Friday, February 22, 2013

underreported struggles 69

More essential underreported struggles from Ahni at Intercontinental Cry. This information is very important because it builds on the attributes that we will need no matter what happens in the world. Community of all types are the answer, binding together in common cause whether tribe, family, whānau, or any other combination that works. Using group knowledge as displayed in many of these articles showing the struggles of indigenous people around the world - they are our struggles too and we must support their fights for equality and learn from their successes.

underreported struggles 69

Nearly 70 indigenous leaders from Mato Grosso do Sul and various other regions of Brazil delivered the names of more than twenty thousand people to Brazilian authorities, who endorsed the petition “I support the Indigenous”. The unprecedented solidarity petition--which arrived in the midst of increasing violations of indigenous rights in Brazil--demonstrated a welcomed shift in attitude towards Indigenous Peoples by urban populations in Brazil and by the International community.

The US departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy and Interior signed a memorandum of understanding to start protecting sacred sites. The agreement came just a couple weeks after thieves made off with rock carvings from a sacred Paiute site in California's Sierra Nevada. There was some question, however, concerning the seriousness of the inter-department pledge, given that more than three dozen sacred sites are currently threatened across the US.

More than 600 people from the district of Cañaris, province of Ferreñafe, Peru, blocked a highway and detained three geological engineers employed by the Canadian mining company, Candente Copper. The protest was undertaken in response to the Peruvian government's failure to recognize a community vote in which 95% of participants rejected the company's presence.

Visit Intercontinental Cry to read about these issues and many others.

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