Cualli Motonalli! Welcome to the third installment of the Native News Roundup, bringing you the latest news on the struggles of indigenous communities from throughout the world.

Bob Lovelace and KI Six Freed By Ontario Court of Appeal
Tobi Cohen reports for the Canadian Press: “Moments after the Ontario Court of Appeal decided he’d served enough time behind bars, the last of seven aboriginal protesters jailed over disputes with mining exploration companies walked out of court saying he planned to stroll barefoot in the grass. The overcrowded courtroom, filled mostly with aboriginal supporters, burst into applause and even a court police officer shook the hand of Ardoch Algonquin First Nation’s leader Bob Lovelace who spent 3 1/2 months in jail. The eastern Ontario aboriginal leader was jailed in February for breaching an injunction that allowed Frontenac Ventures to conduct uranium exploration activities on his community’s traditional territory unhindered. The court also decided six leaders from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation had served enough time and ought to maintain their freedom. They had breached a similar injunction involving the company Platinex Inc., which sought to drill on their land some 600 kilometers north of Thunder Bay, Ont. The Appeal Court judges ruled that all seven would have their sentences reduced to time served but reserved their reasons for the ruling. (CNEWS 05/28/08)

Victory for Grassy Narrows! AbitibiBowater Retreats
Intercontinental Cry reports: “After more than a decade of direct action, the Asubpeeschoseewagong community at Grassy Narrows can finally rest easy. The industrial logging giant AbitibiBowater announced yesterday that they are retreating from the Whiskey Jack Forest, three-quarters of which is Grassy Narrows’ traditional territory.” According to the Rainforest Action Network, “The logging company is the last to cease operations in the million-acre Whiskey Jack Forest that comprises Grassy Narrows traditional territory. Its decision comes in the wake of decades of lawsuits and peaceful protests by the people of Grassy Narrows, including the longest standing logging blockade in North America.” (Intercontinental Cry and Free Grassy 06/04/08)

RCMP Evict Hereditary Chief From B.C. ‘Band’ Office
Mohawk Nation News reports: “On Saturday, May 24th, a force of twenty taser-armed RCMP officers and band council police forced Chief Kiapilano off his own land yesterday during a peaceful occupation of the Squamish band council office by Kiapilano and his supporters. On Friday morning, May 23rd, Hereditary Squamish Chief Kiapilano and a dozen supporters had swiftly occupied the offices of the state-funded “Squamish Band Council” in North Vancouver, and ordered the eviction of the entire band council. Chief Kiapilano said in a statement from inside the occupied band council office, “Our people are starving, they’re living in dilapidated homes, and these so-called ‘chiefs’ [representing the colonial government] are doing nothing for them. Now ‘chief’ Bill Williams has signed a deal with the province [British Columbia] allowing mining and destruction of more of our land. We’re here today to tell these fake leaders to leave, and we’re staying here until they’re gone.” (Mohawk Nation News 05/25/08)

Japan Officially Recognizes Ainu as Indigenous People
Shingo Ito reports from Tokyo: “Japan has for the first time recognized the Ainu as an indigenous people, pledging to support the traditionally nature-worshiping community that has endured centuries of discrimination. It is a landmark move for Japan, which has prided itself on being ethnically homogeneous but where the Ainu have sharply lower incomes and educational levels. Parliament today unanimously approved a resolution recognizing the Ainu and calling for “immediate” support to the community. The move is primarily symbolic, although it will likely open the way for economic aid. The resolution comes ahead of next month’s summit of the Group of Eight rich nations on the northern island of Hokkaido, home to most of Japan’s estimated 70,000 Ainu. The resolution submitted jointly by ruling and opposition lawmakers stipulates for the first time that the Ainu “are an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture. If our country wants to lead the international community, it is crucial for us that all indigenous people retain their honor and dignity and hand down their culture and pride to later generations,” the resolution said.” (NIT 06/06/08)

Indigenous Leaders Beaten and Publicly Humiliated in Bolivia
Franz Chavez reports for IPS: “Bolivia may have its first-ever indigenous president, but racism is alive and well in this country, as demonstrated by the public humiliation of a group of around 50 indigenous mayors, town councilors and community leaders in the south-central city of Sucre. In the city’s main square in front of the building, they were forced to kneel, shirtless, and apologize for coming to Sucre. They were also made to chant insults to Morales like “Die Evo!” They were surrounded by activists from the conservative pro-autonomy movement, who set fire to the blue, black and white MAS party flag, the multicolor flag of the Aymara people, and colorful hand-woven indigenous ponchos seized from the visiting Morales supporters, as a signal of their “victory” over the president’s grassroots support bases.” (IPS 05/27/08)

Ohio Police Attack Long Walkers
Brenda Norrell writes for the NarcoSphere: “Columbus, Ohio police attacked Long Walkers, by first pointing a taser at the head of Michael Lane and then forcing Luv the Mezenger to the ground and handcuffing him. The Longest Walk Northern Route was walking this prayer through Columbus on Monday, June 2, when police squad cars and arrest wagons arrived. Without discussion of the purpose of the prayer walk, or verifying that the Ohio Department of Transportation had been notified of the prayer walk, police attacked the walkers. Michael Lane was targeted by police with a taser. As dozens of police came at the walkers, a police officer held a taser three feet away from Lane’s head. Luv the Mezenger from Los Angeles went to the aid of Lane. At that point, police officers threw Luv on the ground and handcuffed him. Luv has been on the walk since it left California in February, walking on snowshoes over a stretch of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Longest Walk 2 for Mother Earth and protection of sacred places is being walked thirty years after the original 1978 Longest Walk, a prayer walk for Indian rights and the recognition of the inherent sovereignty of Indian people and Indian Nations. (NarcoNews 06/04/08)

For more information on the Longest Walk 2, click here

Colombian National Police Attack Nasa Indigenous Peoples, Eight Wounded
On May 21st, close to 500 indigenous Nasa were attacked by the Esmad division of the Colombian National Police with automatic weapons and explosives. The 500 Nasa had gathered at the La Emperatriz hacienda to call for just land distribution and for justice in the case of the 1991 Nilo Massacre against Nasa peoples, when they were attacked. In the confrontation, eight Nasa were seriously injured. (Indymedia Colombia 05/08)

Newfoundland and Labrador Threatens Innu Evictions
The Indian Law Resource Center reports: “More than 100 Innu families who are now occupying and using their aboriginal homeland in Newfoundland Labrador recently received eviction notices from the provincial government of Newfoundland Labrador. The Removal Notices direct Innu families to “remove all structures from Crown land and restore the site to its original conditions within 60 days of notice.” Failure to do so will result in the Crown Lands Division demolishing their homes and charging the costs of demolition to the Innu families. Robert Tim Coulter, who was part of an international fact-finding mission to Innu territory last year, said, “Innu people never gave up their land, never received compensation, and never had any adjudication of their land rights. It is contemptible that the government thinks it can force people off their land and destroy their property.” According to the Canadian Press, the affected Innu are threatening to burn down cabins in Labrador if the government carries out the evictions. “We’re going to call it ‘Labrador Burning.’ If (Newfoundland Premier) Danny Williams wants to pick a fight with the Quebec Innu, he’ll get it. He’ll get it and we’ll have a social crisis in Labrador,” said Innu lawyer Armand MacKenzie. (ILRC and Wiinimkiikaa 06/05/08)

Peruvian Indigenous Organizations Aim for the Presidency
Milagros Salazar writes for IPS: “Peru’s indigenous associations are pursuing a political project of their own, and hope to win power in the 2011 presidential elections in order to defend their collective rights. “We want a political instrument that is different from conventional parties. We are seeking a plurinational state that will include us,” indigenous leader Miguel Palacín, the chief organizer of the May 13-16 People’s Summit in Lima, told IPS. The head of the National Confederation of Peruvian Communities Affected by the Mining Industry (CONACAMI), Mario Palacios, told IPS that a congress of indigenous leaders would be held in July or August. The goal, he said, is to “elect a Peruvian Evo Morales,” referring to Bolivia’s indigenous president, who has become an icon for native organizations in the region. They also want to convene a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution, following in the footsteps of Bolivia and Ecuador. Morales gave the closing speech at the People’s Summit. (Upside Down World 05/29/08)

Brantford, Ontario Ruling Bars Native Protesters at Development Sites
Paul Legal and Dan Nolan report for the Hamilton Spectator: “A judge has prohibited native protesters from demonstrating and disrupting construction sites to prevent what he described as “irreparable harm” to the City of Brantford. Superior Justice Gerald Taylor imposed the prohibition as an interim measure while the city is waiting for the court to rule on a permanent injunction against the protesters, who have been disrupting work at five construction sites for at least two months because they claim they are being built on land illegally taken from Six Nations. Until the injunction application is heard, all these parties are prohibited from “blocking, interfering or in any way obstructing development (on the five properties)... including blocking access to development sites, standing in front of machinery/equipment… or in any way threatening or intimidating workers.” Floyd and Ruby Montour, the retired Six Nations couple who have attended numerous protests at development sites, were not surprised at the ruling. Ruby Montour said it was handed down “without any thought towards Six Nations people … We don’t get a fair shake in the Canadian courts. If you rob and you steal and you cheat, as long as you’re doing it to an Indian, you can get away with it.” They said the community would have to meet and decide the next step, but both sounded as if they would not be deterred by the ruling. “We probably will continue,” Floyd Montour said. “I can’t see us stopping.” (The Spec 06/03/08)

Mohawks Block Route 344 in Kanehsatake, Near Montreal
Friends of Grassy Narrows reports: “According to the corporate media (La Presse), Mohawk warriors at the Kanehsatake reserve in Quebec cut down trees and set them on fire, blocking Route 344 for several hours on May 29, 2008, in the same location as the main barricade of the 1990 Oka Crisis. Sûreté du Québec (Quebec provincial police) officers redirected traffic.” (FOGN 05/30/08)

Chile Arrests French Journalists Working in Mapuche Territory
Two French journalists were arrested recently while filming in Mapuche territory. Police spotted Christopher Cyril Harrison and Paul Joffrey Rossj while they were filming a burning field on a rich landowner’s farm. They were later detained along with a Mapuche individual, Jorge Huenchullán, for an “identity check”. During the next 10 hours, they were verbally assaulted and “treated like criminals”, and the police confiscated their cameras and tapes. They were later released. Eight days later, the same three individuals were attacked and sent to the hospital while walking down the street. The government of Chile then tried to expel the French journalists, but they were eventually allowed to stay after the intervention of the French consul, Carlos Fingerhouth. In the words of Harrison, “If we are free it is today is because we are French and not Mapuche. If we were Mapuche we would now be in a jail in a dark room without light or water.” (Mapuche International Link 04/07/08)

Military Incursion in Zapatista Territory; Fight for Political Prisoners Continues
The Zapatista Good Government Council (JBG) of La Garrucha recently denounced a military and police incursion into Zapatista territory. Some 200 military and police elements entered into various Zapatista communities, supposedly looking for marijuana. They were repelled by Zapatista community members with sticks, machetes and rocks, but destroyed cornfields as they retreated. Other JBG’s have also denounced a recent surge in attacks and confrontations between the military and paramilitaries, and Zapatista communities. In a piece of good news, two Zapatista political prisoners detained since 1996, Ángel Concepción Pérez Gutiérrez and Francisco Pérez Vázquez, were recently released from prison thanks to a long running protest by adherents to the Other Campaign. However, many Zapatista political prisoners still remain in jail. (NarcoNews and IndyMedia Chiapas 06/04/08)

Tohono O’odham Graves Destroyed in Border Wall Construction
Brenda Norrell reports for the Narcosphere: “Tohono O’odham Chairman Ned Norris, Jr., testified at a Congressional hearing that border wall construction has plowed through the graves of the Hohokam and fragments of human bone have been found in the contractor’s heavy equipment tracks. Norris said the Tohono O’odham Nation has repeatedly “partnered” with Border Patrol to construct border vehicle barriers in places instead of walls, and allowed federal spy towers and checkpoints on its land at the Arizona/Mexico border, but the federal government has failed to uphold the standard of federal law. Norris said Homeland Security’s desire to move forward with inflexible time guidelines has damaged the environment and cultural areas. Norris testified that the contractor, Boeing, has destroyed graves, cultural sites and created a barrier of the Tohono O’odham ceremonial route.” (NarcoNews 05/24/08)

Native News Roundups are compilations of news relating to indigenous peoples, translations from Spanish and Portuguese language news outlets, and a dash of original content. Charles Mostoller is a student journalist and photographer and can be contacted at cmosto@gmail.com.

For more of GNN’s exclusive roundups of under-reported news from around the world, check out Labor News Roundup, The Rebel Communiqué, East Is East, and If You Knew…