As part of an ongoing initiative to include Indigenous youth voices in petitions put forward by Indigenous organizations and groups, the first national Indigenous youth political discussion was held in Guatemala City on July 17, 2015. Youth representatives of all three linguistic groups in Guatemala: Mayan, Xinca and Garifuna, were present during the meeting. Previous regional meetings were held earlier during the year throughout Guatemala where a political agenda was developed from the various work-groups.

Press Release

GENEVA (7 July 2015) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, today urged the Government of Belize to ensure respect for the rights of the country’s Maya people to non-discrimination and traditional property.

“Under international human rights standards, indigenous peoples have the right to use, develop and also to control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership,” Ms. Tauli-Corpuz emphasized.

By Erika Mayer

By Cass Madden
 

On June 29, 2015, President of the UN General Assembly, Sam K. Kutesa, hosted the High-Level event on Climate Change at UN headquarters in New York.

Translated as “Young lady of Sololá” or “Beauty of Sololá”, Q’opoj Tz’olojyá is a tradition that has been maintained for over 40 years in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. It is not a beauty contest rather a competitive recognition of the strongest and well-rounded Indigenous women of Sololá.

Rigoberto Juárez, detained in March, 2015 for his activism in opposition to a proposed dam of a sacred river in Santa Cruz Barillas, Guatemala by the Spanish corporation, Hidro Santa Cruz, remains unjustly imprisoned in Guatemala City.

Reposted from Intercontinental Cry
By Richard Arghiris

UMass Boston’s Institute for New England Native American Studies (INENAS) and Suffolk University Law School’s Indigenous Peoples Rights Clinic are pleased to announce a year-long, statewide project, Massachusetts Native Peoples and the Social Contract: A Reassessment for Our Times. Supported by a grant from Mass Humanities, the two organizations will host four roundtable discussions and listening sessions in areas of the state with substantial Native American populations.

Photo by Robin Oisín Llewellyn

By Erika Mayer

By Cass Madden