News of Note 5/30/25: Crisis for Ngäbe-Buglé and Emberá in Panama, Harms to Bajo from Nickel Mining, Indigenous Palm Oil Boycotts
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Resistance and Repression: The Dire Situation of Indigenous Peoples in the Face of the Political and Social Crisis in Panama (Cultural Survival)
“Indigenous Peoples are once again the target of disproportionate institutional violence that violates their individual and collective rights. The Ngäbe-Buglé and Emberá communities in particular have suffered an escalation of repression since May 14, with police incursions into their communities, arbitrary raids, arrests without due process, and excessive use of force, including the use of firearms, tear gas, and pellets.”
Indigenous Bajo suffer child deaths & toxic sludge amid green energy push (Mongabay)
“Nickel mining on Kabaena Island has caused severe environmental degradation, threatening the health, livelihoods and cultural identity of the Indigenous Bajo people and resulting in child deaths due to toxic sludge. Investigations by environmental groups revealed dangerous heavy metal contamination, deforestation and violations of environmental laws, linking the mining operations to politically exposed persons and global electric vehicle supply chains. Indonesia’s Environment Ministry has acknowledged the crisis, pledged enforcement and is developing restoration plans but has so far avoided criminal charges.”
‘We Are Witnessing Ecocide in West Papua, One of the World’s Richest Biodiversity Centres’ (Global Issues)
“In West Papua, Indigenous communities are boycotting palm oil products, accusing major corporations of profiting from environmental devastation and human rights abuses. Beyond environmental damage, Indigenous leaders are fighting what they describe as an existential threat to their cultural survival. Large-scale deforestation has destroyed ancestral lands and livelihoods, with Indonesian authorities enabling this destruction by issuing permits on contested Indigenous territories.”
Indigenous lands & protected areas are barely offsetting emissions from damage in the rest of the Amazon (Mongabay)
”Between 2013 and 2022, nearly all of the forest’s net carbon uptake came not from the biome as a whole, but from the half of it under protection or Indigenous stewardship, reports Abhishyant Kidangoor. A new report by Amazon Conservation, based on satellite data from Planet, finds that these areas absorbed 257 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — offsetting the 255 million tons emitted from the rest of the forest.”
More News
Despite global repression, Indigenous-led environmental movements fight on (Prism)
Rooted in Resilience: Reforestation Initiatives Led by Indigenous Youth (Cultural Survival)
Why Indigenous Land Rights Are Key to Protecting the Amazon (Global Citizen)
Brandi Morin in Ecuador: Science and tradition unite to fight a giant copper mine (Ricochet)
Last-minute changes to Ontario mining bill are not good enough, First Nations say (The Canadian Press)
Economic implications of reaffirming Indigenous land rights: Lessons from Canada (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis)
The Supreme Court rejects a plea to block a copper mine on land in Arizona that’s sacred to Apaches (Associated Press/ICT News)
Bad River Chairman: "Line 5 is a daily threat to our clean rivers and lakes, our fish, and our wild rice." (Native News Online)
Appeals court revives Native American challenge to $10B SunZia energy transmission project (Associated Press)
How the Trump administration is putting hundreds of sacred sites at risk (Grist)
Uluru — the work continues, with or without a voice (National Indigenous Times)