indigenous peoples rights

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raise awareness in order to defend rights and lifes of indigenous peoples worldwide
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    indigenous links

    UN Permanent Forum on indigenous issues
    >> http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/

    International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
    >> http://www.iwgia.org/

    ILO169 - Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries
    >> http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/62.htm

    Deklaration on the rights of indigenous peoples
    >> http://www.iwgia.org/sw248.asp

    Survival International - the movement for tribal peoples
    >> http://www.survival-international.org/

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    the Sami, indigenous peoples of the north

    11/19/2008 11:55am by Jo Have
    samiies.jpg

    R eindeer herding, fishing and pure nature.
    Indigenous peoples from four different counties.

    The Sámi are the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Area of the Nordic countries. Reindeer husbandry and fishing have always been important livelihoods of the Sámi, who are closely bound to nature, and for whom nature is important.

    Sápmi, the Sámi Country, includes areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Sápmi starts at the middle of Norway and includes the eastern regions of the Kola Peninsula. The natural landscape varies greatly in this area.

    The Sámis have traditionally divided the year into eight seasons, depending on the changes in nature during the year. These seasons are winter, late winter, spring, late spring, summer, late summer, autumn and late autumn. Each season offers many different possibilities for activities.

    To learn more visit: http://www.galdu.org/

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    Film highlights biofuels threat to Brazilian Indians

    08/27/2008 07:02pm by Jo Have
    manifesto.jpg

    Italian film ‘Birdwatchers’, selected as one of the films in competition for the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, highlights the plight of the Guarani-Kaiowá Indians in Brazil, whose lands are being destroyed to produce biofuels for cars and other vehicles.

    Birdwatchers (‘La Terra Degli Uomini Rossi’) is a love story set in rural Brazil between the daughter of a wealthy land owner and a young Guarani shaman apprentice, as their two worlds collide against the backdrop of land invasion, suicides, and rebellion.

    The film marks the acting debut of the Guarani Indians in leading roles, including Abrisio da Silva Pedro (Guarani name: Chirivy Poty'i, or ‘beautiful little boy’) as the shaman apprentice. 230 Guarani, who had never acted before were involved in the making of the film. It is written and directed by Chilean/Italian film maker Marco Bechis, and stars Italian actor Claudio Santamaria (Casino Royale), and leading Brazilian actor Matheus Nachtergaele.

    [...]
    >> http://www.survival-international.org/news/3643

    Survival International has opened a fund, in association with the film, to help the Guarani defend their rights, lands and futures:
    > http://www.guarani-survival.org/en

    Visit the film’s website:
    > http://www.birdwatchersfilm.com/

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    indigenous images

    uncontacted tribe in Brazil, photos taken in May 2008 We - the peoples. UN logo UN Permanent Forum on indigenous issues - logo http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/ Chakma, Bangladesh Maasay, Kenia Senor Pedro: http://www.amazee.com/node/597/ www.birdwatchersfilm.com Sami - arctic people

    Survival International News

    Indians hold construction workers hostage at Amazon dam site
    07/27/2010 01:01pm

    A dam being built in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. © Survival Brazilian Indians are occupying the site of a hydroelectric plant, demanding that they be compensated for the damage caused to them by the dam, that their land rights be upheld and that no more harmful dams be built in the region.

    Around 300 Indians from eleven tribes, including about 50 Enawene Nawe Indians, arrived Sunday at the site of the Dardanelos dam in Mato Grosso state in the Amazon, and more Indians are continuing to join the group.
    100 construction workers were held hostage at the construction site on Sunday. The protesters have since allowed the workers to leave, with several company officials taking their place. According to reports, nobody has been injured.
    The Indians say the dam is being built on a sacred ancient burial ground.
    An Enawene Nawe spokesman told Survival, ‘We joined the protest to raise awareness about the damage the dams cause, about the recognition of our land and the dangers of future projects like this’.

    77 small hydroelectric dams are planned for the Juruena River, upstream of the Enawene Nawe’s land. Five are already under construction.
    Another series of dams is planned for the Aripuanã river, including the Dardanelos dam – the site of the protest- which will affect the Cinta Larga and Arara tribes.
    The Indians were not consulted about the projects before they started, and their livelihoods are now threatened.
    The Enawene Nawe say that the dams are polluting the river water and killing the fish. This is preventing the Enawene Nawe from performing yãkwa, an important ritual in which they build intricate dams across the smaller rivers and trap fish in large baskets.
    This year and last year the Indians caught almost no fish, a disaster for the tribe, for whom fish is a vital part of their diet. The government had to bring tons of farmed fish to the tribe.
    The Indians are urging that they be fairly compensated for the damage already incurred by the dams, that their lands be mapped out and protected as a matter of urgency, and that no more dams be built without the Indians’ approval.
    Earlier this month, Enawene Nawe and other Indians protested against the dams in the Amazon town of Sapezal.

    Sarawak’s Chief Minister faces UK protesters over Penan
    07/26/2010 02:47pm

    Chief Minister Taib Mahmud was met by demonstrators protesting at the destruction of the Penan's rainforest. © Survival Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud faced protests by supporters of the Penan in the UK today, while British MPs have written to him expressing concern over the newly documented cases of sexual abuse of Penan women.
    Protestors from Survival and other organizations greeted the Chief Minister in Oxford this morning, where he had travelled with cabinet colleagues to give the keynote speech at the Inaugural Oxford Global Islamic Branding and Marketing Forum. The protestors held placards reading ‘Penan tribe say NO to logging’ and ‘Malaysia: Stop destroying the Penan tribe’. The protest forced the Chief Minister to enter the building through a side entrance.
    The chairman of the British parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal peoples, MP Martin Horwood, has written to Taib Mahmud on the occasion of the Chief Minister’s visit to the UK. ‘The Penan have frequently been subject to violence and intimidation at the hands of loggers operating on their land… Without recognition of their land rights, the Penan are struggling to provide for themselves, and are left vulnerable to violence and exploitation’.
    Mr Horwood urged the Chief Minister to ‘halt logging and other developments on the Penan’s land without their free, prior and informed consent, according to international law’ and to ‘ensure that Penan women and girls are protected from sexual violence and the perpetrators of such abuse brought to justice’.
    Download a copy of the All Party Parliamentary Group’s letter to the Chief Minister
    Download photos of the Oxford demonstration:
    Chief Minister Taib Mahmud was met by demonstrators protesting at the destruction of the Penan's rainforest.Download hi-res imageCredit: © Survival  

    Chief Minister Taib Mahmud was met by demonstrators protesting at the destruction of the Penan's rainforest.Download hi-res imageCredit: © Survival  

    Michael Palin sends message to support Dongria Kondh
    07/23/2010 01:55pm

    Michael Palin© John Swannell Actor, presenter and explorer Michael Palin has sent a message in support of the Dongria Kondh tribe of India, who are resisting a mine on their land by FTSE 100 company Vedanta Resources.
    In a statement, Michael Palin said, ‘I’ve been to the Nyamgiri Hills in Orissa and seen the forces of money and power that Vedanta Resources have arrayed against a people who have occupied their land for thousands of years, who husband the forest sustainably and make no great demands on the state or the government. The tribe I visited simply want to carry on living in the villages that they and their ancestors have always lived in.’
    On July 28th, Vedanta’s Annual General Meeting in London will be attended by protestors from Survival International and other groups keen to draw shareholders’ attention to Vedanta’s human rights and environmental record.
    PIRC, the shareholder lobby group, have announced that they are urging shareholders to vote against re-electing three of the company’s directors on human rights, safety and environmental grounds.

    Last chance for Palawan tribe to stop mining
    07/22/2010 11:00am

    The impact of nickel mining in the concession of Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corporation (RTNMC).© Dario Novellino The Palawan tribe of the Philippines have one more chance to stop companies from mining on their land. A government panel meeting on July 30th will decide whether or not to give the go-ahead to two companies who have applied to mine on their territory, which is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
    Last month, 600 indigenous people and farmers held a rally, calling on the provincial government to prevent two companies, Macro Asia and Ipilan Nickel Mining Corporation (INC), from mining nickel on their land. As a result of these protests the provincial government agreed to freeze the mining applications pending further investigation.
    The Palawan provincial government has now endorsed both companies’ mining plans, despite the protests by the indigenous land owners and those objecting to the idea of mining inside a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
    The final step in the approval process for the mining applications will take place at a meeting of a statutory panel known as the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development at the end of July.
    Maman Tuwa, a Palawan elder, fears that mining will destroy his community. ‘If our mountains are deforested, how are we going to survive? What are we going to plant if the soil of the uplands will be washed down to the lowlands? How are we going to feed our children? We’ll surely die.’

    Outrage as Botswana Bushmen denied access to water
    07/21/2010 04:32pm

    Today's ruling is a blow to the Bushmen. Xoroxloo Duxee died of dehydration in 2005.© Survival There was outrage today as Botswana’s High Court denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water.
    The Judge ruled that the Bushmen were not entitled to access an existing water borehole on their lands or to drill a new one inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, one of the driest regions in the world. The hearing of the case was held on June 9, but the judge reserved his ruling until today.
    The ruling is a blow to the Bushmen who have struggled without water since 2002 when the Botswana government sealed and capped a borehole to drive them out of the reserve. In 2006, the forced evictions of the Bushmen were declared illegal and unconstitutional by the High Court, and hundreds have since returned to their lands.
    Despite the ruling, the government banned the Bushmen from re-commissioning the borehole, leaving them to face what the UN’s top official on indigenous peoples, James Anaya, described as, ‘harsh and dangerous conditions due to a lack of access to water’. At the same time, Wilderness Safaris opened a luxury tourist lodge, complete with bar and swimming pool, on Bushman land; the government drilled new boreholes in the reserve to provide water for wildlife with funding from the Tiffany & Co Foundation; and Gem Diamonds was given environmental clearance to mine in the reserve on condition the Bushmen could not use any of its water.
    Bushmen are also being prevented from bringing water to their relatives inside the reserve.
    Bushman spokesman, Jumanda Gakelebone, said, ‘This is very bad. If we don’t have water, how are we expected to live? The court gave us our land, but without the borehole, without water, our lives are difficult.’
    Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘In the last ten years Botswana has become one of the harshest places in the world for indigenous peoples. If Bushmen are to be denied water on their lands when it is freely provided for tourists, animals, and diamond mines, then foreigners should be asked if they really want to support this regime with their visits and jewellery shopping.’
    Note to editors: the Bushmen’s lawyer is available for interview.