News of Note 7/11/25: Indigenous Win Against Mercury Pollution in Columbia, Ecuador Law Threatens Land Rights, Coal Impacts on Sacred Site in Australia

Top Stories

Indigenous Amazonians win landmark ruling against mercury pollution in Colombia (Mongabay)
“Colombia’s Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of 30 Indigenous communities in the Amazon, ordering protection measures due to mercury contamination from gold mining that threatens their health, food security and cultural survival. The contamination affects key rivers and fish consumed by the communities, with mercury levels found up to 17 times above safe limits, putting traditional knowledge systems, recognized by UNESCO, at serious risk. The ruling suspends new gold mining licenses in the Yuruparí macroterritory until intercultural dialogue is held and a remediation plan is established. Various government ministries are assigned specific responsibilities. The court also mandated regular monitoring and inclusive implementation, with biannual hearings and Indigenous participation, marking a judicial precedent for Indigenous-led environmental justice and the protection of ancestral knowledge.”

Ecuador approves controversial law on protected areas, sparking legal threats (Associated Press)
“Ecuador’s parliament has approved a new law on protected areas that has drawn sharp criticism from Indigenous groups, legal experts and environmental advocates who say it threatens Indigenous land rights and violates both national and international protections. The law, which passed on Thursday in the 151-seat National Assembly with 80-23 votes in favor, with the remaining lawmakers absent during the vote, allows private entities, including foreign companies, to participate in managing conservation zones. [...] Opponents also say the law violates at least 15 international agreements — including the ILO Convention 169, the Escazú Agreement, and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — and that the lawmakers failed to consult with affected communities as required by law.”

An Indigenous Australian community is fighting to protect sacred springs from a coal mine (BBC)
“The flame marks the site of a protest that has been going on for more than four years. It stands at the heart of a long-running standoff between part of the local Indigenous community and the Carmichael coal mine, one of the country's most controversial mining projects. The mine, owned by Indian energy giant Adani which operates locally as Bravus, sits just across the road. It is located on the traditional land of the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) people. [...] At the heart of their resistance is Doongmabulla Springs, a sacred site which they believe was created by the rainbow serpent Mundagudda – a powerful ancestral being in many ancient Aboriginal creation stories, often associated with water, creation and the land.”

Debates Indígenas July 2025

• “The Only Limitation of Indigenous Justice regards Crimes Against Humanity”

• Customary Justice of Indigenous Peoples in Colombia: Between Reality and Historical Debt

• Nine Years of Autonomy: The Wampís Nation’s Process of Rebuilding Self-Government

• Between Eclipse and Resistance: Experiences of Autonomy among the Indigenous Peoples of Nepal

• Gunadule Women Resisting: Culture and Identity in the Face of Internal Colonialism

• Autonomy and the Forced Displacement of Indigenous Communities in Mexico

• The Struggle for Indigenous Self-Governance in Asia: A Democratic Alternative to Authoritarianism

More News

• Tanzania: Maasai Call on Volkswagen to Withdraw from Carbon Offset Program (Focus on Africa)

• Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste (Japan Times)

• Cambodia: Hydropower dam construction on Lower Srepok 3 likely forces thousands of families, incl. Indigenous Peoples, out of their land; communities and experts voice environmental and social concerns and lack of consultation (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre)

• Nepal: Civil society report alleges that Indigenous Peoples rights were denied in hydropower project development (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre)

• U’wa people await implementation of landmark court ruling against Colombian gov’t (Mongabay)

• ‘We don’t want contact because you are bad’: loggers close in on uncontacted people in Peruvian Amazon (The Guardian)

• Criminalization and Judicial Terrorism against Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala (North American Congress on Latin America)

• Indigenous businesses deliver $42.6 billion in social value, new report finds [Australia] (National Indigenous Times)

• Much to celebrate as NAIDOC Week turns 50, but also much to learn (The Conversation)

• Failure of Voice gives 'green light' to councils to roll back Indigenous rights (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

• Building Canada Act a 'troubling threat' to Indigenous rights, says Amnesty International Canada (CBC News)

• ‘Indigenous lives matter’: Arizona’s Turquoise Alert for missing Indigenous people goes live (News From The States)

• Native CDFIs are positioned to step up, even without promised federal funds (ImpactAlpha)

• As climate change alters lakes, tribes and conservationists fight for the future of spearfishing (Associated Press)

• ‘Our doors would have to close’: Trump’s proposed cuts threaten tribal colleges (Montana Free Press)

• National Native Organizations and Tribal Leaders Respond to Ann Clouter’s ‘We Didn’t Kill Enough Indians’ Remark (Native News Online)