· December, 2012

Stories about Indigenous from December, 2012

Mexico: Federal Court Halts Controversial Wind Park

  27 December 2012

The largely indigenous opposition to wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec of Oaxaca, Mexico won a tremendous victory when a District Seven Federal Court judge granted an injunction temporarily halting the construction of a controversial wind park in San Dioniosio del Mar in the southern state of Oaxaca. While the indigenous Ikojts (Huave) peoples of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec celebrated and called for government and industry to comply with the decision, their grassroots struggle continues.

Mayan Priests Denied Access to Ceremonial Places in Guatemala

  22 December 2012

Guatemala, the heart of Mayan culture, has started their festivities for the 13 Baktun - the last cycle of the Mayan calendar, due to end on December 21, 2012. But sadly the celebrations were dominated by staged government shows which were neither lead nor shared by indigenous communities or spiritual leaders. Mayan elders are the keepers of the 'long count of the days', however Guatemalan authorities imposed restrictions on them to practice their ceremonies.

Land Grabbing for BioFuel in Madagascar

  11 December 2012

The Association for the Protection of Malagasy Lands and its representative Mamy Rakotondrainibe bemoans [fr] the manner in which the Tozzi Green group is approaching the development of jatropha exploitation over 100 000 ha of lands in Southern Madagascar. Local farmers are quoted as saying [fr] : We, small farmers, are forced to leave...

Ecuador Launches Oil Auction Amid Indigenous Protests

  7 December 2012

On Wednesday November 28, 2012, Ecuador began an international licensing round for 13 oil blocks - nearly ten million acres - of untouched south-central Amazonian territory as indigenous leaders took to the streets in Quito to protest petroleum concessions on their lands.