Maybe Facebook has provided a helping hand. All around the world, indigenous groups are finding voice, through Facebook and other non-mainstream media, with a message common to all – Save Mother Earth.
Brenda Norrell, in her useful news service, writes that indigenous Elders and Medicine People said there is no time left to defend the Earth.
(See full story by Brenda Norrell here – Indigenous Elders: No time left to defend the Earth – http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2013/11/indigenous-elders-no-time-left-to.html )
Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Lakota, with a Council of Indigenous Elders and Medicine Peoples, issued a statement saying mankind can no longer ignore the teachings to protect the Earth. The Indigenous Council described the destruction that has been created by man and is now out of control, including Fukushima and fracking in North America, Norrell writes.
This is a message common to many groups, whether Chief Raoni and his call to protect the Amazon, the concern voiced by aboriginal elders about the invasive mining of their land in Australia, or the growing swell of support for Idle No More in Canada and its call to protect the land, water air and rights of the original inhabitants of North America.
The First Nations anti-fracking protest in New Brunswick, Canada, is a prominent example of those who feel their roots in the land trying to protect it from invasive fossil fuel companies. By standing up to protect the land and waterways, the group was subject to attack by the authorities, who, the protestors claim, work for or are paid by the companies who are in league with the local and federal governments.
As Norrell writes: Amnesty International Canada said the RCMP attack on the Mi’kmaq anti-fracking camp on Oct. 17 in Elsipogtog would not have happened if Canada had adhered to international laws and human rights standards, including the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canada’s own laws and Treaties.
Amnesty released the statement with the Canadian Friends Service Committee and Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, which said, “ .. this clash could have been avoided had the province acted in a manner consistent with its obligations to respect the human rights of Indigenous peoples under Canadian and international law.”
Canadian police, RCMP, accompanied by police dogs and snipers, attacked the camp and abused and pepper sprayed women and elderly, Norrell writes.
Indigenous groups – whether in North or South America, Asia, Africa or Australia – are often in the minority. But they have an ancient sense of attachment to the land and a kinship with the animals. The groups may be relatively small, yet they come with a powerful message, stressing the need to protect the planet. And their call has reverberated with many other people who are waking up to the crucial need to act now before it is too late.
For more interesting news and issues on similar subjects, check out CENSORED NEWS at http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
