Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

May 1, 2025

Mohawk Mothers -- Human Remains Found at CIA Torture Site in Montreal



Mohawk Mothers said human remains have been found at McGill University's hospital, the site of the U.S. CIA's MK Ultra torture experiments in Montreal, Canada. Mohawk Mothers have been fighting for justice, representing themselves all the way to Canada's Supreme Court, to protect the search for graves. A survivor said her friend was a Native girl, a fellow victim, who disappeared. The survivor saw hospital staff digging graves out back with red shovels. -- Censored News.  Photo from video https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1J4iXEEWMG/

Evidence Of Historic Human Remains at Former Hospital Site

Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera announce that multiple remote-sensing techniques have identified evidence of human remains at the site where unethical medical experimentation, abuse and neglect was conducted during the infamous MK-Ultra project and throughout the hospital’s history

by Kanien’kehà:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers)





TIOHTIÁ:KE (MONTRÉAL, QC) – The Kanienʼkehá:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) gathered with dozens of supporters near the former Royal Victoria Hospital site to hold a vigil for the victims of unethical medical experimentation and a press conference to share new scientific findings from several investigations led by independent experts.

Three techniques have been used to detect historic human remains and identify probable burial sites at the former Royal Victoria Hospital: ground-penetrating radar, historic human remains detection dogs, and, most recently, the S4 Subterra Grey probe, which is designed to detect burials by analysing soil contents and compactness. To date, the probe has been used in one location near the Allan Memorial Institute. The Kahnistensera announced that the results of all three remote sensing methods support the presence of human remains at this location.

“In one area near the Allan Memorial Institute, investigations using three separate remote-sensing technologies have finally been completed,” said Kahentinetha, one of the Mohawk Mothers. “We have received a report combining these results that states, quote, ‘The combination of three separate lines of evidence supports the presence of human remains’ near the Allan Memorial Institute.”

In addition to being on unceded traditional Kanien'kehá:ka territory containing important precolonial burials and other sites, the grounds of the old Royal Victoria Hospital are suspected to contain the unmarked burials of Indigenous children and other victims of psychiatric experiments conducted as part of the CIA's Project MK-ULTRA, a project that developed “mind control” and torture techniques. Burials on-site may also be the result of the neglect and mistreatment endured by those incarcerated in medical and pedagogical institutions.

The Kanienʼkehá:ka Kahnistensera are a group of women from Kanienʼkehá:ka (Mohawk) Nation who have been leading the fight to ensure a proper archaeological investigation of the former site of the Royal Victoria Hospital, despite repeated attempts by McGill University and the Société des Infrastructures de Québec (SQI) to minimize evidence of historic human remains.

“Historic Human Remains Detection Dogs identified the scent of human remains in the New Vic Project in 2023, and disturbing discoveries were made when they started digging there. Two fragments of a pair of children’s shoes from the beginning of the 20th century, as well as many, many bones,” Kahentinetha added. “But instead of listening to the recommendations of the archaeologists, McGill and the SQI decided to fire them.”

Since 2015, the Kahnistensera have engaged in a legal battle to prevent construction of the site without a proper archaeological investigation. In October 2022, the Kahnistensera obtained an injunction against the construction project from the Superior Court of Québec; it halted all excavation of the site until a proper investigation and archaeological plan could be conducted.

After months of negotiations, the parties came to a settlement agreement, agreeing to select a panel of three independent archaeological experts to inform how the investigation should proceed throughout the site. This panel produced a thorough report detailing the technologies, techniques and precautions required in each area of the site, and requested their ongoing involvement as findings were made. Instead, the defendants unilaterally terminated the contracts of the panel members to avoid their ongoing involvement after historic human remains detection dogs began alerting to the presence of human remains. These areas identified by the dogs were then torn apart by mechanical equipment, a direct violation of the panel’s recommendations that resulted in the contamination and destruction of the soil, bones, and
artifacts that could hold evidence of a human burial.

At Wednesday’s vigil, the Kahnistensera shared that they are seeking support and solidarity from members of the public to ensure that no more burials are desecrated and that no more evidence of these crimes is destroyed.

“We have no choice but to take the matter into our own hands and to work with our communities to implement a thorough, respectful and honest investigation. Our lost children and loved ones can’t wait any longer.” Kahentinetha said. “Because we can’t afford to lose them again the way we did on the New Vic site, we will be keeping constant vigil and monitoring the site to make sure it is not destroyed until the area is secured for a proper investigation. We also invite the public to report any suspicious activity to us.”

April 29, 2025

Apache Stronghold: Run from Oak Flat to Phoenix Courthouse, Run Begins May 4, 2025



Wendsler Nosie, Sr., with Chili Yazzie and Dine' at the rally to protect the water at Navajo Council.


Apache Stronghold: Run from Oak Flat to Phoenix Federal Courthouse, Run Begins  May 4, 2025


By Wendsler Nosie, Sr., Apache Stronghold
Censored News, April 29, 2025


I am putting out the call to all spiritual runners ( runners and walkers), Native and nonnative, to stop the destruction of Chi'chil Bildagoteel.

Oak Flat is now on death row!

April 28, 2025

Censorship Debated at U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples in New York

Navajo Councilwoman Eugenia Charles-Newton

Racism, land rights and a debate over censorship highlight the discussion at the U.N. Permanent Forum

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 28, 2025

NEW YORK -- Indigenous delegates were clearly frustrated, and spoke out against the self-glorifying statements of governments and NGOs, during the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today.

Indigenous described the racism and discrimination in the U.S. and Canada. Censorship within the Permanent Forum was debated by delegates from Burundi, the Russian Federation and the United States.

Navajo Nation Councilwoman Eugenia Charles-Newton spoke on crime in Indian country, during this morning session.

Charles-Newton described the Navajo Nation as a sovereign nation and "domestic dependent tribal nation" with a temporary tribal government that is similar to the U.S. government.

Our Right to Say 'No' -- Brazil's Indigenous in Amazon Demand Rights at U.N. Permanent Forum

 


"Our right to say 'No' is a fundamental part of our right to self-determination and must be respected," says an Indigenous representative from the Brazilian Amazon. "We don't accept our fundamental rights to be seen as a currency to be exchanged as a bargaining chip, or subject to negotiations." Speaking on the right to free, prior and informed consent, in defense of the land in the battle against mining, the representative said the rights of Indigenous in voluntary isolation must be protected as they naturally cross borders. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues continues today in New York. -- Censored News.

Censored News new series

Amazon's Indigenous Leaders are Assassinated, and There's No Action by United Nations

Amazon's Indigenous Leaders are Assassinated and There's No Action by the United Nations

by Brenda Norrell
Indigenous women in the Amazon question why there is no decisive action from the United Nations while leaders are being assassinated and mining and criminals flourish in the Amazon. Speaking during the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, Indigenous women called for action by the United Nations and for countries to sanction mining and oil companies. In the Navajo Nation Capitol, Dine' women led rallies to protect their water from coal mining and radioactive uranium transport.
Indigenous women in the Amazon question why there is no decisive action from the United Nations while leaders are being assassinated and ...
In the Amazon, Indigenous leaders are assassinated, and there's no action from the United Nations

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 27, 2025
Censored News at Indybay

NEW YORK -- Indigenous women in the Amazon question why there is no decisive action from the United Nations while leaders are being assassinated and mining and criminals flourish in the Amazon. Speaking during the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Indigenous women called for action by the United Nations and for countries to sanction mining companies.

"We can not talk about implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples if we do not recognize that illegal mining, drug trafficking, illegal logging, human trafficking and other illicit activities are killing us," Nely Shiguango, Quichua, told the U.N.

April 27, 2025

Donate to Censored News: Our Original Coverage this Week of U.N. Permanent Foum




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Censored News is reader-supported news, with no ads, salaries, or revenues, and depends on reader donations to keep going. Donations help pay the cost of equipment, laptops and audio  equipment. Censored News is independent, and in its 19th year, with more than 25 million page views.

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'Fighting for the People, Protecting the Water' -- Dine' at Nation Council, Photos by Lydia Fasthorse

 

Photo by Lydia Fasthorse, Censored News

'Fighting for the People, Protecting the Water' Dine' at Navajo Nation Council, Photos by Lydia Fasthorse

Photo by Lydia Fasthorse, Censored News

April 25, 2025

Apaches ask lower court to stop government’s imminent transfer of sacred site


Photo courtesy Apache Stronghold

Apaches ask lower court to stop government’s imminent transfer of sacred site

There will be a Hearing May 7, 2025 @ 0930 @ Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85003

By Becket Law, Censored News, April 25, 2025

WASHINGTON – A coalition of Western Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies asked a federal court late yesterday to stop the U.S. government from handing over their sacred site at Oak Flat to a multinational mining giant as early as June 16, 2025.

In Apache Stronghold v. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year refused to stop the federal government from transferring Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a Chinese-owned mining company that plans to turn the site into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever (Watch this short video to learn more). The emergency appeal comes after the government announced last week it will forge ahead with the transfer even though the case is currently under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Siberian Indigenous Counter Russia's Claim of Upholding Human Rights at U.N. Permanent Forum




Siberian Indigenous Counters Russia's Claim of Upholding Human Rights at United Nations

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 25, 2025

NEW YORK -- An Indigenous representative from Siberia countered the testimony of the Russian government, and organizations, at the United Nations, stating that his people, the Shors, are struggling to survive, pointing out the bureaucracy at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples.

"Our tribesmen are being fined for having fished for their own purposes, and in the hunting lands, where we have been hunting for centuries, we can only hunt in exchange for money."

Israeli U.S. 'Spy Eyes' on Arizona Border: On the Tohono O'odham Nation, a College Campus, and Hidden in a Barrel

Israeli U.S. 'Spy Eyes' on Arizona Border: On the Tohono O'odham Nation, a College Campus, and Hidden in a Barrel

Photos by Electronic Frontier Foundation, Censored News, April 25, 2025

The Israeli and U.S. spy cameras and sensors are hidden in a sand barrel and towering above, everywhere from the Tohono O'odham Nation to Cochise College and Organ Pipe National Monument. The Electronic Frontier Foundation photographed the 'spy eyes' all along the Arizona Border. Elbit System is an Israeli defense contractor that produces weaponized drones and surveillance for the genocide in Palestine, and constructed the spy towers on the Tohono O'odham Nation. -- Censored News

Here's an Integrated Fixed Tower (IFT) at the Lukeville Port of Entry. (6/14)



And here's a close-up of the lenses on those IFTs from Elbit Systems. (7/14)

Meet Romeo! That's the designation Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) gave to these Remote Video Surveillance System (RVSS) cameras installed on this tower above Nogales. (2/14)

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And here's the RVSS system named Juliet on a building in downtown Nogales. (3/14)
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We found some automated license plate readers (ALPRs) disguised as roadside sand barrels. (4/14) .
Flock Safety ALPRs can also be found in border communities, such as this one in Douglas, Arizona. (5/14)

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There's also a relocatable IFT on the Cochise College campus. (8/14)

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And now for some long range photography. Here is a Mobile Surveillance Capability thermal imaging truck near the fence in Organ Pipe. (9/14)

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Out in southeastern Arizona, our long range lens caught a new Anduril Industries AI-controlled surveillance tower. (10/14)

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And then we found what we believe might be the first relocatable RVSS in Arizona parked out back of a Border Patrol station. (11/14)

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Near the restroom at the gas station in Lukeville, there was a new tower meant to house a trail cam, but the camera hadn't been installed yet. (12/14)
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On the way home, we snapped this ancient Skywatch tower. (13/14)

Border Surveillance Technology

Electronic Frontier Foundation
https://www.eff.org/issues/border-surveillance-technology

Government officials refer to surveillance technology at the U.S.-Mexico border as a “virtual wall,” when, in reality, it is a digital dumpster fire for human rights and civil liberties. Hundreds of millions of dollars are pumped into camera towers, drones, aerostats, surveillance vehicles, ground sensors, game cameras and license plate readers—all to the detriment of those who live, work, or seek refuge in the borderlands.  This technology isn’t exclusive to U.S. federal agencies: it’s also deployed by state and local law enforcement, and even by governments on the Mexican side. 

For more than a decade, EFF has been building our knowledge and advocacy capabilities on border tech issues using litigation, public records requests, research trips, interviews, open-source intelligence, and cross-organizational collaboration. Our focus can be viewed through the following lenses:  

  1. Surveillance at official ports of entry and border crossings. EFF’s work includes defending the rights of individuals whose devices have been searched or seized upon entering the country; investigating the collection of biometric and social media identifiers and pushing for stronger protections for this data; and developing digital security guidance for people crossing borders. EFF has also mapped out the network of automated license plate readers installed at checkpoints and land entry points along the U.S.-Mexico border.  
  2. Surveillance along the border, the so called “virtual wall.” EFF has mapped out more than 465 surveillance towers along the U.S.-Mexico border and is in the process of creating a definitive pocket guide to the types of surveillance law enforcement deploys. We also regularly give presentations, and guided virtual reality tours to journalists, academics, and activists working in the borderlands. We also recently published a zine to people who live and/or work near the border to identify surveillance technology:
  3. Local law enforcement surveillance. The borderlands often serve as a testing ground and entry point for military surveillance to be deployed in a domestic law enforcement context, before it is imported to the interior of the country. In addition, police and sheriffs in border communities often accept federal funding, either through grants or civil asset forfeiture, to purchase technologies in the name of border security. This situation is further complicated by state and local officials who take border security into their own hands, such as Texas’ Operation Lone Star and Cochise County, Arizona’s SABRE program.  
  4. Surveillance in the cloud. Immigration authorities access massive amounts of data through third party platforms and from local agencies. Migrants and asylum seekers are also required to use apps such as CBP One and to accept electronic monitoring while awaiting legal proceedings. EFF has advocated for sanctuary data policies restricting how ICE can access criminal justice and surveillance data 

EFF published a zine guide to surveillance tech at the border in May 2024. Download it here:

a wall made of eyes on a purple background.a wall made of eyes on a purple background.

In 2024, we also released a dataset of hundreds of vendors that market technology to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its components.

EFF is also a member of the #MigrarSinVigilancia coalition, which opposes indiscriminate surveillance affecting migrants across Latin America and pushes for the protection of human rights by safeguarding migrants' privacy and personal data.  






In the Amazon, Indigenous leaders are killed, and there's no action from the United Nations

Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Napo (FOIN) at U.N. Censored News


In the Amazon, Indigenous leaders are assassinated, and there's no action from the United Nations

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 25, 2025

NEW YORK -- Indigenous women in the Amazon question why there is no decisive action from the United Nations while leaders are being assassinated and mining and criminals flourish in the Amazon.

"We can not talk about implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples if we do not recognize that illegal mining, drug trafficking, illegal logging, human trafficking and other illicit activities are killing us."

Mohawk Nation News 'I Will Own It All'

Read the article at Mohawk Nation News

on Newshttps://mohawknationnews.com/blog/2025/04/24/tewahontiakwehniio-i-will-own-it-all/ 

April 24, 2025

From the Heart of the Amazon, Women Rise Above Violence, Demand Sanctions on Mining Companies


Fany Kuiru Castro, COICA, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Censored News

From the Heart of the Amazon, Women Rise Above Violence, Demand Sanctions on Mining Companies

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 24, 2025

NEW YORK -- From the heart of the Amazon, Indigenous women demand their voices be heard, and oil and mining companies be sanctioned for crimes against humanity for the metals poisoning their rivers and women.

"I'm not here by mere coincidence, I'm here with the strength of our grandchildren,  our young people, and our martyrs," Fany Kuiru Castro, coordinator of COICA, told the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. 

She said Indigenous women endure structural and systematic violence in the Amazon.

"We are age-old owners of the biological beating heart of the planet, but when we don't even have our rights to speak on its behalf recognized -- we can no longer remain silent."

Urging those present to speak out about the violence, and demand that the voices of Indigenous women be heard, she said, "Our territories voices ring out here."

"We don't want symbolic tokenistic invitations, we demand that we participate with a voice and a vote, this must be a binding obligation." 

She said countries must carry out inquiries for the ongoing crimes against humanity and issue sanctions against businesses for the crimes of extractivism, oil and mining.

The oil and mining industries leave toxic contamination, arsenic, mercury and lead.  Those medals contaminate the rivers and affect the reproductive health of the women, resulting in infertility, fetal abnormalities, miscarriages and rare illnesses, as was seen in Ecuador and other regions.

"We don't come to ask for your permission but to demand justice for our physical and cultural survival and our dignity -- because when an Indigenous woman speaks, she does not speak alone."

COICA is the largest Indigenous organization in the world and Fany Kuiru Castro is the first Indigenous woman to chair the organization after 40 years of existence.

COICA, Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin, is the Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica founded in 1984 in Lima, Peru.

Read more in Censored News series

From the heart of the Amazon, women arise about violence, demand sanctions on mining

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/from-heart-of-amazon-women-rise-above.html

The ecocide of mining in Bolivia

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-ecocide-of-mining-testimony-at-un.html

Australian Indigenous brings power of warrior women to United Nations

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/australian-indigenous-brings-power-of.html

Fighting for the People, Protecting the Water, Dine' Rally at Navajo Nation Council

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/fighting-for-people-protecting-water.html

Navajo President is a 'No Show.' Dine' Say Nygren is Selling Them out in Washington

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/dine-coalition-opposes-navajo.html

U.N. Permanent Forum Begins with Voices of Indigenous Women

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/un-permanent-forum-on-indigenous-issues.html

April 23, 2025

The Ecocide of Mining: Testimony at U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues


Bolivian Parliamentarian describes the genocide from mining in her homeland.

The Ecocide of Mining

Testimony at the United Nations  Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

By Brenda Norrell, Censored News, April 23, 2025

NEW YORK -- The extractive industries lead to extermination, to genocide, said the Indigenous Parliamentarian from Bolivia. Many of her Indigenous brothers and sisters have their blood contaminated with cyanide and mercury and others, and they have no access to hospitals. They don't have medical insurance, she said, and they have no way of alleviating this.

"The ecocide is continuing," she told the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York today.

The Sami Council representative describes the mining and violations of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Blood diamonds are the currency for weapons in the Congo.

In Europe, Sami rights are violated by mining without free, prior and informed consent. The mining of critical minerals is a global crisis for Indigenous Peoples, from Asia to Bolivia, Colombia and Guatemala, say Indigenous Peoples speaking today at the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.

The violence targeting Indigenous Peoples by mining companies continues globally during the so-called energy transition. And the majority of the mining companies are headquartered in Canada and Australia.

Australia is failing to back Indigenous leadership, said the representative from South Wales and Australia.

"Expelling invaders does not work, because they return," said Brazil's representative.


"We have been fighting and getting stronger, to reclaim the child in each of us," said an Indigenous representative from so-called Canada, speaking about surviving residential schools.

In the struggle for their land, he said, "We need the title to our land."

"We need the U.N. Declaration Rights on Indigenous Peoples and free, prior and informed consent." The rivers are being polluted, and massive landslides blocked the migration of salmon, and the salmon are the source of their food security.

Consent must be given by the people for resource extraction, he said.

The representatives said their children and women are not protected by the government of Canada, and continue to go missing.

"Our children are our greatest resource." 

Read more in Censored News series

From the heart of the Amazon, women arise about violence, demand sanctions on mining

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/from-heart-of-amazon-women-rise-above.html

The ecocide of mining in Bolivia

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-ecocide-of-mining-testimony-at-un.html

Australian Indigenous brings power of warrior women to United Nations

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/australian-indigenous-brings-power-of.html

Fighting for the People, Protecting the Water, Dine' Rally at Navajo Nation Council

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/fighting-for-people-protecting-water.html

Navajo President is a 'No Show.' Dine' Say Nygren is Selling Them out in Washington

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/dine-coalition-opposes-navajo.html

U.N. Permanent Forum Begins with Voices of Indigenous Women

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/un-permanent-forum-on-indigenous-issues.html