Browse Cases

Showing 1-25 of 35 results

Indigenous Brazilians mobilize against proposed termination of SESAI

Country
Brazil
Time period
March 25, 2019 to March 28, 2019
Classification
Change
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Joy George, 14/04/2019

Beginning at sunrise on 25 March 2019, 300 Ava-Guarani hailing from twelve villages in Guaíra, Paraná and Terra Roxa, São Paulo occupied the Ayrton Senna Bridge, which spans the Rio Paraná in Brazil. The location of this protest was a strategic disruption for two reasons; the bridge serves as the connection between the municipalities of Guaíra and Mundo Novo, and the highway that runs atop it is an access point to nearby Paraguay.

Lowland Indigenous Ecuadorians march for national recognition and land rights, 1992.

Country
Ecuador
Time period
April 11, 1992 to May 7, 1992
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Olivia Robbins, 16/05/2019

In 1992, OPIP, the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities and of the Ecuadorian Amazon, or CONFENIAE) and the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (Confederation of the Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, or CONAIE) organized a caminata, or march, with the explicit goals of “1.) The legalization of our territories” and “2.) The amendment of the constitution to reflect the rights of the plurinational and multicultural reality that is Ecuador today.”

Tibetan "Unchain the Truth" campaign for prisoner release, 2013-2014

Country
China
Japan
Brazil
Austria
United Kingdom
United States
Switzerland
Bulgaria
India
Costa Rica
Germany
Time period
October 25th, 2013 to June 5th, 2014
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasmine Rashid 04/17/15

In August of 2008, Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen was premiering his new documentary, “Leaving Fear Behind”, to a group of journalists in a Beijing hotel when Chinese police interrupted and forcibly shut down the screening.

Indigenous Gurindji win land rights in Australia (Wave Hill Walk Off) 1966-1975

Country
Australia
Time period
August 23rd, 1966 to August 16th, 1975
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Angeline Rivard 18/11/2013

On August 23rd, 1966, the workers of the Wave Hill Station in Northern Territory, Australia, participated in a walk off led by Vincent Lingiari. The workers felt oppressed by the low wages, poor working and living conditions they received at the Wave Hill Station. The Indigenous people known to be part of the Gurindji Tribe were pastoral workers situated at Vesteys' Wave Hill station. The Vestey family was a rich British family that owned many acres of land and companies in Australia.

Australian Aboriginal workers strike for fair wages and equality, 1946-1949

Country
Australia
Time period
1 May, 1946 to Spring, 1949
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Dylan Cohen, 18/10/2013

In 20th century Australia indigenous workers were treated completely differently from the Caucasian settlers on the continent. Until the 1920s, for example, Aboriginals employed at pastoral stations in Australia received rations of clothing and food instead of cash wages. 

Canada first nations challenge government over stolen land (Vancouver Olympics) 2010

Country
Canada
Time period
October, 2008 to February, 2010
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Tyler Dusanek, 25/11/2013

On 2 July 2003, the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge made the announcement that Vancouver, British Columbia had been selected to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The Vancouver government appointed the Vancouver Olympic Committee to organize and plan the Winter Games. The Vancouver Olympic Committee, the British Columbian government, and the Canadian government began planning to build the venues for the games.

Guatemalans refuse to serve in civil patrols, 1988-1993

Country
Guatemala
Time period
March, 1988 to 1993
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sarah Gonzales, 09/04/2013

From 1961 to 1996 Guatemalans endured a bloody civil war.  During this conflict the military-controlled government fought the leftist guerillas or the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG).  These groups fought each other for political control.  The extreme violence pushed many indigenous Guatemalans high into the country’s highlands or displaced them as refugees into other countries.

Hawaiians strike against Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company Limited, 1938

Country
United States
Time period
4 February, 1938 to 15 August, 1938
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alexis Dziedziech, 25/03/13

Hawaiian workers attempting to organize unions in the 1920s and 1930s faced enormous difficulties.  They met stern opposition from an alliance of plantation owners and large companies, including the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company.  Hawaiian workers were also divided into various ethnic groups, which made it easy for the companies to use a policy of divide-and-rule.  

Hawaiian longshoremen win 177-day strike in Hawai'i', 1949

Country
United States
Time period
1 May, 1949 to 23 October, 1949
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alexis Dziedziech, 18/3/2013

By 26 January 1949, negotiations between the International Longshoreman’s Worker Union (ILWU) and the longshoreman employers had reached a standstill. Leaders Jack Hall, Harry Bridges, and Louis Goldblatt negotiated for pay raises for the Hawaii longshoremen. Workers were aware that longshoremen on the west coast of the U.S., who were employed by the same company and loading/unloading the same cargo, were being paid $1.82/hour whereas the Hawaii longshoremen were only being paid $1.40.

Brazilian women advance conditions for rural workers (Margaridas' march), 2000

Country
Brazil
Time period
16 August, 2000 to 18 August, 2000
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jessica Seigel, 16/03/2013

In Brazil in
2000, the Margaridas, or Daisies, formed in honor of Margarida Maria Alves, a
union leader renowned for surmounting the embedded cultural stereotypes and
obstacles for women, especially those working in rural areas. Alves
became the president of the Rural Worker’s Union in her town, but was
reportedly assassinated in 1983, at the age of 50, because of her advocacy for
those working in rural or forested areas. 
After her death, she became a feminist icon in the fight for equality

Hawaiians strike against the sugar industry in Hawai'i' (Hawaii), 1946

Country
United States
Time period
1 September, 1946 to 17 November, 1946
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alexis Dziedziech, 03/03/2013

The Great Hawai'i' Sugar Strike was launched against the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association and the “Big Five” companies in 1946. The “Big Five” were made up of a handful of corporate elite companies: Alexander & Baldwin, American Factors, Castle & Cooke, C. Brewer, and Theo. Davies. They exercised complete control over Hawai'i's sugar plantation workers and the majority of the island’s multi-ethnic workforces. 

Indigenous Maoris in New Zealand occupy Pakaitore to claim their sovereignty, 1995

Country
New Zealand
Time period
28 February, 1995 to 18 May, 1995
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nick Palazzolo 17/02/2013

Along the Whanganui River, which flows through the North Island of New Zealand, lies a contested piece of land that indigenous Māori call Pakaitore. The government calls this same land Moutoa Gardens, a public park they created in memorial to those who died in the Battle of Moutoa Island in 1864. 

Native Americans occupy Alcatraz for land rights, 1969-1971

Country
United States
Time period
20 November, 1969 to 11 June, 1971
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alexa Ross, 23/10/2010

In the 1950s the Eisenhower administration enacted the Relocation and Termination programs in regard to American Indian federal policy. The first part meant that Native Americans were to relocate from their respective reservations into big cities. In doing this, Native Americans would lose the unity of the immediate communities as they individually integrated as citizens into separate cities. Meanwhile, the reservation lands would be liquidated into the hands of the federal government. The second part, termination, was a broader result of the relocation.

Guatemalan indigenous peoples campaign for equal rights, 1977-1981

Country
Guatemala
Time period
1 May, 1977 to 14 February, 1981
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Mackenzie Welch, 17/03/2012

On February 4, 1976, a massive earthquake hit the highlands of Guatemala and displaced more than one million people. Indigenous groups from the departments of Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, and Quiche were hit the hardest and the weak response from the national government brought to light the racial inequalities affecting indigenous peoples.

Attawapiskat students win new school (Shannen's Dream), Ontario, 2007-2012

Country
Canada
Time period
2007 to 2012
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Felicity Forbister, 27/02/2012

Attawapiskat First Nation is a small community located on James Bay approximately 220 kilometers north of Moosonee, Ontario.  Attawapiskat was home to a courageous and passionate young woman named Shannen Koostachin.  Shannen led a campaign of school children to fight for the right to “safe and comfy” schools and quality, culturally based education for First Nations children all across Canada.

Canadian Aboriginals stop a constitutional amendment (Meech Lake Accord), 1990

Country
Canada
Time period
12 June, 1990 to 22 June, 1990
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aaron Maciejko, 28/02/2012

The context for this campaign starts in the early 1980s with the repatriation of the legislation that founded Canada: the British North America Act of 1867. The idea of repatriation had been around since the 1920s and was finally brought to realization in 1982 by the then Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Sahrawis campaign for independence in the second intifada, Western Sahara, 2005-2008

Country
Western Sahara
Morocco
Time period
May, 2005 to 2008
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elliana Bisgaard-Church, 27/11/2011

The Kingdom of Morocco invaded Western Sahara in 1975.  Morocco has retained control of the majority of the territory, with the nationalist Sahrawi (the ethnic group of the Sahara, mostly those from Western Sahara) Polisario Front, controlling only 20-25% of the land.  The Polisario Front has declared the entire Western Sahara territory to be the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (RASD), which has been recognized by close to 80 other countries and granted membership to the African Union.  

Sahrawis campaign for human rights and independence in the first intifada, Western Sahara, 1999-2004

Country
Western Sahara
Morocco
Time period
September, 1999 to 2004
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Elliana Bisgaard-Church, 20/11/2011

In 1975, the Kingdom of Morocco invaded the Western Sahara territory, which had previously been a Spanish colony.  Morocco, led by King Hassan II, attacked just as the territory was expected to gain independence from Spain for the first time.  Morocco’s actions disobeyed a United Nations Security Council resolution stating that the people of Western Sahara had the right to self determination.  The nationalist Sahrawi (the ethnic group of the Sahara, mostly from Western Sahara) Polisario Front, which had been fighting the Spanish, then turned its attention towards Morocco and

Mapuche prisoners hunger strike for law reform, Chile, 2010

Country
Chile
Time period
12 July, 2010 to 1 October, 2010
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Carmen Smith-Estrada, 30/10/2011

With a population of 1.3 million people, the Mapuche are currently the largest indigenous group in Chile. Before 1881, the group functioned as an independent nation, but their political and territorial sovereignty was revoked after Chileans declared their independence from Spain. Since then, the government has forced the Mapuche to live on small “reducciones” (reserves) and allowed private lumber firms to expropriate their land.

Zambians campaign for independence, 1944-1964

Country
Zambia
Time period
1944 to 24 October, 1964
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Aden Tedla, 26/01/2011

In order to strengthen their hold on political and economic power, the white settlers of British-controlled Northern Rhodesia sought to unite the British colonial territories of Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland during the late 1930s and 1940s.  This was a response to the growing strength of African organizations (e.g.

Indian peasants in Champaran campaign for rights, 1917

Country
India
Time period
April, 1917 to October, 1917
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jeewon Kim, 09/10/2010

During the time of British occupation of India, peasants of Champaran district of the Bihar state were highly exploited by the indigo cultivation. The lessees of Indigo and agricultural areas had been Indians until 1793, but as the British Empire began its rule in India, European planters began to take over and gained total control of the indigo and sugar cane cultivation.  

Indians campaign for full independence (Quit India Campaign), 1942-1943

Country
India
Time period
July, 1942 to March, 1943
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Anjali Cadambi, 11/10/2010

In March 1942, the British Parliament sent a delegation to India under Sir Stafford Cripps, a Labor Party Politician, in order to negotiate with the Indian National Congress a constitution that would secure Indian support of World War II. The Indian National Congress (INC) found the proposal for the new constitution unsatisfactory, since the draft declaration promised India domination status—but not complete independence—in return for its total cooperation during the war.

Unions and students in Hong Kong and Canton strike-boycott against British imperial rule, 1925-1926

Country
China
Hong Kong
Time period
June, 1925 to October, 1926
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Anjali Cadambi, 26/09/2010

In a shooting incident on May 30, 1925, Sikh police under British command opened fire on Chinese protestors in the International Settlement of Shanghai, killing nine demonstrators and wounding many others. News of the incident spread across China, triggering an outburst of nationalism and prompting protests all over, but especially in Shanghai and Canton (Guangzhou) – two cities with concentrated British interests.

Tibetan monks protest Chinese rule (Lhasa Protests), 2008

Country
Tibet
China
Time period
March 10, 2008 to March 15, 2008
Classification
Change
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Adriana Popa, 16/10/2010

On March 10, 2008, the Tibetan Uprising Day, a protest against China's occupation of Tibet took place in Lhasa, Tibet’s administrative capital. Worried about the worsening human rights situation inside Tibet, participants intended to use the Olympics’ spotlight to attract international support for the Tibetan cause and to pressure the Chinese government to end its occupation of Tibet, to put a stop to its abuses against Tibetan citizens and supporters, and to ultimately respect Tibet’s sovereignty.

Tahitian labor unions general strike to protest economic hardship, 2010

Country
French Polynesia
Time period
June 4, 2010 to June 15, 2010
Classification
Change
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
2 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Julio Alicea, 14/11/2010

Tahiti was first made into a French colony in 1880 and then, along with the rest of the Polynesian islands, became a French territory in 1946. Since then, Tahiti has been the economic center of French Polynesia.