Last Updated on August 3, 2018
“The land is very important to us. It is very sacred to the Western Shoshone People. It represents life, and to take our land is to take our life. And I find it quote appauling that a country like the United States is legitimizing the theft of Western Shoshone land.“— Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone grandmother
The following 25 minute video focuses in on the struggles of Carrie and Mary Dann, two Western Shoshone Grandmothers who have since 1972 been working to protect their lands from the United States’ gradual encroachment and utter usurpation.
Their Nevada Territory—in fact two-thirds of the State of Nevada and small portions of California, Idaho and Utah are protected under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, which was a treaty of Peace and Friendship that granted the US the right of safe passage. But the United States fraudulently nullified the treaty, and has since engaged in constant efforts to take their lands. Today, nearly 90% of Western Shoshone land is ‘owned’ by the US Government.
In 2005 Mary Dann passed away—but continues to struggle in Spirit with her Sister.
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
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Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
