Crossing Arizona: the perils of colonial forces on Indigenous land...

Re-posting this map of reported bodies crossing into Arizona from Mexico, 1999-2009. Total over this decade: 1,755. [sparked by recent blog posting on The Standard

Mike Wilson narrates a powerful film, 'Crossing Arizona', on the undermining of Tohono O'odham sovereignty and the destruction of water stations which he and others tried to maintain. Mike's beef was with the Tohono O'odham Nation who he argues were complicit in these murderous acts.

See also http://bsnorrell.tripod.com/id61.html

Apache land still being taken...

This from the ether but grounded in land, soil, sacredness and neoliberal theft...

Te Kahui Manu Hokai: PLACE 2015, 5th national Maori GIS conference..

A panui from Te Kahui Manu Hokai who are pleased to announce PLACE 2015, their fifth national Maori GIS conference

Where: The Copthorne, Bay of Islands, Waitangi
When: June 10th – 12th, 2015

This conference will complete a northward journey commenced in Christchurch (2009), Wellington (2010), Rotorua (2012) and then Auckland in 2013. We anticipate it will be as exciting and interesting for Māori practitioners and/or those Roopu interested in its application as it was at Sky City in 2013.

A call for presentations will be made soon. Te Kahui Manu Hokai remain committed to being 'software neutral' so feel free to design a korero about what you feel passionate about, whether it is QGIS or ESRI or Google (and there’s plenty of others too). If you feel like sharing what your roopu has been up to in the Maori Geospatial Space; then this is a perfect venue and forum for you.

The komiti is busy working on details for online registrations and we want to get all that information out as soon as they can. I will pass on all their panui :)

The Ohlone/Costanoan People, Indian Canyon

I'm heading to San Jose. First Nations there are the Ohlone/Costanoan people. (Many thanks to Melissa Nelson of SFU for this information :) The video above and image below are sourced through their websites and resources.

I'm speaking at the inaugural Citizen Science Conference on Indigenous Peoples and Citizen Science. My theme is to unpack the implications of 'citizenship' on CitSci with the intent to illuminate the struggle of Indigenous Peoples worldwide to be accepted as First Citizens on their own lands. Good science can only come out of good (by which I mean inclusive, ethical) politics...

Ecuadorian issues

I rarely post or reblog more than a few of all the requests and protests I receive. This has just come through via the IPSG (Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers).

Brief synposis: 

• The Ecuadorian government has recently detained several environmental leaders, and is threating more with the same charges of terrorism.  
• They shut down one very well-respected environmental organization earlier this year (Pachamama Foundation) and others know their existence is in danger.  
• The lack of transparency, accountability and fair play in the process that is currently happening to (in)validate the 700,000+ signatures collected asking for a general referendum so the Ecuadorian citizens can vote on whether or not to drill for oil in Yasuni is astounding.  I have a lot of friends involved in that effort and they have witnessed first-hand how government officials have "disappeared" certain documents which will invalidate thousands of signatures, making the Consulta a no-go, when the legal process to convoke a Consulta has been followed.
• Drilling for oil in Yasuni is an issue of environmental and human rights concern as it is not only one of the most biodiverse places in the world, but there are 2 indigenous groups living in voluntary isolation there - it is their territory.  
• Many of my friends have received threatening phone calls from government or military sources. 
• Heres is up to the minute info on what´s happening around the Yasuni issue here:  https://www.facebook.com/YASunidos?ref=br_tf.  

Petition:https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Save_Yasuni_the_Last_Wonder_of_the_Amazon

Who's speaking for these diverse and dynamic Te Waipounamu Maori communities?

Crunching data from the 2013 Census we see that there have been some dramatic changes in the size and location of Maori communities in Te Waipounamu. For instance the number of Maori in the Selwyn District (where I live) is up a staggering 51% This can be attributed to movements post-earthquake and the growth in the agricultural sector. Likewise Waimakariri is up 25%, and Hurunui 35%

This puts the onus on both Crown, Ngai Tahu, and Nga Matawaka/Taurahere to understanding their communities and put in place strategies of support.

Google erases First Nations

Thanks to fellow Indigenous geographers Zoltan Grossman and Renee Pualani Louis for bringing this to my attention. Seems Google - company motto 'Don't be evil' have erased labels to First Nations reservations in the US and Canada.

Noted in 2011 in this blog The Case of the Missing Indian Reservations by Steven Bridenstine, it seems Google has simply taken away the labels, leaving nameless tan spaces, in contrast to Bing maps where the boundaries and names remain.

As Renee says, "These are not alternatives to the political system that is supposed to recognize tribes sovereign right to name the features on their own federally recognized lands…actually I believe regardless if tribal lands are federally recognized or not they should start recording their own names based on their historical record (oral or written)."

Zoltan has contacted Google with this message:

"Where are the names of the Indian reservations? Tribes have a political status just below the federal government, above the states, and far above municipalities and villages that are shown on Google Maps. The rules and regulations are quite different within a reservation than outside, so someone is going to get in trouble not knowing what the tan area is. That's not counting the moral and ethical issues of erasing the existence of peoples and their historical presence on the landscape. This is going to be very, very bad P.R. for Google unless the names are restored. You need someone who is educated about political geography and cartography to be making decisions about place names that are this important."

Guess any corporate that claims the moral high ground can only go down...

NZ Geographical Society Conference, Napier, Dec 3-6, 2012

Lovely time hanging in the Bay, my old stomping ground, for this years New Zealand Geographical Society conference. I stayed in the Masonic, drinking Emersons Book Binder and perusing an almost up-to-date NYRB.

Missed the pre-conference marae noho at Matahiwi Marae, Clive, (the Green Marae, which I've visited on Tahuri Whenua hui-a-rohe). The visit was organised by the redoubtable Garth Cant and  

Marcela Palomino-Schalscha (We were hosting the annual Maori and Indigenous Doctoral Conference at Lincoln over the weekend). 

I met Professor Brian Murton, now retired, and cheekily asked for a picture. Didn't notice at the time but we hold our hands in the same manner, Kiwi politesse...

Indigenous Geographies

Recent exchange between members of the Indigenous Peoples Special Group of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) brings to light this brochure...

The IPSG works for five specific goals:
1) service to Indigenous communities;
2) service to the field of geography;
3) service to Indigenous geographers;
4) bridge the gap between Indigenous communities and geography/ers;
5) investigate what ethical research means in relationship to Indigenous communities and help guide researchers in conducting such research.

We, the IPSG, believe that Indigenous communities are highly

capable of determining their own research needs, and as researchers who work with

Indigenous communities, we see an important role for geographic tools, methods and

theory for facilitating such research.

I link to their site, or should that be our (I think I'm a member but can't recall paying any fees...)

Upcoming conference of the NZ Geographical Society in one of my home towns, Napier, in two weeks. I'm presenting some more of our earthquake research....here's the abstract:

Indigenous responses to urban disaster: Maori mobility after the Canterbury earthquakes

Abstract: The recent earthquakes in Canterbury have highlighted ongoing response and recovery efforts by those people affected by the most significant urban disaster in New Zealand for 80 years. Many of those neighbourhoods badly affected by the initial quakes and extensive aftershocks have high proportions of Maori and Pasifika populations. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative data on the Maori response. While standard interpretations of Maori being ‘people of the land’ and agitating for land settlement remain valid, the tactics and strategies of those affected by the disaster involve significant mobility. Notwithstanding the cancellation of the 2011 census (due to the February 22^nd quake), statistics on Maori are disappointingly sparse. However, Maori school enrolments reveal Maori children moving at rates three times those of Pakeha. Interviews conducted with Maori in the aftermath of the earthquakes further show their concern for their children, the use of whānau networks, and the willingness to migrate, including to Australia, as a response to urban disaster.

Keywords: Maori, urban disaster, cultural resilience.