Resist

Canada’s Stolen Sisters - a story of resistance by the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada.

The following is a story of resistance by the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada. The story –and its protagonists - could as well be easily set in Mexico, Guatemala or DR Congo; countries where the systematic murder of women casts a shadow over the fabric of the culture; and where – despite it all – fearless men and women are elevating their conscious voices to resist the ever-growing acts of gender based violence.
Canada’s Stolen Sisters: In 1971 a 19-year old Cree student named Helen Betty Osborne was abducted, raped, and killed by four white men in the province of Manitoba. The court case stalled for years. It took more than a decade for the Osborne family to get some semblance…

by Romina Oliverio on 22/01/09 | Read More

Indigenous Struggle worldwide

North America
Algonquins of Barriere lake
http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/
Located about 400 km north of Montreal, Quebec, the Algonquin community is struggling to regain control after the government unjustly deposed their traditional government and placed them under third party management.
Ihanktunwan
http://intercontinentalcry.org/judge-refuses-to-stop-hog-farm-on-sioux-land/
In South Dakota, the Ihanktunwan People (Yankton Sioux) are resisting an industrial hog farm being constructed right beside them. The resistance culminated a couple months ago, with state troopers encroaching on their land to defend the farm.
Shoshone
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2008/12/shoshone-building-permanent-arbor-on.html
For years the US government has systematically abrogated the Shoshone’s land rights. Continuing to do so, the government is preparing to increase it’s nuclear weapons development efforts on Shoshone lands. Meanwhile, the sacred Yucca Mountain continues to be eyed for a…

by Ahni on 17/12/08 | Read More

Brazil - The Enawene-Nawe have decided to fight for the right to decide their own future and not grant this right to others.

The Enawene-Nawe are an indigenous group that lives in the Juína River
basin. The group is related to the Aruaque, and have a population of 520
people and they occupy a territory of 742,000 hectres. The Enawene-Nawe had
their lands demarcated in 1996, more than 20 years after their first contact
with the modern world. The demarcation, however, neglected to include areas
crucial to the Enawene-wene´s culture. They wish to expand their territory,
having seen the area they have indicated that they have a historic and
sacred relationship with the land that is important for their survivial
culturally, and physically. The Enaweane’s request to expand their
territories has enraged local farmers. In the disputed Black River region,
agricultural development and…

by anonymous on 06/11/08 | Read More

Brazil - Deni indigenous people fighting logging companies.

From 2001-2004, we had worked very closely with the deni indigenous people
for the brazilian government official recognition of their right to the
land. In 2000, we discovered that a huge portion of land was bought by the
Malaysian logging company WTK in the western of the amazonas state… when
investigating, we also found that part of the land bought by WTK was
occupied by the Deni indigenous people and we went there to alert them. The
deni were very scared and asked for our help to protect their land.
Together with other indigenous organizations, a multi-skilled team went to
the Deni land and worked with them, teaching the Indians how to use
demarcation tools (as compass, GPS, etc) to…

by anonymous on 06/11/08 | Read More

Ecuador - supporting local people fighting against violations of environmental, human rights & indigenous rights laws.

The Yasuni National Park is in the Ecuadorian Amazon and considered to
be one of the most bio-diverse places in the world.  Until 50 years
ago, when oil was discovered there it was almost completely
disconnected from the rest of Ecuador and the world.  The Waorani, the
original indigenous people of the area, have fought to resist
conquistadors and other intruders through the centuries, the most
famous being Francisco de Orellana in search of El Dorado.  The
Waorani,  were first ‘peacefully’ contacted in the late 1950’s however
there were groups who rejected this contact, fled deeper into the
forest and still maintain voluntary isolation from the rest of the
world.  Also inhabiting el Yasuni region are the Kichwa and Shuar…

by Yasuni Green Gold on 06/11/08 | Read More

Roraima, Brazil - If the government try to take our land or try reducing it in size then we will fight.

My name is Jasir De Souza.
I am a Macuxi and my name in my language is Salomão. I live in Roraima state in the north of Brazil and we, the Macuxi, are the biggest population of indigenous peoples in Raposa Serra do Sol. We also have other indigenous peoples who live near us like the Wapichana, Ingaricó, Patamona, Taripan, Lanomami, Wapichamas, and Uaiuai people.
I am a Macuxi Indian. I am 60 years old. When I talk with the older generation of indigenous peoples, our relatives and friends, they say at the time of our grandparents and our great grandparents there were no white people around,
it was just our people. We lived from the land, fishing and hunting.…

by Jasir De Souza on 27/10/08 | Read More

Director of Resist in conversation with John Perkins, author of 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman'

‘ECONOMIC HITMEN ARE THE FIRST STEP’.
Economic Hitmen have created the world’s first truly global empire and done it for the first time, primarily, without the military. And we worked many different ways but perhaps the most common was that we would identify a country with resources the corporations covet, like oil, and arrange a huge loan to that country through the World Bank or one of its sisters. However, the money doesn’t actually go to the country, it goes to our own corporations that build the infrastructure projects in that country - power
plants, roads, ports, industrial parks – things that benefit a few of the rich people in that country, as well as our own corporations, but don’t…

by Marc Silver / John Perkins on 27/10/08 | Read More

Amazon - Indigenous people resist dams

1,000 Indigenous peoples of the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon recently met for the first time in nearly 20 years to oppose dams planned for the river. They declared their opposition to the projects and vowed to take any action necessary to prevent their construction. The final letter from the meeting stated ”“Our culture, our spirituality, and our survival are deeply rooted in the Xingu, and we depend on it for our existence ... We, who have protected our Xingu River do not accept the invisibility with which they wish to impose decisions upon us, nor the way we are treated with disdain by public officials … We demand respect.” For stories and images from the meeting, please see…

by anonymous on 05/06/08 | Read More