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Reclaiming Disability Justice in Indigenous Healthcare

June 28, 2026

Reclaiming Disability Justice in Indigenous Healthcare

Across East Africa, healthcare inequality is shaped by colonial histories and ongoing systemic neglect. For Indigenous communities, these inequalities deepen when disability becomes part of lived experience. Clinics without ramps, health services without sign language interpretation, and systems that fail to recognize Indigenous healing practices all combine to restrict access to care.

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When Healthcare Access Determines Survival

June 28, 2026

When Healthcare Access Determines Survival

In “Nigeria,” both the immense population and diversity highlight a central crisis: systemic failures in healthcare. While insecurity dominates headlines, the daily reality is that many lack timely, adequate care—especially in the north. Nigeria’s scale reveals not just strengths, but stark inequalities.

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A Systemic Failure

June 28, 2026

A Systemic Failure

Structural inequities within the American healthcare system continue to jeopardize lives and erode the quality of life for marginalized populations. These failures manifest as lower standards of medical care, higher mortality, and significantly shortened life expectancy. Data indicate that one in five adults in the “United States” has encountered discrimination in a medical setting, largely driven by racial or ethnic bias.

Taking Back Childbirth

June 28, 2026

Taking Back Childbirth

Swedish maternity care is often presented as safe and equitable for all. Yet behind this image lies a highly centralized and standardized system that, in practice, can strip women—especially those in Sápmi—of the right to give birth on their own terms and in connection with Sámi culture.

Approximately fifteen Indigenous representatives wearing traditional clothing and feather headdresses walk hand in hand down a city street during a march. They move forward together in a line, surrounded by other participants in the demonstration. Photo: Natalia Figueredo, November 2025.

Beyond Visibility: Indigenous Power and the Contradictions of COP30

March 10, 2026

Beyond Visibility: Indigenous Power and the Contradictions of COP30

COP30 began long before its official opening on the 10th of November, 2025, in the Brazilian city of Belém. In the days before, Indigenous leaders, Afro-descendant communities, riverine and other water and land-based communities, and social movement activists traveled for days to reach Belém, the second-largest city in the Brazilian Amazon. Across the city, banners and chants repeated a clear message: “We are the solution.” The slogan emerged from a campaign initiated by Indigenous peoples of the Amazon and later taken up by Indigenous communities across Latin America in the lead-up to COP30.

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In the Amazon, Indigenous Communities Are Recording the Forest to Prove It Is Alive

March 10, 2026

In the Amazon, Indigenous Communities Are Recording the Forest to Prove It Is Alive

In the Sarayaku territory of the Ecuadorian Amazon, the day does not begin with light—it begins with sound. At 4:30 a.m., howler monkeys call out, their roars carrying for miles through the forest. Tinamous follow, ground birds releasing low, pulsing whistles.

A group of bundled-up protesters stands outdoors in winter, wearing coats, hats, and face masks. In the center, a person holds a cardboard sign that reads “You Can’t Drink Data” with a red heart and the words “Water Is Life” written below. Behind them, others hold signs reading “No Secret Deals for Data.” Snow and holiday lights are visible in the background.

Progress or Digital Colonization? AI Data Centers Spark Debate on Native Lands

March 10, 2026

Progress or Digital Colonization? AI Data Centers Spark Debate on Native Lands

The recent explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers has created a litany of environmental and cultural issues for Native people and Tribes across the so-called “United States.” This, in turn, has sparked intense debate and prompted conversations on tribal digital sovereignty and a call for regulation that controls the data, infrastructure, and networks.

A sealed metal portal stands closed within a wire fence at a nuclear test site near Reggane. The gate is locked and reinforced with vertical metal bars, marking a fenced-off restricted area. The surrounding landscape is sandy, dry, and barren, with no people visible, emphasizing the site's isolation and controlled access. Photo credit: Tarek Hillali, January 2026.

The Legacy of France’s Nuclear Tests in Algeria

March 10, 2026

The Legacy of France’s Nuclear Tests in Algeria

The morning of February 13, 1960, began in stillness in Reggane, 900 miles southwest of Algiers, deep in the Algerian Sahara. Windless, indifferent, almost serene, the desert stretched flat and endless around the site. Then, at 7:04 a.m., the sky split open. A blinding flash tore through the horizon—a fireball swelling hundreds of meters wide, followed by a thunderclap that swallowed the desert’s silence. A shockwave raced outward, rippling across sand, stone, and human bodies.

Wide view of the Pangoyi artisanal gold mining site in the Mangurujiba landscape, deep in the Congo Basin, where dozens of mostly young miners work across muddy, earth-toned pits carved into the forest floor. Makeshift wooden structures, blue and orange tarps, and small fuel-powered machines dot the site as miners dig, carry soil, and wash sediment, with dense green rainforest and surrounding hills rising in the background. Photo by Joseph Tsongo, July 30, 2025.

Green Transition, Red Realities: How Communities in the Congo Basin Are Resisting the Green Rush

March 10, 2026

Green Transition, Red Realities: How Communities in the Congo Basin Are Resisting the Green Rush

“We don’t know what to eat anymore,” said Mr. Lifoli Fiacre, an elderly fisherman from Basoko, in the Tshopo province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, his voice trembling. For decades, the Aruwini River fed his family, irrigated their fields, and provided the fish that ensured their survival. Today, his nets come up empty. The water has changed color. The fish are disappearing, or when caught, they rot in just a few hours.

Destroyed fishermen’s houses line the seashore in Ayetoro, Ilaje Local Government Area, Nigeria, their remains washed away and surrounded by brown, green, and black debris linked to oil exploration. The muddy shoreline is littered with dirty, oil-soaked waste that appears thick and foul, conveying a scene of total devastation and environmental harm along the coast. Photo credit: Femi Olorunlola, January 13, 2026.

The Impact of Oil Pollution on Ilaje Indigenous Communities

March 10, 2026

The Impact of Oil Pollution on Ilaje Indigenous Communities

“When I say I didn’t catch fish,” said Fehintola Alebiosu, a 37-year-old fisherman from Ayetoro in the Ilaje community of Ondo State, in southwestern Nigeria, “the response is always the same: ‘didn’t catch fish? Beside the Atlantic Ocean? You must be joking.’ Then they look at me with doubt, believing I’m lying.”

Beverly Little Thunder and Pam Alexander at the Annual Moondance Ceremony. Photo credit: Karen Anderson, August 2025.

Beverly Little Thunder: A Legacy of Love and Activism for 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities

November 30, 2025

Beverly Little Thunder: A Legacy of Love and Activism for 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities

Beverly Little Thunder was a fierce advocate, mentor, and source of unwavering support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Throughout her life, she championed the rights, visibility, and dignity of Indigenous queer and Two-Spirit individuals, creating spaces where their voices could be heard and celebrated.

A mature Milicia excelsa tree, known as the incarnation tree of King Kpassè Loko — founder of the historic town and sacred forest of Kpassè in Ouidah, Benin — standing tall in the surrounding forest under soft daylight.

Vodún Is Saving Benin’s Biodiversity and Culture

November 30, 2025

Vodún Is Saving Benin’s Biodiversity and Culture

In the heart of southern Benin’s Bohouezoun Sacred Forest, Vodún priest Gilbert Kakpo stands beside a huge sacred tree, one of many believed to be the home of spirits. The forest, with its thick canopy and cool shade, is revered by local communities as a sanctuary of healing and protection.

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A Systemic Failure

June 28, 2026

Crushing Colonialism tells the stories of Indigenous people to create a world that values and honors Indigeneity.

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