Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of July 15 - July 21, 2008


Colombia: New Homes For Displaced Indigenous People

IOM Colombia has handed over the keys of 42 new homes to 184 displaced and vulnerable members of the Pasto indigenous group in Nariño department following a traditional ceremony.

The handover of the homes, which were built with technical support from IOM and funding from USAID, the Resguardo Indígena de Males and the mayor's office of Cordoba (Nariño), was presided over by Colombian First Lady Lina Moreno de Uribe.

The homes, built according to a traditional design, are round, which to the Pastos symbolizes the sun's presence, as well as God's divinity. They include stoves, which in Pasto tradition, families can gather around and which help them to stay together.

At the handover ceremony the group conducted a "sacado de la vieja" ritual to rid the homes of possible evil spirits and ensure the good health of the new owners.

Seventy-one per cent of the families that received the new homes were previously living with relatives or friends, 24 per cent were living in sub-standard makeshift dwellings, and 5 per cent were paying rent. Read more about homes for Columbian indigenous peoples here....


Australian Indigenous Government Body Must Be Credible

A new indigenous representative body must maintain a credible reputation with indigenous people, the public and the government, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said.

Ms Macklin said the promised new body would not be another Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), which ran from 1990 until abolished by the former government in 2005.

She welcomed a new discussion paper, saying it raised some critical issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to consider about the role, composition and structure of the new body.

Ms Macklin said the government had already stated some broad principles for a new body, including that it have urban, regional and remote representation.

"We must all learn from mistakes of the past," she said in a statement. Read more about the Australian Indigenous Body here....


Badjao: A Vanishing Tribe

Officials of the Human Rights Commission in New Zealand visited Zamboanga City Friday and met with the Sama Dilaut tribe or the Badjao communities.

The New Zealand Agency for International Development is assisting indigenous groups in the country through literacy improvement and poverty reduction.

Zamboanga City houses three Badjao resettlement areas. But most of the Badjao women, children, and the old no longer engage in traditional livelihood such as fishing. Instead, begging from motorists and pedestrians has become their source of living.

National Project Manager for Community Development for Indigenous People Jenny Dandan says the fact that Badjaos roam the streets indicates a cultural breakdown due to economic difficulties.

"But did anybody ask why are these happening to them? Did anybody try to understand what are the reasons behind their migration to the urban cities, particularly to the streets?" Dandan says.

Last Saturday, the Philippines' Commission on Human Rights invited tribal leaders of the Sama Dilaut for a consultation with the visiting New Zealand officials. They discussed literacy, discrimination, miscommunication among the indigenous peoples sector and the local government.

The consultation sought to get suggestions on how the Badjaos should be dealt with in an urban city like Zamboanga. Read more about Badjao: A Vanishing Tribe here....


Manipulating Social Tragedies For Political Gain

A key element in the Howard government’s preparations for its long-planned NT intervention was a series of sensationalized news reports in 2006 about child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities. Indigenous affairs minister Mal Brough, working with the corporate media and programs such as ABC television’s “Lateline”, claimed that pedophiles were running rampant in Aboriginal communities.

None of these allegations was ever substantiated. In fact the “evidence” for one lurid story came from Greg Andrews, a senior official in Mal Brough’s department of indigenous affairs, who appeared on “Lateline” in May 2006 claiming to be a social worker. Andrews, whose face was blacked out during the interview, insisted he had hard evidence of organized pedophile activity in Mutitjulu, a remote community adjoining Uluru (Ayers Rock). His “evidence”, it appears, was not presented to police, nor was anyone charged.

Right-wing academics and Aboriginal leaders, such as Kimberly Land Council director Peter Yu, also got into the act, whipping up public outrage and demanding immediate government action. Yu, who has recently been appointed to the Rudd government’s intervention review board, called for a military style intervention in Aboriginal communities to deal with the alleged crisis. Read more about manipulating social tragedies for political gain here....


Report Highlights Humanitarian Concerns In Colombia's Putumayo Region

Forced displacement remains a major problem in southern Colombia's volatile Putumayo department, according to a report by six local and international non-governmental organizations. But the UN refugee agency says continuing opposition to the violence gives some room for hope in the border region.

The report released in Bogotá last Thursday was based on the findings of a recent monitoring mission to the Putumayo region, in which the UN refugee agency took part as an international observer.

The report authors identified forced displacement, along with the "absence of clear mechanisms to guarantee the enjoyment of various civil and human rights and the singling out and persecution of community leaders and human rights defenders," as the main humanitarian concerns in Putumayo.

The region is one of the epicentres of Colombia's internal conflict, with a strong presence of irregular armed groups and a militarization of the area. It is one of 15 priority regions for UNHCR in Colombia because of the high incidence of forced displacement, both internal and across the border to Ecuador.

The report identified several highly vulnerable groups, including children at risk of forced recruitment by irregular armed groups; indigenous groups; and females at risk of violence and sexual exploitation. It also said that communal leaders, both indigenous and others, are at high risk of being stigmatized and persecuted. Read more about Humanitarian Concerns In Colombia's Putumayo Region here....


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

The painted images adorning the walls of hundreds of rockshelters and minor overhangs uniquely define the Lower Pecos River region. The striking and inspiring rock art is celebrated, photographed, illustrated, recorded, and studied by hundreds of enthusiasts across the country and a much smaller number of dedicated researchers. However, it is very hard to come to a full understanding of the indigenous perspective on these images. Where they for hunting rituals? Where they used by shamans? How old are they? Who made them?

Now there is a great opportunity to learn about these amazing images from some of the leading experts in the field. The Pecos Experience: The Art and Archeology of the Lower Pecos is an amazing chance to gain a deeper understanding of the importance and power of understanding and protecting these special images. Offered between October 5 - 10, 2008 by the Studying Human Use of Materials, Land, and Art, this week long educational experience is guaranteed to be enlightening.

Here is more about this opportunity.

There is a concentration of spectacular rock art located in southwest Texas, around the Devils River and the confluence of the Pecos River and the Rio Grande, that has been described by Dr. Jean Clottes in the following manner, "...it is my considered opinion after having seen rock art on all the continents that the Pecos River rock art is second to none and ranks among the top bodies of rock art anywhere in the world."

Pecos Experience is a week-long program during which participants are taken to a number of these rock art sites. This imagery is not well known and is under appreciated outside of the academic community. Pecos Experience gives a small group of people the opportunity to view this art, much of which is located on private land.

Each days' activities are led by SHUMLA Executive Director Dr. Carolyn Boyd and a visiting rock art researcher. This years' visiting scholar is Dr. Jo McDonald of Canberra, Australia. In past years visiting scholars have included Dr. Jean Clottes, Dr. David S. Whitley, and Dr. James D. Keyser. Other program activities familiarize participants with various aspects of hunter-gatherer lifeways.

For more information check the SHUMLA Web site.

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of July 8 - July 14, 2008


Australian Aboriginal Storyteller Honored

A local Aboriginal storyteller and comedian has been named the ACT's Indigenous person of the year. Larry Brandy has received the award as part of NAIDOC week celebrations in Canberra. Mr Brandy says story telling is an important way for children to learn about Aboriginal culture.

"I talk about traditional times, before Captain Cook came to Australia," he said.
"How we lived in traditional times and they're fascinated when you put on a kangaroo skin and say that's what they used to wear.

"It's mind boggling. It's wonderful."

This year's NAIDOC celebrations focus on whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are being treated fairly. ACT NAIDOC Chairman Maurice Walker says it is question still being asked by local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Read more about this story here....


Indigenous People Ripped Off by Inaccurate Census Data

Indigenous communities have been underfunded and deprived of essential resources for decades because of faulty census data, a technical paper produced by Australian National University (ANU) academics has discovered.

Indigenous communities have been underfunded and deprived of essential resources for decades because of faulty census data, a technical paper produced by Australian National University (ANU) academics has discovered.

Analysing the 2006 census results, John Taylor and Nicholas Biddle of the ANU’s College of Arts and Social Sciences found large discrepancies in population figures in what are called Indigenous Areas.

“The results revealed substantial undercounting of the Indigenous population in certain jurisdictions”, according to their paper published in June called Locations of Indigenous Population Change: What Can We Say? Read more about this story here....


Colombia's Indigenous Cofan Still Fighting For Survival

Although he is only 21, Camilo Yoge has seen his indigenous tribe lose its culture, territory and traditions.

Yoge, a member of the Cofan tribe, has seen farmers, ranchers and oilmen invade his ancestral lands to plant illegal coca crops, raise cattle and search for oil. He has seen many young Cofan take to wearing Western-style clothes, listening to popular music and abandoning their native language for Spanish.

"We're losing out traditional dress, our environment," lamented Yoge, who is studying to become a taita, or shaman. "We are no longer free in our own territory."

To help the Cofan, who number only about 2,600 people between Colombia and Ecuador, preserve their traditions, the Colombian government last month created the Orito Ingi-Ande Medicinal Plants Sanctuary to protect the plants the Cofan depend on for medicinal and spiritual purposes. Officials in Colombia say the reserve is the only national park in the world created for that reason. Read more about this story here....


New Focus On Indigenous Sami Language

Norway's indigenous Sami people are about to be met a bit more often on their own terms. A new government mandate calls for public servants to learn at least a little of the Sami language.

"We are two peoples in one country," notes Egil Olli, president of the Sami parliament. "It will be very positive for everyone if more people showed some interest in the Sami language, and in that way also showed interest in Sami culture and lifestyles.”

Ole Henrik Magga, one of Olli's predecessors who led a UN forum on indigenous peoples, agrees. Knowledge of a language is the most imporant entry point to other peoples and cultures, noted Magga, who also is a professor of the Sami language and has followed its development for years.

Interest in learning what Norwegians call the samisk language is greater than it has been for a long time, reports newspaper Aftenposten. Townships are obliged to offer Sami as a language course if students want it. Norwegians discovering Sami family roots often become keen on trying to learn the language as well. Read more here....


Padma Ratna Stresses Nationalities’ Rights In Nepal

Senior human rights activist and pioneer of the movement for the rights of the indigenous nationalities Padma Ratna Tuladhar Thursday urged the oppressed communities and regions to exert pressure on the Constituent Assembly (CA) to get their rights enshrined in the new constitution.

"All the oppressed, especially the indigenous nationalities, should keep vigil and be active that their rights are ensured in the new constitution," Tuladhar said inaugurating the third national convention of Federation of Nepal Indigenous Nationality Students.

He argued that the new constitution, like in the past, would be introduced as a document of compromise thereby curbing the rights of the indigenous peoples. "The constitution of 1990 was called a document of compromise and rights of the peoples kept limited citing various political powers’ pressure and the situation this time is not much different as there are 25 parties in the CA and the parties could again make another excuse for the imperfection of the constitution." Read more about this story here....


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

Drylands cover 40% of the earth’s terrestrial surface and are home to over 2 billion people, the majority of whom belong to the poorest people in the world (MA 2005b). Most of the ‘poorest’ people living in drylands are pastoralists, hunter-gatherers and other traditional communities that can be considered as indigenous peoples according to international standards (ILO Convention No.169 Article 1). Dryland ecosystems are characterized by the limited availability of water and consequently a relatively low primary productivity. However, it is as much the uncertainty of precipitation as the total volume that determines many features of dryland ecosystems, as well as the livelihood strategies of the people. Based on the climatic conditions drylands are divided into dry subhumid, semiarid, arid and hyperarid areas.

Drylands host a unique array of biodiversity. About 32% of the global ‘‘biodiversity hotspots’’ are in drylands. At least 30% of the world’s cultivated plants originate in drylands and over 40% of all cultivated lands worldwide are within drylands. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment there is medium certainty that some 10–20% of the drylands are degraded and affecting the livelihoods of millions of people. Desertification thus ranks among the greatest environmental challenges. However, at the same time it is important not to forget that drylands are very resilient ecosystems. Plant and animal species and microorganism have developed numerous coping strategies to survive the high variability of rainfall – very short life cycles to make use of periods of water availability as well as numerous strategies to escape drought (Bonkoungou and Niamir-Fuller 2001). Drylands that look deserted after a period of drought are not necessarily degraded (MA 2005b; Bonkoungou and Niami-Fuller 2001). Similarly, people living in drylands have developed complex pastoral and cropping systems to cope with the erratic and harsh climate (Bonkoungou and Niamir-Fuller 2001).

Scientific studies on the current and projected impact of climate change in drylands are notoriously few. Although climate change will affect different regions in different ways, for drylands in general it is projected that climate change will lead to a decrease in water availability and quality while extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are projected to increase (IPCC 2007a; MA 2005a). In addition, although agricultural productivity is expected to rise in some regions, it will likely decrease overall in drylands (IPCC 2007a; MA 2005a). “Agricultural production, including access to food, in many African countries and regions is projected to be severely compromised by climate variability and change. The area suitable for agriculture, the length of growing seasons and yield potential, particularly along the margins of semi-arid and arid areas, are expected to decrease. This would further adversely affect food security and exacerbate malnutrition in the continent. In some countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50% by 2020.” (IPCC 2007a)

Water availability in drylands is expected to decrease in the next 40 years by 10-30% while drought-affected areas will likely increase in extent and floods are expected to be more frequent (IPCC 2007a). Overall this is expected to have severe impacts on food security in drylands especially in subsistence sectors (IPCC 2007a) and will be worsened by the expected warming of lakes and rivers with effects on fish productivity. In addition, climate change is projected to overall severely affect the health of especially vulnerable people through malnutrition, decrease in water quality, heat waves, floods, storms, fires and droughts (IPCC 2007a). Impacts of climate change are already felt in drylands. For instance in the Sahelian region crop productivity has dropped due to warmer and drier conditions and thus a shorter growing season (IPCC 2007a). Hence, drylands and the people living in drylands appear to be one of the most affected by climate change, given the already existing water stress, land degradation and the limited capacity to adapt in these regions (IPCC 2007a; MA 2005 a3).

Case study: Sudan

The drought-prone Bara province is situated in western Sudan and is mainly composed of desert scrub vegetation and ondulating sand dunes. The average rainfall is around 250 mm per year with significant seasonal and inter-annual rainfall variability. The land is becoming increasingly degraded as a result of recurring droughts, cultivation of marginal lands, overstocking of livestock and fuelwood gathering. Since 1992 community based rangeland rehabilitation (CBRR) for carbon sequestration measurements have been implemented in 17 villages in central Bara province. These measurements mainly consisted of the implementation of simple model community-based natural resource management to prevent overexploitation of marginal lands and rehabilitate rangelands and the diversification of local production systems to ensure sustainability of the approach as well as to improve socio-economic conditions.

The outcomes of the CBRR project were very successful. Over 700 ha of rangeland were improved. Other achievements of the project included: the establishment of local institutions to coordinate community natural resource management and community development activities, regeneration and stabilization of five km of sand dunes to halt expansion of the desert, construction of windbreaks to protect farms from soil erosion, restocking of livestock by replacing goat herds with more resilient and less damaging sheep, creation of water management sub-committees to better manage wells and the preparation of a drought contingency plan. The main lesson learned was that in order to secure the long-term effectiveness of the achievements of this project it is crucial to build the capacity of the affected communities in order to enable them to cope with climate-induced stresses (IISD, 2003).

Further Reading

Indigenous Peoples, Climate Change, and the United Nations

Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change: A Human Rights Issue

Deforestation and the Baka and Bambendzele Indigenous Peoples of Africa

The Raika Indigenous Peoples of Rajasthan and Drought

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of July 2 - July 7, 2008


Plan Afoot to Catalogue 25,000 Years Of Indigenous Art from Infamous Route

KIDNAPPED, chained, and force-fed salt - Aborigines were coerced by white explorers to help them find water in the desert on an expedition to cross Western Australia in 1906.

Their knowledge of water wells was critical to the success of the expedition, led by WA surveyor Alfred Canning, who drove a herd of cattle from Halls Creek to Wiluna across terrain where many had perished before him.

Today, researchers from the Australian National University are working with the local Martu people to document the rich indigenous heritage of the Canning Stock Route, inhabited for the past 25,000 years.

The 1700-kilometer track boasts one of the country's most diverse collections of Aboriginal art, which has wrongly been attributed to lost Dutch sailors in the past. Kangaroos and owl-shaped heads are depicted on rocks, including informative art such as maps of waterholes, which allowed tribes to communicate over large distances. Read the rest about this story here....


Bows and Arrows Give Way to Tools of Modernity

It took six flights, six airports, six landing strips, each one consecutively smaller, to get me from my base in Mexico City to La Petanha, a village of about 250 people set deep in Brazil's Western Amazon. Reporting from one of the most remote places on the planet.

That is just one indication of how remote this part of the world is, and how, even in the 21st century, there are still hundreds of communities that live totally cut off from the rest of civilization.

I was traveling to meet the Surui Indians - a tribe of 1200 people indigenous to the Amazon who until just forty years ago had never had contact with anyone outside their rainforest.

I was there to document a fascinating and historic first -- a team of volunteers and engineers from Google Earth was going to transfer technology and knowledge to the Surui to allow them access to the Internet.

The Surui had a story to tell, and they wanted the world to know it. In 1969 a Brazilian government team charged with making contact with indigenous peoples in the Amazon left a small pile of mirrors, machetes and other goods in a clearing in the western Amazon, near Brazil's border with Bolivia. Read more about this story here....


Seizing Native Land In Peru, One Parcel At A Time

Activists in Peru are mounting various legal challenges to that nation's recently passed package of legislation, called ''forest laws,'' which they say will make it easier for authorities to break up indigenous communities and prevent indigenous people from obtaining titles to their land.

''These measures taken by the current government attempt to take away our collective property and intend to destroy indigenous people, who are people with rights that have existed long before the formation of the Peruvian state,'' asserted Robert Guimaraes, an indigenous leader from the Amazon, regarding the controversial laws that were decreed by President Alan Garcia May 20.

The activists also assert that the forest laws were enacted to please multinational corporations connected to Peru's free trade agreement with the United States.

The two bills that have prompted large protests and constitutional lawsuits, however, were not part of the FTA; they are Legislative Decree 1015 and Law Project 1900-2007-CR. Garcia was able to enact these laws by decree through powers given to him by the Peruvian Congress to negotiate the free trade deal with the U.S. Find out more about this story here....


Indigenous People Ask G8 For Climate Talk Inclusion

Indigenous communities from around the world urged G8 rich nations on Friday to help them participate in global climate change talks, saying they contributed least to but are most affected by global warming.

Clad in colorful traditional robes, 26 representatives from countries including the United States, Canada, and Japan, along with some 400 students, activists, and academics, met on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. The island is the venue of the July 7-9 Group of Eight summit and home to the indigenous Ainu ethnic group.

At the meeting, members of indigenous communities blamed the market-oriented economic model of the G8 nations as the main cause for climate change, a food crisis, and high oil prices. These are issues high on the discussion agenda at the G8 summit.
"As we all know, the G8 is composed of the most powerful and richest governments in the world. The G8 is the one which makes decisions ... that have direct impact on us," said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chair of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Read more here....


Pope Meets Brazilian Indians and Vows to Help Protect Their Land

Brazilian Indians Jacir José de Souza and Pierângela Nascimento da Cunha from the Makuxi and Wapixana tribes respectively were received in the Vatican, July 2, by Pope Benedict XVI, who pledged his support for their struggle to defend their Amazon home.
"We will do everything possible to help protect your land," said the pope.

The tribes of Raposa Serra do Sol, in the northern Brazilian state of Roraima, where Jacir and Pierângela people live, are under attack from Brazilian farmers who have shot and wounded ten people, burned bridges and thrown a bomb into an Indian community. A video obtained by Survival International, an organization that defends tribal peoples' human rights, shows the moment gunmen hired by the farmers attacked an Indian village in May.

The Brazilian government officially recognized the indigenous territory of Raposa Serra do Sol (Land of the Fox and Mountains of the Sun) in 2005, after a long campaign supported by the previous pope, John Paul II. But powerful farmers and the government of Roraima state are trying to get the legal recognition overturned, so that the farmers can take a large piece of the Indians' land. Read more about this story here....


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

The Dolgan (meaning "people living on the middle reaches of the river") indigenous peoples of the Arctic are experiencing many challenges in the face of climate change and the growing drive in Russia to exploit Arctic oil, gas, and coal deposits. Descendants of several Evenki clans (Tungus speaking peoples), who later adopted a dialect of the Turkic-speaking Yakut, the Dolgan indigenous peoples currently form the basic population of the Taymyr Autonomous Okrug (Province) of Russia. Their population is believed to be around 5,500, although there are no recent figures.

Migrating from the southwest to their present area of residence in the eighteenth century because of activities in the former Russian empire, they traditionally were nomadic reindeer herders and hunters. Under the Soviet regime they were strongly encouraged to abandon traditional lifeways - especially nomadism. In 1930 the Taimyr, or Dolgan-Nenets National Territory, was proclaimed and the traditional tribal councils were liquidated, and new territorial councils were formed. At the same time the process of collectivization was begun. The result was the complete destruction of the Dolgans' traditional economy and currently the Dolgan indigenous peoples subsist on agriculture and dairy-farming.

However, their current homeland along the Yenisey and Lena Rivers in Arctic Russia is also the area of growing oil and gas exploration and drilling. The Yenisey River - the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean - starts high in the Mongolian Plateau and widening further down. This remote region (Tunguska - Тунгуска) is most famous for the 1908 meteorite impact, but is now being explored for oil and gas. As Russia has recently noted, there are plans to construct several new, large hydrocarbon-producing centers in the Lena-Tunguska oil- and gas-bearing province. In the Lena-Tunguska basin of the Siberian-platform, a Large Yurubchen-Tadhom zone of oil and-gas accumulation has been discovered in the sub-salt formations, with-the Yurubcheri and Omorin fields containing the aggregate reserves of more than 1 trillion meters of gas and about 300 million tons of oil.

The Dolgan indigenous peoples are not part of this process, and are largely being left out of any discussions about development of the region and their homeland. Another development project taking place in the region involves tapping into the huge coal reserves found under the ground to feed the growing Russian energy needs. Again, with little say from the Dolgan indigenous peoples.

How the impacts of this new development impacts the Dolgan indigenous peoples is still unknown. Because much of their lifeway depends on continued access to large areas of good land for reindeer herding, it is thought that if major oil and gas development does take place traditional pastoral practices will no longer be viable. However, there is little stopping Russia from continuing with this development as indigenous peoples in Russia have comparatively few rights. One organization working to amend this is RAIPON. RAIPON was created in 1990 at the First Congress of Indigenous Peoples of the North. The Association was originally called the "Association of Peoples of the North of the USSR" and united 26 indigenous groups of the North. On November 24, 1993 the Association was registered as public political movement “Association of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of Russian Federation” and on July, 1999 it was reregistered at the RF Ministry of Justice as All-Russia public organization and received the registration number 2174.

Do you know of any other organizations working to help the Dolgan indigenous peoples or other indigenous peoples in Russia? If so, leave a comment and add them.

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of June 23 - July 1, 2008


Major General Cunanan's Baptism is a Defilement of Indigenous Culture

The PASAKA Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao decried the baptism of Eastmincom Commander Major General Armando L. Cunanan led by the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference on Peace and Development (MIPCPD) last June 13 as the MIPCPD paid the newly appointed chief a courtesy call.

Traditionally, lumads would use the rite of baptism to welcome someone into the tribe, an act which many lumad groups consider tantamount to accepting someone as a blood relation or member of the tribe.

But PASAKA calls it a defilement of the lumad culture and warned the military that not all lumads are party to the agreements or negotiations entered into by the MIPCPD. Read the rest of the story here....


Malaysian Indigenous People Face Arrest at Logging Blockade

A month-long blockade of logging roads by indigenous people in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia set to protest illegal logging on their communal lands is about to be broken up by police. More than 100 indigenous Kenyah people gathered at the blockade site on the upper Moh River on the island of Borneo claim that the blockade is their only way of calling on representatives of the Samling Timber Company and government authorities to have a consultation and meet with them to listen to their problems and demands.

Otherwise, they say, the Samling Timber Company will continue to ignore their demands and plights. According to the Borneo Resources Institute in Miri, which issued a statement today on behalf of the Kenyah peoples, ever since Samling started its logging operations in the upper Baram area, the indigenous communities have suffered the environmental impacts of logging.

They say the company simply encroached into their communal land and forest areas to carry out logging activities, without any consultation and consideration for their source of livelihood. Read the rest of the story here....


Jumma Indigenous People Pushed to the Edge of Existence

Members of one of the least-known groups of indigenous people in the world are facing what they see as a struggle for survival in Bangladesh. They claim that their way of life is being increasingly threatened by the Bangladeshi government and military while the world's back is turned.

There are around 600,000 Jumma living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in south-east Bangladesh, where they can trace their history back to the 12th century. For many years, they lived a remote existence in the jungle area above Chittagong. A treaty with the British in 1900 appeared to offer them protection "to help preserve the tribal culture" and to leave them to their own devices, in exchange for taxation. They continued this existence, largely untroubled, as part of East Pakistan - after the partition that followed India's independence in 1947 - until the 1970s. Read more about this story here....


Summit Dreams For Siberia Oil Town Despite Indigenous Peoples Concerns

For the next few days, this small town deep in a Siberian forest will bask in the spotlight as European and Russian officials try to move their stalled partnership forward.

Regional leaders hope the Russia-EU summit, which opens Thursday evening, will lead to more foreign investment. Beaming local residents, meanwhile, insist that the choice of their town, some 2,700 kilometers east of Moscow, to host the event is no surprise.

"Khanty-Mansiisk is the center of the universe today," said Yeremei Aipin, deputy speaker of the regional parliament and a writer of Khanty origin.

Such a notion may be in part shaped by a local legend that a great flood covered the whole world, and life returned on Samarovskaya Mountain, a sacred site for the region's two main indigenous groups, the Khanty and the Mansi, Aipin said.

But when Aipin and other officials speak of Khanty-Mansiisk's significance, they also use hard facts.

The region accounts for about 40 percent of the country's oil exports and pumps 7.5 percent of the world's oil, while its taxes account for almost a quarter of federal budget revenues, according to officials' estimates. Read more here....


Greenland Indigenous Peoples Denied on Whale Catch

The first vote at this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting has resulted in defeat for Greenland's request to expand its hunt. Many countries were unconvinced that Greenlanders need the extra meat that catching 10 humpbacks would provide, and believe the hunt is too commercial. A Greenland delegate said the decision would deprive its indigenous Inuit communities of much needed whale meat.
The EU's decision to vote as a bloc on the issue drew harsh criticism.

"I deeply regret that the IWC was not able to fulfil its obligations when all its requirements were met by Greenland," said Amalie Jessen from Greenland's fisheries ministry.

"I feel those opposing our proposal just wanted to find new excuses not to award humpbacks; and I anticipate that when we bring the proposal back in a year's time, they will have prepared other excuses." Read the rest of the story here....


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

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) has been covered on this site several times in the past. An article about attempts to change the plain language of NAGPRA was covered, as well as the Society for American Archaeology's stance on unidentified human remains. In fact, in a new book that just came out this month by Left Coast Press, the topic is extensively covered in terms of the Kennewick Man and ancient Native American skeletons: Kennewick Man: Perspectives on the Ancient One..

Most of these pieces cover the continuing struggle indigenous Native Americans have in recovering their ancestors and properly reburying them. However, not all instances of NAGPRA can be considered negative. In fact, there are more positive cases then negative ones. Below is a story about human remains that will be repatriated to the Qawalangin tribe in Alaska.

Human remains excavated from Unalaska and Amaknak Islands in the 1950s and '60s will soon be returned to the Qawalangin tribe under the provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The 1990 law says bones and funerary items found on federal lands need to be offered back to their original families or tribes. Robert King in Anchorage coordinates the repatriation of bones.

"When you have remains that are hundreds and indeed thousand of years old, as in this case," King explains, "those specific genealogical connections are broken. So then it goes the next highest claimant who would have the priority. You might say the collective descendants, so in this case, the tribe."

The bones of ten individuals were excavated by a now deceased archaeologist from Michigan from Eider Point in the 1950s. Bone fragments from another individual were found on Amaknak Island in the 1960s, though records do not say by whom. Because the remains were found on then federal land, the federal government took possession of them.

"When the remains are returned, they become the private property of the tribe and so then the tribe at its own discretion can do whatever the tribe wishes to do with the remains," King says.

King says tribes often decide to rebury the bones. The Qawalangin tribe will take possession of the bones later this summer. Tribal representatives could not be reached for comment on their plans for the remains.

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Weeks of June 10 - June 22, 2008


Corporate Rights Trump Indigenous Rights in Ontario, Canada

In attempts to skirt constitutionally required consultations with First Nations, mining corporations are seeking access to territory by dragging the process through the Ontario legal system long enough to bankrupt cash-strapped First Nations.

Situated about 580 km north of Thunder Bay is Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (KIFN; Big Trout Lake). Despite winning an important legal victory on July 28, 2006, in the Ontario Superior Court – a victory that forced Ontario mining exploration company Platinex Incorporated to cease drilling operations in the territory claimed by the Cree community of 1,300 – KIFN eventually found itself, according to its press release of April 9, $700,000 poorer. Moreover, Platinex had been granted a court injunction permitting it to drill on KIFN land and forbidding residents to obstruct the company’s operations.

KIFN has withdrawn from the judicial route and stressed the necessity of a political solution. The First Nation is concerned about the impact mining operations will have on their treaty-guaranteed traditional way of life – hunting and fishing – which is dependent upon the health of the environment. Read the rest of the article here....


Indigenous People's Cultural Heritage and Environmental Conservation through Traditional Knowledge

Nature has always been very vibrant, giving and resilient to a very large extent. We, as Indians, take pride in our strong cultural heritage. Religion protects and nurtures nature. If we take a look at Hinduism, we worship the sun, wind, land, trees, plants, and water which is the very base of human survival. Likewise, respect and conservation of wildlife — garuda, lion, peacock, and snake — are part of our cultural ethos from time immemorial. Almost the entire living of God Ram and Goddess Sita was very close to nature. Further, ancient texts written in Sanskrit, Pali or other languages can provide significant details. For instance, the scripture Vishnu Samhitâ in Sanskrit language contains some direct instructions dealing with biodiversity conservation.

In fact, whole civilizations have come into existence near sources of water like Indus Valley Civilization. In this sense, nature and culture become intertwined. Culture reflects our history, tradition and our beliefs. Revolutions in the technological and communication fields and the advent of globalisation have made an impact on our culture which have also evolved with time. However, it becomes imperative that we adapt new things without losing the basic character of our long cherished traditions and values which include environmental conservation. India is a culturally rich and diverse country where people speak many different languages, with many communities which live in their respective social structures completely depending on their environment to ensure their livelihood. Read the rest of the story here....


In Canada AbitibiBowater Chainsaws Stop at Grassy Narrows First Nation

The giant paper and forest products company AbitibiBowater has decided to "temporarily" stop logging on the traditional territory of the Grassy Narrows First Nation.

The decision comes after decades of lawsuits and peaceful protests by the people of Grassy Narrows, including the longest standing logging blockade in North America.
The tribal actions were taken in an effort to protect the 2,500 square miles of forests, lakes and rivers north of Kenora, Ontario that comprises Grassy Narrows traditional territory.

Last October, AbitibiBowater was formed as a merger of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. of Quebec and Bowater Incorporated of South Carolina. AbitibiBowater is the third largest publicly traded paper and forest products company in North America and the eighth largest in the world. Read more here....


Canadian Government Apologizes For Abuse of Indigenous First Nation People

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a long-anticipated apology yesterday to tens of thousands of indigenous people who as children were ripped from their families and sent to boarding schools, where many were abused as part of official government policy to "kill the Indian in the child."

Harper rose on the floor of a packed House of Commons and condemned the decades-long federal effort to wipe out aboriginal culture and assimilate native Canadians into European-dominated society. "The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly," Harper declared. "We are sorry." Read more of the story here....


Québec Native Women's Association Responds to Harper's Apology for Residential Schools

The Québec Native Women's Association has called upon the Canadian government to acknowledge that residential schools were an act of genocide.

Statement by Quebec Native Women's Association/Femmes Autochtones du Québec
Re : Government of Canada's Residential School Apology

June 11, 2008, Kahnawake

Quebec Native Women recognizes the Prime Minister's official apology concerning the genocidal experience of Aboriginal people in the history of the Residential School system. While the apology to Aboriginal peoples is long overdue it is contradicted by the oppressive policies of the Indian
Act.

The heinous crimes committed against Aboriginal children who were victims and survivors of the Residential School experience must be dealt with beyond mere apologies and monetary compensation.

The damages to our languages, well-being, social and political structures, and sexuality caused by Residential School, demands attention. The policy of assimilation through the Residential Schools system constituted a war against an identifiable group of people. Read the rest of the response here....


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

The Northern Arizona University Center for High Altitude Training in partnership with Nideiltihi Navajo Elite Runners (NNER) will host a running camp for 31 Native American high school runners.

The “Four Corners’ Introductory Altitude Camp” to be held on June 23-25 at Northern Arizona University and will provide top Native American runners an insight on how elite athletes train and a typical Olympic training schedule.


These young athletes will interact with world-renowned running coach, Jack Daniels, and train with some of the nation's top distance runners. We also hope to have present, Navajo elite runners Alvina Begay, Terry Bia, and Craig Curley from Pima Community College Cross Country and Track Team in Tucson, AZ. They will be participating at the camp, which will be a wonderful opportunity for them to serve as role models for the young runners. Alvina advanced to U.S. Olympic Trials in the women's marathon last April. While she did not make the team, this was a tremendous achievement and we commend Alvina for her dedication and inspiration. Terry Bia, an emerging Navajo elite runner, and Craig Curley will be one of five volunteer chaperon's for the running camp.

The student-athletes will be split into six groups according to the six sacred mountains and led by chaperons including board members from Tucson to Connecticut and local Navajo runners, Rachel Novak and Helen Benally. A Nideiltihi Navajo Elite Runners camp wrap-up & closing celebration will be held on Wednesday June 25^th from 9:00 am to 10:00 am at The High Country Conference Center-Fremont Room on the corner of Milton and Butler next to Drury Inn & Suites. Presentations include a motivational cultural presentation by NNER Parents are invited.

The following student-athletes will be attending the 2008 Summer Camp:

More information on the Nideiltihi Navajo Elite Runners can be found here.

The Center for Social Well Being is now in its 7^th year offering our 3 week training program with courses in ethnographic field methods and languages - Spanish and Quechua - in the Peruvian Andes.

Founded in January 2000, the Center for Social Well Being is a non-profit organization dedicated to the enhancement of citizen participation to improve the lives and opportunities of children, youth and adults in Andean communities in Peru. They work to sensitize students and visitors to the region to global and local issues they can actively take part in to contribute to the development of mutual respect required for a just society. Their program team and partners consist of anthropologists, ecologists, agronomists, nutritionists, health workers, school teachers, herbalists, midwives, community members and leaders who collaborate in areas of research, training and civic participation to effectively analyze, prioritize and resolve issues of concern through the implementation of strategies aimed to improve social, health and environmental conditions.

The Centers intensive language courses are FLAS approved by the US Dept. of Education. Students will be housed at the center’s rural base, an adobe lodge on an ecological ranch in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range of the Callejón de Huaylas, 7 hours northeast of Lima. Coursework provides in-depth orientation to theory and practice in anthropological investigation that emphasizes methods in Participatory Action Research and Andean Ethnographycentered on themes of Health, Ecology, Biodiversity and Community Organization. Students will have the opportunity to actively engage in ongoing investigations in local agricultural communities to develop effective field research techniques, and to acquire language skills. In addition, the program provides excursions to museums, archaeological sites, glacial lakes and hotsprings; optional recreational activities include hiking, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, rock climbing and trekking.

Total cost is $2,700 US dollars. This includes all in-country travel, food and accommodations at the rural center, and course materials. The program is under the direction of Applied Medical Anthropologist, Patricia J. Hammer, Ph.D., and Ecologist, Flor de María Barreto Tosi.

Program dates:

August 1^st through August 21^st
Biodiversity Session

September 17^th through October 6
Ritual and Fiesta Session

For an application contact: phammer@wayna.rcp.net.pe

Or visit the Center for Social Well Being website.

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


Indigenous Native Chief Decries State of Canadian First Nation Affairs

First Nations Chief Rose Laboucan has seen a handful of aboriginal communities begin to crumble beneath her feet. Houses are falling apart and infested with mould. Drinking water is unsafe. Some families are living in rundown trailers while a wait-list for social housing continues to grow.

"It's totally devastating," she says. "To me, it's a crisis." As the leader of northern Alberta's Driftpile First Nation, Laboucan says there are 79 people in one of her smaller communities that are currently homeless - meaning there are thousands in the same situation across Canada.

She joined nearly two dozen chiefs from Alberta's aboriginal groups today, meeting in Edmonton as part of a national day of action to discuss the Third-World conditions emerging on some reserves. A report released this month found a growing number of aboriginals, even in urban areas, are living in overcrowded homes in a state of disrepair. Read more about the story here....


Brazilian Landowners and Military form Front Against Indigenous Peoples Policy

The battle to defend Brazil’s Amazon region "began in Roraima," according to Paulo Cesar Quartiero, a central figure in land conflicts in the indigenous border territory of Raposa Serra do Sol (RSS) which are prompting politicians and military officers to organise an opposition front.

Quartiero, a 55-year-old agronomist, moved from the far south to the north of the country 32 years ago and settled in Roraima, a jungle state bordering Guyana and Venezuela, where he acquired two farms with a combined area of 9,200 hectares and became a large-scale rice producer.

In 2004 he was elected mayor of Paracaima, a town of 9,000 people. In early May he was arrested and held in Brasilia for nine days on charges of possession of explosives and supplying guns to men who shot 10 indigenous people who -- Quartiero says -- were invading his land.

If anything, this seems to have confirmed his leadership of those who, like him, are opposed to the recognition of the RSS as a single, unbroken indigenous territory of 1.7 million hectares. Read the rest of the story here....


Indigenous Peoples Fishing Rights Hits Legislation Snag in Australia

The state government is winding back indigenous traditional fishing rights because some people are allegedly not doing the right thing. Yesterday, Primary Industries and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin introduced legislation to State Parliament that would amend laws introduced 14 years ago to expressly protect the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to fish in a traditional way.

The new laws will forbid indigenous fishermen and women access to 15 sensitive areas in which they previously had rights to fish and restrict the type of fishing gear indigenous people can use elsewhere.

Mr Mulherin said recent events in Rockhampton's Fitzroy River prompted the change.

"While most indigenous communities respect the laws and their intent associated with traditional fishing, a small number of individuals have exploited the situation for themselves," he said. "The amendments seek to reduce the risk of exploitation of fisheries resources by limiting traditional and customary fishing to personal, domestic and non-commercial communal use. "This definition clearly excludes the commercial sale of fish. Read more about this story here....


Japan to Recognize Indigenous Ainu People

Japan is set this week to recognise the Ainu as an indigenous people, in a landmark move for a nation that has long prided itself as ethnically homogeneous. The move comes ahead of next month's summit of the Group of Eight rich nations on the northern island of Hokkaido, home to most of Japan's estimated 70,000 Ainu. Japan's parliament is scheduled to adopt a resolution on Friday to urge the government to "immediately" provide support for the Ainu, who have long faced discrimination and income disparity, lawmakers said.

The resolution to be submitted jointly by ruling and opposition lawmakers stipulates for the first time that the Ainu "are an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture."

"It's one of the steps forward, but it's a major step," Yukio Sato, an Ainu and director general of the Utari Association which campaigns for Ainu rights. Read more about this story here....


Renewed Plight Against Mining by Indigenous Peoples in the Andean Cordillera

Last May 2008, community leaders, elders, women, and youth have reconfirmed their stand on Olympus Pacific Minerals and other large mines in their ancestral domain, in which they condemn them for “grossly violat[ing] the rights of the indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples over their ancestral domain and failed to comply with the requirements under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) and NCIP AO No.1, S. 2006.”. In simultaneous caucuses on issues that affect them, the elders, women and youth came up with another set of resolutions strongly backing the tide of official petitions received by regional and provincial offices of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

In the community meetings with Olympus and the NCIP, community leaders called on them to stop the process of any further development of mining activities. Therefore, not allowing Olympus to conduct any large-scale mining to take effect in their ancestral domain. Furthermore stating that the violation of their collective rights over their ancestral lands, destruction of their livelihood resources and environmental disasters is connected to mining. Read more here....


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

Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live in all parts of present-day Australia, from the large cities of Sydney and Melbourne to small country towns and very remote communities. They speak a multitude of languages and belong to hundreds of distinct descent groups. Beyond the struggles of maintaining many of their traditional lifeway patterns, cultural identity, and language, many of Australia's indigenous people also