisca were ruled by chieftains aided by spiritual leaders. The Muisca controlled and defended their territory with such weapons as clubs, spear-throwers, arrows, and lances. Warriors also had protective helmets, armoured breast plates, and shields. The Muisca took trophy heads from their defeated enemies and they sometimes sacrificed captives to appease their gods.However, warfare was highly ritualized and probably small-scale.

Idolizing the sun, the Muisca also had a special reverence for sacred objects and places such as particular rocks, caves, rivers, and lakes. At these sites they would leave votive offerings (tunjos) as they were considered a portal to other worlds. The most important Muisca gods were Zue the sun god and Chie the moon goddess. We also know of Chibchacum, the patron of metalworkers and merchants.

El Dorado

The Muisca today are most famous for the legend of El Dorado or 'The Gilded One'. A Muisca ceremony held at Lake Guatavita, actually only one of many kinds, involved a ruler being covered in gold dust who was then rowed on a raft to the centre of the lake where he leapt into the waters in an act of ritual cleansing and renewal. Muisca subjects would also throw precious objects into the lake during the ceremony, not only gold but also emeralds.

The Spanish, on hearing this story, allowed their imagination and lust for gold to leap beyond the bounds of reality and soon a legend arose of a magnificent city built with gold.

Muisca Art

The Muisca did not restrict their artistic output to gold but also created fine textiles which were of wool or cotton, and the latter could also be painted.

Typical Muisca designs include spirals and other geometric, inter-locking forms. Also produced were ceramics (including clay figures) and carved semi-precious stones. The Muisca women were not only capable weavers of cloth but were equally skilled in basket-weaving and feather-work.

For the Muisca, gold was though the material of choice as it was valued for its lustrous and transformational properties and its association with the sun. It was not used as a currency, but rather as an artistic medium

Perhaps one of the finest Muisca pieces, and solid evidence of the El Dorado ceremony, is a gold alloy raft on which stand figures, one of whom is larger and, wearing a headdress, is undoubtedly the 'Gilded One'.

Language

Chibcha, Mosca, Muisca, Muysca was a language spoken by the Muisca people of the Muisca Confederation, one of the many indigenous cultures of the Americas. The Muisca inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense of what today is the country of Colombia.

The name of the language Muysc cubun in its own language means "language of the people", from muysca ("people") and cubun ("language" or "word"). Despite the disappearance of the language in the 17th century (approximately), several language revitalization processes are underway within the current Muisca communities. The Muisca people remain ethnically distinct and their communities are recognized by the Colombian state

Under the colonial regime

When the Muisca structure disappeared under the Spanish Conquest, the territory of the Confederations of the zaque and zipa were included in a new political division within the Spanish colonies in America. The territory of the Muisca, located in a fertile plain of the Colombian Andes that contributed to make one of the most advanced South American civilizations, became part of the colonial region named Nuevo Reino de Granada. The priests and nobility of the Muisca were eliminated. Only the Capitanias remained. Much information about the Muisca culture was gathered by the Spanish administration and by authors such as Pedro de Aguado and Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita.

The Spaniards created indigenous areas to keep the survivors, who were obligated to work the land for them under the quasi-genocidal encomienda system. The colonial era contributed to the importance of Bogotá, and people from the area would play an important role in the fights for independence and republican consolidation. The wars of independence of three nations (Colombia with Panamá, Venezuela, and Ecuador) were led by the descendants of aboriginals; Spaniard-affiliated elites were forcibly deported after independence.

Independent Colombia

After independence in 1810, the new state dissolved many of the indigenous reservations. The Reservation of Cota was re-established on land bought by the community in 1916, and then recognized by the 1991 constitution; the recognition was withdrawn in 1998 by the state and restored in 2006.

Since 1989, there has been a process of reconstruction of the indigenous councils by the surviving members of the Muisca Culture. Muisca Councils currently working are Suba, Bosa, Cota, Chía, and Sesquilé. The councils had an Assembly in Bosa on 20–22 September 2002, called the First General Congress of the Muisca People. In that congress, they founded the Cabildo Mayor del Pueblo Muisca, affiliated to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC). They proposed linguistic and cultural recuperation, defense of the territories nowadays occupied by others, and proposed urban and tourist plans. They support the communities of Ubaté, Tocancipá, Soacha, Ráquira, and Tenjo in their efforts to recover their organizational and human rights.

The Muisca people of Suba opposed the drying up of the Tibabuyes wetland and wanted to recover the Juan Amarillo wetland. They defended the natural reserves like La Conejera, part of the Suba Hills that is considered by the Shelter's Council to be communal land. Suati Magazine (The Song of the Sun) is a publication of poetry, literature, and essays about Muisca culture.

The community of Bosa made important achievements in its project of natural medicine in association with the Paul VI Hospital and the District Secretary of Health of Bogotá. The community of Cota has reintroduced the growing of quinua, and regularly barter their products at market.

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link https://www.somoselmedio.com/ezln-da-a-conocer-su-nueva-estructura-en-comunicado/

After announcing the disappearance of the Good Government Councils (JBG) and the Zapatista Rebel Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ), this Sunday, November 12, the EZLN announced the structural reorganization of the Zapatista Autonomy.

By Johana Utrera / @UtreraJo25

On November 12, the ninth part of a series of communiqués was released through the Enlace Zapatista. This document signed by Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés explains the new structure of the Zapatista Autonomy.

In this new structure the Local Autonomous Government (LAG) is the main base; which is coordinated by autonomous agents and commissioners, who are subject to the assembly of the town, ranchería, community, paraje, barrio, ejido, colonia or as the communiqué explains, "or as each population names itself". In the same way, the GALs are in charge of controlling their autonomous organizational resources and their relationship with non-Zapatista communities.

"And it controls the good use of the pay. It also detects and denounces bad administration, corruption and errors. And it is aware of those who want to pass themselves off as Zapatista authorities to ask for support or aid that they use for their own benefit".

On the other hand, mention is made of the Collectives of Zapatista Autonomous Governments (CGAZ), which are convened by the GALs. The CGAZ discuss and make agreements corresponding to the interests of the GAL. In this sense, the CGAZ leaders ensure the fulfillment of the requests of the GALs or any other community need.

"Here they propose, discuss and approve or reject the plans and needs of Health, Education, Agroecology, Justice, Commerce, and those that are needed".

Subsequently, there are the Assemblies of Collectives of Zapatista Autonomous Governments (ACGAZ), these are dependent on the CGAZ and in turn, the CGAZ are dependent on the GAL. The ACGAZ are based in the caracoles, however, they move according to the needs of the villages. In addition, their function is to convene and preside over zone assemblies, when necessary, according to the requests of the GAL and CGAZ.

"As will be seen in practice, the Command and Coordination of Autonomy has been transferred from the JBG and MAREZ to the peoples and communities, to the GAL. The zones (ACGAZ) and the regions (CGAZ) are commanded by the peoples, they must be accountable to the peoples and seek ways to meet their needs in Health, Education, Justice, Food and those arising from emergencies caused by natural disasters, pandemics, crimes, invasions, wars, and other misfortunes that the capitalist system may bring".

Finally, the communiqué explains that this reorganization of the structure has the objective of increasing the security defense of the villages and the land. Similarly, it explains that this process has been in the making for 10 years and 3 to think about it in a practical way.

"In reality, this communiqué has only the intention of telling you that the Zapatista autonomy continues and advances, that we think that it will be better for the towns, communities, places, neighborhoods, colonies, ejidos and ranches where the Zapatista support bases live, that is to say, fight. And that it has been their decision, taking into account their ideas and proposals, their criticisms and self-criticisms."

It is worth mentioning that this new structure was mentioned last November 5 of this year. When the fourth part of the communiqués communicated the disappearance of the Good Government Councils (JBG) and the Zapatista Rebel Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ), as well as the provisional closure of the Caracoles.

twitter thread about the new organization

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Preclassic-Classic Zapotec Civilization

The Zapotecs, known as the 'Cloud People', live in the southern highlands of central Mesoamerica, specifically, in the Valley of Oaxaca, which they inhabited from the late Preclassic period to the end of the Classic period (500 BCE - 900 CE). Their capital was first at Monte Albán and then at Mitla, they dominated the southern highlands, spoke a variation of the Oto-Zapotecan language, and profited from trade and cultural links with the Olmec, Teotihuacan and Maya civilizations.

The Zapotecs grew from the agricultural communities which grew up in the valleys in and around Oaxaca. In the Preclassic period they established fruitful trade links with the Olmec civilization on the Gulf Coast which allowed for the construction of an impressive capital site at Monte Albán and for the Zapotec to dominate the region during the Classic period.

By the late Preclassic period Zapotec cities show a high level of sophistication in architecture, the arts, writing and engineering projects such as irrigation systems. For example, at Hierve el Agua there are artificially terraced hillsides irrigated by extensive canals fed by natural springs. Evidence of contact with other Mesoamerican cultures can be seen, for example, at the site of Dainzu, which has a large stone-faced platform with reliefs showing players of the familiar Mesoamerican ball game wearing protective headgear. We also know of very close relations between the Zapotec and the peoples based at Teotihuacan in the Basin of Mexico. Indeed, at Teotihuacan there was even a quarter of the city specifically reserved for the Zapotec community.

Decline

Quite why the city and the Zapotec civilization collapsed at Monte Albán is not known, only that there is no trace of violent destruction and that it was contemporary with the demise of Teotihuacan and a general increase in inter-state conflict. The site continued to be significant, though, as it was adopted by the later Mixtec as a sacred site and place of burial for their own kings. The Zapotecs did not disappear completely, however, for in the early Post-Classic period they established a new, smaller centre at Mitla, known to them as Lyobaa or 'Place of Rest' which also had many fine buildings including the celebrated Hall of the Columns. The site continued to be occupied even up to the Spanish conquest.

Languages

Zapotec is an extensive language family indigenous to southern Mexico, which belongs to the larger Otomanguean family. Today, there are over 50 different Zapotec languages most of which are endangered. They are spoken primarily in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, by a total of approximately 425,000 people within a much larger Zapotec ethnic community. Due to emmigration, there are now Zapotec speakers in many other parts of Mexico and the United States. Dialectal divergence between Zapotec-speaking communities is extensive and complicated. Many varieties of Zapotec are mutually unintelligible with one another. The Zapotec language family is on par with the Romance language family in terms of time depth and diversity of member languages.

Modern day

The population is concentrated in the southern state of Oaxaca, but Zapotec communities also exist in neighboring states. The present-day population is estimated at approximately 400,000 to 650,000 persons, many of whom are monolingual in one of the native Zapotec languages and dialects.

The Zapotec population is divided into four geographic areas, each with its own cultural differences: 1) Central Valleys; 2) Sierra Norte; 3) Sierra Sur; and the 4) Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The geographic isolation of these populations, caused by centuries of conquest and colonization, has resulted in very significant linguistic diversity within the population, so much that often one town adjacent to another says or writes the same words and expressions differently.

The Zapotec of the Sierra Juárez, as countrymen of Benito Juárez, were very much involved in the Reform Movement of 1860, some in defense of liberal ideas, while others interested in conserving church traditions. They were also involved in the Mexican Revolution, forming the first textile and mining labor unions.

Beginning in 1872, there was a revival in the exploitation of gold and silver in the region that attracted mestizos and accelerated the process of language replacement. Between 1900 and 1940, the mining frontier in the District of Ixtlán included Ixtlán, Guelatao, and many other communities. Spanish became the language of instruction for the indigenous young receiving education.

Mining brought wealth to some of the native people, but caused the depletion of the mineral resources and the environmental destruction of the natural environment by the removal of forests for firewood and the contamination of rivers with toxic wastes.

Since the end of the 19th century the cultivation of coffee brought further capitalization to the Zapotec and mestizo communities.

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Goal 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals seeks to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by 2030. Yet, the generalized aims outlined by this goal do not take into consideration how colonialism has systematically dispossessed Indigenous people of their land and natural resources. It overlooks the glaring issue of water theft, which comes in several forms, such as illegal extraction, the diversion of water from rivers, the theft of groundwater by private companies selling bottled water, damage to water resources like glaciers by mining companies, and agriculture that is estimated to contribute up to 70% of water theft globally.

The Palestinians and the Indigenous Mapuche people of Chile are two populations that face extreme levels of water theft. For these groups and others, water theft is directly linked to settler-colonialism and neoliberal policies. Both Indigenous populations have experienced dispossession and the altering of their terrain. And both groups have responded with anti-colonial resistance to counter land and water theft.

Without addressing underlying colonial violence, Goal 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is doomed to fail. However, decolonization activism by the Mapuche and the Palestinians may have lessons that reach beyond their communities, and if we follow their lead, we might find answers to one of our most pressing global issues.

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  • Deforestation is surging around Indigenous reserves in Brazil’s agricultural heartland, threatening one of the last stretches of preserved rainforest in the region.
  • The destruction is trickling into protected areas too, including Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory, home to Brazil’s most famous Indigenous leader.
  • Indigenous advocates blame land speculation on the back of plans to pave a stretch of the MT-322 highway, which runs across the Capoto/Jarina and Xingu Indigenous Park.
  • Indigenous people worry the road will ease access into their territories, opening them up to land-grabbers, wildcat miners and organized crime groups.

PEIXOTO DE AZEVEDO, Brazil — The red dirt road cuts through the jungle like a fresh wound, splintering one of Brazil’s most pristine stretches of Amazon rainforest. Clouds of dust rise above the emerald canopy, as roaring freight trucks loaded with soybeans plow through deep craters of hardened mud.

On one side lies the Xingu Indigenous Park, the country’s oldest demarcated reserve. Across the road is the Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory, home to Brazil’s best-known Indigenous leader, Raoni Metuktire, who famously walked with president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on inauguration day on Jan. 1, in a symbol of new beginnings for the Amazon and its people.

Together, these two Indigenous territories form a vast oasis of rainforest stretching 3.3 million hectares across the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s agricultural heartland. But all around them, the forest is giving way to soy plantations and cattle pastures at a breakneck pace.

“We’re surrounded here,” says Puiú Txukarramãe, Raoni’s nephew and a leader, or cacique, from the Kayapó Indigenous people, who live in Capoto/Jarina. “Inside our area, it’s all forest. Outside of it, it’s all farms. There are farms everywhere you look.”

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The Mapuche are the largest indigenous group in Chile. When the Spaniards arrived, they inhabited a large part of southern Chile, divided into subgroups according to geographic area. The first researchers recognized the Picunche, who lived from the Maule River to the Itata and Biobío rivers, the Araucanians, from the latter to the Toltén, the Pehuenche in the mountainous area, from Chillán to Antuco and the Huilliche between the Toltén River and the Gulf of Corcovado, including the island of Chiloé.

In other words, the Mapuche occupied diverse environments and landscapes, ranging from the sub-Andean region to the coast and from warm temperate climates to cold rainy climates, which implied diverse adaptations and consequent cultural differences. The changes that occurred during the Spanish conquest and colony produced a remarkable cultural and, above all, political and social unity of this group and, after the subjugation to the Republic of Chile, a considerable part of this people migrated to the city. In fact, today, most of them live in urban settlements rather than in the countryside, concentrated in the cities of the Araucanía and Metropolitan regions, followed by the Los Lagos and Bío Bío regions.

History

The Mapuche are considered direct descendants of the pre-Hispanic archaeological cultures Pitrén (100 - 1100 years A.D.) and El Vergel (1100 - 1450 years A.D.), which developed in the region between the Bío Bío River and the Reloncaví Seno. However, when the Spaniards arrived, their language, Mapudungun, was widespread from the Choapa River to Chiloé, which does not mean a cultural homogeneity of the different groups that inhabited this extensive territory.

The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century was apparently the trigger for different populations to group together and strengthen their social and cultural ties, forming the historically known Mapuche identity. The Mapuche rebelled against Spanish subjugation and set fire to the cities they had founded from the Bío Bío River to the south. This rebellion was the beginning of the Arauco War, which forced Spain to maintain a professional army to guard the borders, as well as to recognize Mapuche autonomy in their lands.

The definitive Mapuche subjugation only ended before the Army of the Republic of Chile with the so-called Pacification of Araucania, in 1882. This military action was based on the urgency to conquer exploitable territories, driven by an ideology that advocated the elimination of the indigenous in the name of "civilization". After the Chilean military triumph and in order to initiate a colonization with Creole and European elements, the indigenous people were controlled by means of their settlement in communal property reductions.

The direct consequences of this process for Mapuche society were the drastic reduction of their lands through repeated and massive usurpations, dependence on an external agent, the State, and social disorganization caused by the loss of authority of the lonkos. As a result of all this, from the beginning of the 20th century, Mapuche action shifted from the military to the political field, from warriors to organizational leaders, from the countryside to the city, with a progressive migration and the emergence of an intellectual and professional elite within Mapuche society.

In 1910, the first indigenous organization in the country, the Caupolicán Society, raised a series of ethnic and peasant petitions. From the 1960s until 1973, the Mapuche participated in the Agrarian Reform, without success, in an attempt to recover their usurped lands. The progressive migration of the Mapuche to the city had begun. At the end of the seventies, almost 70% of the Mapuche people were in the city and in extreme poverty. On a national scale, a capitalist development is consolidated that conceives the so-called 'indigenous problem' only as a peasant one. In 1976, the military government, through the Community Division Law, attempts to privatize Mapuche communal property, that is, to transfer it into the hands of individuals.

In the 1980s, the level of poverty among the Mapuche increased, leading to more migration to the city and mestization. Until the early 1990s, indigenous laws were aimed at their incorporation and/or assimilation into Chilean society, a situation that was partially reversed during the period of democracy with the enactment of the Indigenous Law of 1991, which recognizes, protects and promotes the development of ethnic groups in the country. It is estimated that the pre-Hispanic Mapuche population was approximately one million. Today, the Mapuche number more than 600,000 people, corresponding to 87.3% of the country's indigenous population.

Organization

Until the 16th century, the Mapuche had a patrilineal, polygamous family social organization. In the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century, the chieftainship was strengthened, producing a strong social hierarchy for wartime, where the figure of the toki was born, very functional for the war system. The colonial authorities tried to strengthen the figure of the lonko or community chief, with little success. After the defeat of 1881, a protectorate system was implemented and land was granted to family communities, identifying each one with the name of the cacique or lonko.

Today, the community is a consanguineous group, mostly patrilineal, which stems from the granting of a title of mercy to a chief and his family. There is a relative social homogeneity of its members. The process of internal differentiation is at the limit of the community, imposing a first family and then community solidarity. However, nowadays most of the Mapuche population resides in popular sectors of the big cities of the country, organizing themselves in cultural centers whose main objective is the re-ethnification of the urban generations.

Language

The Mapuche language is Mapudungu ("language of the land") or Mapudungun ("people's speech"). Typologically, it is polysynthetic and agglutinative, with a suffixing and highly verbalizing tendency. That is to say, complex words are equivalent to Spanish sentences, for example: katrümamüllmean = "I will go to cut firewood" (mamüll/leña; katrü/cortar, which is done by the subject). When the Spaniards arrived, Mapudungu was in use from Coquimbo to Chiloé and from the mountains to the sea. Today, it is the most widely spoken aboriginal language in Chile with 260,000 native speakers.

The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere

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The Navajos are speakers of a Na-Dené Southern Athabaskan language which they call Diné bizaad (lit. 'People's language'). They refer to themselves as the Diné, meaning (the) people. The language comprises two geographic, mutually intelligible dialects. The Apache languages are closely related to the Navajo Language; the Navajos and Apaches migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska, where the majority of Athabaskan speakers reside.Additionally, some Navajos speak Navajo Sign Language, which is either a dialect or a daughter of Plains Sign Talk. Some also speak Plains Sign Talk itself.

The Navajo religion teaches that they traveled through three or four worlds beneath this one, emerging into this world in southwestern Colorado or northwestern New Mexico. The gods created the four sacred mountains–Blanca Peak and Hesperus Peak in Colorado, Mount Taylor in New Mexico, and the San Frnacisco Peaks in Arizona. The mountains serve as supernatural boundaries, within which all was safe and protected.

Scholars still debate when the Navajo entered the Southwest. Most anthropologists agree the Navajo were spread through northern New Mexico, southern Utah and northern Arizona by the end of the 1500’s.

By 1525 A.D., the Navajo had developed a rich culture in the area near present day Farmington, New Mexico. The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century introduced sheep, goats and horses to the Navajo. The Navajo flourished and migrated via extended family units into northern Arizona and southeastern Utah. Around 1700, and possibly as early as 1620, the Navajo moved into the San Juan River area of Utah in search of pasture land for their sheep and goat herds. Because the San Juan River was one of the few sources of water in Navajo territory, many Navajo planted fields of corn, beans, and squash on its floodplains.

A conflict arose between the Spanish and Pueblo peoples known as the Pueblo Revolt. During this time, Pueblo Indians had experienced enough of Spanish oppression and fought the Spanish, ejecting them from Pueblo land. When the Spanish returned around 1680, the Pueblo Indians sought refuge among the Navajo. The Navajo welcomed the Pueblo Indians and adopted some of their cultural values.

In the late 18th century, the Spanish, intent on conquering the Southwest, were in conflict with the Navajos. The Spanish formed alliances with the Comanches and Utes to weaken the Navajos.

By the time the U.S. acquired the southwest in 1848, the Navajo were among the richest Native Americans with large herds, some of which had been acquired during raids. Due to increasing tensions with white settlers in the area, in 1863, the U.S. Army, under the command of Christopher “Kit” Carson, destroyed the Navajo’s strength using a scorched earth policy. Carson forced the surrender of the Navajo and forcibly marched his captives 300 miles to Fort Sumner in central New Mexico, a journey known as The Long Walk. Hundreds died during the trek. Thousands more died during captivity as conditions at Fort Sumner imprisonment were overcrowded, undersupplied and unsanitary.

In 1868, the Treaty of Bosque Redondo was negotiated between Navajo leaders and the federal government allowing the surviving Navajos to return to a reservation on a portion of their former homeland.

The United States military continued to maintain forts on the Navajo reservation in the years after the Long Walk. By treaty, the Navajos were allowed to leave the reservation for trade, with permission from the military or local Indian agent. But economic conflicts with non-Navajos continued for many years as civilians and companies exploited resources assigned to the Navajo. The US government made leases for livestock grazing, took land for railroad development, and permitted mining on Navajo land without consulting the tribe.

During the time on the reservation, the Navajo tribe was forced to assimilate into white society. Navajo children were sent to boarding schools within the reservation and off the reservation. The first Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school opened at Fort Defiance in 1870. Once the children arrived at the boarding school, their lives changed dramatically. European Americans taught the classes under an English-only curriculum and punished any student caught speaking Navajo. Other conditions included inadequate food, overcrowding, required manual labor in kitchens, fields, and boiler rooms; and military-style uniforms and haircuts.

The Indian Termination Policies, an official policy directive of the United States government from 1940 to the early 1960s and directed by multiple executive administrations (both Democrat and Republican), uranium mining operations were established across Navajo tribal lands. Although Navajo workers were initially enthusiastic about employment, the U.S. government appears to have been aware of the harmful risks associated with uranium mining since the 1930s and neglected to inform the Navajo communities.

Both the open and other, now abandoned, uranium mines have continued to poison and pollute land, water and air of Navajo communities today.

Nowdays the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States with more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members as of 2021. additionally, the Navajo Nation has the largest reservation in the country. The reservation straddles the Four Corners region and covers more than 27,325 square miles (70,000 square km) of land in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. The Navajo language is spoken throughout the region, and most Navajos also speak English.

In 1923, a tribal government was established to help meet the increasing desires of American oil companies to lease Navajoland for exploration. Navajo government has evolved into the largest and most sophisticated form of American Indian government.

The Navajo Tribal Council was re-organized in 1991 into a three-branch government — executive, legislative and judicial — patterned after the U.S. Government. The Navajo council has 88 delegates representing 110 communities.

The Navajo Nation flag depicts the outline of the Navajo Nation in copper; the original 1868 reservation border is shown in dark brown. The four sacred mountains are shown in their cardinal directions. The rainbow symbolizes Navajo sovereignty, while the sun above two cornstalks and animals shows the traditional economy. Between a hogan and modern house, an oil derrick references another aspect of the Navajo economy.

The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere

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  • Deforestation for illegal drug production is on the rise in and around Otishi National Park, Asháninka Communal Reserve and Machiguenga Communal Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon.
  • During aerial reconnaissance, Mongabay Latam reporters observed clearings, trails and unauthorized airstrips in the park and Indigenous reserves.
  • The NGO Global Conservation is beginning work to train members of Indigenous communities to monitor and enforce forest protection regulations.

AYACUCHO, Peru — From the sky, cleared areas periodically interrupted the green grasslands and steep mountains of the Asháninka Communal Reserve and Otishi National Park in Peru. Wide expanses of deforested land lay scattered between mountain peaks.

Via helicopter, Mongabay Latam reporters observed an immense mosaic of trees, pastures and agriculture, but crops couldn’t be identified from the air. Operated by the Peruvian Armed Forces, the helicopter began its flight at the southern ends of the reserves before following coordinates to several areas identified by Peru’s National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) as showing signs of deforestation.

Whenever the cloud cover relented, the pilot flew close to deforested areas. On this particular afternoon in May 2023, there were no signs of illegal loggers, but a wide path winding along one side of the forest was the most likely evidence of human activity. For more than two hours, the military helicopter flew over similar scenes: extensive jungle pockmarked by scattered scars of forest destruction. The helicopter also hovered over two long stretches of rocky, rectangular cleared land in the middle of the rainforest.

“[These] are unauthorized airstrips and it appears they are inactive,” said Jeff Morgan, the executive director of Global Conservation, an international organization working to protect endangered ecosystems.

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  • The environmental damage caused more than half a century of oil activity in Ecuador’s Amazon are multiplying yearly without effective remediation by the government or the oil companies responsible.
  • To date, there are 1,107 recorded “environmental liabilities” and another 3,568 sites in the Ecuadorian Amazon labeled by the environment ministry as “sources of contamination.”
  • Although Ecuador has been extracting oil since the 1970s, there is a lack of research, data and statistics on the health conditions of the local populations directly affected by these extractions, who are now calling for an urgent investigation.
  • State-owned oil company Petroecuador EP has inherited the responsibility for the environmental waste sites caused by Texaco, now part of U.S. oil major Chevron.

ORELLANA, Ecuador — “There’s a pool here,” says Ermel Chávez, a representative of the Amazon Defense Front in Ecuador. Chávez plucks a long branch from a tree, crouches down, and uses it to clear the ground. He submerges the branch by making a hole in the ground and pushing down: 1 meter, 2, 3 meters — 10 feet deep now — and still he continues.

We’re in San Carlos parish in the canton of Joya de los Sachas, in Ecuador’s Orellana province. “There are pools up to 6 meters [20 ft] deep. There’s oil in here,” Chávez says as he pulls the branch out. It’s covered in a gray paste that smells strongly of fuel. A few meters away, cows are grazing.

The Sacha oilfield, awarded by former president Rafael Correa to the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, is now under the administration of Petroecuador, the national oil company of Ecuador, and is the largest in the area. San Carlos lies directly in front of the oilfield’s Sacha Sur station.

Among the vegetation here, there are several pits — pools full of oil residue that were once covered with soil. “Fruit trees don’t grow here, and if they do, they don’t bear fruit,” say local community members.

“There is a layer of oil under here. The oil has solidified,” Chávez says, referring to the waste that fills the pools and showing a cacao tree whose growth he says has stagnated. “The problem with this type of contamination is that people generally use water wells here in the countryside,” he says, pointing to the nearest house, an abandoned one-story building about 20 steps away. The family that used to live there had to move, Chávez says, because the water from the well they relied on “is already poisoned.”

The oilfield is a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) drive from Joya de los Sachas. The road is dotted with groups of workers from Petroecuador EP and several extraction wells that the locals call “dolls” because of their shape. Some are closed and abandoned.

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Denmark has an often neglected and quite dark history of colonialism. A history which hangs as a shadow over many communities in the world, sometimes even as living memory.

Denmark has committed many atrocities towards the people of Greenland, this is a brief history of some of them. Even so, this video only scratches the surface of the many indignities suffered by the Greenlandic people at the hands of Danish colonial policy.

This video deals with distressing topics, the link below provides hotlines for many countries should you be in need: www.findahelpline.com

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The Colorado Historical Society's latest investigation into the inhumanities in indigenous residential schools has once again exposed U.S. dark history of racial genocide against the Native Americans.

The investigation report said more than 1,000 Indian children from dozens of tribes attended two major boarding schools from 1892-1909, during which at least 67 died. Inhumane treatment and physical abuse were widespread in both schools.

This probe followed the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report released by the Interior Department in May last year, which discovered over 500 deaths at 408 federally-run Indian boarding schools.

Institutions as such were intended for identity alteration, with goals of territorial dispossession and forced assimilation. Manual labor of children and tribal trust accounts were used to supplement federal funding to run those schools, said the federal report.

As the U.S. mainstream society gives more attention to deliberate destruction of the Native Americans, more aging survivors and descendants of victims have spoken up about their sufferings, warning that the country has yet a long way to go before true reparation is made.

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For 5,000 years, the Inuit communities of the Arctic have relied upon the ocean and its wildlife to sustain them. But as climate change warms seas and melts ice, ships are venturing north in greater numbers. With them comes a sharp increase in undersea noise that disrupts sea creatures, adversely impacting the hunters who have pursued them for millennia.

In response, the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents about 180,000 Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotla, has urged a United Nations agency that oversees commercial shipping to adopt mitigation guidelines that incorporate Indigenous knowledge.

Earlier this month, the International Maritime Organization published recommendations that advise the shipping companies traversing the Arctic to draw on that experience and lists specific suggestions for reducing the din. It’s a significant recognition of the value of Inuit expertise, and the potential for their insights to mitigate the racket caused by ships breaking through ice and hauling cargo across miles of ocean.

“Inuit and Indigenous peoples have extensive knowledge about underwater radiated noise impacts on marine wildlife, and its impacts in sensitive areas,” the new Arctic-specific guidelines say. “This knowledge should be used by mariners in voyage planning and operations in order to minimize impacts to sensitive marine species and local communities.”

Because sound travels much further through water, the passing of a ship can impact marine life over great distances. Much of the noise these vessels create clutters the frequencies whales, fish, and other creatures use to communicate, hunt, mate, and navigate the inky depths. Persistent rumbling and droning above 120 decibels — about the volume of a chainsaw — can alter their behavior, and short blasts at 200 decibels or more can damage their hearing.

“Whales need quiet seas, and Inuit depend on healthy oceans for harvesting and culture,” the Inuit Circumpolar Council said.

In warmer waters, research has linked the pings of Navy sonar to the stranding of Cuvier’s beaked whales. The vast expanse of the Arctic makes it harder to spot potential strandings, but scientists worry about the potential for loud noises to disrupt deep-diving cetaceans like narwhals.

In an effort to minimize the cacophony, the guidelines say shipping companies should consider using electric engines or changing the designs of vessels’ propellers and bows. They also ought to incorporate Inuit knowledge when gathering data on underwater radiated noise and share their findings with researchers and Indigenous communities, the agency wrote.

The maritime organization also emphasized the importance of helping Indigenous groups understand and manage the effects of underwater radiated noise themselves.

Melanie Lancaster, a biologist and expert on Arctic species at the World Wildlife Fund, told Grist the new guidelines are valuable but wishes they were mandates, not suggestions — something the Inuit Circumpolar Council has also called for.

The shipping industry has a patchy history complying with both mandatory and voluntary shipping speed limits. Just this week, the environmental group Oceana released a report saying that 84 percent of ships on the East Coast sped through stipulated slow zones between November 2020 and July 2023, threatening endangered whales. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration disputed the findings.

The Arctic is generally quieter than other parts of the globe. Animals there may be less acculturated to noise due in part to the ice that settles like a blanket over the ocean, Lancaster said. At the same time, ships may need to break that ice as they pass through, compounding the undersea noise affecting seals, walruses, and other wildlife.

Lancaster considers mandatory speed limits in the Arctic especially important because noise pollution is increasingly common there as shipping increases. One report noted that such commotion doubled in parts of the region between 2013 and 2019.

“The ocean is opening due to climate change, which is melting the sea ice, and that’s actually enabling ships to go further,” she said. But, she added, the problem that creates is easily solved.

“It’s pollution with a solution,” she said. “If you stop doing it, it’s gone.”

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Series: Broken Promises: Salmon Disappear From the Pacific Northwest Before building dams on the Columbia River, the U.S. guaranteed the tribes of the Pacific Northwest salmon forever. But the system it created to prevent the extinction of salmon has failed, and a way of life is ending.

Salmon heads, fins and tails filled baking trays in the kitchen where Lottie Sam prepped for her tribe’s spring feast.

The sacred ceremony, held each year on the Yakama reservation in south-central Washington, honors the first returning salmon and the first gathered roots and berries of the new year.

“The only thing we don’t eat is the bones and the teeth, but everything else is sucked clean,” Sam said, laughing.

Her mother and grandmother taught her that salmon is a gift from the creator, a source of strength and medicine that is first among all foods on the table. They don’t waste it.

“The skin, the brain, the head, the jaw, everything of the salmon,” she said. “Everybody’s gonna have the opportunity to consume that, even if it’s the eyeball.”

Sam is a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. They are among several tribes with a deep connection to salmon in the Columbia River Basin, a region that drains parts of the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, southward through seven U.S. states into the West’s largest river.

It’s also a region contaminated by more than a century of industrial and agricultural pollution, leaving Sam and others to weigh unknown health risks against sacred practices.

“We just know that if we overconsume a certain amount of it that it might have possible risks,” Sam said as she gutted salmon in the bustling kitchen. “It’s our food. We don’t see it any other way.”

But while tribes have pushed the government to pay closer attention to contamination, that hasn’t happened. Regulators have done so little testing for toxic chemicals in fish that even public health and environmental agencies admit they don’t have enough information to prioritize cleanup efforts or to fully inform the public about human health risks.

So Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica did our own testing, and we found what public health agencies have not: Native tribes in the Columbia River Basin face a disproportionate risk of toxic exposure through their most important food.

OPB and ProPublica purchased 50 salmon from Native fishermen along the Columbia River and paid to have them tested at a certified lab for 13 metals and two classes of chemicals known to be present in the Columbia. We then showed the results to two state health departments, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials and tribal fisheries scientists.

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Every day, we see dramatic examples of how climate change is affecting the world around us. This trend is threatening to the livelihoods and economies of Indigenous Peoples everywhere. As we are deeply connected to our land and sea, we are among the first to feel the actual effects of climate change.

One of the greatest repercussions of climate change is the significant impact on the availability and quality of crops that are traditionally grown, as well as those that are cultivated for subsistence. In several regions, global warming has been associated with an increased level of disease and mercury in shellfish due to the rise of sea surface temperatures. This poses a threat to our families above and beneath the waves.

Beyond sheer physical damage, climate change also impacts our culture. It leads to direct material losses, displacement of tribes, as well as loss of territory, cultural heritage, mobility, local knowledge, and language elements. With the rise of sea levels and storm erosion, coastal tribes also experience concern for cultural resources. This affects Indigenous people more than any other group, and we are doing something about it.

As a direct result of this significant impact, Tribes like Samish now take on a pivotal role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, demonstrating a proactive approach towards safeguarding their communities and natural heritage. The Samish Indian Nation's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began to combat climate change in 2016 with the creation of our Climate Adaptation Program, created to better understand Samish citizens' concerns about climate change impacts and develop mitigation strategies to address them.

This work has included conducting several studies, one of which is a regional GIS-based (geographic information system) survey of habitats that support Samish First Food, First Medicine and Cultural Use plants. The survey focuses on working with landowners to be aware of these species and advocate for proper land management to create climate refugia, thus allowing these species of cultural significance to persist for future generations. Our DNR is also active in kelp forest monitoring and restoration efforts in Samish Traditional Territory throughout the San Juan Archipelago. Samish DNR employs a dive team to monitor temperature and ocean acidification in these critical keystone habitats and are working to restore areas where kelp has disappeared.

Furthermore, Samish DNR is very active within Skagit County, partnering with a variety of entities to replant riparian zones for stream cooling, salmon habitat and carbon sequestration. Samish also has lands enrolled in the Skagit Valley Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and is dedicated to riparian planting and healthy streams on their own property.

A comprehensive survey of all the beaches in Samish Traditional Territory is underway to better understand the risks posed by sea level rise and storm erosion to cultural resources of concern. This information will be used to identify potential restoration areas with soft shore and living shoreline techniques, identify areas where Tribal Archaeology staff need to monitor or take action, and develop a comprehensive plan to protect those cultural resources at risk.

We are not the only Tribe in the country doing this work. Tribes across the United States are contributing impactfully to keep culture alive while preserving land for future generations. Through collective action and shared knowledge, we are fostering a legacy of environmental stewardship, ensuring that our land continues to thrive.

Given the tribe's unique history, we have come to realize that we cannot do this alone, and we all must work together in sharing the responsibility and, at the same time, doing our own part to make a difference for all our generations to come.

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