2018 NISGUA Tour stops in Duwamish and Coastal Salish Territories
As the kick-off to NISGUA’s 2018 tour, “How to Stop a Dam with Indigenous Resistance,” we travelled to Seattle on occupied Duwamish and Coastal Salish territories. Duwamish Tribal Chair Cecile Hansen and Jolene Hass generously welcomed Maya Mam activist José Gómez and members of the NISGUA network to the Duwamish Longhouse, to exchange strategies as Indigenous peoples and other [...]
Municipality of Mataquescuintla celebrates over six years of mining resistance
On November 11, 2018, six years after the municipality of Mataquescuintla voted “NO” in a referendum on mining, thousands of community members marched to uphold the results and re-affirm their resistance. The 2012 referendum, which saw 98.42% of participants reject mining, is one of several that have taken place in the area and has played a key role in [...]
Xinka Parliament denounces illegalities as court-ordered consultation process begins
The following article was co-written by the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network, Earthworks, and NISGUA. On November 19, 2018, the Xinka Parliament held a press conference to denounce the malicious behaviour of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), and Minera San Rafael at the outset of the court-ordered consultation [...]
Ríos para la Vida: ACODET Denuncia Criminalización, Ataques contra Defensores de los Ríos
En las últimas semanas, los defensores del agua en Guatemala se han enfrentado amenazas crecientes. El viernes pasado, el líder comunitario q’eqchi’ Bernardo Caal Xol fue injustamente sentenciado a siete años y cuatro meses de prisión en Cobán. Fue condenado por detención ilegal y robo agravado, a pesar de evidencia contradictoria e insuficiente presentada por el Ministerio Público. Caal [...]
Rivers for Life: ACODET Denounces Criminalization and Attacks on Water Defenders
In the past few weeks, water defenders in Guatemala have faced growing threats. Last Friday, Q'eqchi' community leader Bernardo Caal Xol was unjustly sentenced to seven years and four months in prison in Cobán. He was convicted of illegal detention and aggravated robbery, despite contradictory and insufficient evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor's office. Caal has been repeatedly targeted for his [...]
Open for signatures: International statement of Indigenous Peoples on the right to self-determination
Español abajo. The following statement was written by Indigenous communities in the Ixcán, Cobán, and Uspantán regions of Guatemala. At the request of the authors, NISGUA invites Indigenous and Indigenous-descendent individuals and Indigenous-led organizations to add their signatures. To sign on, please email NISGUA's Guatemala Programs Coordinator, Becky Kaump, at becky@nisgua.org. For individual signatures, please include name, location, and, [...]