Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
ICT
Around the world: Vatican returns sacred Indigenous belongings to Canada; illegal gold mining turns Amazon town into violent epicenter; severe water shortage threatens life across West Ambrym in Vanuatu; and palm oil expansion clears orangutan habitat, ignites land conflicts in Indonesia.
CANADA: Sacred Indigenous belongings finally begin journey homeward from Vatican
For the first time in a century, sacred cultural belongings of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples are returning to Canada after years of negotiation and generations of longing. According to CBC News on Dec. 6, 62 Indigenous items once stored inside Vatican museums and underground vaults are now on the final stage of their journey home. The repatriation follows three years of direct negotiations, and for many Indigenous leaders, it represents a deeply emotional step toward healing and reconciliation.
“It is a positive step toward reconciliation,” said Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “It wasn’t easy but I’m glad that they’re coming home. Our residential school survivors, our elders, our chiefs have been calling for that for a long, long time.”
For decades, little was known about the exact identities of many of these artifacts. Fourteen are confirmed to be Inuit, including a remarkably rare Inuvialuit kayak once used to chase beluga whales — one of only five known to exist. One item is Métis, while the remaining pieces originate from First Nations communities across Canada.
Last week, a delegation of elders, knowledge keepers, and residential school survivors traveled to Rome to conduct ceremonies as the items were carefully prepared for transport. The crates left Vatican City by truck, passed through Frankfurt, and are scheduled to arrive in Montreal accompanied by representatives from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and four First Nations youth. Their arrival will be welcomed by the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council.
“We’re very proud to be a part of what is a very historic repatriation,” said Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. The return of the kayak, he noted, carries special meaning: “The idea that we can examine this kayak, we can appreciate it, understand it more, will also lead to the re-introduction of kayak making.”
These items were originally collected between 1923 and 1925, when Pope Pius XI invited missionaries to submit materials for a Vatican world exhibition. The current repatriation was conducted through a church-to-church transfer to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The artifacts will be housed temporarily at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, where museum president Caroline Dromaguet affirmed their commitment: “As temporary caretakers, we embrace our responsibility to safeguard these items with the utmost care.”
However, the Manitoba Métis Federation was not included in the negotiations. Its president, David Chartrand, acknowledged the goodwill gesture but noted the scale of what remains: “There’s up to 10,000 items under their watch. … That’s a teeny raindrop in the bucket.” He emphasized the need to understand which items were gifted willingly and which were taken improperly.
Earlier this week, the Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution to establish a First Nations-led task force on national repatriation.
“There’s more work to do,” said Woodhouse Nepinak. “We must go line by line to ensure all artifacts return to their rightful owners.”
BRAZIL: Illegal gold mining turns Amazon town into violent epicenter
A catastrophic surge in illegal gold mining has transformed the small town of Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, located in Mato Grosso state near Bolivia, into the most violent city in the entire Brazilian Amazon, Mongabay reported on Dec. 3. According to the 2025 Amazon Violence Atlas, the town recorded an astonishing 136 homicides per 100,000 people between 2022 and 2024 — more than six times the national average.
Researchers link this dramatic escalation directly to an explosion of illegal mining inside the Sararé Indigenous Territory, home to the Nambikwara people. More than 2,000 illegal miners have invaded a territory inhabited by only 200 Indigenous residents, razing over 3,000 hectares of rainforest in 2024 alone.
The Sararé territory now accounts for over 70 percent of all deforestation on Indigenous land due to illegal gold mining. Satellite imagery reveals that miners have wiped out vast stretches of forest to build camps, run machinery, and carve access routes.
Violence has spiraled. In 2022, the town recorded 12 violent deaths; in 2023, 17; but by 2024, the figure had exploded to 42, an increase of 250 percent in just three years. Many deaths stemmed from territorial disputes between miners, clashes with environmental police, and organized criminal activity linked to the gold trade.
In one tragic 2024 incident, four people, including a young 20-year-old woman, were allegedly murdered in disputes over control of mining plots. Additional law enforcement operations triggered shootouts: five miners killed in May 2024, and six more in August and September 2025.
The crisis extends beyond violence. Communities have reported kidnappings, including a well-publicized investigation into a 12-year-old Indigenous girl abducted in 2023 and taken into a mining camp. She was later recovered, but the case highlighted the extreme vulnerability of Indigenous families.
Environmental destruction is staggering. The Sararé region is part of a crucial ecological corridor connecting Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum national parks, key habitats for the endangered Bornean orangutan. Clearing this land accelerates biodiversity loss and threatens the survival of entire species.
Local leaders say illegal mining is not just a criminal issue, it is a systemic collapse of governance. Armed miners operate with impunity, land-grabbing accelerates, and government permits are misused or manipulated. Indigenous communities lack protection, recognition, or enforcement of their land rights.
As researchers warned: “It is notable that Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade was not among the top 50 most violent cities in our last edition.” The sudden shift reflects deeper structural breakdown tied directly to mining activity.
While Brazil made significant progress reducing deforestation between 2016 and 2021, this new wave of mining threatens to reverse hard-won gains.
The Atlas concludes bluntly: illegal gold mining has become an engine of violence, corruption, and environmental devastation. Without urgent intervention, the crisis will worsen.
VANUATU: Severe water shortage threatens life across West Ambrym
Communities across West Ambrym in Vanuatu are facing an escalating water crisis, with underground wells running dry and rainwater supplies depleted after prolonged dry conditions. The Vanuatu Daily Post Network reported on Dec. 5 that residents are struggling to access basic drinking water, prompting urgent appeals for government support.
Area Administrator Bong Massing described the situation as the primary challenge facing the region. “The water shortage is currently our main concern,” he said, noting that New Zealand-funded rainwater systems, which rely on large poly tanks, are no longer able to meet community needs.
Massing warned that without immediate intervention, the shortage could trigger outbreaks of water-borne diseases, placing already vulnerable communities at greater risk. The dry conditions have also begun to damage garden crops, undermining food security. Schools in the affected areas have been forced to close early, as water scarcity disrupts operations.
Several villages — including Mel Tugon, Sanasup, Baiap, and Sisivi — must now spend nearly VT10,000 ($79.40 USD) per trip to fetch water from Lalinda, the nearest reliable source. For many families already struggling financially, Massing said, the burden is unsustainable. Some residents have resorted to purchasing bottled water from shops, adding further pressure on household budgets.
The Area Council has formally requested assistance from the National Disaster Management Office. The agency acknowledged receipt of the request and said it will review potential responses. Meanwhile, community leaders remain concerned that delays could worsen the crisis as conditions continue to dry.
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department offered scientific context, explaining that while the country is currently in its wet season — which runs from November to April — rainfall patterns can be highly unpredictable. “Wet season does not mean constant rainfall,” the Climate Division explained. Current fine weather conditions, they noted, are not unusual, even during cyclone season.
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department urged communities to conserve rainwater whenever possible and to take advantage of any low-pressure system that could bring temporary relief. Predictions indicate limited rainfall in the near future, heightening the importance of careful water storage.
West Ambrym’s water crisis highlights ongoing vulnerabilities across small island nations, where climate variability and limited infrastructure combine to weaken resilience. Although past donor-funded projects helped establish rainwater harvesting systems, storage capacity remains insufficient during prolonged dry spells.
As residents wait for the National Disaster Management Office’s decision, community members continue rationing water, sharing limited supplies with neighbors, and preparing for potential disease outbreaks. For many, the crisis reflects a deeper challenge: how to build sustainable water systems in a region increasingly stressed by climate change.
INDONESIA: Palm oil expansion clears Orangutan habitat, ignites land conflicts
A palm oil company in Borneo is rapidly destroying rainforest inside a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, raising urgent alarm among Indigenous communities and conservationists who say the damage threatens both endangered wildlife and long-standing Indigenous land rights. As Mongabay reported on Dec. 2, PT Equator Sumber Rezeki — a subsidiary of the First Borneo Group — has cleared nearly 1,500 hectares of rainforest since operations began in 2024. The concession covers 15,000 hectares within Kapuas Hulu, a district rich in biodiversity and cultural heritage.
Satellite data shows that between January and August 2025 alone, Equator Sumber Rezeki cut 1,376 hectares (3,400 acres) of forest — a dramatic escalation from the 195 hectares (482 acres) cleared in 2024. Much of the land lies within the Labian–Leboyan watershed, a wildlife corridor connecting two national parks: Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum. These parks are among the last strongholds for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan, with conservation studies estimating that about 25 percent of Equator Sumber Rezeki’s concession is active orangutan habitat. Other wildlife — sun bears, hornbills, and rare forest flora — also depend on the area.
Despite the region’s ecological value, it is not classified as “forest area” under Indonesia’s land-use maps, leaving it vulnerable to plantation development.
Conservationist Hilman Afif of Auriga Nusantara stated: “What’s happening in West Kalimantan indicates that palm oil deforestation will continue. (Equator Sumber Rezeki) has only just begun clearing land, meaning the footprint is likely to expand far beyond what we’re seeing today.”
Environmental destruction is intertwined with escalating social conflict. Villages such as Setulang, Senunuk, and Labian report increased encounters with displaced wildlife, including bears wandering near homes and orangutans appearing along village roads. Many Indigenous Dayak communities say portions of their ancestral territory were included in Equator Sumber Rezeki’s permit area without their knowledge or consent.
Dayak elder Banying, from Setulang, explained: “This year they plan to clear it with heavy equipment. If that forest is cleared, the bears and orangutans may move here, since they’ll have no place left there.”
In some villages, residents accepted limited agreements with the company due to economic hardship. Others, such as Labian Ira’ang and Mensiau, insist they never granted permission for Equator Sumber Rezeki to operate. Community leaders expressed frustration at the opaque licensing process in which permits appear to have been approved without meaningful consultation.
Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2012 that Indigenous forests belong to the communities themselves, not the state. But for recognition to take effect, villages must undergo a long, expensive bureaucratic process. Only one settlement in the area, Ngaung Keruh, has successfully secured decrees recognizing its customary forest.
Meanwhile, deforestation continues. Equator Sumber Rezeki’s parent company, First Borneo, has several additional concessions in the region. Some buyers, including mills linked to global firms like Wilmar, have halted purchases from certain concessions after NGO pressure, but enforcement remains inconsistent.
Environmentalists are calling on Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry to issue a stop-work order or revoke the company’s permits entirely. As Hilman noted:“If the forest is destroyed, it’s the communities who suffer. Springs provide water for everything. If they are replaced with oil palm, Kalimantan won’t be Kalimantan anymore.”
My final thoughts
This week’s stories reveal a pattern stretching across continents: communities fighting to reclaim what was taken, to defend what remains, and to survive what has been imposed upon them. Whether in the Arctic, the Amazon, Oceania, Australia, or Borneo, the moral thread is unmistakable, people are standing at the edge of forces far larger than themselves, often without the power, resources, or institutional backing necessary to safeguard their futures.
In Canada, the return of 62 sacred belongings from the Vatican marks more than a logistical handover. It is an act of memory, repair, and dignity. As leaders said, “Our survivors and elders have been calling for this for a long, long time.” Repatriation is not simply the movement of objects — it is the restoration of identity after generations of erasure. Yet even here, Métis leaders remind us that 62 items represent only “a teeny raindrop in the bucket.” The moral work continues.
In Brazil, illegal gold mining has become a vortex of violence, swallowing Indigenous territory, hollowing out the rule of law, and turning a once-quiet town into the Amazon’s most violent municipality. The statistics shock — 136 killings per 100,000 residents — but the deeper tragedy is the collapse of a territory that should have been protected, not exploited. The pattern is familiar worldwide: where Indigenous land is vulnerable, miners, militias, and money flow in faster than governments can respond.
Australia’s story offers a rare countercurrent — a model of intentional inclusion. The Kuwarna First Nations Scholarship is not charity; it is structural change. It opens a pathway into decision-making spaces historically closed to Indigenous peoples. True reconciliation requires exactly this: not merely cultural recognition, but economic mobility and leadership access.
Vanuatu’s water crisis illustrates the sharpest edge of climate fragility. A single dry season has pushed entire communities into hardship — buying water, closing schools, watching crops wither. This is what climate vulnerability looks like when infrastructure is thin and geography offers no fallback. The story is local, but the lesson is global: small island nations are already living inside the climate future others still debate.
Indonesia’s palm oil crisis is the most layered. It is not just deforestation; it is the erasure of entire ecosystems, the displacement of orangutans, and the legal invisibility of Indigenous communities whose land becomes “empty” the moment a company seeks profit. One elder captured the grief clearly: “If the forest is destroyed, it’s we who suffer. … Springs won’t be springs anymore, but tears.”
Across all five stories, one truth emerges: When dignity, land, and memory are threatened, communities fight — but they should not have to fight alone.
The world cannot continue treating Indigenous resilience as background noise. These stories are warnings, maps, and moral tests. And every week, the stakes rise higher.