A Disappearing Brazilian Tribe Cries Out

Staff / Truthdig Apr 23, 2012 Terrorized by gunmen, loggers, drug traffickers and encroaching farmers, the 355 surviving members of the Amazonian Awá tribe face extinction if the Brazilian government and the international community fail to protect them from what a Brazilian judge termed "a real genocide." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The War in Acapulco’s Backyard

Staff / Truthdig Jun 23, 2011 The Mexican resort city of Acapulco is a vacation destination for U.S. travelers and locals alike, but a short distance away from the beaches, a battle among Mexican authorities, drug cartels and indigenous communities is playing out. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bolivia Set to Pass ‘Law of Mother Earth’

Staff / Truthdig Apr 11, 2011 In a political move that would make John Locke’s head explode, Bolivia is poised to pass a law that would grant nature equal rights with those afforded humans. The Law of Mother Earth is expected to usher in a radical new conservation policy against pollution and exploitation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

No Tourists Allowed

Staff / Truthdig Mar 26, 2011 A small town in the depths of the Amazon has declared itself off-limits to tourists. Why? Locals complain of tourists behaving badly and the fact that little of their spending actually benefits the indigenous people. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Brazil Judge Blocks Amazon Dam

Staff / Truthdig Feb 27, 2011 Plans to build a giant hydroelectric dam in the Amazon have been suspended by a Brazilian judge after the project sparked local and worldwide concern over its impact on the environment and the indigenous population. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Aussies Elect First Indigenous MP

Staff / Truthdig Aug 29, 2010 In a historic moment for Australia, an Aboriginal man has won a seat in the country's House of Representatives, the first indigenous person to be elected as an MP in Australia's century-long history as a democracy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Lone Frenchman Fights to Save Dying Alaskan Language

Staff / Truthdig Aug 10, 2010 It's not entirely clear what, besides a love of linguistics and an apparently compelling documentary, spurred young Guillaume Leduey to launch a one-man campaign to resuscitate an Alaskan language, Eyak (continued). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ Awes the Skeptics

Peter Z. Scheer / Truthdig Dec 16, 2009 The film industry has produced no shortage of spectacles over the last hundred years, from "Ben Hur" to "Star Wars." In terms of technological sorcery and visual wonder, James Cameron's "Avatar" now ranks chief among them. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Morales Closes In on 2nd Term

Staff / Truthdig Dec 6, 2009 Bolivia's President Evo Morales, opinion polls running heavily in his favor, appeared headed for a second five-year stint as president as voting wrapped up Sunday. The "peasant president" commands wide support among the country's poor indigenous people -- 65 percent of the population. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day

Staff / Truthdig Oct 12, 2009 Read historian Howard Zinn's account of that genocidal, gold-crazed maniac Christopher Columbus, and it's impossible to think this man deserves a holiday Upon meeting the Indians, for example, his first thought was "They would make fine servants With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want". Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Victory for Peru’s Amazon Natives

Staff / Truthdig Jun 17, 2009 After at least 54 people were killed in a bloody roadblock protest earlier this month, native groups in Peru have won a commitment from the government to revoke laws that opened the Amazon to foreign oil and gas companies to exploit indigenous land for resources. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Peru’s War on the Indigenous

Staff / Truthdig Jun 10, 2009 In clashes between native groups armed with spears and development interests packing guns, Peru has seen at least 50 people die and hundreds go missing after President Alan Garcia initiated a campaign to open the rain forest to foreign investors. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )