October 28, 2011- Native Americans got President Obama’s attention during a speech he was giving in Denver this week. As Native protesters held banners saying, “President Obama, Yes You Can Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline” and “Honor Indian Treaties,” Tom Poor Bear, Vice-President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, called out to the president from the back of the packed auditorium. Obama interrupted his prepared speech and acknowledged Poor Bear, saying, “I hear you. No decision has been made. I know your deep concern about it. We will address it. “

The Wixárika Regional Council and its allies in the Front for the Defense of Wirikuta Tamatsima Waha'a are mobilizing public events and demonstrations in Mexico City this week. They urge everyone to join them, both locally and internationally, in calling for permanent protection for the Wirikuta Natural and Cultural Reserve. Read their call to action below, in English, and the original Spanish here on their website.

On October 17, 2011, a Brazilian federal judge ruled that the controversial Belo Monte Dam licenses are illegal and should be revoked since the Brazilian government did not hold proper consultations with Indigenous communities that would be affected by the project.

Papua New Guinea’s government announced that it will restore the right of landowners to challenge in court any project they feel could be detrimental to the environment. According to reports in The National The National Executive Council agreed to repeal the Environmental Amendment Act, passed by the legislature in May 2010, which denied landowners this right.

On October 10, over 100 protesters marched to the Presidential Palace in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to demand a halt to the construction of the Patuca III hydroelectric dam. Miskitu, Garifuna and Lenca marchers called on the government to address 16 issues of concern to the Indigenous peoples of Honduras. 

Last week, Indigenous landowners rested their appeal to Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court, asking for a permanent injunction to prevent a Chinese nickel mine from dumping toxic mine waste into the Bismarck Sea.

The Oglala Sioux Nation has declared opposition to plans for the Keystone XL gas pipeline project unless the US government can agree to certain conditions set by the Nation. 

A Brazilian judge brought construction of the Belo Monte Dam project to a halt last week as he ruled in favor of environmental activists to protect fish species and the Indigenous people who depend on them for food and livelihoods. 

The following video was produced by Global Witness based on interviews and research in 67 communities of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  It tells the personal stories of the impacts of large-scale logging companies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxn5jfgED1w&feature=player_embedded