News of Note 9/19/25: Violence Against Land Defenders, Norway Divests from Mining Threats, ‘Brazil is Indigenous Land’

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Defending the Earth is deadly work. A new report illuminates how much. (Grist)
“Global Witness, an organization that investigates environmental and human rights abuses, released a new report documenting 146 cases of homicides and kidnappings of environmental and land defenders in 2024 — an average of three people killed or disappeared every week. The report’s authors say attacks occurred after speaking out or taking action to defend their lands, with many opposing mining, logging, and other extractive industries.”

Norway fund drops Eramet over Indonesia mine threatening forests, Indigenous tribe
“Norway’s $1.6 trillion government pension fund is divesting its $6.8 million stake in French miner Eramet after its ethics council found ‘unacceptable risk’ of severe environmental damage and human rights violations at the PT Weda Bay Nickel mine the company operates in Halmahera, Indonesia. Weda Bay Nickel sits in the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot and has already cleared about 2,700 hectares (6,700 acres) of rainforest since 2019, far exceeding its plan, threatening endemic species and risking extinctions before they’re documented.

Cultural Survival Quarterly - September 2025

• Brazil Is Indigenous Land

• Chief Nailton Pataxó: The Ancestral Struggle of Retomadas and the Outstanding Leadership of the Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe Peoples

• An Indigenous Leader and Activist from Northeast Brazil Defending Indigenous Health

• Sineia Do Vale: From Community-based Research to the International Indigenous Caucus for COP30 in Brazil

• Plants Are Life, Health, and Knowledge: The Role of Food Sovereignty in the Brazilian Amazon

• The Power of Radical Hospitality in Confronting Destruction in the Jequitinhonha Valley

• Living Heritage the Legacy of Indigenous Leaders through the Voices of Their Descendants

More News

• Guajajara: Climate policy starts with forests, Indigenous lands (Valor International)

• ’I would not cry’: National Day of Remembrance recognizes boarding school survivors and families (ICT News)

• How land grabbing harms the environment and its defenders How land grabbing harms the environment and its defenders (Global Witness)

• Study finds offshore projects risk next frontier of Indigenous dispossession (National Indigenous Times)

• Loss and Damage at COP30: Indigenous Leaders Challenge Top-Down Finance Models (Inter Press Service / Global Issues )

• Rare Earth Metals Must Not Come at the Cost of Indigenous Rights (The Revelator)

• How to Finance Community-Led Solutions (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

• Indigenous Opposition Mounts Against $53 Billion Teck-Anglo Merger (Discovery Alert)

• Cancellation of solar energy grants is ‘another broken promise’ for tribes, recipient says (South Dakota Searchlite)

• Unprecedented deal the Shoshone-Paiute struck with a Canadian gold company will test whether mining can align with Indigenous rights (Grist

• 18 Years of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Top Wins for Indigenous Peoples in 2024-2025 (Cultural Survival)