Beyond Borders

  Written by: Abby Stover Photo: https://blogforarizona.net/oak-flat-kirkpatrick-stands-with-mccain-flake-gosar-salmon-schweikert-franks-video/ In 1872, a small piece of land near current-day Phoenix, was designated as a reservation by President Grant.   It had been decided that this land would be the forever home of the Yavapai and the Chiricahua Apache Peoples.   Prior to this, these people had lived nomadically, never settling in one place, but following buffalo as they migrated each season.   The conditions on this land, the San Carlos reservation, were so poor that it was known as Hell’s Forty Acres.   While they did not end up living long-term on this land, the San Carlos Apache have remained fierce defenders of this space that was dedicated for their religious use.   One of the sacred spaces on this land is known to them as Chich’il Bildagoteel, or “Oak Flat” in English.   Oak Flat is where the San Carlos Apache still hold their coming-of-age ce...

  Written by: Jae St. Pierre https://cambodiaexpatsonline.com/newsworthy/cry-alarm-prey-lang-wildlife-santuary-being-gutted-t38150.html Introduction to the issue The indigenous Kuy people in Cambodia have been struggling with the issue of illegal logging, land grabbing, and the effects that these actions has had on their community, culture, and well-being for a very long time. For this blog we will look at these issues with a time span beginning around 2011 to current time, as this issue is still ongoing. Introduction to the Kuy people From my research the Cambodia’s Kuy people live all over the northern, middle, and eastern areas of Cambodia, in provinces such as Mondulkiri, Rattanakiri, Preah Vihear, Stung Treng, Kratie, and Kampong Thom. The people who identify as Khmer in Cambodia would classify the Kuy and many other ethnic groups as “ethnic minorities, hill tribes, Khmer Loue and more dehumanizing terms”, all meaning that these people are “primitive” or “savages”, which is ju...

  Written by: Joseph Rector https://artoftheindians.wordpress.com/huichol-culture/ The Huichol are Indigenous people from the Western Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico. The Huichol territory is in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, Durango, and San Luis Potosi   (Liffman 2014) . Over time the Huichol have seen their land shrink. There have been people trying to take land from and destroy the culture of the Huichol throughout history. Originally it was the Spanish colonists and missionaries who invaded the land to exploit resources and spread Christianity. Today, it is the Mexican government on behalf of various industries. Despite these challenges the tribe has managed to hold on to portions of their land and maintain much of the historical cultural and religious practices that have gone on for thousands of years. The Huichol beliefs and spiritual practices are strongly tied to the plants, animals, and land that surround them. Some of the many elements from the H...

  Written by: Emma L. https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2021/03/02/southeast-tribes-and-fishermen-angry-over-halt-to-alaska-canada-water-analysis/                Beginning in 2019, the USGS Alaska Science Center started collecting water quality, sediment, and biological sampling on the Alsek, Taku, Stikine, Unuk, and Salmon Rivers, which begin in Canada and flow into southeast Alaska. They also started collecting samples annually at the Canada-Alaska border crossings of the Taku, Stikine, and the Unuk Rivers. The purpose of this sampling and research is to study the effects mining in Canada has on the water quality downstream in Alaska. All of these rivers support customary, traditional, recreational, and commercial salmon fisheries, which contribute to about $1 billion annually. These transboundary watersheds are within the traditional lands of several Alaska Native tribes as well as the First Nations people, and salmon have been an inte...

  Written by: Harrison Kulak https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/watersheds/leech-lake-river The focus of this blog is intended to inform the reader on the exploitation of property of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribe. The Leech Lake native American tribe located in north central Minnesota in Cass County. Leech Lake is comprised with forests and lakes, swampy terrain, pine trees, and streams. Leech lake is known for producing rice. Today, the reservation sits under water, and the government owns much of the property. According to Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe website, the county, state, and federal government owns more than half of the original land. The current estimate of the number that live in Leech Lake is around 10,000 people. In the 1940’s and 50’s the land in the Chippewa National Forest was taken from the Leech Lake tribe. The ‘so called players’ in the history of land in Leech Lake include it’s members, the government, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. What really began the l...

  Written by: Allisia Joyce Photo of the Serpent Mound in Ohio  For decades, countless Native American nations have existed. These Native nations were acquired by the United States Government for land and resources. Today, federal actions have taken a place in order to redress these actions and provide Native Americans with their previously owned land and sacred sites. Now that these unjusts have been nullified, the Natice American’s sacred sites are now being desecrated. For years, Native American sacred sites are now being desecrated for religious, economical, and educational reasons. Some Native American sites have been destroyed in the name of science. An example of this is Native American burial ground at Strawtown Koteewi Park in Noblesville, Indiana. Here, an archaeologist team had discovered human bones during an extravasation. After a discovery like this, the law is to notify the Native American tribes but “Instead, they studied, cataloged and boxed up the bone frag...

  Written by: Erin Elliott https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16082018/keystone-xl-oil-pipeline-map-new-route-environmental-impact-statement-nepa-transcanada-tar-sands/           In 2008, the original idea for the Keystone XL Pipeline was proposed, and this idea included a pipeline that would, if fully completed, run crude oil from Oklahoma all the way up to Canada. This idea was extremely beneficial for those who had a financial stake in the project, as this would be a quick and effective way to transport oil long distances at a relatively low cost. However, the specific type of oil that this pipeline would carry is unlike most other crude oils, as this specific type of oil called “tar sand oil” has an increased capability of eroding pipe and can generally be more destructive.             It is knowing this information that we can see how this kind of pipeline could be extremely harmful to nativ...

  Written by: Jendayi Day https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/what-if-great-m-hele-wasnt-foreign-imposition#stream/0             When considering the ownership of Hawaiian lands, most people would assume the majority of the province is owned by Pacific Islanders. However, people are now coming to realize that such an optimistic outlook is not the case in real life. Native Hawaiian people have been struggling with land disputes for an extremely long time and though progress is being made, the issues remain largely unchanged.                Native Hawaiians inhabited these islands decades before non-natives, who came mostly to create and profit off of plantations and convert the locals to Christianity. However, Hawaiian leadership began to slowly lose power in the face of colonization. Along with many major losses came land restrictions that favored non-hawaiians above all. This made clear in the Newla...

  Written by: Adam Clark https://religionnews.com/2021/03/05/why-oak-flat-in-arizona-is-a-sacred-space-for-the-apache-and-other-native-americans/           “The Resolution copper mine project will desecrate Chich’il Bildagoteel, also known as Oak Flat, which is the heart of our religious and cultural beliefs,”. This is what chairman San Carlos Apache Chairman Terry Rambler said to a News 13 reporter when asked how he felt about the transferring of ownership of his tribal land to a mining company. Rambler’s tribal land is located in Oak Flat, Arizona. This land was home to the Apache tribe and others before they were forced off of it. It is a sacred place for not only the Apache tribe but other tribes as well. Oak Flat is home to a very historic site where 75 Apache warriors jumped off a cliff. They jumped off the cliff instead of being killed by US troops that were surrounding them. This showed they would die for this sacred land. Just as their ancesto...