LOOK: Donovan Peoples-Jones makes incredible catch in NFL preseason

LOOK: Donovan Peoples-Jones makes incredible catch in NFL preseason

Yes, we know it’s preseason, and it means very little. But former Michigan football standout receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones has been making noise this offseason as one of the nation’s biggest potential breakout players. He’s had an excellent training camp, so when he gets a chance to highlight his emergence in the pro ranks, it’s certainly notable.

That’s precisely what he did Saturday evening, when the Cleveland Browns took on Urban Meyer’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Peoples-Jones sees a ball thrown somewhat behind him, but he came back and made an impressive one-armed catch. It was enough for the official NFL Twitter account to share the athletic feat.

Certainly DPJ’s best football is ahead of him, and if the word of his offseason is ascension is true, we could be seeing that sooner than later.

End inequalities, recognize abuses, UN chief says on International Day of Indigenous Peoples

In his message marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the UN chief called for ending the “grievous inequalities” affecting these communities.

Indigenous people worldwide continue to face overwhelming marginalization, discrimination and exclusion.

Respect for the rights of indigenous peoples means ensuring equal and meaningful participation, full inclusion and empowerment.#IndigenousDay — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 9, 2021

‘Profound disparities’

“Indigenous peoples around the world continue to face overwhelming marginalization, discrimination and exclusion,” he said.

“Rooted in colonialism and patriarchy, these profound disparities are sustained by a deeply held resistance to recognizing and respecting the rights, dignity, and freedoms of indigenous peoples.”

There are more than 476 million indigenous living in some 90 countries worldwide, representing just over six per cent of the global population.

They have a special relationship with their lands and reflect a vast diversity of unique cultures, traditions, languages and knowledge systems.

Bitter history

The Secretary-General recalled that throughout modern history, indigenous people have been robbed of their lands and territories, and much more. In some cases, they have been robbed of their own children.

Some have also been stripped of political and economic autonomy, while their cultures and languages have been “denigrated and extinguished”.

Mr. Guterres noted that in recent months, the world has again learned about some of the horrors indigenous communities faced at the hands of colonizers.

“Some nations have begun to address this heinous legacy through apologies, truth and reconciliation efforts, and legislative and constitutional reforms. But much more needs to be done,” he said.

Restoring rights

“We need a new social contract – one that restores and honours the rights, dignity and freedoms of those who have been deprived of so much for so long. Central to this must be genuine dialogue, interaction and willingness to listen.”

The Secretary-General pointed to the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the outcome document of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples held seven years later, as the “tools” to bring about the new social contract.

“There is no excuse for denying the world’s 476 million indigenous peoples self-determination and meaningful participation in all decision-making,” he said. “Free, prior and informed consent is central for indigenous peoples to exercise their own vision of development.”

Celebrate indigenous wisdom

Additionally, even though recognition of the importance of indigenous knowledge grows, particularly in relation to solving global challenges such as the climate crisis and preventing emergence of contagious diseases, the UN chief stressed that this knowledge must be owned and shared by indigenous communities themselves.

“On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, let us show true solidarity by working to end the grievous inequalities of indigenous peoples worldwide, to fully recognize the abuse they have endured, and to celebrate their knowledge and wisdom,” he said.

WFP/Morelia Eróstegui A World Food Programme (WFP) representative in Bolivia talks to Uru-Murato indigenous women about COVID-19 awareness and healthy nutrition practices.

Inclusive pandemic recovery

Relatedly, while the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated inequalities affecting people worldwide, a UN independent expert warned that even recovery efforts are having some negative impacts on indigenous communities.

Special Rapporteur José Francisco Cali Tzay said economic recovery measures have prioritized and supported the expansion of business operations at the expense of indigenous peoples, their lands and the environment.

“To avoid making the situation even worse, I urge States to involve representatives, leaders and traditional authorities of indigenous peoples, including those living in urban areas, in the design and implementation of recovery policies,” he said.

Mr. Cali Tzay further urged governments to support solutions which put indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination and land at the core of post-pandemic recovery efforts, in line with 2007 UN Declaration.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. They operate in their individual capacity and are neither UN staff, nor do they receive a salary from the Organization.

Tomsk State University: TSU researchers study the diets of Siberian Arctic peoples

A group of researchers from several research centers, including TSU, is studying the changing diets and traditional lifestyle of Siberian Arctic indigenous peoples. The researchers learned how these changes are affecting the health and life conditions of the local population. Their article is published in Ambio (Q1) by the Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The article compares the diet of Siberian Arctic indigenous peoples of the 21st, 20th, and 19th centuries, gathering information from scientific and literary sources of the past as well as contemporary research. During their expedition of 2013-2018, the researchers interviewed 985 people living in the villages and tundra of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO), and on the coast of the Ob, Taz, and Gydan bays of the Kara Sea.

As the authors note, the diet of the Nenets, Khants, and Selkup peoples traditionally depended on the season for fishing а specific kind of fish. Traveling to the fishing sites allowed them to always have fresh fish as a part of their diet. Deer slaughtering also depended on migration and herding routes, which allowed delivering meat to villages for almost 8 months a year, where it was sold and consumed by relatives. In the last decade, there have rarely been any opportunities for this.

“The diet of Siberian Arctic indigenous peoples has always been rich with local products: deer meat, liver, various species of fish,” explains Olga Shaduyko, coordinator of SecNet. “It is extremely important because by consuming local products people ingest a number of macro- and microelements needed to survive in the extreme conditions of the Arctic. Currently, a high level of local products in the diet is maintained only during the fishing or slaughtering season. During the rest of the year people consume more easily digested carbohydrates (white bread, sugar, condensed milk) and significantly increase the consumption of oil, grains, and rice.”

According to the article, one of the main reasons for the decrease in consumption of local food is climate change. The hydrological regime of rivers has changed and affected traditional fishing seasons and travel routes. The increased number of natural disasters also does not help.

The average annual temperature of the Arctic is rising twice as fast as in the middle latitudes, and it greatly affects the health and living conditions of the local population. For example, the amount of deer meat and fish in the diet of Indigenous people in the YaNAO has decreased by 40-70% in 2012-2016.

Because of their nomadic way of life the Nenets of the tundra do not store food, rather they transport enough food for a family to eat in three to seven days. In summer, it is enough to transport one day’s worth of fish. Villagers also do not store food for more than one or two months. Only 10-15% of the population uses various conservation methods.

“The health of Indigenous people and their ability to adapt to the harsh condition of the Arctic depends on their consumption of local food: fish, deer meat, wild berries,” state the researchers. “This traditional nutrition is the main tool for preventing diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and metabolic disorders for the Indigenous peoples. With the loss of traditional nutrition, hypertension, dyslipidemia, chronic bronchitis, and overweight have become even more prevalent among the Indigenous peoples in comparison to the population of newcomers.”

One of the solutions is creating fish and deer meat storage in villages to enable preserving Indigenous peoples’ health and ensure their food safety in this challenging but strategically important region of the Russian Federation.