Two Men Who Stood Under the Plunderers’ Knives

Amy Goodman / Truthdig Jun 10, 2009 Ken Saro-Wiwa and Alberto Pizango never met, but they are united by a passion for the preservation of their people and their land, and by the fervor with which they were targeted by their respective governments. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Bolivia’s Indigenous Majority Catches a Break

Staff / Truthdig Jan 26, 2009 Bolivian President Evo Morales, himself an Aymara Indian, has won a referendum on a new constitution granting special privileges to Bolivia's indigenous people. The electorate split along racial lines, with the country's elite white and mixed-race minorities largely opposing the measure. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Lawsuit Says Church Used Alaska as a Dumping Ground for Pedophiles

Staff / Truthdig Jan 16, 2009 A new lawsuit alleges that the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church sent problem priests to remote Alaskan villages, where their crimes would have a reduced chance of discovery. A former monk and advocate for sex abuse victims told the Anchorage Daily News, "They were specifically targeting the Athabascan and the Yup'ik cultures, because they wouldn't talk." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Brazilian Indians Win Land Battle

Staff / Truthdig Dec 11, 2008 The native people of the state of Roraima have won an important legal victory before Brazil's Supreme Court. With 100 similar cases hanging in the balance, the court decided to keep an Indian reservation intact, to the chagrin of farmers, loggers and even some military leaders. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Canada to Apologize to Indigenous Groups

Staff / Truthdig Jun 11, 2008 Following a similar move by Australia earlier this year, Canada's prime minister will offer a formal apology to the country's indigenous peoples for the state's unjust treatment of them, most notably the forced enrollment of more than 100,000 native students in state-funded Christian boarding schools aimed at assimilating them into white society. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Opposition Calls for Referendum on Bolivia’s Morales

Staff / Truthdig May 9, 2008 Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, will face a confidence vote in the next 90 days as opposition groups continue their push to remove him from power. The vote comes on the tail of last week's unofficial and meaningless referendum for autonomy in which the wealthy state of Santa Cruz voted for greater independence from the federal government. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Australian Gov’t to Apologize to Aborigines

Staff / Truthdig Jan 30, 2008 Even though imperialism clearly isn't a thing of the past as a global phenomenon, the Australian government is preparing to verbally own up to a painful chapter from its own national history by formally apologizing to Aborigines for past attempts at "civilizing" their people via forced assimilation initiatives that spanned more than five decades. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.N. Throws Native People a Bone

Staff / Truthdig Sep 14, 2007 After 22 years of debate and opposition (not to mention centuries of exploitation and genocide), the United Nations has finally approved the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a nonbinding treaty meant to promote the human, territory and resource rights of native people around the world. Only four nations voted against the measure: the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Virginia House Finally Regrets Slavery

Staff / Truthdig Feb 4, 2007 Stopping short of a full-blown apology, Virginia's House of Delegates voted unanimously on Friday to issue a statement of "profound regret" over the state's role in the slave trade, "the historic wrongs visited upon native peoples" and "all other forms of discrimination and injustice". Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )