indigenous rights

Returning the ‘Three Sisters’ – Corn, Beans and Squash – to Native American Farms Nourishes People, Land and Cultures

Returning the ‘Three Sisters’ – Corn, Beans and Squash – to Native American Farms Nourishes People, Land and Cultures

By Christina Gish Hill Historians know that turkey and corn were part of the first Thanksgiving, when Wampanoag peoples shared a harvest meal with the pilgrims of Plymouth plantation in Massachusetts. And traditional Native American farming practices tell us that squash and beans likely were part of that 1621 dinner too. For centuries before Europeans […]

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    Indigenous and Climate Leaders Outraged Over Minnesota Permits for Line 3 Pipeline

    Indigenous and Climate Leaders Outraged Over Minnesota Permits for Line 3 Pipeline

    By Jessica Corbett Environmental and Indigenous leaders on Thursday responded with alarm after Minnesota regulators approved key permits for Enbridge Energy’s planned Line 3 Pipeline replacement, and called on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to block any construction for the Canadian company’s long-delayed multibillion-dollar project. “Gov. Walz has apparently decided that if Washington won’t lead on […]

    Climate Crisis: What We Can Learn From Indigenous Traditions

    Climate Crisis: What We Can Learn From Indigenous Traditions

    Indigenous people around the world have lived in concert with nature for centuries, practicing responsible land management, regenerative farming practices and water conservation. But as Indigenous populations continue to be pushed off of their lands by development, it’s more important than ever to learn how their practices can counter the climate crisis. “By ignoring what […]

    Indigenous Leaders Furious After EPA Grants Oklahoma Control Over Sovereign Tribal Lands

    Indigenous Leaders Furious After EPA Grants Oklahoma Control Over Sovereign Tribal Lands

    By Brett Wilkins In a little-noticed development last week that drew ire after being reported Monday, the Trump administration’s EPA granted the state of Oklahoma wide-ranging environmental regulatory control on nearly all tribal lands in the state, stripping dozens of tribes of their sovereignty over critical environmental issues. The Young Turks which first reported the […]

    Democrats Introduce Bill Addressing Cultural Genocide Against Native Americans

    Democrats Introduce Bill Addressing Cultural Genocide Against Native Americans

    Two lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday addressing previous actions the U.S. government inflicted upon Native Americans. The bill, authored by Rep. Deb Haaland from New Mexico and Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, specifically addresses the “intergenerational trauma” caused by policies that tore Native American children away from their families and sent them to boarding schools […]

    Facebook Suspends More Than 200 Environmental and Indigenous Groups

    Facebook Suspends More Than 200 Environmental and Indigenous Groups

    Facebook suspended more than 200 accounts belonging to environmental and Indigenous groups Saturday, casting doubt on the company’s stated commitments to addressing the climate crisis. The suspensions came days after Facebook launched a Climate Science Information Center to correct widely-shared posts that spread disinformation about climate change, The Guardian pointed out. The same week, Facebook […]

    Decolonizing Environmentalism

    Decolonizing Environmentalism

    By Jazmin Murphy Whenever you talk about race relations here in so-called “America,” Indigenous communities [are] always the last ones on the rung,” says Wanbli Wiyan Ka’win (Eagle Feather Woman), also known as Joye Braun, a front-line community organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network who fought against the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. In […]

    Indigenous Tribes Are Using Drones to Protect the Amazon

    Indigenous Tribes Are Using Drones to Protect the Amazon

    The Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau are a tribe of less than 300 people in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest who first came into contact with people outside their community in the early 1980s, according to the Povos Indigenas No Brasil. While they still maintain many of their tribal ways, they and other tribes have recently begun using modern drones […]

    Award-Winning Doc ‘Yasuni Man’ Is Now Available to Stream for the First Time

    Award-Winning Doc ‘Yasuni Man’ Is Now Available to Stream for the First Time

    Among its many devastating impacts, the coronavirus has brought ecotourism to a halt in the Ecuadorian Amazon. But you can still visit the region from the safety of your couch, while supporting its Indigenous communities, by streaming Yasuni Man. The award-winning documentary transports viewers to the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve, an imperiled pocket of the Ecuadorian […]