Manganese matters
A metal of consequence for women and communities in South Africa affected by mining and the global energy transition Manganese has been identified as one of the key minerals for the realisation of the energy transition needed to address the climate crisis. It is,…
Putin’s Climate Envoy Should Be Persona Non Grata
He’s no climate expert, but he’s a champion when it comes to repression. John Kerry’s Russian counterpart has blood on his hands. Kerry, President Obama’s secretary of state and his chief negotiator for the Paris climate accord, now serves as President Biden’s Special Presidential…
‘Keystone XL is dead!’
Dallas Goldtooth wrote on Twitter: “We took on a multi-billion dollar corporation and we won!!” The Keystone XL pipeline project is officially terminated, the sponsor company announced Wednesday. Calgary-based TC Energy is pulling the plug on the project after Canadian officials failed to persuade…
Why Indigenous knowledge should be an essential part of how we govern the world’s oceans
Our moana (ocean) is in a state of unprecedented ecological crisis. Multiple, cumulative impacts include pollution, sedimentation, overfishing, drilling and climate change. All affect the health of both marine life and coastal communities. To reverse the decline and avoid reaching tipping points, we must…
Alaska Native corporation to protect its land, dealing blow to massive gold mine project
The nearly $20 million agreement includes land near Bristol Bay that covers part of the company’s proposed route for transporting ore Growing up in a small village in southwest Alaska, Sarah Thiele had a childhood defined by sockeye salmon. Her father caught the silvery-red…
‘I promised Brando I would not touch his Oscar’: the secret life of Sacheen Littlefeather
In 1973, she made history at the Academy Awards, appearing in place of Marlon Brando, declining his statuette and making a speech about Native American rights. She has been speaking out ever since Sacheen Littlefeather begins by announcing that this will be one of…
Canada calls on pope to apologize after Indigenous children’s remains found
Government urges apology for role Catholic church played in residential school system after remains of 215 children discovered Canada’s government has called on Pope Francis to issue a formal apology for the role the Catholic church played in Canada’s residential school system, days after the…
Alaska: Biden to suspend Trump Arctic drilling leases
US President Joe Biden’s administration will suspend oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending an environmental review. The move reverses former President Donald Trump’s decision to sell oil leases in the refuge to expand fossil fuel and mineral development. The…
A year after Arctic fuel spill, Norilsk Nickel continues to ignore Indigenous critics
On May 29, 2020, more than 21,000 tons of diesel fuel were spilled by metals giant Norilsk Nickel into the tundra of northern Russia’s Taimyr Peninsula, saturating the land and local waterways in oil. The incident is considered Russia’s worst oil spill in decades. Since then,…
Greetings, The International Indigenous Fund for Development and Solidarity Batani, along with the support of the Society for Threatened Peoples (Switzerland), is holding a series of three online meetings dedicated to international experiences in indigenous rights protection and community development. The first online meeting,…