Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
Special to ICT
Around the world: Pope Francis finally delivers a long-awaited apology, a three-month ban from entering the world’s largest mangrove forest leads to 59 arrested, an Indigenous ranger wins an international award, work halts on a fertilizer plant that threatens ancient rock art and the 1987 deaths of two Aboriginal girls gets another look from investigators.
CANADA: Pope finally apologizes for residential school abuses
Pope Francis issued a historic apology for the “catastrophic” operation of Canada’s Indigenous residential schools, saying the forced assimilation separated children from their families, culture and language, ICT reported July 25.
“I am deeply sorry,” the Pope said to a crowd that included thousands of survivors and Indigenous community members at the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School in Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada, south of Edmonton.
“I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples,” he said.
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It was the first public event in what the Pope called a six-day “penitential pilgrimage” with stops in the homelands of Canada’s Indigenous peoples – First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
The Pontiff prayed silently at the Ermineskin Cree Nation Cemetery at Maskwacis and visited Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church there before moving on to the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton.
On Tuesday, he performed Mass for thousands at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton before traveling to Lac Ste. Anne before going to Quebec City and Iqaluit in the far north. He returns to Rome on Friday, July 29.
BANGLADESH: 59 arrested for entering Mangrove forest
A three-month ban in Bangladesh prohibiting anyone from entering the Sundarbans – the world’s biggest mangrove forest – has left 600,000 people without the means to support themselves and led to the arrests of 59 people in June, Mongabay.com reported on July 21.
The ban, which began in June and continues through August, was intended to safeguard the region’s wildlife during breeding season, but it has brought criticism on Bangladesh leaders for persecution and lack of empathy with forest-dependent communities, according to Mongabay.com.
Deepening the problem, the government still hasn’t given out the agreed compensation meant to support the communities during the ban.
“Since birth, I have seen my father go to the forest almost every day to fish, collect crabs or golpata [nipa palm] or extract honey,” Serajul Islam, 42, from the village of Datina Khali close to the forest in the Satkhira Range, told Mongabay.com.
“I joined him when I became an adult. My family’s livelihood is totally dependent on the forest,” he said. “Without compensation, we have no other option but to enter the forest. Does the government want us to starve?”
A compensation package was supposed to be offered to the affected families, the compensation has not yet been authorized by the government treasury.
AUSTRALIA: Indigenous ranger wins international award
An Indigenous ranger has been named one of the world’s leading rangers by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in an awards ceremony held in Rwanda, the National Indigenous Times reported on July 22.
Ben “Yuddiy” Brown, who is Martu, was honored for the work he does in the Pila Natura Reserve, formerly known as the Gibson Desert Reserved. His works includes fire management, track maintenance and protecting cultural sites, and he supports the Warnpuru Aboriginal Corporation Rangers in the remote communities of Patjarr and Warburton, the National Indigenous Times reported.
Brown said he enjoys sharing knowledge.
“That’s why I feel happy to be honored,” he said, according to National Indigenous Times. “And I am giving that back now.”
The reserve where Brown works was renamed Pila in June after Native title was established for the area.
AUSTRALIA: Inquest set in 1987 deaths of Aboriginal girls
The deaths of two teenage Aboriginal girls who died in New South Wales in Australia nearly 34 years ago will get a new look after a state coroner ordered an inquest, the National Indigenous Times reported July 23.
The two girls — Mona Smith, 16, who was Murrawarri and Kunja, and her cousin Jacinta Smith, 15, Wangkumara – were found dead on the side of the road in a smashed utility vehicle on Dec. 6, 1987.
A 40-year-old, non-Indigenous man, Alexander Ian Grant, was found uninjured with his arm across the nearly naked body of Jacinta, but he was acquitted on a drunken-driving charge by an all-white jury. The charge that he sexually abused the girl was then dropped, and Grant died in 2017.
The inquest, first reported in The Australian, is a way to find answers for the cousins’ family, the National Indigenous Times reported.
Mona’s sister, Fiona Smith, said the family has waited a long time.
“We’re one step closer to finding out the truth and giving the girls closure,” she said. “It’s hard to express the emotions we are feeling – happiness, sadness, love. It is overwhelming.”
AUSTRALIA: Government halts fertilizer plant amid concerns
Work has halted on a Western Australian fertilizer plant that Indigenous activists say threatens ancient rock art.
Perdaman got state approval to carry on with ground works for the $4.3 billion project on Murujuga country, near Karratha, in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. But Murujuga wardens Raelene Cooper and Josie Alec sought a 60-day moratorium on work under the federal heritage laws.
Tanya Plibersek, Australia’s minister for environment and water, reached a deal for a 30-day suspension of development of the fertilizer plant by Perth-based Perdaman until a decision could be made on the 60-day moratorium.
Plibersek and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney are expected to meet with the Aboriginal Heritage Alliance during the first sitting of Parliament, which started Tuesday, July 26.
Final thoughts
My final thoughts are with the families of two teenage Aboriginal girls who died 34 years ago. Their families have lived in sorrow for more than three decades because of a seeming lack of justice. I pray that the newly ordered inquest can give the bereaved families the answers they have waited for all along.
Lastly, let me share with you Article 5 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Article 5
Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State.
Global Indigenous is a weekly news roundup published every Wednesday by ICT (formerly Indian Country Today) with some of the key stories about Indigenous peoples around the world.
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