PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 2013 Is Published by Intercontinental Cry and Licensed Under a Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) License
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PEople LAND TRUTH WWW.INTERCONTINENTALCRY.ORG VOLUME N. 02 YEAR 9 2013 CONTENTS In THIS VOLUME Nations & States 06 Coexistence through subsidiarity 1 The Republic of 09 Murrawarri They’re Trying To Steal 11 Aché Lands Returning Waters 13 Klallam Celebrate Cultural and Ecological Good Riddance! Renewal in the Wake of Dam Deconstruc- 16 Talisman Energy Announces tion Withdrawal From Achuar Terri- tory A Dance Of Complicity: 18 Mining And Powwows The World Bank 20 World Bank Implicated In Grave Human Rights Abuses 700 Indigenous Peoples 27 Occupy Brazilian House Of Representatives Until The Sun Stops Panama 23 29 Police Brutality Signals Impend- Rising ing Storm Over Barro Blanco Interview with Salvadoran Indigenous Dam leader Shandur Kuátzin Makwilkali Ecotourism Project In 33 Tayrona National Park Suspended PEOPLE LAND TRUTH CONTENTS In THIS VOLUME Inconvenient Truths Altai Under Threat 34 De-Bunking China’s Plan To 62 Sacred Sites and Indigenous Settle Nomadic Populations Peoples Of The Altai Back Under Threat After New Decree Protecting Koongarra Against Creation 2 39 Koongarra now permanently pro- 64 Alarming Results Of Secret Study tected from uranium mining On Transgenic Maize Harper Launches The Unknown Truth 41 Major First Nations 67 Behind The Moais Termination Plan Bowman Expedition Lumad Peoples Want 48 2.0 69 To Live In Peace Intelligence What Kind Of 51 Information Ideas 71 Solidarity For West Papua? A Question Of Relevance The End Of Human 53 The 2014 World Conference On 79 Safaris? Indigenous Peoples Apocalypse Tourism Colombia & FARC 55 Mexico Bans Maya Leaders From 82 Indigenous Peoples Still Accessing Ancestral Temples Plagued by Violence Amidst Reconciliatory Talks Flooding Hope Our Autonomy 57 Manitoba Displacement Politics 86 The Triqui Peoples continue their Towards Lake St. Martin First struggle for autonomy and secu- Nation rity in Oaxaca Indigenous Settler? Redeveloping The 60 Decolonization And The Politics 89 Millennium Of Exile PEOPLE LAND TRUTH CONTENTS Anti-Indian Hate 91 Campaign 3 Quebec Government 99 Concedes To Barriere Lake Algonquins Occupy Enbridge 101 Taking A Stand On Red Lake Sovereign Land Voice Of The Earth: Growing Frustration In 111 105 Kaokoland The Struggle To Defend Mupo Mount Taylor Faces 108 ‘Permanent & Severe’ Cultural Impacts Uranium Mining And 117 Native Resistance India Prepares To 119 Extinguish Indigenous Rights 121 White Power On The It Begins With Salish Sea 150 Respect The Meaning of Living Well For The Tseltal & Tsotsil Mayans Of Chiapas Idle No More & 124 Indigenous Nationhood PEOPLE LAND TRUTH CONTENTS PEOPLE LAND TRUTH A’ole Gmo: The 127 EDITORS Struggle To Reclaim Tracy Barnett Paradise John Ahni Schertow CONTRIBUTORS Robert Desjarlait, Robin Llewellyn, Jay Taber, John Ahni Border Wall Schertow, Hannibal Rhoades, Curtis Kline, Artiso Mandawa, 4 131 U.N Committee Raises Concerns Vera Belazelkoska, Richard Arghiris, Jen Wilton, Jason Ma- Over Impacts Of US/Mexico Wall cLeod, Nuunja Kahina, Russell Diabo, Joe Bryan, Klee Benal- ly, Tracy Barnett, Rebecca Sommer, Imani Altemus-Williams, Jeff Conant, Dan Bacher, Taiaiake Alfred, Mati Hitorangi Defending The PICTURES AND ART 133 Ricardo Mbekrorongi, Kate Benkert, Doug Zimmer, Bithplace of the Sun gill_penney, Laura Borealis, Robin Llewellyn, José Cruz/ ABr, Richard Arghiris, International Campaign for Tibet, theweathergroup_U, Alberto Otero García, Grand Velas Riviera Maya, Ryan Klatt, TatyanaPenn, openclipart.org, Nua Rapa Nui, Keith Bacongco, Martin Pelcher, www.bonrix.net, Another Nakba Jen Wilton, ilkerender, Earth Peoples, Gaia Foundation and 137 International Community Finally the Mupo Foundation, rajkumar1220, Wonderlane, Tracy Takes Notice Of Israel’s Plan For Barnett, Physicians for Human Rights - Israel, H Dragon, Tim Russo / ImagenArte, Ministério da Cultura DESIGN Tree Of Peace? John Ahni Schertow 139 Oil Palm Expansion Is Tearing PRODUCTION Apart Indigenous Peoples’ Lives John Ahni Schertow PUBLISHING Maya Qeqchi V. Intercontinental Cry 141 Hudbay HOW TO CONTACT US Twitter: @indigenous_news and @intentlcry Facebook: www.fb.com/Intercontinental.Cry Web: www.intercontinentalcry.org 143 An Amazigh Email: [email protected] Perspective On The SPECIAL THANKS TO Western Sahara John Paul Montano , Linda Goossen Implementing 146 Indigenous Human Rights PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 2013 is published by Intercontinental Cry and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) license PEOPLE LAND TRUTH intro introduction The global indigenous movement has grown exponen- tially over the past ten years. Unfortunately, the world’s media without intermediaries. has not kept up with the times. 5 I can’t even being to tell you PEOPLE LAND TRUTH is our how often I’ve heard people say, annual publication, where we “What about us? What about highlight some of the best our struggle? Why isn’t anybody articles, editorials, op-eds and supporting us? essays that we published over the course of the last year. The media, being what it is, routinely suppresses human Each article that was selected rights abuses, including mass for this year’s issue of PEOPLE evictions, forced relocations, LAND TRUTH has been carefully assassinations and the razing of reviewed, revised, updated and entire villages, not to mention in some cases expanded to make important successes like the sure that you can get the most reclamation of traditional of it. lands, the demilitarization of While some media cover the sacred areas and the creation of Our selection of articles was occasional skirmish or event, impressive cultural protection also adapted for print, so, if you IC alone examines the dynam- initiatives and self-defense feel the need to dig deeper campaigns. At the same time, into anything here, I invite you ics of the movement and the few publishers are willing to to visit our website at www. concepts critical to its success. expose anything on the laundry intercontinentalcry.org - you’ll list of of problems associated find more information there. Without IC, educators, orga- with the World Bank, the United nizers and activists would be Nations and non-governmental That said, I would just like to add operating in a vacuum of es- organizations that undermine that it’s a monumental challenge indigenous rights under the keeping up with everything sential information and insight. cloak of good will and prosperity that’s going on today; but it’s -Jay Taber for all. one that we take on proudly and without hesitation. We know Intercontinental Cry was founded what’s at stake. Media plays a in response to this lack of focus decisive role in the success or on Indigenous Peoples. It is a failure of any movement and reader-funded, volunteer-run when the vast majority of the online magazine dedicated to world’s media fails to cover the keeping the public informed struggles of Indigenous Peoples, about the global struggle for something like Intercontinental Indigenous rights and providing Cry becomes essential. We are an open space for Indigenous committed to the People, the peoples to tell their stories Land, and the Truth. PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL NATIONS & STATES 6 COEXISTENCE THROUGH SUBSIDIARITY Jay Taber istening to mainstream and alternative media In some federations of nations like the former Republic discuss conflicts between Fourth World nations of Yugoslavia, the breakdown into Indigenous nation- and modern states, I think what most newscast- states like Slovenia was not precipitated internally, but ers and their listeners have difficulty grasping is rather by external forces hoping to divide and con- the historical context of the Indigenous libera- quer a functioning socialist republic for the benefit of Ltion movement. As I noted previously, states formed transnational corporations. In other states like Canada, throughout the last five hundred years of the colonial the Indigenous nations have been assimilated into a era are breaking down along cultural faultlines. Mul- forced dependency from which they now seek to liber- ticulturalism within homogenous states is evolving in ate themselves. In Indigenous nations like Pais Basque fits and starts toward a plurinationalism that respects or Catalonia, autonomous governance in language, the sovereignty of Fourth World nations. Taking their health, trade, policing and education would seem to be cue from state-centric institutions like the UN, news- sufficient, although over time they may seek complete casters inevitably get it wrong. independence from Spain. PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL In the case of empires like the Soviet Union, dissolved As noted by Andre Frankovits, the words self-determi- into a combination of federations and independent nation appear in the 1948 UN Charter as an enunci- states based on ancient nationhood — like Latvia, ated principle, as well as in the 1960 preambles to the Estonia and Lithuania — self rule affects varying levels International Covenants on Economic, Cultural and So- of governance. In states like Bolivia, where the Indige- cial Rights/Civil and Political Rights, but with a major nous population is a majority, autonomous first nations caveat in the Declaration on the Right to Development, united within a plurinational state seem to have a “aimed at preventing any definition that is not based chance of surviving with their cultures intact. on the gaining of independence of the former colonies of the European powers.” Which shifted the focus away Despite lofty pronouncements like the 2007 United from the rights of peoples to those of governments. Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN — an institution formed of, by, and for Nevertheless, the UN did recognize that colonial, 7 colonial states — is nevertheless actively opposed to foreign and racist domination were situations in which the self-determination of Indigenous nations. Indeed, the right to self-determination is applicable. It just the UN has done all in its power to prevent Fourth wasn’t prepared at the time to recognize that indig- World nations from even participating in discussions enous nations were in this situation. about climate change, biological diversity, or sustain- able development.