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NGOs Raise Alarm About Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala October 15th, 2014
In August of 2013, the community was attacked and two children were killed in retribution for human rights complaints filed by the community.
The Missionary Oblate JPIC Office has joined other international organizations in a letter of concern to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples about construction of the Santa Rita Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala. The dam was registered as a project under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – established under the UN’s Kyoto Protocol – in June 2014. According to the letter, “Numerous violations against the indigenous Q’eqchi´ and Poqomchí communities have been reported prior to and since project approval, most recently in violent incidents from 14 to 16 August 2014 resulting in several injuries and deaths.”
The letter notes that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Rapporteur on indigenous peoples’ rights recognized “that the current licenses for mining and hydroelectric plants were granted without the State having implemented prior, free, and informed consultation with affected indigenous communities, as it is obligated to do under international treaties signed by Guatemala”.
La Vista Celebrates Autumn Equinox September 23rd, 2014
On Saturday, September 20, thirty people gathered at La Vista to learn about the fall Monarch migration and to celebrate the beginning of autumn.
To introduce themselves, participants told about the last time they spotted a Monarch. Maxine Pohlman, Director of the Oblate Ecological Initiative at Godfrey said, “We learned much about one another, our country or state of origin, and the presence and absence of Monarchs in our areas. Our sharing whetted our appetites for viewing the YouTube video “Plight of the Monarchs”, a twenty minute informative presentation filmed in central Illinois. We became aware of the threats to the endangered phenomenon of the annual Monarch migration, such as habitat loss, use of pesticides, and disappearance of the valuable milkweed plant.”
She added, “Next we headed outside to a patch of milkweed that has been cordoned off and allowed to grow throughout the season. As we stood there listening to a reading about the Monarch, one beautiful butterfly showed up to delight us – right on cue!”
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Oblate Garden Featured in the Washington Post September 23rd, 2014
Gail Taylor, farmer on the Oblate property in Washington, DC
An article in the Sunday Washington Post featured the garden at the Oblate Headquarters in Washington in a piece on the DC Urban Agriculture bill under consideration by the City Council.
Roberto De Jesus Silva OMI, our visitor from Brazil, is featured in the photo attached to the article and has been a regular volunteer with the Saturday group.
JPIC Report Fall/Winter 2014 Issue Now Available On-Line September 17th, 2014
The Fall/Winter 2014 issue of JPIC Report is now available on line as a PDF. It will soon be available in print form.
Please contact Mary O’Herron in the JPIC Office if you want to be added to the mailing list.
You can find all issues of JPIC Report on this website in the Resources section. (Download a PDF of the latest issue)
Corn from White Earth Indian Reservation Grows in Washington, DC! September 11th, 2014
![photo[2]](http://omiusajpic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/photo2.jpg)
Bear Island Flint corn seed from the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota produced this ear of corn grown in Washington, DC
Corn from the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota was planted in the garden at the Oblate headquarters in Washington, DC by farmer, Gail Taylor, and has yielded its fruit! Aware of the work of Winona LaDuke, the well-known Native American activist who lives and works on the White Earth Reservation, to preserve native seeds, Gail has been ordering seed for the garden at 391 from The White Earth Land Recovery project, although she wasn’t aware of the Oblate mission presence at White Earth.
The mission of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, which LaDuke founded, is “to facilitate recovery of the original land base of the White Earth Indian Reservation, while preserving and restoring traditional practices of sound land stewardship, language fluency, community development, and strengthening our spiritual and cultural heritage.” LaDuke is also the Executive Director of Honor the Earth, where she works on a national level to advocate, raise public support, and create funding for frontline native environmental groups.
We are delighted to have corn from this special place growing on Oblate land in Washington. It is also nice that the mission to save native agricultural heritage is alive in both places.
Gail Taylor, the farmer at the Oblate property in Washington, DC working in the garden.
