AWASQA

  • Students in Washington’s Wellpinit School District learn about plants and foods that have historically been important to the Spokane Tribe of Indians. Photo courtesy of Jennifer LeBret

    “They’ll know more than I ever knew”: More states move to require lessons on Native American history and culture

    FROM THE EDITORS: In several U.S. states, thanks to the effort and dedication of educators from the Indigenous Peoples, progress has been made in incorporating basic information on history, culture, language, and cultural traditions of Indigenous Nations that originally inhabited this country. They are regional efforts that document a review of local history and the…

  • Protesta por Standing Rock

    Indigenous Activism Has Helped Lower Greenhouse Gases by 24 Percent

    A new report released by the Indigenous Environmental Network and Oil Change International, shows the positive impact indigenous peoples’ fight for the environment has had in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. According to the report, by quantifying the amount of carbon dioxide that has been stopped or delayed in the last decade through indigenous and environmental…

  • August 25: Turtle Island and Abya Yala Converge in the Indigenous Struggle for Life

    Today is a day of great relevance in the continental struggle of indigenous peoples in defense of their territories and the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consultation. It is a day when the struggles of the northern and southern hemispheres converge in the recognition of indigenous peoples as subjects of law, as fundamental actors…

    Venezuela: Dispute in Indigenous Yukpa Territory Due to Coal Extraction

    Human rights organizations sent out an alert last week in defense of academic and indigenous leader Lusbi Portillo, when the Venezuelan government accused him of being a “CIA agent” due to his work to defend the Yukpa territory against coal mining. More than 180 academics signed a letter in defense of Portillo’s life and in…

  • Mujeres celebran la despenalización del aborto

    Ecuador: Indigenous Women Speak Out on Abortion Rights

    FROM THE EDITORS: Patricia Yallico from ACAPANA hosts the show “Insurrectas,” a show posted regularly on their social media. We are featuring this conversation below with Paolina Vercoutere of the Otavalo people and Ana Cristina Vera of Surkuna, an organization that fights for women’s reproductive and access to abortion rights. In April of 2021, Ecuador’s…

  • Mexico: 500 Years of Dispossession

    FROM THE EDITORS: To understand the reality of Mexico we must first understand that the Mexican State was created as a colonialist, racist, patriarchal governmental body of control. The government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) may be shaded leftist, but the developmentalist megaprojects, political persecutions, and murders continue. We see, for example, the struggle…

  • Manoomin, arroz salvaje

    New Lawsuit Filed to Defend the Rights of Nature and Wild Rice

    A few days before the bleak UN climate report was released, warning us how time is shrinking for humans to curb the climate crisis, Chippewa indigenous leaders presented a lawsuit on behalf of Manoomin, or wild rice. The lawsuit is making a last attempt to stop the construction of Line 3 oil pipeline by Enbridge…

    Peru: 50 organizations call for an ecological transition towards economic recovery

    FROM THE EDITORS: As Peru’s new President Pedro Castillo takes office and announces his government plan for the next five years—which includes promises to vaccinate 70% of the population by the end of the year, a new constitutional assembly, free college education, as well as expanding mining exploration and an active participation of the armed…