Category Archives: Indigenous peoples

Canadian academic on leave amid row over Indigenous ancestry claims

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CBC investigation into Carrie Bourassa has drawn comparisons with case of Rachel Dolezal in US

A Canadian official and academic specialising in Indigenous health issues has been placed on administrative leave from her university after an investigation challenged her claims of Indigenous ancestry.

Carrie Bourassa, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, has described herself as having Métis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit heritage. In 2019 she appeared at a TEDx talk wearing a blue embroidered shawl and holding a feather, where she identified herself as “Morning Star Bear”.

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Regulating indigenous medicine in Mexico ‘could violate rights’

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Academics and traditional medical groups warn against proposed legislation to grant state authority to control practice

Proposed legislation that would grant the Mexican state authority to regulate and control the practice of indigenous medicine could violate the country’s constitution and international conventions on the rights of ancestral communities, academics and traditional medical groups have warned.

The bill, introduced by the governing Morena party and unanimously voted through by the lower house in April, sets out to regulate and standardise traditional and complementary healthcare.

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Herbalist’s murder highlights assault on Mayan spirituality in Guatemala

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Spiritual guide Domingo Choc Che was tortured and burned by neighbors who accused him of witchcraft – and advocates say Christian churches are stoking prejudice

In meetings, Domingo Choc Che was quiet and reflective, speaking up only once others had said their piece. But he would come alive when he entered the jungles of Guatemala’s northern Petén department, sharing his knowledge of traditional medicines with anyone who wanted to learn.

“He was more at ease with plants,” said Mónica Berger, a sociologist and anthropologist at the University of the Valley of Guatemala who worked closely with Choc Che, a member of the indigenous Maya Q’eqchi community.

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‘We know who we are’: Inuit row raises questions over identity and ancestry

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Under Canada’s constitution, Indigenous groups have the right to self-govern – but there are fears that the recognition of NunatuKavut could weaken the authority of Inuit groups

For centuries, Inuit in Canada have thrived in the sprawling territory known as Inuit Nunangat – the homeland – which stretches from a thin sliver of land in the Yukon territory to northern Labrador, a vast domain more than 3.3m sq km (1.2m sq miles) in size.

“Inuit have long understood where our communities are, who belongs to our communities, and have fought over the last 50 years to create modern treaties that identify these specific homelands,” said Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a group that represents the four main Inuit regions.

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Bolsonaro should be charged with crimes against humanity, Covid inquiry finds

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Brazilian president savaged for ‘macabre’ and ‘slovenly’ response to pandemic and ‘deliberate neglect’ of indigenous people

Jair Bolsonaro should be charged with crimes against humanity and jailed for his “macabre” reaction to a Covid outbreak that has killed more than 600,000 Brazilians, including a disproportionate number of indigenous citizens, a congressional inquiry has found.

Two of the most dramatic accusations against the Brazilian president – murder and genocide of the country’s indigenous populations – were removed from a previous draft of the report on Tuesday night after talks between opposition senators serving on the inquiry.

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Mexico City to replace Columbus statue with pre-Hispanic sculpture of woman

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The statue is a replica of a mysterious carving of an Indigenous figure unearthed in January known as the Young Woman of Amajac

A replica of a mysterious pre-Hispanic sculpture of an Indigenous woman has been chosen to replace a statue of Christopher Columbus on Mexico City’s most prominent boulevard.

The statue was unearthed in January in the Huasteca region, near Mexico’s Gulf coast. It’s known as the Young Woman of Amajac, after the village where she was found buried in a field. But nobody really knows who the stone sculpture was supposed to depict.

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Activists hold rally on Indigenous Peoples’ Day outside White House – video

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Hundreds of protesters led by Indigenous activists have demonstrated in front of the White House to demand that Joe Biden stop approving fossil fuel projects and declare the climate crisis a national emergency. The rally was held for Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Police moved in to break up the protest near the White House and made several arrests

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Indigenous protesters urge Biden to stop approving fossil fuel projects

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Demonstrators at Washington event want the president to declare the climate crisis a national emergency

Hundreds of protesters led by Indigenous activists from across the country demonstrated in front of the White House on Monday to demand that Joe Biden stop approving fossil fuel projects and declare the climate crisis a national emergency.

The rally marks the start of five days of demonstrations calling for greater attention to climate injustices as Native American leaders and tribal members head to the capital to publicize their demands.

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Norway court rules two windfarms harming Sami reindeer herders

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More than 150 turbines may be torn down after licences to operate and build them are declared void

Two windfarms in western Norway are harming reindeer herders from the Sami people by encroaching on their pastures, the country’s supreme court has ruled.

It was not immediately clear what the judgment’s consequences of would be, but lawyers for the herders said the 151 turbines on the Fosen peninsula could be torn down. The turbines, whose construction was completed in 2020, form part of the largest onshore windfarm in Europe.

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Fast track to disaster? Brazil’s Grain Train plan raises fears for Amazon

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Bolsonaro’s government plans to build a 1,00km railway to export soya beans despite warnings of a ‘catastrophe’ for indigenous people and the environment

The Final Countdown blared from speakers and the crowd broke into applause as one of Jair Bolsonaro’s top lieutenants strode into the Amazon auditorium with glad tidings of a railroad to the future.

“The ‘Grain Train’ is going to happen,” Brazil’s infrastructure minister, Tarcísio de Freitas, told the hundreds of mostly male spectators who had flocked there in a caravan of high-end SUVs.

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‘Dead because she was Indigenous’: Québec coroner says Atikemekw woman a victim of systemic racism

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Hospital staff assumed Joyce Echaquan was an opioid addict. She was dying of a rare heart condition

An Indigenous woman who was taunted by nursing staff as she lay dying in a Quebec hospital would probably be alive today if she were white, a coroner has concluded.

The death of Joyce Echaquan was an “undeniable” example of systematic racism in the province, the Québec coroner Géhane Kamel told reporters on Tuesday.

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‘We are fearful’: Indigenous Mexicans dread new military buildup on ancestral land

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As the Tzeltal people resist huge infrastructure projects across Chiapas state, the new national guard barracks springing up are alarming many

Micaela* always stops to kiss a cross at the base of three hills, a lush swath of land in the indigenous ejido of San Sebastián Bachajón, Chiapas. Her ejido, meaning communal land, is shared among more than 5,000 Tzeltal inhabitants. But soon, they will also have to share it with Mexico’s national guard.

The national guard has built 165 barracks in Mexico since it was created only two years ago by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to replace the federal police, which he said was corrupt. Micaela’s community is leading the first lawsuit against one of 500 or so barracks planned across the country.

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‘Racism is rampant’: Alien Weaponry, the metal band standing up for Māori culture

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The New Zealand trio have gone global thanks to their forthright Māori-language songs, which confront colonial history and ongoing inequality

New Zealand was a war zone in the mid-1800s. On one side were the British and the colonial government, craving a stranglehold on more of the country’s land. On the other were the indigenous Māori people, fighting to preserve tino rangatiratanga: their sovereignty and self-determination.

On 29 April 1864, the British invaded Pukehinahina, also known as Gate Pā. Despite being grossly outnumbered, the Māori fended off the attackers using concealed trenches and guerrilla tactics. It was a fleeting victory in a war that, ultimately, led to the confiscation of 3m acres of Māori land.

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Cop26: Women must be heard on climate, say rights groups

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Those worst hit by global heating are left out of talks, says feminist coalition calling for systemic change

Women must be enabled to play a greater role at the Cop26 summit, as the needs of women and girls are being overlooked amid the global climate crisis, a coalition of feminist groups has said.

The Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice has laid out a call for action at the UN general assembly, including demands that world leaders meeting at Cop26, in Glasgow this November, must end fossil fuel expansion and move to 100% renewable energy.

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Canada’s Catholic bishops apologise for abuses in residential schools

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Church leaders express ‘profound remorse’ for suffering caused to indigenous children amid silence from the Vatican

High-ranking Catholic bishops in Canada have officially apologised for their role in the country’s notorious residential school system for the first time, after refusing to do so for years despite public pressure.

The organisation expressed “profound remorse” and apologised unequivocally along with all Catholic entities that were directly involved in the operation of the schools, according to a statement issued on Friday by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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‘About damn time’: First Nation gets clean water after 24-year wait

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Residents of Shoal Lake 40 can drink from taps thanks to a new water treatment facility but dozens of communities lack access

Residents of a First Nations community in Canada, who were deprived of clean drinking water for nearly a quarter of a century, can now drink from their taps after a water treatment facility became fully operational earlier this week.

Shoal Lake 40, a community on the Manitoba-Ontario border, has been under drinking water advisory since 1997.

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‘Heartbroken’ Osage Nation leaders decry sale of sacred Missouri cave with ancient artwork

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Indigenous leaders had hoped to purchase the land, which is home to 1,000-year-old drawings and was auctioned off for $2.2m

A Missouri cave containing Native American artwork from more than 1,000 years ago was sold at auction Tuesday, disappointing leaders of the Osage Nation who hoped to buy the land to “protect and preserve our most sacred site”.

A bidder agreed to pay US$2.2m to private owners for what’s known as “Picture Cave,” along with the 43 hilly acres that surround it near the town of Warrenton, about 60 miles (97km) west of St Louis.

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Sebastião Salgado receives Praemium Imperiale 2021 award – in pictures

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The Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado has been named as one of four winners of a £400,000 award given by the Japan Art Association. Amazonia, an exhibition by Salgado, opens at the Science Museum in London from 13 October. An exhibition of collectors prints, organised by the Photographers’ Gallery, is on show at Cromwell Place Art Centre from 20 October

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Lake Tahoe ski resort changes name to remove racist and misogynistic slur

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Resort will be called Palisades Tahoe after consulting with Indigenous groups over longstanding name

A popular ski resort at California’s Lake Tahoe has changed its name to remove a racist and misogynistic slur after consultations with local Indigenous groups.

The resort, known as Squaw Valley since 1949, will be called Palisades Tahoe, the business announced on Monday.

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Indigenous warrior women take fight to save ancestral lands to Brazilian capital

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Jair Bolsonaro is backing a legal move to open up large tracts of indigenous territory to commercial exploitation that tribal members call an ‘extermination effort’

More than 5,000 indigenous women have marched through Brazil’s capital to denounce the historic assault on native lands they say is unfolding under the country’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Female representatives of more than 170 of Brazil’s 300-plus tribes have gathered in Brasília in recent days to oppose highly controversial attempts to strip back indigenous land rights and open their territories to mining operations and agribusiness.

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