On December 26, 1862, thirty-eight Dakota men were hanged at Fort Snelling in Mankato, Minnesota in the largest mass execution in the history of the United States. Ordered by President Abraham Lincoln, the execution functioned as the U.S. response to the killings that took place during what is now known as the “U.S. – Dakota War.” As a method through which to commemorate the loss of life and counteract the horror of the tragedy, every year, people of the Dakota Nation travel parts of the country by horse, spreading messages of harmony.

By Ben Ole Koissaba

By First Peoples Worldwide

August 9 was the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. In Guatemala, Indigenous groups and organizations around the country commemorated this event by shutting down all the major highways in the country with organized demonstrations. The demonstrations took place to demand that the rights of Indigenous communities be respected. Indigenous organizations around the country coordinated efforts so that the demands listed at each protest were the same.

Originally posted by Greenpeace International
 

Amsterdam, August 8, 2013 – The endangered Chimpanzee stands to have swathes of its forest habitat in Cameroon destroyed if a US company's controversial plans to establish a palm oil plantation in the area are not stopped.

Thank you for doing this work. FPIC is a critical part of self-determination – and an inspiration for the Idle No More movement.
-Mining Watch Canada, via Twitter

We love this new radio series from Cultural Survival! FPIC for all!
- First People’s Worldwide

On August 11, 2013, Radio Ixchel, one of the most successful community radio stations in our Guatemalan community radio network, is celebrating 10 years on the air. Radio Ixchel is located in Sumpango, Sacatepéquez, a quaint municipality located about 45 minutes from the nation’s capital, Guatemala City. The station is located at one of the highest points in this hilly village, allowing it to broadcast to the entire 45,000 inhabitants of Sumpango.

By First Peoples Worldwide

On July 24, Andres Bol, an Indigenous resident of Crique Carco village, Belize, stood in front of a room of 115 Mayan villagers, and delivered the following message:

In July 2013, members of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), along with representatives of States, Indigenous Peoples, NGOs, human rights institutions, academics and UN Bodies gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Sixth Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  The five-day session convened around several discussions that endorsed the Alta Outcome Document as the official document for the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples; addressed the implementation and accountability of the UN Declaration on the Rig