Iconic Wild Animals In Amazon Suffering For Selfies

Local sloths are taken from the wild and used for harmful selfies with tourists, in Manaus, Brazil. (C) World Animal Protection / Nando Machado

Demand for selfies has changed the lives of wild animals forever: the explosive trend on social media is driving the suffering and exploitation of some of the world's most iconic animals in the Amazon, says international charity World Animal Protection.

Focusing on two gateway cities of the Amazon – Manaus, Brazil and Puerto Alegria, Peru – World Animal Protection's investigators reveal in a new report that animals are snatched from the wild, often illegally, and used by irresponsible tour operators who cruelly exploit and injure wildlife to entertain and provide harmful photo opportunities for tourists.

In public view and behind the scenes, investigators uncovered evidence of cruelty being inflicted on wild animals, including:

• Sloths captured from the wild, tied to trees with rope, not surviving longer than six months
• Birds such as toucans with severe abscesses on their feet
• Green anacondas wounded and dehydrated
• Caiman crocodiles restrained with rubber bands around their jaws
• An ocelot (a type of wild cat) kept in a small barren cage
• A manatee held in a tiny tank in the forecourt of a local hotel
• A giant anteater, manhandled and beaten by its owner

Steve McIvor, CEO at World Animal Protection, says: 

"The wildlife selfie craze is a worldwide phenomenon fueled by tourists, many of whom are unaware of the abhorrent conditions and terrible treatment wild animals may endure to provide that special souvenir photo.

Behind the scenes, wild animals are being taken from their mothers as babies and secretly kept in filthy, cramped conditions or repeatedly baited with food, causing severe psychological trauma."

Cutting-edge research commissioned by World Animal Protection for insights into the worldwide trend on social media of wildlife selfies shows:

• The number of wildlife selfies posted on Instagram has increased 292% between 2014 to present
• 27% of wildlife selfies were posted within the U.S. or by U.S. users. 
• Over 40% of wildlife selfies show 'bad' or harmful wildlife selfies – i.e. someone hugging, holding or inappropriately interacting with a wild animal
• People will most likely upload a 'good' or humane wildlife selfie when they have been educated or exposed to the cruelty behind the scenes.

Dr. Neil D'Cruze, Global Wildlife Advisor at World Animal Protection, says:

"It's extremely distressing to see animals being stolen from the wild and used as photo props for posting on social media. The reality is these unfortunate animals are suffering terribly, both in front of and behind the camera.

The growing demand for harmful wildlife selfies is not only a serious animal welfare concern but also a conservation concern. Our online review of this kind of practice in Latin America found that over 20% of the species involved are threatened by extinction and over 60% are protected by international law."

To tackle the issue, World Animal Protection is calling on relevant governments to enforce laws protecting wild animals, and ensure that travel companies and individuals who are exploiting wild animals for tourism in the Amazon abide by the existing laws.

The organization is also launching a Wildlife Selfie Code for tourists to learn how to take a photo with wild animals without fueling the cruel wildlife entertainment industry.

Tourists can join the movement to end this cruel industry by signing World Animal Protection's Wildlife Selfie Code and commit to keeping wild animals in the wild, where they belong.

World Animal Protection (PRNewsFoto/World Animal Protection)

Case study info:

Manaus, Brazil:

• Manaus is the capital of the Amazonas state, the largest state in Brazil, with a land mass of 1.6 million square kilometers. 77% of the state's rain forest remains intact.
• 10% of the planet's biodiversity can be found in the Amazon region. It is home to over 18,000 species of plants, more than 400 species of mammals and over 200 species of reptiles, many of which are only found here.
• Tourism accounts for around 1% of the GDP of the Brazilian Amazon region
• Direct contact with wild animals for photo opportunities was offered on 94% of excursions offered by tour companies in Manaus, at six different locations.  Official tour guides actively encouraged this type of activity during 77% of excursions.

Puerto Alegria, Peru:

• A total of at least 40 individual animals, representing 24 different species (7 birds, 12 mammals, 5 reptiles) were identified being used in wildlife excursions for selfies.
• Five of these species are considered to have "threatened" status according to the IUCN, and 75% are listed by CITES.

 

The Wildlife Selfie Code

SOURCE: World Animal Protection

Legendary Kung-Fu Master Bruce Lee Joins The Heroes Evolved Cast

The Mighty Bruce Lee comes to Heroes Evolved

Heroes Evolved launched several months ago, and is still going strong thanks to its streamlined approach to the tried and true MOBA formula. With over 7 million downloads, a yearly organized championship with compelling prize pools, worldwide servers, & more, Heroes Evolved has carved itself a nice slice of the MOBA-genre pie.

Though most popular MOBA titles have a character similar in appearance to world famous Bruce Lee, only one such game has the real thing. R2Games is announcing an exclusive partnership with Bruce Lee, LLC (owned and operated by Bruce Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee) to bring the legendary Kung-Fu Master to Heroes Evolved as a playable character.

Heroes Evolved is a 5v5 online arena game, in which players assume the role of a powerful hero, and work together as a team to destroy the opposing base. Gameplay is fast paced, tactical, and above all - very fun. It appeals to both casual and more hardcore gamers, offering multiple modes with a focus ranging from serious tournaments, to all out just-for-laughs brawls.

"We are very proud to be the first to officially bring Bruce Lee to the world of MOBA games. We're long-time fans and can't wait to pit all our other heroes against the world renowned Bruce Lee!" - Yumin WANG, R2Games Global Publishing Director

For those that don't know who Bruce Lee is, he stands among some of the most iconic people of our time. As an accomplished actor, director, martial artist, and philosopher, Bruce Lee paved the way for positive reception of Asian actors in American cinema, and will always be remembered as a true Hero.

Bruce Lee represents the first in what R2Games intends to be a series of recognizable playable characters from other properties. He will be available mid-October in Heroes Evolved, with R2 hosting a number of related events to celebrate the occasion, and invite gamers from around the world to join in over on their official website, as well as in-game.

• Play now on iOS and Android! 
• Facebook Community: facebook.com/HeroesEvolvedMobile

SOURCE: R2Game Co. Limited

Bonus Video:

Voting Opens As Finalists' Films Announced For The Fourth-Annual IES Abroad Student Film Festival

Voting Open For IES Abroad Student Film Festival – Public Can Vote for Their Favorite Film Now Through November 1st On The IES Abroad Facebook Page  (PRNewsfoto/IES Abroad)

IES Abroad, a leading not-for-profit organization providing access to study abroad and internship programs in more than 20 countries and 34 locations around the world, is pleased to announce the three film finalists for its fourth-annual IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival. Students participating in the Film Festival produced their films based on their study abroad experiences around the world with IES Abroad.

This year, 93 films were submitted by IES Abroad students, which is nearly double the amount of submissions from the Film Festival's first year, in 2014. Over a span of four years, 113 colleges and universities have been represented through 262 student film submissions, all documenting the various experiences at IES Abroad study abroad programs around the world. The Film Festival provides students a platform to voice their global journey through their own words and video footage, capturing unique views into their life-changing study abroad experiences.

"We are continually inspired by the story-telling potential of film, and these student films are a remarkable testament to the powerful role that studying abroad plays in cross-culture understanding and education," says Amy Ruhter McMillan, Associate Vice President of Marketing and founder of the IES Abroad Film Festival. "The Film Festival participants benefit from the inherent reflection that comes from producing a film, and carry their experiences of international study and cultural engagement with them as they become our next generation of open-minded global leaders."

The Grand Prize Winner will be chosen by the public, who can vote for their favorite film on the IES Abroad Facebook page: contest.fbapp.io/saff2017 now through October 30 at noon CST. 

The winner will be announced at the first ever IES Abroad Film Festival event, on Wednesday, November 1, at Chicago's renowned Museum of Contemporary Art. IES Abroad will roll-out the red carpet with emcee Kate Flannery – best known for her 9 seasons as Meredith, on NBC's hit show, The Office – and present the grand prize winner with a $1,500 cash prize and 1-year distribution deal with INDISTRY TV- a first-of-its-kind subscription streaming service that offers content shaped by its audience.

This year's IES Abroad Film Festival finalists are:

• "Sapporo," by Jacob Richard Hatfield | Penn State University | IES Abroad Tokyo, Fall 2016
• "Solitude: A Companion Abroad," by Ismael Byers | Hope College | IES Abroad Santiago, Chile, Spring 2017, and co-directed by Kyle Arnold | Ithaca College | IES Abroad Santiago, Spring 2017
• "The Journey of Healing in Japan," by Wennicha Yang | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | IES Abroad Tokyo, J-Term 2017

The finalists were selected by a prominent jury of directors, editors, producers and screenwriters, all of whom are either IES Abroad film studies faculty from their international Centers or IES Abroad alumni.

"As an IES Abroad (Paris, 1965) alum, and a filmmaker, I understand and appreciate the power of study abroad and film," says Oscar-nominated Willard Huyck, acclaimed motion picture writer, director and producer, and IES Abroad juror. "My study abroad experience had such a meaningful impact on my life that I returned to Paris 12 years later to shoot French Postcards, a film about a junior year abroad. Film is a magnificent outlet for these students to share how study abroad influenced their lives, and their views of the world."

The IES Abroad Film Festival event is an opportunity to engage with students, alumni and the local film and entertainment communities, as well as to raise awareness about the power of study abroad. 

Tickets to this year's event can be purchased on the IES Abroad website for $20. The event is also sponsored by Charles Schwab, GoAbroad.com, Lockton, and Marquette Associates.

The Videos:

Sapporo

Solitude: A Companion Abroad

The Journey of Healing in Japan

SOURCE: IES Abroad

Nightmare at Beaver Lake Opens Friday the 13th!

Nightmare at Beaver Lake

Currently in its 14th year, the Nightmare at Beaver Lake is the Sammamish Rotary's main fundraiser and community service project. It is produced in affiliation with Scare Productions and the City of Sammamish. 

Patrons walk approximately ¾ of a mile along the trails of Beaver Lake Park and are entertained by 23 separate theatrical sets filled with actors in full makeup and costumes. 

Over 125 volunteers are required each night to scare 13,000 patrons during the 11 night run of the show. Approximately 70% of the actors are local high school students.  

This all volunteer charity haunt enables the Sammamish Rotary to support local and international charities, and award college scholarships to students from the three Sammamish High Schools.

About The Nightmare:
(Excerpt from the Nightmare's site)

In early 2004 the Rotary Club of Sammamish decided to create a unique haunted adventure. The goal was to create a project that would involve the city's teenagers both as constructors and customers. 

They gathered help from Scare Productions, Valour Designs, the Sammamish Youth Board, the Skyline High School Key Club, Eastlake High School DECA, the City of Sammamish, and people from our community.

Several things make our haunt unique. Visitors wind their way through both outdoor and indoor scenes. Each set provides a theatrical experience including live actors. From construction to acting to security, Nightmare at Beaver Lake is run by hundreds of volunteers.

That first year nearly 4000 people screamed their way through Beaver Lake Park in just four nights. In 2005 we saw more scenes and an even larger attendance. By 2006 we had extended the trail to nearly 3/4 of a mile and attendance had swelled to over 8,000. By 2011 we had nearly 12,000 visitors to our asylum over 10 nights who donated over 2,500 pounds of food!

Nightmare at Beaver Lake Opens Friday the 13th!

• 2017 Dates to Remember:
• Opening Night: Friday, October 13, 2017
• Running dates: Friday, October 13, 2017 – Halloween, October 31, 2017
• Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights plus Monday Oct. 30th and Halloween
• Ribbon Cutting - Mayor of Sammamish: 6pm; Thursday, October 12, 2017
• Press Night (dress rehearsal); 7pm: Thursday, October 12, 2017
• Hours: Family Scare: 7pm-7:45pm
• Full Scare: 8pm-11pm Fri/Sat and 8pm-10pm Sun/Mon
• Admission: Online sales at NightmareAtBeaverLake.com (Skip the ticket lines)
• Family Scare: $12 per person
• Full Scare: $20 per person
• Fast Pass (Fri-Sat Full Scare Only): $10 additional (skip the entrance line)
• Discounts: Bring a can of food for Lifewire and receive $1 off

For tickets, volunteer info, inquiries, and general info about the show, please visit NightmareAtBeaverLake.com

Sammamish Rotary: "We scare, because we care" 
Every year it's different! Every year its better!

The Video:

SOURCE: Rotary Club of Sammamish

Art Of Villalpando Will Bring Together Philanthropists In New York To Support Mexican Culture

Cristóbal de Villalpando (ca. 1649–1714). Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus (detail), 1683

On the occasion of the exhibition Cristóbal de Villalpando: Mexican Painter of the Baroque at The Metropolitan Museum of New York, currently running through October 15, the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York (MCINY) will host a benefit evening with a private tour of the exhibition on October 3. The event will be chaired by Mexico's Ambassador to the United States, Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández and Diego Gómez Pickering, Consul General of Mexico in New York, and co-chaired by Claudia (Gonzalez) Romo Edelman.

The benefit reception, organized by MCINY, pays homage to the work of Estrellita B. Brodsky, a well-known curator and philanthropist, who has promoted Mexican art throughout the globe, especially in the United States. Part of the ticket sales will be donated to the relief efforts in Mexico.

"With this event, we seek to strengthen the promotion of Mexico, specifically of our culture, in one of the most important art institutions in the United States," said Gómez Pickering. "We also aim to channel collective efforts to aid the victims of the tragic earthquakes that shook Mexico," he added.

"The exhibition is the first major Mexican art project at The Met since 1990. For over 25 years the MCINY has worked to foster a better understanding of Mexico through the promotion of its vibrant culture. Now is a particularly important moment to support the Institute's mission and with it, our Mexican fellow citizens," commented Claudia Romo Edelman.

The MCINY, currently directed by Caterina Toscano, is a non-profit organization committed to promoting the richness, dynamism and cultural diversity of Mexico, a plural and creative nation. It is also the cultural division of the Consulate General of Mexico in New York.

The work of Cristóbal de Villalpando is recognized as emblematic of the art of viceregal Mexico. The collection exhibited at The Met was first presented this year at the Citibanamex Palacio de Cultura-Palacio de Iturbide in Mexico City, from March 9 to June 4. 

The exhibition includes the painting Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus, a 28-foot-tall canvas finished in 1683, which has never been exhibited outside Mexico.

The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Fomento Cultural Banamex, A.C. It is made possible by Citibanamex and Fundación Diez Morodo.

Additional support is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE), AMEXCID, and the Consulate General of Mexico in New York.

SOURCE: Mexican Cultural Institute of New York

With Honour Announces New Modern Modest Sportswear With Active Cooling Technology

The SnapJab by With Honour

U.S. based product developer, With Honour, is unveiling a range of stylish yet amazingly functional active fashion wear for modest women and athletes. With Honour noticed the need for modest clothing that suits modern women, so they decided to create it themselves.

The With Honour range consisting of self-cooling "SnapJab" and "Aurora hoodie" will be pre-selling their products through the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. During a 30-day sale the range will be selling at a discount.

The Aurora Hoodie by With Honour

Having spotted a gap in the market for a fashionable, comfortable and practical modest active wear. The team went out and spoke to female athletes in over five countries, lots and lots of athletes. So, the quest was to create the ultimate clothing range for these women. The result is the With Honour range.

First designed to be functional. Easy access non-snag snaps, snug fitting yet comfortable with amazing built in active-cooling tech – that keeps you cool no matter what the sport.

They then took that functionality and made it beautiful. "We wanted to create a range of active wear – that is ideal for serious female athletes but can be worn by anyone," says founder Kamal Kalifa.

The SnapJab  

The founder, Kamal Kalifa, firmly believes that "What you wear should never limit what you can achieve."

With Honour is now ready to launch their product to the public. 

The Videos:

The Aurora Hoodie Promo

The SnapJab Promo

SOURCE: With Honour

Dear Elon Musk: Your Dazzling Mars Plan Overlooks Some Big Nontechnical Hurdles

Will it be only a few decades before Mars tourism is a reality? (SpaceX, CC BY)

By Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University

Elon Musk has a plan, and it’s about as audacious as they come. Not content with living on our pale blue dot, Musk and his company SpaceX want to colonize Mars, fast. They say they’ll send a duo of supply ships to the red planet within five years. By 2024, they’re aiming to send the first humans. From there they have visions of building a space port, a city and, ultimately, a planet they’d like to “geoengineer” to be as welcoming as a second Earth.

If he succeeds, Musk could thoroughly transform our relationship with our solar system, inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers along the way. But between here and success, Musk and SpaceX will need to traverse an unbelievably complex risk landscape.

Many will be technical. The rocket that’s going to take Musk’s colonizers to Mars (code named the “BFR” – no prizes for guessing what that stands for) hasn’t even been built yet. No one knows what hidden hurdles will emerge as testing begins. Musk does have a habit of successfully solving complex engineering problems though; and despite the mountainous technical challenges SpaceX faces, there’s a fair chance they’ll succeed.

As a scholar of risk innovation, what I’m not sure about is how SpaceX will handle some of the less obvious social and political hurdles they face. To give Elon Musk a bit of a head start, here are some of the obstacles I think he should have on his mission-to-Mars checklist.

Musk typically drives hard toward his goals – in this case, Mars. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)

Planetary protection
Imagine there was once life on Mars, but in our haste to set up shop there, we obliterate any trace of its existence. Or imagine that harmful organisms exist on Mars and spacecraft inadvertently bring them back to Earth.

These are scenarios that keep astrobiologists and planetary protection specialists awake at night. They’ve led to unbelievably stringent international policies around what can and cannot be done on government-sponsored space missions.

Yet Musk’s plans threaten to throw the rule book on planetary protection out the window. As a private company SpaceX isn’t directly bound by international planetary protection policies. And while some governments could wrap the company up in space bureaucracy, they’ll find it hard to impose the same levels of hoop-jumping that NASA missions, for instance, currently need to navigate.

It’s conceivable (but extremely unlikely) that a laissez-faire attitude toward interplanetary contamination could lead to Martian bugs invading Earth. The bigger risk is stymying our chances of ever discovering whether life existed on Mars before human beings and their grubby microbiomes get there. And the last thing Musk needs is a whole community of disgruntled astrobiologists baying for his blood as he tramples over their turf and robs them of their dreams.

Ecoterrorism
Musk’s long-term vision is to terraform Mars – reengineer our neighboring planet as “a nice place to be” – and allow humans to become a multi-planetary species. Sounds awesome – but not to everyone. I’d wager there will be some people sufficiently appalled by the idea that they decide to take illegal action to interfere with it.

Ecoterrorists claimed responsibility in 1998 for burning part of a Colorado ski resort they said threatened animal habitats. (Vail Fire Department)

The mythology surrounding ecoterrorism makes it hard to pin down how much of it actually happens. But there certainly are individuals and groups like the Earth Liberation Front willing to flout the law in their quest to preserve pristine wildernesses. It’s a fair bet there will be people similarly willing to take extreme action to stop the pristine wilderness of Mars being desecrated by humans.

How this might play out is anyone’s guess, although science fiction novels like Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Mars Trilogy” give an interesting glimpse into what could transpire once we get there. More likely, SpaceX will need to be on the lookout for saboteurs crippling their operations before leaving Earth.

Space politics
Back in the days before private companies were allowed to send rockets into space, international agreements were signed that set out who could do what outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Under the United Nations Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, for instance, states agreed to explore space for the benefit of all humankind, not place weapons of mass destruction on celestial bodies and avoid harmful contamination.

That was back in 1967, four years before Elon Musk was born. With the emergence of ambitious private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and others, though, who’s allowed to do what in the solar system is less clear. It’s good news for companies like SpaceX – at least in the short term. But this uncertainty is eventually going to crystallize into enforceable space policies, laws and regulations that apply to everyone. And when it does, Musk needs to make sure he’s not left out in the cold.

This is of course policy, not politics. But there are powerful players in the global space policy arena. If they’re rubbed the wrong way, it’ll be politics that determines how resulting policies affect SpaceX.

Climate change
Perhaps the biggest danger is that Musk’s vision of colonizing Mars looks too much like a disposable Earth philosophy – we’ve messed up this planet, so time to move on to the next. Of course, this idea may not factor into Musk’s motivation, but in the world of climate change mitigation and adaptation, perceptions matter. The optics of moving to a new planet to escape the mess we’ve made here is not a scenario that’s likely to win too many friends amongst those trying to ensure Earth remains habitable. And these factions wield considerable social and economic power – enough to cause problems for SpaceX if they decide to mobilize over this.

There is another risk here too, thanks to a proposed terrestrial use of SpaceX’s BFR as a hyperfast transport between cities on Earth. Musk has recently titillated tech watchers with plans to use commercial rocket flights to make any city on Earth less than an hour’s travel from any other. This is part of a larger plan to make the BFR profitable, and help cover the costs of planetary exploration. It’s a crazy idea – that just might work. But what about the environmental impact?

Even though the BFR will spew out tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, the impacts may not be much greater than current global air travel (depending how many flights end up happening). And there’s always the dream of creating the fuel – methane and oxygen – using solar power and atmospheric gases. The BFR could even conceivably be carbon-neutral one day.

But at a time when humanity should be doing everything in our power to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the optics aren’t great. And this could well lead to a damaging backlash before rocket-commuting even gets off the ground.

When the USSR launched Sputnik on Oct. 4, 1957, it also launched the space race.( AP Photo)

Inspiring – or infuriating?
Sixty years ago, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite – and changed the world. It was the dawn of the space age, forcing nations to rethink their technical education programs and inspiring a generation of scientists and engineers.

We may well be standing at a similar technological tipping point as researchers develop the vision and technologies that could launch humanity into the solar system. But for this to be a new generation’s Sputnik moment, we’ll need to be smart in navigating the many social and political hurdles between where we are now and where we could be.

Imagine the possibilities…. (SpaceX, CC BY)

These nontechnical hurdles come down to whether society writ large grants SpaceX and Elon Musk the freedom to boldly go where no one has gone before. It’s tempting to think of planetary entrepreneurialism as simply getting the technology right and finding a way to pay for it. But if enough people feel SpaceX is threatening what they value (such as the environment – here or there), or disadvantaging them in some way (for example, by allowing rich people to move to another planet and abandoning the rest of us here), they’ll make life difficult for the company.

This is where Musk and SpaceX need to be as socially adept as they are technically talented. Discounting these hidden hurdles could spell disaster for Elon Musk’s Mars in the long run. Engaging with them up front could lead to the first people living and thriving on another planet in my lifetime.

About Today's Contributor:
Andrew Maynard, Director, Risk Innovation Lab, Arizona State University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

Freedom Colony, a Texan Family - Beyond 40 Acres and a Mule

The Upshaws of County Line

The Lost Pines Art League is proud to present an educational and uplifting photography show about the exhibition The Upshaws of County Line follows one family from everyday events, such as a game of dominos, to important milestones such as births and funerals.

But what makes the Upshaws unique is where they lived — County Line, a freedom colony in East Texasformed in the 1870s by newly freed slaves on land that they owned.

The photographs, taken by University of North Texas alumnus Richard Orton, will be on display through the end of October 2017 in Studio B at the Lost Pines Art Center.

The show is brought to you by a partnership of the Lost Pines Art Center and through a grant provided by the City of Bastrop.  The City of Bastrop has earned the title of the most historic small town in Texas.

The Upshaws of County Line - Book

The exhibition, which covers 25 years, is based on his 2014 book of the same name published by UNT Press. "I watched family members being born and grow up," he said. "I watched people die. I took photographs of funerals. It was a very rare gift that I was able to do what I did there."

Orton was a music major at UNT who took up photography while living in Austin after college. During a visit to his parents' home in Nacogdoches, he discovered the existence of freedom colonies and became curious about the impact that their relative autonomy had on their families.

He found the Upshaw family, which had 13 children, and told them he was interested in photographing them. The family agreed, and he began taking the documentary-style, black-and-white photographs the day after Thanksgiving in 1988.

In one memorable photo, the patriarch Edward Monel Upshaw is being introduced to his great-granddaughter, Reya, less than a year old, who is crying. Other photos include the annual homecoming celebration that brings in family members from all over the country in August.

"What I hope that it does is convey some sense of what it was like to be raised in a community like that," Orton said. "The children were not subject to all the negative aspects of the Jim Crow reality of the day. By virtue of fact they owned their own land, they automatically had their own independence."

• The Lost Pines Art League (Lost Pines Art Center) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and runs the Lost Pines Art Center. Its membership includes a diverse set of artists and supporters of the fine arts.
• The City of Bastrop is a historically significant city and the county seat of Bastrop County, Texas, United States.

To learn more about the Lost Pines Art Center visit the website at www.lostpinesartcenter.org

SOURCE: Lost Pines Art League

Governments of Canada and Nunatsiavut Launch Partnership to Protect Ocean in Northern Labrador

Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, and Johannes Lampe, President of the Nunatsiavut Government, kayaking in the Labrador Sea (CNW Group/Parks Canada)

The waters around Labrador, an integral part of Inuit Nunangat, support a diverse array of birds, fish, and whales, and include some of the most unique ecosystems on the planet. With one of the highest concentration of polar bears anywhere in the world, this awe-inspiring region has sustained Inuit for thousands of years.

There - amid the oceans and icebergs of the north Atlantic - Inuit culture is strongly tied to the abundance of the land and sea.

Today the governments of Canada and Nunatsiavut are committing to a partnership to manage the ocean around northern Labrador. This is a historic commitment, and one that will ensure protection for future generations of Inuit.

Catherine McKenna, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada; Johannes Lampe, the President of the Nunatsiavut Government; and Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, have signed a Statement of Intent that would see the governments working together cooperatively towards an integrated vision for the marine waters of northern Labrador. This vision will recognize and respect Labrador Inuit rights and interests.

Together, the two governments are advancing the 'Imappivut' initiative – which means 'Our Waters' - put forward by the Nunatsiavut Government. Crucially, this initiative supports collaborative management, which includes the creation and co-management of marine protected areas. Moving forward, the Federal and Nunatsiavut Governments will work with local communities and with the provincial government to potentially protect a stretch of coastline longer than the State of California. 

To ensure that the marine zone covered by the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement is both protected and developed sustainably, the Statement of Intent that was signed means the governments will work together to explore new solutions – like Indigenous Protected Areas – in order to maintain healthy oceans and healthy coastal communities.

With this partnership a major step is being taken in the right direction to build a legacy for future generations and ensure long lasting benefits for Inuit.

Quotes

"Our Government is proud of this historic partnership with the Nunatsiavut Government, the 'Imappivut' initiative, to protect the ocean in Northern Labrador. Together, we will not only help protect a region feeling the very real impacts of climate change – but through environmental stewardship, training, and employment – will provide economic opportunities for Inuit communities along the coast. Both governments understand we can protect the environment while strengthening the economy."

The Honourable Catherine McKenna Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada

"The Imappivut initiative is about recognizing Labrador Inuit connection, knowledge and rights to our ocean. It is about respecting our history and current needs by partnering with the Government of Canada to develop a management plan that ultimately improves the lives of those who depend on the water and the ecosystem itself. We look forward to starting this process by gathering information from Nunatsiavummiut for the management plan and working with the Government of Canada and other stakeholders to realize the expectations and interests that Labrador Inuit have for how the ocean is managed."

Johannes Lampe President, Nunatsiavut Government

"Meaningful collaboration with Indigenous communities is key to protecting Canada's three oceans. By signing this Statement of Intent, our government is recognizing the important contribution Indigenous communities can make to protect our oceans and our commitment to working closely with the Nunatsiavut Kavamanga on marine conservation and sustainable management in the Labrador region."

The Honourable Dominic LeBlancMinister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

SOURCE: Parks Canada