Native rights

Ta’Kaiya Blaney on First Nations: “We’re Awake and We’re Standing Up”

Video: She’s only 11 years old, but she’s already been working for environmental justice for a few years now. Here, she addresses the crowd at an Idle No More event in British Columbia.

| Jan 19, 2013

Activism

Indigenous Women Take the Lead in Idle No More

Motivated by ancient traditions of female leadership as well as their need for improved legal rights, First Nations women are stepping to the forefront of the Idle No More movement.

Kristin Moe | Jan 19, 2013

Activism

“Flash Mob Prayer Circle” Shows Idle No More’s Spiritual Side

Speakers at an Idle No More event in Seattle drew comparisons between spiritual and political struggles, making the movement seem closer to Civil Rights than Occupy.

James Trimarco | Jan 15, 2013

Welcome to Blockadia!

The corporate push to construct tar-sands pipelines is transforming the environmental movement across North America by increasing the involvement of local residents and normalizing the use of direct action.

Jesse Fruhwirth, Melanie Jae Martin | Jan 12, 2013

Mental health

In Rural Mexico, Student-Led Education Heals Old Wounds

Unitierra has no classrooms, no teachers, and no formal curriculum. Yet the school has successfully helped local people learn practical skills for years.

Mike Emiliani | Jan 12, 2013

Idle No More Rises to Defend Ancestral Lands—and the Planet

Bill McKibben on the tradition of environmental activism he’s seen among members of First Nations, and the unique role of the Idle No More movement in the fight against climate change.

Bill McKibben | Jan 11, 2013

Citizens United

Why First Nations Movement Is Our Best Chance for Clean Land and Water

In an urgent pursuit for environmental justice and basic human rights, First Nations gather across North America under the banner of Idle No More.

Winona LaDuke | Jan 10, 2013

Activism

Idle No More: Indigenous Uprising Sweeps North America

Idle No More has organized the largest mass mobilizations of indigenous people in recent history. What sparked it off and what’s coming next?

Kristin Moe | Jan 10, 2013

A Mall of America Flash Mob for First Nations’ Rights

Hundreds of supporters of the Idle No More movement performed a Round Dance flash mob, one of many similar actions around the world to fight for indigenous land rights.

| Jan 5, 2013

Should Chiapas Farmers Suffer for California’s Carbon?

A California proposal would offset the state’s climate-altering emissions by paying for forest conservation in Chiapas. Could there be unintended consequences in a region with a history of human rights abuse and land grabs?

Jeff Conant | Nov 13, 2012

Sustainable food and farming | Health care

Traditional Foods Help Remind Us Who We Are

Tribes are pursuing a hands-on approach to finding and preparing Native foods that give spiritual sustenance, too.

Kim Eckart | Oct 30, 2012

Same-Sex Marriage Brings Healing to Me—and My Tribe

Heather Purser set out to win gay marriage rights within the Suquamish Tribe and found herself on a personal journey toward self-acceptance.

Madeline Ostrander | May 11, 2012

Renewable energy | Activism | Jobs

Henry Red Cloud: Solar Warrior for Native America

Bringing renewable energy and jobs to reservations.

Talli Nauman | Dec 19, 2011

Health care

The Healing of Wild Horses: Our Truths Come From Tenure on This Land

On the Trail of Tears, we walked from one history into more difficult times, and by the time we reached Indian Territory, Oklahoma, none of our ponies remained.

Linda Hogan | Mar 9, 2011

All in the Ohana

How Hawaiians embrace the land, its abundance, and their responsibility to each other.

Puanani Burgess | Dec 14, 2010

Water

Western Showdown: Saving the Klamath River

How the tribes of the Klamath stood up for the salmon—and won.

Alice Outwater | May 28, 2010

Water

Ancient Traditions Keep Desert Waters Flowing

New Mexico's acequias—communal irrigation canals—still function as a tool to preserve and share scarce desert water.

Arturo Sandoval | May 13, 2010

Ecuador Offers a Half-Off Climate Swap

The ITT oil fields, located within Ecuador's Yasuní National Park, have become the center of an experiment that could bring equity and human rights into the climate equation.

Brooke Jarvis | Jan 30, 2008

Evo Morales: Indigenous Power

Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, is forwarding a socially just agenda that promotes the country's sovereignty and multiculturalism.

Jubenal Quispe | May 12, 2007

Surviving Hard Times: It’s not for sissies

Hopi and Iroquois prophecies draw on long cultural memories, offering practical approaches to surviving hard times.

John Mohawk | May 9, 2006

Citizens United | Water

Bringing Back Desert Springs

The Hopi people of the Black Mesa region know how to farm and thrive in the desert Southwest. But a giant coal company is draining the aquifer that feeds their sacred springs and makes their livelihood possible.

Gary Nabhan | Jan 1, 2004