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PHOENIX — For teenager Connor Poleyumptewa, his favorite combat sport reminds him of a complicated and extreme version of the hand game rock-paper-scissors. He must be swift with his hands and feet, and even faster with his decision-making to have any shot at winning.

Except, of course, Poleyumptewa has a blade and so does his opponent.

“There is no unbeatable action, everything has a counter,” he said.

For roughly the last 24 months, the 15-year-old Poleyumptewa, Hopi, has dedicated hours each week to sword-fighting at his Phoenix fencing club. The sport has taken him across the country to Colorado, Missouri, Utah and California to compete.

“It’s all about the mistakes that you make,” Poleyumptewa told ICT in a recent interview. “If you lose in a fencing bout, you can’t blame it on someone else, everything is on you, you did something wrong somewhere in there. Something about that constant need for self improvement really drew me in.” READ MORE — Dalton Walker, ICT

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BELEM, Brazil — Leaders from South American nations that are home to the Amazon challenged developed countries on Tuesday to do more to stop massive destruction of the world’s largest rainforest, a task they said can’t fall to just a few when the crisis has been caused by so many.

Assembling in the Brazilian city of Belem, the members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, or ACTO, also sought to chart a common course on how to combat climate change, hoping a united front will give them a major voice in global talks.

The calls from the presidents of nations including Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia came as leaders aim to fuel much-needed economic development in their regions while preventing the Amazon’s ongoing demise “from reaching a point of no return,” according to a joint declaration issued at the end of the day. Some scientists say that when 20 percent to 25 percent of the forest is destroyed, rainfall would dramatically decline, transforming more than half of the rainforest to tropical savannah, with immense biodiversity loss.

“The forest unites us. It is time to look at the heart of our continent and consolidate, once and for all, our Amazon identity,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. “In an international system that was not built by us, we were historically relegated to a subordinate place as a supplier of raw materials. A just ecological transition will allow us to change this.” READ MORE — Associated Press

Around the world: International support builds for anti-mining activists in El Salvador, a new law raises the age for children to face criminal charges in Australia’s Northern Territory, an online pharmacy launches free home delivery for underserved communities in New Zealand, and a Uyghur woman is detained for criticizing her son’s sentence

EL SALVADOR: Anti-mining activists draw international support

Five environmental activists battling water pollution and mining in El Salvador are facing charges believed to be politically motivated, sparking global condemnation amid controversial court proceedings. Mongabay reported on Aug. 2.

The January arrests of activists linked to a 1989 kidnapping and murder during El Salvador’s civil war have raised concerns over insufficient evidence, prompting demands for release and scrutiny of the government’s efforts at reviving the mining sector.

Seventeen members of the U.S. Congress are among the growing international opposition to the arrests. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT

RAPID CITY, S.D. – To honor her late brother’s memory, Trinity Peoples placed a roadside memorial down the hill from where he died.

The Oglala Lakota woman even got a city permit for the memorial. Family members traveled from as far as Florida to pray and install a custom-made cross. Shortly after, the cross was gone and so were the prayer ties that had been placed in nearby trees.

Since then, her brother’s cross was vandalized nine times. Each time Trinity installed a cross, it was removed.

“All I wanted was to have a place, a spot, to honor Barney’s memory. Every time I went there, the cross was removed within an hour or so,” Peoples said. “It was like Barney was being shot all over again, I felt that pain all over again.”

The repeated vandalizations of her brother’s roadside memorial led her to ask community leaders for help, but she found out the initial permit had been issued in error, and there was no way to protect the cross. READ MORE — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal

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Soccer star Madison Hammond is the focus of a new mini documentary. It shares a rare picture of her life behind-the-scenes, focusing on mental health, identity and family. This film was directed by Kyle Bell and produced by IllumiNative and Reno Productions.

Chair volleyball is taking Native senior citizens by storm. ICT’s Aliyah Chavez visited its annual tournament in May.

Jacob Weasel had a goal to inspire youth and he achieved it. The Lakota surgeon summited Mount Everest, and he did it for a cause.

Standing Rock’s Fort Yates district is dropping in on a new skatepark, thanks to a team that includes some pretty big names. ICT’s Vincent Moniz was at the North Dakota event in July, and has all the sights and sounds.

WATCH:

KAHULUI, Hawai’i — A wildfire tore through the heart of Maui on Wednesday with alarming speed and ferocity, destroying dozens of homes and businesses in a historic tourist town, killing at least six people and injuring at least two dozen others, and forcing panicked residents to jump into the ocean to flee the flames.

Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said by phone early Wednesday.

Photos posted by the county overnight showed a line of flames blazing across an intersection and leaping above buildings in the town center that dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Aerial video from after sunrise revealed entire blocks of buildings reduced to ash and thick smoke in the air.

“Do NOT go to Lahaina Town,” the county tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui’s biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel. More than 2,100 people spent the night in evacuation centers. READ MORE — Associated Press

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