A flock of vultures have landed on the banks of the mighty Xingu River, and they've come to stay. International mining executives anxiously await the river's death to begin extracting the rich seams of gold that line its banks.
Mining Out of the Amazon
Mining in the Amazon has terrible effects on the livelihoods and health of Indigenous peoples and frontline communities as well as the overall balance of the Amazon’s biological diversity. Yet, mining giants with well-known track records of devastation and rights violations are eyeing Indigenous and traditional communities’ lands and other protected areas in the Amazon.
Despite committing to withdraw from all mining interests in Indigenous lands, multinational companies continue to bulldoze through communities and their territories to complete their mining projects. Banks and asset managers are once again behind this extractive surge by financing these company’s projects.
Mystery Surrounds Reported Massacre of Yanomami Village
IPS | Up to 80 Yanomami men, women and children in a remote community in the Amazon jungle in southern Venezuela were reportedly killed in early July by wildcat gold miners from Brazil, according to indigenous organisations.
Governments Prioritize Profit Over Indigenous Peoples' Rights
Amnesty International | Governments across the Americas are putting profit before the physical and cultural survival of thousands of Indigenous peoples, said Amnesty International in a briefing paper published ahead of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples.
Special Report: Brazil Backslides on Protecting the Amazon
Reuters | In the 19 months since Rousseff took office, longstanding rules that curtail deforestation and protect millions of square kilometres of watershed have been rolled back.
Peru's Repression of Mining Protesters Condemned
Environment News Service | The Peruvian government must immediately halt violent repression of mining protesters, more than 80 environmental and human rights organizations demanded today.
Amazon Watch is building on more than 25 years of radical and effective solidarity with Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin.
Brazil's Indians Distrustful of Mining Bill
Financial Times | Even as world leaders signed off on new commitments to sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro last week, Brazilian politicians were debating a bill that would open up the nation's vast indigenous territories for mining.
Peru's Indigenous People: From García to Humala Their Battle Goes On
Indigenous people in Peru feel betrayed by Ollanta Humala's government, which, despite promising dialogue, is continuing with the aggressive policies of its predecessor
The Guardian | The new Humala government promised there would be no more Baguas, but "the politics of the president of the republic are nothing more than the continuation of the aggressive politics of Alan García," says Alberto Pizango.
Three Years after the Tragedy of Bagua and Little Has Changed
Three years ago yesterday, Peruvian police opened fire on a group of protesters near the town of Bagua in northern Peru. The violent clashes that ensued left 34 dead and over 200 injured in the worst violence in recent history.
Humala Takes Off His Gloves
NACLA | The Peruvian right is celebrating Humala's betrayal of his electoral promises, while the popular organizations that helped bring Humala to power continue to mobilize against Peru's neoliberal economic model.
Dilma's Dilemma: Urge Brazil to Veto Forest Code
President Dilma has just 9 days left to veto this hatchet job before it becomes law. With the world watching, which side of history will she choose to be on? Will her legacy be Amazon ruin? Or, will she act on behalf of future generations?
Brazil's President Faces Defining Decision Over Forest Bill
The New York Times | Rio de Janeiro – President Dilma Rousseff is facing one of the defining moments of her presidency as pressure builds on her to veto a bill that would open vast protected areas of forests to ranching and farming, potentially reversing Brazil's major gains in slowing Amazon deforestation.
Colombia's Road to Extinction
Current Threats Facing Colombian Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous groups in Colombia continue to face unjust violence, colonization, dispossession of lands, displacement due to armed conflict and climate change, stunted recovery and development due to ethnic discrimination, forced assimilation, and cultural degradation.
President Dilma: Veto This Forest Code Hatchet Job!
Greenpeace | Following years of intense pressure from the agribusiness sector, Brazil's parliament yesterday afternoon approved sweeping reforms to the country's forest protection law that spell destruction for the Amazon rainforest.
Achuar Leaders Take Their Cause to Canada
Four Achuar leaders traveled from deep in the Amazon rainforest to Canada to confront Talisman Energy for drilling for oil in their ancestral territory.
Electronic Music Alliance Embraces Fight Against Belo Monte Dam
It's amazing how the universal language of music connects people from different believes, cultures, genders, and colors on one cause – in this case, against the Belo Monte dam.
Dilma Government Backsliding on Environment
As Rio+20 nears, Brazil’s Dilma shouts down critics and undermines her case
Are those of us concerned about the growing and dire threats to the Amazon and its peoples fantasizing about the president's dismal socio-environmental policies? She seems to think so.
Amid Growing Challenges the Battle Continues to Defend Kayapo Territory
Endeavors to demarcate the ancestral indigenous lands known as Kapot Nhinore started 13 years ago, but the process has been foiled by unfulfilled promises, leading to a protracted struggle.
Ecuador's Indigenous Peoples March for Water, Life, and Dignity
Timed to arrive with World Water Day, the 15-day march was the first major indigenous mobilization in recent years and an indictment of President Rafael Correa's environmental and social policies.
"Beggars Sitting on a Sack of Gold?" Ecuadoreans Protest Mining
Indigenous from across Ecuador marched for 14 days into Quito to protest President Rafael Correa's plan to open large-scale mines on indigenous land.
Christian Science Monitor | Six years after working to elect Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, the country's indigenous population is now taking to the streets against the very government they helped bring to office.
Indigenous Peoples Reach Quito After 600-km March
Thousands of indigenous peoples led by CONAIE converged on Quito today, culminating a 15-day march demanding a new water law, land reform, and an end to open pit mining and new oil concessions.
Kayapo Take Struggle to Brasilia
For over a month Chief Raoni and the Kayapo have suffered threats and intimidation at the hands of cattle ranchers, illegal settlers and hired gunman who are determined to push them off their lands.
Ecuador Indigenous Protesters March Against Mining
BBC News | Indigenous protesters in Ecuador have begun a two-week march across the country against plans for large-scale mining projects.
Inspiration from the Xingu, A Final Stand
This is why we do what we do. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but because we committed to these people and to the Amazon. It's because standing in solidarity means much more than a simple expression.
An Evening with the Bacajá Xikrín
An intimate look into the life and culture of the Xikrín Kayapo in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon just kilometers away from where the government is plowing forward to build the Belo Monte Dam that could devastate their way of life.
URGENTE: Cacique Raoni e Indíos Kayapós sob ataque!
Cacique Raoni pediu apoio para pressionar o governo brasileiro para proteger as terras de seu povo contra criminosos armados enviados para intimidá-los.
URGENT: Chief Raoni and the Kayapo Under Attack!
Chief Raoni has called for support to pressure the Brazilian government to protect his people's lands against armed thugs sent by ranchers and illegal settlers to intimidate them and encroach upon their lands.
Vale: Worst Corporation in the World?
In our tradition of going after corporate crooks we invite you to help denounce Vale, the largest iron-ore mining company in the world and a prime force behind the disastrous Belo Monte Dam.
Indigenous Group Again Rejects Ivanhoe's Drilling Plans
From the streets of Quito to Ecuador's Congressional chamber, Rukullacta goes public in rejecting Ivanhoe’s project, finding inspiration in an ancient Amazonian leader.
Indigenous Peoples Suffer Abuses in Race for Natural Resources: UN Rights Expert
UN News Service | Extraction of natural resources and other major development projects in or near the territories of indigenous peoples is one of the most significant sources of abuse of their human rights worldwide, an independent United Nations expert warned today.
