News of Note 5/9/25: Apache Sacred Site Transfer Halt, Clean Water Mandated in Pará, Lithium Lawsuit Against Indigenous Defenders
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Federal Court Halts Destruction of Oak Flat (Native News Online)
“A federal court has issued an order halting the U.S. government’s plans to transfer Oak Flat—the most sacred site of the Western Apaches—to a multinational mining corporation for destruction. In the case Apache Stronghold v. United States, the government recently indicated it could hand over the land as soon as June 16, 2025, to Resolution Copper, a mining company with Chinese ownership, which intends to transform the sacred site into a massive copper mine. This would effectively end Apache religious practices tied to the land.”
Court orders Federal Government to provide clean water to Indigenous Peoples in Pará (Revista Cenarium)
”On April 30, the Federal Court ordered the federal government to begin supplying clean water regularly to Indigenous communities located in the municipalities of Itaituba, Jacareacanga, Aveiro, Novo Progresso, and Trairão, in Southwest Pará. [...] The historic drought affecting the Amazon has intensified the hardship faced by Indigenous peoples. With a drastic drop in river levels and water contamination from mercury – a byproduct of illegal mining – entire villages have been forced to rely on polluted streams to meet basic needs. A study cited by the MPF found mercury in 87.5% of hair samples from residents of the Sawré Aboy village. “
This lithium company is trying to sue Indigenous land defenders into silence (The Real News)
“Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is developing a massive lithium mine in Nevada’s remote Thacker Pass, but for nearly five years several local Indigenous tribes and environmental organizations have tried to block or delay the mine in the courts and through direct action. Six land defenders, known as the “Thacker Pass 6,” are currently being sued by Lithium Nevada Corporation and have been barred by court injunction from returning to and peacefully protesting and praying at the sacred site on their ancestral homeland.”
More News
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Seeking justice for missing and murdered Indigenous people (PBS Wisconsin/ICT News)
Indigenous activist’s [Sandra Estefana Dominguez Martinez] disappearance and killing cause outcry in Mexico’s Oaxaca state (Los Angeles Times)
Want climate solutions in Indigenous territories? Better get consent. (Grist)
Consultation doesn’t always equal consent (ICT News)
Colombia takes regional lead in Indigenous self-government, raising hopes for Amazon protection (Associated Press)
Facing the Bulldozers: Iban Indigenous Resistance to the Timber Industry in Sarawak, Malaysia (Human Rights Watch)
Viral standoff at Philippines’ Mt. Pinatubo exposes decades of Indigenous exclusion (Mongabay)
UN rights body rules Guatemala failed displaced Mayan Peoples (UN News)
Trump Is Taking a Wrecking Ball to Indigenous Education (The Nation)
NCAI Condemns Trump Administration’s Elimination of Boarding School Truth and Preservation Funding (Native News Online)
Flooding Fort Berthold: The History of Three Native American Tribes and One Dam, with Angela Parker (Resources Radio)
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month has only grown in 5 decades (Associated Press)
Closing The Financial Access Gap: Empowering Native Women, Transforming Economies (Oweesta/Forbes)