 
"Terra nullius" and the rights of Indigenous peoples
In a world where a "verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on", a treaty document can be so valuable. The lack of a treaty between the British colonisers and the Indigenous people in Australia allowed the idea of "terra nullius" to survive for over 200 years until it was finally overturned in the famous Mabo case.
 
Australian Government's cold feet on international Indigenous rights agreement
 Australia is the sole remaining country opposing the right of Indigenous people to "self-determination" in United Nations negotiations towards an international statement of Indigenous rights. The Australian Government informed a Geneva summit in December that it remains opposed to the term, even though the United States has indicated it is conditionally prepared to accept its use. (The Age)
New UN office to support efforts of Indigenous persons forum
On 1 January 1 some 15,000-20,000 Indigenous supporters of Mexico's rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) marched in San Crist˘bal de las Casas in the southeastern state of Chiapas to mark the ninth anniversary of their 1994 uprising. The huge nighttime march was a symbolic, peaceful "retaking" of the city, which the rebels seized with a surprise armed attack on January 1, 1994. (Indymedia).
New UN office to support efforts of Indigenous persons forum
In a bid to help Indigenous persons around the
globe, the United Nations has opened a new office to provide expert
advice and recommendations on economic and social development and
other related issues. (IRNA).
 
Indigenous fight to keep land in Chile
For the Indigenous Pehuenches, the Bio-Bio River is sacred. According to their traditions, if the river is not respected, Mother Earth will get angry, nearby volcanoes will erupt and the land will tremble with earthquakes. But for the government and Chilean energy company
Endesa, owned by the Spanish-controlled Enersis Group, the river is a way to meet Chile's energy needs and foster regional economic growth. (Washington Times)
 
New Zealand's Treaty of Waitangi: instrument of unity or division?
The Treaty of Waitangi signifies for some the establishment of a nation of "one people", under one set of laws. It signifies for others the entrenchment of Maori Indigenous rights. - Colin James (NZ Herald).
 
 Lore of the Land
This is a educational multimedia project from Fraynework in Melbourne designed to encourage Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to live together harmoniously on the land they share. There are games and interactive resources, movies, and written stories, including Desert Healing, an account of what took place when the people of the Kutjungka Region, South East Kimberley, gathered to recognise the deaths of their relatives in a massacre that occurred at Purrkuji in 1922. For teachers there are lesson plans and teaching ideas, and a teachers' forum.
 
You remain forever people of your culture
For thousands of years you have lived in this land and fashioned a culture that endures to this day. And during all this time, the Spirit of God has been with you. Your "Dreaming", which influences your lives so strongly that, no matter what happens, you remain for ever people of your culture, is your own way of touching the mystery of God's Spirit in you and in creation. - Pope John Paul II, Speaking to Aboriginal People, Alice Springs, 29/9/86
 
Tjibaou's Dream of Independence (SBS TV, 7:30 pm Saturday 15 February)
A portrait of Jean-Marie Tjibaou, former leader of New Caledonia's Kanak Independence movement and the obstacles he encountered in his quest for his country's independence movement.
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