News of Note 10/3/25: India Mega-Dam’s Indigenous Impacts, No Consent for Alaska Graphite Mine, Bank Slams Agribusiness in Ecuador
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Tribesmen in India’s northeast protest mega-dam plan to counter China (Al Jazeera)
“The area around the village of Riew is one of the shortlisted sites for India’s response mega-dam, a project that people like Jamoh feel is the more immediate threat to them. ‘If the river is dammed, we also cease to exist,’ said the 69-year-old Jamoh. ‘Because it is from the Siang that we draw our identity and culture,’ he added.”
In Alaska, a graphite mine races toward approval without the required tribal consent (Grist)
“Canadian company Graphite One plans to mine the valuable material for batteries and strategic minerals — despite many residents’ objections, and so far, without the federally required tribal consultation with the nearby communities of Teller, Brevig Mission, and Mary’s Igloo. The area slated for development drains into Imuruk Basin, an estuary fed by four rivers that create one of the continent’s most biodiverse ecosystems. This vital hunting and fishing area is essential to residents’ food security and the traditions that tie them to the land. As Lucy Oquilluk, president of Mary’s Igloo Traditional Council, told the federal government, sidelining her community denied it ‘the opportunity to have our voice heard on issues that directly impact our communities and ways of life.’”
Public Development Bank Investigation slams Giant Meat Company for decades of pollution and rights violations in Indigenous communities in Ecuador (Friends of the Earth)
“The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has released a powerful new report revealing seven serious violations of the Bank’s social and environmental policies in its 2021 $50 million loan to Ecuadorian agribusiness giant Pronaca, whose factory farm operations in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas have harmed Indigenous communities and local ecosystems.”
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All Eyes on Bolivia: Environmental Devastation and Human Rights Abuses Caused by Unregulated Mining in Seque Jahuira (Cultural Survival)
Philippine tribes revive reforestation to defy coal mining expansion (Mongabay)
As Kremlin Boasts of Arctic Riches, Indigenous Peoples Struggle to Survive (The Moscow Times)
COP30 urged to link climate justice with reparations for historical crimes (Al Jazeera)
Federal shutdown hurts services for Native Americans and they worry worse is coming (Associated Press)
Implementing UNDRIP (The Canadian Bar Association)