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coal

Tribes Struggle to Adjust After the Largest Coal Mine in the West Closes

Energy
Salt River Project-Navajo Generating Station in the red desert of Page, Arizona seen above before it shut down in November 2019.

Members of the Navajo and Hopi tribes are struggling to adjust to a new way of life following the closure of the coal-powered Navajo Generating Station late last year, as leaders look for new sources of revenue and energy.

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amazon rainforest

Indigenous People May Be the Amazon’s Last Hope

Popular
This combination of pictures shows portraits of (L to R up) Suwerika Waiapi, Eriana Aromaii and Sykyry Waiapi; (L to R down) Kurija Waiapi, Ruwana Waiapi and Siurima Waiapi at the Waiapi indigenous reserve in Amapa state, Brazil on Oct.14, 2017. The tiny Waiapi tribe is resisting moves by the Brazilian government to open the region of pristine rainforest known as Renca, National Copper Reserve to international mining companies. APU GOMES / AFP / Getty Images

Brazil's divisive President Jair Bolsonaro has taken another step in his bold plans to develop the Amazon rainforest.

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jair bolsonaro

Brazil's Bolsonaro Unveils Bill to Open Indigenous Lands to Mining, Oil and Gas Exploration

Politics
Uncontacted indigenous group in the Brazilian Amazon. © G. Miranda / FUNAI / Survival / Mongabay

By Jan Rocha

President Jair Bolsonaro pressed forward with a "dream" initiative sending a bill to the Brazilian Congress on Wednesday that would open indigenous reserves in the Amazon and elsewhere to development, including commercial mining, oil and gas exploration, cattle ranching and agribusiness, new hydroelectric dam projects, and tourism — projects that have been legally blocked under the country's 1988 Constitution.

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australia

To Address the Ecological Crisis, Aboriginal Peoples Must Be Restored as Custodians of Country

Insights + Opinion
Barkandji elder Waddy Harris poses for a portrait at his home on March 5, 2019 in Wilcannia, Australia. The Barkandji people — meaning the river people — live in Wilcannia, a small town in the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales. Jenny Evans / Stringer / Getty Images

By Zena Cumpston

In the wake of devastating bushfires across the country, and with the prospect of losing a billion animals and some entire species, transformational change is required in the way we interact with this land.

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nature

Should Nature Be Given Rights Enshrined in Law?

Popular
Birds fly over Lake Erie. Residents of Toledo, a city on the shores of heavily polluted Lake Erie in the U.S. state of Ohio, voted to give the lake rights of nature last year. A local farm responded by filing a lawsuit claiming this violated the rights of agribusinesses. Jessica Hetrick / EyeEm / Getty Images

"We see ourselves not as an owner of wild rice but a symbiotic partner and a parallel entity from the Creator," says Frank Bibeau, a lawyer from the Anishinaabe indigenous group in the U.S. and Canada.

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water

Climate Change, Pollution and Urbanization Threaten Water in Canada

Climate

A women fills a water bottle with a filter from an alpine lake in the mountains around Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada. Canada is on the front lines of rapid climate changes that affect the water cycle. Ben Girardi / Aurora Photos / Getty Images

By Corinne Schuster-Wallace, Robert Sandford and Stephanie Merrill

In recent years, the daily news has been flooded with stories of water woes from coast to coast to coast.

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conservation

Study: Native Americans Barely Impacted Landscape for 14,000 Years. Europeans Came and Changed Everything

Science
A new study shows the impact Native Americans had on landscapes was "small" compared to what followed by Europeans. The findings provide important takeaway for conservation in New England today, seen above in a view of areas surrounding Rangeley Lakes in Maine. Cappi Thompson / Moment / Getty Images

There's a theory going around that Native Americans actively managed the land the lived on, using controlled burns to clear forests. It turns out that theory is wrong. New research shows that Native Americans barely altered the landscape at all. It was the Europeans who did that, as ZME Science reported.

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sustainability

Indigikitchen Is Bringing Native Food Sovereignty Online

Food
Wild rice flatbread is one of many Native recipes found in Indigikitchen. Indigikitchen

The online cooking show Indigikitchen is providing a platform to help disseminate Indigenous food recipes — while helping eaters recognize their impact on the planet and Native communities.

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Pope Affirms Catholic Church’s Duty to Indigenous Amazonians Hurt by Climate Change

Climate
Pope Francis flanked by representatives of the Amazon Rainforest's ethnic groups and catholic prelates march in procession during the opening of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region at The Vatican on Oct. 07 in Vatican City, Vatican. Alessandra Benedetti / Corbis News / Getty Images

By Vincent J. Miller

The Catholic Church "hears the cry" of the Amazon and its peoples. That's the message Pope Francis hopes to send at the Synod of the Amazon, a three-week meeting at the Vatican that ends Oct. 27.

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indigenous peoples

Major Victory for Indigenous Movement in Ecuador

Politics
A demonstrator waves an Ecuadorian flag during protests against the end of subsidies to gasoline and diesel on Oct. 9 in Quito, Ecuador. Jorge Ivan Castaneira Jaramillo / Getty Images

The night before Indigenous Peoples' Day, an Indigenous-led movement in Ecuador won a major victory.

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indigenous rights

Maine Becomes First State to Ban Native American Mascots at Public Schools and Universities

Politics
People march to TCF Bank Stadium to protest against the mascot for the Washington Redskins before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 2, 2014 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hannah Foslien / Getty Images

Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Thursday banning public schools or universities in the state from using Native American mascots, names or imagery. Mills' action will make Maine the first state in the nation with such a ban once it goes into effect later this year, The Bangor Daily News reported.

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