Last Updated on March 18, 2025
The motivation and method of colonialism hasn’t changed much in 800 years, but the psychology has. Where there was once little mainstream discomfort in murdering or enslaving indigenous peoples for their land, labor or resources, modern states today go to great lengths to portray industrial development as beneficial for native peoples.
Lacking an intercultural understanding, mainstream consumers often succumb to this modern mindset rooted in the colonial view that peoples living close to nature are ignorant and backward. While it is less productive for corporate state propaganda to characterize aboriginal peoples as heathens, the religious bias inherent in colonially-founded states lingers just below the surface of messages meant to discriminate if not demonize cultures that maintain sacred sensibilities.
As indigenous peoples on all continents fight for their lives against present day colonialism in the form of mines, dams, plantations and deforestation, they are often conflicted in how to proceed effectively against such formidable foes. Those that do succeed make use of The Power of Moral Sanction.
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.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions.
And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to
support independent Indigenous journalism.
Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.
Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
