By Alberto Ruz Buenfil, Chiara Lionello, Antonio Giachetti, Esperanza Project
Every time a group of people starts to make others understand that there’s a need to take action for a given problem, they can start to undertake initiatives to adopt this law, as we are doing. The abolition of slavery in America and of apartheid in Africa started with small groups which engaged themselves in the recognition of specific rights.
By Elise Klein, Open Democracy
A lot of Australia’s welfare programmes primarily target First Nations people. Australia is a settler colonial society. Sovereignty was never ceded and has never been given back. This is an ongoing struggle, and welfare is now being used as a weapon in neo-assimilationist attempts by the settler state.
By Talli Nauman, Tatyana Novikova, Esperanza Project
On a world tour for climate justice, Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg visited Native America Oct. 6-8, attracting a gymnasium full of enthusiasts at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, leading a march on Rapid City Hall alongside youth climate leader Tokata Iron Eyes, and speeding off to the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation.
By Carol Kalafatic, Agroecology Now!
In this post I aim to elaborate my belief that, to build or spread food sovereignty, there is an increased need for diverse Peoples, communities and social movements to strengthen relationships and coalitions with one another. Our exchange of knowledges, strategies and practices will keep producing tangible results, and on the less tangible but equally important side, our solidarity will reinforce our resilience in the face of increasing unpredictability.
By Mark Heley, Esperanza Project
The Indigenous peoples of Amazonia have lived in a symbiotic way with the rainforest for millenia. They are the keepers of deep knowledge about the ecosystems they live within and are indispensable to its effective protection. Protecting the rights of indigenous people and their land claims in the Amazon can be one of the most effective ways of halting deforestation.
By Nikki Sanchez, Intercontinental Cry
At the base of Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest mountain and the first point on earth where raindrops touch the earth, the largest land defense action in modern Hawaiian history is currently in taking place and the entire movement is being guided by love.
By Yoly Gutierrez, Landscape News
Given the lengthy and often difficult process of obtaining formalization, it is clear that Indigenous peoples’ rights to land and territory need to be ensured through policies on a national scale, whether through simplifying bureaucracy or through providing support for regional governments and the communities themselves.
By Segundo Chuquipiondo (Shawi), Intercontinental Cry
Regardless of the ultimate outcome, the Achuar will continue to vociferously defend their territory though all nonviolent means at their disposal. The goal of these alliances is to defend Achuar territory and their lives as forest peoples.
By Sébastien Caquard, Annita Lucchesi, Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert, Leah Temper, Thomas Mcgurk, The Conversation
Our project, MappingBack, envisions mapping as a weapon and tactic to resist extractive industries. We see it as an excellent way to express complex Indigenous perspectives and relationships with the land.
By Sakshi Aravind, Oxford Human Rights Hub
Judge Preston has succinctly expressed the historic anguish of the environmental justice movement against social and environmental destruction led by resource oligarchies.