News of Note 11/14/25: Australia’s First Treaty with First Nations, World Conservation Adopts Indigenous Motions, Indigenous Insights at COP30 Week One

Top Stories

These words will not disappear': Victorian Treaty signed into law (National Indigenous Times)
“Australia sits alone amongst Commonwealth countries as the only to have never signed a treaty with First Peoples. [...] With [the] Treaty, the First Peoples' Assembly will be able to make representations to Cabinet, ministers and the broader parliament, in addition to the establishment of a permanent truth-telling body and accountability commission. [Rueben Berg, Co-chair, Frist Peoples' Assembly said:] ‘These words will not disappear. We will activate this process. We will make sure that we deliver on these promises that are set out in this process. We will get from this not just better outcomes for First Peoples (but) better outcomes for Victoria, better outcomes for Australia. This makes us all a better state, a better country, better people.’”

IUCN Members adopt landmark motions at World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)
“Several adopted motions highlight the central role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in conserving nature. Motion 094 underscores the importance of Indigenous languages and traditional knowledge in biodiversity conservation, urging support for community-led initiatives to preserve languages and intergenerational ecological knowledge. [...] Indigenous leadership in protecting nature and sacred natural sites, species, and landscapes is the focus of Motion 107. By adopting this motion, IUCN Members called for wider recognition of sacred sites, landscapes, and elements within IUCN protected area categories and guidance that ensures continued Indigenous stewardship.”

Indigenous Peoples at COP30 - Week 1

• Indigenous Voices and Sources

• How Indigenous Peoples Will Drive Progress at COP30 by Sonia Guajajara, Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Brazil (Project Syndicate)

• From Rio to Belém: 33 Years After the Earth Summit, the World Returns to Brazil for COP30 at a Defining Moment for Climate Action (SIRGE Coalition)

• Can Brazil Lead Climate Action While Ignoring Its Own Indigenous Peoples? “The Price of Green” Exposes Hypocrisy at COP30 (Cultural Survival)

• Indigenous women leaders at COP30: Listen to us as equals (Context)

• ‘We are not here for theater’: Can the ‘most Indigenous COP’ live up to the hype? (Grist)

• Brazil hosts COP30 with high ambitions — and scaling environmental ambiguities (Mongabay)

• COP30 has big plans [TFFF] to save the rainforest. Indigenous activists say it’s not enough. (Grist)

• “Water is worth more than lithium,” Indigenous Argentine community tells COP30 (Climate Home News)

  Indigenous leader Raoni says Brazil's projects threaten Amazon forest (Reuters)

• Māori delegation at COP30 stand with local indigenous land protectors in Brazil (Te Ao Māori News)

• From the Arctic to the Amazon: Inuit call on states to accelerate climate commitments at UNFCCC COP30 (Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada)

• Indigenous Peoples’ COP30 Priorities and Investor Recommendations (Tallgrass Institute)

• Additional Reports and Sources

• Governments commit to recognizing 160 million hectares of Indigenous land (Mongabay)

• Donors renew $1.8 billion pledge for Indigenous land rights (Mongabay)

• Indigenous groups demand attention at UN climate talks in Brazil (Associated Press)

• Indigenous groups get the spotlight at UN climate talks, but some say visibility isn’t power (Associated Press)

• Photos show Indigenous participants at the People’s Summit held alongside the COP30 climate meeting (Associated Press)

• At Brazil's COP30, nations pledge to boost Indigenous land rights (Context)

• COP30 stews over fossil fuels and final deal as Indigenous fight for forest (Reuters)

• From the Andes to the Amazon, indigenous leaders arrive for COP30 climate summit (Reuters)

• Indigenous People, Long Sidelined at Climate Talks, Take the Stage in Brazil (The New York Times)

• Indigenous leaders press UN climate summit to turn pledges into policy (Courthouse News Service)

• Despite Record Turnout, Only 14% of Indigenous Brazilians Are Expected to Access Decision-Making Spaces at COP30 (Earth.org)

• Indigenous protesters block COP30 entrance, demand action from Brazilian Government (UN News)

More News

• Meet The Women Fighting For Indigenous Rights In Brazil (British Vogue)

• Turning Indigenous Territories From ‘Sacrifice’ Zones to Thriving Forest Ecosystems (Inter Press Service Via Global Issues)

• Cautious win for Indigenous groups in Malaysia as palm oil firm pauses forest clearing (Mongabay)

• Ecuador freezes bank accounts of Indigenous leaders, land defenders (Mongabay)

• The Māori ward vote in New Zealand contains important lessons for Canada (The Conversation)

• Tribal Digital Sovereignty: How Native Communities Are Powering Their Own Tech Future (Ford Foundation)

• Impacts of Government Shutdowns and Agency Reduction in Force on Native Communities (Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA)) 

• The government froze food aid. Tribes are thawing old traditions. (Grist)

• Northern California tribes sign treaty to restore Eel River, fish populations, after dams removed (Associated Press)

• About: Tribal Nations, Tribal Citizens, and the United States (Native American Rights Fund)