By  Serena Mendizabal, Audrey Huntley, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, and Terri Monture

Tkaronto (“Toronto, Ontario, Canada”) Indigenous community members and members of No More Silence gather for the ceremony in the Hummingbird Lodge with Wanda Whitebird. Photo credit: Audrey Huntley, Summer 2023

At the heart of this collaboration lies the recognition that healing justice is essential not only for addressing the historical traumas inflicted upon Indigenous peoples but also for combating the environmental injustices that threaten their lands and ways of life. Indigenous communities across so-called “Canada” continue to bear the brunt of the devastating impacts of climate change, from the loss of traditional territories to the degradation of vital ecosystems. As stewards of the land, their struggles for justice are intertwined with the fight against environmental degradation.

Sacred Earth Solar and No More Silence, an Indigenous-led organization based in Tkaronto (“Toronto, Ontario, Canada”), understand that true justice cannot be achieved without addressing the root causes of these interconnected crises. By centering healing as a fundamental component of their work, they aim to cultivate resilience and resistance within Indigenous communities while advocating for systemic change on a broader scale. Healing justice acknowledges the deep wounds inflicted by colonialism and reclaims traditional practices as a means of healing and empowerment.

Together, projects like the Hummingbird Lodge saw Sacred Earth Solar and No More Silence joining forces to install a 7.2-kilowatt on-grid solar system with sixteen panels. This initiative provided No More Silence with a safe space where 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, survivors of gender-based violence, individuals with disabilities, and MMIWG2S families could participate in traditional healing ceremonies and reconnect with their cultural roots. The lodge prioritizes disability justice as well by being fully accessible to individuals using mobility devices.

Audrey Huntley from No More Silence, Serena Mendizabal from Sacred Earth Solar, and solar installer Mike from Solar Associates installing the solar panels for the Hummingbird Lodge. Photo credit: Audrey Huntley, Fall 2023

Since installing the solar energy system, No More Silence leaders have shared with Sacred Earth Solar that they now generate surplus electricity to fully power their building. Their electricity costs have plummeted by over 95%, allowing them to redirect funds toward supporting Indigenous families, including those in Tkaronto’s (“Toronto, Ontario, Canada”) urban Indigenous community.

“My family has a long tradition of serving in the community, and before my dad passed he gave his blessing to have the lodge here, finding the idea of a community healing space important,” said Terri Monture, a member of No More Silence who offered the use of farmland at her home on Six Nations of the Grand River for the lodge.

“He would have loved seeing the solar array built, he had long talked about doing it at the house to better prepare our household for climate change, and this makes me proud that we were able to place the lodge here and have the solar array power it.”

The Hummingbird Lodge now hosts the Strawberry Ceremony, a national day of action honoring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Trans, and Two-Spirit individuals. It has been a source of support for the Laboucan family as they navigate the healing process following the tragic death of Bella Laboucan-Mclean. Bella was discovered deceased on the mezzanine level of a downtown condo building in Tkaronto (“Toronto, Ontario, Canada”).

Melina Laboucan-Massimo and the Laboucan-Mclean family gather in the Hummingbird Lodge gathering space before their family’s ceremony for Bella. Photo credit: Audrey Huntley, Fall 2023

Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Bella’s sister, felt the support No More Silence provides and wanted to help. As the Founder of Sacred Earth Solar, Melina, and her organization focused on empowering frontline Indigenous communities with climate solutions. This shared mission led to the establishment of a formal partnership between Sacred Earth Solar and No More Silence. Together, they collaborated to provide clean, accessible electricity for the Hummingbird Healing Lodge. Now, the lodge is equipped with heating, lights, a kettle, and electrical outlets for year-round ceremonies, and is open to urban Indigenous peoples who cannot access ceremonial spaces in the city.

When Indigenous peoples have access to healing, they can reclaim decolonial practices for justice. The systems causing harm to Indigenous women, 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, and our lands, waters, and climate are intertwined. To safeguard our home territories, Indigenous peoples need access to healing, resources, and support. This ensures that we do not perpetuate further harm while striving for sovereignty and climate justice.

From left to right: Amanda Blackhorse from the Navajo Nation; Gaylene Crouser from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; Rhonda LeValdo from Pueblo of Acoma; Fawn Douglas from Las the Southern Paiute Tribe, at The Nuwu Art Gallery + Community Center, in “Las Vegas”, where the press conference was held. Photo credit: Acee Agoyo, February 11, 2024

In a remarkable display of extravagance, a whopping 882 private jets flew into Southern Paiute land (“Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.”) for the most recent Super Bowl featuring the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. This marked the second-highest influx of private jets for a Super Bowl, following last year’s game in Arizona, where 931 private jets took flight.

According to a 2021 study conducted by the Transport and Environment Organization, the climate impact of aviation is fast growing. The report highlights a startling statistic: a mere 1% of individuals bear responsibility for a staggering 50% of global aviation emissions, particularly concerning the emissions generated by short-distance flights. Similarly, Greenpeace reported that a lone private jet journey generates approximately ten times the CO2 emissions per person compared to an average commercial flight.

There are 28 federally recognized tribal nations and communities in “Nevada.” The legacy of colonialism has left many Native lands polluted or suffering from the climate crisis. The 2023 Super Bowl was held on the lands of the O’odham and Piipaash (“Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.”), where part of the Navajo Nation’s reservation resides.

Not too far from the buzz of the Super Bowl, tribal nations are dealing with serious environmental problems because of colonialism. Take the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in “Nevada”, for instance. They’re facing a drought caused by a dam built by the government, which means less water. The Truckee River used to get its water from melted snow, but with temperatures going up, there’s less snow, and less water is flowing downstream to the tribe.

On Western Shoshone lands, in “Nevada”, it’s believed that over 900 nuclear bombs were detonated. In “Arizona”, where part of the Navajo Nation reservation is located, there’s a severe water crisis. According to the Navajo Water Project, 30% of reservation residents lack access to running water. In the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. Navajo Nation, the court ruled that despite the Navajo Treaty of 1868 guaranteeing the Navajo rights to their lands, resources, and sovereignty, they aren’t entitled to area water resources. Instead, the state governments in the region have legal authority to utilize the water for themselves.

During the press conference in “Las Vegas”, Native people explained how the use of Native-themed mascots is demeaning, perpetuates stereotypes of Native people, and falls in line with mass cultural appropriation. Photo credit: Acee Agoyo, February 11, 2024

The environmental impact of Super Bowl LVIII was compounded by troubling instances of anti-Native racism, particularly concerning the use of Native mascots and the controversial “chop” gesture associated with the Kansas City team. This gesture, resembling chopping with a tomahawk, has faced criticism from Native communities nationwide, who have consistently urged an end to such racist portrayals.

In response, Not in Our Honor convened a press conference at the Nuwu Art Gallery, followed by a protest outside the Super Bowl venue. Rhonda LeValdo, representing the Acoma tribe, referred to the event as the “genocide bowl” during the press briefing, highlighting the grave consequences of perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Local advocates echoed these concerns, calling for the immediate retirement of the Kansas City Chiefs’ name and logo. Their stance reflects a broader movement aimed at addressing racism in sports.

By Tony Enos

The environment is an inevitable casualty of modern political conflicts. Wars are no longer fought in a field with wooden shotguns like they were centuries ago. The modern technologies used in warfare now are more devastating than ever. When we speak of environmental damage, it is important to remember that people and the environment do not exist separately, or independently of one another. The people of a land, the prior generations that have worked that land, the present generation who cares for it and survives off of it, and even the generations that are yet to come are all integral parts of an ecosystem. Drinking water, plants, animals, crops, and “weather, landscapes, biotic or living parts, abiotic factors, or nonliving parts,” are all factors in an ecosystem according to the National Geographic Society. Ecosystems like those

have been meticulously cared for by the Palestinian stewards of the land for generations before the beginning of Israel’s occupation in 1948. It is important to understand the gravity and the holistic totality of what environmental damage and disruption really are.

According to research done by David Butterfield, Jad Isaac, Atif Kubursi, and Steven Spencer for McMaster University and Econometric Research Limited, “agriculture is the largest sector of the Palestinian economy, generating over 22% of the Gross Domestic Product of the West Bank and Gaza and providing employment to over 15% of the population.” As the landscape sustains more and more traumatic assaults, Palestinians in Gaza are left with no sustainability after a demeaning and degrading 76-year-long occupation by Israel.

Journalists from Al Jazeera reported that “according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israel has dropped more than 25,000 tonnes of explosives on the Gaza Strip since October 7th, equivalent to two nuclear bombs.” The technology of chemical warfare such as the white phosphorus used in the Bunker Bombs that the “United States” has supplied to Israel can cause burns and irritation, liver, kidney, heart, lung, or bone damage, and death according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

The radiation of missiles and bombs along with heavy metals and chemicals such as Uranium-235, a chemical agent used in nuclear bombs that has a half-life of 700 million years – the time any substance takes to decay by half of its original amount – according to the CDC, all have an unfathomable impact. These bomb components seeping into the ground, and running off into drinking water with the rains are enough to impact generations to come with fatal cancers and altered genetics of plants, animals, and the very ecosystems they all need to survive.

Though the British had to exercise a bit more ingenuity than just direct bombings when they began genociding the Indigenous peoples of “North America” in 1587, certain parallels are gut-wrenchingly similar.

When colonizers came to Turtle Island (what’s now known as “North America”) from Spain in 1492, followed by several other invading nations, and ultimately the British, Indigenous Nations experienced agricultural and environmental devastation. The loss of over 90 million acres of ancestral lands, displacement, population devastation brought on by diseases like smallpox – which the government harnessed as warfare against the Indigenous Nations of the time – and invasive species of animals such as pigs and sheep from the white settler-occupation brought “the old ways” of Indigenous living and thriving to an end as our ancestors knew it.

Pigs from Europe for example quickly grew in population size and destroyed crops and ecosystems. As Climatehub cites, “They are a destructive, invasive species that cause extensive damage to natural ecosystems, croplands, pastures, and livestock operations.” Along with the desecration of the Earth for its riches and natural resources by the settlers, and the ramifications of colonizer warfare, the environmental impacts of these industrial sins such as deforestation, and lost crops, seeds, plants, and grasses, are ones that we are still healing from, and working to reverse today.

While it’s a known fact that governments profit from war, the burden of healing and creating anything in the way of sustainability always falls back on the people who are suffering the most, consistently with little to no accountability or help from said government. With examples such as the survivors of the 1945 American bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki according to Time Magazine, the gravity of grown men playing war games and the hell on Earth that its victims are made prey to are agonizing facts of war and occupation.

Though Jews and Arabs may have commingled in Palestine for thousands of years, perhaps we’re unclear on what an occupation is. Israel forcibly removed Palestinians from their ancestrally owned homes and lands in 1948 so that Jewish families could live in those homes, along with the ethnic cleansing of such Palestinian villages, and Israel imposing and enforcing its government infrastructure on the Palestinian people is an occupation.

Similarly, Indigenous people in Turtle Island were forced from their lands, put into holding camps, and herded onto reservations to endure the newly imposed infrastructure of the “United States” government. Surviving off of small government rations, the irreparable results were starvation and a deep traumatic loss of a people and their way of life such as the outlawing of Indigenous spirituality and ceremonies, possession of sacred objects, and songs and traditions, with no corrective action taken by the American government until the Religious Freedom Act of 1978 as cited on the U.S. Government Information website.

As Gaza experiences one of the most horrific genocides in modern history with almost 30,000 people killed since Israel’s war strikes began in October according to PBS, 2.2 million people are in crisis or worse levels of food insecurity, and 576,600 people face catastrophic hunger and starvation in Gaza as cited by the UN World Food Programme. Islamic Relief Worldwide states, “On the internationally recognized 5-phase scale used to classify food crises, more than half a million people in Gaza – a quarter of the entire population – are now believed to be at the most severe Phase 5 ‘catastrophic’ level, meaning a high risk of mass starvation and death.”

The fact that these unspeakable humanitarian and environmental atrocities are being allowed to happen anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere! As Samira Homerang Saunders, a researcher at the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice at Queen Mary, University of London cited, “War creates a toxic biosphere . . . In 2013, the head of Oncology at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza said he expected the cancer rates to double within five years after Israel used uranium in the 2008-2009 war. He referred to that campaign as an ‘environmental catastrophe’.” The West Bank in Palestine has had its share of strikes from Israeli forces also, but with the last being in December of 2023, it’s clear that Gaza is being disproportionately targeted.

A 2017 census reported Gaza’s total population to be 590,481 people. That means almost a quarter of Gaza’s population has been systematically wiped out. A haunting echo of America’s original sins, as over 10,000 Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, Seminole, and other Native American nations died on the Trail of Tears forced removal according to the National Parks Service. Just a fraction of the American government’s total colonization body count.

As was our fate as Indigenous people of Turtle Island, Palestinian children and families will now have an unspeakable intergenerational trauma, and deep spiritual and psychological wounds to heal from. Along with a long and painful road back to sustainability and security in any sense. It is unimaginable that environmental and ecological healing will happen any time soon for the Palestinian people until there is a permanent ceasefire and a two-state solution in motion. Not “in talks” or “on the table,” but actual movement in an existing infrastructure that provides the Palestinian people a life of thriving with dignity, opportunity, and its own economic and ecological security. Ethnic cleansing and the genocide of the Indigenous people of Palestine can not be a part of that path forward.

If we’ve learned nothing else from the past 500 years of colonization here on Turtle Island, we know that when we lose Indigenous knowledge and ways of life, the world loses a part of itself. Ways of living, caring for, and preserving land, songs, stories, traditions, and the essence of a people is the irreconcilable price of genocide. The world needs all of us. The environment needs all of us. What we do today really does impact the next seven generations, especially if what we’re creating to pass down to them is intergenerational trauma, nationalist and spiritual insanity, and the idea that any life is more important than another.

A young boy pushes a rusty wheelbarrow down the beach of Sanyang, in Kartong, to help collect the catch of the day off of the fishing boats. Photo credit: Abubacar Fofana, February 22, 2024

Overfishing in West Africa has become a pressing issue, with detrimental effects on Indigenous populations and marine ecosystems. As the fishing industry in the region has expanded, driven largely by foreign interests seeking lucrative export opportunities, Indigenous communities have faced increasing challenges. Many West Africans see this as a new type of colonialism, where the region’s resources are taken without caring about the people’s well-being or the health of the marine ecosystems.

At the center of this problem is fishmeal, a highly sought-after product for foreign industries, leading to more foreign boats appearing in Western African waters and industries along the coastlines owned by foreign investors, without fair compensation for Indigenous populations. When deals are made, the true value of these resources is often ignored. But how did this all start?

In the mid-20th century, with the introduction of large-scale industrial fishing fleets and an increase of strict laws of offshore fishing in international waters, many countries looked to new regions to exploit fishing industries with either less infrastructure or policies to safeguard their waters. In the beginning, the fishmeal industry fueled by these fleets became a way to turn unsuitable fish or bycatch into a marketable item but as time passed it became a staple resource to support the growing livestock and aquaculture feed industry in countries such as China, Norway, Chile, and Vietnam.

With technological advancements in the global large-scale fishing industry, the construction of large fishmeal production factories began along the Western coastline of Africa, particularly in countries like Mauritania, Senegal, and The Gambia. In Mauritania alone – one of the world’s richest fishing grounds – the number of fishmeal production factories has risen from 6 to 23 factories since 2010, according to the Coalition of Fair Fisheries Agreement.

A young boy pushes a rusty wheelbarrow down the beach of Sanyang, in Kartong, to help collect the catch of the day off of the fishing boats. Photo credit: Abubacar Fofana, February 22, 2024

The decline in the fish population accessible to artisanal fishers is just one of the most direct consequences of fishmeal production. As reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), fish stocks in numerous regions across West Africa have plummeted by more than 50% due to overfishing and unsustainable fishing practices. Moreover, the arrival of these large fishing fleets has brought extensive destruction to traditional fishing grounds and communities. The environmental degradation is significant, evident in illegal dumping, extensive damage to seabeds caused by bottom trawling, and habitat destruction, posing a looming threat of collapse for marine ecosystems.

Fishermen have also reported a significant shift in their fishing routines over the past 15 years. Previously, daily trips were sufficient, but now, according to research conducted through interview surveys by The Gambian Marine and Environmental Conservation Initiative, most fishermen find themselves venturing out for 2 to 5 days at a time. This change has become widespread throughout the region, stretching as far as Mauritania. These extended multi-day trips are necessary to secure an adequate survival catch and support their families.

Mustapha Manneh, a Mandinka man from The Gambian village of Kartong and one of the most vocal opponents of fishmeal factories, says the fishmeal industry is equivalent to the blood diamond industry. “It is very unfortunate that the fishmeal industry turns five kilos of raw fish into one kilo of fishmeal and this fishmeal is meant to feed European and Asian aquaculture while depriving the local people access to fish. You’re depriving people of access to fish, you’re depriving people of access to their identity. You’re depriving people of access to their basic rights.”

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), over 30% of West Africa’s fish stocks are overexploited, with another 60% fully exploited. The significant quantity of fish leaving Western African waters not only exacerbates food insecurity but also prompts scrutiny of the economic losses stemming from overfishing. Many deals undervalue the resources extracted resulting in billions of dollars in annual losses due to unsustainable practices and short-sighted agreements.

The sun sets over the wooden fishing pirogues as the sea washes the quiet beach of Sanyang, located in The Gambia fishing grounds. Photo credit: Abubacar Fofana, February 24, 2024

Alongside the environmental issue, conflict has also become another consequence of large-scale fishing in West Africa, sparking clashes within communities, and leading to riots and the torching of villages. One recent incident occurred in The Gambian fishing village of Sanyang in 2021. Since then, protests against these foreign destructive fishmeal factories have increased. Additionally, insufficient waste management infrastructure at several factories has contaminated small farms operated by Indigenous women in the region, leading to the loss of income and food sources for many families.

Addressing these issues requires a multifaceted approach that involves empowering Indigenous communities and exploring avenues to enhance food security through permaculture. By prioritizing local needs and environmental stewardship, these communities can begin the process of healing their land and restoring balance to their ecosystems.

Community associations and projects in the region are striving to develop alternative approaches to food security, emphasizing self- sufficiency from the land. Along with the Kartong Permaculture Association, Mandinka educator Alaghie Manneh has dedicated her work to exploring how permaculture can offer hope for the future of these communities. “Permaculture is a holistic system that does not encourage large-scale fishing and neocolonialism,” says Manneh. “What we promote is to work with our nature and to let it create its diversity. We want to help train people to understand that they can have other sources to have fish in their own homes through raising fish through aquaponics and organic fish farms as well as general small-scale farming.”

Collaborative efforts are crucial to address socio-economic and environmental challenges, safeguard marine biodiversity, and uphold the rights of Indigenous peoples. Listening to the voices of those affected is essential to forging a path that guarantees sustainable livelihoods, preserves cultural identity, and safeguards the prosperous future of West Africa’s marine ecosystems.

By prioritizing local needs and environmental protection, Indigenous communities are shifting away from exploitation and towards empowerment.

Passengers make their way inside the Teya Mérida train station. Photo credit: Jesse Foley-Tapia, March 10, 2024

The sound of hammer and nail is ever present as México’s growth and expansion reach new heights it has never seen before. In Yucatán, southeast of the country, the installation of the 28 billion dollar Tren Maya mega rail project has caused much debate throughout the community. While some say new transportation systems are necessary within the region, especially for longer commutes, the preservation of the natural ecosystem is treasured by many Indigenous peoples here.

“It was a surprise. Because it never happened in our heads that we need a train for the Indigenous communities,” says Pedro Uc Be, a Mayan land and territory defender and a member of the Assembly of Defenders of the Maya Múuch’ Xíinbal Territory and The National Indigenous Congress (CNI).

The Tren Maya, a project created by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), has a total of 42 trains with tracks stretching over 900 miles through the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, covering most of the southeast region of the country and the Yucatán Peninsula. As of today, there are 24 out of the 34 stations in operation. According to Tren Maya’s website, the hope is that this new mode of transportation will reduce more than 50,000 cars on the roads per day between Cancún and Playa del Carmen. Since the inaugural trip on December 15th of last year over 64,000 passengers have ridden the train according to the website.

The project promised many positive outcomes and an economic boost to the surrounding communities but some Indigenous communities say that in actuality the project brought more negative than positive.

A man walks towards the ticket booth inside the Teya Mérida train station. Photo credit: Jesse Foley-Tapia, March 10, 2024

“It’s not just that we don’t have positive things, but there are damages, injuries, aggressions, and violations of our rights. Benefits are there, but not for us,” says Uc Be. Since the construction of the railway things have actually declined for surrounding communities, says Uc Be.

“Rather, there is greater poverty, there is displacement, there is insecurity, there is broken social fabric, there are conflicts, there is polarization, there is fear, there is penetration of the organized crime, there are raped women, there are missing women and children, there are people murdered and thrown to the streets, and there is a situation of contamination of water.”

Yucatán is home to thousands of cenotes or sinkholes, caused by the collapse of limestone, with some estimates saying there are up to 10,000 cenotes in the region. This underground cave network of cenotes connects to the Great Mayan Aquifer, which provides water for millions of people in the area. Now, with the construction of the Tren Maya, these cenotes and the drinking water they provide are at risk. According to a report by CartoCrítica, the Tren Maya’s construction comprises over 25,000 acres of land, in which 61% of the jungle has now been deforested. The report alleges that 81% of this deforestation has been done so illegally.

In a 2018 interview with journalist Carmen Aristegui, AMLO said that no trees would be cut down during the construction of the train. “Not a single tree, none, nothing, on the contrary, not a single tree.”

Years later, the Selvame del Tren organization estimated that over 10 million trees have been cut down. While the government website says that “more than 64,000 plants have been rescued with 85% survival,” the environmental effects have been devastating for local Indigenous communities and will continue to affect the region as a whole in the coming years. However, others disagree.

“It can be reforested,” says Jose Genaro Molina, a retired federal teacher from the Secretary of Education.

Typically a megaproject this big takes several years to plan, but as AMLO’s term is close to end, the push was on to complete his envisioned project. Residents of México say this is nothing new, as past presidents have done much of the same by prioritizing rapid expansion at all costs. As the president declared the construction of the train a matter of “national security,” many precautions to the environment were ignored during this rushed process and community members were asked to sell their land or be displaced. The national army was even tasked with controlling certain sections of land during the expedited construction. “This land is not for sale” became the rallying cry for the CNI. In December 2019, Uc Be and his family received death threats.

“They had given us 48 hours to leave the country,” says Uc Be. Adding, “Despite this threat, we continue here.”

In addition to Mayan communities being taken away from their homes with the construction of the Tren Maya, they’ve also had their identity and name taken away.

“Well, the train’s name, I think the situation marks precisely the seal of the dispossession. Not only have we been stripped away from the land, but we have been stripped from our name,” says Uc Be.

Some have taken this opportunity to benefit from the demand for land as property values have increased near construction sites such as Tixkokob, a small town located in the north-central part of Yucatán that had remained rather untouched by México’s fast-growing development throughout much of the country.

“These people buy it to be able to resell it for the plus value that it already has,” says Gricelda Uitz Ek, whose family’s home is just blocks away from the Tixkokob station.

This increased value, however, comes at a cost. Uitz Ek explained that obtaining the evaluation and ownership proof is now more expensive.

“The writing cost us around 60,000 pesos [$3,500 US dollars] when years ago we were said it would cost 15,000 pesos.” With the average income in Yucatán being around $400 and far less for Indigenous communities, these evaluations can amount to a small fortune.

Uc Be also raised objections against Rogelio Jiménez Pons, the General Director of FONATUR, a governmental entity dedicated to pushing tourism projects that should prioritize the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of México, for suggesting that the train project would be beneficial to the Mayan Indigenous community by providing them with the opportunity to sell food at train stations, arguing that such rhetoric from government officials diminishes the Mayan community, implying that their aspirations and contributions are limited to selling bread in train stations.

Indigenous communities in the region have remained strong as Mayan peoples have resisted forms of colonialism dating back to the 1500s when the Spanish conquistadors invaded Yucatán.

“This struggle does not only exist for having the capacity to exist, but for existing as Mayan people, as a culture, and the train, what it has done is to become a projectile in the heart of Mayan culture,” says Uc Be.

A special thanks to Paulina Bautista Cupul who helped with interview translations.

Following a show of force and unity among Native people and tribal nations, SCOTUS preserved the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a federal law designed to stop the colonizer theft of Indigenous children.

Opponents of ICWA, known as the gold standard in child welfare law, attempted to use the case to dismantle tribal sovereignty. But the 7-2 decision in Haaland v. Brackeen averted disaster by confirming that tribes have a right to determine where their children belong, particularly in the face of hundreds of years of removals by state and private actors in the adoption and foster care industries and the government-run and supported boarding schools.

“ICWA protected me and allowed me to return home to my people,” Justin Ahasteen (Diné), the executive director of Navajo Nation Washington Office, said after the decision came out on June 15th at a Native-led celebration at the National Museum of the American Indian on Piscataway lands (“Washington, D.C., U.S.”).

However, the movement to protect ICWA is far from over. Conservative and right-wing organizations have made no secret of their intent to continue fighting ICWA, hoping to take advantage of the majority of anti-Native justices who have invited further litigation that would undermine the rights of tribal nations.

On the morning of  the ICWA decision, June 15, 2023, the high court ruled by a shocking vote of 8-1 that tribes can be sued without their consent, even though you won’t see the word “tribe” anywhere in the federal law at issue in Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin.

The sole dissent reads, “From the founding to the present, this Court has recognized the Tribes’ continued existence as ‘independent sovereigns.’” The “independent sovereigns” precedent is written in the Haaland v. Brackeen decision.

On June 22nd, SCOTUS dealt the people of the Navajo Nation a major setback in their long-running efforts to secure water for the largest reservation in the “United States.” The 5-4 vote in Arizona v. Navajo Nation again highlighted the conservative dominance on the high court, with all of the votes against the tribe coming from conservative justices. 

Approximately 40 percent of the Navajo reservation lacks water. According to data from the U.S. government, the states fighting the Navajo Nation use far more water than residents of the reservation. “The average American uses 88 to 100 gallons a day,” the tribe’s attorney said during oral argument in the case. In contrast, “The Navajo Nation uses about seven gallons.” 

In spite of the Navajo Treaty of 1868 that the U.S. government entered into guaranteeing the Navajo Nation their lands, its resources, and sovereignty, all of the states surrounding the Navajo Nation will have guaranteed access to water while the reservation will not.

The United States government owes special legal obligations to tribal nations and their citizens. These obligations, often described as the trust responsibility, originated in the U.S. Constitution and developed over the centuries through promises made in treaties, federal laws, and other agreements. 

For this reason, programs and services benefiting American Indians and Alaska Natives are supposed to be safe from challenges. But as with the ICWA case, conservative interests are determined to undermine, eradicate, and weaken everything deemed a threat to their hold on power.

The Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in higher education represents a perfect example. The conservative majority on the court voted 6-3 to bar race-conscious college admissions policies even though, as one dissenter pointed out, doing so would “nearly erase the Native American incoming class” at the University of North Carolina, a publicly-funded institution.

It’s not just Native students who will be disappearing at campuses across the nation. Harvard College, a private institution, warns that the number of Black students being admitted will drop from 14 percent to 6 percent with the elimination of affirmative action. Hispanic/LatinX student representation is expected to drop from 14 percent to 9 percent, according to the court’s ruling.

The affirmative action decision came in two cases known as Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina. The Students for Fair Admissions Inc. group was created by a conservative activist whose mission, according to Reuters, is to “erase racial preferences” in American society. 

In another egregious case, the conservative majority dramatically weakened the Clean Water Act, a federal law that previously offered some sense of environmental relief in marginalized communities that are frequently victimized by toxic, health-destroying pollution.

The ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency changes everything on a narrow vote of 5-4.  As a result, half of the 118 million acres of wetlands in the “U.S.”  are no longer protected by the Clean Water Act. Individuals and corporations are now free to pollute waterways.

SCOTUS handed down another blow to many marginalized people in the “U.S.” in the Biden v. Nebraska case. By a vote of 6-3, the justices put an end to the student debt relief program to cancel up to $400 billion in student loans, a program designed to provide respite amid the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately impacted Indigenous and Black communities.

Why Abya Yala? 

Abya Yala is a term derived from the Guna language of the Kuna nation (what is now the North region of “Colombia” and the Southeast region of “Panama”) which means “land in full maturity” or “land of vital blood” and rejects ideas of the Americas as the discovery of the “New World.” In the 1980s the World Council of Indigenous Peoples during the Second Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities in Kiruna, Sweden had increasingly referred to the “Americas” as Abya Yala, enacting an Indigenous locus of cultural and political expression to decolonize epistemologies, fostering dialogue and creating alliances. By July 1990, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) together with the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) and the South American Indian Information Center (SAIIC) organized the First Continental Conference on Five Hundred Years of Indigenous Resistance. Hundreds of leaders and organizations throughout the continent formed a united front for autonomy and self-government, and Abya Yala gained broader use.

Since then, using Abya Yala has been a way of removing colonial vestiges, reclaiming our millenary past, and destroying the legacy of Spanish colonizers who slaughtered, enslaved, raped, robbed, and forced Christianity upon our ancestors. The defense of our traditions, beliefs, and knowledge is central to the struggle for our definite social liberation as a people. Today thousands of nations, such as the Mapuche from “Chile”, the Quechua from “Peru”, and the K’iche from “Guatemala” have embraced the term because it is a constant act of resistance to the Western world. Abya Yala is part of our ancestral heritage and our connection to our territories as communities. It also acknowledges the relationship between the Original peoples of North, Central, and South America before 1492. It is also about fulfilling our ancestors’ dream of sovereignty and creating a new level of intergenerational collective consciousness. It is about continuing to be the caretakers of  Pachamama (Mother Earth), protecting our lands, respecting wildlife and passing down our food system, spiritual traditions and millennial knowledge to future generations. It is about reclaiming Quiénes Somos (who we are).

How was Somos Abya Yala formed, and what are the thematic areas of focus? 

Somos Abya Yala was born at the continental youth gathering called “Youth Rooted in Resistance, Seeding Sovereignty” held in June 2014 in “Sanare, Venezuela” by SOA Watch, a nonviolent grassroots movement working to close the SOA / WHINSEC to expose, denounce, and end “U.S.” militarization, oppressive “U.S.” policies and other forms of state violence in the “Americas.” Youth from that gathering kept in touch and formed Somos Abya Yala. Two years after we put together our second continental youth gathering called “Youth Weaving Life and Popular Unity in Our America” held in “Petén Guatemala” in March 2016, where our major working areas were formed around the following issues: confronting extractivism, militarism, capitalism, imperialism, and corporate power in the rural areas of our beloved Abya Yala. To stand against powerful economic and political interests driving land theft, displacement of communities, loss of livelihoods, and environmental degradation. Also, to restore the role of hope in social movements. We committed to the fierce struggles of rural working classes led by Original People’s movements, poor peasants, Black communities, landless people, immigrants, and urban communities in resistance against neoliberal global capitalism. During our third continental youth gathering, called “We Are Abya Yala” we reinvigorated our own cosmovisions of buen vivir (living well) that destabilized mainstream notions of the political. We committed to uniting North, Central, Caribbean, and South of our beloved Abya Yala through continental youth gatherings to strategize and build power, nurture solidarity, and forge Un Mundo Donde Quepan Muchos Mundos (a world where many worlds fit) through autonomy as a response to injustices generated by neocolonialism.

Somos Abya Yala takes on this work through a two-pronged strategy using Continental Youth Encuentros for strategic alliances and communications work. Through our communications, we work to build awareness, reclaim the narrative, and shift paradigms, consciousness, and agency. We have the two following media platforms: 

Somos Abya Yala Magazine

Somos Abya Yala Magazine brings you inside cultures and struggles across Abya Yala since 2015. We share our ways of life, spirituality, vision, celebrations, and our fight for dignity and sovereignty all with stunning photography, poetry, art, music, and intimate insights from youth experts sharing about their communities. We have published 23 issues to help support our efforts for our relatives across the continent to keep their lands, languages, and cultures. You are welcome to suggest topics and read our past issues here:

Radio a Desalambrar (Dewiring Podcast)

Radio Desalambrar is produced by youth leaders and adult allies who bring you the latest information on human rights, news headlines, and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of Abya Yala’s most pressing issues. You’ll hear diverse voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on local, regional, and global events. Listen to, download, and share our 20 programs for free at https://bit.ly/Adesalambrar, on Spotify and YouTube. Our material includes interviews, discussions on social movements, and the strategies that frontline communities use to realize their rights.

Contact Us: info@somosunaamerica.org / somosunaamerica@gmail.com

http://somosunaamerica.org

Jorge Andrés Forero-González, also known as Achiote, is the son and grandson of campesinos with ethnic Muisca heritage from Boyacá, Colombia. He has 12 years of experience in the public sector, specializing in peace building, urban and rural youth programs, human rights advocacy, social movements, and non-profit management.

Forero-González is a co-founder and member coordinator of the international platform, Somos Abya Yala-Somos una América, a board of directors member of Crushing Colonialism, and works as a researcher, writer, and consultant focusing on environmental and land conflicts in Colombia and Latin América.

*English translation credit Natalia Patiño. 

*Editorial English translation credit Lucia Parson.

Seven in 10 Native people in the “U.S.” live in urban areas. The Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) conducted the first-ever report on urban missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people in 2018. They found that many MMIWG2 weren’t being properly counted by law enforcement, making it difficult to advocate for policy to end this violence. Media coverage was also found abysmal, resulting in a lack of public awareness. UIHI found 506 cases of MMIWG2. However, the collection of data on violence against Indigenous trans women and Two-Spirits are significantly lower. Of those cases, 25 percent were missing persons, 56 percent were murdered, and 19 percent are unknown. The youngest victim was less than 1 year old, with the oldest being 83 and a median age of 29. Of the 506 cases that the UIHI identified, 153 of them weren’t listed in any law enforcement databases.

“Baltimore” was one of the cities that UIHI looked at. On May 5, 2023 –a national day of recognition for MMIWG2 and Relatives in the “U.S.” and “Canada” – the “Baltimore” Native community gathered to celebrate the lives of two murdered Indigenous women, Tiffany Jones and Yasmine Wilson. The rally was held at the exact spot that the 20-year-old Wilson lost her life. 

On the other side of the “U.S.” “Canada” border, often referred to as the “medicine line” by Indigenous people to the north, the Indigenous community of “Winnipeg” is waging a war against the government to bring home the bodies of several Indigenous women believed to have been murdered by an alleged white supremacist serial killer, Jeremy Skibicki. Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris, and an unidentified woman named by community elders as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman) are believed to be in area landfills, but the government has refused to search for the women. 

In response, Camp Morgan and Camp Marcedes were erected, along with numerous demonstrations and blockades, by the families of the women and local Indigenous community. 

Included here is a photo essay highlighting the community response to remember the women, bring justice to the Indigenous communities and families, and to end the genocide of Indigenous people.

Jen Deerinwater: How did you get into filmmaking?

Theo Cuthand: I got into it when I was 16 years old. I was in a workshop that was part of a queer film festival that was in Saskatoon in ‘95. It was just for that one year. 

We made a video for that weekend called “Lessons in Baby Dyke Theory.” It was about trying to find other lesbians. It was this short, cute video…in the mid nineties, there wasn’t a lot of work being done by queer youth in the video art world. It traveled to all these queer film festivals internationally. 

Jen Deerinwater: Your film Extractions covers a lot of topics in a very intersectional way. The ties between resource extractive industries and creative practices is relatively unknown to many. Many of them (resource extractive companies) fund museums and film festivals. 

Theo Cuthand: I had this issue when I was in the Whitney Biennial. Warren B Kanders was on the board the year I was in the Biennial. He’s a war profiteer who made tear gas that was used in Palestine and on the “U.S.-Mexico” border.

Jen Deerinwater: What advice do you have for Indigenous people, especially our Two-Spirit and queer relatives, who want to get into filmmaking?

Theo Cuthand: There are a lot of film festivals and artist run centers in “Canada” that have programs for emerging artists to make a film or learn. You can also apply to film school, but I think community-based learning is also key for people who don’t feel confident with the education system and want to experience more hands-on learning. If you’re learning editing, you can do a lot with YouTube tutorials.

I’m like a big believer in community-based art practices and teaching emerging Indigenous creatives skills. I come out of a DIY kind of punk community and aesthetic. I guess there’s still part of me that’s a scrappy punk that just wants these communities to not have to play the big art game with all the money people.

You can find Theo’s work at 

vimeo.com/thirzacuthand 

(“Australia”) On October 14th, Australians overwhelmingly voted no on the controversial referendum, known as  “The Voice,”  to change the constitution, which would have potentially led to the creation of a parliamentary advisory body on policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Even many Indigenous people were split on the referendum as some supported it as a path forward towards reconciliation, while others deemed it colonized and racist. 

“80,000 plus years of culture & sacred inheritance is still running through our veins as it was on Friday. As it was Yesterday. As it is Today. As it will Always…Regardless of colonial recognition,” wrote musician and community based activist, Neil Morris (Yorta Yorta) also known as Drmngnow, after the vote.

Sánchez de Lozada to pay damages

(“U.S.”) The former president of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, and his former defense minister will pay damages to the families of eight people killed during a 2003 massacre of more than 60 people in El Alto. The murders were perpetrated by the army to squelch the Indigenous-led movement against a proposed natural gas pipeline. 

The lawsuit was brought in civil courts in the “U.S.” by eight Bolivian families whose relatives were killed in the massacre. This case could have serious future implications for international Indigenous and human rights cases. 

Women’s World Cup 

(International) In separate incidents, videos were released online showing the Holland and Spain women’s football teams mocking the Māori haka ahead of the Women’s World Cup, held in Aotearoa “New Zealand” and “Australia.” The haka is a ceremonial Māori dance traditionally practiced when parties meet. This often includes athletic competitions, including the Black Ferns, women’s “New Zealand” rugby team, fixtures. 

Pueblo shooting 

(“Espanola, New Mexico, U.S.”) On September 28, 2023 Jacob Johns, an Indigenous activist and artist, was shot in the chest at a vigil in opposition to the decision by the Rio Arriba County Commissioner’s office to reinstall a monument of Juan de Oñate, the Spanish colonizer responsible for the 1599 Acoma Pueblo massacre of 800 Acoma people. The shooter, Ryan Martinez, wore a Make America Great Again hat that is synonymous with white supremacy and fascism in the “U.S.” Martinez  has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. 

“It’s unfortunate that during a prayer filled ceremony that an individual was seriously harmed over this issue,” said All Pueblo Council of Governors (APCG) Vice Chairman Jerome Lucero, the former governor of the Pueblo of Zia, in a press release. “This shows that the historical trauma and pain inflicted on our Pueblo people by Oñate is still here. As tribal leaders, we are very concerned about the possibility of continued violence against Native people who vehemently disagree with the commission’s decision,” Lucero said in the release.