News of Note 5/23/25: Warning of Indigenous Extinction in Colombia, Roadmap to Preserve Mapuche Land, US Tribes Fight for Boarding School Recognition

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UN warns of ‘ongoing tragedy’ as Indigenous groups in Colombia face extinction (Associated Press)
”The United Nations human rights office in Colombia warned Tuesday that five Indigenous groups in a storied mountain range face “physical and cultural” extinction, a critical threat that stems from armed groups fighting over their territory and insufficient state protection... [urging] the Colombian government to protect the Kogui, Wiwa, Kankuamo, Arhuaco, and Ette Naka Indigenous groups, whose combined population is approximately 54,700 people.”

Chile draws road map for peace in Mapuche land conflict, but concerns remain (Mongabay)
”A special commission in Chile delivered a historic final report to President Gabriel Boric this month, listing 21 policy recommendations to address land disputes and Indigenous rights in the regions of Biobío, Araucanía, Los Ríos and Los Lagos. [...] The commission’s recommendations range from the creation of new public agencies to recognizing collective Indigenous rights in the constitution. But the policies may take years for the government to implement or never come to fruition at all, critics say.”

Two tribes file groundbreaking lawsuit to force US to account for boarding school funds (ICT News)
”The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California have filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. government seeking a full accounting of monies spent running Indian boarding schools. The tribes want the U.S. to account for the estimated $23.3 billion — adjusted for inflation — appropriated for the boarding school system, detail how the money was invested and list the remaining funds that were taken by the U.S. and allocated for the education of Native children.”

IWGIA’s Debates Indígenas May 2025

• The Unseen Cost of a ‘Just Transition’: Indigenous Rights at Risk in Nepal’s Renewable Energy Projects

• A Just Energy Transition? The Impacts of Lithium Extraction on the Andean Salt Flats of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile

• From Nickel to Lithium: Nornickel, Indigenous Rights, and the Dilemma of a Green Economy in the Arctic

• ‘mînawâchihiwewi-ne-wîkiwan/Healing Our Home: Buildings of the Land’

• Redefining Green: Outcomes and Reflections from the Summit on Indigenous Rights and the Green Economy

More News

• ‘It’s not my walk. It’s the souls that survived this’ (ICT News)

• Peru court rules in favor of Kichwa territorial rights in the Amazon (Associated Press)

• Indigenous Brazilians protest EU-Mercosur deal in European Parliament (EuroNews)

• UN body raises alarm over potential mass displacement of indigenous peoples in India’s tiger reserves (Maktoob Media)

• Preah Roka Forest Reports Ignored as Activists Face Threats, Officials Deny Crimes (CamNews)

• Fighting on: Exiled Russian Indigenous rights activist on defending marginalised communities and resisting propaganda (Novaya Gazeta)

• In Panama, an Indigenous-led project rewrites the rules of reforestation (Mongabay)

• Ice roads are a lifeline for First Nations. As Canada warms, they’re disappearing. (Grist)

• Key nature fund failing to get money to frontline communities (International Institute for Environment and Development)

• German supermarket palm oil linked to Indigenous rights abuses in Guatemala (Mongabay)  

• Indigenous groups send eviction notice to Quebec forestry companies (The Canadian Press)

• Tribal Interests in the Future of the Colorado River Published as part of The Headwaters Report (Native American Rights Fund)

• Native Americans Silenced, Voters in Seven States Lose Right to Fight for Fair Representation (Native American Rights Fund)

• AI threatens Indigenous data sovereignty and digital self-determination (Policy Options)

• DeepDive: Shared prosperity: Indigenous economic reconciliation and meeting the moment of crisis (The Hub)