The idea of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day was not a new one. It was first proclaimed by representatives of Native nations and participants at the United Nations-sponsored International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, which took place in 1977 in Geneva, Switzerland. The declaration of this body was applauded and echoed by Native peoples around the globe.

Indigenous peoples and human rights/peace/social justice/environmental organizations were beginning to gear up for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage, 1492-1992, which marked the beginning of the European invasion of the Western Hemisphere and Native resistance to it. While governments were trying to make it into a celebration of colonialism, Native peoples wanted to use the occasion to reveal the historical truths about the invasion and the consequent genocide and environmental destruction, to organize against its continuation today, and to celebrate Indigenous resistance.

With representatives from 120 Indian nations from every part of the Americas, the all-Indigenous First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance, held in Quito, Ecuador in July 1990, saw itself as fulfilling a prophesy that the Native nations would rise again when the eagle of the north joined with the condor of the south. The conference resolved to transform Columbus Day, 1992, "into an occasion to strengthen our process of continental unity and struggle towards our liberation."
Resistance 500

Upon return, all the conference participants and like minded others began organizing in their communities. A year and a half before the Quincentenary, Indian people of Northern California met at Native American D-Q University in Davis, California, and organized the Bay Area Indian Alliance for counter-quincentennial planning. They resolved to "reaffirm October 12, 1992 as International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples." The final day of the conference was moved to Oakland and was opened to non-Native people. This conference organized a broad coalition to coordinate 1992 activities with Indigenous leadership, called Resistance 500. The Resistance 500 coalition broke down into four committees revolving around different municipalities, planning local activities in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and the South Bay.

Meanwhile, the Bay Area had been chosen by the U. S. Congress as the national focus for the planned Quincentenary Jubilee hoopla, with replicas of Columbus' ships scheduled to sail into the Golden Gate and land in a grand climax (eventually canceled). Berkeley Resistance 500 asked the City Council to set up a task force to make recommendations regarding Quincentenary planning.

After meeting for a number of months, the Resistance 500 Task Force proposed replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

To make the case for changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, the Task Force had to convince the community not only that Native people should be honored with a day, but that Columbus should no longer be honored. The Task Force presented their research which showed overwhelming evidence that Columbus himself took personal leadership in acts that would today be called genocide.

Columbus planned to conquer and colonize all the Caribbean islands and the mainland. The islands were populated by over a million Taino Indians, peaceful farmers and fishermen. Unable to find enough gold to finance his schemes, Columbus captured thousands of Tainos and shipped them to the slave markets of Spain. The Tainos resisted with fishbone-tipped spears, but these were no match for artillery. Columbus demanded that each Taino pay a tribute of gold dust every three months, under penalty of amputation of the hands. In two years over a hundred thousand Tainos were dead, and the survivors were slaves in the mines and plantations. Columbus personally invented European imperialism in the Americas and the transatlantic slave trade.

Once the Berkeley City Council understood the proposal and that there was wide support for it in the community, they voted unanimously in its favor, declaring October 12th to be commemorated annually as "Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People."

The Council also declared 1992 the Year of Indigenous People (also proposed by Native groups to the U. N., who ultimately gave them 1993 instead), and supported a series of ideas for its implementation in the schools, libraries, museums, arts, and the University.

Finally the City approved the Task Force's proposal to replace the old broken fountain in the park behind City Hall with a new fountain designed as this country's first monument dedicated to Indigenous Peoples. This fountain, known as the Turtle Island Monument, designed by Lee Sprague, Potawatomi, has a life of its own , and the City of Berkeley is currently finalizing plans for its construction, which will include a time capsule buried beneath it containing messages from today's Native peoples, to be opened by the Seventh Generation.

Other municipalities have followed Berkeley's lead, have dropped Columbus Day and have begun to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead, including Sebastopol and Santa Cruz, CA. The State of South Dakota, in a related move, also dropped Columbus Day and replaced it with Native American Day.

At first there was some outrage from the large San Francisco Italian-American community, which always came together for an annual Columbus Day parade and reenactment, so felt attacked. But on quiet evaluation of the historical record, the leaders of the Italian-American community decided that Columbus was no hero of theirs either, so requested that the City of San Francisco drop Columbus Day like Berkeley did. However, San Francisco replaced it with Italian-American Day, which is how it is celebrated there today.

Meanwhile, at the request of the world's Indigenous groups and led by Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú, the United Nations declared the International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, and declared the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2005), to address the human rights of the estimated 300 million Native Peoples in more than 70 countries, and to cultivate a partnership between Indigenous Peoples and the international community. But instead of changing Columbus Day, which was seen as too threatening to some governments, the U.N. declared a different day as Indigenous Peoples Day, August 9th.

Holiday not celebrated by Native American tribes

For many, the second Monday in October is known as Columbus Day, a holiday that is often observed by residents making a trip to the post office only to find it closed.

It's not just those needing to send an urgent letter not thrilled with the holiday being officially sanctioned by state and federal governments, some American Indians see it as a reminder of the harsh treatment of their ancestors at the hands of Europeans.

While attitudes about the holiday among American Indians differ, most agree that Columbus Day is not a holiday that reflects the point of view of American Indians.

On Columbus Day, the Cherokee and Creek nations' tribal offices remain open and the day is not observed, while the Osage Nation's and United Keetoowah Band's tribal offices close, but refer to the holiday as Osage Day and Native American Day, respectively.

"Because it's a federal holiday and federal offices are closed anyway, it's the thought of exercising a little tribal sovereignty over what we have a little control over," said Osage Nation Chief Jim Gray. "Indian Country has mixed issues about who discovered whom, and if this is a celebration of who discovered the New World, those of us who had ancestors here before Columbus certainly might be allowed to have a different point of view about the whole thing." Read more here....


Columbus Day Disregards American Indians' Struggles

Editor,

It's that time of year again when America celebrates its origins with the recognition of Columbus Day, and if you grew up in the mainstream, you probably don't think twice about it. But if you grew up as an American Indian, you do, especially if you know your history. That history tells a much different story than the usual one of a benign explorer who "discovered" a new world, one that would ultimately present vast expanses of uninhabited land for the taking of European settlers seeking liberation from religions and economic persecution. For Indian people, Columbus Day is a day of mourning, a reminder of incalculable loss and unspeakable pain. As Native students here at UNM, we take a stand to reframe this dark day, choosing instead empowerment and a celebration of survival and cultural renewal, and we reclaim it as
Indigenous Day.

As we celebrate our heritage, we also acknowledge that our struggles have never ended. We continue to resist modern colonial efforts to undermine our cultures, our lands and resources, which are threatened continually. We struggle to assert our worldview in a dominant culture, which regularly discredits and attempts to delegitimize our often very different way of thinking and living. Yet we know we have something to say that the world desperately needs to hear, and we cannot be silent. The spirits of our ancestors beat in our hearts and advance unseen upon the land, and honor them we must. It is for them and the ones who yet are to come that we carry on.

Please join us today for our Indigenous Day Celebration sponsored by the Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group and Kiva Club. Festivities begin with a sunrise ceremony on Johnson Field at 6:45 a.m., a breakfast potluck at 9 a.m. at Native American Studies in Mesa Vista Hall, Indigenous theater and poster presentations in the SUB from noon to 1 p.m., a poetry slam in the SUB at 1 p.m., Aztec dancers on Smith Plaza at 2 p.m. and a film festival in Zimmerman at 3 p.m. Share with us the beauty and intelligence of Native America.

Dina Gilio
UNM student


Sign the Petition to Replace Columbus Day

Greetings!

At last year’s London launch of ORIGINS: First Nations theater From Around the World, we created ORIGINS: On the Road as a way to bring Indigenous theatermakers to Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities around the world. We see this as an essential part the ORIGINS mission to bring Indigenous theater to world audiences.


Australian Aboriginal playwright David Milroy just completed the first ORIGINS: On The Road tour. David Milroy is a Palyku man from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. He has achieved national and international success and recognition as a musician, playwright, writer and theatre director. David won the prestigious Patrick White Playwrights’ Award (Australia) in 2004 for Windmill Baby.


As the first artistic director of Yirra Yaakin, from 1995 to 2003, David worked with first-time writers and artists to present an acclaimed body of new Western Australian Indigenous works. He is widely recognized for his contribution to Aboriginal theatre industry development and, in 2002, was a co-recipient of the Myer Award, acknowledging his commitment to empowering the Aboriginal community to present their own stories.


The tour was a great success. David met with Native American playwrights and actors, and gave presentations on family history, Aboriginal history, and the development of Aboriginal theater in Australia to audiences ranging from middle and high school students to college and university students and community members, as well as conducting workshops on scriptwriting at:

• The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, through the Theater Arts and Dance Department and the Department of Anthropology
• Sinte Gleska University, Mission, South Dakota. Sinte Gleska was one of the first tribal colleges in the United States and remains committed to its earliest purposes: to preserve and teach Lakota culture, history and language to promote innovative and effective strategies to address the myriad of social and economic concerns confronting the Sicangu Lakota Oyate.
• Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota—a regional university with a strong Native American student body and faculty
• Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, South Dakota. Oglala Lakota College is chartered by the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Its mission is to provide educational opportunities which enhance Lakota life
  
• Fort Berthold Community College, New Town, North Dakota, September 23-24. The Fort Berthold Community College is chartered to provide quality cultural, academic, and vocational education and services for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.
• University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, through the Department of Theatre and Film
• Haskell Indian Nations University, a national center for Indian education, research, and cultural preservation, located in Lawrence, Kansas

In the course of the tour, David received many honors, including

the gifting of a star quilt and beaded hat from the chairman and tribal council of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Naiton of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota a powwow in his honor by students and parents from the Mandaree school, North Dakota introduction at the Little Wound School back-to-school powwow in South Dakota

Plans are now underway to tour other Indigenous theatermakers internationally as ORIGINS: First Nations Theater From Around The World continues in its mission to bring Indigenous theater and theatermakers to world audiences.


David Milroy’s United States Tour was funded by contributions from the Australian Embassy, the University of Minnesota, Sinte Gleska University, Oglala Lakota College, Fort Berthold Community College, the University of Kansas, and Bronitsky and Associates.


For additional information about this tour and upcoming tours, please contact


Dr Gordon Bronitsky

President

Bronitsky and Associates

Bronitsky@bronitskyandassociates.com

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Week of October 1 - 7, 2008


Bolivia: This Is A Fight Between Rich And Poor

Speaking from within the belly of the beast, Bolivia’s indigenous President Evo Morales announced at the 63rd United Nations General Assembly that the world today is paying witness to a “fight between rich and poor, between socialism and capitalism”.

“There is an uprising against an economic model, a capitalistic system that is the worst enemy of humanity”, Morales said.

With his confidence boosted following the recent rolling back of a right-wing offensive whose objective was a “civil coup” against his government, Morales used his intervention at the UN summit to do what he had done last year: denounce capitalism.

Morales also used the opportunity to refer to recent events in his own country. Following his crushing victory in the August 10 recall referendum — in which close to seven out of 10 voters demonstrated their support for him and the process of change he is leading — the right-wing pro-autonomy opposition based in the east of Bolivia unleashed a desperate wave of violence and terrorism aimed at toppling his government.

In response, Morales expelled the US ambassador due to his role in leading the coup conspiracy and decreed marshal law in the department (state) of Pando — site of the most intense violence. Pando’s opposition-aligned prefect Leopoldo Fernandez ordered the September 11 massacre of pro-government peasants. With the official death toll reaching almost 20, and more than 100 people still missing, the military successfully hunted down the fugitive prefect, who is now facing trial for charges of genocide. Read more about indigenous Bolivian struggles here....


Fiji: In Search of God

People of many different religious beliefs accept the existence of God as a matter of faith. Faith, however, in the absence of tangible evidence is currently regarded as an irrational belief.

While the leap through faith to justify the existence of God may have some merit, in this article, an effort is made to analyse miracles which many religions use to justify the existence of the Creator.

In the Bible, for example, walking on water and the resurrection of Lord Jesus from the dead is used to establish the supernatural status of Lord Jesus.

Miracle is defined in Oxford Dictionary as a good act that cannot be explained by the known laws of nature and therefore considered to be caused by supernatural power.
In this context, fire walking could be considered a miracle.

It has elements of goodness and cannot be reasonably explained by the current laws of nature.

Aside from fire walking, other unusual practices include walking on nails, piercing the skins and the like.

In the ancient Peruvian society, snakes and tigers were used instead of fires to empower fears.

Of the four elements of nature, fire has been central to the evolution of man. Read more about indigenous peoples in Fiji here....


North America: Native Leaders Band Together To Broker Direct Investment Deals With China

When a group of more than 100 Canadian native leaders arrives in China six weeks from now, they will carry a message that is both historic and disarmingly straightforward: China has vast wealth to invest, and Canada's native communities, with their access to timber, coal and minerals, want to do business.

The China-Canada Aboriginal Business Opportunity will be the largest international native business initiative ever undertaken, according to Calvin Helin, a native lawyer and businessman organizing the trip.

"The opportunity to bring investment into Canada on a scale like this is enormous for the whole nation," Mr. Helin said.

"The problem in the aboriginal community historically is that we have resources and we have assets but we don't have any capital or expertise to develop them."

Native leaders have traditionally been cast by opponents as obstacles to investment, insisting on environmental protections or lengthy consultations that slow the pace of development.

But Mr. Helin argues a tide has turned. A new generation of native leaders is seeking investment in their territory on their own terms. By negotiating nation to nation, offering themselves as business partners to Chinese investors, aboriginal leaders can use their leverage over traditional territories in exchange for an equity stake in the business, he said. Read more about Native Americans and China here....


North America: New Jersey American Indian Tribes Get Recognition

Citing years of neglect and a need for the state to properly recognize three New Jersey American Indian tribes, Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at promoting equality and granting certain rights and privileges previously unaccessible.

"It is long since time for all of us to move forward in making sure that an important part of New Jersey's cultural, both history and present, is properly addressed," Corzine said.

The order comes nine months after the New Jersey Committee on Native American Community Affairs issued a report recommending the state recognize the rights of the three New Jersey tribes — the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, the Powhatan Renape and the Ramapough Lenape — and take steps to improve the lives of their members through fair housing and environmental regulation.

Granting the tribes state-only recognition would give them, along with the state, access to federal funds that can go toward their communities to help with environment, education and health issues. Read more about N.J. American Indian's recognition here....


Canada: Aboriginal Issues Take Centre Stage

Social issues were front and centre at a candidates' forum hosted by the Dene Nation on Monday evening.

More than 120 citizens and party supporters turned out for the event, which was broadcast across the NWT on CKLB Radio. The forum, which was translated into two Dene languages, lasted three hours, with questions ranging from foster family problems, housing shortages, how to get youth involved in the political process and preserving Dene languages.

Noeline Villebrun, the recently announced candidate for the First Peoples National Party of Canada (FPNPC), said she would work to get the government to dutifully implement the treaties it has signed.

Candidates kept civil throughout the debate, rarely attacking each others' policies, choosing more often to speak of their own.

Villebrun, however, let her feelings be known about her fellow candidate's parties, linking the Liberals with past corruption, while stating the NDP had been inactive during their time in the North and then accusing the Conservatives of trying to "do away with treaties."

Aboriginal people make up 51 per cent of the population of the NWT, according to the 2006 Census.

Only Villebrun and Liberal candidate Gabrielle Mackenzie-Scott, the Liberal candidate, addressed the gathering in Dene languages - during their opening statements. Read more about First Nation's issues here....


Last weeks Five Key Indigenous People's Issues can be found here.

I received this message the other day from indigenous film maker Larry Blackhorse Lowe. He is trying to raise money to complete his latest film, shot entirely in Navajo. Check it out!

Hello everyone

I am currently fund raising for my short film SHIMASANI, which was shot back in June. I currently have a rough cut, but the post production is stalled because of lack of funds. Currently I'm trying to raise $5,000 to get the ball rolling at least.

The film is based on one of my grandmothers experiences when she was in her teens back in the early part of the 20th century. The film is entirely in Navajo, has fantastic performances and is beautifully shot.

If you go to the link below I've opened a fund raising account on fundable. Any help (cash) you could donate would much appreciated.


Below is a link to the trailer if you want to see what I'm trying to finish.

Shimasani


Here is the synopsis.

In the late 1920’s on the Navajo Reservation, teenage Mary Jane spends her time daydreaming while tending to her flock of sheep and working with her Masani (maternal grandmother). One day her older sister Anna Mae runs away from boarding school and brings home with her a book of World Geography that shows Mary Jane an entirely new world that is “just over the mountain”. In the end she must decide whether to maintain her traditional life with her grandmother or go out into the larger world.

Hope you are all healthy and well.

thank you

larry blackhorse lowe

Cultural Contact and Linguistic Relativity Among the Indians of Northwestern California

Sean O’Neill

2008

University of Oklahoma Press

One of the most perplexing problems in the field of anthropology over the last hundred years has been the relationship between language and culture. Does language shape culture? Does culture shape language? Further, and perhaps more interesting, does language shape our cognition, effecting the very way that we see the world? Similarly, does culture shape our language in such a way that the very words, concepts, and semantic structures within a language are the direct result of the culture’s physical manifestation? These questions and many others have been the subject of debate within anthropology, linguistics, psychology, and other fields of inquiry for well over a century. Out of this interdisciplinary debate, however, one theory has been of particular interest to all parties – the theory of linguistic relativity.


Developed primarily by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf (Sapir 1949; Whorf 1956), linguistic relativity originally focused on controlled comparisons between contrasting linguistic traditions and related patterns of behavior in a culture, often with an emphasis on the historical impact of cultural categories on the evolution of language. The reason that the theory has been the subject of debate for so long, however, is because of the lack of good, solid evidence to support it. Although anthropologists, indigenous scholars, and a few psychologists have long recognized the deep interconnection between language, culture, and cosmology, in-depth studies of indigenous languages and their grammatical and semantic differences has been lacking. Likewise, comparisons of different indigenous languages across similar cultural patterns has been hard to achieve. Contributing to the debate, and adding much needed data and evidence, is the recent book by Sean O’Neill: Cultural Contact and Linguistic Relativity Among the Indians of Northwestern California.

Approaching the principle of linguistic relativity via the works of Boas (1896/1948), Sapir (1949), and Whorf (1956), who all argued for the role of language in guiding human perception, especially in the culturally charged settings of everyday life, O’Neill’s book is a data-rich, theoretically expanding contribution.

Read the rest of the review here: Cultural Contact and Linguistic Relativity Among the Indians of Northwestern California.

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Week of September 24 - 30, 2008


Philippines: Are Lumads Left Out in the Quest for Peace in Mindanao?

“No one informed us, nobody consulted us.”

Timuay (tribal chieftain) Nanding Mudai was adamant as he explained why his people refused to come out in support of the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which would have created the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, a sub-state led by the local Muslim community in Mindanao.

The proposed entity would have covered most of the Subanen ancestral domains in Zambonga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and elsewhere in Western Mindanao.

Timuay Nanding’s complaint is not an isolated case. On August 27, more than 200 other tribal leaders representing 18 major ethno-linguistic groupings in Mindanao and Palawan have signed up to a joint declaration opposing the BJE at a tribal gathering here.

But the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) insists there was proper consultation among the indigenous peoples who would have come under the BJE jurisdiction.

In news reports, MILF vice chairperson for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar maintained that consultations went on for two years as part of the process that finally led to the jointly-initialed MOA-AD. Read more about the Lumads struggle here....


Malaysia: Department: Give Land Titles to Orang Asli

SUNGAI SIPUT: The Orang Asli Affairs Department has called on other states to emulate the state government's move to allocate individual land titles to the indigenous community in Perak.

Despite objections from Orang Asli activists towards the proposal, department director-general Mohd Sani Mistam said it was a move in the right direction.

He said because Orang Asli customary land was not recognised under the law, alienation of land and forests by state governments for the community was the only way to ensure that it could practice its indigenous lifestyle.

Although the community favored its traditional land-sharing concept, it must learn to adapt to the modern concept of individual ownership of property, he added.

"The department will meet with the community and have dialogues with it to enhance its understanding of this concept (of individual ownership).

"It is for the betterment of the community... it can work together on land or forested areas gazetted for it as a group, and at the same time, own individual titles to the land," he said at a buka puasa function at the Orang Asli village of Kampung Kenang here on Thursday. Read more about Orang Asli here....


South America: Peruvians Defy Land Grab Laws

Riots by indigenous groups in Peru have led to the repeal of controversial land laws, supported by President Alan Garcia, that sought to ease corporate access to the Amazonian jungle.

According to two new legal decrees, foreign oil, logging and mining companies could be sold whole swathes of aboriginal territory without first consulting the inhabitants. Saul Puerta Peña, of the Peruvian indigenous association AIDESEP, helped to organize the protests. He says that while the menace has been driven back there is still a long way to go before the rights of native Peruvians are recognized.

I’m an Amazonian leader and I am leading the fight against the Peruvian government after it tried to sell our land to foreign investors. I don’t really speak Spanish. I'm Awajun and my native language is Awajun. I come from San Ignacio, a village in northern Peru, right in the middle of the Amazon jungle.

These native lands are the entitled properties of the Amazon people, and to sell them off without even consulting us is a violation of our ancestral rights. This is why we rioted on August 9. Well, how would you feel if all of a sudden some authority came to tell you that you had to get out of your house because a rich company wanted to settle there, and you had to find yourself another place to live?

The national nature reserves in the very heart of the Amazon jungle, where the uncontacted tribes live, are supposedly "protected" by the state – but even these places are not safe from the large corporations. Read more about indigenous people in Peru here....


South America: Missionaries accuse Brazil of allowing infanticide

Evangelical Christian missionaries have launched a campaign against what they claim is the widespread practice of infanticide among Amazonian Indians. The missionaries, associated with the U.S.-based group Youth With A Mission, say the Brazilian government is turning a blind eye to the killing of babies born with birth defects, many of which are treatable by western medicine.

Brazilian government officials say the missionaries are exaggerating and exploiting the issue to justify their attempts to convert Indians to Christianity, destroying ancient civilizations in the process.

The fight has spilled into American churches and Brazilian national politics. It has reached the point that the Brazilian Department of Indian Affairs accuses the evangelicals of enslaving Indians and disguising their intent to evangelize.

At the center of the debate is a girl named Hakani, a member of the Suruwaha Indian tribe, who has been adopted by evangelical missionaries, Marcia and Edson Suzuki.
The Suzukis say members of the tribe tried to kill Hakani by burying her alive because she was disabled.

"When she was born, she looked normal," Marcia Suzuki says. "But when she was 2, she couldn't walk or talk, so they thought she had a monkey's soul, not a child's soul."
The Suzukis say Hakani was rescued by an older brother, who carried the girl out of the jungle on his back. When they first saw Hakani, they say, she was 5 years old but weighed only 15 pounds and had scars all over her body. Read more about the Suruwaha indigenous people here....


Philippines: Lumad Demand Self-Determination

Indigenous people in south Philippines want protection of their rights enshrined in any future peace agreement.

By Ma Cecilia L Rodriguez in Cagayan de Oro City (PHR No. 7, 24-Sep-08)
“No one informed us, nobody consulted us,” said Timuay Nanding Mudai.

The tribal chieftain is a Lumad – a generic term that refers to members of the 18 major ethno-linguistic groupings of indigenous peoples in Mindanao.

He was adamant as he explained why his people refused to come out in support of the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, MOA-AD, which has now been scrapped by Manila.

The agreement, which was intended to bring peace to the region, would have created the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, BJE, a sub-state led by the local Muslim community in Mindanao in the south Philippines.

The proposed entity would have covered most of the Subanen –a Lumad tribe – ancestral home, including in Zambonga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte, in Western Mindanao region.

The MOA-AD was scuttled after the Supreme Court in Manila ordered a temporary restraining order on the eve of its scheduled signing in Malaysia on August 5.

Renewed clashes between Muslim separatist group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, MILF, and government troops broke out after the authorities refused to sign the MOA-AD, saying they would not agree to it in its current form. Read more about the Lumad struggle here....


Last weeks Five Key Indigenous People's Issues can be found here.

The American Anthropological Association Annual meetings are coming up in San Francisco. Although anthropology and anthropologists have not always had a positive history when it comes to working with indigenous peoples, this is rapidly changing. Thanks to substantial postcolonial and postmodern discourse within the field, anthropology has begun to turn a new leaf and no longer studies indigenous peoples for its own agenda. Rather, anthropologists have realized that working with indigenous peoples - on indigenous projects - not only benefits the field, but also benefits the people. Some of the upcoming sessions at the AAA meetings demonstrate this. Taking place over four days this November, there are many sessions that explore how anthropologists and other social scientists are working with indigenous peoples from around the world in efforts of social justice, human rights, natural resource management, language, and more. Below are some selected sessions.


NOVEMBER 19

DYNAMICS OF POWER: INDIGENOUS SELF–GOVERNANCE, ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

CHAIR(S): HARVEY A FEIT

PARTICIPANT(S): HARVEY A FEIT, SHAUNA C MCGARVEY, KAREN E PENNESI, JAMES S HILL, MATTHEW T LAUER


NOVEMBER 20

INDIGENOUS ADAPTATIONS

CHAIR(S): NEAL B KEATING

PARTICIPANT(S): NEAL B KEATING, DAVID L DEHASS, BRANDON C LEDWARD, DANNY ZBOROVER


PERFORMING IDENTITY: VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE POLITICAL STRATEGIES OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN LATIN AMERICA.

CHAIR(S): CARLOS Y FLORES

ORGANIZER(S): ANGELA TORRESAN

PARTICIPANT(S): CARLOS Y FLORES, ANGELA TORRESAN, JOCENY PINHEIRO, CARLOS GUILHERME DO VALLE

DISCUSSANT(S): ANGELA TORRESAN


LOST IN TRANSITION: DECOLONIZING INDIGENOUS HISTORIES AT THE “PREHISTORIC/COLONIAL” INTERSECTION THROUGH INCLUSION, COLLABORATION AND ENGAGEMENT

CHAIR(S): SIOBHAN M HART

ORGANIZER(S): MAXINE H OLAND, SIOBHAN M HART

PARTICIPANT(S): SIOBHAN M HART, STEPHEN W SILLIMAN, MATTHEW J LIEBMANN, JONATHAN R WALZ, ANN B STAHL, FRANCOIS G RICHARD, ALISTAIR G PATERSON, CLAIRE E SMITH, MAXINE H OLAND, ENRIQUE RODRIGUEZ–ALEGRIA, STACIE M KING, STEVEN A WERNKE

DISCUSSANT(S): PATRICIA E RUBERTONE, KENT LIGHTFOOT


NEGOTIATING INDIGENOUS AGENDAS: PERSPECTIVES ON COLLABORATION WITH/IN AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITIES

CHAIR(S)/ORGANIZER(S): SAMUEL R COOK

PARTICIPANT(S): SAMUEL R COOK, KARENNE WOOD, LUKE ERIC LASSITER, GUS PALMER, JAMES C WOODS, SONYA L ATALAY, CHARLES R MENZIES


NOVEMBER 21

SOUTHERN AFRICA AND THE UNDECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: HOW CAN INTERNATIONAL MECHANISMS WORK IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND CONTEXTS?

CHAIR(S): MEGAN BIESELE

ORGANIZER(S): JENNIFER HAYS INTRODUCTION: MEGAN BIESELE

PARTICIPANT(S): ROBERT K HITCHCOCK, SIDSEL SAUGESTAD, RENEE SYLVAIN, RODNEY HOPSON, JENNIFER HAYS


RECIPROCITY AND CO–CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE: THE EXPERIENCE OF MENTORSHIP BETWEEN INDIGENOUS AND NON–INDIGENOUS SCHOLARS

CHAIR(S): BRYAN M BRAYBOY

ORGANIZER(S): CHRISTINE P SIMS, MARY EUNICE ROMERO–LITTLE, MARILEE COLES–RITCHIE INTRODUCTION: CHRISTINE P SIMS

PARTICIPANT(S): MARY EUNICE ROMERO–LITTLE, CHRISTINE P SIMS, MARILEE COLES–RITCHIE

DISCUSSANT(S): DONNA BOYNTON, WALKIE CHARLES


PRESIDENTIAL INVITED SESSION: ADVANCING INDIGENOUS SCHOLARS AND SCHOLARSHIP IN ANTHROPOLOGY THROUGH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE REVITALIZATION RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: CREATING A BETTER KIND OF ANTHROPOLOGY (SPONSORED BY CAE)

CHAIR(S)/ORGANIZER(S): PERRY GILMORE, OFELIA ZEPEDA

INTRODUCTION: PERRY GILMORE

PARTICIPANT(S): LARRY L KIMURA, BETH R LEONARD, SHEILAH E NICHOLAS, CATHERINE A EDMONDS, WALKIE CHARLES, MAXINE R BAPTISTE, PHILLIP CASH CASH, KATHY R SIKORSKI, TRACY M WILLIAMS, HIAPO K PERREIRA

DISCUSSANT(S): BRYAN M BRAYBOY, LAWRENCE D KAPLAN, OFELIA ZEPEDA


INDIGENOUS SUBJECTS, DIABETES, RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY PRACTICES

CHAIR(S)/ORGANIZER(S): FRANCOISE DUSSART, DANIELA HEIL

PARTICIPANT(S): MARIANA L FERREIRA, MAUREEN T SCHWARZ, ALAN CASS, NAOMI ADELSON

DISCUSSANT(S): NOEL J CHRISMAN


PRESIDENTIAL INVITED SESSION: THE INDIGENOUS FUTURES OF MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGY

CHAIR(S): DOROTHY T LIPPERT

ORGANIZER(S): CHIP COLWELL–CHANTHAPHONH, DOROTHY T LIPPERT

PARTICIPANT(S): ANTONIO R CHAVARRIA, ANN MCMULLEN, JOHN BEAVER, KARL A HOERIG, STEPHEN LORING, WENDY G TEETER, EMIL HER MANY HORSES


NOVEMBER 22

INVITED SESSION: MULTIPLE INDIGENOUS VIEWS OF ANTHROPOLOGY’S FUTURE: ENVISIONING A NEW ANTHROPOLOGY (SPONSORED BY AAA EXECUTIVE PROGRAM COMMITTEE)

CHAIR(S): RICHARD M BEGAY

ORGANIZER(S): RICHARD M BEGAY, KERRY F THOMPSON

PARTICIPANT(S): KERRY F THOMPSON, MICHAEL V WILCOX, SONYA LATALAY, JANINE A BOWECHOP, SVEN D HAAKANSON, RICHARD M BEGAY, EDWARD A JOLIE, TY P K TENGAN, DESIREE R MARTINEZ, KAREN CAPUDER DISCUSSANT(S): JOE E WATKINS, CYNTHIA CHAVEZ LAMAR


PRESIDENTIAL INVITED SESSION: IMPLEMENTING THE UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: THE ROLE OF ANTHROPOLOGY (SPONSORED BY COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND CULTURAL SURVIVAL)

CHAIR(S): MILILANI TRASK

ORGANIZER(S): MIRIAM A FRANK, PAUL D OLDHAM

INTRODUCTION: LES MALEZER

DISCUSSANT(S): VICTORIA TAULI–CORPUZ, MATTHIAS AHREN, RODOLFO STAVENHAGEN, CRAIG BENJAMIN, JENNIFER PRESTON, WILLIAM VAN GENUGTEN


INDIGENEITY EMPOWERED: THE IMPACTS OF GAMING ON INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS IN THE US AND CANADA

CHAIR(S): CAROLYN R ANDERSON

ORGANIZER(S): PAULA L WAGONER

PARTICIPANT(S): PAULA L WAGONER, SUSAN APPLEGATE KROUSE, DARREL MANITOWABI, MEGHAN Y MCCUNE, JULIE A PELLETIER, CAROLYN R ANDERSON

DISCUSSANT(S): HEATHER A HOWARD–BOBIWASH


INVITED SESSION: AFTER COLLABORATION: INDIGENOUS ONTOLOGIES, MEDIATION, MUSEUM PRACTICE (SPONSORED BY CMA)

CHAIR(S): JASON B JACKSON

ORGANIZER(S): JENNIFER KRAMER, AARON J GLASS

PARTICIPANT(S): RUTH B PHILLIPS, JENNIFER KRAMER, AARON J GLASS, HAIDY GEISMAR, PAUL C SMITH

DISCUSSANT(S): JAMES CLIFFORD


NOVEMBER 23

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES, IDENTITIES, AND EDUCATION: RESEARCH IN MULTIPLE CONTEXTS

CHAIR(S): BETH R LEONARD

ORGANIZER(S): MELISSA J RICKEY

INTRODUCTION: BETH R LEONARD

PARTICIPANT(S): HYEJIN NAH, PATRICIO R ORTIZ, NOEMIE N WALDHUBEL, MELISSA J RICKEY, LEISY T WYMAN

DISCUSSANT(S): RAY BARNHARDT

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Week of September 17 - 23, 2008


Alaska: An Alaska Native speaks out on Palin, Oil, and Alaska

My name is Evon Peter; I am a former Chief of the Neetsaii Gwich’in tribe from Arctic Village, Alaska and the current Executive Director of Native Movement. My organization provides culturally based leadership development through offices in Alaska and Arizona. My wife, who is Navajo, and I have been based out of Flagstaff, Arizona for the past few years, although I travel home to Alaska in support of our initiatives there as well. It is interesting to me that my wife and I find ourselves as Indigenous people from the two states where McCain and Palin originate in their leadership.

I am writing this letter to raise awareness about the ongoing colonization and violation of human rights being carried out against Alaska Native peoples in the name of unsustainable progress, with a particular emphasis on the role of Sarah Palin and the Republican leadership. My hope is that it helps to elevate truth about the nature of Alaskan politics in relation to Alaska Native peoples and that it lays a framework for our path to justice.

Ever since the Russian claim to Alaska and the subsequent sale to the United States through the Treaty of Cession in 1867, the attitude and treatment towards Alaska Native peoples has been fairly consistent. We were initially referred to as less than human “uncivilized tribes”, so we were excluded from any dialogues and decisions regarding our lands, lives, and status. The dominating attitude within the Unites States at the time was called Manifest Destiny; that God had given Americans this great land to take from the Indians because they were non-Christian and incapable of self-government. Over the years since that time, this framework for relating to Alaska Native peoples has become entrenched in the United States legislative and legal systems in an ongoing direct violation of our human rights. Read more about Alaska Native perspective on Palin here....


Venezuela: The Arangues Festival: Cultural Resistance in Rural Venezuela

Dry heat fills the lungs of thousands of cultural workers from distant and dispersed nooks of Venezuela. For the 27th consecutive year, they have gathered in the rural village of Arangues in the state of Lara, Venezuela to create a vibrant and diverse space of cultural resistance by filling the streets with fervent dancing, singing, artisan foods and crafts, and time-worn rituals for one long weekend.

"In this town, cultures from outside were always imposed on the native traditions. This festival is a resistance to this, to make it so these traditions never die and are vindicated by the community, despite the policies of cultural alienation and transculturalization that the Empire has imposed for many years," the local Mayor, Julio Chávez, tells Venezuelanalysis.

Upon arrival, our group of participants and visitors is invited to sit in a welcoming circle on dusty brown, soft ground that begs to be danced on. Some people sit on wooden stumps, others lounge in brightly colored but worn, traditionally woven hammocks, and many rest in lawn chairs of molded plastic, which would seem out of place if the heart of Venezuela's petroleum-based chemical industry were not just a few hundred kilometers to the West. Read more about the Arangues Festival here....


Australia: Zimbabweans in Australia Should Return Home

The Australian affairs editor at Mathaba has stated that Zimbabweans in Australia should head home to build up the country, since now there is a permanent peace and agreement between the ruling democratically elected government and the opposition which has been given power sharing in the country.

He pointed out that no other nations allow the opposition party to come into the government after losing elections, and that this was done in the national interest given that the Anglo-Saxon historical and ongoing enemies of Zimbabwe and Africa in general have been attempting to divide the country beyond a mere party political schism.

The editor said that there is no reason for any Zimbabwean to remain behind in countries such as Australia, given that the reasons for asylum or intake are no longer valid, and that in the case of Australia in particular, has peculiar circumstances.

Those circumstances include that the original inhabitants of the land, themselves facing gross human rights violations and lacking freedom and democracy on their own soil, did not invite the Africans to stay there and compete with the limited water and social security resources of the black nation. Read more about Zimbabweans in Australia here....


Bolivia: A Brewing Civil War in Bolivia?

Despite the frantic efforts of Latin American diplomats to broker a truce, many Bolivians see the political violence that has shaken their country over the past week as the opening salvos of a civil war. "There isn't a bone in her body that's not broken," says Narda Baqueros, a mother of three who traveled 15 hours to the town of Cobija to retrieve the body of her niece Belki Paz Baqueros on Monday. In her mid-20s and three months pregnant, Belki was beaten to death early Friday morning by opponents of Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales. "Everyone is armed and everyone is saying this is war," Baqueros says. "I saw patches of blood-stained grass everywhere, like there have been massacres."

At least 30 supporters of President Morales, and possibly a lot more, have been killed over the past week as an opposition campaign to obtain autonomy for the resource-rich eastern regions they control turned violent. The opposition Prefects are demanding greater control over policies ranging from land reform to the allocation of the earnings of Bolivia's natural gas exports, which originate in their regions. Earlier this year, the departments of Tarija, Santa Cruz, Pando and Beni voted overwhelmingly in favor of opposition-drafted autonomy statutes, but since those referenda were not sanctioned by the national electoral court, the central government refuses to recognize the results.

The confrontations escalated a few weeks ago when President Morales, having won last month's election with a resounding 67% majority, scheduled a vote on a new constitution drafted by his government. The opposition cried foul, demanding that the new constitution incorporate the autonomy statutes, and their supporters in the outlying regions began violently seizing control over state buildings. For weeks, TV images showed outnumbered policemen cowering from armed mobs of opposition supporters ransacking government buildings and randomly attacking indigenous people. (Morales is Bolivia's first indigenous president, and the indigenous people remain his strongest support base.) Read more on Bolivia here....


North America: The Native Media and IIN: Not Cut from the Same Cloth

Occasionally readers take offense to something I write here in IIN and readers are of course entitled to their opinions, but I take issue with the suggestion that I did not comprehend the obvious “satire” within a recent article by Kevin Abourezk entitled “OK Sarah, We Need to Talk”. I read his work regularly and I clearly see things differently than the reader who thinks I just don’t get it.

First, before readers write something like this to me, take into consideration the stated editorial perspective of this newsblog as opposed to the “mainstream” Indian news agencies that publish Mr. Abourezk. The task of the Inteligentaindigena Novajoservo newsblog is to inform activist Aboriginal peoples and our supporters around the world on the issues and causes that effect our communities and our lives. We reject the colonial states that claim ownership over us and our ancestral territories and we struggle in various ethical ways to maintain our survival with the clear intention of regaining our human right to cultural and territorial independence.

If the publications Mr. Abourezk pens for are of a similar political bent, I am unaware of it. Unlike this site, they seem to be working towards a goal of inclusion within the very same socio-political system that oppresses Indigenous people here in the U.S. as well as our brothers and sisters across the planet.

This is not an attack on Mr. Abourezk personally in spite of the harsh tone of the title. I am merely pointing out that Mr. Abourezk is no different than most other “accepted” Native journalists in that they persist in pretending that they have a seat at the White man’s table or at least, his press office. Obviously I take issue with that view and strongly so. We were never meant to be a part of the colonial system and I find it embarrassing that those who are chosen to represent us do not have the courage to speak about this in real, coherent and tangible terms. Instead, we talk of what it like for Indians to be a part of the DNC and RNC conventions and who got to speak before large crowds and which “tribe” will adopt a candidate who in the end will do absolutely nothing for our people but keep us in our respective place at the bottom of the U.S. totem pole. And we ask ourselves why we get so little respect. Read more about Native media here....


Last weeks Five Key Indigenous People's Issues can be found here.

Identifying the most vulnerable areas and groups living in these areas to global climate change with reasonable accuracy remains challenging since global as well as regional climate change models still lack detailed resolution to predict the types and magnitudes of changes to be expected at a regional or local level. Especially when it comes to direction of change in precipitation for some regions there is not sufficient knowledge available to make reliable predictions. Nevertheless, even though it is not possible today to isolate specific groups and local places of highest risk it is possible to identify broad regions which are likely to experience certain types of climate change and extreme events (Dow, Kasperson & Bohn, 2007).

The following maps superimpose the location of indigenous and traditional peoples (ethno-linguistic groups) on climate change prediction data from the IPCC (2007)2. The resulting maps show the coincidence of some areas of high concentration of indigenous and traditional peoples and areas of greatest predicted climatic change. Regions where these two conditions occur simultaneously may represent areas of particular interest or vulnerability. The particular interests and needs of indigenous and traditional peoples where change, even change which may be considered beneficial at a national or regional level (for example, increased precipitation in currently arid areas such as the Sahel) may give rise to potentially threatening changes in traditional livelihood systems, settlement patterns, land prices, etc.

Changes in precipitation remain hard to predict and there are still large uncertainties. As precipitation is a function of inherently small scale processes, such as cloud formation, moisture availability and so forth predictions for future precipitation represent an on-going, important challenge for climate modelers (Frame, 2007). However, as the map above indicates, it is possible to locate broad areas which are expected to experience the biggest changes in precipitations (increase or decrease). Based on data from the IPCC (2007), a majority of models indicate an increase in precipitation across the seasons in high latitudes and in some of the monsoon regimes (including South Asian monsoon in June, July, August and Australian monsoon in December, January, February).

In mid latitudes a widespread decrease of summer precipitation has been predicted except for increases in eastern Asia. The models further converge in their predictions of major decreases in precipitation across the subtropics. A particularly pronounced decrease in precipitation has been predicted for the Caribbean and Mediterranean regions. Thus, traditional and indigenous peoples living across the Caribbean and Mediterranean regions, parts of Brazil, southern Chile and Argentina, southern Africa and large parts of Australia are expected to face increasing freshwater stress over the course of this century, putting them at severe risk. Increases in precipitation over 20% have been projected for most high latitudes, as well as in eastern Africa, central Asia and the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Since not only decreases but also increases in precipitation - especially extreme events including droughts or floods - have implications on traditional and indigenous peoples’ livelihoods, groups living in the mentioned ‘risk areas’ will have to adapt their livelihoods to new environmental conditions.

Changes in temperature are easier to project because temperature in contrast to precipitation is a large-scale continuous variable (Frame, 2007). However, a certain degree of uncertainty still persists. Nevertheless, according to the data published by the IPCC (2007), very likely global climate change will cause higher maximum temperatures and more hot days over nearly all land areas. Furthermore there will be higher minimum temperatures and fewer cold and frosty days. The biggest changes in surface temperature are expected to happen in high latitudes as well as in the interior of the continents. That is, throughout the USA and Canada, across Bolivia and Brazil, in the Mediterranean region (especially in the north-western African states), in southern Africa (around the Kalahari Desert), across the Arabian Peninsula, the Tibetan plateau as well as north-west Australia. It is noticeable that many of the regions of greatest change in surface temperature coincide with the regions of greatest decrease in precipitation as shown in Figure 2. Hence, indigenous and traditional groups living in these areas, namely the Caribbean region, the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, southern Africa and great parts of Australia will not only have to cope with increasing water stress but also with rising surface temperatures.

As with precipitation, models predicting sea level change vary and there is currently no consensus on the magnitude of the dynamical processes which are influencing sea level rise. Therefore, it would not be meaningful to pinpoint individual groups which are going to be affected or at risk by sea level rise. However, again it is possible to identify the areas of projected greatest change. Most pronounced change in sea level is projected to take place in the Arctic. Other areas of interest where sea level is expected to rise within a range of 0 -0.2m are situated along the Asian and African coastlines as well as parts of the South and North American Atlantic coastline. Sea level rise is expected to have especially serious impacts along the low lying coastline of the Indian states Gujarat and Kerala, the Bay of Bengal as well as around the Korean peninsula and Japan. Furthermore, island states across the world are expected to be at risk, namely low lying parts of Madagascar, Sri Lanka and the Pacific Island states. Among these, especially small island states, which contain a high proportion of the world’s linguistic and cultural diversity, are at risk.

Even though it is not possible to make accurate projections for future global change in local places or for specific groups with the data currently available, it is nevertheless possible to locate broad regions which are likely to experience certain types of environmental change.

To summarize the findings drawn from the maps above, areas of high risk with regard to changes in precipitation and surface temperature include: the Arctic region, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean region, the very south of Latin America and the Amazon, southern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and large parts of Australia. Concerning sea level rise, areas at greatest risk include island states in general but especially small islands states, the Arctic region as well as low lying Asian coastal areas. If all the maps above were overlaid it could be concluded that ethnolinguistic groups dwelling in the Arctic, in the Caribbean and Mediterranean region, in the Amazon and southern Chile and Argentina, in Southern Africa, on the islands in the Pacific and other island states, along the Asian coastline and across Australia are going to be the ones who will be at greatest risk. However, it should be borne in mind that exposure to extreme events including droughts or floods, is not the only factor which determines the vulnerability of indigenous and traditional peoples. As described in chapter two, social and biophysical vulnerability is influenced by a wide range of factors of which exposure to extreme events, availability of water, location of housing etc. are only a few. Hence, in order to draw a comprehensive and integrated conclusion on the vulnerability of a specific cultural group, a wide range of the social and biophysical variables described in chapter two should be considered.

References

Dow, K., Kasperson, R.E., Bohn, M. 2007. Exploring the Social Justice Implications of Adaptation and Vulnerability. In: Fairness in Adaptation to Climate Change. Adger, N., Paavola, J., Huq, S., Mace, M.J.(eds.) 2007. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London.

Frame, D. 2007. Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Models. Environmental Change Institute. University of Oxford.

IPCC, 2007a. Climate Change 2007: The Scientific Basis. Working Group I. Contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Week of September 10 - 16, 2008


The Hope of the Yukpa People Clings to the Bolivarian Constitution

The aboriginal people Yukpa, ancient settlers of the Perijá Sierra, Zulia state, expect to see realized the property rights over their ancestral lands, as it is established on Article 119 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

That article reads that 'The State will recognize the existence of indigenous peoples and communities, their social, political and economic organization, their cultures, customs and usages, languages and religions, as well as their habitat and natural rights over the lands that they ancestral and traditionally occupy and which are necessary to develop and grant their ways of life.'

And the article adds up that 'It will correspond to the National Executive, with the participation of the indigenous peoples, to delimit and grant the right of collective ownership of their lands, which will be inalienable, imprescriptible, inembargable and nontransferable in accordance with the established in this Constitution and in the law.'

Impelled by hunger and poverty, and in the midst of a collective effort to recover the lands from which they were compulsively evicted in different periods by land eaters, transnational oil companies and governments, the Yukpas have been lately repopulating, decisive and progressively, these areas and they seem determined to recover them at all cost. Read more about the Yukpas peoples here....


Cauca: A Microcosm of Colombia, A Reflection of Our World

During the first two weeks of August, more than two dozen youth were assassinated by suspected paramilitary groups in the streets of Santander de Quilichao, and an extensive death threat was directed to Indigenous groups in the area.

In tandem with the rising tide of violence in Cauca, a department in Colombia’s southwest, the Colombian government is using the media to attack solidarity activists in Colombia and Canada through dangerous allegations.

Call it the storm after the passing calm that swept Colombia and the world after the July 2 rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 prisoners of war held by the FARC.

Paramilitary violence historically pursues a double agenda of social cleansing and political cleansing through threats, detentions and killings; in this case, young men have been killed by paramilitaries in what some locals likened to a low-level drug war in Santander de Quilichao. The extrajudicial assassinations carried out in Santander de Quilichao, a town of about 100,000 people, are part of the paramilitary agenda to rid a given territory of their perceived enemies, and create fear among the general population. Read more about Cauca and Columbia here....


Indigenous Japanese See Culture as Key to Survival

Unlike his father, who used to get arrested fighting for Japan's indigenous Ainu people, Koji Yuki sees the key to securing his community's rights in preserving and spreading the culture.

As a child, Yuki's family fled discrimination on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, the traditional homeland of the Ainu, for Tokyo.

His father Shoji often clashed with police, shooting to notoriety when he scratched the name of Hokkaido's governor off the sculpture of an Ainu hero and called him an intruder.

By the time he was seven years old, Yuki's mother had left the family and he says now that she probably "got fed up with my father's radicalism".
"I think I understand her feelings," he said.

"I don't think anything will be created out of negative feelings. Our culture is full of treasures. I want to share them with others," Yuki said.

Yuki detached himself from any activities related to the Ainu until his early 30s but now aged 44, he has set up the Ainu Art Project, a loose support network of Ainu artists who dance, sing, tell stories and make coats with traditional patterns.
Like many other indigenous cultures, the Ainu are animist, believing spirits dwell in plants and animals. Read more about Ainu indigenous peoples here....


How Intellectual Property Rights Have Failed Pacific Cultures

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE MOOREA Biocode Project?

It is an ambitious research venture underway this very moment on the picturesque island of Moorea in idyllic French Polynesia.

Over the next three years, the project’s scientists will be scouring every nook and cranny of the island, from the tip of its highest point to the bottom of its reefs, to sample its animal and plant life, fungus, larvae and anything else that moves or breathes there.

The project’s scientists aim to “construct a library of genetic markers and physical identifiers for every species of plant, animal and fungi on the island, then making that database publicly available as a resource for ecologists and evolutionary biologists around the world”.

Moorea is home to the University of California Berkeley’s Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station and France’s Centre de Reserchers Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environenment, who are partners in this research.

By using DNA collected from their work, scientists will be able to “show how organisms fit together in the ecosystem” and therefore get a better view of nature’s every nuances. Read more about intellectual property rights in the Pacific here....


Fresh Violence in Bolivia Stokes Civil War Fears

Deadly clashes in Bolivia Thursday stoked fears of further widespread unrest and possibly even civil war, amid a furor over the expulsion of the US ambassador to the country.

At least two people were killed and a dozen people wounded in violent clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters in the northeastern town of Cobija, officials said.

It was the third day of street violence in parts of the country.

Asked about the unrest President Evo Morales, opening a public works project in La Paz, said: "We are going to be patient and cautious.

"We are going to hang in there. But patience has its limits, really," Morales stressed.

The conflagration was a worsening of a months-long political standoff between Morales, who has been pushing through socialist reforms since becoming president in 2006, and conservative governors in the east opposed to his reforms.

Morales, the first indigenous president of majority-indigenous Bolivia, has sought to distribute resources more equally in the poorest country in South America.

The conflict has racial overtones as relatively prosperous regions of the eastern lowlands, where more people are of European descent and mixed-race, are keen to hold on to local resources they see as being pulled away by the impoverished indigenous highlands.

Morales's spokesman, Ivan Canelas, said Wednesday conditions opened the way to "a sort of civil war." Read more about violence in Bolivia here....


Last weeks Five Key Indigenous People's Issues can be found here.

Since time immemorial, the Wuaraorani Nation has inhabited the right bank of the river Napo and the left bank of the river Curaray, located in the Concession’s southern area. Today, this nation’s territories are located in three provinces of Amazonia: the Province of Orellana (district of Orellana, parish of Dayuma, the district of Aguarico, parishes of Tiputini, Yansuní, and Santa María de Huiririma) the Province of Pastaza (district of Arajuno, parish of Curaray); and the Province of the Napo (district of Tena, parish of Chontapunta). According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, there are approximately 3,000 inhabitants today; however, it is difficult to be completely sure about figures, given that several descending tribes or branches of this people are known as tribes with whom no contact has been made, or who live in voluntary isolation. The Huaraorani are one of the hardest peoples to contact. They are called “Amazonia’s warriors,” for they continually fight to preserve their independence and their territory, although once subdued by oil companies and missionaries their traditional lifeways have been seriously impacted.

Impacts from oil-drilling activities within the Ecuadorian Amazon on the Huaraorani generally fall within three broad categories: territory, food, and cultural traditions.

The southern region of the Concession is inhabited by the Huaraorani, who used to occupy land from the right bank of the Napo river up to the left bank of the Curaray river. In the early ‘70s, the Huaraorani began to feel the devastation brought about by oil-related activities: first the opening of paths, then the drilling of exploratory wells, and finally the full development of all oil-related activities that implied creating roads, building pumping stations, fitting flares, and bringing hundreds of workers. The final impact led to the reduction of the vast territory inhabited by the Huaraorani to a reservation called the “protected area”.

Two main factors threaten indigenous nations, (especially those inhabiting the tropical rainforests): the loss of biological diversity, which deteriorates the material basis of their survival, and the loss of cultural diversity, which weakens their values and social structure. Ecuador’s north eastern indigenous peoples’ subsistence activities used to consist of hunting, fishing and picking up products in the forests, which were once the main sources of food. This traditional practice, along with virgin forests, have been reduced by the constant expansion of new oilfields, and the construction of roads, thus making the ancestral and original indigenous communities the greatest victims of the impact of the oil exploitation processes in Amazonia.

During oil-drilling operations there were hundreds of oil spills; most of that crude oil flowed into water sources. Additionally, wastewater spilled from production stations was dumped into the same superficial sources of water, thus altering the ichthyologic (fish) life of rivers.

The effects of toxic waste from oil activities were compounded by the influence of the arriving farming communities. These farming communities came from the Costa region or the Sierra of Ecuador and, in order to find food to secure their subsistence, have turned to the few remaining wild animals, thus triggering a slaughter. The arrival of these farmers might have been encouraged by the Farming Communities Act as well as by the existence of new roads built by the oil companies. All these factors have dramatically reduced the availability of food for these ancestral indigenous peoples, forcing them to implement new ways to cultivate the land that they had not previously known.


The Huaraoranis, like all Amerindian peoples, have a deficiency of alcohol dehydrogenises making it impossible for their bodies to metabolize alcohol. The result is violent and terrible because the delay in metabolism intensifies the effect of the alcohol.

The Huaraorani had their own experience(s) concerning oil-related activities, although in the end this experience is similar to the suffering of the peoples inhabiting the Northern area of the Concession. Cabodevilla offers an interesting vision about oil companies: “When at the end of 1967, a reporter from the magazine ‘Vistazo’ tries to find for himself the inner workings of field works within a company like Texaco, he encounters the hermeticism of those gigantic multinational companies, the despotism of their domain upon the jungle, and the huge distance between advertising and reality: the black gold will contribute to the country’s growth and progress, yet oil workers are subjected to appalling living conditions. Big companies, coupled with the State, and even the privileged Ecuadorian technicians look on the illegal abuse of hired workers with indifference. But there is more. A missionary named Raquel 'speaks about the fear that Texaco might resume their explorations south of the Napo river and boldly claims that, should that happen, there will be bloodshed on both sides.’ Oil companies were, then, well aware of the dangers of explorations, but they did very little to protect their workers from such dangers, although on occasions the exploration activities were carried out under direct protection by the army.” (Cabodevilla; 1990; page 413).

Other factors have also affected these peoples’ traditions and habits. For example, American Evangelical missions arrived in Ecuador in the ‘50s and set up their campsites in the northern area of the Ecuadorian Amazonia, very close to the Siona, Secoya, Cofan and Huaraorani territories. The linguistic interests of these missionaries were represented by the ILV (Summer Linguistic Institute), but underneath there lay some added interests: on the one hand, they had to evangelize the masses scattered throughout Amazonia, and on the other hand, there was an overall transformation of the traditional lifestyle these indigenous peoples’ had lived for centuries. It is surprising to hear the Cofan, Siona or Secoya elders’ accounts that the ILV missionaries, using their command of English, Spanish and the traditional language of each indigenous people, became the interlocutors between these peoples and oil-drilling technicians.

According to certain authors (Trujillo, 2003; Moya, 2000), the arrival of the ILV was crucial for facilitating oil exploration, and exploitation, in northern Amazonia.

Conclusions

The territory, food supply and cultural traditions of the indigenous people inhabiting the Concession region were affected by oil-related activities.

Oil-drilling workers broke into the territory of the Concession without its ancestral inhabitants’ consent in order to perform tasks, which led those inhabitants to gradually withdraw to smaller parcels of land. Shortly after these lands were emptied of their indigenous inhabitants, they were occupied by newly arrived farmers coming from different provinces. This process of settlement was promoted by the Ecuadorian government of the time, but it would not have succeeded without the presence and infrastructure of the oil industry.

As the farmers’ presence in the Concession region increased, so did deforestation and hunting.

Spillage of waste waters and/or crude oil into rivers, marshes or swamps automatically affected the traditional eating habits of the indigenous people inhabiting the Concession region.

The presence of oil workers, alcohol consumption, the presence of ILV missionaries, and especially the impact on the ecosystem, strongly affected the traditions and habits of indigenous people.

The impact of the oil activity has been deep, and some of the affected groups, such as the Tagaeri and the Taromenane, chose voluntary isolation. They survive in the inaccessible area south of Parque Yasuní, and are threatened today by the arrival of Petrobrás, a Brazilian company.

Read more about Indigenous People and Oil in Ecuador.

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Week of September 3 - 9, 2008


An Ignited Assam Baffles United Liberation Front of Asom

Assam is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur, a suburb of the city Guwahati. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys and the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills.

Assam, for the last few weeks, is in an uprising mood. The civil societies, advocacy groups with political parties and student organizations of the Northeast Indian State have come to the streets one and all raising voices against the hundred thousand illegal Bangladeshis living in the alienated region of the country. The local media, in fact, remained full of news, analysis and editorial columns on the issue since a high court verdict observed that illegal migrants from Bangladesh would soon emerge as the king makers in Assam.

But if any organization maintained silence on the issue is none other than the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). The underground group, which is fighting New Delhi since 1979 for a 'Sovereign Socialist Asom', had not issued a single statement regarding the illegal Bangladeshis. Their stand is understood as usual that the ULFA leaders continues to demand deporting of all foreigners (read Nepali, Hindi speaking people from mainland India with Bangladeshis) from the region. They never, as their press statements argued in the past, distinguished illegal Bangladeshis with the mainland Indian population living in the State. Read more about Assam struggles here....


Indigenous Fiji Charter in Unchartered Waters

On Aug. 5, the much anticipated draft Peoples' Charter was released in Fiji. The charter, among other things, calls for a common identity, electoral reforms, removal of compulsory power sharing, strengthening of indigenous affairs, development of comprehensive social justice programs, and an end to discrimination at all levels of government. It is anticipated that the final version of the charter will be released sometime in October.

Besides the charter, the interim prime minister of Fiji, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, has cast doubt over the possibility of a general election in March 2009, leading to a strong rebuke from the Pacific Islands Forum. Bainimarama has called on all sections of Fiji's community to embrace the charter and warned that all recommendations in the document must be implemented before any general election.

The deposed Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua party and the Methodist Church have rejected the charter as a transgression on democracy. The Indo-Fijian National Federation Party has raised concern over the proposal in the charter to remove reserved communal seats. Furthermore, some influential indigenous chiefs have joined the campaign against the charter arguing that the proposed reform of indigenous affairs and a common name undermine indigenous traditional authority and culture. These issues, together with the draft Peoples' Charter are examined in detail below. Read more about indigenous Fijian's Charter here....


Indigenous People as Nation Builders

Aborigines are keen to improve their own lives

KEVIN Rudd's move to have Aborigines recruited to work on new roads, ports and railways is a welcome, pragmatic initiative that will help tackle indigenous unemployment and disadvantage. While contractors should be able to maximize efficiency by hiring staff of their choice, it makes sense to put the jobs in the way of indigenous workers, who need a leg up to the mainstream economy.

As Helen Hughes and Mark Hughes explain today, about 270,000, or half of all 540,000 indigenous Australians, are welfare recipients. Of these, more than two-thirds live in mainstream labour markets within commuting distance of jobs. This is why investment in training programs to support businessman Andrew Forrest's Australian Employment Covenant, involving indigenous leaders such as Noel Pearson and Warren Mundine, as well as the Prime Minister's business adviser Rod Eddington, is so worthwhile.

While most of the 270,000 indigenous Australians receiving welfare are "doing it hard" to some extent, the retiring Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, who has traveled the length and breadth of Australia, is correct when he points out that it is the people in remote settlements who are most severely disadvantaged. His main point, about the successful integration of urban Aborigines into the general community, was well made. Read more about indigenous Australians building the nation here....


NICARAGUA: Name and Identity for Thousands of Indigenous Children

Some 250,000 indigenous children and adolescents who had no legal identity in Nicaragua are in the process of being registered -- an essential step towards achieving recognition of their basic human rights.

This was achieved by the "Right to a Name and Nationality" programme run by Save the Children, Plan International, UNICEF (the United Nations children’s fund), Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) and regional and municipal authorities.

"A person who is not registered has no last name and not even a first name, because rural families and society call children whatever they want, which means children grow up without even having their own name," UNICEF official Hugo Rodríguez, a consultant for the programme, told IPS.

Five years ago, human rights groups and universities in Nicaragua expressed concern about the fact that around 500,000 youngsters in indigenous communities in the eastern North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) and the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) had no birth certificates. Read more about Nicaragua and indigenous children here....


Peru's Battle Over Subsoil Threatens Tribes

Little international attention has been paid to the recent conflict between the Peruvian government and thousands of indigenous people in the oil-rich Amazon region over President Alan Garcia's attempt to make it easier for tribal communities to sell their land. The issue contains lessons for the entire continent -- in which the tension between modernity and tradition is a recurring source of strife.

In May and June of this year, the Peruvian government passed two decrees that reduced the consent necessary for peasant communities, including tribes, to sell their land from a two-thirds majority vote to half of the participants in an open assembly. The norms, aimed at native communities all over the country, triggered a monumental rebellion in the Amazon jungle, an area rich in hydrocarbons that has largely been earmarked for oil and gas exploration and where about 300,000 indigenous people live in abject poverty.

Under pressure from nongovernmental organizations and leaders of indigenous movements, the Peruvian Congress repealed the decrees, but the government is trying to rescue part of its proposal through some form of negotiation. Read more about indigenous struggles in Peru here....


Last weeks Five Key Indigenous People's Issues can be found here.