|
Cultural Survival quarterly reports updates on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The draft
declaration has endured attacks by the governments of the United States, Canada and New Zealand (CanNZUS) and others - attacks
that were designed to undermine the collective rights of indigenous peoples given these nation-states abhorrent and genocidal
policies. But the declaration survived in a form that was approved by the nascent U.N. Human Rights Council (replacing the
former U.N. Human Rights Commission) and is waiting for a vote by the full U.N. General Assembly later this year.
[source: Cultural Survival Quarterly; Fall 2006, Volume 30, Issue 3]
>><<>><<>><<>><<
Save the Peaks Coalition (San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona) report that the city of Flagstaff has railroaded a
contract related to snowmaking on San Francisco peaks. These peaks are considered holy by more than 10 indigenous nations
within this area of the southwestern U.S. [early winter 515 / 2007 ]
link to SAVE THE PEAKS COALITION
>><<>><<>><<>><<
160 Pygmy families stuck in Mugunga - Democratic Republic of Congo: Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post reports that
Chief Byeragi Ngenderezi a worker with a Catholic relief organization - Ma Jacqui - had encouraged the familes to leave the
forest and migrate to Mugunga. The Pygmy peoples have had to suffer human rights violations and attacks by militias in the
east. After starting to teach skills like farming and fishing Ma Jacqui disappeared. Owners of the land where their camps
are have sold the land and an aid group has cut off their supplies to pressure them to return to the forest. At the time of
the writing, 15 members of the community have died from hunger or exposure. [source: Boston Sunday Globe, December 3, 2006]
>><<>><<>><<>><<
Global warming and the Inuit
The Inuit and other peoples of the arctic north of Alaska and Canada tell us that global warming is very evident in the change
of life that everyone is experiencing.
Various reports include:
-ice forms much later in winter; ice thaws much earlier in spring; rain has been seen during winter at times not ever seen
before
-waters are warmer; hunts and other daily lifeway are affected; children have even played in relatively warmer streams where
they were once too frigid to be in;
But the Inuit, last December [2003], have also chosen to take their complaints about anti-Kyoto Protocal actions by the Bush
Administration to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in order to educate the public and to pressure the Bush Administration
to act differently.
[source: "Global warming is killing us too, say Inuit," by Paul Brown, The Guardian, December 11, 2003 & Native Americas
magazine]
>><<>><<>><<>><<
A study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities indicates that the gap between the top 1% wage earners and bottom
40% wage earners is at a 70-year high. A significant percentage of the bottom 40% were women, Native Americans, Latinos and
African-Americans. The top 1% are overwhelmingly white males.
[Source: Free Speech Radio News, September 25, 2003]
>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<
|
