Indigenous Rights

Market stall for direct sales of Mexican small farmers

Native Farmers in Mexico Drive Local Eco-Friendly Farming

By Emilio Godoy
The largely invisible work of small local groups of indigenous farmers in Mexico who are spearheading the defence of their territory and identity and of native seeds is strengthening ecologically sound family farming, experts say.

CHINA: Radio Keeps Tibetans Tuned In

By Poppy Moore
No road leads to Motuo County. There is no post office or newspaper. But, for the 10,000 residents of one of the planet’s remotest corners, a local radio station serves as the vital link to the outside world.

Native Peruvians See Loopholes in Prior Consultation Law

By Milagros Salazar
Indigenous communities in Peru have a long list of comments and objections to the proposed regulations for the law governing prior consultation on initiatives affecting their territories.

“Occupy” is the Watchword at Thematic Social Forum

By Clarinha Glock
Traditional social movements of homeless and landless people have for years been organising occupations as a pressure tactic. Now "occupying" is a key element for fighting the capitalist system in its hour of crisis, and also in the realm of virtual reality.

MIDEAST: And At Last There Was Water

By Pierre Klochendler
Only days ago, turning on the tap was cause for concern. Would there be running water? Now, it’s reason for celebration.

GUATEMALA: Rios Montt to Stand Trial for Genocide

By Danilo Valladares
After a hearing that lasted more than 11 hours, a Guatemalan court ordered the trial of former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt (1982-1983), who could face up to 30 years in prison if he is convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity.

INDIA: Male Activists Enhance Pre and Postnatal Care

By Manipadma Jena
The primitive Juang tribe in remote Nola village on Chandragiri hill experienced its first three institutional childbirths only a month ago.

Mayans Demand Voice in “Doomsday Tourism” Boom

By Emilio Godoy
The indigenous people of southeast Mexico are demanding to be included in the official programmes planned for 2012 to take advantage of the world's interest in the "Mayan prophecy", while at the same time fearing a "doomsday tourism" that could damage and contaminate their sacred sites.

CANADA: Opposition Builds to New “Tar Sands” Pipeline

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
As public hearings began earlier this month into a controversial pipeline that would transport crude oil from the Alberta tar sands to tankers along the coast of British Columbia, environmental groups and First Nations communities have raised staunch opposition to the project, which they say puts both the environment and their traditional way of life at risk.

THAILAND: Malay-Muslim Insurgency – Lessons Learnt

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
Teachers’ Day on Jan. 16 was a sombre affair in Thailand’s troubled southern provinces where memories are strong of 155 educators killed over the past eight years in an insurgency led by Malay-Muslim separatists.

Melting Ice Makes Arctic Access a Hot Commodity

By Stephen Leahy
China, Brazil and India want seats on the Arctic Council as global warming creates new opportunities for shipping and resource extraction in the vast Arctic region.

INDIA: The Tribal Show Goes On

By Sujoy Dhar
In the eastern city Kolkata, a tourist just back from a holiday in India’s Andaman islands last week boasts he threw bananas to Jarawa tribe members and secretly photographed them when their car passed through a jungle.

INDIA: Indigenous Rights Versus Wildlife Rights? – Part 2

By Malini Shankar
As the amount of protected forest dwindles rapidly in India, indigenous groups and wildlife find themselves living cheek to jowl in an increasingly contested space.

GUATEMALA: For the Maya, the World Isn’t Ending – the Environment Is

By Danilo Valladares
The end of the Maya long-count calendar does not predict a global catastrophe, let alone the end of the world, say native activists and elders who spoke to IPS in Guatemala. But what are coming to an end are the world's natural resources, as a result of human activity, they warn.

INDIA: Indigenous Rights Versus Wildlife Rights? – Part 1

By Malini Shankar
Tucked away in a dense and ecologically diverse tiger reserve in Southern India, tribes-people and wildlife defenders are locked in a battle of indigenous peoples’ rights versus wildlife rights.

CANADA: U.N. to Probe Missing and Murdered Native Women

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
As a United Nations committee initiates an inquiry procedure into the alarming number of missing and murdered Native women across Canada, human rights groups are hoping that an on-the- ground investigation by the international body will finally help stem systematic violence against Native women.

GUATEMALA: Native People Suffer Racism in Employment

By Danilo Valladares
"There's a big difference in the way indigenous people and mestizos (people of mixed ancestry) are treated. We are not paid the same wages for the same work," Higinio Pu, an activist with the native group Waxaquib Noj, which means "wisdom" in the Maya Quiché language, told IPS.

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: Tribal People on the Warpath

By - - and Sujoy Dhar
This small town, barely 150 km away from the bustling eastern metropolis of Kolkata, hit news headlines in December 2008 when adivasis (indigenous people) led by Maoist rebels briefly captured it.

SIERRA LEONE: Local Communities Divided Over Mining in Rainforest

By - - and Meena Bhandari
Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest remains a centre of contention as the local community here plan to take their chief to court next week over a controversial 50-year land lease to a mining company.

Green Tech Drives Search for Rare Earths in Argentina

By Marcela Valente
Argentina could meet part of the rising world demand for "rare earth" metals, required for a variety of green technologies, advanced electronic devices and medical diagnostic equipment. The challenge lies in mining them in a sustainable fashion.

BURMA: Kachin Refugees Get UN Relief, Finally

By Marwaan Macan-Markar and - -
Six months after fighting erupted between Burmese troops and ethnic Kachin separatists, international relief is finally trickling in for over 30,000 people who fled their homes near the snow-capped mountains north of the country.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
*#*