Local people  in South Africa protected their land, river, and bay from an Australian  mining company.  The mining company would poison the land and river. Natives spoke up, met, rallied, danced, and marched on behalf of their land and river. Then they won a court decision. Link to Amnesty International update.

In Wisconsin in the US, native tribes have forged alliances with local fishermen, hunters, and other non-natives to protect their traditional lands and waters from Exxon and other large mining companies.  The lakes and rivers where they harvest wild rice and fish were threatened by mining pollution.  The natives won thru their sovereign treaty rights and their spiritual bond to the land. They were able to set their standards for water quality.  Here is a link to the article in YES magazine, Winter 2018 the Good Money Issue,  "We're All Indians Now How Native and White Communities Make Alliances to Protect the Earth"  by Mary Annette Pember.   Unlikely Alliances: Native Nations and White Communities Join to Defend Rural Lands , a new book by Zoltán Grossman, describes he fight to protect the lands and waters.