The situation of indigenous peoples in Brazil has been worsening for years, but under the current administration, we’re moving dangerously fast toward a tipping point from which the Amazon rainforest – and the indigenous peoples who depend on it for their survival – cannot recover.
Our Maya Q’eqchi’ clients in Guatemala reached a major milestone in their 40+ year effort to secure their land titles. In late October, the government officially issued and registered the Agua Caliente Lote 9 community’s land title. FONTIERRAS, the national land titling agency, delivered the title to the community during a ceremony and celebration on November 25th, 2019.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will rehear arguments in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, a case challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act by claiming – wrongly – that ICWA is racially discriminatory
[Helena, MT, July 2, 2019] - The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has recommended that the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States, in cooperation with UN entities, “organize an international expert group meeting, by 2021, on ongoing issues of violence against indigenous women and girls in the region, including trafficking as well as the continuing crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.” The Permanent Forum made this recommendation in response to the voices of countless indigenous advocates and allies who have done so much work to bring awareness to
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a public hearing on 13 February 2019 to discuss the human rights situation of indigenous peoples in Brazil
Earlier this week we marked the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR became a benchmark in international human rights when it was adopted by the United Nations in 1948 – explicitly recognizing the inherent and inalienable rights and freedoms we all are entitled to as human beings, regardless of our sex, race, religion, or other status.
The United States played a leadership role in drafting the Universal Declaration.
In October, the Indian Law Resource Center, the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center, and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, bringing international attention to the high rates of violence against Native women in the United States and the unworkable, discriminatory criminal jurisdictional scheme that limits Tribes’ authority and ability to address this crisis in reservation communities. The Commission, astonished by what they heard, pledged to continue monitoring the situation and to assist in any way. (More ...)
Tribes are governmental and political entities, not racial groups. This is a principle embedded in U.S. law from the very beginning and explicitly recognized by the Supreme Court in Morton v. Mancari in 1977. This is the law of the land.
April 26, 2018 | During the Organization of States (OAS) 48th General Assembly, representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Communities will not need to go through the registration process for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
(New York, NY) — Indigenous experts called for action during a March 19, 2018, panel to fix a legal system that too often leaves Native women in rural America unprotected from violence and sexual assault. The discussion included a screening of select scenes from Wind River, a feature film written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, that tackles the subjects of sexual assault and missing and murdered indigenous women.
The Indian Law Resource Center condemns President Trump’s continued derogatory use of the “Pocahontas” name in his political attacks. Used in this manner—to insult and to degrade for the purpose of proving superiority and trying to win political points—the Pocahontas name becomes a racist slur. It is unacceptable for this slur to be used by any person. Its use by the President of the United States during an event featuring and purportedly intended to honor Code Talkers from the Navajo Nation is particularly egregious.
Building on the success of the Tribal Law and Order Act and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, several bipartisan bills have been introduced into the United States Senate to address violence against indigenous women.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Inter-American Commission) has published an important new report, Indigenous Women and Their Human Rights in the Americas, based on information from indigenous women and leaders.
October 2, 2017 | The Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center (AKNWRC) is honored to announce that we have been awarded a federal grant by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.
September 20, 2017 | Geneva, Switzerland
September 13, 2017 
Statement by the Indian Law Resource Center
In a season of reckless threats and racist and misogynistic rhetoric, of xenophobia and border walls, indigenous peoples’ rights are at risk, whether intended targets or not. Right now, the Senate is considering a budget that calls for $1.6 billion for "high-priority tactical infrastructure and border security technology." This border wall that is envisioned by President Trump and U.S. lawmakers would cut across at least half a dozen Native American lands including Yuma, Apache, Yaqui, Pima, Kickapoo and Tohono O’odham.
July 10, 2017 | Geneva, Switzerland
June 20, 2017 (Español) | Indigenous leaders are in Cancun, Mexico, this week calling on the Organization of American States (OAS) to take action during its 47th General Assembly to implement the promises in the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted June 15, 2
On July 5, 2013, Hanna Harris, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, was reported missing by her family in Lame Deer, Montana. Hanna’s body was not found for five days. She had been raped and murdered.
The Goldman Environmental Foundation today announced Rodrigo Tot is among the six recipients of the 2017 Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s largest award for grassroots environmental activists.
On Tuesday, March 21, 2017, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a hearing in Washington, D.C.
March 17, 2017 | (New York, NY) — Indigenous women leaders from American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages, and indigenous organizations converged on March 15, 2017 for a critical panel spotlighting indigenous women’s empowerment, their grassroots movement for safety for indigenous women, and their human right to be free of violence and discrimination.
The UN Commission on the Status of Women designated the “Empowerment of Indigenous Women” as the Focus Area for its 61st Session in March, and this year’s meetings provided an important international forum to raise awareness about violence against indigenous women.
March 2, 2017 | Washington, DC
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February 16, 2017 | Washington, D.C. — The reported rates of abduction and murder of American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls are alarming. However, Native women advocates say too often these terrible crimes are ignored by law enforcement and the media.
February 13, 2017 | Washington, D.C. — The reported rates of abduction and murder of American Indian women and girls are alarming and represent one of the most severe aspects in the spectrum of violence committed against Native women.
