Intercontinental Cry

In this month's Underreported Struggles: Shipibo villagers take control of nine oil wells on their territory; The Amoonguna tell the Australian government to go away; Sixteen indigenous Nations join forces to oppose Brazil's anti-indigenous moves; the Yoruba begin to push for regional autonomy.

Photo: Alan Berner / The Seattle Times

After standing strong for more than 140 days, the Musqueam People are celebrating a decision by the B.C Government to cancel a controversial 5-story condominium project at cusnaum, an historic village and burial site located in the heart of Musqueam's Traditional, unceded Territory. The developers behind the project will likely challenge the basic-indigenous-rights decision.

The Yanomami organization, HORONAMI, issued its final public statement on the matter of illegal Brazilian miners in the Upper Ocamo region of Venezuela. HORONAMI was relieved to learn that massacre had not taken place, however, it rejects claims that 'all is well' in the region. The 16-point statement also rejects attempts to internally divide the organization, to link it to opposition actors and to exploit their previous allegations.

Five Mapuche activists entered their fifth week of an “open-ended” hunger strike at Angol Detention Center in Chile's Araucanía region. One Mapuche, Daniel Levinao Montoya called the hunger strike after he and Paulino Levipan Coyán were convicted by a military court in mid-August. The men are protesting the militarization of their land in Chile’s south and calling for the release of all Mapuche political prisoners.

The Chumash Nation raised numerous concerns over the proposed Diablo Canyon Seismic project off the Central Coast of California. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) intends to carpet bomb approx. 580 square nautical miles of sea floor with powerful Air Cannons that will blast every 10 to 20 seconds for 42 days straight. The 260db sonic blasts, which will travel through the water and 10 miles into the earth's crust, will devastate the local marine ecosystem and possibly destroy fragile and sensitive Sacred Chumash Cultural Sites.

The government of Indonesia responded to the UN's recommendations to recognize the rights of its indigenous peoples by asserting, once again, that no indigenous peoples live in the country. The government recognizes exactly 365 distinct ethnic and sub-ethnic groups, however, it explicitly defines them as "komunitas adat terpencil" (geographically-isolated customary law communities). The concept of Indigenous Peoples, according to Indonesia, cannot apply to any of these communities, whether it's the Manggarai, Leragere, Kedang or the Peoples of occupied West Papua.

Hundreds of tribal members from the Lummi Nation gathered to announce their opposition to the construction of a facility that would be used to ship coal imported from the Powder River Basin. During the gathering, the Lummi burned a symbolic check to make a statement that no amount of money could buy their support for a project that would destroy their village and burial sites.

About 200 people from all over Nova Scotia gathered to protest the imminent threat of fracking on the shores of Lake Ainslie. The action included a partial blockade led by Mi'kmaq from Cape Breton and the Nova Scotia mainland.

A group of Naso protestors blocked access to the Bonyic Hydroelectric project in Bocas del Toro province, western Panama. The protestors, who issued an urgent plea for international solidarity, say that a new road will cut through an ancient archaeological site, which has already been damaged by bulldozers. They say the site is extensive and that they have collected a variety of ceramic shards, implements, huacas (pre-Colombian ornaments) and a piece of human bone from the area, indicating it was once perhaps a burial ground.

Protests continue to challenge China's 12th Five Year Plan, which, as of January 2011, had already forcibly moved approximately 1.43 million nomads into unfamiliar urban environments. Over the next five years, the state intends to settle another 1.5 million nomadic pastoralists in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. In each concerned region, nomads are responding to the plan--to end their way of life--with resistance and protest.

The Kuki National Assembly formally requested the cancellation of a proposed Tiger Reserve on the Kuki's territory in Assam, India. The proposed sanctuary would be placed in an area that the Kuki use for their traditional method of allied farming, which they depend on for survival.The National Assembly states that, while Tiger's need to be protected, it is "cruel, inhuman and agonizing" to do so at the expense of the Kuki.

Several Indigenous Nations along the North and Central Coast of British Colombia, Canada, declared a ban on trophy bear hunting in their traditional territories. "We will protect bears from cruel and unsustainable trophy hunts by any and all means,” said Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation Chief Doug Neasloss. Because the Province is negligent in their responsibility to monitor the trophy hunt the Coastal First Nations will now assume responsibility for bear management on the Coast, he added. "We will now assume the authority to monitor and enforce a closure of this senseless trophy hunt.”

Over 400 Shipibo villagers in the Ucayali region of Peru took control of nine oil wells, belonging to a company that has been exploiting Shipibo lands with impunity for the past 37 years. The action sent a clear warning to all foreign and domestic oil companies now invading indigenous homelands throughout the Peruvian Amazon: enough is enough!!

Following the Shipibo protest, though not directly related to it, Peru's Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Shipibo and Ese'Eja community's right to take control of a road that illegal miners and timber cutters were building through their territory. The ruling cited Peru's new prior consultation law, which requires the government to consult with indigenous communities before making decisions that directly affect them.

Elsewhere in Peru, the Achuar Peoples won a major victory in their own struggle against another oil company. In a move that caught everyone off guard, the Canadian company Talisman Energy announced that it will be withdrawing from the Achuar's ancestral territory, just as soon as it finishes some ongoing commercial transactions. Essentially, the company got sick of not making any money off the Achuar's homeland. The company tried and failed for eight years.

Herakles Farms, a subsidiary of the New York-based investment firm Herakles Capital, withdrew its application to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) after a coalition of environmental and human rights organizations called attention to the reality of its proposed 73,000-hectare palm oil plantation in Cameroon. They exposed the project for what is: bad for the environment and bad for the people.

The Amoonguna people in Australia's Northern Territory issued a statement requesting the removal of all government work­ers from their community by the end of September or face charges of tres­pass. The Amoonguna are also refusing to sign another five-??year lease after being forced to accept the first one (along with 5 dozen other communities) in 2007 as a part of the government's draconian 'intervention' programme.

Several Yoruba organizations (the Yoruba General Assembly and the Yoruba Elders Forum among them) recently started to push for regional autonomy in the south-western area of Nigeria, the homeland of the Yoruba people. As observed by Aderemi Suleiman Ajala, an expert on Yoruba nationalism, the Yoruba ruled several powerful kingdoms prior to European colonization; but now that power base is all but gone.

For the first time in several hundred years, non-Indigenous peoples were invited to participate in the last two days of the week-long Wabanaki Confederacy Gathering. Speaking about the invite, Harry LaPorte, grand chief of the Maliseet First Nation, told the Media Coop, “We're going to rebuild the Wabanaki Confederacy... We also invited some non-Natives...to come and be with us and to help us build an alliance, so that when we...come into conflict with the government and some of their decisions and policies...to have them stand beside us and to let their government know that it's not only Native people who are worried about the water, the land, the air. But it's also people from their nation that are concerned.”

Sixteen different indigenous Nations in Brazil came together to show their outrage against the government's controversial Decree 303 (which essentially extinguishes indigenous rights to land) and what they are calling the “scrapping” of the FUNAI, Brazil's Buerau of Indian Affairs. As part of the protest, the indigenous peoples blocked access to two major interstate highways, BR-174 and BR-364 - stepping on the economic nerve of the state of Mato Grosso. Sadly, there was almost no English media coverage of the protest.

Videos of the Month

The Herakles Debacle - This short film gives you a good look at Herakles Farms and their plan to destroy 73,000 hectares of rainforest in Cameroon for palm oil.

Buried Voices - provides insight into the Ohlone, Miwok and Yokut Peoples' ongoing struggle to protect one of their most sacred places, an area near Livermore, California, now known as Brushy Peak.

The Golden Mountains of Altai (Photo by mmmAleksei on flickr. Some rights reserved)

There was a jubilant response when IC reported, in July this year, that a new decree had been passed to facilitate the listing and protection of sacred sites on the Ukok plateau. Yet, even in disseminating this good news, the article imparted a warning against premature jubilation. Caution was advised on the basis that the Russian government may well ignore this new commitment and given disturbing recent developments in the Altai Republic this trepidation now seems prophetic.

New information emerging from the Ukok Quiet Zone Nature Park suggests that the positive legal steps taken in June this year constitute only a false dawn in the fight to protect this plateau region. A sacred place to Indigenous peoples and a UNESCO world heritage site, it is theoretically protected by both international and Russian federal law; however, an old threat has returned and it has been extended to include the Uch Enmek Nature Park.

This threat comes in the form of a new decree, passed by Altai Republic authorities on the 2nd of August, which has, once again, given gas giant Gazprom permission to begin construction on the Altai pipeline. Aleksander Berdnikov, a leader in the region, recently mitigated this in a much criticized move, saying that the new listings of sacred sites must be monitored to “prevent barriers to the construction of bridges, roads and other structures.” The new decree bafflingly contradicts June’s protective decree and Russia’s assurances to several environmental organisations that the “Golden Mountains of Altai” would enjoy better protection, just months after they were made.

This pipeline, if built, will stretch from Western Siberia to China, has been threatening both the ecology and people of the Ukok plateau for some time now thanks to its stop start development. Much has been said and written about the potentially devastating environmental, social and economic consequences the pipeline could have.

Fears abound that it may degrade underground layers of permafrost vital to the above ground environment and limiting warming influences. The area is also prone to earthquakes and local peoples are rightly concerned that if the line were breached a catastrophic leak would result, profoundly damaging Indigenous livelihoods that rely on free range animal husbandry, fishing and hunting. It is also argued that increased activity in the area would negatively affect the regions endangered species such as the Snow Leopard and Steppe Eagle.

The pipeline's proposed route through this region is also environmentally contentious on a more basic level. This point of view was expressed by head of nature protection fund Altai 21 Andrei Ivanov who stated that “since the world is concerned with stabilizing the climate, such unique and pristine territories should be protected.”

The Ukok plateau is also a profoundly important cultural zone. A sacred area to the Altai, Shor and Telengit Indigenous peoples. These groups commonly hold that the Ukok plateau is where the spirits come to hear the ‘Kai’, throat singing, of the people. It is a vital place of spiritual communion and also, for the Telengit especially, an ancestral burial ground with a history of well over 8,000 years of use. The plateau is home to countless burial chambers belonging to the ancient Pazyryk people and their descendants, noted by archeologists worldwide for their beautiful tattooing.

Today even archeologists are banned from exploring this region which, being bountiful with sites of sacred significance both natural and man-made, should be currently benefitting from greater protection. The new decree enacts a U-turn away from such protection, showing, if anything, that the regions true cultural and environmental value has yet yet to be acknowledged by authorities.

GreenPeace recently stated that the emerging plan for construction also “grossly violates Russia’s international obligations under the UNESCO convention concerning the protection of world culture and heritage.” The organization also noted that Gazprom subcontractors in the Ukok area were observed beginning exploratory drilling procedures before the new decree came into force on August 17th. Gazprom is charged with breaching terms on another level since it is clearly stated that such exploration is not to be begun without approval from the Federal Ministry of Natural Resources and a Federal Environmental Impact Report. Neither of these have been attained to date.

Thus emerges a consistent pattern of corruption and violation with Russia, the Altai Republic and Gazprom flouting regulations that have so far prevented Ukok and Uch Enmek from becoming a gas superhighway. Russia and China have not even reached an agreement over whether one will buy the gas channeled by this line and there is also strong evidence to suggest that the strife caused by the insistent and illegal efforts to disrupt the Ukok Plateau are entirely unnecessary.

In a recent statement Alexei Knizhnikov, head of WWF Russia’s oil and gas programme, revealed that “there are alternative routes that are better not only from an ecological, but also a profit perspective.” Save Ukok Coalition have echoed these sentiments calling the move “against all rational and scientific arguments.”

It is in light of these facts that the reinvigorated building programme and the decree which is allowing it have been called a “moral violence against people; ” not, it seems, that the powers care. Last year, a Gazprom representative stated that they would drive the pipeline “right through the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius if we have to!” It is also believed that Vladimir Putin insists on the pipeline cutting through the Altai.

Photo: Protect the village and midden site of c??sna??m (on facebook)

After standing strong for more than 140 days, the Musqueam People are celebrating a decision by the B.C Government to cancel a controversial 5-story condominium project at cusnaum, an historic village and burial site located in the heart of Musqueam's Traditional, unceded Territory.

"Musqueam is pleased that the proposed development is no longer authorized by the permits issued by the Province and that the ancestral remains are to be restored to their original condition," the Musqueam said, in a September 28 Press Release. "Their disturbance caused great anguish to the community and the proposed development would have desecrated an ancient and sacred burial place and destroyed a site precious to the Musqueam as representing one of the few links to our heritage extending back thousands of years. It would also have destroyed a Canadian historic site and a heritage site that should be protected for all British Colombians."

For updates and more information, visit the facebook page Protect the village and midden site of cusnaum (Marpole).

September 28, 2012

PRESS RELEASE – MUSQUEAM INDIAN BAND – RE: cusnaum (Marpole Midden)

The Musqueam Indian Band is pleased to have received today a decision dated September 27, 2012 made by the Province regarding the permits issued by the Province under the Heritage Conservation Act to permit a 5 story condominium development at cusnaum, also known as the Musqueam Marpole Village Site. As recognized in the decision, this site was declared to be a National Historic Site in 1933 as one of the largest pre-contact middens in Western Canada and it has special significance for Musqueam.

The decision refers to a statement by Musqueam elder and Councillor, Howard Grant, as effectively articulating the immutable position of the Musqueam community with respect to the sacred value of the Site as an ancestral village site. The decision also refers to the opinion of Dr. Miller, professor of Anthropology at U.B.C., that the Site remains one of the most significant archaeological sites in Canada. The recent discovery of further intact ancestral remains was noted in the decision.

In view of the evidence presented by the Band, it was decided that the permits that had been issued in December 2011 should not be extended until December 31, 2013 as requested by the developers. Instead they should be allowed to expire on September 30, 2012 except that one permit should be extended until November 1, 2012 to allow only for the mandatory return of the lots to their original condition including the covering of the intact burials and the reburial of partial remains.

Musqueam is pleased that the proposed development is no longer authorized by the permits issued by the Province and that the ancestral remains are to be restored to their original condition. Their disturbance caused great anguish to the community and the proposed development would have desecrated an ancient and sacred burial place and destroyed a site precious to the Musqueam as representing one of the few links to our heritage extending back thousands of years. It would also have destroyed a Canadian historic site and a heritage site that should be protected for all British Colombians.

Musqueam looks forward to being actively involved in the steps to be taken to restore the ancestral remains in accordance with Musqueam customs and beliefs, steps that must be taken immediately to prevent further deterioration.

Location of the Yanomami peoples (S. Venezuela and N. Brazil)

On Sept. 25, the Yanomami national organization, HORONAMI, issued its final public statement on the matter of illegal Brazilian miners in the Upper Ocamo region of Venezuela.

While the allegations of a massacre have now been dropped, HORONAMI wishes to make it clear that it rejects claims that 'all is well' in the region. As such, HORONAMI is reiterating its call for "a more careful and extensive investigation into possible acts of violence and other possible abuses of the garimpeiros in the Upper Ocamo region".

HORONAMI goes on to explain the risks that garimpeiros pose to the Yanomami and the land they rely on. In addition to abuses and threats, there is the possibility of the outsiders spreading disease (something the Yanonami have experienced in recent history) and degrading the environment with their machinery and their use of mercury to extract gold.

In light of these very real risks, HORONAMI is also requesting a "permanent and sustained patrol for the final eviction of illegal mining camps in the Upper Ocamo and other areas of the Upper Orinoco, as Hashimu, Cerro Delgado Chalbaud and Siapa River, among others. This must be a joint effort set between the Bolivarian Armed Forces and our Yanomami organization Horonami, since we know our people and our territory."

The 16-point statement further rejects ongoing efforts to internally divide the organization, to link it to opposition actors and to exploit their previous allegations. To be sure, the Yanomami are elated that Venezuela found no evidence of a massacre during their investigation.

Specifically, HORONAMI states:

We do not want to attack our President Hugo Chavez Frias, nor do we want our situation to be manipulated as an electoral episode. The truth is what we have to show, and our motivation is the defense of our people, our habitat and our land which is being seriously pillaged and polluted. We request that the Venezuelan State respect our Horonami Organization; we express our total willingness to collaborate with the government agencies to solve this matter. We reject the attempts of the Minister Nicia Maldonado to divide our organization and we repudiate the mass media and other people who have manipulated the information for political purposes, trying to link us with opposition actors, taking advantage of this serious situation for electioneering purposes.

HORONAMI's final statement concludes with a message for all mass media actors: "We will not give further statements, we want that the mass media to refer just to the content of this document."

Download HORONAMI's Final Statement

English: Pronouncement Of Horonami Yanomami Organization On The Presence Of Illegal Miners In The Upper Ocamo Region

Photo by Carolonline. Some rights reserved.

CHILE -- Five Mapuche activists are entering the fifth week of an “open-ended” hunger strike at Angol Detention Center in the country’s Araucanía region. Community member Daniel Levinao Montoya called the hunger strike after he and Paulino Levipan Coyán were convicted by a military court in mid-August. The men are protesting the militarization of their land in Chile’s south and calling for the release of all Mapuche political prisoners.

The two activists were arrested in connection to a November 2011 shooting in Chequenco that left three members of the national police wounded. The court ruled the shooting was predetermined and sentenced both to 10 years for attempted murder, along with another year-and-a-half for possession of firearms. Levinao and Levipan, whose attorney plans to appeal the convictions, are both in their late teens.

In their fifth message to supporters, the strikers include a chart of their weights before the strike and two weeks in. According to Prensa Latina, community leader Nibaldo Huenuman’s statements to the site indicated the young men “suffer physical deterioration, have lost about 10 kilograms … and can barely stand up.” Despite significant weight-loss and general poor health, the men remain steadfast in their commitment to the strike and have refused hospital treatment.

The action is the third hunger strike to be carried out by Mapuche activists in three years, following two strikes in the summer of 2010 and spring 2011. Current strikers have not received the same level of media attention as those in years past, but all three actions have targeted a common enemy: Pinochet-era anti-terrorist legislation that is used almost exclusively against Mapuche community members.

An incident in April left police sergeant Hugo Albornoz fatally wounded. Albornoz’s injuries were sustained during a firefight that began after police raided Wente Winkul Mapu. According to witnesses, police were searching for evidence related to an October 2011 attack on a nearby private estate. Two months after Albornoz’s death, Erick Montoya Montoya was beaten and sustained buckshot wounds before police arrested him in connection to the crime. At least five members of Montoya Montoya’s family were also assaulted by police; the victims ranged in age from 12 to 78-years-old.

The remaining strikers –  Rodrigo Montoya Melinao and Héctor Ricardo Nahuelqueo Nahuelqueo – were arrested on charges related to the April attack. Montoya Montoya and Montoya Melinao await trial in Angol while Nahuelqueo, 19, was released on parole.

While their comrades count the hours until their own days in court, both Levipan and Levinao were tried under the anti-terrorist law, known as Chile’s Law No. 19.027. A hangover from the country’s 17-year military dictatorship, the law makes it possible for civilians to be tried in military courts and, in the event that they are not convicted, may be subject to double jeopardy in a civilian hearing.

No. 19.027’s power stems from its adaptability. The legislation redefines “terrorism” to include property violence or attacks on corporate employees and allows for the use of anonymous witnesses to convict suspected terrorists. Until recently, anonymous witnesses were not allowed to be cross-examined by the defense.

Mapuche community members argue the law and its provisions usurp due process and criminalize the group’s struggle. Daniel Melinao, a spokesperson for Wente Winkul Mapu, argued in a speech at a Mapuche Ceremonial Center in Viña del Mar that the sentences were discriminatory and racist. "It was police who testified before the judges and they did not show any paper, antecedents or medical paper showing that they had even a scratch, pellet wound or whatever,” Melinao told the crowd.

But in spite of police violence and shady trial proceedings, the Mapuche struggle is still a polarizing topic for many Chileans. Social media buzzed with news of the strike and marked two distinct sides of the debate. Some argued the Mapuche and their supporters operate on the assumption that Mapuche lives should be protected at the expense of the lives of others. To make distinctions, one man tweeted, is to “distort the value of human life.”

At least four people have died in what the Chilean government has dubbed the Mapuche Conflict – three Mapuche and one national policeman. Some sources cite a higher figure. Only one of those suspected of killing the Mapuche victims was tried and the court did not convict the alleged assassin.

*

Resistance to repression has a centuries’ long history in Mapuche communities. The Mapuche staved off incorporation into the Inka Empire and their lands constituted the southern border of Inka territory.

European would-be colonizers met a similar fate. The Spaniards were only able to extend the colonial project as far south as the Bío-Bío River after a protracted battle with the Mapuche. The indigenous territory south of the River was one of the last pieces of South America to be incorporated into a modern nation-state in the 1880s, when Chilean forces finally began colonizing the region a full 60 years after declaring independence from Spain.

Free from the repression of Pinochet’s military since Chile’s return to democracy in 1990, activists began to engage in increasingly radical actions in the struggles for freedom of speech and affordable education.

Mapuche militants are no different in this respect. Legal land occupations and apolitical cultural centers were cast aside in favor of forceful land reclamations, anti-police actions and anti-corporate violence. Uprooting industrial crops and replacing them with foodstuffs became common practice in some communities in an effort to reclaim ancestral Mapuche lands from private and corporate interests.

And while the Mapuche focus on local issues, radical Chilean student movements are addressing Mapuche issues and incorporating the Mapuche struggle into their battle with the Sebastián Piñera administration. In its manifesto, the student movement demanded an increase in scholarships for indigenous students and the inclusion of course content relative to indigenous languages and histories.

At the 39 anniversary memorials of the 1973 military coup that ousted the democratically elected Salvador Allende, marchers called for freedom and justice for the Mapuche, marking a shift in the way indigenous identity is imagined from an urban perspective. The Mapuche are a powerful piece of urban Chilean national identity and imagination, and after a mass migration from the south to cities like Santiago, a tangible part. Over half of all people who self-identify as Mapuche live in urban settings (44% in Santiago alone), while more still have Mapuche lineage.

In rural indigenous communities, support came in the form of solidarity strikes. Mapuche activists expressed unity with the five incarcerated youths and began a hunger strike on August 25, after 30 days of occupying UNICEF’s Santiago office. According to TeleSur, the occupiers were occupying to protest the “passivity” and “lack of support” for Mapuche youth targeted by the government’s violence and criminalization of the struggle. Organizers suspended the strike after UNICEF representative Tom Olsen agreed to meet with the occupiers.

Amidst the shows of support from around Chile, the young hunger strikers announced their own list of demands. The Aug. 29 communiqué from Angol asks for the annulment of the sentences of both Levipan and Levinao and freedom for all Mapuche political prisoners; the demilitarization of Mapuche territory; an end to the use of protected witnesses in Mapuche cases and the return of land to indigenous communities.

Map by Karl Kempton (c/o facebook: Stop the Diablo Canyon Seismic Testing)

The Chumash Nation is speaking out against the Diablo Canyon Seismic project off the Central Coast of California.

The California-based energy company Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) wants to carpet bomb approx. 580 square nautical miles of sea floor with powerful Air Cannons that will blast every 10 to 20 seconds for 42 days straight.

The Chumash warn that these 260db sonic blasts, which will travel through the water and 10 miles into the earth's crust, will devastate the local marine ecosystem and possibly destroy fragile and sensitive Sacred Chumash Cultural Sites.

PG&E itself suggests that fisherman, divers, kayakers, boaters (including our tomol paddlers), and surfers remain out of the water during the tests due to the possibility of illness and even death. PG&E's Environmental Impact Report also lists a number of animals that will be unavaoidably impacted.

In a recent statement of concern, the Northern Chumash Tribal Council (NCTC) specifically points to:

Minke whale; Sperm whales; Dwarf sperm whales; Blue whales; Humpback whales; Fin whales; California gray whales; Short-finned pilot whale; Bird’s beak; Killer whales; Striped dolphins; Small beaked whales; Dell’s porpoise; Long-beaked dolphins; Rise’s dolphins; Northern right whale dolphins; Pacific white-sided dolphins; Bottle-nose dolphins; Short-beaked dolphins; Harbor seals; California sea lions; Southern sea otters; Untold sea turtles of several varieties; Numerous fish and bird species; The next generation of sea life including nearly billions of larva’s of all types

NCTC requests that no seismic testing take place until such time that alternatives have been thoroughly explored, to prevent undue harm to marine life, stating, "There is no date collection for science that is worth the possible destruction of the warp and weave of the basket of life."

The Barbareno Chumash Council (BCC) of Santa Barbara issued its own statement denouncing "all Federal, State and local bodies and especially PG&E of the possible, forthcoming or future destruction of our relatives off the coast in our waters. Any government that does not come to the defense of the defenseless, must now listen and act to our Chumash Peoples traditional ways and rights. Because of the gravity and seriousness of the proposed Seismic Testing we need to call on all peoples to act and voice their concerns to stop this act of terracide. This testing must not begin and the perpetrators must be exposed."

The Chumash are also pointing to off-shore unregistered Chumash Sacred Sites, Village Sites and Burial Grounds that have submerged or otherwise fallen into the ocean because of erosion.

The NCTC comments, "Off shore unregistered Chumash Sacred Sites must be treated the same way as on shore Chumash Sacred Sites are treated. No one would let anyone harm the animals that live on or near Chumash Sacred Sites on land, why would anyone allow this to happen off shore. Before any activity that might impact a Chumash Sacred Site mapping and surveying must be done to understand how the proposed activities might affect the Chumash Cultural Resources. All Chumash Sacred Sites must be surveyed and mapped before any project is approved in this sensitive area."

The NCTC further points to the fact that PG&E's survey area sits between two National Marine Sanctuaries:

[Such] sanctuaries provide enhanced safeguards for species within their boundaries, a protection that is lost when they leave. Other protected areas along or at the terminus of a migration route or that cover areas for important life stages of living marine resources (e.g., nesting areas for seabirds, pupping areas for seals, fish spawning aggregation sites, larval dispersal and sink sites), provide the same kind of enhanced protection. Forming relationships and developing joint projects among countries with areas of biophysical connectivity will increase the protection to these often endangered and otherwise vulnerable species.

[...] These resources are extremely important for our coastal communities to grow into the future, we are protecting them, please assist us in not destroying our priceless resources.

The Chumash have repeatedly requested that PG&E meaningfully consult ALL CHUMASH TRIBES to resolve these concerns; however, the company has so far declined to do so. According to the BCC, the State of California is similarly ignoring and dismissing the Chumash and their Rights as defined by the NATIVE AMERICAN FREEDOM OF RELIGION ACT and UN DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES; not to mention the CALIFORNIA COASTAL ACT, which assures special protection to areas and species of special biological or economic significance.

BCC concludes, "They are in violation of the International Covenant and our religious Rights. The destruction of our Chumash Culture by the State and its decision and actions to continue this seismic testing needs to stop. Stop the destruction of our relatives and our families in the Ocean. The destruction and killing off of our relatives of the Ocean is directly killing our Nation. The death or harm to our A’loly’koy and Paxat is a death blow to us Chumash."

What You Can Do

1) Email the Fish and Game Commission with concerns at: fgc.fgc.ca.gov attn: Sonke Mastrup

2) Snail Mail or FAX your concerns to the California Coastal Commission at:

California Coastal Commission, Central Coast District Office Dan Carl, Deputy Director 725 Front Street, Suite 300 Santa Cruz, CA 95060-4508 (831) 427-4863, FAX (831) 427-4877

3) Contact Senator Sam Blakeslee and ask him to reconsider at: [email protected]

Senator Sam Blakeslee 4066 State Capitol, California 95814 Phone: (916) 651-4015, Fax: (916) 445-8081

4) Call Senator Barbara Boxer at: 202 224-3553

5) Contact Congresswoman Lois Capps at:

The re-settled village of Ne'u near Lhasa, Tibet. Photo: International Campaign for Tibet

Squat grey housing blocks stand stoically against the elements in Ne’u, Tibet, conspicuously regular against a jagged mountainous back drop. Uniform in its drab greyness and organised into identical utilitarian rows the conurbation appears more like an oddly insecure detention centre than the ‘moderately prosperous society’ the Chinese state supposedly intends it to be. This is perhaps the last place one would expect to find traditionally nomadic communities, famed and yet also persecuted for their mobile lifestyle and singular understanding of communality.

Unfortunately, Ne’u and settlements like it are exactly where many nomadic peoples hailing from within three of China’s most disputed territories have found themselves. It is also, as a result of the Chinese governments new 12th Five Year Plan announced in June this year, where the future of all remaining nomadic groups from these regions lies. Nomadic Pastoralists in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region are facing this upheaval whether they like it or not, having been stripped of their legal rights to the lands.

The numbers involved in implementing this policy are huge. Within the five year period, the state intends to settle over 1.5 million nomads into more than 240,000 new homes. But what are the reasons behind this colossal and, according to the Chinese authorities, ‘very popular move’?

The ‘Nomadic Problem’

In short, the plan is designed to ‘solve the nomadic problem’ which the Chinese perceive as existing on an environmental and social level. First and foremost they argue that this measure is being taken to protect the fragile grassland environments traditionally relied on by nomadic groups. Chinese authorities say that 90 percent of China’s 988 million acres of such land shows some sign of degradation and cite overgrazing, perpetrated by nomadic herds, as the key factor.

By moving the nomads off the grasslands, the Chinese argue that they can not only conserve a vital ecosystem; but also, by ending the nomadic pastoralist way of life through settlement, induce the social and economic development of nomadic peoples in the form of increased GDP and access to state infrastructure ‘where possible.’

In the Plan’s own words, all of this is supposedly to be done out of respect and in knowledge of the “actual needs and national customs of the nomadic people, according to their wishes.”(sic) Yet, just as the state flaunts the alleged nomadic support of this policy it simultaneously casts nomadic life and customs as backward. The implicit suggestion of the new Five Year Plan is that nomads are incapable of looking after their environment--hence the blame for degradation, and suffer as social and economic anachronisms in a modern world.

This attitude toward nomadic worth has been more explicitly detailed by other Chinese sources such as the State controlled publication ‘China Daily.’ In 2009 it described the Xinjiang Autonomous Region as ‘stagnant,’ ‘under-developed’ and home to a people who “Before the founding of New China in 1949...led a life of poverty and hardship.” This appraisal refers directly to the nomadic peoples of the region as well as others. In light of the evidence to follow concerning the negative effects of State control and intervention, this demonstrates not only absolute State faith in a chronically flawed idea of development, but also that little respect is truly held with relation to nomadic needs and customs as dictated by the people.

Protest as Expose

Earth Day Protest for Tibetan Nomads. (Photo by SFTHQ on flickr.)

Extensive recent protests have also challenged the plausibility of State claims that the new plan has popular nomadic support. In each concerned region nomadic people have persistently responded to plans to end their way of life by offering not compliance, but resistance and protest.

Some of the most striking examples of nomadic anger took place in Tibet in 2011 where a staggering twenty five individuals self immolate in protest. Eighteen of these were herders protesting the pre-12th Five Year Plan resettlement effort which, as of January 2011, had forcibly moved approximately 1.43 million ex-nomads into unfamiliar urban environments. Many of which were less than prosperous.

Most recently, conflict in Inner Mongolia has acted to voice the continuing distress of herding populations at the subjugation of their rights. A letter from the nomads of Imin Sum to the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre (SMHRIC) explained how “Through means of deception and force, the government is literally plundering our land.” Protests in this locality (as well as those of Hailut Township and Ar Horchin Banner), though heavily censored via internet policing, reveal the clear absence of nomadic compliance. Voices of discord have also been ignored in Xinjiang with the Human Rights Watch reporting extensive abuses of Indigenous autonomy, including freedom of speech and religious expression, at the hands of the State.

The evidence brought to bear by such acts of defiance and the need for state censorship of protest point toward nomadic perception of these policies as being aggressive attempts at enforced assimilation, not benevolent facilitations of nomadic wishes.

A Planned International Rights Violation

The plan’s clear transgression of the Nomadic Peoples needs and their desire to remain on their ancestral grasslands also has international legal implications. The initiative defies several articles of the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). These include Article Eight, part one, which states that:

“Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture”

As well as Article Ten:

“Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.”

Numerous other terms of the declaration also stand to be violated by the plan. Despite this--and a damning report from UN Special Rapporteur Mr Olivier De Schutter--the plan has somehow retained a kind of impunity, avoiding worldwide headlines.

De-bunking State Justifications

Given the 12th Five Year Plan’s attempts to disguise its violation of nomadic autonomy, it would be foolish to subsequently accept that its reasons for such violations are genuine. Enquiry into the eco-social history of the relationship between State, nomadic pastoralists and the environment casts doubt over the veracity of State claims that nomads are responsible for environmental degradation. It also radically confronts Chinese pre-conceptions of nomadic peoples as socio-economically backward and poverty stricken. This is vital as these assumptions are key to justifying the means of the plan.

Consulting independent historical, social and environmental sources rather than those backed by the Chinese state again reveals that the new settlement plan has its roots firmly planted in deceit.

The first accusation that requires de-bunking is the assertion that nomadic herds are causing over grazing, damaging grassland ecology. State authorities blame the social backwardness of nomadic commons management and outmoded traditional knowledge systems for this; subsequently stating this as a reason why the nomads are in need of development. Contrary to these claims, a careful appraisal of studies concerning nomadic lifeways suggests this blame is wrongly apportioned.

Though some overgrazing has occurred, it is very unlikely to be the result of traditional nomadic herding methods. Non-state sponsored science has found that traditional, unconstrained grazing activities actually significantly improves the quality of range lands. On the Tibetan plateau moderate and intermittent grazing has been demonstrated to increase bio-diversity, control toxic weed populations and increase soil quality by improving the carbon-nitrogen ratio. Conversely, when traditional grazing methods were observably removed from an area, as the Chinese propose they should be, toxic weed populations increased, permafrost was negatively affected and bio-diversity fell.

Other studies (PDF) in the same region  found that grazing may also be key to mitigating the effects of artificial warming on grasslands in both winter and summer seasons. Traditional grazing activity elongated the growing season, improved vegetative productivity and quality and reduced the tangible negative effects of warming.

Furthermore, the survival of such a way of life until this day through countless centuries suggests that traditional nomadic herd management was and can be environmentally stable and sustainable contrary to Chinese remonstrations. Maintaining the correct herd size in relation to the land’s carrying capacity, avoiding overgrazing, was key to prospering and sustaining life. Far from being a primitive step on the inevitable road to agriculture and industry both experts and the nomads themselves know that traditional methods were key to “a highly sophisticated adaption.”

Fact: The Dukha Peoples of Mongolia relocate 6-10 times each year, ensuring that the land always has time to recover. This is conservation at its best (Photo www.nomadictrails.com)

Living in accordance with what their environment allows, nomads represent the antithesis of backwardness. According to Tenzin Norbu, Director of the Environment and Development Desk of the Central Tibetan Administration, this traditional knowledge “holds the key to sustainability on the dry lands of the world” for the future.

A History Of Chinese Colonization

The wealth of evidence and opinion that tells of the benefits of traditional nomadic grazing has not stopped States such as China from making the unfounded assumption that nomads and their ways of life are somehow pre-modern and in need of development. The new 12th Five Year Plan preys on this ignorance of nomadic life, but a look at the history of Chinese grassland policy acts to further dent State justifications for the planned upheaval. These policies can lend some clues as to how the Chinese State has deceptively managed to rhetorically cast the nomad as the enemy of nature, making the resettlement plan somehow justifiable.

It is strange that, in the latter half of the twentieth and into the twenty first century, nomadic management strategies should independently fall out of sync with local ecosystems and cause environmental damage. This is a fair contention in light of the facts concerning above-stated traditional nomadic grazing practices. So where does the blame for overgrazing lie?

The sustainability of nomadic pastoralism as a mode of subsistence is reliant on free seasonal rotation and migration. This allows the soil and vegetable matter to recuperate after grazing, preventing over use. If disrupted this sustainability can be damaged; experts have long warned of the danger of State interventions in well-adapted nomadic management techniques, seeing through claims of ‘improvement and ‘modernization.’

Anthropologist GN Appell, for one, suggests that the only things such invasions are key to supporting is “the practice of designing futures for others and imposing their (the State’s) own economic and environmental rationality on other social systems of which they have incomplete understanding.”

The Chinese State is guilty of disturbing nomadic practices and is demonstrably responsible for much of the ecological damage that can be put down to overgrazing. Since 1950 the State, ignorant of the sustainability of nomadic practices, has implemented damaging grassland policies which have gone through numerous harmful phases. From the communes set up in 1958 which encouraged production and over stocking of the land to the fencing schemes which curbed mobility whilst increasing state control, the options needed to keep nomadic herding sustainable have been taken from the people.

Simultaneously, the social ‘improvement’ supposedly afforded by such ‘developments’ has hardly been seen. Again, recent protests demonstrate this, as does the high rate of urban poverty found in forcibly settled nomadic groups. The promises made by the State over the past sixty years are the same as those made by the new plan. It must be stated that the nomads do not want development or a monetary income. A number of different individuals, including Tenzin Norbu, have reported this, that “almost all of the residents of the concrete settlements would prefer to go back to their previous lifestyle.”

A Nomad at Drigung Valley, Tibet. The ropes and tents in the background are sewn by hand using Goat hair. Photo by lylevincent on flickr

These ignorant interventions seem to be forgotten by a State which now conveniently sees the removal of nomadic groups as the solution to a problem of its own making. Designing a sedentary future for the nomads, China is able to deflect the blame for grassland degradation which lies firmly at its own door. History here shows us that ousting traditional knowledge in favour of ‘modern’ solutions is in fact the harbinger of environmental peril.

A Resource-Motivated Deception

The unfortunate truth for the credibility of the State's justification for the new plan is that Chinese grassland policies, past and present, make very little social or ecological sense. Given the scientific and social evidence the most rational course of action the Five Year Plan could take to conserve the grasslands would be to pour its efforts into restoring a traditional nomadic way of life close to the one that existed before the 1950s. Rather than creating more dependent, impoverished citizens and resource problems, developments should be looking to foster self sustainable populations.

It would be naive to think that the Chinese are ignorant of this fact. The next question that must be asked then, is what does the State stand to gain from settling the nomads?

The most likely explanation is a disturbing one. Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia have been found, relatively recently, to contain monumentally valuable and vast mineral deposits which the Chinese have wasted little time in claiming.

In Tibet, the building of the new Golmud Lhasa railway line across the Tibetan Plateau in 2006 has ushered in a mining boom. The Chinese government, in accordance with its policy encouraging large scale explorations, has since announced plans to exploit one hundred and ten deposits in this fragile area. There is also considerable foreign investment in this venture from European and Canadian mining giants such as Rio Tinto and Eldorado Gold Corp. Nomads have protested claiming the lands have been poisoned along with their herds, yet further rail links and damming projects are under construction.

In Inner mongolia, home to a quarter of the worlds total coal reserves and a large portion of its rare metals, a similar story is unfolding. Greenpeace has warned China that further exploration could cause a water crisis affecting both people and fragile grassland ecosystems. It has also found that numerous areas have already suffered accelerated degradation. Yet the companies involved are still planning to increase production.

Xinjiang Autonomous Region hosts vast coal, gas and oil reserves. In 2008, 27.22 million tonnes of crude oil were extracted. Further growth is forecast with the region partaking in a so called ‘black gold rush.’ The regions largest sector is that of petrochemicals and success and development is consistently judged by the number of large projects in the region.

The details of these extensive resource exploitations are of course omitted from official Chinese explanations. This further suggests that the resettlement of the nomadic population is little more than an attempt to follow the path of least resistance to achieving total control of these profitable lands. It is a story we have seen before, in 1848 in California and all over the world since. Extraction techniques may have moved on, governments may now outwardly mitigate against human and environmental losses, but still cultures are crushed the world over to allow the exploitation of one resource or another.

Such projects are also likely to be accountable for a lions share of the direct (caused by large projects) and indirect (warming effects) degradation claimed by the Chinese authorities.

The Inconvenient Truths

China may have rolled out new tax breaks for sustainable rural initiatives and it may be presenting the world with a seemingly-green solution to nomadic over grazing; but the facts tell us these are greenwashing initiatives. They are designed to distract us from the slew of new and incredibly harmful extractive projects increasing in the same, and soon to be 'uncontested', areas. The impacts will not be countered by green industry.

The 12th Five Year Plan pretends to be at home in a sustainable development paradigm. It claims to be acting in nomadic and environmental best interests, but the insistence of these claims is not enough to conceal the increasingly damaging and profitable ecological extraction initiatives which provide the true incentive to State policies.

Hopefully the myths of this plan have been, to a degree at least, dispelled here. The reality which rushes in to fill the gaps left by misinformation is an unsettling one. It is a reality that suggests China stands for illegally extinguishing a whole cultural system and jeopardizing of some of the world's most precious ecosystems for the sake of economic growth and production. It is also a reality which tells us that it will be achieved via national and international dishonesty.

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously agreed to organize a high-level plenary meeting in 2014, to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP).

If all went according to plan, the conference would bring together Indigenous Nations and Nation States "to share perspectives and best practices on the realization of the rights of indigenous peoples and to pursue the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," in the words of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples.

Given the sheer number of indigenous rights-based conflicts around the world--there are over 500, including the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil, the Tar Sands in Canada and the systematic suppression of the Peoples of West Papua by the government of Indonesia--such a conference is desperately needed.

The question is: will the conference go according to plan? Will it really provide the space that Indigenous Peoples need to advance their basic rights? Or, will it be turned into yet another UN-sponsored sideshow that accomplishes nothing substantive?

We're still a couple years away from the actual conference, so it's too early to say for sure. However, recent developments may provide an answer.

For some time now, work has been underway to draft the modalities resolution for the world conference. It's a resolution like any other: It outlines the aspirations of the conference, the methods it will use for making decisions, and so on. The document would probably put the average reader to sleep; but that's not the problem.

Over the last several days, a number of disturbing changes have been made to the draft to accommodate member states at the expense of Indigenous Peoples. It has caused quite the stir among the North American Delegation of the Indigenous Global Coordinating Group* (GCG) which is tasked with coordinating Indigenous participation at the WCIP.

One of the North American Delegates, Debra Harry, who is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, was kind enough to outline the more significant areas of concern. She observes:

In pp1. reference was deleted to the right of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination and to participate in decision-making in matters affecting them.

In Para 1 the Conference was reduced from 2 days to 1 ½ days. [Editor's note, the conference was originally supposed to be 3 days]

In Paras 3. b) and c) Indigenous Peoples involvement in the final selection of speakers was removed.

In 3.h) participation of organizations and institutions of Indigenous peoples was limied, with the final determination of who will participate to be decided by Member States.

And finally, Para 9 places the approval of the outcome document of the Conference solely in the hands of Member States.

You can see the changes for yourself in the attachments below.

While the modalities resolution does not deal with any of the substantive issues that need to be worked on at conference, the alterations that Debra Harry outlines severely undermines the best possible outcomes of the conference. By placing approval of the outcome document squarely in the hands of member states, it ensures that the conference will go down the path of every other major UN-sponsored event where Indigenous Peoples have been marginalized and censored.

Kent Lesbock of the Owe Aku International Justice Project (Owe Aku IJP) said it best:

"We hate to say so, but we told you so... The states and their collaborators within the Indigenous caucus had no intention of holding an open, transparent, balanced conference based on the Declaration, human rights of Indigenous peoples or treaties. Do you really think there will be any "outcomes" of value given the nature of the dictatorial modalities and the over-willingness of the GCG to compromise on everything? This conference under the modalities being proposed in this latest version, reduces the participation of Indigenous leaders to tourists in the gallery and denies our existence as peoples and nations. Further participation by any Indigenous nation or support of the demeaning modalities being proposed is nothing less than collaboration with colonial practices and a betrayal of the work of our ancestors and relatives."

Up until a few weeks ago, Owe Aku IJP was participating in the formation of the long-awaited event. However, after "seeing the writing on the wall," Owe Aku IJP walked away.

The North American delegation, on the other hand, will likely push on in an effort to salvage what's left of "the conference that could" but won't change the commonplace situation of Indigenous Peoples across the globe.

In a statement issued late last night, Debra Harry and Arthur Manuel formally responded to the changes. While taking a more conservative approach, they state unequivocally that "the North American Indigenous Peoples Caucus does not accept, endorse or support the draft modalities document transmitted to us ... on September 14, 2012."

Unfortunately, regardless of their opposition, the draft resolution is expected to be approved some time today.

Attatchment(s)

Previous Draft of the Modalities document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (PDF)

Here's a brief list of Traditional Two Spirit names I put together in preparation for the upcoming show about Two Spirits on APTN Investigates

Download the list in a PDF here 

1.        Acoma: mujerado  or qo-qoy-mo  or kokwina

2.        Aleut: achnucek

3.        Anishnawbe: Ougokweniini (male)

4.        Arapaho: haxu'xan (male)

5.        Assiniboine: win'yan inkwenu'ze winktan (male)

6.        Atsugewi: brumaiwi (female)

7.        Bella Coola: sx'ints (male)

8.        Blackfoot: sakwo'mapi akikiwan (female)

9.        Cheyenne: hee-man-eh or he'emen (male) and hetaneman         (female)

10.    Chukchi (Alaskan Bering Straight): yirka-la ul

11.    Coeur d'Alène: st'amia

12.    Cocopa: warhameh (female)

13.    Crow: boté (male)

14.    Dakota Sioux: koskalaka (male) and koskalaka winyan or winkta or winkte winyan (female)

15.    Eskimo (Chugach): aranu'tiq (male)

16.    Eskimo (St. Lawrence):         anasik (male) and uktasik (female)

17.    Flathead: ntalha (female)

18.    Fox: i-coo-coo-a

19.    Hawai'ian: Mähü or mahu [also in Polynesia and Tahiti; cf Fa'afafine]

20.    Hidatsa: miati or biatti

21.    Hopi: hova (male)

22.    Hotcâk: dedjángtcowinga (male)

23.    Huchnom: iwap kuti

24.    Illinois: chelxodelean(e) or ickoue ne koussa (female)

25.    Isleta: lhunide

26.    Juaneño: kwit

27.    Kaniagmiut: shupan

28.    Keres: kokwimu (male)

29.    Klamath: tw!inna'ek (female)

30.    Kodiak: achnucek

31.    Kutenai: titqattek (female)

32.    Laguna: mujerado or kokwimu or kokwe'ma (male)

33.    Lakota Sioux: winkte (male) and winkte winyan (female)

34.    Lassik: murfidai (male)

35.    Luiseño:  cuit or cuut

36.    Maidu: suku (male and female)

37.    Mandan: mihdacke (male)

38.    Maricopa: kwiraxame' (female)

39.    Miami: waupeengwoatar (male)

40.    Miwok: osabu (male)

41.    Mohave: alyha (male) and hwame (female)

42.    Navajo: nadle or nadleeh or nádleehí(male and female); nadleeh <family name> baa (female)

43.    Nomlaki: walusaor tohket

44.    Ojibwa: agokwa (male) and okitcitakwe (female)

45.    Omaha: mexoga

46.    Oto: mixo'ge (male)

47.    Paiute, Northern: Tübas or t'üBáse or moyo'ne or tüBázanàna (male); Düba's or Moroni noho Tüvasa (female)

48.    Paiute, Southern: Tüwasawuts or maipots or onobakö or töwahawöts or Maai'pots (male)

49.    Patwin: Panaro bobum pi (male)

50.    Piegan: ninauposkitzipspe (female)

51.    Pima: wiik'ovat (male)

52.    Plains Cree: a:yahkwew or a-yahkwew (male)

53.    Pomo, Northern: das (male)

54.    Pomo, Southern: t!un (male)

55.    Ponca: misu'ga (male)

56.    Potawatomi: m'netokwe (male)

57.    Quinault: keknatsa'nxwixw(male)

58.    Sanpoil: sinta'xlau'wam (female)

59.    Sauk: i-coo-coo-a

60.    Salinan: joyas (male)

61.    Shasta: gitukuwaki (male)

62.    Shoshone: tennewyppe or tená-wipeh (male)

63.    Shoshoni: tainna wa'ippe (male) and sungwe or taikwahni wa'ippe or waippu (female)

64.    Shoshoni (Bannock): tuva'sa (male)

65.    Shoshoni (Gosiute): tuvasa (male)

66.    Shoshoni (Lemhi): tübasa or tenanduakia (male); Tübasa tenanduakia waip:ü sunwe (female)

67.    Sioux: winkte (male)

68.    Tewa: kwidó or kweedó (male) and senp'aa (female)

69.    Tiwa: lhunide (male)

70.    Tübatulabal: huiy (male)

71.    Ute: tozusuhzooch (male)

72.    Wailaki: clele (male)

73.    Winnebago: dedjángtcowinga (male)

74.    Wishram: ikte'laskait (male)

75.    Yana: lo'ya (male)

76.    Yokuts: tongochim (male)

77.    Yurok: wegern (male)

78.    Yuki: musp-iwap (female) and naip (female)

79.    Yum: kwe'rhame (female) or kurami (female)

80.    Zapotec: ira’muxe

Concerned by the destructive advance of the Bonyic hydroelectric dam, a group of Naso protestors are now making an urgent plea for international solidarity.

Tensions are mounting in the indigenous Naso territory in Bocas del Toro province, western Panama, where protestors have blocked access to the Bonyic Hydroelectric project, a 30MW dam currently under construction on the banks of the Bonyic river.

The Naso are one of Panama’s most marginalised indigenous groups, currently numbering approximately 4000. Their populations are concentrated in eleven different communities on the forested banks of the Rio Teribe, which they call Tjer’di (Grandmother Water) – a vital source of material and spiritual sustenance. Living in relative isolation for centuries, the Naso have retained many aspects of their pre-Columbian culture, including a monarchy – one of the last remaining in Latin America. They are also renowned masters of bush-craft, hunting, fishing and rainforest medicine. Daily life revolves around subsistence farming, and their language, part of the Chibchan family, is critically endangered.

Perched in the heart of their territory, the Bonyic dam, a project of the Colombian company Públicas de Medellin, has been fraught with controversy since its inception six years ago. Notoriously, it caused a schism in Naso society when the then Naso King, Tito Santana, negotiated and reached an agreement with the company without the full consent of his subjects. Today, Tito lives in exile and a volatile situation is once again developing with plans for a new access road and a range of tunnels.

The protestors, who number around 100, say the road will cut through an ancient archaeological site, which has already been damaged by bulldozers. They say the site is extensive and that they have collected a variety of ceramic shards, implements, huacas (pre-Colombian ornaments) and a piece of human bone from the area, indicating it was once perhaps a burial ground.

Sitting at the edge of a makeshift encampment, Ilisa Castillo revealed one such object found in the earth of her finca. Although heavily eroded, it appeared to show signs of carvings. The company has promised to dispatch archaeologists to the area for further assessment, but Castillo is concerned that they may not provide a fair and independent evaluation.

Archaeological finds. Photo: Richard Arghiris

Other protestors are concerned about the leakage of contaminates from the Bonyic project into the Bonyic and Teribe rivers, which the Naso utilise for drinking water.

They reported a discharge, described as ‘whitish’ and ‘grey’, and are now concerned for their health. The Ministry of Health has taken samples of the water, but at the time of collection, operations at Bonyic had ceased for over a week (at which point there was no visible sign of contaminates) – official results of the tests are pending. Beyond the Naso territory, the Teribe river flows into the Changuinola river - a primary source of drinking water for the nearby city of Changuinola.

Finally, compensation remains an on-going issue for some protestors who are still negotiating with the company for the sale of their lands.

Protests began on Friday 14 September with one group assembled close to the gates of the project and another convened on the main road into the territory. The protestors later called a halt to their action pending negotiations. On Wednesday 19 September, talks with the Panamanian Vice-Minister, the company and a select group of Naso leaders, were held in Changuinola to little avail.

Angry remonstrations following dialogue with the government. Photo: Richard Arghiris

The scenes on the main road, where some fifty protestors had assembled close to the banks of the Rio Teribe, saw King Alexis Santana heavily reprimanded for failing to include those most affected by the project in the discussions, and for failing to properly address their concerns. Protests will recommence on Thursday 20 September and there is now palpable anxiety about a possible clash with the police, who have a well-documented history of violence towards indigenous protestors. The area where the protest is taking place is very isolated and the mainstream media are largely ignoring the situation.

Politically, the current troubles in the Naso territory are framed by the wider struggle for autonomy.

“I see the urgent necessity that the naso territory is transformed into a Comarca named Comarca Naso Tjer’di,” said Adolfo Villagra, who runs the Wekso eco-lodge on the banks of the Teribe River.

He believes that a Comarca – a type of semi-autonomous territory that is enjoyed by five of Panama’s eight indigenous groups - will afford the Naso future protection against invasive mega-projects. Additionally, he issued a plea regarding the protection of the territory’s pristine rainforest environment:

“To those groups that recognise that we must care for the environment for future generations, we ask the support of the international community because we have a treasure called La Amistad National Park, world patrimony of humanity. We invite them here that they might know the unique value of what we have in the Naso territory, in the matters of environment, culture and traditions...”

He concluded by saying:

“With regards to human rights, we ask for urgent help to at least relieve the pressure that we have from the government. We have said that we must pay with blood because the government doesn’t listen to us or recognise our land…”

Here's a featured editorial from our very own Jay Taber. We have a lot more like this if you're interested.

In the early 1990s, national Anti-Indian organizations joined the Washington Association of Realtors and the Building Industry Association in Washington state to create property rights groups with sufficient funding and organizational support to defeat implementation of Growth Management environmental protection by altering the political climate. Key to that Wise Use Movement task was the recruitment of paramilitary white supremacists willing to threaten tribal and environmental activists, thus generating widespread fear among communities in fourteen counties statewide.

Four years into their campaign to mobilize resentment, eight white supremacist Christian-Patriot militia members were sentenced to federal prison for violations of explosives and firearms statutes, in which they planned to murder their political opponents. I later wrote an eyewitness account of this turmoil.

Today, in the Klamath River Basin of Northern California and Southern Oregon, tribes and environmentalists are threatened from a mobilization of resentment by the agricultural industry, with assistance from national Anti-Indian organizations. As Charles Tanner Jr. reports at the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, the nascent hate campaign is receiving active support from the Tea Parties.

Whether this confluence of white nationalism with industrial power will be able to derail restoration of the Klamath River is hard to tell at this point in time. What is certain, though, is that the reshaping of the political landscape there -- as in Washington state twenty years ago -- by white supremacists with industry backing, is unlikely to be one conducive to either conservation or cooperation.

*Additional information about the Wise Use Movement and its Anti-Indian component is available at Public Good Project, most notably Wise Use in Northern Puget Sound, as well as at the Center for World Indigenous Studies DayKeeper Press.

Wikipedia pages on the Militia Movement and the Christian Patriot Movement contain a number of helpful references. News articles about the connection between industry-financed property rights field agents and the militias ran in the Portland Oregonian in 1996, and in the Anacortes American in 1997. Neither are available online.

Steal this State by Paul de Armond and Jim Halpin, an article about Wise Use and county secession, ran in the August 17, 1994 issue of Eastsideweek; Merchant of Fear, an expose by de Armond and Halpin of Wise Use fundraiser Alan Gottlieb, ran in the October 26, 1994 issue of Eastsideweek, a defunct Seattle area publication. Angry White Guys with Guns: the Rise of the Citizen Militias, by Daniel Junas, ran in the Spring 1995 issue of Covert Action Quarterly. All three articles are transcribed on the Public Good site.The July 1996 FBI arrest of Washington State Militia/Freemen and the subsequent trial was covered in the Seattle Times, as well as in the Bellingham Herald by crime reporter Cathy Logg. The Herald stories are not archived online, but the transcript of the federal indictment of the Christian Patriots is available at Public Good.

Coalition for Human Dignity compiled a thorough documentation of the Christian-Patriot militias, but their online archive disappeared after they disbanded as an organization. Western States Center also compiled reports on Wise Use violence, but these apparently have not been digitally maintained. Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment played a key role in education and organizing in the Pacific Northwest, but disbanded at the end of the 1990s. For scholars, Political Research Associates has compiled a useful bibliography for Studying the US Political Right.

Photo by AntarcticBoy on flickr. Some rights reserved.

A group of 30 Indigenous representatives have issued a joint statement opposing offshore Arctic oil drilling and demanding that governments consult with them for rights to drill on their traditional lands. The joint statement, which further calls solidarity from all Arctic Indigenous Peoples, follows the international conference “Arctic Oil: Exploring the Impacts on Indigenous Communities”, held August 14-16, 2012, in Usinsk, Komi Republic, Russia.

We, the representatives of the Indigenous Peoples of the North, the participants of the international conference “Arctic Oil: Exploring the Impacts on Indigenous Communities”, held August 14-16, 2012, in Usinsk, Komi Republic, Russia, address to all Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic, governments of Arctic nations and international organizations.

Joint statement OF INDIGENOUS SOLIDARITY FOR ARCTIC PROTECTION We the Peoples of the North have for too long experienced the oppression of our Peoples and the barbaric destruction of our land. It is time that we join forces and demands that the oil companies and the Arctic States change their path and start to listen to the voices of the Indigenous Peoples residing in these lands.

The Peoples of the North will no longer be bought with dimes and cents to stand silently by while the oil companies destroy our native land. Our culture and history cannot be bought off and replaced with pipelines and drill rigs. Our way of living defines who we are and we will stand up and fight for our nature and environment. Too many have been reduced to depend on the generosity of the oil companies. Our rights and ability to sustain ourselves must not be trampled by others’ endless hunger for profits. Our lands and culture must be preserved for the generations to come.

If divided, we will not be able to withstand the pressure from oil producing companies to open up our homes for destruction. Today we gather our forces and refuse to continue to stand silently by, witnessing the destruction of our land.

We stand together in our call for:

A ban on all offshore oil drilling in the Arctic shelf. We cannot accept the ecological risks and destructive impacts of a spill on our lands and in our seas. The irresponsible practices of oil companies everywhere have provided us with more than enough evidence that oil spills in the Arctic seas will be inevitable. At the same time there are no effective and tested methods to prevent or clean up oil spills in the freezing Arctic seas.

A moratorium on onshore oil drilling in the Arctic. Oil companies have repeatedly shown that they have no respect for anything other than their profits. Until the oil companies and the national governments of the Arctic take the responsibility for the destructive impacts on the environment, the Indigenous lands must be closed for them.

All extraction and industrialization on Indigenous land should only be carried out with the explicit consent of the Peoples of the land. Furthermore, Indigenous communities must benefit socially and economically from any industrial extraction. We will not let the Arctic become another industrial area, destroyed to produce profit for the industry.

We call for all Arctic Indigenous Peoples to join us and support this resolution.

Signatories of the final statement

Achuar leaders in Ottawa, Canada (2012) Photo by Amazon Watch

The Achuar Peoples have a won a major victory in their eight-year struggle against a Canadian oil company in the Amazon rainforest. Yesterday, Talisman Energy announced that it will be withdrawing from the Achuar's ancestral territory--and all of Peru--just as soon as it finishes some ongoing commercial transactions.

"We have fought long and hard against Talisman's drilling in our territory because of the negative environmental and social impacts we have seen from oil drilling around the world," said Peas Peas Ayui, President of the National Achuar Federation of Peru (FENAP), in a recent press release by Amazon Watch. "Now that Talisman is leaving we can focus on achieving our own vision for development and leave a healthy territory for future generations."

The Calgary-based company first bought into the Achuar's territory in 2004 by investing in Block 64 with US-based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy). As of 2011, the company owned 50% of Block 64 and 70% of Block 101. These oil blocks, covering some 4 million acres (1.7 million hectares) of pristine rainforest, entirely overlap the Achuar's ancestral territory, says Amazon Watch.

From day one, the Achuar made it clear that they were not going to just sit back and let another oil company have their way with the land, which has already been contaminated by 30 years of exploitation by Oxy and more recently by Argentina's Pluspetrol.

Amazon Watch, which has worked alongside the Achuar since 2004, provides some background:

"Oxy cut costs [to its drilling operations] by dumping 9 billion gallons of ‘produced waters' directly into the rivers instead of re-injecting them. These ‘produced waters' contain highly toxic substances such as barium, lead and arsenic and together with hundreds of ongoing oil spills have destroyed hunting and fishing grounds and left the Achuar with severe health problems.

"Adults and local children have tested positive for dangerously high blood-lead levels, and local residents cite countless tales of unexplained diseases, tumors, skin ailments and miscarriages from oil exposure. Fish and local game are not fit for consumption and fraught with contamination, and the soil is also no longer fit to produce agricultural crops on which the Achuar depend for subsistence."

Talisman was headed down the same dirty path. Despite enormous local opposition, the company went ahead with seismic testing and exploratory drilling operations. It also built up a false image for shareholders, the government and the international community by claiming to have support from communities and so-called good neighbor agreements with 66 communities downriver from their operations.

The company never had such widespread backing--a fact that Achuar Leaders made clear throughout their four separate trips to the Canadian landscape.

"Talisman has had to face up to what the Achuar told them when they first invested in Block 64: The company cannot drill without the consent of the Achuar people," said Gregor MacLennan, Peru Program Coordinator at Amazon Watch. "Talisman's exit sends a clear message to the oil industry: Trampling indigenous rights in the rush to exploit marginal oil reserves in the Amazon rainforest is not an option."

"We are the owners and the original people of this land," said Peas Ayui. "No outside person or company may enter our territory by force, without consultation and without asking us. We have been fighting against oil development on our land for 17 years and we maintain the same vision to protect our territory and resources for future generations. Let this be a clear message to all oil, mining and logging companies: we will never offer up our natural wealth so that they can extract our resources and contaminate our land."

By the looks of things, Talisman has just clued in to that fact. Richard Herbert, Talisman's vice-president of international exploration, told the The Canadian Pres that the company is leaving because they were "unable to build a material resource position in Peru."

Barabaig villagers near Mount Hanang in Tanzania

In this month's Underreported Struggles: Tahltan set up roadblock against the Red Chris Mine; China announces plan for a $4.7 billion Tibetan theme park; Bangladesh suppresses Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations; Dongria Kondh renew opposition to UK mining company.

August 2012

There is grave concern surrounding the safety of Garifunas who are taking part in a new land recuperation project in the region of Vallecito, Honduras. The Garifunas possesses legal ownership title to the land, however, there are many outside interests who want the land for themselves, including agri-business oligarchs like Miguel Facusse (the largest landholder in Honduras). According to Honduras Resists, paramilitaries have since mobilized on motorcycles and 4 x 4 vehicles. Armed to the teeth, the paramilitaries appear to be ready for a Garifuna massacre.

Concerned members of the Tahltan Nation have set up a road block in opposition to the Red Chris Mine, a project that is being constructed in a senstive area that's home to many species of animals including Stone Sheep, Mountain Goat, Moose and Caribou. The Tahltans depend upon these animals for subsistence and believe that the mine will destroy the animal’s habitat and calving grounds that is sacred to the Tahltans.

The fight for the rights of the indigenous San people in Namibia received a major boost with the formation of the San Support Organisations’ Association of Namibia (SSOAN). SSOAN brings together international, national and community-based NGOs, multilateral and bilateral donors, and research and training institutions to promote the rights of the San in Namibia, improve coordination of the various San support initiatives and harmonize the approaches to San development.

An entire Yanomami community is believed to have been wiped out by illegal gold miners (garimpeiros) in southern Venezuela near the border with Brazil. An initial investigation led by local Yanomami uncovered the remains of several charred bodies, prompting the government to carry out its own official investigation. That investigation came to a close after a mere two days. The investigators, unable to find any kind of evidence, abandoned their search. It's important to note that, while they didn't find any proof of a massacre, they also didn't find the village where the massacre reportedly took place. The government has since issued a formal statement claiming that the whole thing was a media plot aimed at causing 'uncertainty.'

The Chinese government recently announced that it intends to launch a USD $4.7 billion theme park project in Tibet to attract tourists. The Tibetan Theme Park - located on the outskirts of the city of Lhasa - will occupy some 800 hectares of land. Tibetans have described the project as the “Disneyfication of Tibet“ rather than a genuine sharing and preservation of Tibetan culture.

The Dongria Kondh, who've all but faded away from the international community's gaze, renewed their opposition to Vedanta Resources' plan to mine a sacred mountain for bauxite. Ahead of Vedanta's AGM in London, the Dongria Kondh sent a strong message to the company's chairman Anil Agarwal, "Even if Anil Agarwal himself comes here, we won’t leave our land. We will use all our strength to make them leave this place. Let us live our lives in peace".

The Lower Elwa Klallam, a federally recognized Indigenous Nation located on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, have had much to celebrate in the last month: the discovery of a ‘Legendary’ sacred site, the uncovering of archaeological evidence for ancient inhabitation of the Elwha river area, and the return of the salmon run to the Elwha’s middle range. All of this has been able to take place because of the removal of an almost-century-old dam.

The Aché community of Kue Tuvy reported that peasant groups are attempting to seize portions of their ancestral lands in northeastern Paraguay. According to the community, the peasant groups are also engaging in illegal logging activities and they are threatening to kill any Aché who try to stop it. Journalists who have attempted to cover the story on the ground have also been threatened.

A Barabaig community in Tanzania has teamed up with the Indigenous Knowledge Project (IKP) to develop a sustainable economy that works for the people. The initiative is a rarity, founded on the ideals of sharing, autonomy, participation and sustainability. In the words of IKP co-founder Heather Cruise, it has to be “heart-to-heart, grass roots, participatory.” In this special series, Intercontinental Cry takes a look at the project, its purpose and the people involved in it.

The Guarani community of Arroio Korá was attacked by a group of gunmen in southwestern Brazil. According to available reports, the gunmen terrorized the community for several hours, shooting guns, shouting threats and burning crops in an attempt to expel the community from their ancestral lands. One community member was dragged away during the attack and has not been seen since. According to the community, the gunmen spent "hours" terrorizing the community, shooting their weapons, shouting threats and burning crops. One indigenous person, Eduardo Pires, was also kidnapped by the gunmen. He has not been since.

The Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) accepted the Nigerian government's Hydro-carbon Pollution Restoration Programme (HYPREP) for the clean-up and restoration of areas devastated by oil pollution in the Niger Delta. A major question remains however, among the Ogoni Peoples and all international observers: will the government carry out the programme, or will it fade into nothing? Time will tell.

The Ktunaxa Nation is attempting to challenge the British Colombia government's recent approval of a controversial year-round ski resort that will sit in Qat'muk (GOT-MOOK), a profoundly sacred area to the Ktunaxa Peoples in southeastern British Columbia.The Ktunaxa are now in the process of applying for Judicial Review of the approval.

An International Fact-Finding Mission (IFFM) recently confirmed that the Philippines-based A. Brown Company, Inc. never had the right to open a palm oil plantation in Opol, Misamis Oriental in Southern Philippines, where it displaced hundreds of families from the Higaonon Peoples. The IFFM has since issued a call for A Brown to immediately pull-out of Opol and respect the farmers' and indigenous peoples' right to their ancestral lands.

The Canadian government is getting ready to introduce legislation that would allow individuals to own private property on reserves, effectively abrogating collective ownership of reserve land for any First Nations that adopts the law. The government claims this will encourage economic development; but the reality is far less economical. As Pam Palmater observes, the new law will open the floodgates for the gradual takeover of indigenous lands by non-First Nations peoples, including land-holding companies, banks, corporations; heck, even bored Canadians looking for an adventure!

Three indigenous Mapuche women occupied the UNICEF headquarters in Santiago, Chile for over one week. The women were requesting that the organization ask the Ministry of Interior to withdraw police forces from Mapuche communities in southern Chile. The Bangladesh government placed an official embargo on the celebrations of this year's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Aug 9. Despite the imposed restriction, however, Indigenous Peoples throughout the country attempted to celebrate the event. At least one clash followed in Joypurhat district, with police carrying out baton charges on a group of peaceful protesters. Elsewhere in Bangladesh, police set up blockades to prevent people from reaching any celebrations.

Bangladesh wasn't the only government to lash out against Indigenous Peoples on the International Day. Indonesia similarly Indonesia refused to let Papuans take part in any kind of celebrations; and when Papuan leaders in Serui proceeded to move forward with their plans anyways, they too were confronted. On Aug 9, the combined forces of Brimob (Police Mobile Brigade), Densus 88 and TNI (Indonesian Army) blocked access to Mantembu District and destroyed several houses. At least eleven people were arrested, including a pregnant woman. Elsewhere, peaceful demonstrators were terrorized by the police, forcing many to seek refuge in the jungle.

Videos of the Month

The Demarest Factor - This film is part of an ongoing investigation which has exposed US military mapping of communally owned indigenous land in the Southern Sierra in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Unis’tot’en Action Camp - This is the second video subMedia.tv has produced about the struggle to stop a natural gas transport project called the Pacific Trails Pipeline or PTP.

La Badil (No Other Choice) - a new documentary that was filmed undercover in the Moroccan controlled territories of Western Sahara, on the eve of the second anniversary of the 2010 uprisings at Gdeim Izik.

Ceremony is not a Crime

After 2 months of public pressure, thanks to people around the world, the US Forest Service agreed to close the McCloud River for the Winnemem Wintu Coming of Age ceremony in June-July, 2012. But instead of protecting the Winnemem from harassment, the Forest Service became the biggest harassers, interrupting ceremony every day. By the end of the four days, they had slapped Chief Sisk with citations for federal crimes, with penalties totaling $10,000 in fines or 1 year in jail.

Respectfully tell the FS to rescind the tickets, and respect the Winnemem's religion! Email FS Chief Tidwell directly at [email protected] or (202) 205-8439 as well as Janie Hipp Senior Adviser for Tribal Affairs USDA at [email protected].

Photo by Greenpeace

Herakles Farms, a subsidiary of the New York-based investment firm Herakles Capital, has withdrawn its application to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) after a coalition of environmental and human rights organizations called attention to the reality of its exposed its proposed 73,000-hectare palm oil plantation in Cameroon. They exposed the project for what is: bad for the environment and bad for the people.

Unsurprisingly, the company has since denied the allegations, claiming instead that its decision to withdraw was based on a need to plant seedlings from the nursery to the field. However, the NGOs who filed the complaint--and the local communities whose livelihoods are threatened by the massive project--know better.

Herakles Farms, which claims to be “addressing a dire humanitarian need,” is developing its palm oil plantation through a 99-year land lease that was obtained by "SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon, Ltd. (SGSOC), a company that is wholly-owned by Herakles Capital, observes Corpwatch.

The company has never consulted or gained the free, prior and informed consent of many local communities. Instead, Herakles has chosen to pretend that it did.

The company has also fought hard to portray itself as pro-environment, bu that too, couldn't be further from the truth. “From its very name, American-owned [SGSOC] presents a pro-environment, pro-resources image,” writes Frederic Mousseau, policy director of the Oakland Institute in a new report that was just released. “(But it) is also part of a strategy to deceive the public into believing that there is logic to cutting down rainforests to make room for palm oil plantations.”

A notable part of that strategy involves an impressive-sounding partnership with All for Africa, an NGO that's ostensibly dedicated to poverty reduction. The NGO promises to bring additional development to the region through the use of palm oil revenue. It has also expresses a commitment to plant trees in the region. It's all well and good; but there's one small problem: The NGO is habitually silent when it comes to the fact that the plantation will cause major deforestation and loss of biodiversity. It also takes great care to navigate around any local and international opposition to the project.

Now for a reality check: Bruce Wrobel, the CEO of Herakles, is also the director at All for Africa.

“The Herakles Farms plantation project in Cameroon is an example of the wave of land investments in Africa that have previously been exposed by the Oakland Institute", said Frederic Mousseau. Once again, the investor is deceiving the public into believing that forests must be cut down and small farms erased in order to alleviate hunger and poverty. International attention needs to be mobilized to support local opposition and prevent future resource grabs."

There is considerable local opposition, despite claims to the contrary.

A newly released film by the Oakland Institute, “The Herakles Debacle”, puts a welcomed spotlight on that opposition and documents the scope of destruction that the project will cause.

“Plantation jobs have always been modern day slavery,” says Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front, Cameroon’s main opposition party, in an interview for the film. “We’ve seen a lot of industrial plantations develop around this area and nothing, absolutely nothing, has happened positively to the population.”

“Everybody here is self employed,” Okie Bonaventure Ekoko, a cocoa farmer from Mboko village told the film maker, Franck Bieleu. “There is no advantages that the people here will have (from Herakles investments). We don’t need them, we are fine.”

“And if they come and say they want to take this land from us, we are not ready for it,” says Esoh Sylvanus Asui, a farmer from Bombe Konye village. “We will fight and we will die for our land.”

Local opposition is on the rise, notes Cultural Survival. At the recent Meangwe II meeting in Cameroon, a wide range of people came together to make their position clear. The meeting brought together Elders, Traditional title holders, farmers, teachers, community leaders, hunters and NGOs from the different villages in and around the proposed plantation.

In their final statement (PDF), participants of the meeting rejected a number of the company's false claims by Herakles, They further rejected the theft of their lands and the destruction of their livelihoods, the burden of which they will be forced to carry on their own, while the company prospers.

No amount of greenwashing can change the facts.

Also See

Stop Oil Palm Plantation from Destroying Africa's Ancient Rainforests

Cameroon: Protests Show Dissent on Palm Oil Project

Letters of Opposition to Herakles Farms Project

How to make forest destruction look like “development”

Petition: Against deforestation in Cameroon