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Public Event at the Naropa University Nalanda Events Center – Thursday Evening, April 13th

Rising Voices 5 brings together Indigenous science and western science in addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation. A distinguished panel of Indigenous activists and leaders will share their experiences and provide an opportunity for public dialogue on developing strategies for an actionable future in an era of uncertainty and climate change denial. 

Speakers include:

By Chantelle Bacigalupo

It is no secret that communities of color face a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards, and tribal communities are no exception. Marathon for Justice is a documentary by EmpathyWorks Films that tells the story of marginalized communities in Philadelphia, the Navajo Nation, and the Black Hills emphasizing the environmental injustices that these groups struggle against and fight with daily.

 

Canada: Save Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)—Again!

The fight is on to save Teztan Biny, "Fish Lake" a place of enormous cultural and spiritual significance for the The Tsilhqot’in Nation of British Colombia, Canada. Along with partners at work across Canada, Cultural Survival joins the Tsilhqot'in in demanding that "New Prosperity Mine" be cancelled and abandoned. But they need help from the international community to make their voices heard.

Guatemala: Todos y Todas Somos Barillas

El primero de mayo 2012, un líder comunitario de Guatemala fue asesinado por empleados de una empresa hidroeléctrica Española. La multitud se amotinó. Para responder, el presidente Otto Perez Molina declaró un estado de sitio en la municipalidad de Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango, territorio del pueblo Maya Q’anjob’al. Tanques y fuerzas armadas inundaron las calles del pueblo, persiguiendo y deteniendo lideres opuestos al proyecto hidroeléctrico.

Guatemala: We Are All Barillas- Stop a Dam on Our Sacred River!

On May 1, 2012, a community leader in Guatemala was killed by security guards of a Spanish hydroelectric company. Riots broke out. In response, President Molina declared martial law and army tanks descended into Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango. Heavily armed military lined the streets of the Q’anjob’al Maya town, seeking and detaining community leaders who were outspoken against the dam.

Kenya: Demand the World Bank Compensate the Maasai

For the Maasai people of the Rift Valley in Kenya, being evicted from their homeland has become all too common. Over the years, the government of Kenya has dispossessed over 4,000 families in the Naivasha region. Without alternative land to settle on or compensation for the losses they incurred during forced evictions, these families’ fates are uncertain. In the 1980s, the Maasai were evicted from their land to facilitate the creation of the Hells Gate National Park.

Honduras: Tell US and Honduran Officials to Respect Indigenous and Campesino Rights

For over five months, the Lenca community of Rio Blanco has been blocking the illegal construction of a hydroelectric dam, part of a larger mega-dam complex, on their territory with the help of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). The concession for this dam was illegally granted without the constitutionally protected consent of the Lenca people who live in the area and who depend on the river to grow the beans, corn, yucca, plantains, and other crops to survive.
As a presidential memorandum aims to intimidate the resistance against the Dakota Access oil pipeline passing through the Standing Rock Sioux’s lands in North Dakota, Indigenous Peoples from all over the world have come out to show their solidarity while they, too, oil pipelines crossing their lands without their consent.
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