June Solidarity Update 2024 // Actualización Solidaria de Junio 2024

Youth in Copal AA march towards the river with signs denouncing contamination of the earth and water. Photo by NISGUA internacionalistas. Jóvenes de Copal AA marchan hacia el río con carteles que denuncian la contaminación de la tierra y el agua. Fotografía por internacionalistas de NISGUA (Español [...]

Statement of ACODET 15th Ordinary Assembly

THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, DEFENSE OF THE LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES ACODET, IN ITS FIFTEENTH ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFORE THE PUBLIC OPINION, WE DECLARE:  We, the indigenous and ancestral authorities of the different indigenous communities of Ixcán, Cobán and Uspantán that make up the Association of [...]

2023-04-12T16:07:09+00:00April 12th, 2023|Defense of life and territory|

Comunicado 15 Asamblea Ordinaria ACODET

LA ASOCIACIÓN DE COMUNIDADES PARA EL DESARROLLO, DEFENSA DE LA TIERRA Y LOS RECURSOS NATURALES ACODET, EN SU DÉCIMA QUINTA ASAMBLEA GENERAL ORDINARIA ANTE LA OPINIÓN PÚBLICA, MANIFESTAMOS:  Nosotros y nosotras las autoridades indígenas y ancestrales de las diferentes comunidades indígenas de Ixcán, Cobán y Uspantán que conformamos la [...]

2023-04-12T15:59:16+00:00April 12th, 2023|defensa del territorio|

World Water Day: STATEMENT OF THE INTERCULTURAL SOCIAL MOVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE OF IXCÁN

Río Negro, Ixcan. Photo by NISGUA STATEMENT OF THE INTERCULTURAL SOCIAL MOVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE OF IXCÁN BEFORE PUBLIC OPINION Today, March 22, World Water Day, we express our great concerns about the national and municipal situation. The situation in the country is complicated for the Guatemalan population, [...]

THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THE DEFENSE OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES – ACODET- IN ITS THIRTEENTH REGULAR GENERAL ASSEMBLE, BEFORE THE PUBLIC OPINION

WE EXPRESS: We, the indigenous authorities, the ancestral cocodes authorities, women’s committees from the different indigenous communities of Ixcan, Cobán and Uspantan that compose the Association of Communities for Development and the Defense of Land and Natural Resources – ACODET- assembled today in the Q’eqchi Xalala indigenous community [...]

Sisters in struggle: Indigenous Environmental Network leadership trip to Guatemala

In September, NISGUA had the honor of hosting a delegation to Guatemala for representative leaders of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). The delegation featured talks with women land defenders, cultural exchanges, and a community visit to the Chixoy River watershed. There is also so much that cannot be captured [...]

2019-12-24T21:39:57+00:00November 1st, 2019|Defense of life and territory, Delegations|

Accompanier Perspectives: climate change and Indigenous organizing

Accompanier Olivia Pandolfi (they/she or elle/ella) writes about climate change and indigenous resistance in Quiché, Guatemala. In the text you'll read about extractivism, linguistics, and a multiple-hour Google Earth tour of Guatemala's river systems. ————— As the nine of us sit, crowded into the small meeting room on stools and [...]

Solidarity Update: April 2019

Our April Solidarity Update features a news recap: NISGUA and BTS Jointly Organize Webinars about Maya Achí Women’s Fight for Justice Report-back on 2019 Delegation: NISGUA and NMSU Organize Environmental Indigenous Leadership Exchange Accompanier Olivia Pandolfi Creates Zine about Community Consultations in Guatemala and more... [...]

2019 NISGUA Delegation: Environmental Indigenous Leadership Exchange

This March, NISGUA partnered with New Mexico State University to host a week-long exchange between Indigenous undergraduate students and Maya Q'eqchi', Mam, Q'anjob'al, and K'iche' environmental defenders. Ten NMSU students visited with NISGUA partners in the Chixoy and Copón Rivers watershed to learn about their grassroots organizing model that [...]

2019-05-29T23:04:46+00:00May 1st, 2019|Defense of life and territory, Delegations|

Solidarity Update: December 2018

News recap: Organizations demand justice in wake of assassinations and ongoing violence in Ixquisis, TAKE ACTION to stand with communities working to protect community consultations, NISGUA Speaking Tour shares lessons from successful organizing in Chixoy-Copón Rivers Watershed, KCA sues Guatemalan State in international court, survivors of sexual violence in Military Zone [...]

Media Advisory: Social movements at risk as technical coup unfolds in Guatemala

For a downloadable version of this media advisory, click here. For nearly a year and a half, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has repeatedly defied the rule of law by attacking the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). On January 7, Morales announced that his administration would [...]

2018 Tour Speaker Participates in “Indigenous Symposium: Water Protection”

As part of its visit to Las Cruces, New Mexico, NISGUA's fall 2018 speaking tour, "How to Stop a Dam with Indigenous Resistance," participated in a four-day symposium of events dedicated to facilitating direct exchange between Indigenous water protectors. NISGUA tour partner, Maya Mam community leader José Gómez of [...]

2019-12-25T00:46:17+00:00December 19th, 2018|Defense of life and territory, Tour|

NISGUA’s 2018 speaking tour builds connection between Indigenous water protectors in the US and Guatemala

This November, NISGUA partnered with the Association of Communities for Development and the Defense of Land and Natural Resources (ACODET) for a 14-day speaking tour, “How to Stop a Dam with Indigenous Resistance.” ACODET representative and Maya Mam leader, José Gómez García, visited Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, lifting [...]

2019-12-25T00:46:53+00:00December 11th, 2018|Defense of life and territory, Tour|

Four lessons on human rights that we’ve learned from defenders of life

On International Human Rights Day, we recognize that the language of human rights has not always served to advance social justice. In many cases, it has functioned as a smoke screen for imperial institutions to validate or obscure their violence. The U.S. government used the rhetoric of human rights [...]

Solidarity Update: November 2018

News recap: NISGUA celebrates a successful fall speaking tour; Communities celebrate another year of resistance; Take action to stand with Indigenous Peoples to demand respect for Indigenous self-determination in Guatemala; ACODET releases statement in the face of attacks against water defenders; 2018: a year of horizontal exchange - a [...]

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 [...]

2019-12-25T00:49:06+00:00November 13th, 2018|Defense of life and territory|

Solidarity Update: October 2018

Solidarity Update news recap: NISGUA’s Fall Speaking Tour Kicks Off in November; AJR President, Edwin Canil, speaks on the fight for justice for genocide in "Learning From Survivors" talk;  NISGUA welcomes a new GAP cohort; Former accompanier and NISGUA fellow Claire Bransky holds "500 Years Screening: Life in Resistance from Guatemala [...]

“So much to learn” – Meet the Organizers of Our Fall Speaking Tour

For decades, NISGUA has used grassroots speaking tours as a tool to build cross-border, people-to-people connections between social movements in the U.S. and Guatemala. With the support of scores of volunteers, activists, and organizers, NISGUA speaking tours have cultivated deeper understandings of the common forces our communities are up [...]

2019-12-25T00:49:48+00:00October 24th, 2018|Defense of life and territory, Tour|

Maya Mam environmental activist José Gómez of ACODET to tour the U.S.

MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: David Imhoff, (510) 763-1403, david@nisgua.org Event Details: Maya Mam Indigenous Water Defender to visit Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico & Washington (Guatemala City/Oakland, CA): José Gómez, Maya Mam community leader and co-coordinator of the Association of Communities for Development and the Defense of Land and Natural Resources [...]

2019-12-25T00:49:57+00:00October 19th, 2018|Defense of life and territory, Tour|

Gira de Charlas 2018: cómo frenar una represa a través de la resistencia indígena

En estos tiempos de represión cada vez más intensa y de inestabilidad política, urge compartir experiencias y estrategias concretas entre los movimientos para la defensa de la tierra y de la vida. El movimiento para la solidaridad internacional puede contribuir significativamente al fortalecimiento de los movimientos de justicia global [...]

2019-01-21T22:43:56+00:00August 27th, 2018|defensa del territorio, Gira, Represa Xalalá|

2018 Speaking Tour: How to Stop a Dam with Indigenous Resistance

In these times of intensifying repression and political upheaval, our social movements urgently need to share concrete lessons and strategies for organizing to defend land and life. The Latin American solidarity movement has a powerful contribution to make in strengthening global justice struggles by facilitating direct exchange between leaders [...]

2018-10-31T21:46:26+00:00July 29th, 2018|Defense of life and territory, Tour, Xalalá Dam|

Solidarity Update: March 2018

News recap: Prayerful action on the Equinox at the Ohlone Shellmound and Village Sacred Site in California; Genocide retrial moves to Nebaj to hear testimonies from elderly and protected witnesses; Nearly 40 years later, former military officials stand trial for crimes against the Molina Theissen family; NISGUA's latest report celebrates community [...]

Sí a la vida! Las comunidades del Ixcán conmemoran 10 años desde la consulta de buena fe que dijo ‘no’ a la extracción de recursos

Hace diez años, las comunidades del Ixcán practicaron sus tradiciones y derechos ancestrales como pueblos indígenas, celebrando una consulta de buena fe en el municipio donde 89.7% de las y los 21.555 participantes votaron en contra de permitir que las empresas extractivas ingresaran a sus territorios. El 20 de [...]

2019-12-25T01:19:45+00:00July 4th, 2017|defensa del territorio, Xalalá Dam|

Yes to life! Communities in the Ixcán commemorate 10 years since the referendum that said ‘no’ to resource extraction

Ten years ago, community members from the Ixcán exercised their ancestral traditions and rights as indigenous peoples, holding a municipality-wide community referendum in which 89.7% of the 21,555 participants in the referendum voted against allowing resource extraction companies into their territories. On April 20, 2017, Ixcán communities celebrated 10 [...]

2018-07-02T16:58:16+00:00May 5th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Xalalá Dam|

ACODET reaffirms peaceful resistance to the Xalalá Dam amid threats to environmental activists

Let us wake up! Let us wake up, humankind! We’re out of time. We must shake our conscience free of the rapacious capitalism, racism, and patriarchy that will only assure our own self-destruction. The Gualcarque River has called upon us, as have other seriously threatened rivers. We must answer [...]

2017-12-29T17:44:52+00:00March 16th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Xalalá Dam|

Expression of solidarity with the Duwamish Tribe in their struggle for tribal recognition

When Víctor Caal Tzuy from ACODET came to the U.S. last year on NISGUA's "Rivers for Life" tour, he met with Ken Workman, Duwamish Tribal Council Member and direct descendent of Chief Si'ahl. Both men shared common experiences as indigenous people, fighting for their communities and the health of their [...]

2019-12-27T18:45:24+00:00October 15th, 2015|Defense of life and territory, Xalalá Dam|

Accompanier Perspectives: Ixcán

Since the mid-1990s, members of the NISGUA network have provided a physical international presence to threatened human rights defenders and communities in the Ixcán. We invite you to read the following reflection piece from one of our current accompaniers, Kayla Myers, about the violence of the past and the ongoing [...]

2017-11-25T19:36:15+00:00June 11th, 2015|Accompanier Perspectives|

Victory for communities threatened by the Xalalá dam: Contract for feasibility studies canceled

NISGUA's 2014 Rivers for Life speaking tour featured ACODET, an association made up of more than 50 communities whose livelihoods and culture are threatened by the possible construction of the Xalalá dam. During the tour we mobilized our grassroots base to stand in solidarity with impacted communities by calling [...]

2019-12-27T18:49:30+00:00June 11th, 2015|Defense of life and territory, Xalalá Dam|

Uncertainty around the Xalalá Hydroelectric Project

Posted on February 28, 2015 by ACOGUATE Translation by NISGUA On November 7, 2013, the National Electrification Institute (Instituto Nacional de Electrificación, INDE) signed an Emergency Purchase contract with the Brazilian company Intertechne Consultores, S.A. to conduct the geotechnical, seismic, geological and geophysical feasibility studies for the Xalalá dam, [...]

2019-12-27T18:59:20+00:00March 17th, 2015|Defense of life and territory, Xalalá Dam|

Reflections on the “Rivers for Life: Cultural Resistance to the Xalalá Dam” fall speaking tour

Tour speaker, Víctor Caal Tzuy, shows NISGUA's Rivers for Life solidarity banner to ACODET members from Las Margaritas Copón. The goals for the 2014 NISGUA speaking tour were much like those which have guided us during our 33 years as a human rights, solidarity organization: amplify Guatemalan voices and [...]

2017-12-08T22:13:43+00:00November 3rd, 2014|Defense of life and territory, Tour|

The Q’eqchi’ and the Duwamish

This article was originally published in Spanish, online at elsalmon.org By Alejandro Echeverría October 13, 2014 Indigenous leaders Víctor Caal Tzuy and Ken Workman Ken Workman is a Seattle native who despite his tall stature, has characteristics that evoke his famous 19th century ancestor - the indigenous Chief of [...]

NISGUA Fall Tour 2014

FULL ITINERARY: SEATTLE, WA.; OCTOBER 2-6 Area Contact Phil Neff: phil.neff@gmail.com OCTOBER 2 Seattle University, 1:30-2:30pm 901 12th Avenue Bannan Building, Room 102 Seattle, WA 98122 Traditions Fair Trade Café; 7-8:30pm $5-15 Sliding Donation 300 5th Avenue SW Olympia, WA 98501 OCTOBER 3 Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center, 5:00pm [...]

2018-01-11T20:14:15+00:00September 18th, 2014|Tour, Xalalá Dam|
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