Cannon Ball, ND – As the sun came up behind the clouds, Aug. 26, the camp was already stirring in one of the two main Sacred Stone Spirit resistance camps. Flags of different colors and designs flapped in the morning wind, advertising the multitude of different indigenous peoples represented at the camp. Thousands have traveled to the site to stand in solidarity with the people of Standing Rock as they oppose a pipeline’s threat to the water and land of their people, and millions of others down the Missouri River.
Washington, DC – In the Philippines, there is a mounting crisis of human rights abuses against indigenous people, labor and community activists at the hands of the armed forces. Victims demand justice and there are even calls for President Benigno Aquino to resign. But mainly the demand is for an end to impunity for the killers and torturers, because over and over they go unpunished.
Minneapolis, MN – Over five thousand people joined eleven tribal nations in demanding Washington’s football franchise “change the name!” Gathering at Northrop Plaza at the University of Minnesota over 3,000 people marched and converged on the stadium two hours before the game and were joined by 2,000 others who marched from the Phillips Neighborhood of South Minneapolis.
Minneapolis, MN – With Native American activists and other supporters of social justice packing City Hall, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously on Friday, April 25 to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. Minneapolis is the first city in Minnesota to do so, while Red Wing is about to vote on a similar resolution.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 800 people gathered here, Nov. 7, to demand the Washington Redskins change their racist name. Marching from the Minneapolis American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue south of downtown to the Vikings stadium, the protesters rallied in front of the Metrodome chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, little red Sambo’s got to go!”
Minneapolis, MN – On Oct. 2 through Oct. 4, the U.S. government will be put on trial for “malfeasance in Indian Country,” according to a statement released at a press conference Sept. 4. Witnesses are being subpoenaed to appear in Oneida, Wisconsin for the three-day tribunal entitled “The Leonard Peltier International Tribunal on the Abuse of Indigenous Human Rights.”
Hayward, WI – A group of protesters are facing arrest in northern Wisconsin. Members of Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of Ojibwe and others have been hosting a traditional harvest camp for nearly two months near a proposed mine site in Iron and Ashland counties. The mine, sought after by Gogebic Taconite, or GTAC, is a proposed open pit iron mine. Plans for the mine are moving ahead because of a mining law deregulation measure that was signed by Governor Scott Walker this past spring. The proposed open pit iron mine would be the largest in the nation.
Minneapolis, MN – After a spirited protest downtown, Indigenous rights leaders, including Nina Wilson, a founder of Idle No More, gathered here at the American Indian Center on Franklin Avenue, March 21, for a wrap-up of the day’s activities and to prepare for the next event. On March 22, Wilson and others will be present at the Environmental & Treaty Rights Symposium, also to be held at the American Indian Center.
Minneapolis, MN – About 150 people joined the American Indian Movement, the Indigenous Environmental Network and OccupyMN for a rally and march to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline, Oct. 27. Speaking in front of the Canadian Consulate, Clyde Bellecourt, of the American Indian Movement expressed solidarity with OccupyMN, denounced the oppression of native peoples and urged support for the movement to bock the pipeline.
Minneapolis, MN – Clyde Bellecourt of the American Indian Movement (AIM) organized a rich and moving Indigenous People’s day ceremony of speakers, dancing and drumming for OccupyMN at the People’s Plaza, Oct 10.
