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Medellín Is Also Black
Colombia, 2026. Medellín is a place that has inspired songs such as “Me voy para Medellín” by El Combo de las Estrellas, “Medellín” by Madonna, and even “Medallo City” by Maluma, all of which praise its natural beauty, culture, and nightlife. However, the fantasy conveyed by the international music industry disappears just a few streets…
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Medellín Is Also Black
Colombia, 2026. Medellín is a place that has inspired songs such as “Me voy para Medellín” by El Combo de las Estrellas, “Medellín” by Madonna, and even “Medallo City” by Maluma, all of which praise its natural beauty, culture, and nightlife. However, the fantasy conveyed by the international music industry disappears just a few streets…
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Deb Haaland as a symbol of indigenous millennial victory in the U.S.
The new U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, is the first indigenous person to hold that position and the first to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet. The significance of this achievement is emblematic of the mining struggle of indigenous peoples in the north and will have significant consequences in the defense of their…
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Brazilian Court Calls for $1 Million Daily Fine to End Illegal Mining in Indigenous Lands
A federal court in Brazil has ruled that unless illegal miners or garimpeiros are removed from Yanomami lands in the next 10 days, government institutions in Brazil will be fined $1 million reais (close to $182K in US dollars) until they comply with this order. This story has significant consequences on how Amazon forests are…
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The Challenges of Teaching Indigenous Languages to Children
FROM THE EDITORS: The following article on indigenous language pedagogy and challenges was originally published in Entremundos, an organization in Guatemala that provides support and training workshops towards social initiatives. Their Revista sobre Derechos Humanos y Desarrollo (Human Rights and Development Magazine) is a print and online publication that provides an impressive work of community…
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Ecuador’s Water Rights Presidential Candidate
Ecuador’s first round of presidential elections took place on Sunday, February 7, leaving three finalists for the second round (yet to be defined, by a vote count): a self-appointed socialist, Andrés Arauz Galarza; an indigenous environmentalist, Yaku Pérez; and a banker, Guillermo Lasso. Yaku Pérez has shown in the days following the election that there…
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The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance
FROM THE EDITORS: This article was originally published in Emergence Magazine. We are grateful to them, who have authorized its publication and translation into Spanish in Awasqa. The cool breath of evening slips off the wooded hills, displacing the heat of the day, and with it come the birds, as eager for the cool as…
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Elections Significance for Indigenous Peoples in Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, USA
The significance of democratic elections in 2020 for indigenous peoples go beyond electoral results. Wavering between the need for sovereignty/self-determination and democratic participation, indigenous people are finding themselves in places of power denied to them historically. After hundreds of years of noncitizenry, indigenous plurinational states are now shaping democracy. Below we summarize some of the…
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Brazil: Federal Supreme Court Withdraws Decision That May Define the Future of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
FROM THE EDITORS: “Marco temporal” is a policy being weighted by the Brazilian Supreme Court, supported by large landowners, to redefine the territoriality of indigenous peoples based on a specific constitutional date (October 5, 1988). Such precedent would ignore the millennial presence of indigenous peoples on land before the existence of the Republic of Brazil,…
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Petition of the Bolivian Civil Society to Increase the Climate Ambition of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
FROM THE EDITORS: This is an English translation of a communiqué signed by over 45 organizations in Bolivia, previous to the election, seeking commitment from the new Bolivian government towards climate justice policies.Source: https://www.compromisosporelclimabolivia.org, translated by Awasqa The warning of science is clear. If we do not leave fossil fuels underground and preserve marine ecosystems…