1 12 37 https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/282e159d86ceb8f1dd79660fc040d15d.pdf 0b77001130d6821917bb96eeb6243aaf PDF Text Text W 0 M E N "We Must Combine Our Efforts" In recosnition of the similarity of the struggles Indigenous women face around the world, we recently had the privilege of talking with Victoria Tauli-COtPUz, a Kankilnaey lgorot from the Cordillera region of the Philippines. She is the past chairperson of the Cordillera Peoples' Alliance, a coalition of Indigenous peoples in the Cordillera, Northem Philippines. She is Executive Director of the Cordillera Women's Education and Resource Center, Inc., an NGO doing education, organizins, and projects amons Indigenous women in the region. f~~ .w~ Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Tell us about the founding of the Cordillera Women's Education and ResoUl·ce Center. ndigenous peoples in our region of the Philippines began to organize in the mid 1970s when the World Bank funded construction of four large dams along our Big Chico River. This project would have relocated 300,000 Bontoc and Kalinga peoples, but these people successfully fought against it. After this struggle, organizations were started on the local and provincial levels. The Cordillera Peoples' Alliance, which is the regional federation of these organizations, was organized in 1984. Although women were very much a part of this struggle, they didn't have their own organizations. So in 1985, we thought it was time to organize I our own women's center to train women to become leaders in their own dght. We created The Cordillera Women's Education and Resow-ce Center was and took the lead in establishing organizations in the region. What is the primary purpose of the Cor diller a Women's Education and Resource Center? First, we wanted our women to take a more active role in the stmggle for the defense of our ancestral lands and for self detennination. So we attempt to bring in more women and educate them on these issues. At the same time, we are aware that women are marginalized. In our traditional communities, Indigenous decision-making structures are ve•y male dominated. We felt this was not good for women, and therefore efforts should be made to improve this situation. Women must be equipped to patticipate more effectively in the community decision-making process. And thirdly, in many of our communities agriculture, which is the main economic activity, relies heavily on women. But when it comes to cash crop production, or when corporations hire, women are marginalized. When, for instance, the mines hire workers, they hire Vol. 9 No. 1 only men, and the women become housewives. As housewives, women are not patt of the conununity's economic activity as they are when they are subsistence farmers. We are studying how these modem developments have futther marginalized women. Tell us mor e about the t raditional role of women in your community. Well, as I said, the women are the subsistence farmers. They are the ones who fetch water, keep the seeds, and take care of the children. Childrearing is sometimes shared since women go to the fields, then the men stay in the village and take care of the babies. Where do you believe machismo, or m ale domination, cam e from in your society? For us, as the ml\iority population, machismo was introduced by colonization. Before colonization, although they were not part of the formal decisionmaking process, women were consulted about their opinions. When the colonizers came, they declared that women should stay home and take care of the children. That was not our traditional belief; housework was shared. The male-dominated beliefs of our colonizers seeped through our communities. For instance, we had a courtship system in which women could also do courting, and mrutial sepru·ations were pennitted with appropriate grounds. When the colonizers came with their religious beliefs, they told us this could not be, that it was immoral and that we could not separate from ow· husbands. Ow· colonizers brought and reinforced male domination in our traditional societies. Do Indigen ous communities in the P hilippines have r ecognized territories? ' We occupy ow· land, but the law states that ow· land is public land. We have a law in the Philippines which 29 �W 0 ME N ----- ------ --- ----- says all lands that are 18% slopes or above are considered public lands, and therefore cannot be owned or sold. Almost all ow· lands are 18% slopes or above. Because of that law virtually all the people in our com, munity are considered squatters on our own lands. So we are working to have that law repealed. In 1986, when there was a constitutional conm>ission, we lobbied to put a clause in the constitution recognizing ancestral land rights of Indigenous peoples. That law was incorporated into the constitution, but until a bill enabling and defining the law is passed, we legally do not have an ancestral land law in ow· country. What othe•- crucial issues are facing your community? asking that they be allowed to participate in their medical missions to the Aetas in Pinatubo. Their intent was to collect DNA materials from the Aetas by collecting blood, mucosal scrapings, and hair roots. This sounds very much like the Hwnan Genome Divet'Sity Project. I 6nd this grossly unethical and immoral, because what they plan to do is to participate in a humanitarian mjssion to the Aetas who were displaced when the Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines empted. So, in effect, they arc using a medical mission to obtain genetic resow-ces. We did work with t he Foundation on Economic Trends (FET) in Washington DC. who filed a petition on behalf of itself and other organizations, including our own, for a moratorium on the Human Genome Diversity Project which at the time was promoted by the National Institute of Health in the US. So the FET filed a suit against them, but the whole project was transferred to the National Science Foundation (NSF). Suing the NSF will be more difficult because they are a semi-private, semi-governmental organization. These are the steps we have taken to pre-empt the attempts of the pt·oject to gather genetic material. There are still ongoing logging operations. The logging companies attempt to drive people away from their land. However, mining is one of the biggest issues that we face because our region is ve•-y rich in minerals. Seventy-five percent of gold exports come from ow· region. The government is relaxing the laws to allow corporations to invest and open mines. These corporations receive 75-year leases. They operate strip mines and open pit mines. We have been •-esisting fw-the•expansion of these mines. Do Indigenous peoples in the Philippines deal with issues sinrilar to those of other Indigenous The Philippine government ratified GATT last peoples ar ound t he world? December. How will this affect Indigenous peoWe really have many issues in common, like ancesples? tral land rights, traditional ceremonies, autonomy, alld It , viJl have a tremendous affect on Indigenous peo- self govertrment. Because of that communality, we ples, especially in terms of their rights to their lands. It were able to combine efforts to cont,;bute to the draft will make it vety easy for the government to say that the UN working group on Indigenous peoples develsince they are a signato•y to GATT, we must open ow- oped. We should not underestimate what our lobby land for investments.They also have been encow-aging conbibuted to that draft.. us to produce cash crops like cut flowers and asparagus. With the production of cash crops, ow- agriculture Do you have any messages fot· women in Mexico, shifts from subsistence production for domestic con- South and Central America? sumption to producing high-value crops. This ,viJl force We were pru-t of the group that organized the our agricultural production to become pat-t of the International Women's C01uerence held in Samiland (in Norway) in 1990. As a result of that conference, we entire world's market economy. developed a resolution saying we would do regional How ·is the Human Genome Diversity P r oject organizing among our women. Latin American women affecting Indigenous communities in the did their own organizing, which I think is great. On owpart, we built up ow- Asian Indigenous women's netPhilippines? Some Indigenous peoples have been targeted for work. Now we must combine our effo•-ts and come genetic collection, and some collection has probably together again so we can produce an excellent already occurred. On the list of the Human Genome Indigenous Women's Agenda to be presented at the UN Project we have the Ifugawes, who come from ow· World Conference on Women in Beijing in September. region; my own tribe; and the Aetas, a group of We should make an effot-t to outline the issues of Indigenous peoples from the Central Luzon, Southern Indigenous women, whether they are in the North or Tagalog, and from the Visayas. Late last year we got a the South, and then present these issues. We can also copy of a letter from Dr. Camara, one of the medical sponsor a series of activities in Beijing where doctot'S from the Aloha Medical Mission of Hawaii, Indigenous women can speak out. 'f?J wherein he enclosed a letter from Hoffman-La Roche, 30 Abya Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "We Must Combine Our Efforts" Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title "We Must Combine Our Efforts" Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 29 - 30 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, a Kankanaey Igorot from the Cordillera region of the Philippines, was the past chairperson of the Cordillera People's Alliance and is now the Executive Director of the Cordillera Women's Education and Resource Center, Inc. She speaks about the need to protect the Philippine indigenous peoples from the Human Genome Project, commercial agriculture, and violations of women's rights. Attachment Title We_Must_Combine_Our_Efforts.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Human Genome Project machismo Phillipines Territory Women https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/806de5081fc7de7036958cd8f24b758c.pdf 2b8209c1f862bf99a7fa1b06b6a636b4 PDF Text Text W 0 M E N A Cultural Exchange : Q uichua Potters From Ecuador Visit by Suzana Sawyer acha Gualinga Cuji and Leona Inmunda Nango, indigenous cosmology and l'8inforest sustainability. two Indigenous Quichua female elders from the The clay, ocher, and resin materials used in their work, tropical forest region of eastern Ecuador, building and decorating Indigenous ceramics reflect recounted the story of how Nunguli, the forest spirit the need to carefully extract and sustain resources in which lives below the earth, entrusted women with an uncontaminated envi1·onment. The cosmological clay to sculpt into pottery. Theil· Spanish bore the dis- itnagery used in decoratit1g the ceramics retell the tinctive lilt of those whose first language is Quichua. numerous stories of forest spirits, or powers, essential With hands knotted from working the earth neru·ly to protect and maintain harmony among aU forest daily for fifty years, Miquia Bacha and Miquia Leona beings, animate and inanitnate. Nw1guli, the spirit of molded nwcahuas (drinking bowls) and told the tales fecundity, protects all cultivated plants. Amazanga, from their mothers and grandmothers. They spoke the spirit of strength, protects aU forest animals. with pride of their culture, the J•••NOPIP Tsumi, the spirit of fluidity, conthreat of petroleum contamination trois the worlds of waters and its and the recent border wru· with lives. And there are many more. Peru. Cosmological beliefs around The Bay Area was Bacha these spirits-their temperament..~. inclinations, and prac· Gualinga and Leona lnmunda's sec· ond stop on a fow· city Quichua tices- guide sustait1able prac· Potte•>s Cultural Exchange tour tices used in agriculture, huntorganized by OPIP (Organization of ing, fishing, and forest and river Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza) and management. Miquia Bacha and Miquia Fundaci6n Jatari, a small foundaLeona's ancestral territory contion established in 1978. Since its inception, Fundaci6n Jatari has sists of a 2 million hectares of been dedicated to enhancing t he uninterrupted prima•y rain for· educational opportunities of est in the central Ecuadorian Amazon Province of Pastaza. Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Ecuado•~ Per u, and This is the last such exp8llse in Bolivia. The 1995 Cultural Ecuador and the only place where women maintain the Exchange Tour is the second consecutive year in which Quichua women age-old tradition of Quichua pothave come to shru-e theit· cultw·al tery. OPIP is the Indian federa· knowledge and build interchange tion and organizational structw-e with the Notth. Their visits to UUICn<Jll worren·s pottery represents the which bas been fighting to pro· Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and intimate connection between lndi~enous teet this ancestral territo•y ru1d Santa Fe have allowed them to forge cosmology and rain fe<est sustainabllity. maintain sustainable Indigenous networks and friendships with management techniques for 16 Native Americans in the US. years. Founded in 1979, OPIP 1-ep•-esents 20,000 Chosen by their rainfo•-est communities, Bacha Indigenous peoples, dispersed in 133 communities. Gualinga and Leona lnmunda came to the United While gains have been made, the future of this terri to· States as spokeswomen in defense of their rut form ry and its people is uncertait1. and ancestral territory. Quichua pottery is a millenni· In 1992, 2,000 Indigenous peoples from Pastaza al practice exclusive to Indian women. Through its del- embarked on a historic march from their rain forest icate hand-coil form and intricate designs, Quichua communities to Quito to demand legal title to their pottery rep•-esents the intimate connection between ancestral teJTitory (see Abya Yala News Vol. 6, No. 3). Miquia Bacha was a key player in this struggle. The Suzana Sawyer is a Ph.D. Candidate in only woman to add1-ess the P•-esident an'd his cabinet, Anthropology at Stanford University and has worked Bacha Gualinga condemned the government for failing extensively with OPIP in the Ecuadorian Anwzon. to legalize "the territo1y in which theit· ancestors have B Vol. 9No. 1 31 �W 0 MEN always lived." \"'hile Indians in Pastaza returned to the lowlands after 5 weeks of negotiation with their territory adjudicated, titles included only surface rights to land and its products. SubteJTanean righ ts remain solely in the hands of the state to exploit. For twenty years, petroleum development has indelibly changed the social and ecological reality of the northern portion of the Ecuadorian Amazon through the construction of a network of roads and towns and the contamination of water and soil systems_ If petroletun development is not controlled, this is the fate looming on the horizons of Indigenous territory in Pastaza. ARCO, the only oil corporation working in Pastaza, has discovered a sizeable reserve in Indigenous ter.-itory and hydrocarbon extraction is inuninent, if the local communities and international pressure groups a re not mobilized. The struggle for land and Indigenous rights in Pastaza is not simply the concern of a politicized Indigenous elite. Miquia Abigail and Miquia Leona came to tbe Bay Area in representation of their communities and OPIP to speak in their own voices about their peoples' historical struggle in defense of their culture, beliefs, language, and way of life in the Ecuado.-ian rain forest. Standing before the San Francisco audience, Bacha Gualinga spoke on the wisdom of the ages: "I don't know how to read or write. Not even sign my name. Yet, I have here, captw-ed within my head, years and years of history. I am here as a seed, as a root, as a tree. Look at me and learn." Tracing the intimate lin.k between Indigenous peoples and a landscape, she added, "'f Indians disappear, if our way of life is destroyed, what will happen to the world? Then there will not be forest. The jungle \vill not be green." In 1989, OPIP established a Women's Committee directed by and for Indigenous Quichua women to strengthen disappearing traditions and address women's needs. Female potters in the province of Pastaza cunently sell their ar tware to OPIP's Cooperative store, Yanapuma (Black Panther), in t he provincial capital of Puyo. Now, OPIP's Women's Committee 'vishes to explot·e possibilities for expanding the marketing oflndigenous ceramjcs. The US tour aims to provide Amazonian Quichua potters dii-ect access to international alternative trade markets in the United States. The Women's Committee seeks to develop alternative trade networks as empowering opportunities to re-enforce the cultural tradition of the more than 3,000 women potters in the t'egion and extend needed economic support. An example of grassroots organizing initiated and controlled by Indian women, the mru·keting of the Quichua ceramic tradition re-affirms the dignity their cultural identity by honoring indigenous female art and strengthening female voices. Organized during International Women's Month, the Quichua Potte•'s Exchange deepens a commitment fot· dialogue between women across the globe and expands international networks of mutual suppott and cooperation. '0' For more information, contact: Fwui<tci6n Jatari, P 0. Box 65195, Tucs011, AZ, 85728, Tell Fax: (520) 5773642; or the Organizati01t of Indigenous Peoples of Pa.staza (OPIP), Casilla 790, Puyo, Pastaza, Tell Fa.<: (593-3) 885-461. Indigenous People form an Alliance to counter the Vampire Project On February 18-19, 1995, a group of30 Indigenous delegates from the United States, Canada, Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru met in Phoenix, A.-izona, to discuss an Indigenous response to the Human Genome Project. During the three days of discussion, the delegates decided to form an International Alliance to counter the Huntan Genome Biodiversity Project. Many Indigenous peoples call this "The Vampire Project" because its goal is to collect blood, t issues, and hair from about 700 Indigenous groups around the wodd. The Human Genome Project is a proposal to collect and study the genetic structw-es of va.-ious ethnic groups. They have targeted populations "on the verge of extinction:• a nd refer to Indigenous groups as "Isolates of Historical Interest." SAIIC and many other Indigenous organizations have taken a stand against this project because it is yet another example of t-esearch which Notth American and European scientists carry out on Indigenous peoples without their consent and without all of the t-elevant information being provided to them. This is a continuation of colonialism ofindigenous peoples which began 500 years ago. The delegates at the Phoenix confet-ence decided to make a plan of action to stop t.he Human Genome Project and its attempt against the biological, spiritual, physical, and psychological lives of Indigenous peoples. They formed a coordinating committee comprised of Indigenous people from North, Central, and South America. They are planning another meeting for next fall in northern California in order to continue tbis campaign. The En'owkin Centre and Okanagan Indians in British Columbia organized this conference which TonatietTa in Phoeni.x hosted. Debra Hany, a Paiute Indian from Nevada, is coordinator of this project. For mot-e informati<>n, contact: Debra, at PO Box 6, N~'Wn, Neuada 89424, Tel: (702) 574-0309, e-mail <Utarry@igc.apc.org; or the Ett'owkin Centre, 257 Brwu;wick St., Penticton, BC V2R 5P9, Canada, Tel: (604) 4937181 Fa.<: (604) 493-5302. ,.,.-- - - - - - - - - ------32 Abya Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Cultural Exchange: Quichua Potters From Ecuador Visit Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Suzana Sawyer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Cultural Exchange: Quichua Potters From Ecuador Visit Item Type Journal Article Author Suzana Sawyer Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 31 - 32 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Quichua female elders visit several cities in the United States with the help of the Quichua Potter's Cultural Exchange tour organized by OPIP (Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza). This is part of an effort to expand alternate trade networks to create more opportunities to reinforce the cultural traditions of the Quichua. Attachment Title A_Cultural_Exchange_Quichua_Potters_From_Ecuador_Visit.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Pastaza pottery Quichua Territory Women https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/1ccad2d0793de1cf667321be077d9826.pdf 7cc03e63486c3507ef0d596af5a18a79 PDF Text Text A Neoliberal State of Siege On April 18, 1995, a series of strikes organized by lndigenous peasants and urban teachers forced the central government to declare a state of siege that has lasted three months. The international press has marginally covered this event. A state of siege is a serious menace to the concept of democracy and reminiscent of authoritarian rule. It is the first state of siese that neoliberalism could not avoid. In what follows, sociolivera Cusicanqui interprets the reasons behind such measures and underlines the double moral standard of current politics in Bolivia. by Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui Democracy and violence are not incompatible terms or exclusionary in and of themselves. In Mexico, a solid clientelistic state structure serves as the base of the oldest electoral farce in America, while hundreds of thousands of rural Mexicans and Indigenous peoples die or flee from their country. In Colombia, democratic regimes elected according to various conventional norms have co-existed during more than a century with the most repressive and brutal military and paramilitary violence, and with the most varied forms of popular armed resistance. In the Bolivian Constitution, the "state of exception” permits a wide margin of arbitrary state power that remains partially within the legal bases of a legitimate republic. These are the "democratic fictions" that, historically, enabled the oscillation between democracy and dictatorship, and that in the present, lead to the consolidation of the “double moral standard” which is at the very heart of Bolivian democracy. Bolivia is a country where there is democracy for the few and dictatorship for the many. Vast rural regions of Bolivia are subject to the law of “survival of the fittest,” where open and concealed violence is a structural feature of modern daily life, exemplified by underdevelopment, displaced populations, extreme poverty, and a total loss of popular will. For more than a decade, untried killings and repression of Indigenous peoples in the Chapara region (the center of coca cultivation) abound, and no one has been able to enforce the constitutional laws of the state. For centuries, thousands of Indigenous peoples, mestizos, cholas, and bircholas (urbanized peasants) have filled the Bolivian prisons. They are always the unyielding enemies, the silent threats to this "pigmentocratic" system in which whites or q'aras rule through a mandate that seems inherited from the depths of history Teachers and Cocaleros Forty years ago, who would have thought that teachers and cocaleros (coca growers) would be the last remnants of the classic confrontation of Bolivian politics: a unionized sector--and here we know that unionization covers a wide range of sectors entrenched in a diverse Bolivian culture--and the formal country represented by political parties and the state. The gap between these sectors continues to grow, fed by constant violence. Here is why this last national strike and the call for th state of siege hides a vaster unease: the frustration of a people who voted hoping for change, and who now see more of the same misery and repression that has not changed in centuries of q'ara domination of the Bolivian state. The ingenious conception of the "blank slate" inherent in all reformism blinded the government to this phenomenon of collective frustration over the design of a "New Bolivia." a project that, as in other times, runs the risk of remaining a propagandistic slogan. Fundamentally, none of what was promised in the elections was accomplished, beginning with the promise of 250,000 jobs. Furthermore, Bolivia Jacks even the minimal maneuvering power necessary to defend its once buoyant "illegal" economy (not only narco-trafficking, but also contraband and industrial pirating) that enjoys a flourishing stability in the North. How useful, then, is educational reform and popular· participation if the pillar of the model promised (and discerned) by the ruling coalition is crumbling to pieces? Was it merely a calculation error? Or are we, as in other conjunctures, again witnessing the sad spectacle of an oligarchic blindness or myopia of the powerful, who lack the historic sense necessary to impose, among other things, a long-lasting legitimate rule because their language (and particularly their reformist language) has decayed into a parade of lies and linguistic run-arounds? Nevertheless, the problem of the double moral standard, and the fragile legitimacy it supports, is not only a ballast of the state and its leaders. I would say that it is a key feature of Bolivian political culture, and in this sense, constitutes us as actors and shapes our perceptions, behavior, and expectations. In this case, the lack of coherence in the actions and explicit demands of the COB (Bolivian Workers Union) and the teachers is evident. The teachers' resistance to yielding union acquired privileges speaks more to corporate entrenchment than to authentic revolutionary unionism. What's more, the teachers are the main actors and principle obstacles involved in the renovation of our antiquated educational system. But who are the teachers? They are a product of the 1956 educational reform and, in this sense, also reflect the government of 1952-the same clientelistic methods, spheres of influence, and corruption. And who is the MNR (the ruling governmental party) to clean up the corruption of the educational sector? Who can really do it? In the end, even the strike is inscribed in the double moral standard. While public schooling grinds to a halt, the same teachers who are striking continue to work diligently and profitably in the private educational institutions. So, are the Capitalists not the enemies of the Workers? Why doesn't the whole educational sector come to a stop? Tragically, the most affected are the children of the very workers--rural and urban--who are the only ones left who depend on the devastated public education services. The rest--including a strained blue-collar and popular sector-support the private schools. They live as though in a different country, going to classes and dutifully following their curriculum, while the rest of us are striking. Among other factors, the professional and union conduct of the education sector has contributed to this insurmountable gulf that separates the rural from the urban, the upper and middle from the lower classes, and schools of the first, second, and last category. Popular malaise and profound and legitimate collective frustration on one side, union members and politicians increasingly distant from the collective identity on the other- this all has contributed to the consolidation of a deeply conservative authoritarian political culture apparently totally resistant to change. The state of siege summarizes, therefore, the primary failure in the scheme of government reforms being carried out by the government, and at the least will leave it with the comfort of learning that no change is possible without the participation of the protagonist and affected majority Excerpt front a longer text published in HOY (La Paz, Bolivia). Silvia Rivera is professor of sociology at the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Bolviia. She is a member of THOA (Andean Oral History Workshop), Chukiyawu, Kollasuyu (Bolivia). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Neoliberal State of Siege Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Neoliberal State of Siege Item Type Journal Article Author Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 20-21 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note On April 18, 1995, a series of strikes organized by indigenous peasants and urban teachers forced the central government of Bolivia to declare a state of siege that has lasted three months. Sociologist Silva Rivera Cusicanqui interprets the reasons behind such measures and underlines the double moral standard of current politics in Bolivia. Attachment Title A_Neoliberal_State_of_Siege.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bolivia self-determination teachers Territory https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/3cb9b845fa1a68d63cb7e1337ed01a0b.pdf f3e64718574e0367a664e65934c89fb9 PDF Text Text A Nineteenth-Century War in the Amazon: Indigenous Communities Caught in the Ecuador/ Peru Border Dispute by Fernando Rivera Indigenous people who live in the disputed area between Ecuador and Peru have faced severe hardship and danger during the latest conflict which erupted in January of this year. Forced to fight and caught in wars not of their own design, Indigenous communities in both Ecuador and Peru endured the death of some of their people in battle, the threat of mass starvation, illnesses, and the destruction of their environment. The recent fighting is an unfortunate continuation of border disputes which have divided the two countries since the wars of independence and is another example of the internal colonialism to which Indigenous peoples are subjected. Each country has based its territorial rights on different treatises and international legal concepts. Each has had its own reasons for waging war. Both Ecuador and Peru, however, have ignored the impact that such land disputes have had on the Indigenous peoples who live along their borders. With every war and every treatise, neither Ecuador nor Peru has been as negatively affected as these Indigenous communities. The territorial dispute between Ecuador and Peru has been one of the longest and most complicated land disputes on the continent. During colonial times, first the Viceroyalty of Peru and later the Viceroyalty of Gran Colombia administered the Amazonian provinces. In 1829, after gaining independence, Peru and Gran Colombia signed an agreement in which they did not establish borders, but agreed to respect the former colonial divisions. Since the borders in that region were never clearly defined, their demarcation became a topic of constant debate. In 1941 a war broke out between Ecuador and Peru which ended with the signing of the Río de Janeiro Protocol which sought to define the border between the two countries. In 1950, however, Ecuador declared the Protocol null and void because of what it believed to be technical differences in demarcating 78 kilometers of land along the Condor Cordillera. In 1981, another war broke out between the two countries. Some analysts believe that the ruling government of Ecuador began that war as a way to distract attention away from its economic problems. Similarly, some analysts believe that President Fujimori may have begun the current war in order to assure his re-election. Whatever the motive, it is the Indigenous communities along the Ecuador/Peru border that are the most affected when the two countries decide to go into battle. First, both countries force Indians to fight in the military. This makes neighboring communities along the border and binational communities (communities divided by the border) fight among each other. Much has been said recently about intra-ethnic wars all around the world, but little attention has been paid to the fact that Indian peoples in Ecuador and Peru have been forced to kill each other. Many of these people belong to the same ethnic or cultural groups, as in the case of the Shuar, Achuar, Aguaruna, Huambiza and Quichua Indians. Second, the toll of the war is felt primarily in Indigenous communities along the border where most of the fighting occurs. Hundreds of families have been displaced by the destruction of their homes, harvests, and cattle. Bombings occur regularly, and deadly diseases are spreading rapidly. "Indigenous communities have never had borders," says Mino Eusebio Castro, vice-president of AIDESEP (Indigenous Association for the Development of the Peruvian Amazon). "What is occurring is that there is a conflicting interests between two political groups striving for economic control. We have never been consulted over the creation of borders, yet who do they use when there is a conflict of this type? Who provides the food? Who gets recruited to fight on the front lines? Who gets affected by protecting the borders? It is the Indigenous people!" Luis Macas, president of CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) reported that the war has directly affected 21 of the 400 Shuar centers (or communities) in the Ecuadorian Amazon because of their proximity to the border. Also, among the 30 Achuar centers, the centers closest to the border have been greatly affected. Furthermore, out of the 25 Quichua communities on both sides of the border (10 in Ecuador and 15 in Peru), the number of affected families reaches 800. Finally, other smaller bordering communities also suffer from the war. These include the Siona, Secoya, Cofan, and the Shiwiar communities. The total number of indians in Ecuador alone affected by this war reaches 20,000. If the conflict continues, Macas predicts the loss of more Indigenous lives, homes, and livelihoods. A recent article in the Quito daily El Comercio describes the social and economic effect of the war. According to the report, 180 Indigenous communities and approximately 3,000 families "are faced with a social, economic, and psychological crisis because there crops and animals have disappeared and their understanding of their own territory has been changed" since the fighting began. "Life is not the same. Tranquility has not returned to the selva since the ceasefire," said Luis Yampies, a leader of the Shuar community. "Many communities cannot return to their lands because they are mined. That was a defense strategy by the Ecuadorian military, but we are affected." In formal and informal declarations, Indigenous groups have denounced the violence and demanded that the governments of Ecuador and Peru stop the war. COICA (The Coordinating Body for the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin), an umbrella group that represents Indigenous organizations from the eight nation-states with territorial claims in the Amazon Basin, proposed the creation of a bi-national park which would demilitarize the conflict zone and guarantee peace for years to come. The proposal was born out of an impending need to protect the environment and the desire to re-integrate the Shuar and Achuar communities in Ecuador with their cultural counterparts in Peru- the Aguaruna and the Huambiza Indians. Another-perhaps more radical-declaration signed by members of both CONAlE and CONFENIAE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon), demands, among other things, that Ecuador be recognized as a "multinational, multicultural and multilingual country" (see sidebar (page 7) for extracts from the declaration) to guarantee the integrity and respect for Indigenous peoples. With all of these declarations, Indigenous leaders reiterate the importance that Indigenous participation should have in peace talks. They rightly point out that a meaningful and lasting peace will not be reached as long as the Indigenous peoples who live in the disputed territories continue to be ignored. Still, the governments of Ecuador and Peru are not listening. The government of Peru, for example, has proposed a plan to strengthen its borders by giving away Indigenous land to colonizers from different areas of the country. But peace will not come through the further colonization of Indigenous people. On the contrary, peace will only be achieved when Indigenous land is rightly and justly protected, and the Indigenous way of life secured. A joint declaration from AIDESEP and CONFENIAE states: "Nowadays, it is in vogue to speak of integration. However; we have lived for thousands of years in peaceful communion with our Indigenous neighbors on both sides of the border. Furthermore, borders that the white people created have divided communities like the Shuar, Quichua and Cofan. But we continue to feel as though we were part of one Indian continental nation: the ancient Abya Yala." Additional declarations and information from Indigenous organizations on this border conflict are in SAlIC's PeaceNet conference saiic.indio as well as on the Internet at: http:IIulwnaix.cc.ulwns.edu/-marc/geography/latinam/ecuador/border_main.html. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Nineteenth-Century War in the Amazon: Indigenous Communities Caught in the Ecuador/Peru Border Dispute Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fernando Rivera Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Nineteenth-Century War in the Amazon: Indigenous Communities Caught in the Ecuador/Peru Border Dispute Item Type Journal Article Author Fernando Rivera Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 6-7, 38 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Conflict between the Ecuadorian and Peruvian border forced indigenous peoples within the disputed territory to fight for opposing sides. Attachment Title A_Nineteenth-Century_War_in_the_Amazon.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] AIDESEP Amazon binational communities borders https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/8627462995f0dfc00ca360d0bca4010b.pdf 5ecd4dab62dab270dee4844ad322a119 PDF Text Text Amazon Forum II The future of the Amazon depends on its Indigenous peoples and the state of their environment. The Coalition in Support of Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment held its second international forum in Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian’s Museum American History on May 10-12. The meeting brought together North American non-governmental organizations with representatives from the Amazon Basin to coordinate long-term efforts on behalf of Indigenous and forest-dependent peoples. Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, Cesar Gaviria, and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the US. Department of the Interior, Ada Deer; gave keynote addresses at a reception welcoming participants in the evening of May 9th. For more information on the Amazon Forum, contact: Melina Selverston, Amazon Coalition, 1511 K. Street, NW, # 1044, Washington, DC 20005, Tel: (202) 637- 9718, Fax: (202) 637-9719, e-mail: amazoncoal@igc.apc.org. State Frontiers and Indian Nations Continued from Page 7 bar (page 7) for extracts from the declaration to guarantee the integrity and respect for Indigenous peoples. With all of these declarations, Indigenous leaders reiterate the importance that Indigenous participation should have in peace talks. They rightly point out that a meaningful and lasting peace will not be reached as long as the Indigenous peoples who live in the disputed territories continue to be ignored. Still, the governments of Ecuador and Peru are not listening. The government of Peru, for example, has proposed a plan to strengthen its borders by giving away Indigenous land to colonizers from different areas of the country. But peace will not come through the further colonization of Indigenous people. On the contrary, peace will only be achieved when Indigenous land is rightly and justly protected, and the Indigenous way of life secured. A joint declaration from AIDESEP and CONFENIAE states: "Nowadays, it is in vogue to speak of integration. However; we have lived for thousands of years in peaceful communion with our Indigenous neighbors on both sides of the border. Furthermore, borders that the white people created have divided communities like the Shuar, Quichua and Cofan. But we continue to feel as though we were part of one Indian continental nation: the ancient Abya Yala ." Additional declarations and information from Indigenous organizations on this border conflict are in SAlIC's PeaceNet conference saiic.indio as well as on the Internet at: http://ulwnaix.cc.ulwns.edu/-marc / geography / latinam/ecuador/ border_mnain.html. Chile, Upper Biobio Continued from page 27 However, because of a lack of resources and interest, this law is not always enforced and large companies such as ENDESA can circumvent the law by, for example, buying land and building houses in other areas, trying to persuade native communities to "sell." The purpose of the Environmental Bases Law (No.19,300) is " to regulate all activities that in one way or another affect the environment." However, because the law still lacks specific and definitive legislative language, it is easy for large corporations to act in defiance of the spirit such laws. As of now, it is apparent that the CNE will recommend the construction of the Ralco power plant without objectively re-evaluating its inevitable effects. In December 1994, the CNE recommended the construction of the plant's gas pipelines. Ralco already has utilization rights on the Biobio River's non-drinkable water, the provisional electrical concession, and engineering studies in their final stages of completion. Even though the CNE did not include the Ralco power plant in its latest plan of works, the government is·about to consent to its construction. If the government does give ENDESA the permission to build Ralco, it will close the possibility for a real environmental evaluation to be conducted. Ralco, like Pangue, will become an example of how the Chilean government allows big corporations to undertake socially and environmentally risky ventures despite the existence of laws that prohibit such projects. A similar multi-dam project during the 1970s, Antuco County on the Laja River, did not make good on its promise . Antuco is today one of poorest counties of Chile. Public outcry has been massive. Different environmental organizations like GABB (Action Group in Defense of the Biobio), Indigenous rights groups, student activists and other outraged citizens have joined forces to stop the construction of Ralco. In a public declaration, GABB called for a complete halt to any other project along the Biobio River, the enforcement of the Environmental and Indigenous Laws, respect for the Pehuenche communities, their land and culture, and the creation of an effective energy policy that would prioritize the social and ecological sustainability of the country. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Amazon Forum II Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Amazon Forum II Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 38 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note The Coalition in Support of Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment met to discuss long-term efforts to support Indigenous and forest-dependent peoples. Attachment Title Amazon_Forum_II.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Amazon Coalition in Support of Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment Gaviria Cesar https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/84de3b5d537a2b2b2842c88bc8cfd584.pdf 77ef859882089bfdee00d5ace4c3badf PDF Text Text Bill to Grant Ngobe-Bugle Autonomy in Panama Due to strong opposition by the Ngobe-Bugle community of Panama to the mining of their lands, the government has drawn up a bill that will grant the community autonomy over its territory. The Ngobe-Bugle people claim ownership of over 11,000 square kilometers of land in the western part of Panama. Marcelino Montezuma, a Ngobe-Bugle leader, explained that his community rejected the mining of their territory out of concern for environmental degradation. The Ngobe-Bugle people felt that without autonomy over their land, they would be powerless to regulate the mining process. “First of all, we want independence, then we will see if mining will suit us," he said. While discarding the use of violence to gain autonomy, Montezuma insisted that the Indigenous people of Panama "are losing patience." He also said that they demand to be treated with dignity and will not allow the Panamanian government to take away their ancestral lands. Information courtesy of InterPress Third World News Agency. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bill to Grant Ngobe-Dugle Autonomy in Panama Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource InterPress Third World News Agency Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Bill to Grant Ngobe-Dugle Autonomy in Panama Item Type Journal Article Author InterPress Third World News Agency Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 4 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Strong opposition by the Ngobe-Bugle community of Panama to the mining of their lands led to the government creating a bill that will grant the community autonomy over its territory. Attachment Title Bill_to_Grant_Ngobe-Bugle_Autonomy_in_Panama.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Autonomy Montezuma Marcelino Ngobe Ngobe-Bugle Territory https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/40f59d8c4f0f9959c5637acc5bec7206.pdf 0ede3aec84ccda877c3c51b702f10b11 PDF Text Text Brazil: Indigenous Commission Fights for Demarcation A commission of twenty-three Xucuru Karirir, WassuCocal, Geripanko, Kariri-Xoko, Nand Karapoto Indians from Alagoas, along with Xoko Indians from Sergipe, went to Brasilia to denounce acts of violence against Indians and demand measures for the demarcation of their lands. The commission was heard by audiences at FUNAI, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Chamber of Deputies. Citing one of the most serious incidents, the Karapoto warned that at least eight mysterious fires had destroyed crops, fences and grazing land in their 1,810-hectare territory, which has been the object of litigation for two years. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brazil: Indigenous Commission Fights for Demarcation Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Brazil: Indigenous Commission Fights for Demarcation Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 5 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note 23 indigenous peoples travelled to Brasilia to denounce acts of violence against Indians and demand measures for the demarcation of their lands. Attachment Title Brazil_Indigenous_Commission_Fights_for_Demarcation.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] demarcation Territory https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/844cac8cfab2c44bbc2806b344a9f573.pdf 0d6e14cd7ad77504f542e54c8714a457 PDF Text Text EN V I R 0 N M E N T ---------------------------------------------------------------- sided with the gold miners and squatters, and have continued to intimidate Macu.xi people. Because of the activities of the gold miners, fish in nearby rivers have disappeared, and those that remain have high levels of mercury. In addition, the stagnant pits of expel nearly 400 men, women, and water left by miners have introchildren f1·om their land. Two duced malada in epidemic p•-oporMacuxi Indians were severely beat- tions. Malaria has become the en. Others were kicked, harassed, main cause of death of the Macuxi. and detained. The pouce destroyed Tht-oughout Brazil, Indigenous three houses, a cattle coral, and a peoples continue to fight for land demarcation. Brazilian President livestock pen. The following week, 170 Macuxi Fernando Henrique Cat·doso bas returned to the livestock holding the power to sign into law the area and began to work there. rights of Indigenous peoples to Twelve military policemen came their traditional ancestral lands. and desb-oyed hammocks, food, and Because of pressul'e from local cooking il.nplements. When the politicians, he has not yet signed Macuxi attempted to stop this this decree. ~ destruction, t he police allegedly beat several Indians and fired at SAJIC has se~~t f<LXes supporting the Macuxi's demand for l<md demar· theil.· possessions. cation and clenouncing human In pt·otest of this expulsion, rights abuses. We encourage you to Macu.xi cotomunities from other do the same. Please write letters parts of Roraima gathered at demaltdi1 that tlw Brazilianpou1g Caraparu II. Federal police report ernment demarcate tradition<z that military police have intil.nidat- Indigenous lands to: ed Macwd communities by flying President Fernando Henrique over their villages in helicopters Cardoso, Pa/.6cio do Planalto, and pointing weapons down at the 70. 159-970, Brasllia DF, Brazil, Indians. According to a statement Fax: 55 61 226 7566 released by the Indian Council of Rorail.oa state, "The motive for the Exmo. $~: MinUitro da Justica, S~: Nelson Jobim, Ministerio da invasion was to guarantee the con- JustU:a, Espl.anad.a <los Ministerios, stmction of the hydroelectric dam Bl.aco 23, 70.064, Brasilia DF, Brazil, Fa.<: 55 61 224 2448 on the River Contil.-.go." The Macwc:i persisted in their Send opposit ion and sent a delegation to to: copies showing your supp ort the federal capital of Brasilia to pt-otest the violence the state mili- TIU! lndige11.0uS Council of tary police of Roraima used against Roraima, Conselho Indigena de them. They also demanded il.nmedi- Roraima, Caixa Postal 163, 70.300 ate demarcation of their lands. On Boa Vi$ta, RR, Brazil March 17, a federal court issued a Information from Amnesty restraining order halting the con- International's Urgent Action struction of the Contingo River Appeal, CIMI a ndianist Missionary dam pt-oject. But the Macu.xi land Council), SEJUP (Seruico bas not yet been demarcated. At1ny Brasileiro de Justica e Paz), and personnel sent to Raposa/Serra do the Urgent Action Bu/J.etin of Suruiual lnternational. Sol to protect the Macuxi have Brazil: Macuxi People Oppose Building of Dam he Raposa/Serra do Sol region along Brazil's border with Venezuela and Guyana is home to 11,000 Macuxi and 3,000 lngarik6 Indi ans. Like other Indigenous peoples throughout Brazil, t he Macuxi have been seeking demarcation of their land. FUNAI, the government's Indian agency, identified t heir land as Indigenous in 1993, but the govetnment has not yet signed the order. Meanwhile, gold m.iners and squatters have invaded the Macuxi's land, bringing malada to the region and destroying the environment. At the same time the Macuxi and Ingarik6 have successfully campaigned against a dam p1-oject in their region that would have flooded nearly 4,000 hectares of land. This dam would have changed theil.· tmditional lifestyle and severely limited their freedom to hunt, fish, and gathe.: In 1992, the state electricity company (CER) began to study the lands known as Indian Raposa/Sen·a do Sol for a hydroelectric dam project on the Contingo River. The study clail.ned that only 45 Ind.i ans would be affected. Alternative studies maintain that 3,400 Indigenous people would be affected by the construction of the dam. The Macu.xi campaign to stop construction of this dam was met with force by the state military. On January 7, 1995, 50 Roraima state military police and seven members of the army invaded the Tamandua livestock holding camp of the Macuxi Indigenous community of Caraparu II in order to illegally T 28 Alzy.;a Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Brazil: Macuxi People Oppose Building of Dam Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Amnesty International Urgent Action Appeal Indianist Missionary Council (CIMI) Servico Brasileiro de Justica e Paz (SEJUP) Urgent Action Bulletin of Survival International Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Brazil: Macuxi People Oppose Building of Dam Item Type Journal Article Contributor Amnesty International Urgent Action Appeal Indianist Missionary Council (CIMI) Servico Brasileiro de Justica e Paz (SEJUP) Urgent Action Bulletin of Survival International Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 28 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note The Brazilian government wants to put a dam along the Contingo River in Raposa/Serra do Sol. This measure has been opposed by Macuxi people but the Brazilian government has met the resistance with force. Attachment Title Brazil_Macuxi_People_Oppose_Building_of_Dam.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Development Macuxi Raposa/Serra do Sol resistance https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/b7648857417d966d1989ef28e7f730f8.pdf faf47e6d8ac52d3c3e64d898bf179cef PDF Text Text Breaking the Myth of the Nation: Proposal for Autonomous Regions While recent negotiations between the Mexican government and the Zapatistas progressed little, the fallout from the uprising has led Indigenous organizations and campesinos to consider autonomous regions. In this article, we present some selections from the proposal. In 1994, various Indigenous organizations in Mexico including the Council of Indigenous and Peasant Organizations of Chiapas, the Guerreran Indigenous Council, the Independent People's Front, the Union of Indigenous and Peasant Communities Iztmo, and the Yaqui Tribal Council met on several occasions to elaborate a proposal for the formation of autonomous regions. The proposal was aimed first at Indigenous peoples, later to be presented to the Congress of the Mexican Union. Then, on April 9-10, 1995, a general reunion of Indigenous organizations gave rise to the Plural National Indigenous Assembly for Autonomy. Under the title of “Initiative for the Creation of Autonomous Areas: the assembly proposed to change certain articles of the Mexican constitution so as to allow Indigenous peoples in different regions to govern themselves. In the "Considering" section, the proposal states that, "The Mexican State cannot, and must not, continue to be structured politically as though Indigenous people do not exist. To correct this injustice, it is necessary to abandon the project of a homogenous state and, in turn, put forth a new national project and constitution based on a federal system in which Indigenous peoples compose an organic element… “The Mexican nation-state was organized in ignorance, or explicit denial, of Indigenous peoples. The various Indigenist strategies practiced by the government, especially throughout the 20th century, were of such ethnocentric and centralist character that they are 9today) the principal cause of misery and oppression (in Mexico)... “In the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas, Puebla, Yucatan, Hidalgo, and Guerrero, 78 percent of the total Indigenous population lives. In some states, the Indian population is greater than that of non-Indians, such as in Oaxaca and Yucatan; in others, the Indigenous nuclei constitute more than one third of the total population, as in Chiapas and Quintana Roo. Out of all the municipalities of the country (2,403), one third, or 803, are municipalities with one third or more of Indigenous population, of which more than 13,000 are qualified as “eminently indigenous localities” as a consequences of having 70 percent or more of persons speaking an Indigenous language.” Antonio Hernandez is a Mayan Tojolabal of Chiapas and has been Secretary General of the Central de Obreros y Campesinos Agricolas de Chiapas (CIOAC - Central Union of Workers and Agricultural Peasants). In a speech in front of the Congress in November, 1994, he stated: “We want to contribute to the foundation of a democratic and plural state...Open your minds and your hearts to the Indigenous demands for autonomy. There will not be complete democracy in our country while a decentralization allowing our self-governing is not included in the organization of the state. The next meeting will occur in Oaxaca on August 25- 26, 1995 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Breaking the Myth of the Nation: Proposal for Autonomous Regions Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Breaking the Myth of the Nation: Proposal for Autonomous Regions Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 19 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note While recent negotiations between the Mexican government and the Zapatistas progressed little, the fallout from the uprising has led indigenous organizations and campesinos to consider autonomous regions. In this article, we present some selections from the proposal. Attachment Title Breaking_the_Myth_of_the_Nation_Proposal_for_Autonomous_Regions.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Autonomy Council of Indigenous and Peasant Organizations of Chiapas self-determination Territory https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/2f1350a5b2b251360219b6173c1ed579.pdf b1b83e67687936cfc2259485a1be0b96 PDF Text Text Canadian Mining Interests in Nicaragua Threaten Sumu The Nicaraguan Ministry of Economics recently awarded a permit to the Nycon Resource Company of Canada to search for gold and other minerals in the Bossawas Reserve, on the border of Honduras in northwest Nicaragua, continues to be the site of mining, logging, and subsistence farming operations that endanger Indigenous populations and the environment. According to MARENA, there are now 700 non-Indigenous families living on the borders of the reserve who have cleared thousands of acres of forest for crops and cattle-grazing. Loggers have begun to haul tropical hardwood from the area to Managua, and flights over the reserve reveal huge clear-cut areas on the western and southern edges. Sumu leaders have demanded the cancellation of the mining permit. Information courtesy of Nicaragua Center for Community Action. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Canadian Mining Interests in Nicaragua Threaten Sumu Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nicaragua Center for Community Action Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Canadian Mining Interests in Nicaragua Threaten Sumu Item Type Journal Article Author Nicaragua Center for Community Action Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 5 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note The Nicaraguan Ministry of Economics awarded a mining permit to the Nycon Resource Company of Canada, despite the risks it will have on the health of the Sumu people. Attachment Title Canadian_Mining_Interests_in_Nicaragua_Threaten_Sumu.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bosawas Reserve mining Sumu https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/c1e0999cfaecec6d332b483c09a1fb3d.pdf 807198fd12ac8b3b60212bf436f7d288 PDF Text Text E N V IR ON ME NT Chile, Upper Biobfo: Hydroelectric Power Plant Threatens Environment and Pehuenche Communities he construction of the Ralco power plant on the Upper Biobfo river, Chile, threatens to topple the rivet's fragile ecology and cut off vital access to water for nearby Pehuenche communities. A campaign led by the Pehuenche to stop the project is underway, but faces powerful opponents such as national energy corporations and international funding agencies. Since ENDESA, Chile's biggest and most powerful electrical company, began to design a series of six hydroelectric interdependent power plants on the Biobfo River in the 1960s, the Ralco power plant has been considered the "key component" of this ambitious hydroelectric project. When the campaign to save the Biobfo River began, ENDESA and the CNE (The National Energy Commission) denied that they were planning several short-term projects along the Biobfo River. For example, they presented an earlier project, the Pangue power plant, as an independent project, completely divorced from Ralco or any others. An accomplice to thls tactic was the IFC (The lnternationa.l Financial Corporation), an entity affiliated with the World Bank. The IFC provided $100,000,000 in funds for the construction of Pangue. ENDESA and CNE deceived the public about the real number of proposed plants as a tactic to minimize the public's fear of negative effects from the power plants in the region. Considered independently of each othe•; the harmfu.l effects of the power plants apperu-ed to he less severe. Independent investigations reveal that ifRalco becomes a reality, it would have detrimental social and environmental effects on the Upper Biobfo region. With the dev- T Vol. 9 No.1 astation of 5,597 hecta1·es of land, at least two Pehuenche communities (Quepuca Ralco and Ralco Lepoy) with a combined total of about 650 families will have to he evacuated from their territory. ENDESA has promised to give them land for resettlent and jobs in the construction project. Howeve•; the Pehuenche communities have The proposed Ralco Hydropower project raises serious questions of ecocide for the Biobio watershed and the Pehuenche rejected these offers to p1-eserve their communities. The Pehuenche derive their income li·om subsistence fa•·ming and the sale of cattle and crafts. The proposal offers them little more than temporary labor as unskilled workers in the power plant's construction. Pangue, S.A. (the company in charge of Pangue tm·ough its Pehuen Foundation) has also instituted a system of credit (i.e. debt peonage) by whlch members of the Pehuenche communities of Quepuca Ralco and Ralco Lepoy may buy items needed for their home, such as stoves, pots, and other items. Howeve•; to acquire these items, the members of the communities must register their names with the company. The Pehuenches rejected thls program because of fear that their signatures will he used by Pangue, S.A as proof that the Pehuenche communities acquiesce to the building of the hydroelectric plant. The environmental effects of the Ralco hydroelectric plant will he devastating. Estimates indicate that about 3,400 hectal'eS of native fo1-est would he flooded, affecting about 45% of the fauna and 60% of the flora. The creation of an rutificial lake would endanger about 8 species of fish, 9 species of repti.les, 10 species of amphlbians and 27 species of mammals. Humidity in the a.-ea would increase, affecting crop production and altering the region's micro flora and micro fauna. The humidity would also help increase soil erosion. The effects of toxic gas emission and toxic sediments are still to he determined. But given the magnitude of the project, they would undoubtedly he environmentally and economically catastrophlc. Because of Ralco's negative impact on the Pehuenche communities a11d the envin>nment, it would seem that Chile's Indigenous Law and the Environmental Bases Law should he able to stop its construction. The Indigenous Law (No. 19,253) establishes norms for the protection, promotion and development of ethnic communities. It states that Indigenous land cannot be "aru1exed, mo1tgaged, levied or 1-epossessed except for Indigenous communities or persons . .."(Art. 13). Continue'd on page 38 27 �ORGAN I Z A TION AND Amazon, Forum II f11he future of the Amazon .l depends on its Indigenous peoples and the state of their environment. The Coalition in Support of Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment held its se<:ond international fomm in Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History on May 10-12. The meeting brought together North American non-governmental orgamzations with representatives from the Amazon Basin to coordinate long-te• efforts on behalf of m Indigenous and forest-dependent peoples. Secretary-General of the Organization of Ame,;can States, Cesar Gaviria, and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the US. Department of the Inte,;o•; Ada Dee•; gave keynote addresses at a reception welcoming participants on the evemng of May 9th. For m.ore information on tlte Amazon Forum, contact: Melina Seluerston, Amazon Coalition, 1511 K. Street, N~V, # 1044, Washington, DC 20005, 'tel: (202) 637- 9718, Fax: (202) 637-9719, e-mail: amazoncoal@igc.apc.org. State Frontiers and Indian Nations Continued {rom Page 7 bru· (page ?)for extracts from the declaration) to guarantee the integrity and respect for Indigenous peoples. With· all of these declarations, Indigenous leaders reiterate the importance that Indigenous pruticipation should have in peace talks. They •·ightly point out that a meaningful and lasting peace will not be reached as long as the Indigenous peoples who live in the disputed te11-itories continue to be ignored. Still, the governments of Ecuador and Peru are not listemng. The government of Pem, for exrunple, has proposed a plan to strengthen 38 COMM U N I C A T I O N its borders by g•vmg away Indigenous land to colonizers from different ru-eas of the country. But peace will not come through the fmther colonization of Indigenous people. On the contrary, peace will only be achieved when Indigenous land is rightly and justly protected, and the Indigenous way of life seem-ed. A joint declaration from AIDESEP and CONFENIAE states: "Nowadays, it is in vogue to speak of integration. Howeve•; we have lived for thousru>ds of years in peaceful communion with our Indigenous neighbors on both sides of the border. Fmthermore, borders that the white people created have divided communities like the Shuar, Quichua and Cofan. But we continue to feel as though we were part of one Indian continental nation: the ancient Abya Yala ." f1) Additional declarations and in{ormczt.ion from Indigenous organiza· tions on this border conflict are in SAl/C's PeaceNet coll{erence saiic.indio as well as on the Internet at: http: II ulwnaix.cc.ulwns.edu/-mar c / geography / latinam I ecuador/ bor der_;nain.html. Chile, Upper Biobfo Contmued {rotn page 27 Howeve•; because of a lack of resom-ces and interest, this law is not always enforced and large companies such as ENDESA can circumvent the law by, for example, buying land and building houses in other a•·eas, trying to persuade native communities to "sell." The purpose of the Environmental Bases Law (No. 19,300) is " to regulate all activities that in one way or another a.ffe<:t the environment." However, because the law still lacks spe<:ific and definitive legislative language, it is easy for large corporations to act in defiance of the spirit such laws. As of now, it is apparent that the CNE will recommend the constmction of the Ralco power plant without objectively re-evaluating its inevitable effects. In December 1994, the CNE re<:ommended the construction of the plant's gas pipelines. Ralco ab-eady has utilization rights on the Biobio Rive1's non-drinkable water, the provisional electrical concession, and engineering studies in their final stages of completion. Even though the CNE did not include the Ralco powe•· plant in its latest plan of works, the government is·about to consent to its constmction. If the government does give Et-.'DESA the permission to build Ralco, it ,viJl close the possibility for a real environmental evaluation to be conducted. Ralco, like Pangue, will become an example of how the Chilean govermnent allows big co•·porations to undertake socially and envil:onmentally risky ventures despite the existence of laws that prohibit such proje<:ts. A sinrilru· multi-dan> project during the 1970s, Antuco County on the Laja River, did not make good on its promise . Antuco is today one of poo1-est counties of Chile. Public outcry has been massive. Different environmental orgauizations like GABB (Action Group in Defense of the Biobio), Indigenous 1ights g>-oups, student activists and other outraged citizens have joined forces to stop the constmction of Ralco. In a public declaration, GABB called fo•-a complete halt to any other pt-oject along the Biobio River, the enforcement of the Environmental and Indigenous Laws, respect for the Pehuenche communities, their land and culture, and the creation of an effective energy policy that would prioritize the social and ecological sustainability of the country. f1) Abya Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chile, Upper Biobío: Hydroelectric Power Plant Threatens Environment and Pehuenche Communities Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Chile, Upper Biobío: Hydroelectric Power Plant Threatens Environment and Pehuenche Communities Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 27, 38 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Construction of the Ralco power plant on the Upper Biobío river in Chile threatens to topple the river's fragile ecology and cut off vital access to water for nearby Pehuenche communities. A campaign to stop the project is underway, but faces powerful opponents such as national energy corporations and international funding agencies. Attachment Title Chile_Upper_Biobio_Hydroelectric_Power_Plant_Threatens_Environment_and_Pehuenche_Communities.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Development ecology environmental disaster Pehuenche https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/bf258061e055e15245aaf6de366cdba7.pdf 3dbe01b9011d5fa1d98c3c12765939cd PDF Text Text CICA: A Pan-Indigenous Organization in Central America by Atencio Lopez (Kuna) On July 21, 1995, in the city of Guatemala, the Indigenous Council of Central America (CICA) was founded, which integrates indigenous representatives from Guatemal to Panama, including Belize. The initiative to found the Council was born during a reunion in Panama held in June, 1994. There, attendants agreed on the urgent necessity for Indigenous peoples in Central America to coordinate their efforts on a regional level to defend their rights in the face of the political and economic structural changes stemming from the democratization process. The founding of CICA is particularly important as it occurs during a time when dialogue and pacification follow the civil wars that have impoverished our countries and impacted most strongly in Indigenous communities. CICA will also facilitate the Regional Program for the Support of Indigenous Peoples in Central America (PAPICA) organized with the European Community which makes available approximately 8 million dollars. CICA staff includes : Leopoldo Tzian (Maya-Guatemala), President; Mauricio Castro (Zicaque-Honduras), General Secretary; William Borregon (Embera-Panama), Treasurer. For more information, contact: CICA, in care of COMG, 2a. Calle 3.40, Zona 3, Chimaltenago, Chimalt. Guatemale. Tel/Fax: 5029392709 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CICA: A Pan-Indigenous Organization in Central America Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Atencio López (Kuna) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title CICA: A Pan-Indigenous Organization in Central America Item Type Journal Article Author Atencio López (Kuna) Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 19 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note On July 21, 1995, the Indigenous Council of Central America (CICA) was founded, which integrates indigenous representatives from Guatemala to Panama, including Belize. Attachment Title CICA_A_Pan-Indigenous_Organization_in_Central_America.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] CICA Indigenous Council of Central America self-determination Territory