• Environmental Activities
• U.S. Activities
• International Activities

Steve Sachs

Environmental Activities

      Jessica Corbett, "Climate Scientists Urge More Civil Disobedience to Signal 'How Deep in the Sh*t We Are:' New paper argues direct action 'by scientists has the potential to cut through the myriad complexities... surrounding the climate crisis in a way that less visible and dispassionate evidence provision does not,'" Common Dreams, August 30, 2022, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/08/30/climate-scientists-urge-more-civil-disobedience-signal-how-deep-sht-we-are, reported, " 'We have long since arrived at the point at which civil disobedience by scientists has become justified.'
     That's according to an article published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change by five climate scientists—Stuart Capstick, Aaron Thierry, Emily Cox, Steve Westlake, and Julia K. Steinberger—and political scientist Oscar Berglund, who focuses on civil disobedience and social movements (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01461-y.epdf?).
      The half-dozen scientists, who have all participated in and supported groups engaged in civil disobedience pushing for action 'to secure a livable and sustainable future,' argue that now is the time for scientific experts to intensify their activism efforts.
     'What we say in the article is that getting involved in this kind of thing can actually add weight to the message that this is a crisis; that these are decent people who know more than anybody else about how deep in the shit we are, and are taking this kind of action—nonviolent direct action, civil disobedience," Berglund told The Guardian.
     ‘We have a kind of what we call epistemic authority here: People listen to what we are saying, as scientists, and it becomes a way of showing how serious the situation is, that we see ourselves forced to go to these lengths,' the University of Bristol lecturer added."
     The Indigenous Environmental Network announced in a June 22, 2022 Email, the on-line availability of Hoodwinked in the Hothouse, Third Edition on resisting false solutions to climate change, " It’s read by grassroots, veteran organizers, movement strategists and thought leaders from across climate and environmental justice movements.
     You can download the complete English Audiobook of Hoodwinked in the Hothouse as one track, so you can download and keep the whole book with you wherever you are. In addition, we have created separate tracks of each chapter so you can choose your adventure.
     You can download the full Audiobook (mp3) or find it on Soundcloud. We also created an illustrated version on YouTube!
     The Audiobook is free and copyleft. We encourage spontaneous sharing, podcasting, broadcasting and amplifying!!"

     Earth Justice wrote in a July 22, 2022 E-mail, "Last week, Biden again pledged to take a series of executive actions to tackle the climate crisis after climate negotiations in Congress were killed once again. But after reportedly considering declaring a climate emergency, he has yet to follow through.
     From his first day in office, the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition has been calling for the President to take strong executive action to declare a climate emergency and stop approving fossil fuel leases, projects, and exports. With this latest Congressional setback, NOW IS THE MOMENT to push hard for Biden to use his full executive authority.
     To that end, People vs Fossil Fuels is hosting a MASS MOVEMENT call today Tuesday, July 26th to bring people up to speed on our demands for executive action and why this is a critical moment to call for them – and take action together to ramp up pressure on Biden. Please RSVP now!
     This call is for organizations as well as individuals. In addition to attending yourself, can you get the word out to your members, family, friends and invite them to join the call?
     USE the template below for last minute reminders
     Here's a quick tweet to repost: https://twitter.com/FightFossils/status/1550244422486351872 ."

     “ 'Not Yet Defeated': 1,000+ March for Climate Justice at COP27: ‘COP27 needs to be a turning point for the climate crisis,’ said one activist,” Common Dreams, November 12, 2022, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/12/not-yet-defeated-1000-march-climate-justice-cop27 , reported, “ Hundreds of people rallied Saturday at the United Nations COP27 summit in Egypt to demand the fundamental political-economic transformations required to achieve climate justice.
     ‘There can be no climate justice without human rights,’ declared the COP27 Coalition , an alliance of progressive advocacy groups that planned the protest as part of its push for ‘an urgent response from governments to the multiple, systemic crises’ facing people around the world. ‘We are not yet defeated!’
     ‘We march today as part of the global day of action,’ Janet Kachinga, spokesperson for the COP27 Coalition, said in a statement. ‘Solidarity is the cornerstone of climate justice.’
     ‘We are marching inside the U.N. space to highlight that our movements are unable to march freely on the streets of Egypt,’ said Kachinga.Ahead of COP27, human rights groups denounced Egypt's repression of dissidents, including hunger-striking political prisoner Alaa Abd El Fattah. Since the conference began last week in the resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egyptian officials have been accused of spying on and otherwise intimidating participants.
     We refuse to greenwash the Egyptian government's denial of the right to freedom of association, assembly, and speech by marching in a government-controlled march in the streets of Sharm El-Sheikh,’ Kachinga continued.
     Instead, from inside a designated Blue Zone governed by U.N. rules, activists sought "to lift up the voices and demands of all our frontline communities and movements facing repression because they dream of a better world," said Kachinga.
      ‘We are at a crossroads of overlapping crises and governments are not on track to stop the worst of the climate crisis,’ said Kachinga. ‘COP27 needs to be a turning point for the climate crisis, and not a moment to silence people.’
     The U.N. recently published a series of reports warning that as a result of woefully inadequate emissions reductions targets and policies, there is ‘no credible path to 1.5°C in place,’ and only ‘urgent system-wide transformation’ can prevent temperatures from rising a cataclysmic 3°C by century's end.
      According to the latest data, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—the three main heat-trapping gases fueling global warming—hit an all-time high in 2021, and greenhouse gas emissions have only continued to climb this year. Despite overwhelming evidence that new fossil fuel projects will lead to deadly climate chaos , oil and gas corporations are still planning to expand dirty energy production in the coming years, including in Africa .
     ‘ The call for greater oil and gas production is completely out of step with climate science,’ Jeni Miller, executive director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said Friday in a statement. ‘Presented as a necessity for development, new investments in fossil fuel infrastructure would instead simply lock a new generation into these dirty fuels, at a time when clean energy is viable and ready to be scaled.’
     ‘The rightful need of people in low- and middle-income countries for access to energy—for clean cooking, for healthcare, for education, for jobs, and many other key determinants of health—must not bring with it the health costs associated with fossil fuels,’ Miller added. ‘It is vital that high-income countries provide financial support for the transition in low- and middle-income countries.’
     Among the key demands of the COP27 Coalition is that the rich nations most responsible for causing the climate crisis ‘fulfill their obligations and fair shares by reducing their emissions to zero and providing poorer nations the scale of financial support needed to address the crisis.’The coalition argues that ‘repayment should include adaptation, loss and damage, technology transfer, and factor in debt cancellation for vulnerable countries [that] have been impoverished while dealing with the impacts of the climate crisis.’
     A recent U.N.-backed report estimates that poor nations will need a combined total of $2.4 trillion per year by 2030 to fight the climate emergency—including funding for mitigation, adaptation , and loss and damage .
      A separate analysis from Carbon Brief reveals the extent of wealthy countries' failures to mobilize far smaller sums of money to support sustainable development and enable equitable responses to escalating extreme weather disasters.
      Since the COP15 meeting in 2009, developing countries have been promised that rich nations would provide at least $100 billion in climate aid each year by 2020. However, just over $83 billion was delivered in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available. The Global North is not expected to hit its annual target, widely regarded as insufficient , until 2023.
      The U.S. is most responsible for the shortfall, providing less than $8 billion toward the $100 billion figure in 2020. That constitutes a mere 19% of the country's approximately $40 billion "fair share," or what it should be paying based on its cumulative contribution to global greenhouse gas pollution.
      U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to allocate $11.4 billion per year toward international green finance by 2024—less than 2% of the annual Pentagon budget and still far less than Washington's fair share—but congressional lawmakers approved just $1 billion in a $1.5 trillion spending bill passed earlier this year.
      When it comes to the U.N.-backed loss and damage fund, just a handful of high-polluting countries have pledged a combined total of around $250 million so far, a tiny fraction of the $31.8 trillion that the world's 20 wealthiest economies collectively owe the Global South, according to the Climate Clock, a recently unveiled display at COP27 .
     ‘The science of climate breakdown has never been clearer, and seeing the suffering of my fellow Africans facing drought and famine, the impacts have never been more painful,’ said Mohamed Adow, a representative of the COP27 Coalition.‘It's no wonder that people are rising up across the world to make their voices heard that they will not stand for inaction from their leaders,’ Adow continued. ‘Unless more urgency is shown, marches will only be the start.’
     ‘Today we rise as a people, despite the restrictions, to demand our collective rights to a livable future,’ said environmental justice champion Nnimmo Bassey. ’We demand payment of the climate debt accumulated by centuries of dispossession, oppression, and destruction.’
     ‘We need a COP led by the people and not polluters,’ Bassey continued, alluding to the massive presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at the meeting. ‘One that rejects ecocidal, neocolonial false solutions that will widen the emissions gap, burn Africa and sink small island states, and further entrench environmental racism and climate injustice!’
     Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).“
      Stephen Castle , “As Climate Protests Get Bolder, British Police Strike Back With New Powers: New rules curtailing protests have alarmed some who fear an erosion of civil rights. They come as environmental protesters have intensified their tactics to draw attention to climate change,” The New York Times, November 20, 2022,   https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/world/europe/britain-protests-climate-change.html , reported, “ As environmentalists and climate change activists ratchet up their protests in Britain — employing tactics that disrupt everyday life — the authorities are responding in kind with robust actions that have raised concerns that long-enshrined freedoms are being eroded.”

     Earth Justice wrote in a July 22, 2022 E-mail," Your letters to the Postal Service continue to make a difference. On Wednesday, the Postal Service announced it will make at least 40% of its next truck purchases electric. This is a huge win: when we started pushing for electrification in September of 2021, the Postal Service only planned on electrifying 5% of its next purchase.
      This news is a testament to the hard work and activism of supporters like you, who have sent more than 100,000 letters to the Postal Service in the last year. However, 40% is not 100%, and it remains the case that every gallon of oil needlessly burned by a new postal truck is a missed opportunity to fight the climate crisis and clean our air.
      The Postal Service’s comment period for their Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is still ongoing, so we need to make our voices heard that 40% is not enough. We’re not stopping our push for 100% — and we’re counting on you to stick with us. Help us make waves today and call for the Postal Service to electrify the entire fleet (https://earthjustice.org/action/electrify-the-postal-service).

     "Federal court cites human health, climate costs in rejecting massive Wyoming, Montana coal mining plan," Western Environmental Law Center, August 4, 2022, https://westernlaw.org/federal-court-cites-human-health-climate-costs-in-rejecting-massive-wyoming-montana-coal-mining-plan/, reported, A federal judge late yesterday struck down two U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource management plans that failed to address the public health consequences of allowing massive amounts of coal, oil, and gas production from public lands and minerals in the Powder River Basin, including approximately 6 billion tons of low-grade, highly polluting coal over 20 years.
     The Biden administration had defended the Trump-era resource management plans (RMPs) in the court proceedings. The court ordered the BLM to redo its analysis a second time."

     350.org, wrote in a November 12, 2022 E-mail, “Yesterday, the President spoke at COP27 and announced more global commitments in global south regions, with an additional 150 million dollars invested in the Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience.
     This is no doubt a good step in the right direction and funding for short term recovery is necessary, but the United States can — and must — do more. We cannot afford to only make incremental changes when the world is heading towards irreversible climate catastrophe. We need radical action now. So I'm hoping you can sign the petition to put the pressure on President Biden to take action: Sign now: https://act.350.org/sign/nov-22-loss-damage-petition/?source=em20221112-2-ns-us&akid=226631%2E51426%2EtdaXo3
      At a minimum, we need 1.3 trillion dollars per year for loss and damage financing to pay for climate disasters and future adaptation. As one of the largest carbon emitters in the world, the U.S. must pay its fair share. A 150 million dollar investment on the Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience does not compensate for current and future climate disasters, and it’s not nearly enough to cover even a fraction of the cost. With no mention of loss and damage finance, countries from the global south will only be put further behind and continue to suffer from climate disasters caused by big emitters like the U.S.
     We are at a pivotal point. We need the U.S. to own up to its responsibility and pay for its contribution to the climate chaos. Stephen, can you sign this petition and show your support for loss and damage financing?
     Thank you so much for your help.
     In solidarity, Thanu Yakupitiyage, Associate Director, US Communications”

     Stop the Money Pipeline wrote in a December 15, 2022 E-mail, " Citi is funding environmental racism. Right now on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, communities of color already overburdened by pollution are resisting an unprecedented buildout of dangerous liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, largely financed by major global banks like Citi .
     Just ask John Beard, a long-time community leader and climate justice activist from the predominantly BIPOC city, Port Arthur, TX.
      'We’re fed up. These LNG companies are sacrificing Black, Brown and Indigenous people just so they can keep making money, justice and climate be damned,' John says. 'If you’re in the business of funding LNG, you’re in the business of funding environmental racism, simple as that.'
      Will you stand with John and the Port Arthur Community Action Network (PACAN) to tell Citi executives that it is past time to stop funding injustice in the Gulf?
      Since 2016, Citi has funneled nearly $9 billion into LNG companies and projects, which makes it the second largest methane gas financier in the world.
     One of the top recipients of Citi’s petrodollars is Sempra, the energy corporation responsible for Port Arthur LNG, one of the three methane gas export projects surrounding John and his neighbors. In addition to LNG, Port Arthur also contends with America’s largest oil refinery (Motiva), Texas’s largest emitter of sulfur dioxide (Oxbow Calcining), Total refinery (third highest emitter of benzene in the USA), Valero (over 600 air quality violations), and numerous chemical facilities.
     As for Sempra, it’s responsible for Cameron LNG - a massive operation just across the Louisiana border - as well as three more proposed LNG projects on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
     As John puts it, 'We are a cancer cluster, and banks like Citi are not just killing Port Arthur, they’re doing it everywhere. Ask people from Lake Charles and Cameron, they know. This won’t stop unless we make it stop. Cut off the money, cut off the head of the snake .'
      Can you help communities like John’s from Texas to Louisiana to Mexico fight the gas export onslaught by urging Citi to end all financing for LNG corporations and projects now (https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/citi-climate-action-racial-justice)?
      Climate justice and racial justice are one in the same. Nowhere is that more evident than the Gulf Coast. Big banks like Citi who make bold climate promises cannot be allowed to continue funding projects like Port Arthur LNG or companies like Sempra - and many others - that clearly perpetuate environmental racism, climate destruction and ruin the health of people in vulnerable communities."

     Ricardo Pérez, "From Local to Global: Peruvian Earth Defenders Confront Deutsche Bank in Germany: Delegation of Indigenous leaders from the Amazon built networks of support and solidarity in the movement against oil expansion in the Amazon," Amazon Watch, August 1, 2022, https://amazonwatch.org/news/2022/0801-from-local-to-global-peruvian-earth-defenders-confront-deutsche-bank-in-germany?utm_source=Amazon+Watch+Newsletter+and+Updates&utm_campaign=538ad08223-2019-04-25-blk%2B_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e6f929728b-538ad08223-342254273&mc_cid=538ad08223&mc_eid=8769095ac1, stated, "As we shared with you (https://amazonwatch.org/news/2022/0412-petroperus-ongoing-threat-to -the-amazon) a few weeks ago, an unexpected announcement jolted news outlets in several Latin American cities.  The major accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced it has decided not to audit the financial statements of its former client, Petroperú. The oil company’s toxic reputation led Indigenous leaders to travel to Germany on a delegation to call out the financial actors complicit in the destruction wrought by oil extraction in the Amazon.
     In July, we accompanied the delegation of advocacy coordinators from the Wampis and Achuar Nations. Together with several other allied organizations in Peru, we helped put them in touch with European civil society organizations so that they could help us secure a meeting with Deutsche Bank, the entity responsible for taking the lead on the recent syndicated loans given to Petroperú and serving as the administrative liaison with the nine other banks involved.
     We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany to launch a campaign asking Deutsche Bank how it could possibly place its trust in a company with Petroperú’s background. Did the bank utilize any type of filter prior to making the decision to finance the construction of oil infrastructure? Did the bank even consider its own commitments to sustainability or human rights? What Peru’s economic policy needs is a just transition beyond fossil fuels, and instead Deutsche Bank financed exactly the opposite.  The Wampis and Achuar traveled for days to give the bank this direct message and make sure that it was heard. Petroperú cannot escape its financial scandals, even in Europe.
      According to the multinational company PwC, known for supporting its clients in dubious situations with minimal objections , one of the clauses proposed by the state oil company was too much for PwC to take on. Petroperú asked PwC to safeguard the confidentiality of the audit results forever, despite the fact that the standard practice for these types of contracts is a period of only two years of confidentiality .
      The conflict between Petroperú and PricewaterhouseCoopers appeared to be too large of an obstacle for the oil company – immersed in a profound crisis resulting from decades of poor management and environmental irresponsibility. Petroperú has now found itself unable to find new investors , hindering its ability to achieve one of its two long-term goals: obtaining the $4.7 billion it needs to complete the construction of the gigantic Talara Refinery and being able to extract its own oil from the oil blocks on the Peruvian coast and in the country’s northern Amazon, including Block 64.
     As it turns out, being responsible for hundreds of spills, dozens of corruption scandals, and attempting to hide its financial statements forever is still not enough for the world’s largest banks to cease providing the company with financing. Through research with Stand.earth in 2021, we found that some of Petroperú’s core financiers include Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Citi, and BNP Paribas. In order to make financing Petroperú socially unacceptable for former and proposed bank partners, Amazon Watch supported the Wampis and Achuar peoples in evaluating the process of resisting extraction in Block 64 and built a solidarity campaign including this European delegation .
     In the particular case of Petroperú, the fact that some of the most important global banks headquartered in Europe and the United States – as Peru’s news media likes to emphasize – decided to invest billions of dollars in completing Talara, one of the largest refineries in the region, represents much more than money for Petroperú. So now Peru has a gigantic refinery that requires a significant amount of oil in order to be economically viable and not become a huge deficit. The execution of the Talara project grants the oil company the endorsement needed to seek partners in the international market to execute the second part of its strategy to survive its institutional crisis: extraction on Blocks 192 , 1, and of course, 64 .
     Many oil market analysts, and even the president of Petroperú himself, have said that the majority of the petroleum that will be refined in Talara will be imported (some from the Ecuadorian Amazon) and that 'it will not become a mega driver of oil operation expansion throughout the Amazon .' The unfortunate truth is that regardless of where it comes from or its impact, Petroperú emphasizes that the oil must arrive quickly, otherwise, it risks impacting the country’s economy.
     Large banks invest vast sums in deceitful public relations campaigns to convince the world that they are 'essential' actors in the fight against climate change while generating scenarios contributing to climate chaos . In bankrolling oil company projects in the Amazon, financial institutions are violating and sabotaging their own commitments, safeguards, standards, and guidelines.
      The Wampis and Achuar nations will not permit oil production on Block 64, and they have launched an international campaign to make it clear to anyone who still thinks it might be a good investment to attempt to extract oil from their territories. To further this strategy, these communities in resistance call for your solidarity. It is up to all of us to call on the climate movement to embrace their struggle and mobilize various collaboration networks throughout the world.
      The delegation’s time in Frankfurt was successful in building out mutual collaboration and partnerships with support from Urgewald, BankTrack, and several other organizations. Together, we reached out to young activists, artist collectives, and European civil society, connecting the dots necessary to prevent financial colonizers from continuing to come to the Amazon with their false promises of sustainable development.
     We will continue accompanying the Achuar and Wampis peoples and helping them get their message out resoundingly to the most strategic places, so as to bring about real transformation that benefits everyone."

     ”Tell Vanguard to Stop Financing Human Rights Abuses Through Oil Company Petroperú!,” Amazon Watch, November 8, 2022, https://amazonwatch.org/take-action/tell-vanguard-to-stop-financing-human-rights-abuses-through-oil-company-petroperu?link_id=3&can_id=2304a48b2891e77b9b6c14d1ce535f4f&source=email-join-our-week-of-action-against-vanguard-and-petroperu-2&email_referrer=email_1733655&email_subject=put-pressure-on-vanguard-and-petroperu-to-help-the-peruvian-amazon, stated, “ For decades, the Indigenous Achuar and Wampis peoples of the Peruvian Amazon have fought back against oil companies attempting to drill on their territories without the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of their communities. The most recent of these attempts is being made by the state-owned oil company, Petroperú. destruction wouldn’t be possible without the financing of asset management firm Vanguard, which is actively buying Petroperú bonds and selling them to customers in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
     Sign the open letter to Vanguard telling it to stop financing human rights abuses in the Peruvian Amazon through investments in PetroperúSign the open letter to Vanguard telling it to stop financing human rights abuses in the Peruvian Amazon through investments in Petroperú.”

      Jake Johnson , "WTO Threats Against US Electric Vehicle Tax Credit Prompt Calls for 'Climate Peace Clause:' 'It's time to end this circular firing squad where countries threaten and, if successful, weaken or repeal one another's climate measures through trade and investment agreements,'" Common Dreams, August 12, 2022, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/08/12/wto-threats-against-us-electric-vehicle-tax-credit-prompt-calls-climate-peace-clause?utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter, reported, " South Korea and the European Union's critiques of electric vehicle tax credit provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act—which U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law as soon as Friday—have sparked urgent calls for a global 'climate peace clause' whereby nations would agree not to use archaic trade mechanisms to undermine the emission-reduction policies of other countries.
     'It's time to end this circular firing squad where countries threaten and, if successful, weaken or repeal one another's climate measures through trade and investment agreements ,' Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch director at Public Citizen, said in a statement Thursday.
     The E.U. and Seoul have specifically expressed concerns that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) limits EV tax credit eligibility to vehicles assembled in North America, a restriction that European Commission spokesperson Miriam Garcia Ferrer called 'discriminatory' under World Trade Organization rules .
     'It is discriminating against foreign producers in relation to U.S. producers,'" Ferrer told reporters earlier this week. 'We continue to urge the United States to remove these discriminatory elements from the bill and ensure that it is fully compliant with the WTO.'
     Reuters reported that 'South Korea also said on Thursday that it has expressed concerns to the United States that the bill could potentially violate WTO rules and a bilateral free trade deal.'
     'South Korea's trade ministry said in a statement that it has asked U.S. trade authorities to ease battery component and final vehicle assembly requirements," the outlet noted. "South Korea's auto industry group on Friday said it had sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, requesting that the United States include EVs and battery components manufactured or assembled in South Korea as eligible for U.S. tax benefits, citing the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.'
      Such objections have sparked concerns that U.S. efforts to subsidize the production and greater adoption of electric vehicles to counter transportation emissions—the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S.—could draw formal complaints at the corporate-dominated WTO , potentially posing legal challenges to the EV tax credits and other attempts at climate action.
     Global trade mechanisms , specifically Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions found in many agreements, have frequently been used by governments and corporations to challenge nations' climate policies, hampering the fight against the worsening planetary emergency.
     'At the exact moment we should be promoting more green jobs initiatives in the U.S., we instead have the EU and other countries using threats of trade attacks to try to bully the U.S. into eliminating these types of programs, creating a race to the bottom in trade and climate,' said Arthur Stamoulis, executive director of the Trade Justice Education Fund.'
     It is time for countries to come together and agree to stop using trade rules to challenge commonsense climate and green jobs policies needed to build the clean energy economy,' Stamoulis added. "The U.S. should work with other countries to commit to a Climate Peace Clause and create a race to the top on trade and climate. I urge the E.U. to reconsider this counterproductive action."
     Hebah Kassem, acting director of A Living Economy at Sierra Club, added, 'It's clear that the time for a Climate Peace Clause is now—so that all countries can get to the urgent business of taking bold climate action without fear of unnecessary challenges from trade agreements.'
     Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)."

     "Save the Arctic: Tell the Biden administration to shut down the Willow oil drilling plan!" Defenders of Wildlife, visited July 8, 2022, https://act.defenders.org/page/43363/action/1?supporter.appealCode=3WDE2211A1XX2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=080822_WillowProject_Donor&utm_content=080822+Willow+Project+-+Donor&ea.url.id=1375212, stated, " The Arctic is in grave danger: A proposed oil drilling project is threatening to destroy habitat for polar bears while adding over 250 million tons of CO2 to the atmosphere.
      The Willow oil drilling plan would be the largest oil drilling project ever proposed on federal lands in Alaska. If approved, this single project will unleash about as much CO2 into the atmosphere as the yearly output of 56 million automobiles.
     The Biden administration now faces its biggest immediate climate test: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) must decide whether it will allow this project to industrialize a massive swath of Arctic habitat, or whether it will stand up to protect wildlife and our nation’s future from the deadly threat of climate change.
     Add your signature: Urge the BLM to shut down this massive oil drilling plan that imperils the future of wildlife and people!"

    "URGENT: Protect the Western Arctic and Our Climate Progress!," League of Conservation Voters (LVV), August 14, 2022, https://actnow.lcv.org/ldb98or?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=081422%20ADV%20Willow%20Project%20(1)&utm_content=8583144, stated, " If we let ConocoPhillips extract and burn the Western Arctic’s fossil fuels, it will be a massive setback to efforts to protect the world from climate change.
      The proposal for the Willow Project would lock in three more decades of massive fossil fuel production and add an estimated 250 million metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere — equivalent to the emissions from 76 coal fired power plants over an entire year .
     This fragile area of Alaska is already warming four times faster than the rest of the world due to climate change – forcing ConocoPhillips to plan to install artificial “chillers” to refreeze the Arctic’s melting permafrost and build drilling infrastructure.
     The Department of the Interior has the power to stop massive fossil fuel development from destroying this critical region and beyond. We must act now to protect the Western Arctic."

      Kenny Stancil, "Activists Arrested While Protesting 'Dirty Pipeline Deal' Outside Schumer's Office: 'Sen. Schumer is sacrificing frontline communities and our clean energy future, all to placate a coal baron,' said one organizer, referring to the majority leader's side agreement with Sen. Joe Manchin,'" Common Dreams, August 18, 2022, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/08/02/alarm-raised-over-manchin-side-deal-would-pave-way-major-climate-bomb, " Climate campaigners were arrested on Thursday after demonstrating outside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's Manhattan office, where they expressed opposition to the fossil fuel-friendly permitting reforms the New York Democrat agreed to bring to the floor to secure Sen. Joe Manchin's support for the Inflation Reduction Act .
     'Sen. Schumer is sacrificing frontline communities and our clean energy future, all to placate a coal baron,' Food & Water Watch senior New York organizer Laura Shindell, one of 10 activists taken into custody, said in a statement .
     In addition to those who were arrested while conducting a peaceful sit-in at Schumer's office, dozens of others participated in Thursday's action, holding signs telling the majority leader to 'Stop the Dirty Pipeline Deal' and 'Off Fossil Fuels.'
     Last month, in a bid to gain Manchin's (D-W.Va.) support for the climate, tax, and healthcare package that congressional Democrats recently passed through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process and President Joe Biden signed into law on Tuesday, Schumer held closed-door negotiations with the serial obstructionist.
     'It's time for Sen. Schumer to block this 'permitting reform' proposal and protect our climate and communities, not ExxonMobil.'
        In exchange for Manchin's backing on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Schumer agreed to hold a separate vote on a bill that would advance permitting changes sought by the long-time coal profiteer and Capitol Hill's leading recipient of oil and gas money this election cycle.
      According to a leaked one-page summary, the side deal would weaken environmental review procedures and limit public input on infrastructure decisions, thereby expediting new fossil fuel projects—including the Mountain Valley Pipeline , a fracked gas development that Manchin's constituents and other Appalachian residents have been fighting for five years—even as experts warn that averting the worst effects of the climate crisis requires an end to new oil and gas extraction ."
            Honor the Earth wrote in a September 7, 2022 @mail, "You know from our last email that Congress is considering a "permitting reform" Dirty Deal that would fast-track destructive fossil and mining projects, sacrifice and silence Indigenous and other frontline communities, and weaken environmental protection laws. Hundreds of frontliners are gathering in DC this Thursday to lobby their reps and rally at the capitol. The rest of us can support their efforts by attending this 30-minute Virtual Rally on Thursday, September 8, 12pm ET (https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register)!
      Line 5 is among the pipeline projects that could be fast-tracked by the dirty deal. If you're in the Great Lakes area, please join the in-person Line 5 hearing on Thursday, September 8, 3-8pm ET, at Little Bear Arena, 275 Marquette Street in Saint Ignace, MI ( buses available from Ann Arbor & Traverse City!) If you're not able to go, please submit a comment . Our movement is growing and frontlines are uniting. Together we can protect the water, treaties, climate, and all we hold dear! Miigwech."

     "Breaking: Environmental Leaders Arrested on Capitol Hill to Protest Schumer/Manchin Permit," Indigenous Environmental Network, September 22, 2022, https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1416004987, stated, " A group of 11 environmental and community leaders were arrested today calling on the Senate to reject Senator Manchin’s proposal to undermine environmental and community review and fast-track oil, gas, coal and mining projects. Those participating in civil disobedience are all directors of prominent organizations, including national and regional environmental groups, community organizations, and labor unions.
     The protest came one day after Manchin formally released his Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022 (https://www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/EAB527DC-FA23-4BA9-B3C6-6AB108626F02), which had been first announced in July. Since the bill’s release late Wednesday, it has been widely criticized by civil rights and environmental justice advocates, and members of Congress.
     Organizations participating in the protest include Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Popular Democracy, Earthworks, Familias Unidas por La Justicia, Food & Water Watch, Greenpeace USA, Indigenous Environmental Network, Just Transition Alliance, New York Communities for Change, Oil Change International, Step Up Louisiana, Sunrise Movement, Climate Justice Alliance, and United Steelworkers Local 675.
      'Manchin’s permitting reform bill, the Energy Independence and Security Act is a direct threat against the inherent sovereignty and jurisdictional authority of our Indigenous nations and its peoples to protect ourselves from this accelerating climate crisis. The content of the bill strips critical NEPA provisions that Indigenous and other environmental justice communities need in order to take action on destructive projects like pipelines. Pipelines like the Mountain Valley Pipeline will be built with impunity under this bill. This dirty deal will set a precedent for more destructive projects to be implemented without review. We must uplift and protect our Mother Earth, not repeal the minimal provisions that do exist. We must continue to fight against climate greenwashing and false solutions. We must take real action to keep fossil fuels in the ground',"
     For quotes from the directors of each organization go to: https://www.ienearth.org/breaking-the-heads-of-13-climate-ej-orgs-are-on-capitol-hill-in-dc-right-now-risking-arrest-to-denounce-senator-manchins-dirtydeal-to-fast-track-fossil-fuel-projects/ .

     Stop the Money Pipeline wrote in an October 3, 2022 E-mail, “We're sharing this urgent call to action in solidarity with our partners Stand.earth and the Wet’suwet’en people in Canada fighting the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
     Last week, Coastal GasLink installed equipment to drill under, and risk contaminating, Wedzin Kwa, a pure and sacred river revered by the Wet’suwet’en since time immemorial.
     This is the moment so many of us have feared. After over a decade of fierce resistance to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the Wet’suwet’en need our solidarity more than ever. W ill you act in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and demand that RBC defund Coastal GasLink and stop the drilling now? Make a call right now.
     Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs were denied access to the territory, and Wet’suwet’en people and supporters have been targeted for harassment and surveillance with the Royal
     Canadian Mounted Police doubling their presence on the Yintah over the last month. The RCMP’s militarized backup of corporate destruction puts private profit for a few ahead of Indigenous self-determination and community safety, ruthlessly clearing the way for a fracked gas pipeline.
     This violence is funded by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC); the lead financier of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. As the shareholder of the biggest stake in Coastal GasLink RBC could stop the project at any time.
      Will you call RBC CEO Dave McKay and his senior executives to demand that RBC defund Coastal GasLink and stop brutalizing Indigenous people? We have a call script ready for you (https://stopthemoneypipeline.com/flood-the-lines-rbc/).
     Together, we can fight massive financial institutions like RBC and stop them from funding the brutalization of Indigenous people and land. None of us can do everything; but all of us can do something – and that is exactly what it’s going to take. Will you rise up in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and force RBC to stop the Coastal GasLink pipeline once and for all? (https://stopthemoneypipeline.com/flood-the-lines-rbc)
     Let’s show RBC, and the Canadian government, that the Wet’suwet’en don’t stand alone.In rage and solidarity,
     - the Stop the Money Pipeline team”
     
     "Protect the Gulf: Oppose the Sea Port Crude Oil Project," Food and Water Watch, September 8, 2022, https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/act/protect-gulf-oppose-sea-port-crude-oil-project, stated, "We have until September 12th to urge the federal government to deny crucial permits for the Texas Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT), proposed by notorious oil companies Enbridge and Enterprise.”
     SPOT is dangerous and unnecessary. We can’t sacrifice the health of Texas’s Gulf Coast environment and communities for a massive crude oil export terminal that will further fuel the climate crisis.
      Submit a comment today urging Secretary Buttigieg and Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips to reject permits for the Sea Port Crude Oil project."
           "Amazon Watch wrote on September 5, 2022, Action Day fir the Amazon, https://amazonwatch.org/take-action?utm_source=Amazon+Watch+Newsletter+and+Updates&utm_campaign, " Sign the petition to demand that the international community commit to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025. The Amazon is at a tipping point, and we must join with Indigenous Earth Defenders to defend it!"

     " Demand the Protection of Ecuador’s Last Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation!" Amazon Watch, Augus 18, 2022, https://amazonwatch.org/take-action/demand-the-protection-of-ecuadors-last-indigenous-peoples-in-voluntary-isolation?utm_source=Amazon+Watch+Newsletter+and+Updates&utm_campaign=42ad7aee78-2019-04-25-blk%2B_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e6f929728b-42ad7aee78-342254273&mc_cid=42ad7aee78&mc_eid=8769095ac1, stated, " The Tagaeri and Taromenane are the last two Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation within Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse places in the world. Despite its ecological and cultural significance, Yasuní is threatened by oil and timber activity .
      Although Ecuador’s Constitution determines that all extractive activities are prohibited in territories of isolated peoples , the government has not taken effective measures to control the extraction ."

     Amazon Watch wrote in a September 22, 2022 E-mail, "In 2011, we celebrated a massive victory for the rainforest. Chevron was found liable for its deliberate pollution of the Ecuadorian Amazon and was ordered to pay $9.5 billion in damages to the affected Indigenous and campesino residents.
     The judgment has since been affirmed by six appellate courts, including the Supreme Courts of Ecuador and Canada. But now, if Ecuador fails to defend its court’s decision, this victory is at stake – if we don’t act immediately. Chevron refused to pay the 2011 judgment and in an illegitimate attempt to escape justice it filed a case before a business-friendly undemocratic international arbitration panel. That panel issued an award in its favor and is now attempting to place responsibility for the gross polluter’s environmental crimes on the Ecuadorian people!
     Right now, the Ecuadorian government is rapidly approaching a deadline for justice. By September 28, 2022, Ecuador’s Attorney General must either continue to formally reject the arbitration panel's award for Chevron or it will be forced to assume the damages that Chevron was held liable for after decades of deliberate human rights violations and pollution – making the people of Ecuador pay for the clean up of Chevron’s toxic waste!Ecuador’s economy cannot afford to remedy or pay out the damages owed, and were it forced to do so, it would further Chevron’s impunity for environmental and human rights crimes around the globe. This is a direct threat to climate justice.
     Indigenous and campesino communities represented by the Union of People Affected by Chevron-Texaco are calling on Ecuador to act quickly. They need your solidarity to call on the government to hold Chevron accountable! The fossil fuel industry is watching. This must be stopped!
      Yes, I will add my voice to demand Chevron be held accountable! "

     International Crisis Group (ICG). "How to Avert an Imminent Disaster off Yemen’s Red Sea Coast," Statement / Middle East & North Africa  4 July 2022, https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/yemen/how-avert-imminent-disaster-yemens-red-sea-coast, commented, " A floating oil storage facility in Yemeni waters is on the verge of breaking or blowing up. Time is running out to raise the remaining $20 million needed for a salvage operation to prevent ecological and economic damage of historic proportions.
      Crisis Group calls on governments, international institutions and affluent private individuals to reach into their pockets as a matter of extreme urgency to help stave off a disaster of dramatic magnitude in the Red Sea. The Safer (pronounced “saffer”), a large tanker-turned-floating storage and offloading vessel carrying over a million barrels of oil, could explode or break apart at any moment. Should it do so, it would almost certainly cause an environmental catastrophe that would far exceed the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, the current “record holder” for marine ecological damage from a single incident. It would also aggravate Yemen’s already dire humanitarian plight and could complicate efforts to end the country’s war. A concerted salvage operation may still be possible, but time is extremely short, and the UN, which has negotiated a workable plan, remains desperately short of the necessary cash – $20 million – despite a vigorous fundraising effort.
     The facts of the case are well known. They have been brought to the world’s attention by the UN humanitarian mission in Yemen and covered in an exposé in The New Yorker magazine.
      In short summary, they are as follows:
     The Safer is anchored in waters off Yemen’s Red Sea coast that are controlled by Huthi rebels, who hold most of the country’s north. Seven years of war and sanctions have made it impossible to move the oil or perform routine maintenance on the floating facility; during this time, the vessel has started to corrode, while its onboard system to prevent flammable gases from exploding has become defunct.
     Following painstaking UN-led negotiations, the Huthis and other parties in Yemen’s war have agreed for the oil to be offloaded from the Safer and for the vessel to be dismantled and replaced, probably by a smaller ship tethered to an offshore buoy, a system that several other countries, including Iran, use.
     The first stage of the operation – offloading the oil – carries a price tag of $80 million. The second stage – putting the new facility in place – could cost an additional $64 million (from which can be deducted the expected revenue from sale of the Safer’s scrap metal, estimated at $25-30 million). The funds for the second stage are not needed with the same urgency.
     Time is of the essence to complete the first stage. While the ship could break up or turn into a fireball at any time, the risk will rise significantly once the season changes in October, when rough winds will buffet the Red Sea. The salvage operation – by a Dutch concern – is estimated to need four months. It cannot be delayed a moment longer.
     The UN’s appeal for funds for the first stage has yielded $60 million so far. Contributions from the Dutch, German, Saudi, Swiss, UK and U.S. governments have arrived, but the last $20 million are proving to be the most difficult to raise.
     Yet the calculation is simple : spend $80 million now or billions upon billions later, namely on the environmental clean-up and to deal with second-order consequences, such as growing famine in Yemen (as the port cities through which the bulk of food imports arrive are forced to close down) and destruction of fisheries and other sources of income affected by the oil spill – not just in Yemen but all along the Red Sea coast. Add the impact on shipping through this vital waterway, for example in the form of additional supply-chain challenges that would affect the world economy, and the cost of inaction is even clearer. The incident with the Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March 2021, should serve as a stark reminder of the interruptions even short-lived closure could cause.
     Donors should therefore see the $80 million package not as a gift to the Huthi rebels, but as an essential act of protecting their strategic interests and economic wellbeing, as well as the fragile ecology of the Red Sea basin.
     The UN has been at pains to keep the Safer crisis separate from the Yemen war from which it sprang, realising that the belligerents will try – as they already have, but in vain – to politicise the issue and in the process further delay the salvage operation. Yet the link is real, if only because the feared massive oil spill could easily hamper peacemaking efforts. Not only will the various parties almost certainly blame one another for the disaster, but the closure of ports and multiplying humanitarian challenges could reignite fighting just as Yemen is experiencing a moment of relative calm thanks to a UN-mediated truce, now in its third month. A spill could also heighten geopolitical tensions in the region.
     This appeal may be the simplest Crisis Group has ever made. It is not about conflict parties putting aside deep differences and agreeing to painful compromises at the negotiating table. Rather, it is about governments and others digging into their budgets to allocate $20 million to this effort – an amount that is almost negligible for most Western stakeholders given the far greater outlays for other concerns as well as the scale of the looming disaster. There can be no doubt that tackling the Safer threat now would bring a huge return on what can only be seen as a minimal investment.
     Of course, apart from the Safer issue, those with a stake in a negotiated end to the Yemeni war will need to do much more to accomplish that task and also to reduce the immense humanitarian suffering that the war has brought. Salvaging an ailing vessel would be a cheap, easy and utterly sensible first step toward this larger goal."

     "Kicking oil companies out of school," The New York Times, August 16, 2022, https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=54&emc=edit_clim_20220816&instance_id=69457&nl=climate-forward&productCode=CLIM&regi_id=52235981&segment_id=101533&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2Fe1ce9eb7-3093-55ab-bebd-2558274b675f&user_id=2984790c14170290245238c0cd4fd927, reported, " Over the past decade, students around the world have successfully pressed many universities to sell off their fossil fuel investments. Today, I’m taking a turn as guest host of the Climate Forward newsletter with a bit of news about how that movement is expanding into new territory.
     Faculty and senior staff at the University of Cambridge are poised to vote on a measure that would require the university to stop accepting funding from coal, oil and gas companies. It would be the first leading university to do so, and a vote could happen as early as this autumn."

      Aby L. Sène , "Western Nonprofits Are Trampling Over Africans’ Rights and Land: Indigenous people are being forced out from so-called protected areas," Foreign Policy ( FP), July 1, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/07/01/western-nonprofits-african-rights-land/?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editors%20picks%20oc&utm_term=43916&tpcc=editors%20picks%20oc, stated, " The accelerating deterioration of the natural environment has manifested in devastating loss of biodiversity and extreme weather events posing existential threats to our world. As a concerted effort to address the twin issues of climate change and biodiversity loss, climate scientists and conservationists are advocating to double the coverage of protected areas by setting aside at least 30 percent of terrestrial cover for conservation by 2030 .
      The plan, known as Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework , was initially proposed by Western non-profit conservation organizations, pushed by corporate donors, and supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Indigenous and human rights activists, however, are sounding the alarm, noting that the plan would further dispossess Indigenous lands for commodification under the guise of conservation. They are comparing the so-called 30x30 plan to the second scramble for Africa and a ' colossal land grab as big as Europe’s colonial era” that will “bring as much suffering and death .'”

     "Tell Congress: Support Communities, Not Big Oil," Union of Concerned Scientists, September 12, 2022, https://secure.ucsusa.org/a/2022-experts-tell-congress-support-communities-not-big-oil, stated, " The United States recently passed landmark legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, to galvanize the nation's transition to clean energy. While the IRA has some troubling provisions that risk expanding fossil fuel use, it makes major investments in cleaning up our energy system to enable the United States to achieve its climate goals.
     However, this progress risks being undermined by a sweetheart deal for the fossil fuel industry that Senate leadership reportedly agreed to introduce this fall to gain the support of Senator Joe Manchin for the IRA. Congress should not provide giveaways for the very fossil fuel companies whose deception and denial have fueled the climate crisis and environmental injustices, and that continue to use delay tactics to stall the clean energy transition.
     Recent hearings in the House Committee on Oversight & Reform have spotlighted Big Oil's decades of disinformation on climate, underlining why our elected leaders must stop bowing to the industry's lobbying pressure. This congressional "side deal" would perpetuate environmental racism by weakening bedrock environmental protections and reducing local communities' ability to have a say about polluting infrastructure being built in their area .
     Write today and tell your members of Congress that you stand with the hundreds of frontline, environmental justice, and climate justice groups that are leading the way on opposing this unacceptable sweetheart deal for the fossil fuel industry. Urge them to say no to the side deal and instead focus on passing the Environmental Justice for All Act. Congress needs to hear from scientists and experts like you."

     Evergreen Action wrote on November 30, 2022, https://act.evergreenaction.com/letter/tell-Biden-shut-down-willow-letter-video/?utm_source=_2022-11-22_influencers_&source=_2022-11-22_influencers_, “ The Willow Project is Big Polluter's 30-year plan to drill in sensitive Alaskan ecosystems near Indigenous communities. It would unleash devastating levels of pollution and directly undermine Biden's climate goals. Sign and send a letter telling President Biden to deny the Willow Project permit right now!‘Dear President Biden,Under your leadership, the U.S. continues to make historic progress on the climate crisis. Your bold target of achieving a 50-52 percent reduction in greenhouse gas pollution by 2030 will shape our future for the better, and your support for the Inflation Reduction Act is already leading to real, material benefits for our communities.
     Unfortunately, ConocoPhillips' Willow Project in Alaska directly undermines these critical climate goals.
     Your own Interior Department says the project would release 278 million metric tons or more of greenhouse gas pollution over 30 years. That is a devastating addition to our rapidly warming climate. The project would also endanger the health and food security of Alaska Native communities, and threaten a fragile local ecosystem.
     Extracting hundreds of millions of barrels of oil in Alaska puts us at risk of baking in higher temperatures at the exact time when scientists have found that we need to urgently phase out fossil fuels. It also runs counter to the rapid transition to affordable clean energy that is already underway in the U.S., thanks in part to your unflagging support for the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.
     At the same time , it would do nothing to counter the high gas prices hurting Americans at the pump. The volatility of fossil fuel prices will continue to hurt Americans until we fully transition to affordable clean energy. We should be working to accelerate that transition by implementing the investments in the IRA–and stop furthering our dependence on dangerous fossil fuels.
     I strongly urge you to direct the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management to deny the Willow Project permit.
     Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.”

      Stan Cox , "'We'll Meet Them Out in the Fields': Challenging the Pipelines to Nowhere: The primary purpose of these and other carbon pipeline systems was never to reduce atmospheric CO2. Its backers' aim is to turn a profit by spiffing up the environmental image of US feed-grain agriculture," Common Dreams, September 12, 2022, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/09/12/well-meet-them-out-fields-challenging-pipelines-nowhere?utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter_op, reported, " Recent polls suggest that the bonkers, even barbaric, rhetoric coming from far-right MAGA candidates could be undermining Republicans' chances of capturing both chambers of Congress in November. Now, the greater danger may lie down-ballot. If extremists win key offices in swing-state governments in 2022, they might manage to award their states' Electoral College votes to the MAGA presidential candidate, against the will of the voters, in 2024 and illegitimately capture the White House.
     With the prospect of such coup-plotting in state capitals, and with the Democrats' much-hyped federal climate bill now passed into law, the focus of struggle on both the political and climate fronts has moved from Washington out to regional, state, and local arenas . Exemplifying this shift is a confrontation now building in the Plains states that pits a grassroots alliance of Native tribes, farmers, and environmental groups against predatory agribusiness interests. It's a confrontation with potentially profound ramifications for climate and the broader ecological emergency.
     A company called Summit Carbon Solutions is proposing to build a 2,000-mile network of pipelines sprawling across parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. The system would collect liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) from 32 ethanol fuel plants across the region and transport it to North Dakota's oil country for storage. A second company, Navigator CO2 Ventures, wants to build 1,300 miles of pipeline to pick up CO2 from 20 ethanol and fertilizer plants in the same region but transport it in the opposite direction, to Illinois. At both destinations, the compressed CO2 would be injected into deep rock formations where it is supposed to remain until far-off geologic time.
     Why would the industry go to all that work and expense? Because ethanol manufacturing facilities release a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere, canceling out that biofuel's purported climate advantage over gasoline. Retrofitting plants to capture most of the CO2 from the plant's exhaust stream, liquefy it, and inject it into the earth could help shore up ethanol's shaky 'green' image.
     In 2016–17, the region fought a valiant battle against construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), which carries carbon-heavy oil into the Midwest from North Dakota. Now a broad, politically diverse coalition of environmentalists, Indigenous communities, and landowners is arrayed against the proposed carbon pipelines.
     Mahmud Fitil serves as Land Defense Organizer for the Great Plains Action Society, an Indigenous-led organization in the forefront of this struggle in Iowa and Nebraska. He gave me a quick verbal tour of the territory that Native tribes and the broader alliance of groups are defending: Western Iowa is home to the Meskwaki, or Sac and Fox. Along the Nebraska–Kansas border live the Ioway people, who were expelled from their homelands by 19th-century white settlers. And several Plains tribes have reservations along the Missouri River dividing Iowa and Nebraska: the Umo ho  or Omaha nation; the Ho-Chunk or Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; the Santee Sioux; and farther upstream, the Yankton, or Ihanktonwan Sioux. 'They all will be impacted by the carbon pipelines that are being proposed for the region,' says Fitil. 'The tribes are alarmed by the designs the pipeline companies have on the area and are mobilizing against them.'
      The Summit pipeline would cross the Missouri River just north of the Winnebago reservation, and that's a problem, says Fitil. 'These projects typically have transient workforces to build out the infrastructure. During construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, we saw some of the issues that come with these types of transient camps: proliferation of drugs and alcohol, crime, violence, prostitution. That's just not the type of thing we want in our communities in Iowa and Nebraska, whether you're Indigenous or you belong to another part of the rural community.' The threat posed by the transient camps would be part of a cascade of damage that the pipelines would inflict on humans, other species, landscapes, and waters across the region.
      An ecologically irrational enterprise
     The Summit and Navigator projects got a huge shot-in-the-pipe from the climate provisions of the new federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which increased the tax credit for carbon capture and burial from $50 up to $85 per metric ton. That's likely to stimulate even more demand for carbon transport and pump up an industry that has already proven incapable of significantly reducing the nation's greenhouse-gas emissions, even as taxpayers are compelled to fork over more than $20 billion worth of incentives to keep it afloat.
     The primary purpose of these and other carbon pipeline systems was never to reduce atmospheric CO2. Its backers' aim is to turn a profit by spiffing up the environmental image of US feed-grain agriculture. The lion's share of US corn production goes to supply two commodities, vehicle fuel and grain-fed meat. And the chief purpose of feedlots and ethanol plants is not to provide for nourishment and transportation; it is to gobble up surplus grain, thereby propping up grain prices and the agricultural economy. Cultivating the tens of millions of acres of feed/fuel grains—mostly corn and soybeans—that generate that huge surplus has led to soil degradation, chemical contamination of air and water, high energy consumption, and massive greenhouse-gas emissions. The pipeline would address only the CO2 waste gas produced by fermentation of corn grain in ethanol plants, which is a teeny tiny sliver of those emissions.
     This ecologically irrational system is very lucrative for agribusinesses that supply equipment and inputs to produce the big crop surpluses and big emissions. These businesses are now offering to create yet another profitable industry, one that will, ostensibly, clean up after the ethanol plants that were built to help sop up the grain surplus resulting from the industrialization of farming.
     None of this carbon juggling is justifiable on climate grounds. In a 2022 open letter published as a paid ad in the Washington Post, almost 500 climate, environmental, and civil society groups urged the governmental policymakers of North America to "abandon the dirty, dangerous myth of carbon capture and storage." Their conclusion: "We don't need to fix fossil fuels; we need to ditch them. Instead of capturing carbon to pump it back underground, we should keep fossil fuels in the ground in the first place" (emphasis in original). Stopping the double-steal
     Burying and maintaining more than 3,000 miles of pipe requires access to huge amounts of land. In Iowa alone, Navigator's pipeline will pass through 35 counties, Summit's through 24. Company representatives have been approaching property owners across those counties about signing over control of portions of their land as an easement. Hundreds are refusing to sign, citing safety concerns (CO2 leaks can be extremely dangerous), damage to their cropland and waterways, and corporate intrusion on their property. In response, Summit is moving toward taking over their land outright through eminent domain.
     'If these companies have actually secured as many voluntary easements as they allege,' asks Fitil, 'then why are they moving to seize land through eminent domain so soon? People are starting to understand what these guys are up to, and a lot of people are reeling. It's a very sensitive matter for Indigenous folks. This country was founded on land stolen from them, and now they are trying to prevent some of that land from being stolen again, this time by big corporations. So Indigenous people are standing shoulder to shoulder with farmers.' There is also the serious matter of burial mounds and other culturally sensitive areas that lie in the pipeline route: 'We're working with the State Historic Preservation Office and tribal officers to get those sacred sites preserved and make sure that they aren't ransacked, basically, by these projects,' Fitil adds.
     Farmers have excellent reasons to deny easements and to fight eminent domain. Many of them are cultivating some of the nation's most productive agricultural lands, and the last thing they want is massive earth-moving equipment driving on, digging into, and compacting the soil in a 50-foot-wide swath across their farm. To bury pipelines, crews dig deep trenches, piling up the soil alongside them. Once the pipes are in place and the soil is dumped back into the trench, topsoil gets mixed with the less fertile subsoil.
     The results of this soil abuse are predictable. In 2021, Iowa State University agronomists found that on Dakota Access Pipeline easements, corn yields were reduced by 15 percent, soybean yields by 25 percent. The study's lead scientist, Robert Horton, said , 'Overall, in the first two years, we found the construction caused severe subsoil compaction, impaired soil physical structure that can discourage root growth and reduce water infiltration in the right-of-way.' An improbable alliance
     The pipeline struggle has brought together communities that rarely find common cause and can often be adversaries. 'We really have formed an unlikely alliance,' says Fitil. 'A lot of conservative Republicans are joining up with Indigenous folks, and they all are joining up with environmentalists. These people normally don't get along, they don't join in anything together. But here they're really pissed off and joining hand in hand in the struggle against these pipelines.'
     Fitil told me that this improbable coalition is applying valuable lessons that were learned from the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. That epic 2016 confrontation on the banks of the Missouri River at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation managed to win a months-long halt in work on a stretch of the pipeline in South Dakota, before the newly elected Trump administration authorized a restart. But in Nebraska and Iowa at that time, says Fitil, the opposition was less unified: 'People kind of went their own directions, rolled up their sleeves to fight it on their own, and we lost. But now things are different. We're networking all up and down this pipeline route. Organizers, landowners, tribes . . . there's a huge groundswell of grassroots activism going on. In Linn County, Iowa [home to Cedar Rapids], every other farm that you pass by, they've got grassroots signage up there, you know, 'country billboards,' saying 'No eminent domain for private gain,' 'Not on my farm,' 'Not through my timber.' These are just people, not 'dot-orgs' or nonprofits, saying, 'Hell no, we're not going to have it.'"
     'This time, the tribes started networking before the companies even figured out which tribes were which,' says Fitil. 'We started networking with our counterparts up in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska. As soon as we heard about the carbon pipeline more than a year and a half ago, we started coming together and discussing what we're going to do. See, last time, North Dakota was doing their own thing, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, were all doing their own things. Now, we're holding joint monthly meetings, we're holding national and state meetings. The landowners are signing up with an easement action team. And that's something that's way different than it was with DAPL.'
     On August 12, 2022, members of the Great Plains Action Society and allies from across the movement met with the Iowa Utilities Board, the body that will make decisions on eminent domain declarations, among other issues. Says Fitil, 'They couldn't have been any less interested in what 'we the people' had to say. These folks were handpicked by governors, current and past, one of whom is now working for one of the pipeline corporations. We let 'em have it! We and the landowners told them, 'Hey, we're all locking arms, we're standing up against this.'
     'Is this pipeline really what we need to be spending our taxpayer dollars on?' he asks. 'No! These are the industries that have contributed the most to the very crisis that they now claim to be addressing. This has really galvanized resistance like very few issues can do. And, you know, if it comes down to a matter of will, we'll meet them out in the fields, and we'll let them know how strong our resolve is. The land is worth it, the water is worth it. Future generations are worth it.'
     Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)."

     "Coalition Calls for Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Transition to Clean Energy, Launches Resource Hub of Indigenous-led Solutions," Cultural Survival, August 9, 2022, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/coalition-calls-securing-indigenous-peoples-rights-transition-clean-energy-launches-resource, reported, "On August 9, 2022, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous leaders are launching a new site – www.sirgecoalition.org – as part of the official public announcement of a new coalition to Secure Indigenous People’s Rights in a Green Economy (SIRGE Coalition ).
      The minerals necessary for renewable energy minerals, such as nickel, lithium, cobalt, and copper are critical to the development of a green, low-carbon economy. As demand for these transition minerals is skyrocketing, increased mining threatens Indigenous rights and territories where there is not a comprehensive assessment of risks and harms to Indigenous Peoples, and complete participation of Indigenous Peoples who are impacted. In order to solve the growing climate emergency, a true Just Transition to a low carbon economy requires governments and companies involved in the new green economy to observe and implement the rights of Indigenous Peoples enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent .
      Cultural Survival , First Peoples Worldwide , Batani Foundation , Earthworks , and the Society for Threatened Peoples have launched the SIRGE Coalition as a platform to champion a Just Transition to a low-carbon economy . SIRGE Coalition is calling upon government, corporate, and financial decision-makers to avoid the mistakes and harms of past resource development by protecting the rights and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples around the globe, many of whom live on lands rich in transition minerals.
     A few of many examples of Indigenous Peoples currently experiencing harms and threats from unconsented development of transition minerals include:
      Peehee Mu’huh , or Thacker Pass, sits at the southern edge of the McDermitt Caldera in Humboldt County, Nevada . Lithium Americas is attempting to develop a lithium mine on these lands, which are sacred to Shoshone and Paiute Peoples.
     In Guatemala, members of the Indigenous Q’eqchi’ community peacefully blockaded the Fenix Nickel Mine to protest the lack of consultations and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent for the mine, which has polluted their traditional fishing grounds in Lake Izabal .
      In Russia, Indigenous communities on the Taimyr Peninsula suffered food insecurity after a fuel spill in 2020 from a subsidiary of Nornickel – a mining firm that supplies some 20 percent of the world’s Class I nickel needed for electric vehicle batteries – polluted local waterways. Despite pressure from companies in the supply chain, Nornickel has failed to respond to requests from Indigenous communities for adequate compensation and restoration of the fragile Arctic environment. Indigenous territories contain significant concentrations of untapped heavy metal reserves around the world. In the United States, a study by MSCI estimated that 97 percent of nickel, 89 percent of copper, 79 percent of lithium, and 68 percent of cobalt reserves and resources are located within 35 miles of Native American reservations. A 2020 study found that mining potentially influences 50 million square kilometers of Earth’s land surface, with 8 percent coinciding with Protected Areas, 7 percent with Key Biodiversity Areas, and 16 percent with Remaining Wilderness .
      About the SIRGE Coalition
     The SIRGE Coalition’s primary goal is to elevate Indigenous leadership through the creation of a broad coalition and the promotion of constructive dialogue. In accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the coalition will uphold all rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories, and especially their rights to determine their own priorities as to their lands, territories, and resources. Indigenous leadership is essential as Indigenous Peoples conserve about 80 percent of the planet's remaining biodiversity.
     The SIRGE Coalition is staffed by an Executive Committee made up of representatives from each organization and is governed by an Indigenous Steering Committee made up of two representatives of Indigenous Peoples from each of the seven socio-cultural regions across the globe along with a global chairperson and the chairperson of the Executive Committee, chosen from Indigenous members.
     SIRGE Coalition is calling for full implementation of the UNDRIP, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent, in all endeavors related to the extraction, mining, production, consumption, sale and recycling of transition and rare earth minerals around the world.
     Quotes from Coalition Members:
     'Cultural Survival is honored to be part of the SIRGE Coalition. We must center Indigenous Peoples’ and human rights as well as true, regenerative practices as we transition to the new green economy. Healthy and sustainable economies should mirror healthy ecological systems. Healthy ecosystems are interconnected and resilient to change; they are interdependent and regenerate each other, rather than depleting and weakening the system. Indigenous Peoples have sustained diverse and complex societies with circular economies over millennia without defaulting to the sort of replacement extractivism that some of today’s renewable energy options entail. A meaningful, intentional, and truly Just Transition will require a set of solutions including improving existing standards, reforming old mining laws, mandating circular economy practices, setting standards and meeting targets for minerals’ reuse and recycling, reducing demand and accepting de-growth as a concept and a pathway, and most importantly, centering human rights and the right to the Free, Prior and Informed Consent in all decision-making.' –Galina Angarova (Buryat), Cultural Survival Executive Director
     'The green economy is what the world, countries, and societies are striving for right now. But we must already understand today that if we do not create the human rights prerequisites and conditions for the green economy, it can become a tragedy for Indigenous Peoples on whose lands the natural resources will be extracted. The creation of the SIRGE Coalition is an important step toward a more just and fair world. I am confident that we will not be alone, and that with our support, the green economy will be truly sustainable and just.' – Pavel Sulyandziga (Udege), Batani Foundation, President
     'Partnership with Indigenous Peoples is integral to climate-resilient development. We must ensure that the harms to communities and environments driven by the fossil fuel economy are not replicated in the critical mineral development necessary to transition to low-carbon, clean energy projects. The SIRGE Coalition provides pathways to concrete action necessary to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and reduce material loss for companies in the rising demand for renewable energy resources. To witness the SIRGE Coalition activate so comprehensively is to witness the strength and vitality of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous solutions. It is an honor to serve alongside and to help grow this coalition of such immense expertise.' – Kate R. Finn (Osage), Executive Director, First Peoples Worldwide
     'The SIRGE Coalition is a powerful Indigenous-led alliance there to ensure that the mistakes of the fossil fuel industry are not repeated in the transition to a Green Economy.' – Tabea Willi, Campaign Manager for the Arctic Campaign at the Society for Threatened Peoples, Switzerland.

     For more information, see www.sirgecoalition.org
     Media Contacts:

     David Gordon, davidkgordon@protonmail.com

     Agnes Portalewska, agnes@cs.org

     Shannon Jowett, shannon.jowett@colorado.ed
     Tabea
     Willi, Tabea.Willi@gfbv.ch ."

     "Land Is Life: A'i Cofán Peoples Defend Their Territory Against Oil Extraction in Ecuador," Cultural Survival, October 27, 2022, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/land-life-ai-cofan-peoples-defend-their-territory-against-oil-extraction-ecuador, reported, " The A'i Cofán community of Dureno is located on the Aguarico River in the province of Sucumbios in the northeastern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon. For thousands of years, the A'i Cofán people have tended this territory, living in balance with their environment. During the last several decades this region has suffered oil exploitation and currently faces a threat from the State oil company, Petroecuador, a situation that is generating an internal division among community members. 'We have always resisted oil exploitation,"says Albeiro Mendúa (A'i Cofán), Vice President of the Cofán community and Director of the Kuankuan Foundation , a community organization dedicated to the wellbeing of Amazonian communities.
     Petroecuador, via the Taiwanese company CSBC , is seeking to dig 30 oil wells through three platforms within the Cofán territory, which is home to one of the only remaining areas of dense and intact forest in the region . Dureno is a community of about 750 inhabitants who hold title to 9,571 hectares of primary forest. Within it is conservation territory managed by the community through an agreement signed with the federal program Socio Bosque , which seeks to conserve native ecosystems via collaborations with Indigenous and campesino communities.
      Despite the collective rights that the A'i Cofán, as an Indigenous People, have to their territory, the Environment Ministry has granted permits to the oil drilling project without consulting them or obtaining their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. To confront this violation of their rights, the community’s Indigenous Guard has organized more than 130 people in resistance. This group of defenders includes women, men, youth, and even children who accompany their parents up to two hours on foot to reach the resistance camp; many people remain there for many days. Women are prominent participants in the decision making process for this action.
     In 2021, when Petroecuador attempted to enter to begin its project, the defenders removed machinery and subsequently returned it publicly along with a demand stopping all work. This year, the company returned with the intention of opening 12 kilometers of road and more than 4.5 square kilometers of land around each platform to drill the wells. However, the defenders’ actions are resulting in some successes. They put an end to the road construction that was already underway, removing machinery and preventing workers from entering. Petroecuador has now removed its own machinery and says that it wants to establish a dialogue with the community. However, Mendúa says there is nothing to dialogue about: “We have said no. We do not want to reach an agreement. The only agreement we are asking for is that they leave for good and that they leave us in peace.”
     The State is obligated to conduct a consultation with the community according to its international commitments in accordance with its ratification of ILO Convention 169 and its vote in favor of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. However, experience has taught the community that if a company consults,  they are going to extract oil, and they do not want to legitimize this process. Ecuador’s constitution requires consultation, but until a 2022 ruling by the Constitutional Court, it has not required that the consulted community consent to the implementation of a project.
     According to a Mongabay article on the Constitutional Court of Ecuador’s review of the practice of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, representatives of the Waorani Nation see it similarly. 'If the community says [yes or no], it does not matter because the consultation is not binding, the consultation is merely an informative act,' says Lina Maria Espinosa, Senior Attorney at Amazon Frontlines. Waorani leader Nemonte Nenquimo calls the consultation process a trap. There are recent legal precedents of courts rejecting mining and oil concessions in situations where there has been no consent. In March 2022, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador released its decision recognizing the right of Indigenous Peoples to consent to development projects. Complicating the Dureno community’s case is the fact that the State has purposefully conflated their struggle against the oil project with that of another Cofán community defending its territory against mining companies, claiming that the former is in the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and thus that a decision is pending regarding the Dureno community’s struggle, but this is not the case.
     The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is clearly not being fulfilled in the case of the A’i Cofán Dureno community, yet this right is fundamental to securing their remaining ancestral territories. Mendúa says, 'Most of the Elders have said that this is the only territory we still have. In the past, they used to move freely in the Amazon and they thought that all the territory was ours, [that] it was free.' Now the Elders say that they feel imprisoned in a reduced territory. There is less space for fishing, cultivation, and food gathering. 'For us, the land is life. It’s life, and for the Western world, there is nothing [here]. For us, there are invisible beings with whom we have coexisted, especially the animals. Shamans drink Ayahuasca and thus get permission to hunt animals to eat them. The land is where you get everything you need,' he says. Prior to colonization, the A’i Cofán numbered 30,000 people. With diseases and other forms of violence that colonization has brought, the current population is a fraction of what it was, currently around 1,200. The Cofán People and their culture are strongly linked to their territory, and, as Mendúa says, 'For them to exploit the oil issue now would mean extinguishing our culture. Our resistance itself is to defend.' Not all of the community agrees, however. Many young people believe consider oil exploitation an economic opportunity for the community, which is partly due to what Mendúa describes as manipulation and bribes by the oil company. This has resulted in a situation in which the State is able to define the pro-exploitation sector as the ‘legitimate’ representatives of the community, while those who oppose it are accused of being illegal or terrorists. Mendúa says they are actively seeking out other organizations and communities that have experienced something similar to learn from good practices that have helped them overcome community divisions.
     The community was not always divided in conflict. In the past, they have lived off the energy of their ancestral and community practices, as well as their relationships with tourism. They practice traditional spirituality and rely on traditional medicine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they have used this medicine to care for their people. The community is located among lagoons and rivers and amidst great biodiversity. In January, 'the spiritual renewal' or 'the blossoming' will be celebrated with animals, offerings, and ceremonies, such as the Ceremony of the Chonta, a harvest ritual for the chonta plant.
      The resistance against the oil extraction has been going on since June 2022 . Many families have had to leave the camp since the start of the school year and the camp is currently dominated by young people, many of whom are taking turns missing school to carry on the resistance. The Indigenous Guard remains committed to their goal of not allowing any wells to start production. Mendúa emphasizes the community's great need for international solidarity at this time of struggle: 'We invite all the organizations that can join us because our struggle is not only to conserve the forest. The climate crisis is affecting us and it is evident what is happening worldwide. To conserve the forest is to conserve for the common good of all people.'
     In 2022, to protect their territory and the environment,  the A’i Cofan community received a grant from the Keepers of the Earth Fund, an Indigenous-led fund at Cultural Survival designed to support Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy and community development projects globally. Since 2017, we have supported 238 projects in 38 countries through small grants and technical assistance, totaling $1,070,602. The funds go directly to Indigenous communities, collectives, organizations, and traditional governments to support projects designed by the communities and in accordance with their Indigenous values. Based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we at Cultural Survival use a rights-based approach in our grantmaking strategies to support grassroots Indigenous solutions through the equitable distribution of resources to Indigenous communities."

     “New Tax Break for Clean Energy Draws Scrutiny: A defunct New Mexico coal plant would be revamped with the help of subsidies authorized by the new climate legislation, but a plan to rely on natural gas converted into hydrogen has generated criticism. Eric Lipton , “ Blackstone, the New York-based asset manager with nearly $1 trillion of investor funds, is moving rapidly into the clean-energy revolution, driven in part by federal tax incentives that were sweetened this summer by the Biden administration and Congress. But one of its larger projects — through a subsidiary called Tallgrass Energy — is drawing protests from environmentalists who argue that Blackstone’s effort in New Mexico will not do enough to combat climate change, even if it receives tens of millions of dollars a year in federal subsidies intended to promote efforts to address global warming.
     The project would rebuild a shutdown coal-burning power plant in northwest New Mexico to create electricity by using natural gas with the carbon removed to be sequestered deep underground and leaving hydrogen as the fuel for electric generation. There are two main problems. First, the extracting, storing, transporting and processing of the natural gas involves extensive leaking of very highly greenhouse gas burning hydrogen. Second, the whole process requires significantly more energy to undertake than the hydrogen fuel produces when burned.”

     “Climate Activists, Including Scientists, Are Arrested in Protests at Private Airports: The protesters temporarily shut down the main entrance to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and also picketed at airports in North Carolina, California and Washington State,” The New York Times, November 10, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/us/private-jets-climate-protests-airport.html , reported, “ More than a dozen protesters, including scientists, were arrested on Thursday at private airports in the United States, coinciding with similar actions around the world to highlight the toll of private jets on the environment, activists said.The protesters temporarily shut down the main entrance to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, and also picketed at airports in North Carolina, California and Washington State. They were joined by protesters who took similar actions at 13 other private airports in 12 other countries, activists said.”

     Jake Johnson, “ Major Media Outlets From 20+ Nations Demand Windfall Profits Tax on Big Oil: ‘ As a bare minimum, a windfall tax on the combined profits of the largest oil and gas companies—estimated at almost $100bn in the first three months of the year—needs to be enacted,’" Portside, November 15, 2022, https://portside.org/2022-11-15/major-media-outlets-20-nations-demand-windfall-profits-tax-big-oil?utm_source=portside-general&utm_medium=email , reported, “ More than 30 major media outlets from countries on nearly every continent published an editorial Tuesday calling on governments to impose a windfall profits tax on fossil fuel giants that have made a killing as poor nations face devastating climate impacts and people worldwide struggle to heat their homes, feed their families, and pay rent.
     ‘As a bare minimum, a windfall tax on the combined profits of the largest oil and gas companies—estimated at almost $100bn in the first three months of the year—needs to be enacted,’ reads the editorial , which appeared at The Guardian in the U.K., The Nation and Rolling Stone in the U.S., The Hindu in India, Camunda News in Angola, El Espectador in Colombia, and dozens of other publications.”

      Eric Lipton , “Battle Over Deep-Sea Mining Takes on New Urgency as Trial Run Winds Down: A Canadian company is testing mining equipment in the Pacific Ocean in its quest for metals needed for electric vehicles. Environmentalists oppose the mining, which could begin in 2024,” The New York Times, November 3, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/03/world/deep-sea-mining.html, reported, “ Mining companies and environmentalists have long been at loggerheads over proposed projects in the Pacific that would provide new sources of metals for electric vehicles but threaten pristine underwater ecosystems.
     Now the clash is taking on new urgency as a two-month test mission by a Canadian company comes to an end and international regulators debate whether to allow full-scale mining as early as 2024.” There are widespread calls for a moratorium on ocean mining until arrangements can be made to protect the ocean environment.

      Hannah Grover , "Advocates say new mining claim near Mogollon threatens ecosystem and sacred sites," New Mexico Political Report, September 20, 2022, https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2022/09/20/advocates-say-new-mining-claim-near-mogollon-threatens-ecosystem-and-sacred-sites/?mc_cid=339bfd4c23&mc_eid=cde7993ced, reported, "In late August, Canadian-based mining company Summa Silver announced that it had staked a new claim at the Mogollon Project (https://summasilver.com/mogollon-project)" for silver mining about 75 miles Northwest of Silver city, NM, around the town of Mogollon.
     " Opponents of the silver mining operation say that it could threaten the multiple waterways including the Gila, Mimbres, Little Colorado, Verde and San Francisco rivers as well as Minera, Silver and Whitewater creeks, which provide critical habitat for species like the Gila trout, Gila chub, Chiricahua chub, Apache trout, loach minnow and Chiricahua leopard frog. Additionally, they say it could impact the Mexican spotted owl." Further, Indigenous activists say the mine could threaten several sacred sites.Education and Cult
      Hans Nicholas Jong , “Sumatra villagers protest iron mine allegedly operating despite stop order,” Mongabay, August 25, 2022, https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/sumatra-villagers-protest-iron-mine-allegedly-operating-despite-stop-order/ , reported, “ An iron ore mining company in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island has continued operating despite the local government telling it to halt its activities, local villagers say . An inspection by provincial authorities had found the company, PT Faminglevto Bakti Abadi (FBA), to be lacking permits and posing risks to the environment and nearby communities. The company’s reported violation of the order has prompted locals to set up camp outside the concession as an act of protest.
     The villagers are demanding the government to revoke the concession, citing ongoing and potential damage to the environment and their livelihoods. Villagers in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island have demanded authorities revoke the permit of an iron ore miner after it continued operating in violation of an order to halt its activities.
     That order stemmed from a July 7 field visit by local government officials, who founda myriad of violations at the site operated by PT Faminglevto Bakti Abadi (FBA) in Pasar Seluma village, Bengkulu province. The company had allegedly been operating without a permit, dumping waste in a nearby river, and mining within 30 meters (100 feet) of the coast, which is prohibited.”

     “Bristol Bay Defense Fund launches six-figure ad campaign in DC and Alaska, urging EPA to end threat and veto Pebble Mine now: Campaign coincides with Bristol Bay Salmon Week and visit from advocates to lobby for protections,” ICT, September 21, 2022, https://indiancountrytoday.com/the-press-pool/bristol-bay-defense-fund-launches-six-figure-ad-campaign-in-dc-and-alaska-urging-epa-to-end-threat-and-veto-pebble-mine-now, reported, “This week, the Bristol Bay Defense Fund launched a new six-figure television, print, digital, and mobile billboard advertisement campaign that urges the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to end the threat and veto Pebble Mine now. The ads state: ‘The recorded salmon runs have never been larger. The chorus of Alaskans has never been louder. Return peace to Bristol Bay, veto pebble mine now.’
     The ads will run in both Washington, D.C. and Alaska. Additionally, these ads coincide with a week-long celebration of Bristol Bay’s wild salmon fishery. Several DC-area restaurants will be participating in Bristol Bay Salmon Week by featuring Bristol Bay sockeye salmon dishes on their menus. During the same week, tribes, commercial fishermen, and conservation advocates will be flying to DC to meet with members of the Biden administration —including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to urge them to finish the job and protect Bristol Bay from the threat of Pebble Mine.”

     “Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta tribes: Donlin Environmental Impact Statement is deficient — corps should withdraw permit, require Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Tribal leaders cite lack of climate analysis, incomplete human health impacts study, fisheries collapse and inadequate tribal consultation as basis for permit withdrawal and new analysis,” ICT, October 24, 2022, https://indiancountrytoday.com/the-press-pool/yukon-kuskokwim-delta-tribes-donlin-environmental-impact-statement-is-deficient-corps-should-withdraw-permit-require-supplemental-environmental-impact-statement ,” reported, “ Tribal leaders from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta traveled to Anchorage on October 21 to formally ask (again) the Alaska District Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revoke the Clean Water Act 404 permit for the proposed Donlin Gold Mine and conduct a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
     An enormous open pit pure gold mine, Donlin is proposed in the headwaters of the Kuskokwim River, which supports a vibrant and intact subsistence-based culture that has thrived in the region for hundreds of generations. Donlin is officially opposed by more than 14 individual tribal governments in the region as well as the Association of Village Council Presidents , which represents 56 tribal governments in the region; the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation; and the National Congress of American Indians . If constructed, Donlin’s corporate owners Barrick Gold Corporation (“Barrick”) (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) and NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (“NOVAGOLD”) (TSX, NYSE American: NG) claim it would be one of the world's largest open-pit gold mines. The project would dramatically change Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim region, threatening the health and well-being of residents, communities, and wildlife for generations. Construction of the mine would undeniably (as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency noted in attached 2016 letter) and permanently damage water, fish and game resources, and the subsistence lifestyle of the Yukon Kuskokwim River Delta.”

     "Protect Communities and Workers from Chemical Disasters," League of Conservation Voters (LCV), September 9, 2022, https://actnow.lcv.org/bbwwyGv?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=090922%20ADV%20Chemical%20Risk%20Management%20(1)&utm_content=8676982, stated, " The EPA is now seeking public input on a new rule to require industrial facilities to disclose the hazardous chemical risks posed by their operations, take stronger actions to prevent accidents, and move quickly should an accident occur.
     Powerful polluters have killed these important safety standards before under the Trump administration — and they’re once again demanding the EPA to abandon its proposal. Doing so would continue to put workers and communities, especially low-wealth communities and communities of color who disproportionately live near these facilities, at unacceptable risk.
      Don’t let corporate polluters block critical community and worker protections. Take action now to protect our friends and families from chemical disasters."

     Nature Conservancy, August 9, 2022, https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/how-we-work/community-led-conservation/?tab_q=tab_container-tab_element_144675167&en_txn1=e.dfr.eg.x.ingpeop1.n.n.sas&en_txn8=NewSch.REEMSA2208NPNZNZZE13Z01-ZZZZZ-DGRT&lu=900f0a37-b3c4-41bf-a491-a5e43f4a5e4e&ea.campaigner.email=ffMDAPzUVFyx4KppQO6cWGgOIyLa0yZJduziyxrKtXQ%3D wrote, " background:white'Today, as we mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, I want to share why partnering with Indigenous Peoples and supporting Indigenous-led conservation is so crucial to caring for the places that care for us background:white'.
     This day is intended to honor the Indigenous Peoples around the world, and commemorate their histories, cultures and present-day leadership. It's also a time to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples' critical role as partners and leaders in stewarding nature across the globe (https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/how-we-work/community-led-conservation/?tab_q=tab_container-tab_element_144675167&en_txn1=e.dfr.eg.x.ingpeop1.n.n.sas&en_txn8=NewSch.REEMSA2208NPNZNZZE13Z01-ZZZZZ-DGRT&lu=900f0a37-b3c4-41bf-a491-a5e43f4a5e4e&ea.campaigner.email=ffMDAPzUVFyx4KppQO6cWGgOIyLa0yZJduziyxrKtXQ%3D).

      Indigenous Peoples are the original stewards of our lands and waters and were nature's first defenders. Their extensive knowledge and practices date back millennia and are vital to conservation everywhere.
     More than 1,200 Indigenous communities live across the United States and Canada alone, and their lands across the continent contain more intact ecosystems than all national parks and nature preserves combined. Globally, lands owned and managed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities cover at least 38 percent of the planet’s remaining intact landscapes.

     For far too long, Indigenous Peoples have been excluded from conservation dialogue and decisions, including decisions that directly impact their livelihoods and traditional lands and waters. While we have long partnered with Indigenous communities in our work across the globe, we acknowledge that The Nature Conservancy has not always fully engaged and incorporated their rights, needs and views. In recent years, we've taken steps to change this, and we remain committed every day to doing better to amplify their leadership.

     To that end, we are calling on the UN Convention for Biological Diversity — which will soon set ten-year global habitat protection targets — to make sure the agreements it produces explicitly ensure that the rights and contributions of the Indigenous and local communities who traditionally govern lands and waters are appropriately recognized.
      How and where conservation happens is just as important as the quantity of square kilometers that's protected — ensuring that Indigenous rights are recognized and respected throughout the process is essential to meeting our planet's bold conservation needs.

     To honor this special day, I hope you'll make time to learn more about some of the Indigenous-led conservation that's helping to safeguard our lands and waters, both here in the United States and around the world.
     I'm sure these stories will give you a sense of why we cannot tackle the enormous challenges our natural world is facing unless we partner with Indigenous Peoples and support their conservation leadership.
     Together, we can find a way to make meaningful progress for the lands and waters that sustain us all. Thank you for your generous support as a loyal member that makes this work possible.Best,

Andrea Akall'eq Burgess Yup'ik, Native Village of Kwingahak AlaskaGlobal Director, Conservation in Partnership with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities The Nature Conservancy"

     "Restore the Snake River, Its Salmon, and River Community Economies - and Build a Clean Energy Future: Idaho's salmon and steelhead are in crisis. We must act now to save these incredible fish for future generations , "Earth Justice, December 2, 2022, https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/restore-snake-river-and-salmon-and-river-communities, stated. " Time to up the pressure on BPA to save Idaho's salmon
Send a message to DOE Sec. Granholm: Tell BPA to fulfill their responsibility to NW communities and salmon.
     While the Biden Administration and northwest leaders are breaking decades-long gridlock to develop real solutions for the Snake River, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) -- the division of the U.S. Department of Energy that markets the power from the lower Snake River dams' -- is ignoring the Administration's goals.
     BPA needs to join the team and be part of the solution. We need to protect salmon and orcas from extinction, support Tribes, and help utilities, farmers, and anglers across the region.
     Please ask Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to ensure BPA supports the Biden Administration, many northwest Members of Congress, Governors Inslee and Brown, and community stakeholders on Snake River restoration. BPA must play a key role in prioritizing energy investments that develop clean energy solutions and benefit communities across the northwest for decades to come.”

     "Kenya: Indigenous Sengwer say Western conservation funding will lead to 'genocide,'“ Survival International, June 30, 2022, https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/13121, reported, " In a letter released today (https://www.survivalinternational.org/articles/sengwer-letter) by Survival International, the Sengwer people from Kenya appeal to the Western public 'to stop funding conservation projects that are stealing our land and destroying our life… If you want to do conservation, the first thing you must do is to secure land tenure for us, the Sengwer, and other Indigenous Peoples. Without our rights respected there can’t be any forest left.'
     'This model of nature protection that you fund comes from colonial times and will lead to genocide… We urge you to stop funding violations of Indigenous ways of life, which are sustainable and respectful of the environment. Instead, work with us to protect our forest, by protecting our rights. And this not only for us, the Sengwer, but for all communities in Kenya and also in the rest of the world .'
      The letter follows days of violence in Loliondo, N. Tanzania, as the authorities try to evict thousands of Maasai people to make way for trophy hunting and luxury tourism .
      This appeal is echoed by Indigenous people from across East Africa who are speaking out against racist and colonial conservation projects.
     The Frankfurt Zoological Society , The Nature Conservancy and other big conservation organizations, as well as the EU, and the German, French and US governments, are major funders of conservation programs that involve the creation and support of Protected Areas on the ancestral lands of Indigenous Peoples, who are then evicted and abused.
      Among the Indigenous people denouncing the impact of conservation projects on their lives are:
     • The Borana (Kenya): A Borana man told Survival: “I’m asking the world, the whole world who are donating money to Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), kindly as humans, don’t bother about my color, don’t mind about my religion, but as a human being, we are tortured, we are colonized the second time, we are dying… we ask you to stop these donations to NRT. If you are human, if you are really human, please stop this.”
     • The Maasai (Tanzania): A Maasai elder says: “Your money is poison to us.” “Conservation is always bad. In Maasai culture we need an open area for cattle. But since conservation started they push us into small areas and that  made a number of cattle die.” “Out of all the enemies in the world, FZS is the number one enemy of the Maasai. Because it is responsible for all Maasai evictions since we left Serengeti. They came with their ideas and their money. In Ngorongoro too, and now in this 1500km2 of land (Loliondo). Since I left Serengeti, I lost many important things. I lost Serengeti. The plains, such a good land for grazing. I loved it”.
     • The Enderois (Kenya): A man who was evicted in 1973 for conservation said: “The life before was good. We had a lot of animals and our life was not restricted. Then the government came and said this has to be a conservation area and we experienced inhumanity. We were forced to go by the police and we didn’t know where to go. We were told that the role of the government was looking after wildlife and not after humans. But we were not killing the animals, we were conserving them.”
     • The Ogiek (Kenya): “The government said that by evicting the communities it’s a way to restore the forest. But if the forest was left to the Ogiek, it wouldn’t be destroyed. The forest is where we belong, where there are a lot of things on which we depend.”
      The recent brutality at Loliondo, when an estimated 31 Maasai were wounded and thousands fled, has prompted Survival International and the Oakland Institute to write to UNESCO and the IUCN , urging them to de-list Ngorongoro as a World Heritage Site, and to sever all ties between them and the Tanzanian government.
      Fiore Longo of Survival International said today: 'It’s clear now more than ever that the abuses and land theft in the name of conservation are not just being committed by “a few bad apples” – these are built into the system. If we want to save biodiversity we must respect Indigenous land rights, and fight against this colonial and racist model of conservation. As world leaders are pushing to turn 30% of the Earth into Protected Areas at the next CBD meeting in December, now is the time to let them know that this proposal is a catastrophe for tribes, for nature and for all humanity.'”

     "Anoushka Shankar launches new film to highlight Indigenous resistance to coal mining in India," Survival International, July 12, 2022, https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/13211, reported, " Award-winning musician Anoushka Shankar has narrated a new campaigning film highlighting Indigenous opposition to coal mining in the Hasdeo Forest , India .
     Shankar, a seven-time Grammy nominee and multi-award winner, is lending her voice to the growing Adivasi (Indigenous) campaign in India to prevent further coal mining in the unique Hasdeo Forest, Chhattisgarh, home to 20,000 Adivasi people.
      At least two enormous open-pit coal mines are already established in the Forest, but there are plans for three new mining projects there .
     The Adivasi communities in Hasdeo have resisted the mines for 10 years, during which time their leaders have faced threats and false charges and their demands have been ignored, despite the community marching 300km to the state capital, and having sat in continuous protest in the Forest for over 100 days.
     Recently Rahul Gandhi, a senior figure in the opposition Congress Party, said that the Adivasi protests are 'justified; that he 'has a problem' with mining the Forest; and that he 'does not defend' it.
     The three proposed new mines were recently put on 'indefinite hold' in a major victory for the Adivasi campaign. However, they have not been cancelled, and the rights of Indigenous peoples, enshrined in Indian law, to withhold their consent for mining have still not been recognized by the authorities.
     Anoushka Shankar said today: 'The people of Hasdeo Forest are an inspiration to us all to stand firm and to defend that which is most precious. Their land is everything to them – it is their Mother, their god and their life, and they are utterly determined to protect it.
     'The Adivasi women of Hasdeo are placing their bodies in front of the trees they love. I’m honoured to use my voice to help amplify their bravery in standing against the destruction of their forest and the desecration of their sacred sites. The government’s plan to sacrifice these people and their Forest for coal must be permanently stopped.'
      Jo Woodman of Survival International said today: 'The strength and determination of the Adivasi resistance movement in Hasdeo Forest has not wavered for a decade, and they remain united and committed to saving their Forest, getting their rights recognized and stopping any further coal mining. Until these mines are totally cancelled, and the community’s rights are fully recognized, their peaceful and just fight for Hasdeo continues – and history will be on their side.'”
      The film can be seen at: https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/13211.

     "Harmful Instruments, False Solutions, And Private Interests Take Over Global Biodiversity Summit," Indigenous Environmental Network, December 20, 2022, https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1416136387, stated, " The 15th session of the Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) concluded in the early hours on Monday, December 19th with the adoption of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), known as the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework .  The UNCBD is a multilateral treaty with three core goals, “the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.” Additionally, the post-2020 GBF defines targets for biodiversity conservation for the next decade, and with nearly 200 Parties and an estimated 15,000 attendees present for the biodiversity summit, there were various obstacles and points of tension that Parties did not agree on.
      Although the framework includes 20 references to Indigenous Peoples, and some references to our rights including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), human rights, and the rights of Mother Earth, COP15 prioritized the expansion of false solutions, harmful instruments, and the financialization of Mother Earth over the true protection of biodiversity. In section C, Considerations for the implementation of the framework, made reference to rights of nature and the rights of Mother Earth as being an integral part of its successful implementation. While rights of Mother Earth are aligned with Indigenous Peoples’ worldviews and part of our own stewardship practices, these references are nothing more than recommendations for Parties and there remains a gap in implementation.
     Of the 23 Targets in the framework, seven targets included references to Indigenous Peoples. Traditional [Indigenous] Knowledge was also referenced ten times and Free, Prior and Informed Consent was referenced twice. However, the concerns for implementation despite these references are apparent in Target 21, where the text states, '...traditional knowledge, innovations, practices, and technologies of Indigenous Peoples and local communities should only be accessed with their free, prior and informed consent [FPIC], in accordance with national legislation.' Ultimately, this means that FPIC is contingent on whether that Party recognizes the rights of Indigenous Peoples and that it is subject to national legislation first and foremost.
     Prominent on COP15’s agenda also included new financial instruments tied to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and foregin debt, the expansion of nature-based solutions (NBS), including biodiversity offsets through the framework, as well as digital sequencing information (DSI) and the expansion of geoengineering technologies. The final text of COP15, the post-2020 GBF, includes a range of false solutions that cater to private finance. These false solutions include NBS, the financialization and commodification of nature, geoengineering, and offsetting schemes as well as genetic engineering in the forms of synthetic biology and gene drives. By continuing to promote and proliferate these false solutions, the framework subordinates the sacredness of Mother Earth, her web of life, to the chains of the markets, capitalism and the growth of the corporate dominated systems. The passage of this framework does not question the viability of a global economy whose jurisprudence places property rights above all, and a system that prioritizes private interests over Indigenous and human rights.
 
     Finance was another major theme at COP15, including discussions on banking, insurance, and hosting the first ever ‘Finance and Biodiversity Day’ at the global biodiversity summit. Private interests pushed to establish a uniform system of standards and metrics for measuring ‘natural capital’, which includes biodiversity, as well as to create a new type of ‘biodiversity credits’ to be harmonized with other carbon markets in the future. Not only are these efforts pushing for the more swift and aggressive commodification of Mother Earth, but are also paving the way for debt-for-nature swaps, in which countries in debt, mostly in the Global South, would pay off debt by handing over their biodiversity to banks.
     Debt for nature is a dangerous concept that threatens the sovereignty and tenure of Indigenous Peoples, and prevents developing nations from attaining economic power. The inclusion of private and financial sectors has culminated so far into profit-driven frameworks that are antithetical to natural law. Biodiversity is not a metric, nor translates into shareholder gains and financial market reporting. To attach ownership and price tags on the natural resources that maintain the balance of earth’s systems that sustain all life further commodifies Mother Earth and does not address the true threats to biodiversity loss, rather is an expansion of false solutions.
 
     Moreover, Target 3 in the post-2020 GBF sets out a 30x30 goal, to conserve 30 percent of the world's lands and 30 percent of the world’s waters for biodiversity conservation. While Parties and private interests acknowledge that Indigenous Peoples have a unique and crucial role in preserving biodiversity, there remains a gap for ensuring the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ sovereignty over their lands on Target 3, that goes beyond just mere recognition and respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples over their territories. In achieving Target 3, there has been an aggressive push to include market-based approaches and in terms of implementation, there is a real risk and threat to ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ rights over their lands, waters, and territories are upheld, which includes the implementation of their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) to engage on this conservation target.
     IEN’s Carbon Policy Educator, Thomas Joseph, shares his concerns regarding Target 3 in the framework, “The ratification of Target 3, which focuses on the implementation of  the global 30x30 initiative, is nothing more than manifest destiny in the 21st century. This will lead to the largest land and resource grab of Indigenous Peoples’ territories since westward expansion. The Kunming-Montreal Global biodiversity framework guarantees a continuation of the commodification of our Mother Earth using market based mechanisms like nature-based solutions and carbon trading. Our relationship with our Mother Earth must change and we cannot use market approaches or colonial tactics to preserve the remaining biodiversity.”
 
     Another key vehicle in achieving targets outlined in the GBF are nature-based solutions (NBS). However, the discussions at COP15 fixated on how to financialize nature and co-opt Traditional Indigenous Knowledge. While Parties might highlight the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the implementation of NBS projects, they perpetually disregard and downplay the risks of human rights violations, land and resource grabs, and the unintended negative impacts of associated climate and biodiversity projects led by the private sector.
     Furthermore, digital sequencing information (DSI) was another focal point at COP15. This included interventions related to the access to information derived from genetic resources and the altering of genes in the name of preserving biodiversity. At COP15, technical and policy information around DSI was intentionally hidden and obscured from Indigenous Peoples. DSI is not only dangerous because of its potentially destructive and irreversible ecological impacts, but particularly for Indigenous Peoples because it is a way for governments and private industry to extract, commodify, and monetize Traditional Indigenous Knowledge. Likewise, DSI poses the risk of restricting Indigenous Peoples’ benefits or use of their own genetic resources. Indigenous Peoples’ communities and lands have already become testing sites for new, risky technologies without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
     IEN’s Executive Director, Tom BK Goldtooth shares his reflections on this year’s global biodiversity summit, 'The outcome of the UNCBD COP15 leaves Mother Earth open to be bought and sold by the private sector and through carbon trading. Violating Traditional Indigenous Knowledge, the agreement embraces the risky and dangerous gene drive extinction technology. Indigenous Peoples are not safe from this new agreement. Rather, we stand at more of a risk of being forced into a capitalist system that demands the expansion of the destruction of Mother Earth in order to continue its continuous growth. We are at a point of no return to stop biodiversity loss and climate change, and it is clear that the UNCBD and UNFCCC are not the platforms to deliver the frameworks that will prevent a global catastrophe.'
      All in all, COP15 prioritized the continued commodification and exploitation of Mother Earth over finalizing a global framework that upholds Indigenous and human rights. Private interests paired with developed countries pushed for false solutions that put profit over biodiversity protection, yet again let those who are driving immense biodiversity loss off the hook, leaving those on the frontlines without adequate resources or protection to continue to protect the remaining biodiversity on Mother Earth. Stay tuned for Indigenous Environmental Network’s full analysis of the outcomes of COP15 in early 2023."

     Friends of the Earth stated October 2, 2022, https://action.foe.org/page/44838/action/1, " Urgent Action Needed: People, helpless animals, our rainforests, and other essential ecosystems are suffering at the hands of factory farms. You can make a difference. Act now!
      Billions of taxpayer dollars are financing the expansion of factory farming around the world. Instead of promoting sustainable development, the World Bank is financing exploitative corporations that pollute communities, mistreat animals, and destroy the environment. Stephen, demand the World Bank stop using taxpayer dollars to finance factory farms by 11:59pm TONIGHT!
     Sign the Petition.
      Biodiversity hotspots like the Amazon Rainforest and Cerrado Savanna in Brazil are being decimated to graze livestock and produce soy. Despite major grain shortages, 77% of global soy is used as animal feed, mainly for chicken and pigs suffering in factory farms. Greedy agribusiness corporations across the world also threaten and expel Indigenous communities from their land and displace small farmers. The World Bank’s private sector arm, the IFC, has financed some of these destructive companies!
     Biodiversity Biodiversity Human rights abuses, rainforest destruction, and mistreated animals are just a few of the reasons the World Bank Group must stop bankrolling factory farming. YOU only have until NEXT WEEK to make your voice heard before the World Bank’s annual meeting. We need 78 more people from 871105958 to sign by 11:59pm TONIGHT: Stop the World Bank from propping up destructive factory farming! "

     Save the Redwoods League wrote, August 10, 2022, https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/signature-needed-emergency-action-needed-to-save-giant-sequoias, " As wildfires in the West have reached unparalleled severity, they pose an existential threat to giant sequoias, some of our most iconic forests. Having thrived through countless fires over millennia, thousands of these trees have perished in today’s climate-driven fires. Thankfully, significant funding, policy, and legislative solutions are available to protect the remaining giant sequoias and adjacent communities.
     Save the Redwoods League and its partners have set a goal of treating 2,000 acres in the most at-risk groves before the 2023 fire season. This is a vital first step in preserving a future for these magnificent forests that are a part of our national heritage and attract millions of visitors.

     Sign now to join Save the Redwoods League in the fight to protect our treasured trees, and send an email to Congress right now. The giant sequoias need your voice. "

     "Tell Costco: Commit to protecting the boreal," Environmental Action, September 3, 2022, https://environmental-action.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=51310&supporter_KEY=1385161&uid=8c4c8f3a66e98dfb7737586d71ede14e&utm_source=salsa&utm_medium=email&tag=email_blast:110954&utm_campaign=EAC4-FCNS:SPECPLCCNS-0822&utm_content=EM9:00C:0HH-DCPstated to, "Costco CEO W. Craig Jelinek,

     The Canadian boreal forest is of incredible importance to current and future generations of people and wildlife. The forest's 1.5 billion acres are a carbon sink, storing enough carbon to offset the global warming pollution of 24 million cars. It also provides critical habitat to caribou, cougars, grizzly bears and more.
     We, the undersigned, are calling on Costco to commit to conserving this special place. Costco can help save the boreal and set an industry-wide example by sustainably sourcing its toilet paper products."

      Yan Zhuang , "Indigenous Australians Fight to Protect Sacred Art From Industry and Pollution: In Western Australia, new projects would supercharge gas drilling and processing. Traditional owners of the land say their heritage sites are threatened," The New York Times, December 11, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/11/world/asia/murujuga-australia-pollution-art.html, reported, " The Burrup Peninsula, on Australia’s northwest coast, is home to a million petroglyphs believed to be up to 50,000 years old . They document extinct animals and include some of the oldest depictions of the human face.
     The peninsula, called Murujuga by Aboriginal people, is also what the state government calls the 'gateway to Australia’s biggest oil and gas operations. ' A major liquefied natural gas project in the works is set to supercharge drilling off the coast, and plants will be built to process it. Aboriginal custodians of this land they consider sacred object to the project fearing pollution from it and human activity will damage much of the area and its petroglyphs.”
      Hannah Grover , "Advocacy group: Federal agency violated Endangered Species Act," New Mexico Political Report, https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2022/08/12/advocacy-group-federal-agency-violated-endangered-species-act/?mc_cid=11f78f3c0a&mc_eid=cde7993ced, reported, " The Center for Biological Diversity says that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has violated the Endangered Species Act when it comes to protecting the lesser prairie chicken.
     The service published a proposed rule in June 2021 to list two distinct population segments of the lesser prairie chicken.
     The Center for Biological Diversity alleges that the Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to finalize the proposed rule in a timely manner. In a court filing made Thursday, the Center for Biological Diversity stated that it intends to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service if the rule is not finalized in the next 60 days."

Return to top

U.S. Activities

     " NCAI’s Open Letter to Pope Francis on Indian Residential Schools," National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), July 25, 2022, https://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2022/07/25/ncai-s-open-letter-to-pope-francis-on-indian-residential-schools, "Today, thousands of residential school survivors and their relatives gathered at the site of former Ermineskin Indian Residential School in Maskwacis, Canada, as Pope Francis issued a formal apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the atrocities and cultural genocide caused by Canada’s residential school system.
     In his historic remarks, Pope Francis apologized for the ways in which many Christians supported the 'colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed Indigenous peoples.'
      Following the apology, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Fawn Sharp issued a letter to Pope Francis, acknowledging the beginning of a new chapter for truth and reconciliation. In the letter, President Sharp urges the Catholic Church to work together with NCAI to open all records currently being withheld related to Church-run Indian boarding schools, to deliver a full account of the abuses perpetrated against Native children, and to seek justice for all survivors and their families. The Catholic Church must also work with Tribal leaders on repatriating and rematriating all cultural items still within the holdings of the Church.
      A Letter from NCAI President Sharp:
     Most Holy Father,
      I write to express my gratitude for your apology to the survivors of Indian residential schools during your visit to the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School in Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada.
     Though your apology was limited to the role the Catholic Church played in Canadian Indian residential schools, the history of cultural genocide, territorial dispossession, and death at assimilationist schools run by the Catholic Church is shared by American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians in the United States. In fact, the segregated, compulsory, government-funded, and church-run Indian residential school system in Canada was modeled after the Federal Indian boarding school system in the United States.
     As the President of the National Congress of American Indians, the oldest and largest organization comprising American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments as well as their citizens, it is my hope that your visit and apology to the survivors of Canadian Indian residential schools marks the beginning of a new chapter of repair and reparations between the Church and all Indigenous peoples.
     In May of this year, the United States Department of the Interior published the first Federal Indian Boarding School Investigative Report showing that, just like the Indian residential schools in Canada, Federal Indian Boarding Schools were designed to culturally assimilate Indigenous children and dispossess American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian peoples of our territories in the United States. The report identified 408 Federal Indian Boarding Schools operated and supported by the federal government, and found that over 500 children died at just 19 of the institutions studied—a number the Interior Department expects to increase as the investigation continues.
     We fully recognize the Department of the Interior Boarding School investigative report is only the beginning of an accounting of how our most precious, innocent, and promising souls were barbarically tortured, ravaged, assaulted, raped, and brutally murdered.  Our people and the broader public deserve a full account of the abuses perpetrated against Native children and families.
     This is an urgent matter, essential to the health and physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of our communities. As the remaining victims and survivors of Federal Indian Boarding Schools age and walk on, the opportunity for answers, accountability, and closure dissipates.
      The Catholic Church holds important records about Federal Indian boarding schools that can help bring the truth to light. We cannot hold abusers accountable, seek redress for harm, or reconcile with the Church, government institutions, and, in some cases, our own communities and families, until we know the full, unadulterated truth—truth the Catholic Church is actively withholding. It is crucial we have church support and partnership in working to bring the truth to light.
     Following the leadership of the Assembly of First Nations, Metis National Council, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami— our counterparts in Canada— I invite His Holiness and the Catholic Church to work with the National Congress of American Indians to open all records related to Federal Indian boarding schools so that someday soon American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian peoples may host an apostolic—and maybe even apologetic—journey to our tribal lands here in the United States.
     Siokwil,
     President Fawn Sharp
     National Congress of American Indians"

     "2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit," National Indian Education Association (NIEA), December 2022, https://www.niea.org/2022-white-house-tribal-nations-summit-report, stated, "On November 30 and December 1, 2022, Tribal Leaders from across the nation convened in Washington, DC for the White House Tribal Nation Summit. 
     During the summit, the Biden Administration made a series of announcements impacting Native Nations, including the announcement of a new Presidential Memorandum on Uniform Standards for Tribal Consultation, the implementation of the Buy Indian Act, and the release of the draft 10-Year National Plan on Native Language Revitalization.
      NIEA applauds these, and the many other actions by the Administration to support the needs of Native children and to strengthen Tribal sovereignty.  
      LANGUAGES 
     The White House Council on Native American Affairs is releasing a draft 10-Year National Plan on Native Language Revitalization. This plan will be built upon four pillars—Awareness, Recognition/Affirmation, Integration, and Support—that acknowledge the federal government’s prior role in erasing Native languages and current obligation to support revitalization.  
     The Administration is also taking steps to expand and implement the Memorandum of Agreement on Native Languages (MOA) by including thirteen additional federal agencies in the MOA.
     The National education initiatives and language revitalization. 
     Finally, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) partnered to Endowment for the Arts released an updated Resources Guide for Native Arts and Cultural Activities that details sources of federal support for activities such as language revitalization.
     The Administration also announced that the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities will prepare a summary of research that explores the relationship between educational attainment and Native languages.
     Finally, the Department of Education will launch the National Native Language Resource Center, an online resource hub for individuals and organizations engaging in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian language revitalization.
      EDUCATION
     In 2023, the Department of Education will launch a national study of Native American education. It will examine the Native educational landscape from birth through lifelong learning in both public and BIE settings.
     The Administration for Children and Families announced that it is launching a new Tribal Early Learning Initiative to improve collaboration and coordination across Tribal early childhood programs, including Head Start, childcare, home visiting, and preschool. 
     The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a new partnership between BIE and the Trust for Public Lands’ Community Schoolyards Project that will create outdoor educational spaces for BIE students in collaboration with students and community members.
     DOI is also renewing and reinvigorating the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education, a non-profit organization that supports educational opportunities for BIE students by advancing Tribally ledfund an Indigenous Knowledge research track that will support student research at the intersection of Western science and Indigenous knowledge.
      NUTRITION AND AGRICULTURE DOI and USDA announced new initiatives that promote the use of traditional foods in BIA programs , including Indigenous Food Hubs for BIE schools and BIA detention centers. USDA and DOI will also hold “listening-to” sessions to receive feedback on these initiatives and ways to support Indigenous agricultural practices.
      FEDERAL INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL INITIATIVE
     The National Endowment for the Humanities announced it will fund the first-ever oral history project for Federal Indian boarding school survivors. This project originates from a recommendation in Volume 1 of DOI’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report .
      LEARN MOREMore information on the full list of announcements made during the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit can be found here.NIEA will continue to work with the Administration on these and all other initiatives impacting Native Nations and our children. If you have any questions, please contact NIEA Policy Director, Julia Wakeford, jwakeford@niea.org . 

      Chez Oxendine , "Native Farm Bill Coalition Releases More Than 150 Suggestions for 2023 Farm Bill Policy," Tribal Business News,  September 19, 2022, https://tribalbusinessnews.com/sections/food-agriculture/14036-native-farm-bill-coalition-releases-more-than-150-suggestions-for-2023-farm-bill-policy, reported, " The Native Farm Bill Coalition has released a new report with more than 150 suggestions on improving agricultural opportunities in Indian Country ahead of negotiations over the 2023 Farm Bill.
     The report (https://www.nativefarmbill.com/_files/ugd/8b3589_763e8879ac2842c0baa45c586ddfd83a.pdf), titled “Gaining Ground: A Report on the 2018 Farm Bill Successes for Indian Country and Opportunities for 2023,” is authored by Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative executive director Erin Parker and associate director Carly Hotvedt. The report was funded by the Native American Agriculture Fund, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger."

     Madonna Thunderhawk, Cheyenne River Organizer, The Lakota People’s Law Project, wrote in an E-mail, June 21, 2022, "Since 2004, we have never stopped working to keep Native kids in Native care, where they can learn our cultural heritage from their elders and kinship circles.
     At our Standing Rock kinship care home, we provide at-risk children a safe space to learn and grow. Here at the Cheyenne River Nation, I’m leading a community-wide effort to create a tribally-run Child Welfare Department. And nationally, our legal team is preparing an amicus brief to protect the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in the Supreme Court. All of these things will create a brighter future for our young ones — and we couldn’t do any of it without you. So today, I ask you to fund this important mission and empower us to continue tackling this issue at levels ranging from a single child to the highest court in the land (https://action.lakotalaw.org/action/kinship-care-donations).
     Allow me to share a little more with you about these efforts. First, as we near the deadline to submit our ICWA amicus brief to the Supreme Court, our legal team has been interfacing with other organizations who are also writing briefs for the Brackeen v. Haaland case. By coordinating, we’ll ensure all important arguments are made in the best possible way, and our participation is key because we're writing in conjunction with former S.D. Sen. James Abouresk, the primary author of the original bill. Our brief will be complete soon, and our public relations team is planning some novel methods to spread the word and put pressure on people in D.C. Powerful lawyers aligned with Big Oil have attacked the constitutionality of ICWA with all they have, and this means the stakes couldn't be higher for Native kids and tribal sovereignty.
 
     Meanwhile, my own organizing focuses right here in my community at Cheyenne River. As a tangible contribution to defend the spirit of ICWA, our team is moving forward to create a tribal child welfare department. Last week, we hosted more than a dozen tribal members at an official hearing where family members testified about losing children to the system in South Dakota. With no tribally-administered Child Protective Services program on our rez, foster care and adoption is administered by the state, which has an abysmal track record of abiding by ICWA. Right now, 90 percent of Native children taken from their families in South Dakota still end up in non-Native foster care. That’s completely unacceptable, and it’s why we're working directly with tribal officials to establish an entity that will keep them safe with those who love them.
 
     Finally, some great news from our kinship care home at Standing Rock. It now has a name — ChantewašteHouse (chon-tay-wash-tay, meaning to be happy, content, cheerful, or joyful) — and it is currently sheltering three children. We had a 1-year-old stay for a while earlier this year, and our foster parent, Vanessa Defender, continues to do wonderful work providing a safe haven for the little ones.
     Please stay tuned for more updates on all of the above. Once again, I thank you for being there with us through this journey. It’s incredible stuff we’re accomplishing. Together we’re aiding the renewal of our next generation and those who will follow."

     Darren Thompson , Darren Thompson , "DNC Panel Passes Resolution Urging President to Release Leonard Peltier," Native News Online, September 11, 2022, https://www.nativenewsonline.net/currents/dnc-panel-passes-resolution-urging-president-to-release-leonard-peltier, reported, " The Democratic National Committee’s Resolutions Committee unanimously approved a resolution this week asking President Biden to consider clemency for Leonard Peltier. The American Indian Movement (AIM) activist has been in prison for 46 years after being convicted for aiding and abetting the 1975 murders of two FBI agents in South Dakota.
     The DNC resolution states (https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/athena/files/2022/09/09/631b9b59e4b046aa0234ed73.pdf) that Peltier, who turns 78 tomorrow, is an ideal candidate for leniency and 'that the President should use clemency powers to secure the release of those serving unduly long sentences,' and 'that given the overwhelming support for clemency, the constitutional due process issues underlying Mr. Peltier’s prosecution, his status as an elderly inmate, and that he is an American Indian, who suffer from greater rates of health disparities and severe underlying health conditions.'
     Peltier is often described as America’s longest-serving political prisoner. Advocates for his release have said his trial was problematic, including claims that the prosecutors hid evidence at trial. After the trial, A juror admitted she was biased against American Indian people. Peltier’s co-defendants, Dino Butler and Bob Robideaux, who were also charged with aiding and abetting, were acquitted on grounds of self-defense.
     The committee’s resolution now awaits a full vote by DNC members. If it’s approved, it then heads to the White House for Biden’s review.
     North Dakota State Representative Ruth Anna Buffalo (D-N.D.), a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations and member of the DNC Executive Committee, was one of the people behind the resolution. She told the Huffington Post on Friday that she feels nothing but gratitude to see it advance with unanimous support and 'for standing with justice.'”

     "Help the Lumbee Tribe Get Federal Recognition," Lakota Peoples Law Project, September 7, 2022, https://action.lakotalaw.org/action/lumbee-recognition, stated," Use this form to email your senators and ask them to vote YES on S.1364, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Recognition Act. When Native nations are federally recognized, it increases power and promotes sovereignty — not just for their communities but for Indigenous People everywhere.”

     Stephen of Win Without War stated in a November 29, 2022 E-mail, “We live on the land that tribal communities call home. Native tribes have held sacred stewardship over this land for countless generations. U .S. history is rife with atrocities against tribal communities through relentless colonization and expansion. Today: All across the United States, hundreds of indigenous sacred sites on federal lands — places of harvest, medicines, ceremony, burial, and creation — are threatened and desecrated by harmful, irreparable development projects like pipelines, mining activities, and resource extraction.
     U.S. law fails to adequately protect Indigenous people’s interests — on and off reservations. But we have a chance to fix that. Two key bills in Congress would correct these injustices and ensure that Native people have a seat at the decision-making table to manage and protect sacred and cultural sites.
     While we cannot change the past, we have the power to shape the future. Speaking out now can help build the momentum to get these bills passed and to the President’s desk.   THIS is the moment for relentless advocacy. Please take 30 seconds to sign this petition and tell Congress to pass the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act. Take action to protect indigenous sacred sites (https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/indigenous_rights_sovereignty?source=MO20221121)! Here are the specifics:The Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Lands Act (H.R. 8108/S.4421) will restore tribal sovereignty by prohibiting the sale of public land containing tribal cultural sites, and increase consultation with tribal nations on federal public land use.The Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act (H.R. 8109/S.4423) will establish a national system of culturally significant sites on public lands, and further safeguard tribal nations’ efforts to protect and manage their sacred sites.
     The fights for Indigenous rights, sovereignty, security, accountability, and peace are all one and the same. Together, these bills will enshrine much-needed protections into federal law and safeguard the sovereignty of Tribal communities all across the land. In September 2022, the Native Organizers Alliance delivered petition signatures supporting these landmark bills to the House Committee on Natural Resources during its hearings on these very bills. Now, Win Without War is joining the fight with partners across the movement to call on Congress to advance and pass these bills — but we need you with us too . Can I count on you as a Win Without War activist to join this fight for Indigenous rights and sovereignty and call on Congress to pass these bills? (https://sign.moveon.org/partnerships/win-without-war-1)
     Thank you for working for peace,
     Stephen and the Win Without War team

     Shaun Griswold, “Pete Buttigieg Gets an Earful about Tribal Roads,” ICT, November 23, 2022, https://mcusercontent.com/ee83519a17075b9d5a2c44042/files/3a369998-3ae7-e78b-6e02-94b54eb32f64/11.23.22_The_Weekly.pdf, reported, “ Feds aren’t meeting their obligations to Indigenous communities, leaders say, and instead put up roadblocks to building and fixing much-needed infrastructure. Tribal leaders in New Mexico had a simple message to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg: Give us money to fix roads, and patch up the broken agreement the federal government has failed to maintain. “The so-called federal responsibility is not met for these tribes,” Ron Shutiva told Buttigieg during his stop in Albuquerque on Wednesday. ‘That federal responsibility, our great white father, is supposed to be taking care of all of our needs within Indian Country because they took the land that we have away from us.’ Shutiva, the tribal liaison for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, is from Acoma Pueblo and has seen firsthand for decades the problem-solving tribal nations have to do in order to fix and repair roads using a funding formula stretched between multiple government sources.”

     Kalle Benallie, "Charges Against Black Hills Treaty Defender Dropped," ICT, December 15, 2022, https://mcusercontent.com/ee83519a17075b9d5a2c44042/files/e81e65b2-c4a5-66b0-f1e3-71067b568482/12.15.22_The_Weekly.pdf, reported, "Nick Tilsen, CEO and president of NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy organization, faced nearly two and a half years of legal battles with South Dakota
      All charges against NDN Collective President and CEO Nick Tilsen were dismissed by South Dakota prosecutors on Tuesday.
      Tilsen, Oglala Lakota, and 21 other treaty defenders were charged with misdemeanors from a July 3, 2020 protest when former President Donald Trump visited the Black Hills as part of Trump's speaking event at Mount Rushmore for an Independence Day celebration."

     "NCAI Applauds White House Intent to Appoint Chief Malerba as U.S. Treasurer and Lead New Treasury Office of Tribal and Native Affairs," National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), June 21, 2022, https://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2022/06/21/ncai-applauds-white-house-intent-to-appoint-chief-malerba-as-u-s-treasurer-and-lead-new-treasury-office-of-tribal-and-native-affairs, stated, "Today, President Biden announced his historic intent to appoint Chief Marilynn Malerba of the Mohegan Tribe as the first-ever Native American to serve as Treasurer of the United States. In this role, she will oversee the U.S. Mint, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Fort Knox, as well as be a key liaison with the Federal Reserve. Chief Malerba will serve as senior advisor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the areas of community development and public engagement.
     In addition, the U .S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced the creation of a new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs, which will also be led by Chief Malerba, to coordinate tribal relations across the entire Department. The establishment of the Office of Tribal and Native Affairs delivers on a long-standing request from Indian Country to ensure that Tribal Nations are fully incorporated throughout the Department’s policy development and implementation .
     Chief Malerba brings an extraordinary amount of experience and expertise to the role of Treasurer of the United States and lead of the new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs. As the first female Chief in the Mohegan Tribe’s modern history, she has served on tribal, national, and regional boards and advisory committees advancing tribal sovereignty, economic development, and health care in Indian Country. Most recently, Chief Malerba served as the Chairwoman of the Indian Health Service Tribal Self-Governance Advisory Committee, a member of the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee, and as the Board Secretary of the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) and the USET Sovereignty Protection Fund.
     “NCAI enthusiastically applauds President Biden’s choice in appointing Chief Malerba to serve as Treasurer of the United States and lead the new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs,” said National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp. “There is much work to be done to enhance economic development opportunities, achieve governmental tax parity for Tribal Nations, and address Indian Country’s capital needs. The creation of this office and Chief Malerba’s pending appointment are truly historic and positive steps toward these goals. The importance of Native American leadership, partnership, and representation within the Department of the Treasury cannot be overstated. We commend the President’s choice and congratulate Chief Malerba, who will no doubt work in equal and direct partnership with Tribal Nations to support our vision for building thriving tribal economies. We look forward to her continued bold leadership and success as Treasurer.”

     In March 2020, the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures held a hearing on “Examining the Impact of the Tax Code on Native American Tribes,” which discussed the issues facing Tribal Nations in building tribally-driven economies. This hearing highlighted the importance of empowering Tribal Nations and their work with policymakers to support Indian Country’s taxation and economic development priorities. The establishment of the Office of Tribal and Native Affairs is a testament to the Biden-Harris Administration’s responsiveness to tribal priorities and will play a critical role in carrying these important issues throughout the U.S. Treasury."

     "NCAI Applauds White House Nomination of Patrice H. Kunesh as Commissioner for the Administration for Native Americans, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services," National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), June 22, 2022, https://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2022/06/22/ncai-applauds-white-house-nomination-of-patrice-h-kunesh-as-commissioner-for-the-administration-for-native-americans-u-s-department-of-health-and-human-services, stated, "Today, President Biden announced the nomination of Patrice H. Kunesh to serve as Commissioner of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Native Americans (ANA ). In this role, nominee Kunesh will promote self-sufficiency for Native Americans by providing funding for community-based projects, training, and technical assistance to eligible Tribal Nations and Native organizations, including vital roles in Native language preservation, social and economic development, and the administration of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) programs. In order to maximize resources on behalf of Native communities, ANA partners with related programs in the Administration for Children and Families, other HHS programs, and other federal agencies and nonprofit organizations.

     Of Standing Rock Lakota descent, Kunesh is a nationally recognized attorney, thought leader, and policy advocate, and is well known for influencing and inspiring cross-sector leaders to create inclusive economic systems. Kunesh is the founder and director of Pe?í? Haha Consulting, which is a social enterprise committed to building more engaged and powerful Native communities by expanding assets and fostering social and human capital. Her experience includes establishing and leading the Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which is an economic and policy research center dedicated to Indian Country issues, and was appointed to the U.S. Treasury Community Development Advisory Board (CDFI Fund) as the representative for Native communities. Kunesh also served as Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, in-house counsel to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, faculty at the University of South Dakota School of law, and multiple roles with the Native American Rights Fund.
      'NCAI is honored to congratulate Patrice H. Kunesh on her nomination to serve as Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans,' said National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Fawn Sharp. “Her extensive experience, partnership, and leadership in championing solutions for Indian Country will ensure that critical language revitalization and social and economic development initiatives promote tribal sovereignty, economic prosperity, and preserve our way of life for the next seven generations and beyond. NCAI calls on the Senate to swiftly confirm Patrice H. Kunesh to lead the important work of ANA to support all Native peoples.'”

     "To our Member Tribes and Partners: Protecting Tribal Sovereignty - Exercising Our Power at The Polls," National Indian Gaming Association, August 24, 2022, http://www.indiangaming.org/news/protecting-tribal-sovereignty-exercising-our-power-at-the-polls, stated, "Last week , the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) met at the beautiful Santa Ana Star Casino and Hotel to reflect on our accomplishments, discuss our recent achievements and the challenges ahead, and plan a path forward this fall with critical elections looming. Tribal Sovereignty is, unfortunately, again facing many obstacles, given recent decisions at the Supreme Court and District Court levels. I am writing to you today to highlight these challenges and make an urgent appeal to appreciate the extremely valuable role that tribal leadership plays in Washington DC.
     In our meeting with leadership from the Pueblos, Jicarilla and Mescalero Apache, and other tribes from other areas to dialogue in preparation for the upcoming busy fall schedule and Indian country agenda. The leadership and voices in the meeting were resounding. We have a lot of work to do to finish out this congress and reach our goals in the new year.
     It was crystal clear in our meeting that these Tribes and Pueblos of New Mexico maintain a vigilant fight against Covid-19. They continue to follow many safety protocols to keep their communities safe even today. This is emblematic of Tribes across the Country. Thanks to the early coordinated work of Tribal Leaders, Indian gaming regulators, and our Tribal health and safety front-line employees, we are seeing signs that the COVID-19 pandemic is losing its grip on our communities. Your coordinated efforts helped limit the health and economic impacts on the Indian gaming industry. To protect our communities and visitors, tribal leaders closed operations for a significant time in 2020, and Indian gaming revenues suffered a 20 percent decrease to $27.8 billion.
     As announced in Oklahoma last week during the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow, your innovation, world-class regulation, and focus on public health helped strengthen trust and confidence with our visitors, led to a post-pandemic resurgence in our industry. Indian gaming revenues topped $39 billion in 2021: an increase of 40 percent over 2020 and more than 13 percent over the record revenues generated in 2019. The Indian gaming industry’s comeback is a resounding affirmation of Indian Country’s resilience and the safety-first approach taken by Tribal leadership nationwide.
     There can be no doubt that the state of the Indian gaming industry is strong and growing stronger. But we cannot rest. We know more must be done to improve federal policy, strengthen tribal sovereignty, and increase opportunities for all Native communities. During the first 18 months of the Biden Administration, we have done just that.
     Working together, we made significant policy gains during the 117th Congress. Congress delivered historic levels of investments to Native Nations through the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. Unlike the Recovery Act of 2009, the ARP and the Infrastructure Act respect tribal sovereignty and the status of Indian Tribes as separate distinct governments by delivering resources directly to Native Nations.The American Rescue Plan truly kickstarted the health and economic recovery of Indian Country. The Act provided $20 billion in Fiscal Recovery Funds directly to Tribal Governments. The Plan provided significant resources to Indian health care systems, Tribal housing, education, and other critical services.
     The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act is delivering $13 billion to help Native Nations rebuild our water systems, broadband, cybersecurity, roads, and much more. These resources will help address the infrastructure shortfalls that contributed to spreading the virus in Native communities.
     All told, Indian Country received over $30 billion during the Pandemic to help ensure our Reservation economies would survive during the worst of Covid. Thank you to our partners, sister organizations, colleagues, lawyer lobby firms, and most importantly, the Tribal Governments and leaders that represent them.
Another long-awaited policy victory for Indian Country came earlier this year with the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. VAWA 2022 reaffirms Tribal sovereignty in our continued effort to overturn the misguided Oliphantdecision. The strong bipartisan support for the VAWA Reauthorization will go far in addressing the tragic crisis of missing and murdered Native people while also improving public safety and justice in our communities.
     These policy victories for Indian Country were made possible because we remained united. We organized. And we turned out the vote in November 2020. This historic vote on VAWA 2022 serves as a guide. It reveals those in Congress who understand Tribal sovereignty and those who do not. I highlight VAWA because, while we are making progress in Congress, we are facing unprecedented attacks in the federal courts.
     We saw this in the Castro-Huerta case. On June 29, 2022, the United States Supreme Court, in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, ignored two centuries of precedent by granting state courts jurisdiction over crimes committed by non-Indians in Indian Country. For two hundred years, courts followed the principle that states have no power on Indian Country unless Congress authorizes it. The Supreme Court turned this foundational principle on its head.
      We are working with our champions in Congress to address this dangerous decision, but we are also keeping an eye on two upcoming cases – Brackeen and Maverick Gaming – that attack the very core of tribal sovereignty.
     This fall, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Brackeen case. In this case, states and adoption agencies are attacking the Indian Child Welfare Act, falsely claiming that the law is illegally based on race and ancestry. The case is a direct attack on Tribal Governments and the Indian Child Welfare Act, which has worked to protect Indian families and Native children.
     A similar case, Maverick Gaming, LLC v. United States, involves a commercial cardroom in the State of Washington, which claims that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is based on “race and ancestry”. The same law firm seeking to overturn ICWA is representing Maverick Gaming in this case. They make the same argument, this time lodging a direct attack on the Indian gaming industry. I want to applaud the Shoalwater Bay Indian Community who has now applied to intervene in this case.
     While not grounded in law or fact, we take this challenge head-on because of what’s at stake. For fifty years, more than 240 Tribal Governments have used Indian gaming to revive our communities. Indian gaming generates more than 300,000 jobs on Indian lands annually. Our operations serve as economic anchors for community development and entrepreneurship. Revenues generated from Indian gaming have worked to rebuild basic infrastructure and enhance the delivery of health, education, and public safety services to Indian Country. Moreover, the tremendous revenue offshoot of our Indian Gaming industry has contributed significantly to the overall economic and employment growth in the United States.
     All of Indian Country is united in denouncing these lawsuits as dangerous and destructive. These attacks serve to highlight the importance of the upcoming midterm elections. Our Vote is our voice and our power.
     The Indian Gaming Association’s “My Vote WILL Count” campaign is partnering with our Member Tribes and sister organizations to educate, empower, and encourage all of Indian Country to register and commit to making a plan to vote. The My Vote WILL Count campaign has stops planned throughout Indian Country in the coming months.
     We know that Native youth are the key to unlocking the full potential of our vote. We’re recruiting young men and women warriors to serve as ambassadors to organize their communities and educate everyone about the importance of their vote.
     Exercising our voting rights not only empowers our people and advances our future, but it also serves to honor the sacrifices of our ancestors who fought to protect tribal sovereignty and our way of life.
     Your vote will ensure that we send people to Congress who will work with Indian Country to protect Tribal sovereignty and put judges on the federal bench who understand federal Indian law. Our power at the polls will determine whose voices will guide Congress for the next two years. Indian Country’s Vote WILL count. We can, and we WILL make a difference.
     Now more than ever, we must continue to stand united at the front lines of our tribal communities and at our Nation’s capital on behalf of the people we serve. Indian Country’s unified strength protected our communities and led to a resurgence of our industry. We must now stand together in the face of direct threats to our very way of life by showing up at the polls this November. Simply put, the election this year is about protecting Indian families and the very future of tribal sovereignty.
     Sincerely,

     Ernest L. Stevens, Jr., Chairman."

     The Navajo Nation Naabik’iyati’ To’Niltoli Task Force is seeking to have land bordering on Lake Powell returned to the nation to be used for economic development (Krista Allen, “To’Niltoli members want Lake Powell lands returned,” Navajo Times, July 14, 2022).

     "NCAI Applauds Reinstatement of Jim Thorpe’s Olympic Gold Medals," National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), July 15, 2022, https://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2022/07/15/ncai'applauds-reinstatement-of-jim-thorpe-s-olympic-gold-medals, stated, " Proclaimed by many as the greatest athlete of all time, Jim Thorpe is now recognized as the sole champion of the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. Today, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially acknowledged the feat 110 years after its achievement.
     'James Francis Thorpe, or Wa-tho-huk, ‘Bright Path’ in his Native language, has inspired our people for generations. He was a champion who did, indeed, brighten the path for hundreds of Native people who have lifted themselves up, against all odds, to achieve greatness,' said Fawn Sharp, President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). NCAI is the largest Native American organization serving more than 500 Tribal Nations in the United States.
     'The light of true greatness can never be extinguished no matter the forces of darkness that seek to deny it. Jim Thorpe’s light will eternally shine to inspire generations of our youth to believe in themselves and the infinite power of their God-given gifts, talents, and dreams,' said President Sharp.
     The IOC stripped Thorpe of his gold medals for the events in 1913 for playing minor league baseball for meager earnings while he was in college. The IOC did return replica medals to the Thorpe family in 1982, but fell short of making true amends by designating him as a co-champion of the events he clearly won.
      'The National Congress of American Indians applauds this new action and congratulates the family of this great hero, as well as Bright Path Strong, a Native American organization largely responsible for this achievement,' said President Sharp.
     Jim Thorpe, Sac and Fox Nation and Potawatomi, was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympic Games. Born on May 28, 1888, in Prague, Oklahoma, to Hiram Thorpe and Charlotte Vieux, Thorpe is considered one of the most talented and versatile athletes in modern sports. He was a football star at Carlisle Indian College and, following his feats in the Olympics, became a professional athlete.
     'Football, baseball, basketball, track and even hockey - he played them all at the highest level with an ability that was truly beyond belief,' said President Sharp. 'Native Americans all across this country know his name and speak it with great honor.'
     Thorpe played professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians (now known as the Cleveland Guardians), the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Giants, and the Boston Braves. He also played six years in the National Football League and was named to the Football Hall of Fame in its inaugural year of 1963."

     Lakota People's Law Project wrote in a September 24, 2022 E-mail, " Lakota Law livestreams are back, y’all! Continuing in the tradition of 'Cut to the Chase,' I’m organizing informative panels hosted by our Lakota leaders and featuring Indigenous guests from across Turtle Island and beyond. Co-produced by Indigenous Peoples Movement and Last Real Indians, “In Critical Times” streams will be available to view live or later on social media, and they take place every other Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. This week, we had a trio of great guests join host Chase Iron Eyes for a deep dive on the Doctrine of Discovery. I encourage you to watch the whole discussion here! : https://lakotalaw.org/resources/ict-doctrine" The podcasts series is at: https://lakotalaw.org/resources.

     First Nations Development Institute wrote in an August 19, 2022 E-mail, " New Report: ' color:#333333'Strengthening Native Food Systems Through Improved Food Storage,'" reporting, "The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food system issues throughout Indian Country. To strengthen Native food systems, in fall 2021, First Nations awarded 14 Northern Great Plains Food Storage Grants to support Native food pantries in improving food storage efforts. This new First Nations reportsummarizes key findings and best practices in food storage based on qualitative interviews with First Nations’ community partners, and provides a literature review of traditional food storage methods of Indigenous peoples in North America. Download the report https://www.firstnations.org/publications/traditional-food-storage-on-the-northern-great-plains."

     “PUBLICATIONS : Stewarding Native Lands Environmental Scan, 2022,” First Nations Development Institute, https://www.firstnations.org/publications/stewarding-native-lands-environmental-scan/ ?, announced, “ First Nations Development Institute’s Stewarding Native Lands Environmental Scan provides a broad overview of the tribal lands and environmental justice landscape. Specifically, priority areas of Land Tenure, Tribal Conservation/Management, Environmental Justice, Climate Change, and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Cultural Practices were assessed to identify current and emerging issues and opportunities, leading organizations active in that space, opportunities for First Nations to partner and/or compete with those organizations, and funding opportunities.The information gathered through this environmental scan helped to guide the 2022 strategic planning for the emerging Stewarding Native Lands program. This information provides a robust sampling of the range and depth of work underway in Native lands stewardship.”The publication is available at: https://www.firstnations.org/publications/stewarding-native-lands-environmental-scan/?bbeml=tp-pck9Q6QNPEiuBt3JmyTokQ.jvnBrW4j4tUeXRlp1RGtflw.rd9Dvv6r76kCx3CMYFELtSQ.lrv5y4C-jLEmRubETM2m0kQ.”

      Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO: AIO.org, aio@aio.org) continues to collaborate with others to build community in greater Albuquerque, NM with Indian community input into civic affairs. This has included collaborative work that established and continues to communicate regularly with the City of Albuquerque Office of Equity and Inclusion, with its Office of American Indian Affairs, while working to create an American Indian community center with a board actively responsible to the local Native community. AIO has relaunched its Ambassador Program – a two-year leadership nurturing program, equivalent to a master’s degree program - as a local program. The participants facilitated development includes enhancing understanding of one’s medicine (strengthening identity), collaborative decision making and communication, meeting with local and state political and community leaders, as well as undertaking a personal project of service to one’s community (Stephen Sachs recollections from AIO Executive Director Laura Harris’ communication at AIO’s January 19, 2023 Third Thursday Indian Lunch, supported by information from long association with AIO).

Return to top

International Activities

      Samuel Torres, " You are here: Home / Announcements / NABS Statement on Papal Apology in Maskwacis, Canada: Nabs Statement On Papal Apology In Maskwacis, Canada, "Natioinal Native American Boarding School Healing Commission, July 26, 2022, Https://Boardingschoolhealing.Org/Nabs-Statement-Papal-Apology-Maskwacis/ By  
      The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) stands with our relatives today in hearing the apology of Pope Francis recognizing the role of the Catholic church in administering and enforcing Canada’s Indian Residential School system. The Pope’s visit comes seven years after the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission published their list of 94 calls to action, of which a papal apology is included.
     For the first time in First Nations territory, Pope Francis acknowledged that the scars are still open wounds from residential boarding schools. The Pope clarified his apology is for all Native peoples impacted, further stating that an apology is not enough and that 'an important part of this process will be to conduct a serious investigation into the facts of what took place in the past and to assist the survivors of the residential schools to experience healing from the traumas they suffered.'
     We understand that the words of apology from Pope Francis will hold different meaning and weight across Indigenous communities throughout Indian Country. For some, this may be healing. We continue to call for actionable steps addressing the impacts of the genocidal policies and practices of Indian residential and boarding schools.
     In attendance of the papal apology, NABS CEO Deborah Parker (Tulalip Tribes) stated, 'An apology must include steps forward that are both justice seeking and that opens pathways for healing. The time is now to rescind the Doctrine of Discovery. Pope Francis was asked to do exactly this by the Indigenous delegation to the Vatican four months ago and has yet to respond.'
     Accompanying Parker, NABS Board Member Joannie Romero (Cochiti Pueblo) stated, 'Though an essential point of recognition by Pope Francis, there was no direct mention of genocide and sexual abuse, nor what was going to be done to address these crimes of humanity.'NABS Board President Sandy White Hawk (Sicangu Lakota) added, 'If the Pope is interested in walking with Indigenous people impacted by the violence of Indian residential and boarding schools, accountability needs to be front and center. Including releasing boarding school records from all Catholic repositories from Canada and the US, all the way to the Vatican.'
      NABS joins our relatives in recognizing that while this is only a step toward addressing intergenerational trauma inflicted by residential and boarding schools, it must not be the last, and it must be accompanied by solidified action. There is much more work to be done and we will continue to call on the Catholic church, other Christian institutions, and governments responsible for boarding and residential institutions to answer calls for truth and accountability—starting with repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery and releasing all boarding school records in their archives.
     For the full transcript of the apology of Pope Francis [which is in Dialoguing, below], visit: https://bit.ly/popevisitcanada .
     National Residential School Crisis Line: call 1-866-925-4419
     Strong Hearts Native Helpline: call or text 1-844-762-8483 (1-844-7NATIVE)
      NABS Resources for Self-Care and Trauma : https://boardingschoolhealing.org/self-care-resources//
     NCAI ANC-22-040 requesting Pope Francis denounce the Doctrine of Discovery - Full Resolution ."

      Bell, Susan , "Former candidates call to improve elections for Indigenous voters in Quebec: Missing names and missing voter cards, candidates say too many northern voters turned away,"  CBC News · Posted: December 1, 2022, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/cree-inuit-elections-quebec-voting-1.6670039 , reported, " Two Indigenous candidates who ran — and lost — in the last provincial election say Quebec is failing Indigenous and northern voters and they worry there is no real desire to fix what's wrong."
     And for the second straight election, voter turnout in Ungava was just above 30 per cent — the lowest in the province by far. The provincial voter turnout was 66.1 per cent." They candidates say the reason the voter turnout in the First Nation areas dropped greatly from previously, was barriersput in the way of voting by them which saw many prevented from voting at all. This included many First Nation people either not receiving their voting cards or having them arrive too late in the mail.

     "Update on AFN-Canada Specific Claims Co-Development Process," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), November 4, 2022," https://www.afn.ca/update-on-afn-canada-specific-claims-co-development-process/, reported,  
     " SUMMARY:
      Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Regional Chief, Nova Scotia / Newfoundland Paul Prosper and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller attended a public ceremony on November 3, 2022 to launch the co-development of an independent specific claims process.
     Specific claims deal with First Nations grievances against the Crown and arise where Canada is deemed to have failed to meet its obligations under Treaties or other agreements, or in how it has managed First Nations funds and assets. First Nations have advocated for a fully independent specific claims process for generations.
      The AFN and the Government of Canada will work through the Specific Claims Implementation Working Group (SCIWG) to develop reform options for consideration by Federal Cabinet, including a consensus-based independent centre for the resolution of specific claims. The AFN anticipates that the SCIWG will present reform options to Federal Cabinet by Winter 2024.
      Specific Claims Co-Development Process
     On November 3, 2022 Regional Chief Prosper and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller attended a public ceremony to launch the co-development of an independent specific claims process. This ceremony marked the formal launch of the Specific Claims Implementation Working Group (SCIWG).
     The AFN and the Government of Canada will work through the SCIWG to develop reform options for consideration by Federal Cabinet, including a consensus-based independent centre for the resolution of specific claims. A series of technical task groups will assist the SCIWG in the development of reform options. The AFN anticipates that the SCIWG will present reform options to Federal Cabinet by Winter 2024.
      Background
     Specific claims deal with First Nations grievances against the Crown and arise where Canada is deemed to have failed to meet its obligations under Treaties or other agreements, or in how it has managed First Nations funds and assets. Currently, the Government of Canada is the defendant yet controls funding, the review and acceptance of claims, as well as access to negotiations and evidence. For generations, First Nations have called for the elimination of this unacceptable conflict of interest and the establishment of a fully independent specific claims process.
     The AFN and the Government of Canada have worked together through the Specific Claims Joint Technical Working Group (JTWG) to address longstanding First Nations’ concerns with Canada’s Specific Claims Policy and process since 2016. At the Annual General Assembly in 2017, First Nations-in-Assembly passed AFN Resolution 91/2017 Support for a Fully Independent Specific Claims Process. This resolution supports the work of the JTWG and calls on Canada to address its conflict of interest within the process through 'a fully independent specific claims process'
     .
     AFN First Nations-in-Assembly passed Resolution 09/2020 which calls on the Government of Canada to work in coordination with the AFN and the Chiefs Committee on Lands, Territories and Resources to develop a fully independent specific claims process consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and based on the following principles identified by First
      Nations during the 2019 AFN dialogue process:
     The Honour of the Crown: The specific claims process must be consistent with the Honour of the Crown.
     Independence of all Aspects of Claims Resolution: Specifically including funding and oversight of claims and their resolution that must be handled independent of Canada.
     Recognition of Indigenous Laws: The recognition of First Nations’ laws may impact the conduct of adjudication, dispute resolution and negotiation.
     No Arbitrary Limits on Compensation : There will be no financial constraints on settlements, such as the $150-million cap on the jurisdiction of the Tribunal or the Commission.
     For more information, please contact Aaron Asselstine, Director, Lands Sector at aasselstine@afn.ca or Jesse Donovan, Senior Policy Analyst, Lands Sector at jdonovan@afn.ca ."

     "AFN First Nations-In-Assembly Pass Resolutions by Consensus On Compensation For Children And Families," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), December 9, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/afn-first-nations-in-assembly-pass-resolutions-by-consensus-on-compensation-for-children-and-families/, stated, " The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) announced that First Nations-in-Assembly have passed two crucial resolutions this week directing the AFN on a path forward on compensation and long-term reform. One resolution advances the AFN’s priorities on securing compensation for First Nations children and families who experienced egregious harms caused by the Government of Canada’s discriminatory funding of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program and narrow application of Jordan’s Principle, and the other outlines the path forward for the AFN’s ongoing participation in negotiations on long-term reforms.
     During the Special Chiefs Assembly, Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse, First Nation Chiefs, lawyers, technicians, and other representatives, including Dr. Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, with the guidance of the Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair, collaborated on Draft Resolution 16&17/2022 and Draft Resolution 19&20/2022. The resolutions, both carried unanimously by Chiefs and Proxies, uniting First Nations on the direction for continued negotiations to finalize the approach to compensation and long-term reform to the FNCFS Program and Jordan’s Principle.
      Draft Resolution 16&17/2022 supports the payment of compensation for all survivors and victims of the Government of Canada’s discriminatory funding of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program and narrow application of Jordan’s Principle. It mandates continued support for AFN Representative Plaintiffs and to ensure swift payment of compensation.
     'The most important thing about what’s happening here is unity,' said Chair Khelsilem of Squamish Nation, mover of the resolution. “We are coming together as First Nations leaders. Because united, we can do anything we want and take on this government and get the full compensation for all the children, the full dignity for all our families. That’s what happens when we come together and work together.”
     On December 8, the First Nations-in-Assembly passed a second resolution mandating the parameters needed for a final settlement agreement on long-term reforms to the FNCFS Program and Jordan’s Principle. The resolution directs the AFN to press Canada to increase funding commitments above the currently allocated $19.087 billion, over five years and beyond, in keeping with the principles of sovereignty, inherent jurisdiction, and nation building. It also mandates AFN to direct parties to develop evidence and policy-based options for the long-term reform of Jordan’s Principle that will include mechanisms to support self-determination.
      'This resolution demands change to the child welfare system to support First Nations children and families to thrive through a holistic approach to reform grounded in our culture, and funding that meets the actual needs of our children and communities,' said Kevin Hart, Proxy for Chief Oliver Owens, Little Grand Rapids First Nation. 'We must focus on prevention and supporting families to stay together.'
     AFN Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse, lead negotiator and Social Development portfolio holder, spoke to the First Nations-in-Assembly during the passing of the resolutions. 'First Nations have come together in unity to stand up for our children who were impacted by the biased child and family welfare system and Jordan’s Principle,' she said. 'Now we look to Canada to do what’s necessary to fulfill these requirements for providing adequate and rapid compensation and work with First Nations communities to reform the system so that families are no longer torn apart. We as First Nations are clearly focused on the best interests of our children and families that give them the full dignity they deserve, and we’re ready to resolve these issues. It’s time for Canada to come back to the table with us.'
      Additional details, resources and support are available at www.fnchildcompensation.ca .
     The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations individuals and communities across Canada on matters of national or international nature and concern.  Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
      Contact information:
     Kelly Reid, Communications Officer, Assembly of First Nations
613-292-0857 (mobile), kreid@afn.ca."
     "Update on Compensation and Long-Term Reform to the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and Jordan’s Principle," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), November 25, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/update-on-compensation-and-long-term-reform-to-the-first-nations-child-and-family-services-program-and-jordans-principle/, reported,  
      SUMMARY: 
     On November 23, 2022, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) filed an application for judicial review of the recent Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s (CHRT) decision regarding a proposed settlement on the payment of compensation to victims of Canada’s discrimination under the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and Jordan’s Principle.
     The AFN signed a final settlement agreement (FSA) for compensation, including a full compensation package and provisions on eligibility and the application process on June 30, 2022. The compensation is capped at $20 billion for all the classes. The FSA settled the class action at the Federal Court and the CHRT for compensation intended to end both litigation matters.
     In September 2022, the AFN sought the CHRT’s approval of the FSA on compensation, and on October 24, 2022, the CHRT released its decision that did not endorse the FSA. The CHRT’s failure to endorse the settlement agreement means that over 300,000 First Nations children, youth and their caregivers would not be entitled to compensation. Only half of the of these individuals are covered under the existing orders of the CHRT.
      The AFN filed its judicial review to ensure that all individuals who were harmed by Canada’s discrimination between 1991 and 2022 would be entitled to compensation, as our settlement agreement includes more individuals, and will provide higher levels of compensation than under the CHRT’s compensation orders.
     In 2007, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) filed a human rights complaint, along with the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, alleging that Canada was discriminating against First Nations children and families in the provision of child protection services and the implementation of Jordan’s Principle. In 2016, the Tribunal substantiated the complaint and ordered Canada to reform its First Nations Child and Family Services Program (FNCFS) program and properly implement Jordan’s Principle.
     An essential element of AFN’s advocacy was the payment of fair and just compensation by Canada for its discrimination. The AFN‘s efforts have been to ensure compensation is paid to First Nations children, youth and their families.
     In fact, compensation was made possible because of the AFN’s efforts. The AFN was the only party to the CHRT’s proceedings to request compensation to be paid directly to victims. AFN also asked that the maximum amount of $40,000 be paid.
     However, the CHRT’s compensation orders had limitations. It only covered the period between 2006/7 and 2017/22. Secondly, not all individuals are entitled to compensation under the CHRT’s Orders. To be eligible to receive compensation under the CHRT process, one must have been removed from their homes, families, and community. They must meet all three parts of this criteria, which results in unfair application. For instance, a parent could have two children removed from their care. The child placed outside of their community would be entitled to compensation, but the child placed in their own community would not be eligible.
     The AFN sought to correct this inherent unfairness in the CHRT compensation orders in the FSA. The AFN settlement agreement established a significant milestone in compensation. The agreement will provide compensation to all victims of Canada’s discrimination regardless of where they were placed.   The AFN’s settlement also provides compensation to those individuals who were impacted by Canada’s discrimination from 1991 to 2022 – extending 15 years beyond the timeframe of the CHRT’s compensation orders.
     On November 23, the AFN Executive Committee agreed to launch a judicial review of the CHRT’s letter decision to not approve the final settlement agreement. The AFN does not agree that the CHRT could not approve the final settlement agreement. The Record of Decision is included below.
     The AFN’s judicial review is mainly focused on getting more children and families compensation. We do not agree with the limitations, or the inherent unfairness imposed by the CHRT. Our children deserve better. They deserve compensation regardless of where they were placed.
     The AFN is hopeful that this matter can be settled in a timely manner, without lengthy legal processes at the CHRT or the Federal Court of Canada. The AFN is exploring options on how to get compensation into the hands of First Nation individuals as quickly as possible. The AFN will continue to work with the Parties to get the best possible outcome for our children and families affected by Canada’s discrimination. Our important work on compensation continues at the negotiation table.
     The AFN will continue to advocate for the approval of final settlement agreement that reflects First Nations’ priorities and is based on First Nations-led processes. Our current goal is to get to compensation to uncontested classes (i.e. removed children) as soon as possible. This may result in a staggered settlement process.
      For additional information, please visit www.fnchildcompensation.ca and sign up to receive updates. RECORDS OF DECISION Executive Committee Meeting
November 23, 2022
1:00pm – 5:00pm (EDT) MOTION 3:       CHRT
     The Executive Committee reaffirm its desire and advocacy to date that all victims of Canada’s discrimination receive the payment of just compensation.
     The Executive Committee direct Legal Counsel to seek a Judicial Review of the CHRT’s decision on the Final Settlement Agreement on Compensation to address precedential errors made by the CHRT that will have an adverse impact on First Nations involved in human rights disputes.
     The Executive Committee uphold free, prior and informed consent when dealing internally with member First Nations, but direct Legal Counsel to seek a Judicial Review of the CHRT’s misinterpretation of the application of Free Prior and Informed Consent as it relates to the final settlement agreement on compensation.
     The Executive Committee direct that counsel engage in a dual track process whereby the judicial review is filed and negotiations continue.Every effort be made to pay compensation forthwith to those uncontentious classes of victims such as the removed class who may benefit from compensation at this time, while discussions or litigation continue for those groups that remain contested. MOVED:
       Regional Chief Joanna Bernard
SECONDED:     Chief Darlene Bernard
Opposed:
      none
Abstentions:    Regional Chief Terry Teegee
Regional Chief Kluane Adamek
Regional Chief Bobby Cameron
Regional Chief Gerald Antoine
MOTION:
      Carried ."
      "Assembly of First Nations Bulletin – Update on First Nations Child and Family Services and Jordan’s Principle Compensation." Assembly of First Nations (AFN), September 21, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/assembly-of-first-nations-bulletin-update-on-first-nations-child-and-family-services-and-jordans-principle-compensation/, reported,  
      SUMMARY: 
     The AFN appeared before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) on September 15 and 16, 2022, to seek the CHRT’s endorsement of the $20-billion Final Settlement Agreement to compensate First Nations children and families harmed by discriminatory underfunding of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and for the federal government’s narrow application of Jordan’s Principle.
     The CHRT reserved its decision on the AFN’s motion for the approval of the Final Settlement Agreement. The AFN anticipates a favourable decision from the CHRT in the coming weeks.
     The Federal Court of Canada has postponed its Compensation Approval Hearing, which was previously scheduled for September 20 to 23, 2022, noting that it prefers a ruling from the CHRT before it commences its own approval inquiry.
     The AFN remains hopeful that the CHRT will provide a decision endorsing the Compensation Agreement expeditiously. The Federal Court of Canada is holding November 21 to 24, 2022 and December 5 to 9, 2022 as tentative dates for the Compensation Approval Hearing.
      Final Settlement Agreement
     On June 30, 2022, the AFN and Canada signed a $20-billion Final Settlement Agreement to compensate First Nations children and families harmed by discriminatory underfunding of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program and for the federal government’s narrow application of Jordan’s Principle. A condition of the Final Settlement Agreement on Compensation requires both the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) and the Federal Court of Canada endorse the agreement.
     The AFN appeared before the CHRT on September 15 and 16, 2022, to seek the CHRT’s endorsement of the Final Settlement Agreement. The CHRT reserved its decision on AFN’s motion for the approval of the agreement. As a result, the Federal Court of Canada has postponed its Compensation Approval Hearing, noting that it prefers a ruling from the CHRT before it commences its own approval inquiry.
     The AFN anticipates a favourable decision from the CHRT in the coming weeks. Once the CHRT makes a ruling endorsing the Final Settlement Agreement, the AFN will be able to move on to the next steps in the approval process before the Federal Court. The Federal Court of Canada is holding November 21 to 24, 2022 and December 5 to 9, 2022 as tentative dates for the Compensation Approval Hearing.
     The AFN continues to work towards meeting the timelines set out in the Final Settlement Agreement and is cognizant of the Survivors and families that are waiting for a final decision on compensation for the discrimination they experienced. At present, the AFN and Moushoom class counsel are developing a distribution protocol, which will outline specifics on who will be eligible for compensation and how they can apply. The AFN will be sharing information with the Regions to explain the distribution protocol before seeking Federal Court approval at a hearing scheduled on December 20, 2022.
     Once the distribution protocol is approved, Claimants will finally be able to complete and submit applications and distribution of compensation awards will follow. The AFN remains hopeful that all the Final Settlement Agreement approvals will be completed in December 2022 and compensation payments will commence early in 2023.
      Background
     Since 1998, the AFN has engaged with Canada to address significant deficiencies and inequities inherent in the funding from the Government of Canada for the FNCFS Program, and the adverse impacts on the First Nations children and families involved with the FNCFS Program. The AFN has also been advocating for the full and proper application of Jordan’s Principle to ensure that all First Nations children have access to the supports and services they need, no matter where they live.
     The AFN and First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada (Caring Society) filed a human rights complaint with the CHRT in 2007. The complaint was substantiated by the CHRT in 2016 and Canada was ordered to reform the FNCFS Program and fully implement Jordan’s Principle to eliminate its discriminatory practices.
     The AFN was the only Party to the CHRT litigation who requested that compensation be paid directly to survivors. The CHRT agreed with the AFN that compensation was required and ultimately awarded $40,000, the maximum amount for pain and suffering under the Canadian Human Rights Act ( CHRA), to First Nations who faced discrimination in Canada’s underfunding of the FNCFS Program and the narrow application of Jordan’s Principle. The Government of Canada issued an appeal of the CHRT’s Compensation Order, which remains active.
     On January 28, 2020, the AFN and the representative plaintiffs, including Ashley Dawn Louise Bach, Karen Osachoff, Melissa Walterson, Noah Buffalo-Jackson, Carolyn Buffalo, and Dick Eugene Jackson, filed a proposed class action, dating back to 1991 (“AFN Class Action”). The AFN Class Action sought compensation for First Nations children and family members harmed by Canada’s discrimination under the FNCFS Program and narrow application of Jordan’s Principle. The AFN, Moushoom class counsel and Canada have engaged in negotiations over the last two years.
     While the CHRT’s compensation orders were profound, the maximum amount of compensation under the CHRA is limited to $40,000. The AFN sought to increase both the number of survivors eligible for compensation and the amount of compensation that they may receive, and achieved this by expanding on the CHRT’s compensation orders in a number of ways.
     First, the CHRT imposed a cut-off point at which a child must have been in care to be eligible for compensation, which is January 1, 2006. The eligibility period under the Class Action begins on the date at which the discriminatory funding system was implemented by Canada: April 1, 1991. It also extends the date of eligibility for Jordan’s Principle claimants to the same date, in recognition of the longstanding and persistent gaps in services and supports for First Nations children. This extends the period for compensation by an additional 15 years.
     The second extension relates to the whether a child was placed outside of their community. The CHRT compensation order required that a child had to be “placed outside their homes, families and communities” in order to be eligible for compensation. The Final Settlement Agreement includes all First Nations children who were removed under the FNCFS Program, regardless if they were placed within or outside of their community.
     The third expansion is the inclusion of enhancement factors to ensure that individuals who experienced the greatest harm as a result of Canada’s discrimination are provided with additional compensation. Under the Final Settlement Agreement, Survivors will be entitled to a $40,000 base payment and additional monetary enhancements based on their individual circumstances, which include:the age when an individual was removed from their homethe age at which they exited carethe amount of time an individual spent in carethe number of times they were placed in careif an individual was removed to receive an essential serviceif an individual was removed from a northern or remote community
     if an individual was subjected to a delay, denial or service gap that resulted in significant harm
     Finally, the AFN advocated for additional supports for survivors that are not contemplated under the CHRT’s Compensation Order, including mental wellness supports for Survivors, financial literacy and coaching, family and community unification supports, and more. The Final Settlement Agreement is the first of its kind as it is First Nations driven, and First Nations will oversee the implementation of the agreement.
     The AFN will continue to provide updates at fnchildcompensation.ca . The AFN has also established an Information Desk which can be reached at 1-888-718-6496 or fnchildcompensation@afn.ca .We acknowledge that this process may bring up strong emotional responses; support from the Hope for Wellness Helpline is available now at 1-855-242-3310."

     " Assembly of First Nations Will Continue to Fight for First Nations Jurisdiction as Affirmed in An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit And Métis Children, Youth And Families ," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), December 5, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/assembly-of-first-nations-will-continue-to-fight-for-first-nations-jurisdiction-as-affirmed-in-an-act-respecting-first-nations-inuit-and-metis-children-youth-and-families-2/, stated " The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) announced today that it continues to stand with First Nations in Quebec and all First Nations’ who exercise their inherent jurisdiction over child and family law. First Nations interveners, including the AFN, will appear in a hearing before the Supreme Court of Canada to support the constitutionality of the Act and its full implementation following the Government of Quebec challenging the law’s constitutionality. In addition, the legislation requires the establishment of an oversight committee appointed in part by the Federal government.
      'Advancing First Nations priorities requires recognizing First Nations law-making powers,' said AFN Quebec-Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard. 'We continue to ask for this recognition and for sovereignty in our nations.'
     The Court of Appeal of Quebec affirmed the constitutionality of the Act on February 10, 2022, in response to the Quebec government’s challenge to the constitutionality of the Act, which came into force January 1, 2020. The ruling affirmed that First Nations have an inherent right to self-government, including jurisdiction over child protection and family law.
     'The Act is the positive result of decades of advocacy to respect First Nations systems that support the best interests of our families,' said AFN Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse, portfolio holder on the AFN Executive Committee. 'My hope is that these hearings result in a stronger process for implementation.'
     Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations 1st Vice-Chief David Pratt added, 'The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) would like to acknowledge our membership and all First Nations on the significance of the Supreme Court of Canada Quebec appeal hearing on C-92 respecting First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children and families (the Act). This case is monumental as it will affect not only child welfare laws, but every aspect of First Nations’ jurisdiction and right to self-determination. FSIN is fully committed to the implementation of the Act and are working towards bringing our children home and out of the hands of the Provinces and Territories. This precedent will impact Treaty and Inherent rights and whether the court will recognize our right to raise our children surrounded by their language, culture, history and land.'
     The hearings begin this week with appearances from First Nations leaders. The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision is expected in 2023.
     The AFN is the national organization representing First Nations people in Canada.  Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
      For more information please contact:Kelly Reid
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
613-292-0857 (mobile)
kreid@afn.ca ."

     "First Nations Leaders Gather During Hearings on The Act C-92, An Act Respecting First Nations, Metis And Inuit Children And Families And The Potential Passing Of Bill C-29," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), December 3, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/first-nations-leaders-gather-during-hearings-on-the-act-c-92-an-act-respecting-first-nations-metis-and-inuit-children-and-families-and-the-potential-passing-of-bill-c-29/, reported, " First Nations leaders appearing this week during hearings at the Supreme Court of Canada on An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children, youth and families (Act C-92) and the potential passing of Bill C-29, which would establish an oversight committee regarding the Act’s implementation . Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse, AFN Quebec and Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard, and Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Vice Chief David Pratt will address the media on these hearings, the need for the full implementation of the Act, and the ongoing fight for First Nations self-determination. DATE:
December 5, 2022 TIME:
12:00 p.m. EST LOCATION:
Westin Ottawa11 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON
     The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations individuals and communities across Canada on matters of national or international nature and concern. Follow the AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates . For more information please contact: Kelly Reid
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
613-292-0857 (mobile)
kreid@afn.ca Ayman Hammamieh
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
ahammamieh@afn.ca Matthew Bisson
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
mbisson@afn.ca "

     "AFN Stands With Family of Morgan Beatrice Harris and All MMIWG2S+ Demanding Dignity And Justice," Assembly of First Nations, December 8, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/afn-stands-with-family-of-morgan-beatrice-harris-and-all-mmiwg2s-demanding-dignity-and-justice/ . stated, " The Assembly of First Nations stands with the families of Morgan Beatrice Harris and Marcedes Myran , who were honoured with a blanketing ceremony by AFN Women’s Council Vice Chair Doris Anderson and Knowledge Keeper Dr. Gwen Point in a ceremony during the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly.
     Before the ceremony, Harris’ daughters Cambria and Kera addressed the Assembly. 'I want my mother to be remembered as a strong, resilient woman,' said Cambria. Kera called for the shutdown of Prairie Green Landfill so her mother’s remains can be found and receive a proper burial, or a memorial be created.
     AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald told the Assembly that justice for MMIWG2S+ people remains a high priority and acknowledged the strength of Cambria and Kera. Harris’ and Myran’s remains are believed to be in the Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg. Harris, Myran, Rebecca Contois and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman) were allegedly murdered by a suspected serial killer.
      'If these were non-Indigenous women, the search for their bodies would happen without delay,' said National Chief Archibald, echoing the words of Kera Harris in a private meeting Wednesday. 'Morgan Beatrice Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and Buffalo Woman deserve the dignity to be brought home and buried with proper ceremony.'
     'I mourn with Cambria and Kera. How many more women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people must be lost before the federal government implements its National Action Plan and the 231 Calls to Justice?' said Chief Connie Big Eagle, AFN Women’s Council Chair.
      BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee and AFN Regional Chief Quebec/Labrador Ghislain Picard share the portfolio for Justice and are pushing for policing reforms from coast to coast to coast.
     'We’ve seen a lot of talk but too little meaningful action to address not only systemic violence, but the inadequate response by police that devalues First Nations women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people,' said Regional Chief Teegee. Winnipeg Police announced they would not search the Prairie Green Landfill north of Winnipeg for safety reasons.
     Regional Chief Picard expressed his sorrow at the recent events in Winnipeg. “I offer my condolences to the families of the women killed in Manitoba. I encourage all Canadians to stand up and address the systemic racism in the institutions that have failed these women. I also call on Winnipeg Police to take any steps necessary to find the remains of these women and bring them home to bring closure to their families,” said Regional Chief Picard.
     A Final Report and 231 Calls for Justice were made by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on June 3, 2019. On June 3, 2021, the Government of Canada released its 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan: Ending Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People (National Action Plan) and the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People (Federal Pathway). To date, progress has been slow to implement the Calls to Justice, National Action Plan and Federal Pathway, and First Nations-in-Assembly passed a resolution calling for the federal government to accelerate implementation of the National Action Plan and 231 Calls for Justice.
     The AFN is the national organization representing First Nations people in Canada.  Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
     
      For more information please contact: Matthew Bisson
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
mbisson@afn.ca Annette Schroeter
Communications Officer
BCAFN
annette.schroeter@bcafn.ca
250-962-1603Marie-Celine Einish
Communications Advisor
AFNQL/APNQL
418-842-5020 (mobile)
mceinish@apnql.com."

     "AFN Stands With Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation) in Action Against Canada for Inequitable Funding and Support for First Nation Police Services," Assembly of First Nations (AFN) December 5, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/afn-stands-with-kiashke-zaaging-anishinabek-gull-bay-first-nation-in-action-against-canada-for-inequitable-funding-and-support-for-first-nation-police-services/, stated, "Today, Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation) Chief Wilfred King has launched a legal action in Federal Court against Public Safety Canada and other federal departments in response to the inequitable funding of First Nations Police Services. King, along with Legal Counsel Chantelle Bryson (Potestio Law) announced the legal action during a media conference on Parliament Hill.
     Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Regional Chief Quebec/Labrador Ghislain Picard is supportive of the legal challenge. 'For too long, First Nations communities’ safety has been compromised due to a lack of funding for First Nations police services. The federal government’s take it or leave it approach to funding these police services have resulted in tragedy, as we have recently seen in James Smith Cree Nation. This legal challenge is necessary to address this longstanding issue.”
      First Nations are over-represented in the justice system. Systemic racism, over-policing and police misconduct have long been studied and action is overdue. The AFN is working on developing and implementing a statutory framework recognizing First Nations Police Services as essential services with equitable funding and capacity supports.
      First Nations must lead development and implementation of community safety and security action plans that support culturally appropriate models to policing are also a must.
     Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek participates in the Public Safety Canada First Nation and Inuit Policing Facilities Program through funding agreements administered by the Ontario First Nation Policing Agreement between the province and the federal government. First Nations Police officers are paid far less than provincial and municipal counterparts, with fewer benefits and little to no raise opportunities, and pension.
     At today’s press conference, Chief King stressed that the lack of sufficient funding through this program has jeopardized his community’s public safety. 'Currently we have a compliment of three police officers, one that’s on extended sick leave. Therefore, we only have two officers on duty. There are times when we have no police services whatsoever.'
      The current funding model leaves First Nations Police Services without basic equipment and operations needs, including police stations, satellite phones in areas without cell coverage, and support staff.
     Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino‘a has announced intentions to designate First Nations Police as an essential service, however, no funding details for this designation have been revealed.
     The AFN is the national organization representing First Nations people in Canada.  Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
      For more information please contact:Matthew Bisson
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
mbisson@afn.ca Marie-Celine Einish
Communications Advisor
AFNQL/APNQL
418-842-5020 (mobile)
mceinish@apnql.com ."

     "AFN National Chief Archibald And AFN Regional Chief Antoine  Reflect On Papal Visit To Canada," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), August 2, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/afn-national-chief-archibald-and-afn-regional-chief-antoine-reflect-on-papal-visit-to-canada/, stated, " As His Holiness Pope Francis prepares his Wednesday audience from St. Peter’s Square to recap his week-long ‘pilgrimage of penance’ across Canada, Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief RoseAnne Archibald and AFN Northwest Territories Regional Chief Gerald Antoine express their disappointment in the shortcomings of last week’s tour but reaffirm their deep and abiding love and care for Survivors.
     AFN Regional Chief Antoine, as the AFN delegation lead participated in many events on the apostolic journey of Pope Francis including Monday’s official apology at Maskwacis, Wednesday’s meeting at the Citadelle, and Friday’s private audience in Québec.
     AFN National Chief Archibald, too, attended the apology at Maskwacis and kept her word to greet the Pope upon his arrival on our traditional lands. As she did, she personally called on him to formally revoke the Doctrine of Discovery.
      Renouncing and formally revoking the 'Inter Caetera' 1493 Doctrine of Discovery is an essential step for advancing reconciliation and the healing path forward. So too are immediate calls to return diocese land back to First Nations and returning sacred items currently being held both in storage and on public display at the Vatican.
      At sites in Maskwacis, Québec, and Iqaluit, Pope Francis delivered penitential speeches to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples but stopped short of denouncing the Catholic Church’s role in creating systems that spiritually, culturally, emotionally, and physically abused and killed First Nations, Inuit and Métis children. He also failed to address the aforementioned calls to action.
     'We have been calling for the papal apology for decades and have been clear about what it needed to address,' said AFN National Chief Archibald. “The fact that the Vatican has not addressed these properly in the Pope’s speech is a real indication that they’re not listening. They’re not hearing First Nations’ concerns. That, to me, has been reflective of this whole tour.'
      'From a trauma-based perspective, the omission to correct the original misunderstanding and prejudicial labelling of the Original Peoples of North America, our Family on Turtle Island, is very hurtful to those harmed by genocidal practices,' said AFN Regional Chief Antoine. 'One could say that in omitting to address this issue, the apology loses value.'
     The AFN had no control over the planning process of the papal visit and has expressed disappointment over the unilateral decision-making on site choices and other logistics.
     'It feels incomplete,” said AFN National Chief Archibald. “It feels as though there were legal considerations that prevented the Pope from offering a more fulsome apology. The Vatican must answer for why the papal visit fell short on so many fronts.'
     'Despite our relentless efforts to his ground crew regarding our expertise in following fresh tracks, they lost track of us during their processes,' said AFN Regional Chief Antoine. 'Thank Creator that it is only in the middle of summer. There is a change of season today. Tomorrow we will reconvene as a Family, knowing there is still work to do. All of us working together as a Family can help each other make it happen. That’s what it’s really all about in the end for all of us.'
     The AFN’s focus is to ensure the needs of First Nations, particularly Survivors, are met. 'I had the Families and Survivors across Turtle Island in my mind and heart every day of this tour and continue to do so,' said AFN National Chief Archibald.
     Please be reminded that if you or someone you know is being affected by the Pope’s visit to Canada, the IRS Crisis line is a national, 24-hour toll-free support service operated by trained Indigenous crisis counsellors. To talk to someone, please call 1-866-925-4419.
      For more information on the AFN delegation please visit: www.afn.ca/papal-visit/ . Contact Information:Andrew St. Germain
Office of the National Chief
ast-germain@afn.ca Leanne Goose
Office of Regional Chief Antoine
communications@denenation.com ."

     "AFN Women’s Council to Speak in Support of Family of Chantel Moore on July 4, 2022," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), July 4, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/afn-womens-council-to-speak-in-support-of-family-of-chantel-moore/, stated, : The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Women’s Council will host a press conference today at the Vancouver Convention Centre to advocate for greater RCMP accountability and justice for the family of Chantel Moore.
     DATE: Monday July 4, 2022
     TIME: 12:30 p.m. PDT
     LOCATION: Vancouver Convention Centre, Room 113
     Speakers will include Women’s Council Chair Chief Connie Big Eagle, BC Women’s Council representative Louisa Housty-Jones and Chantel’s mother, Martha Martin, who will provide a message regarding her daughter’s case. Tragically, on June 4, 2020, Chantel, a mother and member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation in British Columbia, was shot and killed by police dispatched to her apartment in New Brunswick to conduct a 'wellness check'. On May 19, 2022, a New Brunswick coroner’s inquest ruled Chantel’s death a homicide.
      The AFN Women’s Council continues to push for the implementation of the 231 Calls for Justice made by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on June 3, 2019. During the AGA being held in Vancouver, BC from July 5 to 7, two draft resolutions will come forward, 22/2022 Support for the Family of Chantel Moore and Implementation of the 231 Calls for Justice, and 06/2022 Support for Sustainable Funding and Accountability for the Implementation of the 231 Calls for Justice. Chiefs from across the country come together twice a year to set strategic direction based on First Nations’ needs and priorities.
     This press conference is taking place in person and there will be no option to attend virtually.
     The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations individuals and communities across Canada on matters of national or international nature and concern.  Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates.
      For more information please contact:Lori Kittelberg
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
604-340-3117 "Helvetica Neue";(mobile)
"Helvetica Neue"; lkittelberg@afn.ca."

     "AFN Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse Presses Urgent Action At Meeting With Federal, Provincial, Territorial Ministers Of Housing," Assembly of First Nations (AFN), June 27, 2022, https://www.afn.ca/afn-regional-chief-cindy-woodhouse-presses-urgent-action-at-meeting-with-federal-provincial-territorial-ministers-of-housing/, stated, " A ssembly of First Nations (AFN) Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse participated in a meeting today with Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Housing and National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs), calling for more investments and support for First Nations housing and challenging Provincial and Territorial governments to work in partnership with First Nation s.
     'I believe we share a belief in a universal principle – adopted internationally as a basic human right – that safe and adequate housing is not only essential for the wellbeing of First Nations, but is essential for everyone’s wellbeing,' said AFN Regional Chief Woodhouse, who is responsible for the AFN Housing portfolio on the AFN Executive Committee. ' First Nations from coast to coast to coast share an over abundance of poor quality and quantity of housing, due to a deplorable legacy of colonialism. It is our shared commitment to change that reality and ensure all our people have safe and healthy homes.'
     AFN Regional Chief Woodhouse provided remarks on the implementation of the federal Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, AFN National First Nations Homelessness Action Plan and First Nations jurisdiction over housing.
      In addition to pressing for more investments, AFN Regional Chief Woodhouse challenged all Provincial and Territorial (PT) governments to work in partnership with First Nations on housing priorities with First Nations taking the lead.
      'I lift up the Government of British Columbia for leading the way for its provincial and territorial counterparts by investing in urban and rural Indigenous housing and all housing in First Nation communities,' said AFN Regional Chief Woodhouse. 'Provincial and territorial government investments will go a long way in reducing homelessness in urban areas, while raising the standard of housing to a level enjoyed by most Canadians, and we must work together with First Nations leading the way.'
      The 2022 Federal Budget committed $3 billion over five years to First Nations housing compared to the minimum $60 billion needed to close the funding gap for First Nations housing.
     The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that works to advance the collective aspirations of First Nations individuals and communities across Canada on matters of national or international nature and concern.  Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Updates. Contact information :
      Paige Hanson
Communications Officer
Assembly of First Nations
613-402-4349
phanson@afn.ca ."

      Schools for Chiapas stated in an August 1, 2022 E-mail, " color:#08333D'This month, we, along with individuals, collectives and organizations across many geographies, will be marking the 19th anniversary of the founding of the Zapatista caracoles and ramping up a campaign to denounce the aggressions against the dignity and autonomy of their communities and the unceasing violations of human rights in Chiapas. Join us now in telling the Mexican Consulates in the U.S. that we demand and end to these attacks! The Whole World is Watching!
      You can read the joint statement here : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbutrGE9ZQMfynfkR86mLuG2Adk5cetUdgxfYgRqb2hv7PQw/viewform.
     "Join us now! Sign the Statement in Solidarity with BAEZLN Communities and Denouncing Human Rights Violations," Schools for Chiapas, July 25, 2022, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbutrGE9ZQMfynfkR86mLuG2Adk5cetUdgxfYgRqb2hv7PQw/viewform, states,
     " To the Mexican General Consulates in the United States,
     We, the everyday people from below, the children, mothers, and elders, Native and Indigenous, Afro-descendents, working and living in the U.S., as internally displaced, as migrants, as third generation Mexicans and as peoples of the global south, communities of color, the persecuted, the criminalized, the defenders of Mother Earth and humanity raise our voice through this letter to say Ya Basta! Enough Is Enough! Stop the Paramilitary Aggressions Against and the Criminalization of the Familias Bases de Apoyo del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (BAEZLN ). We are all witness to your government’s silence and negligence as a wave of repression mounts against those who resist the destruction of their ancestral territories. This inaction amounts to a campaign of complicity in the ongoing violation of human rights–not only in Chiapas, but across the many geographies that comprise Mexico. The Whole World is Watching.
     To our compañeros/as/oas of the Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas and the Brigadas Civiles de Observación (BriCos),
     You are not alone, No Están Solxs! Your dignified work in documenting the ongoing aggressions against the BAEZLN communities waged by organized crime, militarization, megaprojects, and the criminalization of social movements is imperative in the struggle for peace and justice.
     These combined efforts demonstrate a collective resilience that encourages us not to get tired, not to give up, and not to sell out. We reaffirm our commitment to the Zapatista struggle; the collectives and individuals of Turtle Island want to add our voices in vehemently denouncing the threats and intimidations against the Zapatista communities.
      This past week, as the IACHR Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was in Chiapas, Mexico touring the Tzotzil communities of Aldama to evaluate the enforcement of precautionary measures in favor of Tzotzil communities, the attacks against Zapatista communities across the state of Chiapas continued.
     Unfortunately, compañerxs, these violations against the communities continue to pile up and day after day, we find ourselves not denouncing one aggression, but rather adding to a litany of aggressions perpetrated against the autonomous BAEZLN (Zapatista Bases of Support) families whose struggle for life and dignity is threatened daily and with total impunity.
     Therefore, today, and last week, and on into the future we join our comrades in Slumil K’Ajkemk’Op–Europe from below–in denouncing the threats against national and international observers of the Civil Observation Brigades (BriCO), the obstruction of the human rights defense work of the Frayba Human Rights Center by armed groups in the region, and the constant violence and acts of aggression, which go uninvestigated and unpunished under the federal and state administrations of Lopez Obrador and Rutilio Escandón, respectively.
     As of the beginning of this month, the attacks continue on the population of Zapatista indigenous communities of Nuevo Poblado San Gregorio (Nuevo San Gregorio), a territory recuperated and collectively cared for since 1994 by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). In response to the grave violations of human rights (fencing off water sources, starving cattle, demolishing the collective fish farm), Frayba set up camps of Civil Observation Brigades to document the dangerous conditions in which the Zapatistas survive day by day. 
     A recent communication from Frayba affirms that to the last day, the presence of the observers WAS AN EFFECTIVE DETERRENT for physical aggressions against the community. However, due to consistent death threats, and in the face of increasing challenges to safely accessing the community, Frayba made the decision to pull the BriCo observers from the encampment.
     In addition to this, just this past Thursday, July 14th, in another part of Chiapas, members of the Muculum Bachajón ejido, accompanied by Chilón municipal police and Civil Protection agents, burned the houses and displaced six Zapatista families from their homes in the community of 'El Esfuerzo' in the Comandanta Ramona Autonomous Municipality.
      The intentional abandonment and complicity of the Mexican State in allowing these conflicts to escalate in recent years endangers the life, integrity, and security of the Indigenous Zapatista communities like Nuevo Poblado San Gregorio (Nuevo San Gregorio), La Resistencia, Emiliano Zapata, the region of Moisés Gandhi, and now 'El Esfuerzo.' While the actors and circumstances of each region are distinct, the factors that allow for this violence and territorial dispossession in all cases have several common threads.
     In response to the urgent call to action by the Frayba Human Rights Center we demand that the Mexican State respect the defense of human rights in accordance with the international agreements it has signed and ratified!
     We condemn the complicity of all levels of government in these ongoing agressions and demand thorough investigations into, and punishment of the perpetrators of these crimes and human rights violations!
     We demand the immediate end to the aggressions against the peace and autonomy of the community of Nuevo San Gregorio, the armed attacks against the region of Moisés Gandhi, and the communities of La Resistencia and Emiliano Zapata and El Esfuerzo!
     We demand the safeguarding of life and integrity for those who exercise their right to self-determination and autonomy within the framework of the San Andres Accords, ILO Convention 169, and the UN and OAS Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
     We call on our compañeros/as/oas of the national and international community in solidarity with the Zapatistas to demonstrate for life and against death threats and aggressions by armed groups!
     #PazEnNuevoSanGregorio."

     Roshan Krishnan, Eye on the Amazon, "Vanguard Funds Indigenous Rights Violations in Peru’s Amazon: Asset manager Vanguard must stop investing in Indigenous rights violations and environmental destruction," Amazon Watch, September 9, 2022, https://amazonwatch.org/news/2022/0909-vanguard-funds-indigenous-rights-violations-in-perus-amazon?utm_source=Amazon+Watch+Newsletter+and+Updates&utm_campaign=39811c2f49-2019-04-25-blk%2B_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e6f929728b-39811c2f49-342254273&mc_cid=39811c2f49&mc_eid=8769095ac1, stated, " For decades, the Indigenous Achuar and Wampis peoples of the Peruvian Amazon have beat back a steady stream of oil companies attempting to drill on Block 64, an oil block created on Achuar and Wampis territory without respecting the international standards of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent from their communities.
     The Achuar and Wampis have good reason to oppose further oil extraction: The Northern Peruvian Oil Pipeline, which runs through their territories, has repeatedly ruptured, causing countless spills and constant threats to the environment and safety of their communities. Nelton Yankur Antich, President of the Peruvian Federation of Achuar Nationalities (FENAP), puts it simply : 'We want to leave a healthy territory to our future generations.'
     Over the years, many international oil companies have attempted to enter the territory, among them Occidental Petroleum, Talisman Energy (now Repsol), and Chilean oil company GeoPark . Due to the steadfast resistance of Achuar and Wampis communities, all of these companies have exited the area with minimal oil drilling. Now, yet another company, state-owned oil company Petroperú, is attempting to enter Block 64. Petroperú recently completed an expensive modernization of its oil refinery in the coastal community of Talara, and the company is seeking to drill yet more oil to feed the refinery and recoup its costs.
      There is a common thread among these companies that have sought to violate the Achuar and Wampis’ land rights, community well-being, and environmental health. Each is enabled by financial institutions, and the latest institution to dirty its hands with Amazon oil is Vanguard. Vanguard is actively helping to finance Petroperú’s operations by buying its bonds and then selling them to customers in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
     No matter how many oil spills companies like Petroperú cause, and no matter how many human rights violations and corruption scandals it generates, financial institutions like Vanguard have continued to invest in it as if nothing has happened. This must end . As one of the largest asset management firms in the world, Vanguard’s investments can influence the companies it invests in — companies directly impacting Indigenous communities.
      Vanguard has stated to investors that it recognizes the importance of engaging with local and Indigenous communities, but it has not acted to stop any violations committed by companies in which it invests . It’s time to tell Vanguard to fulfill its responsibility to Indigenous peoples and the planet, stop investing in Petroperú , and adopt a comprehensive Indigenous rights policy to prevent future violations!"

     Katya Yegorov-Crate, "Social Inequality Is More Violent than Any Protest: Violent Crackdowns on Demonstrations Are Creating a Human Rights Crisis in Ecuador ," Cultural Survival, June 28, 2022, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/social-inequality-more-violent-any-protest-violent-crackdowns-demonstrations-are-creating, reported, " Ecuador is almost two weeks into a national strike called for and led by Indigenous, trade union, and social organizations. Nationwide demonstrations are the consequences of the Ecuadorian government’s failure to address pre-existing problems that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and President Guillermo Lasso’s failing neoliberal policies, which have imposed even greater economic burdens on Ecuador’s most vulnerable populations – Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and rural communities. Indigenous communities are facing deficits in healthcare, education, and job security while also defending their ancestral lands from illegal mining and destructive resource extraction encouraged by Lasso’s policies.
      'The Indigenous Peoples’ movement has not been heard by the Ecuadorian government on specific issues such as education, health, and the economy. In response to this, we carried out this national mobilization. It has been 16 days in which we have received a lot of violence from the Armed Forces and Public Forces. Our voices have not been heard and the community press has not been respected. On June 24, several people were beaten, injured, and detained. However, we are standing up in this struggle, in resistance to this crisis situation in Ecuador,” stated, Indira Vargas (Kichwa) of Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE), a regional organization and a Cultural Survival Keepers of the Earth Fund Grant Partner dedicated to the defense and legalization of indigenous territories and the protection of their natural resources.
     On June 13, 2022, after a year of fruitless dialogues and negotiations between the Lasso government and Indigenous organizations, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), with the backing of various social movements, called for regional mobilizations across the country. The mobilizations are driven by the imposition of government policies that have resulted in the intensification of poverty, a reduced general state budget for health and education sectors, lessened social equality policies, a rise in instability and violence in multiple areas, aggressive levying of extractive policies and activities, and violation of the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the rights of Afro-descendant communities. These communities have been disproportionately negatively impacted by inflation, rising fuel costs, and austerity measures such as tax increases, and spending cuts. CONAIE is calling for economic reforms that will tackle broadening inequality in Ecuador––a country still grappling with the economic devastation caused by the pandemic.
     Frustration wrought by soaring inflation has served as an impetus for massive protests in Ecuador before . This time, CONAIE is demanding fuel prices, which are rising exponentially after the end of COVID-era subsidization, be cut, price controls be enforced on agricultural products, and larger budgets be set for education. The organization has put forth a list of ten demands for the Ecuadorian government to meet:
     Set a limit on rising fuel prices and implement subsidies for vulnerable sectors;
     Supply debt relief and economic aid, impose minimum one-year moratorium on evictions and foreclosures;
     Set fair prices on farm produce in three regions of the country so that millions of small to mid-sized farms can continue producing sustainably; agricultural subsidy; and non-signing of Free Trade Agreements that destroy national production;
     Implement strong labor rights with public investment and social policies to combat job insecurity and freedom to unionize;
     Immediate repeal of Executive Decrees 95 and 151, which aim to expand mining projects and increase oil production on Indigenous territories; conduct audits and comprehensive reparation distribution for socio-environmental impacts caused by extractive projects;
      Indigenous Peoples’ 21 collective rights such as the right to bilingual; intercultural education, Indigenous justice, access to Free, Prior and Informed Consent and self-determination;
     Stop the privatization of critical strategic sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and hydroelectric energy;
     Implement price control policies to prevent price gouging in supermarket chains;
     Enact health and education reform. Address critical budget concerns for hospitals; experiencing staffing and supply shortages. Guarantee young people access to higher education and better infrastructure in public schools, colleges, and universities;
     Ensure security, protection, and the creation of effective public policies to control the wave of drug trafficking, violence, kidnapping and organized crime that has increased in Ecuador.
     Katy Mochao (Kichwa), a member of CONFENIAE communications team states, 'We are firm in our minimum 10-demands list, which does not solve all the problems but is an important step towards ensuring decent living conditions. The message to the international community is to break the media circus and join and show solidarity with our struggle. We are nothing of what the government says. We are people who have come to protest peacefully for fundamental issues, for having the minimum conditions for a dignified life.'
     Indigenous leaders have proposed this list of demands to Lasso to address their essential needs and to respect their legally established rights to refuse extractive projects ruining their lands and water sources. Numerous organizations, such as La Via Campesina –– an international movement in which five Ecuadorian campesino and Indigenous organizations are involved –– have supported this petition, calling it '...fair, at a time when, according to official statistics, 5 out of 10 people in Ecuador who live in the countryside are living in poverty and 3 out of 10 are in extreme poverty. This is a hard reality that peasants and Indigenous Peoples and nations, as well as rural populations of the countryside, are going through; those who have been directly affected by the free trade policies that the government has implemented under the pressure of the IMF and other international organizations.'
      'We ask to have our Constitutional rights, the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent guaranteed, and for [Guillermo Lasso] to honor [his] word against mining and oil,' says Leonidas Iza Salazar, President of CONAIE.
      Protestors have constructed roadblocks to disconnect major routes to Quito, the capital. Protestors and armed forces and riot police have collided, causing further disruption of supplies. From the start of this mobilization, the Lasso administration’s response has been to stigmatize, suppress, and criminalize protestors , which has led to numerous human rights violations, deprivation of leaders’ and demonstrators’ liberties, unlawful detentions, and a disproportionate use of violent force by state security agents. On June 14, Leonidas Iza Salazar (Kichwa Panzaleo), president of CONAIE, was detained and placed in solitary confinement before two judges declared Iza’s arrest legal and dismissed numerous acts of violence and rights violations perpetrated against him. Iza’s future remains unclear as he awaits a trial for the crime of “paralyzing a public service” set for July 4. Since June 14, the Ecuador Alliance for Human Rights has documented 79 arrests, 55 injuries, and 39 incidents of human rights violations, including excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, targeting of journalists, and harassment of civil society organizations.
     On June 17 , Lasso issued Executive Decree 455 , which has empowered the president to mobilize armed forces to 'maintain order,' suspend civil rights, and enforce a curfew. The decree declared a state of emergency in a number of provinces including Cotopaxi, Pichincha, and Imbabura, and effectively suspended freedom of association, assembly, and movement for 30 days. Furthermore, the decree made Quito a “security zone” under the supervision of the armed forces, who were tasked with 'maintaining order' alongside the national police during protests .
     The arrest of an influential leader of the Indigenous Movement in Ecuador such as Iza is a clear indication of the Lasso administration’s aim to severely wound and discourage the movement. Previously, when Lasso staunchly refused to cede to protestors’ demands, the president and government agencies perpetuated the narrative that property damage is greater violence than the impact of nationwide starvation and police brutality. The enactment of a state of emergency in various provinces; police occupation of the Casa de la Cultura, an institution that defends freedom of speech and has historically protected social movements during protests; and the president’s televised remarks that he “called for dialogue and the answer was more violence. There is no intention to find solutions,” all perpetuate the state’s claim that the Indigenous Movement is intent on staging a coup. Moreover, the government is spreading misinformation that the demonstrations have been infiltrated by criminal organizations. The Lasso administration's claims that their willingness for mediation and dialogue has been met with unwillingness and violence from the other side blatantly ignore the fact that Indigenous organizations have been meeting with the administration for the past year to no avail. Iza had met with President Lasso multiple times over the last year and every meeting had ended with empty promises.
      At present, Lasso has only somewhat addressed demonstrators’ demands, announcing plans to subsidize fertilizer costs for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, forgive overdue loans worth up to $3,000, and limit the cost of diesel. While these plans may present an image of compromise, they are unacceptable, since fuel prices will still be above what protestors seek and the loan forgiveness is too limited. On June 23, security forces retreated from the Casa de la Cultura, permitting resumed use of it by protestors. Nevertheless, violent nighttime confrontations, a number of incidents on the afternoon of June 24, and Iza’s support for attempts to remove Lasso have re-elevated tensions. CONAIE met Friday to further evaluate the government's response to its petition.
      Indigenous leaders demand the removal of security forces and an end to special measures enforced in six provinces prior to discussing the protesting faction’s list of demands. The continued repression of demonstrations by authorities, and Lasso’s recent attempts to discredit Iza, and his continued assertions that security forces will “act with necessary measure to defend under the law,” have not halted the country-wide Indigenous Movement from coming together in solidarity and fighting back. Mobilization is a legitimate right of protest . This criminalization of social protest infringes upon the rights of Indigenous communities seeking to fight the insecurity of living conditions, employment, and extractive exploits that jeopardize their health, lands, and livelihoods. Indigenous leaders have agreed to meet with the government to discuss demands for lower fuel and food prices .
      Cultural Survival joins organizations such as Amnesty International, Amazon Frontlines, and La Via Campesina in expressing our full support for Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples and Nations of Ecuador and demanding that the State:
     Respect mobilization as a legitimate right of protest and freedom of speech;
      the demands and the ten-point petition submitted by the CONAIE;
     Ensure respect and protection for the self-determination and rights of Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador;
     Ensure the rights of Leonidas Iza Salazar and protect his life and health;
     Observe national and international human rights laws in a fair, just, and impartial manner;
      and abstain from the criminalization and persecution of defenders of human rights, lands, and territories.
     Take action:
     Sign Amazon Frontline’s 'Protect Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Protest' letter .
     Write an appeal to President Guillermo Lasso
     Sign the 'Violation of Rights in Ecuador and Criminalization of Social Protest' form ."

     "ANMIGA: Working to Eliminate Violence Against Indigenous Women in Brazil," Cultural Survival, November 25, 2022, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/anmiga-working-eliminate-violence-against-indigenous-women-brazil, reported, November 25 is the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women. Violence in all of its forms, whether physical, psychological, sexual, or economic, against women and girls, are violations of human rights. Indigenous women are particularly vulnerable for two factors: ethnicity and gender. In response, more and more Indigenous women are organizing around the world to fight against violence.
     Daniele Silva Rodrigues (Guajajara), 24, is from the Arariboia community in Maranhão, Brazil. She is part of the communications team at Articulación Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Guerreras de la Ancestralidad ( ANMIGA ). Rodrigues has been active in the Indigenous rights movement since childhood, always following the causes and rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 2021, at the second march of Indigenous Women, where close to 6,000 women from different Indigenous Nations participated, she helped mobilize networks, printed graphics, and distributed audiovisual content to uplift the resistance of Indigenous women .
     In July 2022, Rodrigues was awarded a Cultural Survival Indigenous Youth Fellowship. Her fellowship project, 'The Project: Media and Rights of Indigenous Girls,' aims to involve young Indigenous women in debates on gender violence through workshops; strengthen denunciation against violence, and support networks for Indigenous youth victims of violence; produce audiovisual material on violence together with the community; and carry out communication for education, denunciation, and visibility through traditional and digital media. 'Using communication as a tool for change, we can debate and denounce violence,' she says.

      The National Union of Ancestral Warriors is composed of Indigenous women from all six biomes in Brazil and reflects their knowledge, traditions, and struggles to build solidarity and mobilize in advocating for Indigenous rights and the life of their lands. According to ANMIGA, there are 305 known Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, and they speak 274 different languages.  Rodrigues says that “the current scenario of violence against Indigenous women continues to be very common. Each day violence increases in their territories; sometimes violence comes from their own partners, and other times with the invasion of hacendados (ranchers). This is very common, especially for Guaraní women, who suffer daily threats and harassment from cattlemen who want to appropriate their territories.” ANMIGA combats violence against Indigenous women by holding workshops and meetings of women in territories throughout Brazil.  As part of Rodrigues’ fellowship project, a seminar was held by ANMIGA on October 15-17, 2022 in Brasilia, where participants discussed actions against the many forms of violence against Indigenous women. “Thanks to the workshops and meetings with women, they have come to understand there is a need to deal with the violence committed, even if it is difficult or a very delicate topic. There is a need to have these dialogues in the communities,” Rodrigues says. One of the biggest achievements she points to is the confidence that the women built to express and talk about their experience with gender violence: “Results have been very good. Some women who dared not talk about certain topics of violence have started talking and are trying to open up.”
      As Brazil has faced the dismantling of Indigenous and environmental policies, ANMIGA has been fighting for years for the demarcation of Indigenous lands, against mining and the leasing of their ancestral territories without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent, against the attempt to make environmental licenses less rigorous, and against the financing of firearms in the field. Most recently, they launched the Kasa Observatory of Indigenous Women, which aims to build actions to prevent and combat violence inside and outside their territories for Indigenous women. Rodrigues reflects about the future of the Indigenous girls, youth, and women: “I believe that first steps are always difficult, but for change to happen, much dialogue is important not only within the territories, but also outside.” Follow ANMIGA's work at:
https://anmiga.org/manifesto/
https://www.facebook.com/AnmigaOrg/
https://www.instagram.com/anmigaorg ."

     "Cultural Survival Denounces Pope’s Racist Rhetoric Against Ethnic Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Russia," Cultural Survival, December 7, 2022, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/cultural-survival-denounces-popes-racist-rhetoric-against-ethnic-minorities-and-indigenous, stated, " Sign on to our collective statement: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAoiXAWO9fGSiVo_sGXQoSF1WY8Qwr6wpeXTWb5dok3tSIAA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0.
 
      In a recent interview, Pope Francis mentioned Chechens and Buryats as the 'cruelest' perpetrators of the war in Ukraine. 'When I speak about Ukraine, I speak about the cruelty because I have much information about the cruelty of the troops that come in. Generally, the cruelest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryati and so on,' the Pope shared in an interview with America The Jesuit Review magazine published on November 28, 2022 (https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2022/11/28/pope-francis-interview-america-244225). CNN reported on the Pope’s remarks on November 29, but mainstream media in Europe and the U.S. has previously amplified this misinformation, which is steeped in racism.
     On August 9, 2022, coincidentally International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, journalist and author of 'Killer in the Kremlin' John Sweeney in an interview with CNN stated, 'On the outskirts of Bucha…the Russian soldiers we saw weren’t ethnic Russians, they were Buryats, Mongols…' implying Buryats and Mongols were solely responsible for the atrocities. Enough is enough!
      We denounce this racist and hateful rhetoric and call the world’s attention to the fact that these narratives are created and promoted by the Russian State, which is now attacking Ukrainian independence. Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Russia face stereotypes, discrimination, and marginalization, and Russian propaganda has deliberately used them as faces of the war in order to distance violence and injustice from the Russian political regime. The Pope’s repetition of Russian propaganda is an ill-informed and dangerous accusation that perpetuates harmful, racist and colonial myths that stem from Russia’s long and violent imperial history. These accusations by the Pope are forms of double colonialism, genocide, and a horrific history set to repeat.  
     The Russian Federation is home to millions of people of diverse ethnicities, including Indigenous populations spread across roughly two-thirds of Russian territory and representing 2% of that region’s population . There are 47 Peoples recognized as Indigenous under Russian law and defined as 'Indigenous small-numbered Peoples of the Russian Federation.' Within the Federation, to be recognized as 'Indigenous', a group must fit distinct qualities, including numbering under 50,000 individuals, practicing traditional customs, inhabiting a remote area, and maintaining a distinct ethnic identity. This State-imposed definition prevents approximately 140 Indigenous Peoples, including Buryats, Altaians, Sakha, and Peoples of southwestern Russia, from claiming Indigenous rights through official recognition by Russia.
     Many see Putin’s recent forced mobilization of soldiers for the war against Ukraine as an “ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Peoples” as it has disproportionately affected ethnic and Indigenous people in Russia.
     This summer, Pope Francis made an apology to Indigenous Peoples in Canada for the Church's role in the genocidal atrocities that took place at boarding schools and apologized for the 'colonizing mentality' of the times. But his latest interview with America shows that colonial mentality is yet to be overcome. As the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope needs to acknowledge the Church’s role in past atrocities around the world and actively work to stop the perpetuation of racist, colonial narratives.
     We, representatives of Indigenous Peoples, other nations, and civil society: 
     Demand the Pope apologize to Chechens and Buryats for perpetuating colonial stereotypes. Whole Peoples should not be vilified and blamed for the actions of the Russian State.
     Strongly encourage Pope Francis to meet with Indigenous Peoples from Russia to start a discussion about overcoming the stereotypes of our common colonial history. Also demand that mainstream media, like CNN, recognize their role in sustaining these stereotypes and call them out outright."

     Jerome Gerald Kujur (Oraon) and Isha Savan, "Indigenous Peoples' Resistance against a Military Firing Range in India: Protecting Our Waters, Forests, and Lands," Cultural Survival, July 15, 2022, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/indigenous-peoples-resistance-against-military-firing-range-india-protecting-our-waters, reported, “ 'We will give our life, but not our land' is the slogan of the Netarhat movement and the expression that binds 32 different Indigenous communities spanning thousands of acres of land across the Netarhat mountain range in eastern India. Since public spaces to discuss Indigenous struggles are quite rare in India, it was an honor to speak with Jerome Kujur, an activist and scholar from the Oraon Indigenous community of central India.
      The Netarhat movement was officially founded in 1992, in response to the Indian government’s proposition of repurposing native land for military activities. Two hundred and forty-five villages encompassing 3000 square kilometers, or four times the size of New York City, were to be evacuated, but no one knew where to. Kujur was studying at the local university and was in his early 20s at the time when the rumors of permanent displacement reached his ears. He and his fellow students had begun to unionize in his early college days and were also the first generation of people from his community to receive higher education, who were not as fearful of the State as the generation before, and who understood the machinery under which the State operated. Armed with the legal language to say ‘No,’ they organized under the Jan Sangharsh Samiti (JSS) [committee for the people’s struggle], which ended up leading one of the longest non-violent movements of post-independent India.
     The foundations of the JSS can be traced back several centuries. The Indian military’s plan of occupying villages in the greater area of Netarhat mountains was laid out in 1938 and was an eventual outcome of land laws that had been executed between 1700-1800 under British colonial rule. In post-colonial India between 1965 and 1992, the Indian army’s practice grounds encompassed seven villages. The JSS was founded when in 1992 the government proposed expanding this ground to 245 villages with the aim of permanently evacuating 250,000 inhabitants, continuing the treatment of Indigenous communities as entirely disposable. During these three decades, the army would appear two to three times a year without prior consultation with the community leaders, often giving notice mere days or even hours before starting artillery exercises which would continue for weeks at a time. People were expected to evacuate to the neighboring forests during this period, regardless of the extreme heat in summer or rains in the monsoon. They would rush back home to prepare meals at erratic times of the day whenever the army would take a break from firing. 
     The few schools that were present in the region had to be closed during the firing exercises, and children were occasionally offered 0.75 Rs (less than $0.01) as daily compensation for the disruption to their education and lives. Organizing food and shelter was left to the villagers, and each resident was offered a meager compensation of 1.5 Rs a day. Several Indigenous community members either worked in farms or had their own farms. As the army trucks bulldozed their lands while destroying their crops, they lost their livelihoods, and the government’s “compensation” was far from what they needed to sustain themselves on.
 
     Kujur spoke pensively about his relationship to this land, and whether anything would possibly compensate for permanently leaving his ancestral home.  'This place is called the Queen of Jharkhand,' he said. '“We believe we come from the Indus Valley civilization. According to the legend our princesses fought against the Mughals disguised as men and succeeded in repelling them thrice. They lost the battle to the Mughals in the fourth encounter, which led to the displacement of our Peoples to Jharkhand.'
     Over the years, the disparate Indigenous Peoples met each other in the region of central East India and came in close contact with the people who were exiled from mainstream upper caste Indian society for generations, known as the untouchables. The Indigenous and other marginalized communities welcomed each other and blended in while maintaining their individual languages and associated professions. Kujur believes that the common struggle for land rights and basic human dignity is what brought them together. The JSS consisted of representatives from each of the 245 villages who coordinated protests across the affected area and established communication lines between the local village level administration all the way up to the center in New Delhi. One of their most effective protest methods was to form human chains as barricades encompassing the villages to prevent army vehicles from trespassing. The largest such action happened in 1994, consisting of 150,000 protesters who had come from beyond the affected areas in a show of solidarity. When asked if any of them were armed, Kujur answered simply, 'We were allowed knives only when cooking.'
      The military has not been seen since 2004 after 12 years of intense protest and a decade-long campaign to keep the army out. However, protests alone did not dissuade the military from the region. The JSS members reached out to different layers of the political hierarchy. They wrote in the local press, they wrote to officials higher up regarding the ongoing military intervention, and invited leading politicians to have dialogues with representatives from the army, together with members of JSS. At one such meeting, the JSS presented statistics on a total of 402 casualties suffered as a result of the military activities, including the number of people who had died because of misfiring (30), incidences and casualties related to rape (86), those who had become disabled (3), those who had been victims of petty crimes from the army, like the theft of poultry (26), the number of houses destroyed due to misfiring (7), the number of places of worship destroyed (1), the number of instances of destruction of agriculture (225), the number of cattle that died as a result of misfiring (24), and the number of trees destroyed in the wake of military practices (uncountable). The violated members of the community were also present at the meeting to give a firsthand account of the horrors that they had faced in the years ensuing the firing practices. Kujur believes that history was in their favor on this occasion. The chair of the meeting was appalled at the evidence presented and ruled that the army’s presence was unconstitutional.
     Since that meeting, the army’s exercises have been suspended in the region and the government has postponed its decision on permanently displacing the 245 villages. Kujur still believes that the struggle is far from over. His decade-long research and activism have shown that the State will not automatically respect you and give you what you deserve and that you must fight for your rights alongside your day job, because, as Kujur said, 'chanting slogans is not enough to feed your stomach.'  Kujur earns his livelihood through a writing scholarship, and now only has an advisory role to the leaders of JSS. He recently completed a four-day march covering 152 kilometers as part of the ongoing campaign to pressure the State to resolve the Netarhat issue.
 
     Around the world, the narratives for occupying Indigenous lands have shifted throughout the centuries. Early colonists justified occupying land which they considered as waste, uncultivated, and no man's land, despite the obvious presence of Indigenous Peoples. Over time, the justification for appropriating land has changed. The later colonial idea maintained that Indigenous Peoples should have the right to their land only after they have reached a certain degree of civility, where defining ‘civility’ was considered a prerogative of the aggressor. Today, narratives of development and national security are used to displace the Indigenous Peoples from their lands. The Netarhat case questions the idea that a nation can be made more secure and formidable at the cost of eradicating Indigenous cultures and peoples. By endangering the Indigenous livelihoods, their ways of being and knowing, including how to sustain and live in harmony with their environments, forests, and lands, the Indian government has become the agent of threat and insecurity in the name of national security.
     The seeds of the movement were planted in 1938 under British colonial rule. Seventy-five years after independence, the Indian government continues the colonial trajectory leaving the Indigenous Peoples fighting the same fight as they did in pre-independence India. The Netarhat movement is still alive today, and the JSS has taken other ongoing land rights issues under its umbrella, each presented by the Indian government with its unique justification of national security, economic development, or wildlife conservation. When asked if he is afraid for himself and his people under the increasingly hostile current political climate, Kujur answered, 'Of course I am afraid, but for how long can I be afraid? The movement is beyond me'.”
     Jerome Gerald Kujur (Oraon) and Isha Savan, "Indigenous Peoples' Resistance against a Military Firing Range in India: Protecting Our Waters, Forests, and Lands," Cultural Survival, July 15, 2022, https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/indigenous-peoples-resistance-against-military-firing-range-india-protecting-our-waters, reported, “ 'We will give our life, but not our land' is the slogan of the Netarhat movement and the expression that binds 32 different Indigenous communities spanning thousands of acres of land across the Netarhat mountain range in eastern India. Since public spaces to discuss Indigenous struggles are quite rare in India, it was an honor to speak with Jerome Kujur, an activist and scholar from the Oraon Indigenous community of central India.
      The Netarhat movement was officially founded in 1992, in response to the Indian government’s proposition of repurposing native land for military activities. Two hundred and forty-five villages encompassing 3000 square kilometers, or four times the size of New York City, were to be evacuated, but no one knew where to. Kujur was studying at the local university and was in his early 20s at the time when the rumors of permanent displacement reached his ears. He and his fellow students had begun to unionize in his early college days and were also the first generation of people from his community to receive higher education, who were not as fearful of the State as the generation before, and who understood the machinery under which the State operated. Armed with the legal language to say ‘No,’ they organized under the Jan Sangharsh Samiti (JSS) [committee for the people’s struggle], which ended up leading one of the longest non-violent movements of post-independent India.
     The foundations of the JSS can be traced back several centuries. The Indian military’s plan of occupying villages in the greater area of Netarhat mountains was laid out in 1938 and was an eventual outcome of land laws that had been executed between 1700-1800 under British colonial rule. In post-colonial India between 1965 and 1992, the Indian army’s practice grounds encompassed seven villages. The JSS was founded when in 1992 the government proposed expanding this ground to 245 villages with the aim of permanently evacuating 250,000 inhabitants, continuing the treatment of Indigenous communities as entirely disposable. During these three decades, the army would appear two to three times a year without prior consultation with the community leaders, often giving notice mere days or even hours before starting artillery exercises which would continue for weeks at a time. People were expected to evacuate to the neighboring forests during this period, regardless of the extreme heat in summer or rains in the monsoon. They would rush back home to prepare meals at erratic times of the day whenever the army would take a break from firing. 
     The few schools that were present in the region had to be closed during the firing exercises, and children were occasionally offered 0.75 Rs (less than $0.01) as daily compensation for the disruption to their education and lives. Organizing food and shelter was left to the villagers, and each resident was offered a meager compensation of 1.5 Rs a day. Several Indigenous community members either worked in farms or had their own farms. As the army trucks bulldozed their lands while destroying their crops, they lost their livelihoods, and the government’s “compensation” was far from what they needed to sustain themselves on.
 
     Kujur spoke pensively about his relationship to this land, and whether anything would possibly compensate for permanently leaving his ancestral home.  'This place is called the Queen of Jharkhand,' he said. '“We believe we come from the Indus Valley civilization. According to the legend our princesses fought against the Mughals disguised as men and succeeded in repelling them thrice. They lost the battle to the Mughals in the fourth encounter, which led to the displacement of our Peoples to Jharkhand.'
     Over the years, the disparate Indigenous Peoples met each other in the region of central East India and came in close contact with the people who were exiled from mainstream upper caste Indian society for generations, known as the untouchables. The Indigenous and other marginalized communities welcomed each other and blended in while maintaining their individual languages and associated professions. Kujur believes that the common struggle for land rights and basic human dignity is what brought them together. The JSS consisted of representatives from each of the 245 villages who coordinated protests across the affected area and established communication lines between the local village level administration all the way up to the center in New Delhi. One of their most effective protest methods was to form human chains as barricades encompassing the villages to prevent army vehicles from trespassing. The largest such action happened in 1994, consisting of 150,000 protesters who had come from beyond the affected areas in a show of solidarity. When asked if any of them were armed, Kujur answered simply, 'We were allowed knives only when cooking.'
      The military has not been seen since 2004 after 12 years of intense protest and a decade-long campaign to keep the army out. However, protests alone did not dissuade the military from the region. The JSS members reached out to different layers of the political hierarchy. They wrote in the local press, they wrote to officials higher up regarding the ongoing military intervention, and invited leading politicians to have dialogues with representatives from the army, together with members of JSS. At one such meeting, the JSS presented statistics on a total of 402 casualties suffered as a result of the military activities, including the number of people who had died because of misfiring (30), incidences and casualties related to rape (86), those who had become disabled (3), those who had been victims of petty crimes from the army, like the theft of poultry (26), the number of houses destroyed due to misfiring (7), the number of places of worship destroyed (1), the number of instances of destruction of agriculture (225), the number of cattle that died as a result of misfiring (24), and the number of trees destroyed in the wake of military practices (uncountable). The violated members of the community were also present at the meeting to give a firsthand account of the horrors that they had faced in the years ensuing the firing practices. Kujur believes that history was in their favor on this occasion. The chair of the meeting was appalled at the evidence presented and ruled that the army’s presence was unconstitutional.
     Since that meeting, the army’s exercises have been suspended in the region and the government has postponed its decision on permanently displacing the 245 villages. Kujur still believes that the struggle is far from over. His decade-long research and activism have shown that the State will not automatically respect you and give you what you deserve and that you must fight for your rights alongside your day job, because, as Kujur said, 'chanting slogans is not enough to feed your stomach.'  Kujur earns his livelihood through a writing scholarship, and now only has an advisory role to the leaders of JSS. He recently completed a four-day march covering 152 kilometers as part of the ongoing campaign to pressure the State to resolve the Netarhat issue.
 
     Around the world, the narratives for occupying Indigenous lands have shifted throughout the centuries. Early colonists justified occupying land which they considered as waste, uncultivated, and no man's land, despite the obvious presence of Indigenous Peoples. Over time, the justification for appropriating land has changed. The later colonial idea maintained that Indigenous Peoples should have the right to their land only after they have reached a certain degree of civility, where defining ‘civility’ was considered a prerogative of the aggressor. Today, narratives of development and national security are used to displace the Indigenous Peoples from their lands. The Netarhat case questions the idea that a nation can be made more secure and formidable at the cost of eradicating Indigenous cultures and peoples. By endangering the Indigenous livelihoods, their ways of being and knowing, including how to sustain and live in harmony with their environments, forests, and lands, the Indian government has become the agent of threat and insecurity in the name of national security.
     The seeds of the movement were planted in 1938 under British colonial rule. Seventy-five years after independence, the Indian government continues the colonial trajectory leaving the Indigenous Peoples fighting the same fight as they did in pre-independence India. The Netarhat movement is still alive today, and the JSS has taken other ongoing land rights issues under its umbrella, each presented by the Indian government with its unique justification of national security, economic development, or wildlife conservation. When asked if he is afraid for himself and his people under the increasingly hostile current political climate, Kujur answered, 'Of course I am afraid, but for how long can I be afraid? The movement is beyond me'.”

     "Prosecute Officials Involved in Rohingya Trafficking and Mishandled Investigation: "Secret" report details mishandling of Wang Kelian trafficking investigation," Fortify Rights, October 18, 2022, https://mailchi.mp/fortifyrights/malaysia-prosecute-officials-involved-in-rohingya-trafficking-and-mishandled-investigation?e=24e6ca1455, stated, "Malaysian authorities should prosecute officials involved in trafficking Rohingya refugees to “death camps” in Wang Kelian, including those who were criminally negligent in the police investigation, said Fortify Rights today. The Malaysian government failed to publicly release the final report of a 2019 Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into mass graves and trafficking camps discovered in 2015 in Malaysia, with the chair of the RCI claiming that the report is a state secret. However, the report recently appeared on the Ministry of Home Affairs website and is now on file with Fortify Rights.
     At the time of writing, a Bahasa Malaysia version of the report remains on the Ministry of Home Affairs website. An English-language version of the report (https://web.archive.org/web/20220721043651/https://www.moha.gov.my/images/maklumat_bahagian/UKOM/LAPORAN_RCI_BI_COM.pdf) was available briefly but was removed from the website in early September. Fortify Rights has both versions on file."

      Kelvin McDonald,  "'Stop using Mori and race issues for political gain': King Tuheitia challenges politicians," Te Ao Maori News, August 20, 2022, https://www.teaomaori.news/stop-using-maori-and-race-issues-political-gain-king-tuheitia-challenges-politicians,   reported, " King Tuheitia has challenged the country’s political leaders to stop using Mori and race issues for political gain."
     Speaking in a time of great change and uncertainty, the K+ngitanga stated, “Aotearoa stands at a crossroad, and our leaders need to decide what path to take.
     Do we stay on the current path of growing inequality, poor education, severe health problems, youth suicide and runaway inflation?  Or do we choose a different path?”

     "Survival International launches new guide to decolonize language in conservation," Survival International, October 13, 2022, https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/13481, reported, " The guide to decolonize language in conservation is available to download at svlint.org/DecolonizeLanguage.
      A unique guide that challenges much of the “neutral” and “scientific” language commonly used when writing about conservation and climate change has been launched today by Survival International.
     The 'Guide to Decolonize Language in Conservation' is aimed at journalists, filmmakers, and activists. It confronts many familiar terms, and explains the hidden histories behind others, such as:
     - What’s the difference between “bushmeat” and “game”?
     - Why are some people who own livestock called ranchers, while others are called herders?
     - Why do we think of “wilderness” as a natural landscape empty of people, when in fact almost all such places have been inhabited, shaped and managed by people for millennia?
     - Why do all national parks in the UK, and many in Europe, have people living in them, but in Africa it’s not allowed?
     In questioning much of the terminology in use today, the guide takes aim at some of the key myths underpinning the current model of “fortress conservation” that still prevails today among NGOs, governments and the conservation industry.
      Fiore Longo , head of Survival’s Decolonize Conservation campaign, said today: 'The mainstream conservation model today is still, just as in colonial times, 'fortress conservation': a model that creates militarized Protected Areas accessible only to the wealthy on the lands of Indigenous peoples.
      'This 'conservation' is destroying the land and lives of Indigenous peoples. But this is where most of the Western funding for nature protection is going.
     'Why? Because the myths that sustain this model of conservation are reproduced in school texts, media, wildlife documentaries, NGO adverts, etc. The images we have seen since our childhood about 'nature', and the words we use to describe it, shape our way of thinking, our policies, and our actions .
      'We tend to assume these words and images are the reality, as if they were neutral, objective or 'scientific'. But they’re not. We hope our new guide will make people stop and think about the words and concepts we use when writing or talking about environmental issues. The violence and land grabs faced by millions of Indigenous and other local people in the name of conservation stem in large part from these concepts.'
     The guide is available to read and download here : https://www.survivalinternational.org/about/decolonizelanguage?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=utm_campaign&utm_content=221013+PR+(Decolonize+Language+Guide+Launch)+-EN."

     " After an incredible year of hard work and deep impact, I am excited to share with you Cultural Survival’s 2021 Annual Report !
     In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to cause unprecedented health, economic, and political crises across the globe, which deeply affected many Indigenous communities. In addition to providing our regular comprehensive programming, Cultural Survival also provided emergency support to Indigenous Peoples impacted by the pandemic globally. Despite these challenges, we have made great strides this year, including the launch of our new 2022-2026 Strategic Framework that we shared publicly in November 2021.
     Our team grew with the hire of several new staff and we ended the year with some good news from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights after a decade-long fight. On December 17, 2021, the Court announced its decision in the case Indigenous Maya Kaqchikel Peoples of Sumpango vs. Guatemala, declaring the Republic of Guatemala “internationally responsible for the violation of the rights to freedom of expression, equality before the law and participation in cultural life” of Indigenous Peoples.
      This report highlights the various levels of impact Cultural Survival is making around the globe, and exemplifies our commitment towards creating a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance.
     Thanks to our funders and supporters like you, in 2021 we accomplished the following:Funded 57 community media projects in 23 countries totaling $340,500.Supported 62 community projects in 21 countries totaling $303,363 through the Keepers of the Earth Fund.
     Supported 25 Youth Fellows in community media.
     Trained 52 Indigenous women in radio production and journalism.
     Released 218+ radio programs on COVID-19 prevention in 76+ Indigenous languages through our Indigenous Rights Radio Program.
     Submitted 8 reports to UN Treaty Bodies on human rights issues.
     We are extremely thankful for both our new supporters and long-time donor partners, and their ongoing dedication and commitment to upholding Indigenous rights. It is through your financial support and generous donations that make this work possible.
      In solidarity and gratitude,
Galina Angarova (Buryat) Executive Director"

      International Indian Treaty Council (IITC), on International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2022, https://www.iitc.org , reported on some if its work in 2022, " This year, IITC participated in, coordinated and made submissions to over 60 human rights events and bodies in defense of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. This has been our most productive year to date, and we are looking forward to continuing and broadening our international engagement on behalf of Indigenous human rights.
     Here are some highlights:
     - IITC hosted and coordinated consultations for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights in preparation for his official Study on Toxics and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in May 2022.
     - IITC attended the review of the United States by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in August 2022, focusing on advocating for Treaty rights for Indigenous Peoples. As a result the Committee called on the United States to respect Treaties with Indigenous Peoples and implement a Treaty claims process outside of the judicial system. This is the first time the high-level Committee has advocated for Treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples in this manner.
     - IITC has completed its first water testing project in Oceti Sakowin territory (South Dakota) to test for mercury, uranium and other contaminates from past and current mining in violation of Lakota Treaty rights. According to IITC’s research, public drinking water on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation contains mercury at eight times above EPA accepted levels! As a result, Lakota Peoples experience some of the worst health disparities in the world and unborn and young children are the most impacted. Collection of new water samples concluded in November 2022, with the direct engagement of a team of Lakota students and youth as trainees. IITC will share the test results with impacted Tribal Nations and use them in our human rights advocacy work.
     These examples are a mere fraction of the work IITC engages in to ensure implementation of Indigenous human rights around the world.

Return to top