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Real-Life Avatar Unfolds in India

Tribe battles to stop mining of their sacred mountain

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 8, 2010 9:21 AM CST

(Newser) – Take away the six-legged lemurs, the banshees, and the moon of Pandora, and the plot of Avatar sounds a lot like the mining battle playing out in real life in the Indian state of Orissa. There, indigenous tribespeople are fighting to stop a mining company from extracting bauxite from the forested mountain they consider sacred.

While the fight to save the Na'vi's Tree of Souls is a straight-up case of good vs. evil, the standoff between the Dongria Kondh people and the Vedanta mining firm is more complex. International investors including the Church of England have dropped their shares in Vedanta over ethical concerns about the Dongria Kondh's sacred mountain, but the Indian government says industrial development like mining is desperately needed in the impoverished region, reports Reuters.

Neytiri, voiced by Zoe Saldana, left, and Jake, voiced by Sam Worthington are shown in a scene from Avatar.
Neytiri, voiced by Zoe Saldana, left, and Jake, voiced by Sam Worthington are shown in a scene from "Avatar."   (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)
Protesters wearing T-shirts demonstrate against Vedanta Resources outside the Indian High Commission  in London, England, Wednesday, May 27, 2009.
Protesters wearing T-shirts demonstrate against Vedanta Resources outside the Indian High Commission in London, England, Wednesday, May 27, 2009.   (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Sukinda Valley, estimated to contain 97% of India's chromite ore deposits and one of the world's largest open cast chromite ore mines in the Jajpur district in Orissa, India, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007.
Sukinda Valley, estimated to contain 97% of India's chromite ore deposits and one of the world's largest open cast chromite ore mines in the Jajpur district in Orissa, India, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007.   (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
Amnesty International campaigners protest outside Vedanta Resources, London, to highlight claims of human rights abuses linked to Vedanta's aluminum refinery in Orissa, India on Monday, Feb. 8, 2010.
Amnesty International campaigners protest outside Vedanta Resources, London, to highlight claims of human rights abuses linked to Vedanta's aluminum refinery in Orissa, India on Monday, Feb. 8, 2010.   (AP Photo/PA, Lewis Whyld)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 9 comments
jagerhans
Mar 10, 2010 2:22 PM CST
more complex you say? «Avatar» was the epitome of manichaeism . good vs evil. 'hip' against 'square' . natural facing artificial . cool wise merciful natives fighting a bunch of ignorant aggressive redneck bloodthirsty soldiers . the point is, one has the right of being left alone in his homeland even if he's an ignorant bigot Afghani mountaineer with a gun and smelly sneakers.
martinellie
Mar 8, 2010 11:11 PM CST
Why don't they introduce a military man with as much personality as a rock to learn their ways, and assimilate into their culture? That'll save their mountain...before it's destroyed anyway.
maevealleine
Mar 8, 2010 7:53 PM CST
this article is part of the reason why everything about this is seriously warped.

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