1 12 19 https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/d2ad7e39af486dd9c4604560dcfd2f8a.pdf f47ac8c344d22f775f49bbcaaf355cb9 PDF Text Text } Ot1'11NAL �SA I I C The South And Me·so Amtriu.n lnd i~n Rights Cente r Abya Yal a N ews CoNtENTS Editorial . ... . ... . ...... . ...... . .. .........3 In Brief . . ... . ... . .. . .. . ... .... . .. .. .. ... .4·5 Eco-Justice & Health I'OOLlhodb>fSAIIC )oomal ~,;on and EOt;nz )e<,;c;, F~ La,oot and Oel7< E<lg¥ A~sroo:s ~ en..< Pho:o b'f.A~-s'"""' SAIIC Staff Exect:tive Oir«:tOI": l,ou.ra Soriano Morales (Mi>d.t<:.VZ.apote<o~) R.\6c>joumol Cooo-dnll<>r.~ a SonanO ~ Program Coordon<ltor: l..l.... ··'~ SAIIC Interns Ni<k Luem.jes~ fos<S. Teishan L\v.tr. St~ Brown Gold, Greed &Genocide in the Americas .......... .6 Huichol Farm Workers and Pesticides .... . ...... . 10 Ghosts of the Cerro Colorado Mining Project ..... . 13 Parallel Conference on Mining and Community .... 15 Urarina Survival Update ... . .. . ... . .. . ...... . .. 17 Environmental Racism: the U.S Nuclear industry and Native Americans ...20 SAIIC Board of D l~ctors c ; , . - (Son CJrlo>Ap>cheo~) CJrlol M>l>elh (M...,o·N""'iU') - " " " " " " (Q<Ochua·E<uado<) M.vc<>< Yoc ("""·K>qchikd-Gwtcm.>l.l) ""'"" Dixon (M""'o·N""'iU') -M»Jv~(Que<hua·l>t.v) SAIIC Advisory Council R.uMo ~z (Moo.eco-Mbico) luis Macas (~·E<uador) At..OO L6pez (l(uN·P.namo) ~Ant~ (Lakota) ~e-.-e 8.vtz TII"SS Gonz.lJes (A)'I'NI'a. Eco.ldoor) Daughters of Abya Yala um. <Ou«""- Pt.;) - Vtctor Monttjo ()»:alte< t-'t.aya. CWtcmala) Interview with Dr. Leticia Viteri . . .. . ... . .. . . . . .. .22 Women and Mining Conference in 2000 . .. . ... . ..23 Juan.ta ~ff S1efano V.nse Po.;~ Wlo¥n Und«1>oggoge Environment Subscriptions: Bolivia: Indigenous fight for the forest ... . ... . .. .24 Recommendations from the Second International Forum on Biodiversity ... •. ...... .26 .Aby>Y"'-' N•ws (ISSN 1071 ·3182) • ~ ~e<!y in E"&'iih and ~tt is av~ for an ¥n.lilll.JS.S2S ~ ~· """IJ>$1S low·inc- ~ US$2S !of ~soc"' ;_ntice non-profits. \.JS$.40 for ~\:".ions. For Cln.xb .and Mtx>co ~ US$5. for all other' intetnatiooal n~t~•~ ships.. add l.JS.$10.Your Human Rights Chiapas: Massacre at Acteal .. . ... . ...... . .. . ..27 The Xavantes of the Serra do Roncador . . .. . . ....28 Self Determination and Territory Bilingual Intercultural Education in Ecuador· An interview with Alberto Andrango ...... . ... . .30 Interview with Margarita Calfio Montalva . .. . ... . .33 Announcements Upcoming Events Calendar . ... • ...... • . . .. . ...37 Book Reviews . . . . .... . ...... • .... . . • .... . .. .38 News from SAIIC .. . .. . .... . ....... . . ........39 *Abya Yala i s the Kuna word for Continent of Life which incl ud es all of the Americ as. Corre<tion: We ~e !or OU!" mistake 11"1 the lt'tlCie ~ NatiOnS at the l.kwttd ~ found on~ 32·35 11'1 theVOU'ne 1 0.1\.~ "i "Fat 1997" ~ ol.Abya;Ya~ Ne.vs.Wt'had SUle<l that •At this point. no I~ ~ton hu bttn we<~ n ob'.ari'lg wch a <~tht t'N· ~ w.th tile ECOSOC." Thttt ~ actuaty 1 NGO's recogril:ed br ECOSOC w th a <onsuhltr.oe 2 sUM. They .vto: 1. ~ Trtoa1y O:..nci (1977) 2.lhl! w~ ~on I~~ 3. World ~ As~tion 4. ~ ~ Con'~t fl-oe Cc»'llO of fOU" W.-.ds 6. ~ Cou«i oiSo<MAM<Ou 7.N, ....,.I C...... olln6'!"'¢U'YO<r.h & Tht 0.. <;tond Co<.<d (Quo~>«) 9.1r0.\n Uw P.esoun:t Center I O.In~t»>NN ()(z.wzatioo of~ ~es De.eJo;>~•oe••t II. ~tloONI ~ o( Setv.c:es for~ ¥'ld :sQn.d Pecsi~ 12. $ami Council. s. donOW'O """ US send the ,........ free in $p>nish tO ~ organizations n tht- South. Wev.dcorne~of~letten.photogr.aphs¥"d ~t acce$S '""".-.d..,.,..""" IMgth..,.., .... b<: edted !of to a c~ pkase send ;o.r Jnide on p.,lpel' ¥ld on .)n l"b(<otr~uibt.e 3 112 inch disk. Send ¥~correspondence to: SAIIC: P.O. Box 1870 3 Oakl~nd, CA 9<4604, USA Phone: (S I 0) 834·4263 Fu: (S I 0) 834·4264 e·ma.il: salic@lgc.apc.org W e would like to thank the following individuals and organiutioM for their generous assistance_or c_ ntrlbu· o dons to Abya Yala News: Pl"at<~PCh.ltt~. Patn<l3 DW·R.omo. Solood Salms-.....,..L_io Mcny L6p<L Qe,ys - Roc~. Wittig, ~ Ascencios. Ula leht.ntn. Letty Vaen. Robert ~Alb<>'to~Mgela M. P-MN-gant.\ C...~ Beto Borges. ~ F.,.,., Log«> HcMesscy. ly<Yid> Chama. Moloy. S.OOO SM. Heidi Ung«. S t - lln>M>. E<fl.v A,.,._ ~ Foss.Tei$Nn Umet.l\'i<:k luem.Vtetor Montejo. and all O th· eN v.fto iNde tM issue pos'Sil*. O rganiudons: CE.PROM N, t1<:Mmiento de 11 jv\"M1ud Kona. Pn:l,e<t ~A.rnalon ~ 1"'~va1ch t.,n., AmMQ, f\Mcleo dt o.;,\n ~ ~· ~ Action Ntotv,'Orf<. Mexico. Huicho&es y Plagvic~s. ~NEIS.Ewador. CONAIE (Ecu.>do<). Publications: No~iis A1ia&s. ln6gt'oous Ern.v~tal "'-"'""' News, H>gh«V"""'- Thanks to the following found~tions for thC!ir geMrous support: jotn 0. and ~ T. ~ F~.a·ld.n..on. Pub'oe. WelfJI'e f<>u>dat>On. Ju6lh Suonoch Fund of the v~ 1\b'c fOt.l'l<btion., The StJI\.,.aters fund o! the TIdes FCU'IdniOt\ ~th Gene.-•- SAJIC lbs of iswe from.,. AbyJ Y3b Nev4 \"M ~ I»S'Sib&e by ~ Indexed: M~- " " " Etl'tlic NeviS Wa~d\ Mo<Artlu Press h;Jex. SAIIC is located 3t 1714 Franklin StrC!et, l r-d Floor, Oakla.nd, CA, 94612. �E DITORIAL n this issue we cx:1mine the issue of Environmcmal justice as h relates to the health of Indigenous peot>lcs by looking :u the social impacts of multi-national development on lndagcnous land . Resource exploitation in the form of mining. o1 :1nd umber cxploiuuion, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric dams, toxic waste dumping and JXSUcldC use: not l only cause s.:rlous environmental damogc but also ncg.uively •mpo<:l the health of both Indigenous peoples and theor cultures. I Cases of cnvaronmental lnJUstice abound in L3un Amcnca. where the last frontier of natural resources remam buned m lndagcnous tcmtonts. ~hnmg. 011 and loggang compamc:;. mO\'C onto lnchgenous lands to explott our rcsourcts, dasrcgardmg hulth ~nd envuonrntntal regulat1ons. causmg polluuon and contamin;uing the land, an and water that r"(')Uits m grave consequences on the htallh lo our communHtCS Our natwt communilits across the Amcncas are paniCul~rly su.sccpubk to mdwuul development and explo1tat1on due on part to the bck of offic~al rtCOgllilion of <he bnds we occupy In an analysas or tht ~mioouseiTttts o£ gold mmmg on Jndtgc-nous rommunutes m the An)(ricas. wt 1ncludt an an•· de that unoo,·ers the health afTeets of the gold momng pro<ess on lnd•g<now peoples m <he western Umted States ond m Bmztl ~'e see how S1m1br the pattern o£ mineral exploJta\lon h.\b been m these two areas of the oontmtm nnd how dt.Sastrous ns resuhs. The hnk between environmental jusuce and health 1s dcuulcd m the antcle on the effects of pc:suCldcs on llutchol farm worket'$ m Non hem Mexico. The anicle on the Cerro Colomdo mine in Panama oUllincs the proposed contamination thttt would rcstah £rom rene,-.•ed mining in Ngobe-Buglt tern tory. V./e also include an article on environmenu'll rncasm in Native Nonh America which discussts the current threat or lOXiC dumping on Indigenous land. As almost every otl concession in the Amazon has been on lndtgtnous terntory, oil activities ha\'C resulted 111 chenu· al cont;umn~\lon or the ri"ers. dcrorestation, a dcchne an rood resources and medtcinal plants, cultural br<'akdown 111 the form or alcohohsm, vtolence. prostitution. rapt. foss or communal work practices a.nd new distaseS and allntssts rtsultlng £rom the explonauon 3nd mflux of £ortigners tnto our temtOry In 1ht: anicle on oil explottauon m Umnna temcory 1n Peru. V.'t' set how mcreased otl activiues ha\'C resulted tn dlStasc: tmport3uon and new Str.uns or faul dtstasts 3ffecung the Uranna In her mt<""w wnh SAIIC. Dr. l<ny Vucn doscusscs some of the effects of od cxplouauon on th< health of lndtgeOOll.> commumttts m Ecuador. As sho\\1'1 by the Parallel Conference on ~l.ning and the Communuy 1n Quuo and <he Women and M.n.ng Conference held on the Phohppmes, lnd1genous people arc networlong wnh each Other across 1he Amencas and across 1he globe to educate and Ofb.lm:e ourstl\'ts to confront the mas.sl\'e ronscqucn«s of large·scale mmmg afftcung our health and our tcmtones As the wtclely disparate examples or resoutee explouation dtscussed in thts tssue show, the effect or these nc1lvmes on the health nnd cuhurc o£ lndtgenous pc:oplcs cannot be dented. Nor can we ignore our deep spiritual connccuon 10 the tand. Throughout our convei'S3tions with the Native people who art £ncmg these crises on their lands. most notcwonhy riturtlly that they brought to the discussions or •hese ISS\ICS. The emphasis on the sacredness o£ the land, water wns the spa and nlr and their delennination not to allow their land or their children to be contaminated. \Vhtlc re.sour<:e exploitation compames are Still not held IK::COuntnble £or the damage they cause to our cuhures and nattonal go,·crnment.s £ail to enforce intemauonal laws and conventions designed to protect our rights. we contmue to Mruggle to ach1e\'e stl£-delenmnation. In this and every issue or Abya Vala Nev.'S. we are shanng news darectly £rom the lndtgtnOU$ COMMUOitleS lll the hopes o£ £ostenng a bcntr undcrstandtng o£ the issues r-acmg our pc:oples Vol. 11 No.1 3 �I B R I E F N Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast Update: Logging Stopped! T he 16th of February. Nicaragua's Environment and Natural Resources MilliSU)' \vithhcld pennits to SOLCARSA, the Korean lumber company, declaring their logging concession null a.nd void. Two years ago. the Violeta Chamorro govcrnmem granted a 153.000 acre concession to SOL0\ RSA. a subsidiary of the Korean transnational Kum Kyung (see Abya Yala News. Summer 1997, Vol. 10. No.3. Pg.34). The rainforest concession violated laws protecting the right of Indigenous communities of the Nonh Atlantic Atonomous Zone (RAAN) to comrol their natural resourcts. The recent declaration has come after the Nicaraguan Supreme Coun has ntled that the logging concession is unconstitutional for a second time. The Korean logging g1ant has already paid I million dollars in fines for violating logging regulations. for the Miskito and Sumo people, the eviction of SOLCARSA is the first step towards recognizing their constitutional riglu w title their lands. Annstrong Wiggins, a Miskito lawyer at the Indian Law Resource Ccncr said that '"this was an important battle, hard fought ... but to keep this from happening again, we have to press now for the demarcation or alllndigneous lands in Nicaragua." Information from : Resource Ctmcr of tht Americas and CloOOl REstXJ>IS<: globresponse@igc.apc.org United Nations Investigates Human Rights Abuses Against Indigenous Peoples in the United States I Febmary 1·4, Mr. Abdelfauah Amor, the UN Special Rapponeur of Religious Intolerance of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, met with traditional Oil'tch (Navajo) elders to inveStigate charges of human rights violations by the United States govcnlmcnt. A comingem of various nongovernment organizations, most of them faith based, were invited by the Dineh to participate in the evem. Mort than one hun· drcd people sat on the din noor or a hogan listenit'lg to testimonies about religious violations. This \vas the first time that the United States has ever been fonnally investigated by the UN for violatiOnS of the right tO freedom of religion. Abdelf~ttah Amor came in response to a fonnal complaint filed by the lntemational lndian Treaty Council (liTC) on behalf of the Sovereign Oinch Nation o£ Big Moumain, Arizona focus· ing on forced relocation and its impacts on religious freedom. The religious rights of the Oineh Nation are threatened by the British·owned Peabody Coal Company (PCC). the worlds largest privately-owned coal company, which operates the Bl~c k Mesa/Kayenta strip mine in the heart o£ Black Mes.1. Over 4,000 burial and sacred sites have been destroyed as a resuh or strip mining. There is no protection given to Di1~ch burial grounds and sacred sites. Members of the community are ba.rred access to certain sacred sites to pray. which interferes wilh their ability to practice their religion, which is land·bascd and site specific. 4 The Oineh community's long history of rcsi.stance reached a pivotal J>Oint in 1974, when the US Congress approved the Na~jo·Hopi Sc.nlcmem Act. The previous arrangement of dual ownership of the lands by the Dineh and the Hopi complicated the mining companies ability to seek land leases for coal exu-ac· tion. This new law, s·ponsored in part by the mining industry, resulted in the forced relocation of 12 ,000 traditional Oineh from their land. In 1996 the US governmem attempted ;mother Oineh·Hopi settlement act that offered land leases to a few f:unilies while authorizin..s the forcible relocation of those who did not qualify £or a lease pem1it. The Dineh are feeling the pressure to resettle to oper~ more land for mining. In addition lO being the primary source o£ destruction for traditional Dineh burial and sacred sites. the cool strip mine has created several environmental problems. The mine threatens the sole source or water for the communities in the region. The coal £rom the Black Me.sa mine is mixed with water and transported 273 miles through a slurry line to the Moja"e Generation Station in Laughlin, Nevada. To function properly. the slurry line must pump tlp to 1.4 billion gallons of water each year from the Oineh aquifer. 4 Jn his four-day visit, Mr. Amor heard from Indigenous nations in Arizona on other maaers as well, including: the University of Arizona$ pl:lcement of tc1escorx~s on top of Moum Graham. a !>lace sacred to the Apache people; uranium mining on the high plateaus o£ the Grand Canyon, which is sacred to the Havasupai and many other Indigenous peoples native to Arizona. Nevertheless., Mr. Amor refused to validate or refute any allegations until he had time to digest the documentmion and testimolly he had recei"ed from more than one hundred and £'irty people in his four da)' visit. Amor:S report from his U.S. visit will likely be heard by the U.N. Commission on l'ttmlan Rights in March 1999. It is possible the UN may release the repon to the public by the end of 1998. The aides to the stateS congressional delegation in Arizona said they had nC\'er heard of Amor nor had any idea why he had selected Arizona to ilwestigate the subject or religious intolerance. For more infonntllion please contact: •'-'farsha 1\lfoncstersky. C<>nsultam lO So\'treign Dir1eh Nation, Co-Chair. NCO Human Righls Caucus ac the UN Commission on Sustairl(lble lRvelopmeru (718) 349·1841 e·mail: sdllatioll@tartlllink.ntt Roraima, Brazil: Forest Fires Reach Yanomami Te rritory he raging fires sweeping the Amazon h~ve reached the Yanomarui's dense jungle territory. For the past two months. fires set by subsistence farmers to clear their land oraima state. The dev. · have ravaged the s..wa.nna highlands of R astating fires arc coupled with one or lhe worst droughts the region has e\'er raced . ThO\IS3.nds of Macuxi, Wapixana, Taurepangi. \Vai Wai, Pernon. Maiongong :md Patamona peo· T ----=- Yala News Abya - - �IN pies are also threatened as the drought has ruined their crops. The fires arc now eating their way into the jungle. which is usu· ally far too humid and wet w burn. According to meteorologists. El Nit\o may be affecting the bizarre weather. which has caused flooding in Brazil's south and drought in the Amazon region w the North. Romima has not seen rain for five momhs, and the winds push 1he flames quickly 1hrough 1he forest aided by 1he extremely low levels of the rivers and creeks, natural firebreaks. At this writing, the fires had already entered seven miles imo the Yano~mi's vast territory along the Brazii.Vcnezuela border. The ri\'ers in the area have dried up to such an extent that hcahh anomami villages affected by care providers arc unable to reach Y malaria. The fires come at a time when the garimpeiros. poor gold miners who swanned into Yanomami lands by the tens of thous..'\nds in the 1970s and 80s. have finally been remove by the government this jarmary. Yanomami leader Davi Kopcnawa Yanomami has appealed for help tO stop the fires from encroaching fun her into the jungle and destroying any villages. He expre-ssed concern that the f'ircs will open the way for gold miners and landless fanners who would nonnally be Slopped by the dense jurlglc. The Consclho lndigena de Roraima (CI R) has appealed 10 the international community for dis.'\Ster aid to help fight the severe conditions created by the fires and droughL As t>art of 0 their solidarily campaign. CIR is 1rying 1 drill wells, build water canals and provide food for the Indigenous peoples in Roraima, where the fires have alread)' consumed 25% of the stntc's forests. Pft<.lst <onwa CIR at: cir@trchnec.com.b,· Ecuador- Indigenous People Push for Ratification of ILO Convention 169 l in Ecuador. Indigenous people kicked off the month o£ Febmary with demonsmuions and marches tO pre-ssure the government to ratify the International labor Organization's Convcmion 169 that recognizes the rights of Indigenous and Tribal People. Their recent efforts include the massive march o£ more than 1,500 Indian thal arri\'ed in Quito on the 4th o£ Februal)~ On Feb. 5th interim President Fabi~n Alarc6n sent Congress his report. on the issues addressed in the conventiOil. Congress is now debating the ratification or the imemational accord. Since it was ratified by the International Labor Organization in Geneva in I 989. 1he dose 10 3.5 million Indigenous people in Ecuador have been fighting for its ratification. Indigenous leader Miguel Lluco, congressional representative of the Pachakutik Plurinalional Movement , has continued to mise the issue of ratification of the convention in Congrtss. Lluco says that there was ..an \mjustificd delay on the part of the executive branch" in handing over the convemion to Congress for ratification. For the II Indigenous nations in Ecuador, a country of ll million inhabitants, the ratification of the Convention is fun· Vol. 11 No.1 BRI E F damemal, and rtprcscms the first time that the rnulticuhuralism of 1hc na1ion has been legally recognized. To comply with the Convemion, the government must con· suit with the Indigenous communities before instituting any project that could affect the communities directly. The State is also obliged to establish the means through which the commu· nitics can panicipate freely in deci.sion·making with government authorities. In the ConStituent Assembly. which was seated in late December and is charged with rewriting the Ecuadoran ConStitution, members of the Pachakutik movement , center-left panies and former Pres idem Osvaldo Hunado (1981-84), head of 1he Peoples Democracy pany and s1>eaker of 1he assembly, have promised to defend the ILO convention. In its deb:ncs Oil pluriiHUionality. the assembly is considering the issues addressed in Convention 169 including: such tOt>ics as: juridical pluralit)', which would pennit Indigenous communities to have their own laws, legal codes and sanctions, and provide legal recognition of some decisions made under traditional juStice systems. although many asr>ccts of these decisions would be subordinate to Ecuadorian law: making the official govcmmem representative in a locality an elected post in Indigenous territO· ties, rather than a political appointee of the provincial governor; making Quichua a national language. on the same level as Spanish. while less·widely spoken Indigenous tor~gues would be recognized as official languages in the are.as where they arc spoken: allowing Indigenous communities to organize them· selves according to their own traditions. Even if Ecuador joins the eight other Latin American coun· tries that ha"e ratified Convention 169. signing this imerna· tiona! agreement is not a guaramee of compliance. Lluco cites the example o£ Mexico, who ratified the accord in 1990 but is now ptrsecuting the Indigenous communitie-s in Chiapas. Many Indigenous leaders think that it is neceSS<lry to incorporate the Convention into the national constitution. According to Lluco ~ Congressional recognition is rundamental, but it is only the first step ... The recent discussions in Congress surrounding the ILO Convcmion 169, have sp.1rkcd nationwide debates about mul· ticuhuralism and what it means to be a multi-ethnic state. ~our nonns are part o£ a survival system that has nothing to do with we-stern laws. That is why it is imperative for Indigenous com~ mu1 lities to be given the power to resolve their own internal conOicts. For this reason. it is indispensable that the constitu· tion include judicial plurality. Obvious!)' there is a need to create a law to hannonize general legislation with that of the Indigenous communities. where matters of justice arc also decided collectively and where the entire community panid· pates~ Lluco concluded . lnjom1ation from : Nolidas Aliadas, Pen~ 5 �. ~ .(• ·G · I~ Gre .,~ tfrle Ame~ica$ '· California to "' I . + by Pratap Chatterjee / , �_ _ _ _ _ _ ___,._, O'-· E <_ " J U S T I < E "The white warriors went across in their long dugouts. The Indicms said they would meet them in peace so wl1 the wl1ites llmded Ll•e en Indians went to welcome them ... Ge-Wi-Lil• said l1e threw u1J his hand ... but the wllite man fil·ed and slwt him in Ll1e arm ... (s)he sc1id wl1en Ll1ey gaLI1ered the de(l(l, they found all the little on es were l!illed by being stabbed anclmany of the women were also l!illecl by stabbing ... (t)l1is olcllacly also told about (how) the wl1ites hung a man on Emerson island ... and c• lw·ge fire built under (him). And another ... was tied 10 a tree and burnt 10 death" -William Benson. Porno hisrorian, ~~cowus massaCr'C$ m Cltt~r IAI<e. Califomia. M<1y 1850 "A group of logge rs mulminers near the town of Pontes e Lacerda ambushed cuul violently assaulted at least I 4 Kmitcmlhu lndiaus in L11e Sarare reserve. T l1e loggers subsequently looted Ll•e Indians village, clamaging a l1ealth post ancl sclwol and stealing money, tools ancl vehicles belongiug 10 the ludiaus. SujJporters of the Indians, wl10 have attempted 10 mobiliz e fecl eral officials to comply wi£11 court orders to remove the illegal loggers aud miuers from the reserve subsequently received dea£11 Llu·eats cmcl iutimid(l(iOII. The Katitaullm were also threatened withfurtl•er violence by the iuvaders. Medical reports state that I 4 Irulicms were wouuded, mauy by haviug been tied up aud beaten." - Enviro11me11Wl Defense Fund report from Maco Grosso, Brazil, November 1996 T housands of kilometers, ::md almOSt a century and a half. set>a· rate the two violent incidents against 1he Pomo peoples of California and the Nambikwara peoples of Mato Grosso. Brazil. Yet the rOOt cause for both incidents was exactly the same: stulers in search of gold. The Clear Lake incident was a direct outcome of the arrival of Charles Stone and Andrew Kelsey. two ranchers who arrived at the lake in 1847, whocapatred and bought hundreds of Pomo, forcing them to work as slaves. Kelsey forced Pomo men into the mountains as vinual slaves to help him look for gold. Evenmally two Porno cowboys, Shak and Xasis. took the law into their own hands and executed both seulers bringing the wroth of the United States ann)' upon them in the incidents described above. The Katitaulhu are one of 12 Nambikwara subgrout>s. whose lands were first invaded in the 1970s when the Vol. 11 No. 1 World 8.1nk-funded BR 364 road from Cuiaba in Mato Grosso to Porto Velho in Ror•donia wns opened by Brazil's military govcmmem. Decimated by epidemics and forcibly relocated to make way for the road. the Nambikwara died in great numbers making desperate pilgrimagts in an auempt to return to their traditional lands. Some 6.000 gold miners invaded the S.1rare reservation in the 1990s seriously polluting major watercourses in the area. disrupting local fishing and huruing. SJ>rcading malaria and viral diseases. The inciclem described above is just one of many attacks on the l\tambikwara in the last two decadts. Foundation of empire Gold has been the foundation of empires throughout hiStory and continues to be the roOl cause of many genocidal auacks against Indigenous people around the world. The Romans founded their empire on Spanish gold , the Spanish founded their empire on Inca gold, the 1849 Gold Rush was the basis of the foundation of the state of California and today the \\lorld B.'lnk makes a profit supporting gold mines. Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador. arrived in Cajamarca (now pan of Peru) in 1532 to trick Atahualpa, the last Inca king. into an ambush that led to the collapse of his empire. One of the last acts of Atahualpa was an auempt to buy off the Spanish by offering them a room full of gold and two rooms full of silver. The Spanish accepted the offer but after they got the gold, they murdered Atahualpa and proceeded to raze the rest of the city to the grotmd. Toda)' the ransom room is the only surviving nwnumcm to the Inca presence butt he region is still being raped for gold: it is the site of Yanacocha. the biggest gold mil'le in l..'l.tin America, which is nm by Ncwmom of Colomdo and funded by the World 8.1nk. Almost 500 years after the Inca died defending their lands, the peo· 7 �ECO - JUST I CE pie of Cajamarca are dying because of 1he contamination of local waters, and their lands are s1ill being seized. Yet economiSts, historians and media alike continue to celebrate the metal. In 1994 World Bank economists la-;shed praise on Peru for becoming 1he fas1es1 growing ccon01ny in the world by invit· ing in the new gold mines. 1n 1998 historians and the media launched into a celebratory frenzy over the 150th anniversary of 1he founding of 1 Slale of California he af!er 1he famous 1849 Gold Rush. But for Indigenous communities the arri\'31 or gold miners has always meant dise-ase and death, whether il b<: among the Nomlaki peoples of nonh-westem Ca1ifomia in the 1850s or the Yanomarni of the A1 nazon in the 1990s as the two examples below demonstrate. Deadly diseases "'They (the Native Americans) had been hiding in the hills. There was no rain for three years and figh ting going on every day. No d over, no acorn, juniper berries or pepper grass. No!hing for 1hree years. Finally the Indians got smallpox and the Indian docwr couldn't cure them. Gonorrhea came among the Indians. They died by 1he 1housands.· - Andrew Freeman. Nomlaki hiStorian. recounting 1he story of his peoples in 1 1850s. he "The biggeSI problem for 1he Ya,,omarni now are the garimpeiro (goldminers} who are in our land. and the ill· nesses they bring with them. Among them some have illnesses like flu, tuber· culosis and venereal diseases. and contaminate my people. Now we are afraid 1 hey " ;II bring measles and also AIDS. this illness which is so dangerous that we do not wam it among us. But the worst illness for \IS is malari.'l. which comes in with the goldtn iners. The governmentS National Health Foundation say that 1300 Yanomami had got malaria up umil May this ytar." - suuemem by Davi Y anomami. August 1997. Some 60 percent of the estimated 150,000 native peoples of Calirornia were wiped out by famine and disease between 1he years of 1850 and 1870 while anolh· er 20 percem were killed by scnlers. The rate of destruction of the Brazilian 8 Yanomami is terrifyingly simil:u, today there arc an estimated 8,000 people left. a 60 percent drop from the estimated 20,000 who lived in 1he region jusl 20 years ago. Mercury Madness Armed militia and deadly diseases are not the only terror that stalked the Native peoples of California in 1he 1850s and the Indigenous communities of the Amazon in 1 1980s. Mercury, a highly he toxic metal. used for centuries by small· scale gold miners tOextract the tiny necks of shiny metal from the ore, has also taken a rnajor toll. Merc:ury can dissolve as much as 60 percem of gold ou1 of ore into a physical solution, known as an amalgam. This a1nalgam can be broken down quickly and easily by heating orr the mercury, similar to the 'vay salt can be: recovered from sea 'vater. This merc.:ury vapor gets trapped in aunos· pheric moiswre and precipitates down into local water sup· plies where it can t><>ison ftsh and ani· mals higher up il'l 1he food chain. The California Gold Rush of 1849. perhaps the most celebrmed in history, lefl a deadly legacy of :.tn estimated 7.600 tOI'lS or mer· cury in the lakes, rivers and sediments of the state while over one thousand tons of mercury arc curremly being dumped by small miners in the fragile rainforestS of the Amazon. just one gram of mercury poured into eiglny million li1 of waw would be ers cause for concern under United States federal h uman health sta ndards for drinking water and enough to contami· nate a small lake. Mercury is a persistent toxin which can destroy fel\lses, the human central nervous system. reproduc· tive organs and immune system. \ Veil over a century after the miners invaded California. decades after the mines were shut down, fishing is still pro· hibited in Clear Lake. California. because of the heavy mercury contamination of the lake. Environmental experts on the tribal reservations in north·wcstern California are realizing that they may have to seek help cleaning up the waste that contaminates the Trinity river. Meanwhile nobody knows the full extem of the problems in the Brazilian Amazon bm inilial studie--S have shown that the levels of mercury in Tapojos river Rsh in 1995 were 3.8 parts per tnillion (ppm). almOSt eigh1 times the t>ermined federal ma., imum of 0.5 ppm. in 1989, fish in the Madeira river tested as high as 2.7 ppm. Good news, bad news Fonunately. 1 ercury is no longer n used in California and the small·scale miners were recemly evicted from the (crn•i<ln•, Sho._ ftDdiliMol eld<l. ·r. dig IK1f1tt Ill• OOIIh 10 gel :c mal geld, IC pwj) out mar ""'" 10 !}el t• lbar geld, is • <rime, its ac ogainsl h<lfl>()(ify. .. • lim• Yanomami territory in january 1998 by the Brazilian :.trmy. There's more good news. the Macuxi people-s of Roraima. Brazil, blockaded roods in 1997 10 successfully dem.,nd 1he rcmovnl of gold miners from their territory. However, today the lands of Native peoples in Nonh America are the subject of a new invasion of gold miners and the Indigenous communities of Latin America are next on the liSt as described below. Abya Yala News �Eco-JuSTI CE Cyanide: the new terror In 1he 1960s, Newmom corporation of Colorndo te..1.me:d up with the United Suucs Bureau of ~·lines to perfecl a ttch· nique to cx<rnct 97 percent of gold from ore dug up in the dcscns of Ne"ada using a chemical called cyanide. These desen lands, the sacred and traditional lands of the \\'estern Shoshone, are now the source of half the gold in the United States today. Corporations around the world have followed suit. using this cyanide technol· ogy together with the powerful explosives and massive cartlHnovil~g equipment 1hat allows them to blast apan entire mountains, to take over the business of gold mining. A teaspoonful of two-1>crccm solu1ion of cyanide can kill a adult human. Cyanide blocks the absorption of oxygen by cells. causing the victim to effectively "suffocate." Adverse imJ>aCts of cyanide on fi.sh have been reported at le\'els of 0.01 ppm, concentrations as low as five 1>arts per billion have been found to inhibit fish reJ>roduction. while levels of 0.03 ppm arc kno"" to kill fish. Human beings can experience decreased respiratory and thyroid functions. ~rdiac pain, vomiting, headaches and central nervous system toxicity from oral exposure to low levels of cyanide. Shon tenn exposures to high levels of cyanide compounds can cause breathing problems. central nervous system toxicity and gastro·imestinal corrosion. This dtadly chemical is being used today il'l Nonh Amcri~ on the lands of peoples like the Porno in California, 1he \\'estern Shoshone in Nevada, the Sioux in South DakOla, the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre in Montana. Also under threat are the Quechan in Arizona. the PaiUle in Nevada, and the Colvillcs in Washington state whose lands are being targeted for new gold mines. Also poisoned by cyanide arc the pco· pies who live on the Essequibo ri"er in Guyana, where dead fish and hogs were reported in August 1995 after a waste '~ter dam at the Omai gold mine broke and spilt 3.2 billion liters of cyanidelaced waste into the river in what is believed to be the biggest such dis.:tster in history. Studies b)' the Pan American Health Organization have shown that all aquatic life in the four-kilometer-long creek that n.ms from the mine to the Essequibo was killed. Suspicious fish, caule and even human deaths have also been reponed among the people of Cajamarca, Peru, where Newmont is using cyanide to extract gold. ..\Ve have the right to put up oppositiOI'\ because history has made us skeptical of certain white men. because we have lOSt millions of human lives. millions of hectares of land and millions of tons of gold, silver and copper with no compensation,"- Atencio Lopez, Kuna, Panama, August 1996. Meanwhile a number of other Indigenous and traditional communities throughout l.'ltin J\merica are being targeted for new gold mines like the Maroon communit)' of Nieuw Koffiekamp in Suriname where Golden Star of Colorado ~we want progress wi,hoUl destruc· tion. \Ve want to study, to learn new ways of cultivating the land. living from its fn.tits. We do not want to live without trees, hunting. fish and clean \V<lter. If this happens misery will come to our people. (also the joint operators of the Omai gold mine in Guyana) have reportedly threatened and harassed community members by using li\'C ammunition to frighten them away from areas in which the company is e., ploring for gold. I hope that you will help me in this fight ' - Oavi Kopenawa Yanomami. Brazil. August 1997 In Cemral America, the Panamanian Natural Resources Directorate reports that 70 percent of the approximmely 20.000 square kilometers of Panama deemed to have mining potential is on land claimed by Indigenous groups. The government has alre<tdy approved exten· sivc copper a.nd gold mining COI'\C('.SSions within the Ng<>be·Buglt and Kuna territO· ries. Yet communities are fighting back across the Americas. The Assiniboine, the Cohrilles. the Gros Vtntre, the Sioux and the \Vestern Shoshone ha\'e gone to coun to protest the gold mines while the peoples of Latin America arc also putting up a spirited opposition, from road .blockades in Panama to complaints to internas tional bodies by the Suriname- e Maroons. It is high time for pe:ople around 5he world to suppon these struggles and demand an end to the status of gold as a barbaric custom. As the leaders of the f'irst peoples of the Americas have testified below. pure water. traditional cultures and life arc more precious than all the gold dug up from under the ground. "To dig under the earth to get to that gold, to pump out that water to get to that gold. is a crime. itS a crime against humanity, a crime againSt life. the very life upon which all people depend, not only people but we have Other things out there- we have the deer. we have the eagle. we have the rabbils. we have all lire out there and the gold mining today is going 10 destroy that, it is destroying that. the life ror the future generations is going to be gone" - Carrie Dann, Westem Shoshone traditional elder, spring 1997.~ rhe outhot is mining compoigl'ttt lot Projtd Vndetgrovn~ o hvmoff tights gtoup bDstd ;n Bttkeley. Colifomio. His lot~ltt~tl, ..Gold, G and GentKide: 1eetl unmasking the Myth of the '49m, • is ovoilob/e ltom fr•iecl U ndergrwnd (., Ul$5.00. Projea Umlergrowtd am be nwched by phone ac +I 510 705 8970,fax ac +I 510 705 8993,or e-mail al: projtct_undcrground@moles.org or visit: hup:llwwuunolcs.otg. Vol. 11 No. 1 9 �Eco-JusTICE A Poisoned Culture: the case of the Indigenous Huichol Farm Workers + by Patricio Dioz-Rama and Samuel Salinas-Alvarez ' I, I Migrant workers and pestic.ides The ex-posure to ptSl1C1des 1S one of the greate.t nsks that lnd1genous migrant workers face. In Mexico. the tobacco companies with agrOJndustrial cultivation use enomtous quanti11CS of these danger· ous a.grochemJcal products without complytng wnh the International legal mmcuons des•gn«l to pro!ttt human hfe The ln<hgenous workers are espr· oally ,,lnerable to the prmtCIOUS effects of the p<Sttctdes for daverse reasons. among them the fact that they lack infor· m:mon regardmg the dangers of expo· sure. because the contractors do not provide them with safety equipmem, and because the conditions m wh1ch they bvc and work m tht agrotndusuial fields prevents them. for example. from bathmg and from washmg then clothes after scnous md1cat0rs or the snu.auon v.:hich magrant workers encoumtr In 1993 it was esumated that 1n t-ach planung season •pproximatel)" 170.000 Oeld workers "rriv~ in the valleys or Sm~loo. An average of 5.000 agricultural workers suffer from tOXIC poisoning 3$ a rtSUh or the handling of. or prolonged exposure to. pesticides that.,. used m culuv.uon or the 35.000 agnculturnl laborers that worked m the San Qumun Valley of BaJa Cahfomta m 1996. 70% were lndagenous Arude 20 of the ILO Convenuon 169 emphatically C:;\IIS (or signatory govcmments to do cvcryahmg possible to prevent workers rrom bcmg subject 10 contractual workmg conditions dangerous to thetr health, pamcularly ·as a COnstqutnce o£ their txposurt to pt.suCldts or 01her d:mgerous subs&3ncts-. btmg m contact wtth pesuades recently apph«l or wtth resadual pr;ucid<S. According to researchers, ahe ma..orit)' or 1he Indigenous 1mgmm workers who The cases of J>Ot>onang and death from pesticides count among the most 10 work 1n the agroindusuinl fields in north· ern t••lcxico are: Mixtc<:os. Tnqms, and Zapotecs from Oaxaca. Nahuas. MtJ<1CCOS and Tlaptnecos from Guerrero and Purh'cpeehn.s from M1choacan The dcmogrophlc data indicates a extremely serious siluauon. According to !!stela Guzm~n Ayala. women (34%) and children undtr 12 years of age (32%) constt· tute 66% of the Indigenous 13bor force m 1hc agncuhur:d regions Ill nonhem Mextco. Ruth Franco, a doetor sptttahz· mg an work-related health and the coordmator of the Program for Day IJtborers of the IMSS delegation tn Smalo•. esti· n•ates that 25% of the 200.000 workers in the Smaloo valleys dunng the 1995· 1996 season were children between the ages of 5 :md 14. or the chtldrcn from southern MeXICO. 63% arc hared by tntermedtan<S tn thttr plact of ongm •nd the rtSttn ahe state of S1naloa Fony four per· cent of th<SC child laborers are female and Ofty sax percent male. 55% of the child rann workers have been workmg in the fields for I to 5 years and 14% for over 5 years At the conclUS100 or the agncultural season, 12~ return wnh thcu ramdtt:S to their resp«u'~ States. 2~ rcmam Ill Stnaloa. and 9% conunue along the mtgrant worker route to other dt:Slma- uons The extent or the indiscrimimne use of pesticides has been frequently <xJ>OSed and denounced in the McXlcan press. It 1s estimated lh3t thousands or used cont~Uil· crs and tO>.."l.C res1dues that arc gencr.~~ted by tht annual use of upwards of 8 mtlhon tons of pestacadts are cnmmallr dtsposed Of 1n ad hoc trash bmS. channels, drams, mcmcr.uors, and recycled 10 store drmkmg water. The harmful effects of pcsti· cldes on human health and on the environment have been clearly docurnemed. �E co- J us T I CE Huichol es and pesticides and dc<enor.ues larmmg 1ha1 l)'])l<:llly occurs on htllsides. The l·luicholcs speak a language belonging to the uto-azttca lmguistic family 1ha1 also indudcs N~huad. Hopi, Shoshone, Comenchc and many 01her languages m a ''aSl rtglon that vatnds northw3rd to tht Unned Statts and southw'3rd into ctntral Mextco. Some SIUd•cs eStima<e that be1" een 15 and 20 thousand Huicholcs mhabn the mountams of the Sierra Madre Ocx:tdcnral with· m a territory that compnsts p.1ns or the Mexican states of Jahsco, Nayarit, DurJngo. and Zacatecas Year al1<r year. approx1ma«ly 40'l!. ol all Hutchole fam1hcs lt:a\>t the•r commu· mues m the dry season to find employmem. 1>00rly paid and dangerous. in 1he 10bacco fields of 1he NayaMI CO.'S!. The causes of this temporary mtgrnuon. stem from the socioecono1mc snuauon of the lnd•genous people and from 1he1r ritual <:~l<ndar. In tht ramy season. the Hutchole:s tra· dmona.ll)' cuJuvat«l a combmauon of corn , c:htle. btans. THE " VALUABLE AND APPRECIAT· ED" HUMAN MERCHANDISE INCLUDES PREGNANT WOMEN AND BABIES INCAPABLE OF squ•sh. and >rnar a n 1 h . Unfortunately, the Mc:<Jcan govern· mcnt promotes exauly 1he opposnc- monocultural planung-by dislnbuung hybrid seeds or com lhal re((\llfC the USC of pcs<icldes and aninci:tl fenilizers. replacmg 1he miXed seeds 1ha1 were 1rodniorully FROM PAIN , WHO used by Hu1choles HAVE RECENTLY and mher lndtgenous agncuhurol peoples. BEEN BORN TO Monoculture agriMALNOURISHED culture and other modem developMOTHERS CRYING, MUTE ments brt-ak down the lndtgcnous trJdiUons or COOptraUon 10 1hc communal ogncultur.tl work and mcrt:lSt'. at an alannmg mtc. the mcidtnct of malnULnuon and alcoholism. The m<roduction ol hcrb1t1des like P:lmquot and 2,4-D gmdunlly demoys communal farm practices. puts the health of culuvators and thetr ranuhes m danger. Vol.11 No.1 Wtth 11\C I'C:asingly rewer OJ>f>Orlunities to S\trvive In the mountams, the Hu•eholes feel forced to m•gra< In search e of work 10 1hc loOOCCO fidds 10 1hc CO:IStal pl:mtauons or Na)'lrlt The Hutc-holes also m1grate for cultural rt.a .. sons. Negnn claims that •they rehg•ous necessity to visn the ocean, an ancestral female figure assoctoued With (enilit)' and 1he eanh. Once <ht)' reoeh Ihc C<lQSI howtY<r, <h<>' find 1ha1 ,r ahey don' work m the tnb.1coo plantations, they cannot rctum home to the mount:uns."' Huicholes and <he 10<:11 landowners the Iauer t1cting as imcrmcdiarits be1wccn 1hc labor Ioree and <he ' b•g tobacco cap1tal - usually takes place m the plazas or the communlliCS, on the main h•ghwa)'s. or In the houses or lht empiO)'trs Somenmes 1he Hu1choles ask. hesnantl)', for some: ·varas"'· a «n~un t-..we the quamny of IOrtlllas a da)' per lam1ly or some muon of purified wtuer. Few workers are ·~~;~~::~. Fonhosc these J SUCC«d, It I) great t ccom- pli.shment. The I'<SI Will have 10 drink water from the 1rngauon ch.'\nnels derwing from 1hc San< lago River, one of ahe most cont.amm.ated in Mexico, or from 1he wells ol 1hc reg1on. whiCh are also contaminated m thnt , owing to the intensive use or pesticides m the zone. the dong<r· Tobacco has been grown m Na)·ant sana: long before 1he amval of 1hc Span1 sh, but h wns m 1he 1940> when 1he tabacco market look off as a resul1 ol 1he Second ll<idocl.rwetl:ftllld.IIW'-"Y...... OIIdftl>t ous agrochem•cals World War The pestiodo/cdiiU:hxcoltcm. tuxe leach«! Into the aqu•ltr. muntC lpaluy of Sol.nuago lxcumtla One ol 1he reasons 1 < Hu•choles m Nay:mt 1S the Mexican capnal o£ tabac· ha1 he co producuon. Every year,locall:mdown· contract to work in the cutung :m d ers meet in their town plazas to hire the stringing of tobacco, and n o1 in other Huicholc workers and subcontract them agricultural work, IS be~use these opera· as a cheap labor Ioree. Hu1ehole workers Lions arc done m the late afternoon or are appre<,;ated beca\15(_ 1hc1r work wnh mom1ng. when 1he temperature •s more the 10bocco ltoves (hongmg and agreeable comp.lr<d Wllh lhc heal or lht middl< or lhc da)' Dunng thc hangmg bundhng) IS practical!)' an art and bundhng or lhe ICI\ '<S one Sla)'S The Hu1chol~ make the JOUrne)' from under the shade ol 1he "branches: The the sierras tmder subhuman cond1t1ons, apparent advantage of workmg u\ the obocco fields h ungry . shade bc(:omes a health threat when the arriving n1 1he 1 ed thirsty and exhaus1 . The "valuable nnd Huicholts nrc cutting the moist lea\'es apprec1attd. human men::ha.nd1se and they become wet from head to toe mcludes pregnant women and b.1b1es MoiSt skm absorbs pesucides more e:lSlly 10Cip.lble of Cl')'lng. mUle from p.lll\, who The \ 'tr')' ntcoune m tobacco causes skm have re«nll)• been born to malnounshcd tmtauons and hwe:s. symptoms whiCh, m mothtrs or mothers wnh tubtrculosu the Umted Statts, ha\·c been idenuficd as Vulnerable elders and C\'tn 1he "Sirong· Green Tobacco S1ckness. men arm•e :u these centers an weak condition. The children. who ac< ively partiCll)nlt ln the cuuing of lite lca"e-s. are pattlculnrThe negotia.tions the ly suscep11ble 10 Ihe harmful tffeCIS of !he 11 �E co - J u s TI CE pesticides and the nicotine. 1t is consid· ered '"easy- ror them to work in the first phase of the cutting b«:ausc they can gather the lea"es at the base of the plams. As they work along t~e furrows, cuuing the leaves, their bodies are smeared with the sticky gum and resin that covers the tobacco. At the same time, they inhale :.\I'd absorb the residues of the toxic pes· tic-ides that have been applied to the plants. The families li"e and sleep in boxes. or under blankets or plastic. beneath the strings of tobacco leaves that are dryil'&· In their makeshift shelters. they try 10 protect thcJnsclves fron1 the inclemem sun during the day and from the wet cold Mexican government~ health and envi· ronmemal institutions have taken the necessary measures to protect the heahh or the workers that handle these toxic substances. The endemic malnutrition that the Huichole population suffers becomes more acute with the rise in aleo· holism, which increases during the work· ing season on the coast. This in tum ag,g:r.wates the toxicological problem. T h e H\licholes and Pesticides P-roject is undertaking a health st\ld)' between at night, exposing themselves in the process to the toxic substances that cover the leaves. There is no potable There is no doubt 1hat, with the massive use of pesticides in the agroindustrial fields. the large phannaceutic.a.l companies and tOb.'lcco grow· ers are violating rights to infom\ation and health and, in the process, are polluting land. rivers. aquifers. and flmally the ocean. whom the Huicholcs call "Our Mother of the Sea~ Haramarn. water, drainage, nor any latrines. Eve1\ the food is cooked beneath the hanging strings or tobacco. Occasionally the H\licholes usc the empty pesticide con· tainers to carry their drinking w~ter, with· out paying notice to the grave dangers that this represents. since the majority cannot read the instn.ICtions on the labels which rnay be written in English . Other times they bring these containers back home w the mountains as ..practical souvenirs... Pesticides arc poisons specifically designed to kill. They are wxins that con· taminate and degrade everything whh which they come into comact; there are no remedies or cures against them and, contrary to their manufacturers' claims, they are destroying the cycles of life and the ecosystem or the planet and itS inhabitants. Urgent need for an investigation Neither the national and transnation~ al companies thrtt numufacu.ue pesticides. nor the tobacco producers. nor the 12 migrant workers, in the Indigenous com· lllUI~ities or the Huichole sierra, as \ VCII as in the principle: municipalities or the tobacco zone in the coast of Nayarit. In these '""orkshops they showed, in both Huichola and Spanish, the video Huicho1es and Pesticides. which includes the te5'imonies of Indigenous and mesti· zo farm workers who have suffered from problems of pesticide poisoning. References: Statements by Diego Agt<ilar Acuna, leader of the National Uniotl of "'age Field \\1>rkers (CTM), El Uniw>td, November 9111, 1993. Per>Onal communicaricm of Ramifo Otifdl8tl oodel the oge o/12 c011Sril1118 32~ .r Arroyo Sepulnula, advisor ro me llldigttlotJ$ labor l«ct ill rfle c¢<1itural the Ncuioncd Progrmn of ttgjoos of N011h<m H•xiro. Agriadtural WOrhcrs with the S.mwry of Social Develo11mtnt. Magdalena Gomez. I"dlan Riglus. Ltcture prcscmcd at Indigenous and mestizo workers the 169th Convention of the lnturwtional designed in coordination with the Organi~ation of Wori•. INI. 1991. Pg.78. La Pesticide Education Center of San )ornada,]uly 22, 1996. Estela Gu~man Francisco. Otlifomia and includes col lab· Ayalcl, Heclith at worh: the case of the agri· oration from the Unhrersit)' o£ cultural workers. rt[JOrted in Lfljornada, Guadalajara and the Autonomous April 19th, l997.t>g.46. Excelsior, University of Nayarit The study began in Ftbnwry 17th, 1996. El Universal. July 28, 1995 and includes performing two blood 1996. juan Negrin. The Nuieh<>l Cnwtion of analyses to dctcnnine the levels of ery- the 1\'i>rld. Yarn Tablas by )<>st &nit<~ throcyte cholinesterase. The J >CStiddes Saneht~ and 1i<tuki1a Carrillo. E.B.Cra<ker inhibit the activity of this ncurolransmit- Art Gallery. Sacramcnco, CA. ~ ter. producing various effects on oneS health, including death. As or this writing 1'11t outh01s work with lht Huitho/e$ Ofi(J fHticidrs the study is at the stage or data analysis in Ptoitd in ll.e.rico City, MtxKo. For mote informotion1 collaboration with important Mexican p/tm conJCKI: Huitho/es y Plogui<idos, fmJ1i~ (osttlot , non-govcmmcma1 organizations dcdicat· ll1·9 11560M•xko, Mexko. f·m4il: 6i4H: moii.Mttmtl,cMt.mx ed to the epidemiological investigation. Between 1996 and 1997, the team working on the Huicholes and Pesticides project prod\ICed various informational workshops 01\ the human rights or Abya Yala News �Eco - Jus TI CE "DURING THE LAST 500 YEARS;-MINING HAS BEEN, MORE THAN ANY OTHER HUMAN ACTIVITY, THAT WHICH HAS TRANSFORMED THE ECOSYSTEM OF LATIN AMERICA" ·ELIZABETH DORE (MEXICAN RESEARCHER) 12 largest copper dct>OSits in the world. M ore than twenty five years after the Ngobc-Bugl¢ (Guayml) people first raised their voices in protest over the imminent danger that the Cerro Color:ldo The various lndigenous communities surr0\11\ding the 75,000 hectares granted to Panacobrc would be directly affect- mining project presented to the regionS social, cultural and ed if the mining cxploitmion were cnvironmcmallife. the same ghost of gold and copper fever has openuions in the 1970s. communities were alarmed when the rcmmed to haunt the region. San Felix River. which originates at the base of the Cerro Colorado, brought thick mud down from the moumain com:uninming other rivers Ghosts of Cerro Colorado Mining Project continue to haunt the Ngobe-Bugle + by Anelio Merry L6pez \Vithout taking into account the Ng6be·Buglf!:S historic rights as original inhabitants of the regionS mountains, rivers and streams. the Panamanian government signed :l new contract in 1996 with the mining company Panacobre S.A. for the explo· mtion of Cerro Colorado. known to the NgObes as 'NgCtduo Tain'. This motmtain is considered by geologists to be one of the Vol. 10No. 3 10 begin. Outing mining and S lrcams. It is very probable that these waterways will be used to transport waste ar1d toxic substat\CCS from mining sites which wlll undoubtedly affect the health of the Indigenous communities as well as the great diversity of animals that usc the river daily. The concerns of the Ngobc-Bugl~. of the pcasam and social organizations, the church, human rights organizations and of the community in general. stem not only (rom pre\•iOUS eXJ)CrienCCS with mifl· ing at Cerro Colorado (which caused enom1ous environmental damage to the region ) but also from experiences with other similar projects. During the time when the San Felix River experienced contamination, negative environmental imJX'Cls were registered. including the appearance of dead fish. shrimp and other species :.\long the riverS shores. The river became so polluted that peOJ>Ie were forced to stop b;lthing in its waters. The transnational corporations together with the national govemmcm worked 10 promote the mining project under the guise of development and progress and to generate an air of confusion among the Ngobc-Buglt population. 13 �Eco- J usriCE After the San Felix River disaster an C\'aluation was con· ducted to assess the projects impact on the Ng6be-Buglt. The tests were only carried out for two months, an insufficiem peri· od of time w draw an)' meaningful conclusions. The mining project itself, however ,will t..'lke anywhere from 25 to 50 years. One of the largeSt impacts that renewed mining at Cerro Colorado ";11 have on the local Indigenous people is loss of vast uacts of land which would fun her Strain land rights issue hlthe region. Whh increased mining exploitation in the area. some Indigenous communities will undoubtedly be forced to rclocote. According to Panacobrc S.A.. those affected by relocation will receive "-j ust ~ reimbursements and will be allowed to rcmm to their lands once the operation is finished. It is cstimmcd that in the Cerro Colorado area there are 1,380 million metric tons of copper mixed with traces of molyb-denum, gold, silver, as well great quantities of sulfur found in pyrite. Annually, the mining project would extract 113 million metric wns of rock from Cerro Colorado out of an open air mine pit. The 26 million metric tOns of waste produced by this extraction and transponed in pipes toward the coast. does not include the waste produced during the pr()(essing of the miner· als. Rivers near the mine. like the Culbora and the Tabasan\ will most likely provide the great quantity of water required for the 1-arge·scale mining exploitation. These rivers may also be used to conSU'UCt a dam, as has been previously planned. The Ngob!e.Buglt pointed out in testimony that ~the con· struction or highways has created dangerous consequences. for example. the earth removed during the dry season due to the constnaction of the highway from H:uo Chami to Nancito was washed into the rivers and streams by THE RIVER the rains which prevented the local communities from crossing. Landslides BECAME SO caused by the mining exploitation are also a threat. POLLUTED The Panacobre mining corporation has announced that after completing hs prc.feas-ibility studies it has begun its WERE FORCED feasibility studies in order w determine the construction costs of mining inslal· TO STOP lations and hner Oj>erations. These studies include a social and environ· BATHING memal impact rcpon undertaken b)' two consuhOI)' firms. The first being a IN ITS Canadian firm. HaHam Knight Piesold WATERS. and the other a Panamanian company. Panamanian Ecological ConStlhants (Con.sulwres Panamcnos Ecologicos. S..A). The l'CJ:X>rl, now il'l its second phase, include-s the study of riverOows. the quality of water. the nom. vegetation, cultural characteristics of the areas' inhabitants and the fertility of the land. THAT PEOPLE processes. During this new mining procedure, the rock frag· ments will be sprayed with a water and sulfuric acid solution which will travel in a closed maze of tanks and tubes, then the mixture ..vm be passed on to a second tank where an organic solution will be added which separatescopJ>er. Finally. the mix· ture wlll be sem to a founh tank where it will receive electrical charges to dislodge the copper omo a metal slab. J\ccording to a communiqu~ from the Commission of Indigenous Affairs of the Legislati\'C Assembly of Panama, as well as many other communiquts demanding the suspension of the project, mining at Cerro Colorado '"represents a serious threat to the Ngoble-Buglt people from the physical. social. cui· tural and environmental standpoint!' In the past year. various- sccwrs have MINING AT organized to battle against mining projects which threaten human and environmental CERRO survival. particul•rly the health of Indigenous people. Some examples of local COLORADO organizing include: the Sameno From Against Mining (Freme S..1.nteno Contra Ia "REPRESENTS Mineria) which was created in the Province of Los S.ntos last May: the A SERIOUS National From Against Mining (Frentc Nacional de Lucha Contra Ia Mincria) was THREAT TO THE founded in june in the Province of Panama: the Indigenous and Peasant Front Against NGOBLE-BUGLE Mining of Alto Bayano (the Frcnte lndigcna PEOPLE FROM y Campcsino de Alto Bayano Contra Ia Minetia) was fonned last August in the Kuna community of lbcdi in Alto Bayano THE PHYSICAL, and the Province of Vcraguas Front J\gainst SOCIAL, Mining ( Pro"inda de Veraguas Frcmc Vernguense Comra Ia Mineria) was also CULTURAL AND founded last August. ENVIRONMining activity has always been and MENTAL continues to be a serious threat to the sur· vival of Indigenous peoples. Mineral STANDPOINT." exploitation inevilably disrupts the unique symbiotic rclation.ship which Indigenous people ha...c with the land . Despite advanced technologies and impact assessment evaluations. there is no guarantee that these projects will not affect the ecosystem, the environment or its people. Mining is continually promoted as an alternative devcl· opmem that will benefit the Indigenous people In the ::trea. when in reality the communities face relocation and displace· mem from their native land. and a host of illness which are an inevitable consequence of polluting mining activities. 1\ Tbe oulbor h o Kuno ;outnofisl who hO'S tonttibuletlto numerous periQtlica/s anti pvhli· cot~ns ontl hos to-ptodtxttl vori~s todio ptogtoms oboul KuJtO iswts. Ht olsD works with the Movimiento tit ID Jvrtntud Kvi'IQ (KuJtO Youth MovemenJ]. Panacobre will employ mining technologies known as ~ lix· iviacion en pilas'", "solvent cxtrnctionM and "'electro·depositionM which according to them are s.1.fe and environmentally sound 14 Abya Yala News �Eco - J u s TIC E be affwed by the C.1rajas Project. The pressures to "'develop.. resources could herald major consequences for these communities as well as the biodiversity of the region. · Chile: Urbano Alfaro, a diver from a sm.all fishi ng village in the region or Amofagasta, discussed the imJ>act of the Minerfa Esco1~did a Ltd, whose activities have led 10 comamination or the fish and shellfish they depend on for their living. The company boasts that it produces 80 thousand tons of COJ>per per year. using the mOSt advanced technology in the reject the neo-libernl model of the •free markel'. which serves the interests or a glob.1l minority whose objective is the indi.scriminate consumption of rCSO\IfCt.S and which is bringing the rnillions of people surplus 10 the system 10 the edge of extinction". states the declaration. The delegates also promised 10 carry out wide·ranging educational campaigrls on individual and collective rights. and w strengthen the coordination or the struggle :agains1 mining at the local. national and regional level. world. In his exposiuon. he added that the company fans tO explain that no other coumty was willing lO accept the plam due to the enonnous environmental con ~ sequences. The trcaunent of the ore involves discharging into the sea highly toxic chemicals, which among other problctns have raised the temperature or the waters and produced deformities. especially in prawns . The problem-S do not cirtumscribc themselves to the sea. The company transports these toxins right through the town in ordinary trucks which have had no modification. The vil~ lagers greatest rear is that in the event of a brake failure or crash, these chemicals 'viii escape. contaminating the air. soil and even causing an explosion. A_go"tin. at the ~'otld Bank Confer~nce the company's representative concentr.u· cd on the economic benefits, highlighting that the production of " La Escondida" al represents 6% of the 101 exported b)' the country. Furthennore, as there are plans for increasing production. Chile will become a world leader in the production of copper. Resolut ion : Towards the end of the conference the delegates prepared a state· ment which was read out to the press during a speech in the Congress Press Office. The doc::umcnt, known as the "DeclaraciOn de Quito". rejects "mining activity in latin America and the perni· dous role of the \Vor1d Bank in promot· ing a1't d financing mining in the region". Delegates asserted '"the right of Indigenous people and communities to continue their harmonious ways of life and decide their own destiny"'. Nor were delegates in agreement with the Bank$ macro-economic policy. "\ Ve 16 Their demands can be summarized as urging national governments to prioritize qua1ily of life. food. security and environmental prcsemtion above anything else., they requested that alternatives to mining should be sought and that all mining development money be channeled to other sectors of the economy managed by communities. World Bank Conferen ce: Delegates from L.'\tin American NGOs attending the \Vorld Bank Conference expressed their reservations about the event in a lette r addressed to the President of the Bank. which wa.s read out during their SJ>eeches in the final panel. A Strongly-worded leuer was used by the delegates to express their diS3gree~ rnent with the organizatiOI'l of the evcm and the conclusions reached during dis· cussions. Reading from a letter prepared by the group. Hector Huenas Gonzalez ( a. Kuna from Panama) communicated the group$ disappointment at the absence of a significant number of NGOs and community delegates. They felt the conferel'lCC had not been able to reach an understanding of the impact of mining at the local level. To be more precise, they Stated in the lcuer that om of the 40 delegates 10 the \\brld Bank Conference there was just one Indigenous person. and he wns from Canada and reflected in his speech experiences far removed from those of latin Americans. In addition. representative-s from Latin America had been unable to attend the workshop ~ Processes used during consultation" on the 7th of May due 10 the absence of a Si"nish-English transl.1tor. This unfonunate example of how liulc the organizers had thought about the needs of delegates from the region h:.1ppcned not just once. On two more occasions and due to the same problem, Spanish-speaking delegates were left without any option but to abandon the discussions. As a result. they expressed doubts about the value of the consuhation process instigated by the Bank, concluding that their panicipation was merely token. This is in marked contn'lst tO a promise or "meaningrur panic· ipation made by the Bank in a letter addressed to the Latin America Project, dated April 18th. ~ 11rt outhrN now works lot the latin Amuka M.injng !Mnitorillg Progromme (lJ.MMP/ 113 Higbland Rd., Bromley, Kenl, (ng~nd, BRI4AA. Tti:0/81·280107. E·moU: <glevys@zelclweb.demon.co.Uk> UPDATE: During the debate many farmetS and Indigenous people spoke about their wishes to •see· the real extent of environmental deterioration that open-pit mining has produced in Peru, by far one of the woot case presented during the conference. As a follow up to this request 7he Latin America Mining Monitoring Program (LAMMP) and Accion Ecologica are presently organizing an international exchange trip between farmers and Indigenous people from Ecuador and Peru. I! is the intention of the group to visit in Peru the communities of Cerro de Pasco, Oroya and the city of flo and to offer international wpport to these communities. Abya Yala News �_ _ _ _ _ _ __,:....:: O_- J U S T I C E E C~ _ T he Urarina, who call themselves "KachA· , meaning people,'" are a ~'lhe semi~nomadic Amazonian people who have inhabited the Chambira and UrilUyacu river basins north o£ the Maral)on river in Peru for at least 500 years. The Uraril\a al\d the Mayorunas (Matses) remain the largest umitle:d Amazonian Indigenous groups in Peru. However, the relati\'e: isolmion of the Urnrina has been imen1.1pted as their traditional territory has occn invodcd by colonists. loggers. river traders, and drug· Urarina Survival Update: Continued Resource Exportation and Disease Importation by Foreigners and Newly Initiated by Multinational Oil Companies + by Ritchie Witzig and Massie/ Ascencios voyeur tourists. All of these groups have brought significam disease pressure on Resource Exploitation Update the Urarina that threatens their 'vay of life and survival as documented in the article published in Abya Yala News Vol. 10. Nllmber 2 (Sllrnrner 1996). Vol. 10 No. 3 The most rcccm and grave threat to Urarina su ,.;val is disease importation caused by the three multinational oil companies who entered their territory in late january 1997 to build an oil d rilling site ror I>ctrolcum c;~traction. The Urarina people live in a Oood zone that is projected to have signifi~m oil rescn•es. Three multinational oil com· panics ocgan drilling from the Chambira oil field located at Santa Martha on the Chambira river. Santa Martha is an old Urarina corrummity located in the heart 17 �Eco-Jusr 1 ce of Urarina land that was temporarily vacated due to the semi-nomadic naturt of Urarina cuhure. The Chambira oil fields arc pan of Block 3 owned by Petroperu. the Peruvian national oil company, but the rights to drill directly on the Chambira river were transferred to Enterprise Oil Co., of Great Britain in 1996. The rights were sold because Petroperu did not have the capital to initiate drilling. Against the " "shes of the public, the Peruvian government now wants to privatize Petrope:ru. The s."le of the oil rights to Enterprise had the effect of privatizing the entire Chambim oil field withOUl privatizing Petroperu. Enterprise subcontracted Parker Oil Drilling Co. of Tuls.,, Oklahoma, and the Santa Fe Petroleum Co. of Lima. to drill the Sama Manha well. Constnlction of the oil field staned in January, 1997 and by May I. Enterprise/Parkert'S.,nta Fe had drilled a complete well but fonunately did not encounter enough oil to warrant funhcr exploration. The latest news is that the company has moved to lot 32. which is just nonhwest of their original site and is still deep in Urarina territory. to pursue further exploration in the next two years with a go\'emmcm contract. Spills Before Drills Even before ther struck oil, there were ecological disasters. On April 30, 1997, the steel bouom of a barge bringing up supply oil w 3S punctured by a huge capirona (Calycophyllum sp.) tree 10 kilometers from the oil well, causing oil contamination of the entire Chambira river downstream. The barge was then towed upstream, moored at Sama Manha, and surrounded by pylons tO control the oil leak (sec Figure 1). One Urarina cacique (leader) in the Hormiga river off the Chambira c01nplained that the fish entering his grounds had been contaminated from the oil, and were swimming imo the Hormiga looking for fresh water. Amazonian river dolphins (lnia geoffrensis) which were numerous in the Chambira river basin ha,•e since noticed to be scarce from the main Chambira. This is certainly only the firsl of many barge leaks as this accident occur·red when the river level was at Oood Stage in the rainy season . The Chambira is a nar· attempting 18 row river. at times only 30 meters wide. In the dry season when the river is 10 meters lower there arc certain to be more accidents of this type. There are no stud· ies ongoing by the government , any NGO. or the oil companies of this impending ecological deStruction. SIL and Missionary Control an Urarina individual under the control of the SlL and living in Nueva Esperanza. This Urarina man who signed the docu· mems is not a leader of the Urarina, and only represents himself. The total "com· pensation'" to the Urarina nation from this ·agteemtnt'" was a speedboat and monthl)' promises of gasoline given to the impostor "leader'". The total effect was to give an extra St>eedboat to SIL Unfortunately, it is difficult to undo a fr:.mdulent '"cont~ct'" as described above quickly. and it enables the oil companies to establish thetnselves while the legal defense of the Urarina is being organized. As they have done elsewhere in the \Vestern Amazon. the SIL have again proven 'vith the Urarina that Indigenous self·detenninmion is e.~actly the opposite of their mission. The Summer Institute of Linguistics (Sil or l LV· lnstitmo Linguist ito de Verano) used an impostor Urarina ~Je,adcr" to help the oil compar'lics create an appearance of legitimacy in their inva· sion of Urarina land. The Sll is an evan· gclical organization of atnateur and pro~ fe.ssional linguists who attempt to influ. ence the societies in 'vhich they work by transl:.uing the Bible into native ian· g.•ages. SIL has had .-- -,...- - - - - --.v;;:- - - - - ---,---, ~ a represemati\'C , (Ronald Manus) liv''"""' ~ ing intenniltently in the Urarina commlk 5 nity of Nueva ~ Esper:mza for the §: past 30 years. The ! Urarina have retained their cui~ i turc and spirituality ~ despite SILS anctnpt l! to influence them. As the outside agency with the longest domicilial experience in Urarina territory, the SIL has never tried to empower the Urarina in any way to protect their lands. Colb)• and g t Dennen's recent book about oil exploitation in the Amazon, ..Thy \Viii be Done· has documented that the histOry of the SIL has been to help divide Indigenous peoples L ......______s~t,;;~!li;!!!o_____:~.j,~_ _j and even help oil companies enter 1M tom.'"'"' rrid"P'rrid ptito6rotiM of oil righn in Indigenous areas. When the oil compa· Peru. m. lot~ ha>o""ntly been <iloogod. OJ nies needed to gain entrance into Urarina uplo<otiM is ax"ntly tnl:iig p/o<e oo lot 32 (formerly lot land, they received 1he nceessary help 8) ;, Urorina tttrfiGI'(. from the SIL. SIL helped arrange a paper deal that ·allowed" the oil companies acce:ss to S.1nta Martha that was signed by At::fta Yala News �E co - J u sT I CE Disease Importation Mtdrinarional oil txploration = Malaria, pertussis. and cm·ironmcntal contaminalion Oil drilling teams are renowned for transporting new su-aii\S of disease into territories they exploit. The oil explo· rmion and drilling teams are based in the field with support offices in lquitos and Lima, but their personnel are imponed from various areas in Peru. the United States, and Europe. The Sama Fe lquitos office use the small Nanay ri\'er port com· munity of S."lnta Ckua to lo.1d all their equipment onto barges for transtxm to the Chambim. Santa Clara is currently suffering the most intense and drug resistant P. falciparum epidemic of any area in Peru. as well as an outbreak of penussis (whooping cough). Pcnussis appeared last February in the Chambira. after drilling had started- it was almost cenainly brought by the oil teams. At least seven persons died from the two villages around ~nta Manha. The Umrina have not received the DTP vaccine which prOtects from penussis, and penussis can be among the most lethal diseases in children with multiple infections. Over sixty percent of the P. falcipannn strains in Santa Clara ncar to lquitos are resistant to chloroquine and pyrimcthamine/stllf~doxine. the two cheapest and most \.IS.Cd drugs against P. faldp.annn in Peru. The P. falciparum strains in the Chambira river still respond to pyrimethamine /sulfadoxinc, but sup· plies are small and infrequent. There is a Vol. 10 No.3 real danger that resistant P. falciparum strnins are being transt>Orted to \'CI'}' the Charnbira by the oil workers loading the suppl)' 1>.1rges in Santa Clara. The Peruvian government has no health post in the entire Chambim river basin. The nearest health post is In Maypuco. more thai\ I week by canoe from Urarina territory. Colonists on the lower Chambim have access to boats and motors which can shuttle sick persons to Maypuco and on tO lquitos. The Urarina or oil workers will take away any hope controlling the P. faldpanun cpidtqliC that is currcmly decimating the Urarina people. hnplimcmation or Convention 169. of which Peru is a signatory nation (199'1) would help to protect the cultural rights of the Urarina as well as legall)' title their land. Legal recognition of their territorial boundaries would lead to self determination for the Urarina giving them some recourse to protect their ,...,ay of life. '\!) have no transponation except canoes. As of May 1997. the Peruvian non· governmental organization CEDIA (Centro Para el Des.1rrollo del lndigena Amazonico) had counted over 3.200 Urarina in the Chambira basin alone (there are also Urarina in the Uritiyacu river and in ;\ffiuems of the Corrientes river). The final number wiH likely include over 4.000 individuals. a large number for a rcn'lotc Amazonian J>eople. Even though it has only juSt begun, the oil exploitation in Urarina territory has resulted in both serious hcahh impacts and environmental degradation. If it continues at this pace, the cultural, biological, and ecological effects of oil exploration on the Umrina w'ill likely be irreversible. The Urarina do not marry outside their group and sexually trans· 1niued diseases including AlDS arc not yet a problem in the communities. Cultural breakdown from exposure to oil workers may alter this trend. New drug resistant Strains of malaria brought in by R. Witzig ltos ptJiormed mtdical surveys, Jiseose lttot· mtnl, suppfftd mtdlcin~. end lraintJ UJorino village htafth warkm fYHWJ in bc!ir medirof and pvbfir htofth on strM sepatote flips Ia the (hombiJa basin silut /992, with a Iota/of 13 months in the lit/d. This ron· lintring ptojut w#lic.h the outbar for~ndtd ;s Ihe Amazonian lndigtn<Jvs Ptop{e\ Heahh Pro;.rt (AIPHPJ. The aul~r hos da<umtnled the epidtmics of m eosles, acute ttspiJotaty iU nesSfs, c~teto, and malaria offocl· ingthe UtatirNJ. His ptt-riCHJs trip ;, May, 1997, found ar10 of the Jhtet VHW~ deod hom malotio, ond wide· sprtad malaria in rht enlite (bombtro basin. This wos the firsllrip aflttlhs oil Jrilling storied, ond all of the Urarina communiti~ wtre lroumotized 6y Jbe incursion of htt!Y'( tquipmenl into lhtir rireJ. Tire ptttussis epi· demk if'l Jilt commMilies DrOQnd lbt ail driH silt wos ing docome.nttd. wM the oil worktJS/;ktly inltoductd. ch Sen n Uratino had ditd of ptJMsn in t~se riffcgts ol""' sinrt ftbruory 1997. avthot is th• only ptr· san (domtstic at fottign} to work with Ihe Urctino 10 Jocume.nl fffld Jrtol theit mtdico/ p1a6kms. Tht avlbots ore cumnlly iworking on m<~lor;a p1ojects i, lqvitos , ftJrJ, n.. 19 �E c o - J u S TI CE radioacti\'e waste dump in \Vard Valley in the Co1Hfomia Mojave descn, an area \vhich is S3Cred for five native peoples. the Fon Mojave, Chemehue,i . Quechan, Co<:op.1h and Colorndo River Indians. Environmental Racistll: The J US Nue ear lndusty An Nat, ve Americans An estimated 30.000 tans of nuclear waste are in temporary storage in the US.. either in underwater pools or in steel and concrete casks. at 109 nuclear reactors across the cotmtry. But these stores are almost run. Some plants may have to shut down within the ne>..1 few years unless more storage space is found. There is no centrnl facilit)' in the US for handling. processing, storing or disposing of nuclear waste. + by Ul/a Lehtinen ms AAf(Ll AIJO ~~ow M "rr.'o'Ot« '-'f.\1. \9.. >rs~ } ·~ t.w.1:C».;•m>fAL or decades. the United States has mined Native American lands for uranium and has tested nuclear weapons on them. Some 75 percem the countr)'~ uranium reserves lie u1~dcr native lands - lands once considered so F or worthless that the authorities did not mind designating them as reservations- while all nuclear testing within the United States has been carried out Ol'l native Lands. Children now play on radioactive waste from the mines simply ldt where it was piled up. Some of the wasac has been used to build houses or schools. In man)' areas. the death rate among children is higher than among the miners. In New Mexico. Arizona and South Dakota, radiation from uranium mining tailings has contaminated water resources. The Shoshone have fought for decades to end nuclear testing on their land in the Nevada desert which has exposed them to levels of radiation many times higher than that generated by the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second \\1 or!d War. Now the authorities want to dumt> nuclear 'vaste on native lands as welL Two proposc arc currently being moot· 'l.ls ed: a high·level radioactive dump on Yucca Mountain in the lands of the Shoshone in Nevada: and a low level 20 The nuclear industry is attemt>ting to force the nmional govemmem - specifi· cally the O<j>anment of Energy- to take responsibility for nuclear waste, but the depanmem maintains h does not have the capacity to do so. It is however. man· dated to "provide" a central underground storage site for the country's entire stock of high-level nuclear waste. The only can· didate it has come up with is Y\ICC'a Mountain. Millions of dollars have been spent studying the safety of burying nuclear waste at Yucca. the results of which are anything but promising. located in a vol· canic area and potemial earthquake zone, the proposed site is also near ground water. Even though the site has not been approved as an underground nuclear waste dump. funher studies have been co1mnissioned and its opening has been postponed until 2010 at lhe earliest, sev· era! proposals currently going through the US Senate and Congress aim to send radioactive waste to Yucx:a Mo\mtain from 1998 onwords. lf approved, this w:lSte would simply sit in the nuclear equivalent or a parking lot without adequate controls or equipment .. Beside the pennanem site of Yucca Moumain, the Department of Energy has also suggested 21 temporary dump sites in the US for high-level \Yll<le, 18 of which are on native lands. Large smns of money have been offered tO "persuade.. the various tribes to accept these propos· als; so far all bUltwo nations. the Goshute and the Paiute·Shoshone. have refused. In neither or these two cases did the Tribal Council put the decision to the Abya Yala News �Eco-JusrtcE tribe as a whole. Probably for good rea· son: previously the Goshute rejected a proposed toxic waste incinerator on their lands and decided lO the west and Phoenix and Tucson to the south. as well as providing water for agriculture and caule. Start a recycling business instead, while, in a surve>· or the Paiute-Shoshone, tribal members opposed the nuclear dump by 4 to I. The go\'ernmem and nuclear industry In Beatty, Nevadi.\. an ex'isting dump, similar in desig1'1 to the proposed \Vard Valley site and also in a desert, has started tO leak and contaminate ground water, e"en though h is only 20 years old. are also forging ahead with plans for the l ow~ level radioactive waste dump in Ward Valley in the California Mojave dcstn. Despite misleading tcnninology, low·levcl radioactive waste contains the same ingredients as high-level waste; the half-lire of some low level waste is tens of thousands of years. The waste would be placed in steel drums inside scaled plastic or stc.al containers and then buried in shallow, unlined trenches. The proposed dump is right above a major aquircr and about 30 Kilometers from the Colorado River which nows through the valley on ils way to Mexico. Scientists of the US Geological Survey warn that leaking radioactivity may end up in the river. Even the National Acadenly or Science's Board on Radioactive Managemem has recommended further safety studie-s. The river and its canals bring drinking water to over 20 million people in Los Angeles to Ward Valley is in the midSt of eight designated wilderness areas and is a protected area because il encompasses the few remaining habitats for the endan· gered desen tonoise. The valley is also s.1cred to five native peoples of the area. Their ancestors have walked there, their ancestors arc buried there and their spirits still roam there. It is their church and graveyard. The Mojave believe they are guardians of the land. caretakers of the water and neighbors or the desen ani· mals. If the Colorado River dies. the Mojave believe they \viii disappear as well. Together with the other native peo· pies of the area. the Mojave have orga· nized I>TOlestS and ceremonies in the area. They have set up a permanent camp on the proposed dump site where some of the elders stay. Corbin Harney, a Shoshone Elder and healer. said: -This nuclear po'Vcr is ahva)'S taken to nati"e Lands. First itS mined from there and now the nati\'C lands are turned into dump sites. They take our water, then the poison is hu,rting an living things there. I don't really appreciate what the government is doing. They know it is dangerous but Slill they move nuclear waste through roads w seas. \Ve the people should be out there at the front. ThatS why we have asked the nonIndian people to stop the government. Not only here bUl everywhere: in England. Puerto Rico, Russia-we should really unite! V..'e in Nevada have too much mining and chemicals that go to the water table ... ln my part of the cotmtry. we &'\w that nuclear radiation was making our lives shorter. I've seen children born without legs: l've seen cats bom with just too legs. I've seen a lot of hunl.'\ns die of diseases caused by radiation ... Everybody has been polluting hhis land) and every· body has to pitch in and make things better. If we continue to destroy things, than nobody will be able to survive at all. If we don\ start working together to cle-an up the i>lanet soon. there wo1l't be anyone left to clean up our messes wmorrow. V..'e have to unite to understand what nuclear energy does." ~ ... Vol. 11 No. 1 21 �D AUGH TERS OF A B YA YALA �DA U G H TE R S OF ABYA YA L A Bolivia, a mining country, hosting Women and Mining Conference in 2000 In January 1997, women from all over the world involved in mining met in Baguio City, Philippines for the First International Women and Mining Conference. Women, particularly Indigenous women, have long been unique· ly affected by and involved in the mining that goes on in their countries. With the expansion of large scale min· ing and its inevitable dependence on the global market, women have been faced with changes to the organization of their societies, their economic systems, their interpersonal relationships, their natural environments as well as the health of themselves and their children. Despite their hardships and sacrifices, Indigenous women have often been invisible in the mining world. In many countries local women's groups and community organizations formed to confront the reality of the effects of mining on their cultures and the environment and to come up vvith ways to reverse the negative effect that mining had on their lives at the individual. familial and community level. These organizations began to see more and more the need to interact vvith other like-minded organizations at a regional and international level. The NGO, Minewatch (England) was instrumental in forming an international network of women mine workers to coordinate vvith one another and share information. Minewatch, together with the Women Workers Program, organized and hosted the First International Women and Mining Conference in the Philippines, the first of its kind. Representing their organizations, unions and Indigenous communities, women from Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and North America shared their experiences of multinational mining and discussed ways to resist its threats to their lives and com· munities. The delegates developed strategies for collaborating and supporting each other. Respondin9 to the urgency of their needs, the delegates decided to organize reg<onal events after the Conference and to strengthen their existing networks. Plans are now under way for the Second International Women and Mining Conference to be hosted by CEPROMIN (Centro de Promocion Minera) in Bolivia in 2000. The organization hopes to bring 50 delegates representing all of the continents. The objectives of the Second International Conference are: to discover the shared and the particular situation and specific problems of the women in mining zones around the world, to facilitate the exchange of ipformation concerning the impact of fl)inlng:'and to denounce Human rights-violations, both territorial and culture. <IS well as the ecological disasters and health ramifications of mining activities. Other goals are to utilize the shared creativity of all those present to come Opwith tactics to improve the conditions of life in mining z'ones, and to establish links between organizations and bet)'lleen the countries to work on common issues and 10 negotiate before the pertinent organizations at the governmental and international levels. The themes of the Second International Conference On Women and Mining will be those issues of central concern to the women and their organizations. T~ese concern~relate to the changes at the global level in regard to mining exploitation,..-the infor111al and invisible work of women mineworkers (related to the global tendency to informalize and undeNalue the c0ntributions of women's work, follovving the model of domestic labor), the conditions of life, health and education, a'nd the effeczts of the expansion of mining into new areas and its real impact on the ecosystem and lhe culture). Bolivie, the si e of the upcoming conference, is a country vvith a long history of mining. Its inhabitants have seen first ~a~d lhe ext(aordioa<y impact of mining on the politics, environment and socio-economic dynamic of this country. The organizations <n Bolivia have fought for decades for their su<Vival, their rights and their dignity despite the massacres and militarization of their communities. CEPROMIN has extensive documentation of the severe health effects of mining on Indigenous women in Bolivia.Native women miners suffer respitory illnesses, skin diseases, muscular afflictions and die young from the compounded polluting effects of life in the mines. lnfomtalion from CEPROMIN, Mujeres y Minerla Hacia la Segunda CotiferenGia lnttrnacional For more information: CEPROMIN (<el) 00591-2 35 94 02 (/ax) 00591-2 37 39 83 (e-mail) cepromin@caoha.tnttlnttbo GOntaCf Vol. 11 No.1 23 �ENV I RONMEN .:._ _ __ T • • ous people r forest ng local communities, ps and non-governmental off against a major I n a bid to prote<t their livchhoods. the Indigenous communities of the PilOn Lajas lndigenotl.S Territory and Biosphere Reserve in Bolivia's northern Bcni department have united against one of the areaS biggest logging companies. The Chimane. Mosttcnc and Tacana peoples have joined forces with the Rurrenabaque municipal govcmmem and Veterinarians \Vithout Borders (VSF), a French NGO which oversees administration of Pi16n lajas. to ban the Berna logging company from the reserve. 24 A'<Yta Yala News �ENVIRONMENT ..\Ve want the :tuthoritie-s to throw out lov.red. The law gives Indigenous people 1hc logging companies. so 1hey leave 1he the exdusive right to tase foreSt resources lCrrilOl')' for good : on commur~al land in territory reserved said Bern~n SolO. for Indigenous groups. Protected art.as "THE SUCCESS cuhure secretary or indude more than 9.5 million hectares, OR FAILURE OF San luis Chico. while Indigenous areas amount to about Berna, however, has 1 million hectarts. In comrasl. more than THE PILON a legal concession 21 million hectares have been granted il'l issued by former foresiTy concessions (NA jul)' 18. 1996). LA)AS AREA, Presidcm Gonzalo DESIGNATED AS SAnchez de Loz..'lda ''The lumber companies and indepen· AN INDIGENOUS (1993·1997). and dent loggers are taking away tree-s that we TERRITORY AND ahhougluhc compa· have title to. withOUl giving anything i11 ny has not resumed return to the communities ... Soto said. logging in the area, Robinson and the BIOSPHERE 1he baule is far from Indigenous peo· RESERVE IN over. Berna$ logging pies of Pil6n L'ljas 1991 , DEPENDS comrac1 does no1 argue that local expire umil 2011. communi t ies ON WHETHER should a1 leas1 gel OR NOT THE "The success or fail· a pcrcemage of ure of 1he Pil6n L'ljas loggers' pronlS. LOGGING area, designated as The Indigenous INDUSTRY IS an Indigenous terri- communities have CONTROllED" tory and biosphere created a prece· resen1e in 1991. dem of resistance derxmds on whether and some head· or not the logging indusuy is controlled," way has been S..'l.id Daniel Robinson, national coordina- made in defendtor of VSF. Bolivia$ forest reserves are ing Pil6n lajas. In considered among the worldS richest, 1996. VSF sued with more than 2.500 specic.s of trees. 1he !lelia Visla and El Pino logging The coalition against Berna s.cty that companies for the company, along with hoards of inde· working without and pendem loggers. is steadily deforesting contracts, 1hc supposedly pro1ec1ed area. 'They are they were forced to suspend operations, tearing out various timber SJ>Ccics. 1nain· the first time such action had ever been ly mahogan)', and selling them for excel- 1aken. A 1hird company. Selva Negra, lef1 lent prices; Soto said. In addition, the area volumaril)~ ~vlosetene representative Macario Canare Bema. the largest comp..1ny remaining said. "For C\'ery mahogany trunk they take om, they cut down 70 in Pil6n L1jas, is proving hard more trees geuing to it."' 10 dislodge. Robinson said VSF "FOR EVERY lawyers have "extensive evi· logging also 1hrea1e1\S Ira· dence lha1 lhe oompanys log· MAHOGANY ditional hunting grounds on ging practices do not comply TRUNK THEY wilh 1he foremy law." For which Indigenous communi· ties depend for their livelihood. example, Bema has not begun '"The loggers hunt animals in TAKE OUT, THEY 1he reforeSialion program 1he jungle for food. and 1 he CUT DOWN 70 de1ailed in ilS original conlraCl. sound of their machines scares and its employees continue to many more away... Canare said. MORE TREES hum for food, ahhough Imming is prohibited. GETTING TO Bolivia$ forestry law, passed in 1996. allows 1he governwit is e"eryoneS fervent hope IT." ment to lease forests to private that Berna will be thrown out, companies in 40-year conces· but tht)' are very powerful sions, providing regulations governing here; Robinson said. The logging indussustainable forest management are fo). try is imponam to the local economy, and Vol. 11 No.1 many people want Bema to stay. Rumnabaque, a fromier seulement on the Scni River. thrives on lite exuac· lion of mahogany from Pil6n L'ljas. Mos1 of the town is built from second·rate mahog...tny. :tnd it is an open secret that 1he local "'wmill culS illegally harveSled wood into commercial planks. Despite its shortcomings, the new forestry law has staned to control the flow of wood fron't the area. By allowing people to make a living from logging. but regulating the indus· try through forest inventories and extraction plans. the area could have a more S\.lStainablc future. ..People have realized that by limit· ing their output they can s1ill make good mone>~ Since the vol· umc has dropped in R\lrrenabaque, the price of lumber has almoSl doubled." Robinson said. But these small advances are threatened by large·scale. unsus· tainablc operations like llemas in Pil6n Lajas. "If l&rnal isn't thrown out, then the whole lhing will fall 1hrough. 'If 1hc)'' rc lndeJ>endem loggers will not going to make the big guys leave the protected areas, then why should we lleavel?" Robinson said. "'Y· Despite the obstacles, the Indigenous communities in Pil6n l.aja arc detem'tined to protect the restrve. ..ItS our right to protect our territory," C.'\nare S..'\id. "lf we can't control it, and if this logging doesn't stop. we lose the fumre we are fighting for." ~ 25 �EN V IRONMENT Second International Indigenous Forum On Biodiversity and the Convention on · Biological Diversity Workshop THE CONVENU()N ON 81ot.OC.ICAL 0MRSITY IS niE FIRST IN'TERNAnONAU.Y IINOING AGREEMENT LOOSElY RE<)VIRING ll"S 165 MEM8.£R NATIONS TO SUSTAlNABlY USE THE \\'ORLOS 810lOGICAI. OMRSITY, THE AGREEMENT WAS OPE:NEO fOR SK.NATURE IN JUNE 1992 AT UIE EARtH SUMMrT IN RIO DE JANEIRO, AND HAO RECEIV£0 168 SIGNATURES 8Y JUNE 4 OF 1993- rom November 20a23, Indigenous pc:OJ>I<: (rom around the world met ru the Second International Forum on Blo<hvcrsny m Madr.d, Spain to prepar< a proposal for the Traditional Knowledge and 81olog1eal Dt"erslt)' of the Con\•cnuon on B•ologrcal Diversity (CBD) Workshop. wh1ch was hdd from Nov 24th to the 28th The Workshop f0<\15Cd on the 1mplcmentauon of Anicle 8). as pbnncd at the thud Conftr<nee of !'antes (COP) tn Buenos A1rcs. Argentina. 1he pn~:vtous year 1n NO\·embt-r 1996. F What follows IS the proposal drafted by the lnd1genous Forum on Biodiversity and submitted to the \Vorkshop on Trnditionol Knowledge and Biological Oavcrsuy. The results from the lntcmauon:d Indigenous rorum will be presented to the Founh Conference of Pantes in Urmislava, Slovakia, in May of 1998. Working document on the implementation of article 8j. and related articles PREAMBLE lndtg<nous Ptoplts comt from 1he land and ha"t b<tllgll'tn our lift 1hrough !ht land. \Vt clo n()l tdmt 10 rht land th<u we came from <b prOIN!rly, we rd<Ue ro the lcmd as ou,. Mofhcr. nwt Ott: lcmcl is our 1\lfother ccmnOl bt denied, just <IS it caml.()l be denied thm our htmum mother Is our rt!Clher. In this t·rspca we as Indlgct~ous Peoples ha,·c rcsportslbllUtcs to honor and nutrurc our Ear 1h to tnsutt rhcu shr can conrilwc to ght us lift. Ou• role and rtSpo11$ibllity is 10 prOI<CI '"" M01h<1 &trth from d<Suuaion and abusn·c creotn".tnt, )USl as we u·ocdd dtftnd our human mo1her. In ca'!)1ng out tht.S r«ponslbthty owr a period of dtousantb of )tars. h't lul\t btcomc a crnrral comporttnl of !ht l><odl\'ti'Sll)' of the Eanh. 26 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ELEMENTS FOR THE FORMULATION OF A WORK PROGRAM to ensure Indigenous Peoples' pa.rtidpa· tion h) incorporate the light to free •nd prior infonned consent mall mechanisms w ensure lndtgcnous Peoples' pan1cip.1· uon. 1 Ensure that the 1mplementauon of an1de Sj. and rcl:ucd an•cles. take into cons1dcrauon lht txt.sung Jnd1genous dtcbrauons •nd proposals. mcludmg the Draft Declarauon on the Rights of lnd1genous Peoples. the Kan Oea Dt<:brauon. the Mataatua Dt<:bration, the S.·mta Cruz Ofclar.mon. lhe Leucia Dt<:larnuon •nd Pl•n of Aeuon. the Treaty (or a L1£e Forms Patent Free Pac1flc, the Uk\I))SCI'\1 Kun\\ Yala Dedarauon. and previOUS SlalCtnCIUS or Indigenous Forums conl'encd ut J>revious CBD/COP and intcrscssional meetings. 2. Ensure Indigenous Peoples· full and mcanmgrul p:micipatlon in the implemcntatton or anlciC Sj. and related an•c:les: a) r'('(:Ogmu: lndagcnous Peoples as Pan•es to the Co1wenuon on 81ological 01\'ersny b) •dopt the rtcommendation of the Seeond lnttmauorul lnd1genous Forum to estabhsh an lnd1genous Peoples' Workmg Group c) m•·ol"e the lnd1g<nous Peoples' \\~mg Group in lht mttrprumon and amplcmentalion of anrcle 8J and rclalcd amcles. ancludmg the monnonng of the eomphance of the Pan.1es to the Convtnuon to the1r obliga~ uons under the Convenuon d) de"clop mechanisms to ensure Indigenous Peoples' p:micipation in decision making processes at the intcrnauonal level (UN, COP. IFF, etc.) e) develop mechanisms to ensure lndagc,~ous Peoples· participation m dccasion making processts at the nauonallcvcl. mc1udmg 1hc dc,·clopmem and 1mpltmentauon of lcg~sl.auon, envt· ronmental acuon plans and tmpaa stud· 1ts 0 de•·elop mechamsms to ensure the full pan~e1pauon of lnd1genous Peoples tn State P3n.ts• str.ucg.ra lO desagnatc and manage proc<ctcd areas g) 1ncorpor.ue the nglu to obj<ctton In all me<hamsms 3. Develop m<chan1sms to ensure the full and equal pantopauon of lnd1genous women 1n all processes rtl.ltrd to the 1mp!emencatron of the Com·cnuon. a.nd suppon the umquc rcsponstbthuu of Indigenous womrn 1n the canng of 1hetr tradmonal lands and temtones and the protect ton o( btodtverstty 4. De"tlop mech•n1sms •nd processes to ensure Indigenous Pcot>lcs· control over l:mds and territories to affect the protccuon a.nd enhancement of biodiversity: n) recognl:e the malienable a priori rights of Indigenous Peoplts b) recognize 1he. rcla.uonshtl> thm cxis1s between the lands and tcrrnoncs of lnd1genous Peoples and thttr knowledge. innovations and pmcuccs rclaung to b10· di\'ti"Sil)' c) de\'elop proeesses to rep.,uiate the lands and temtonrs of lndtgenous Peoples 5. lncorporntt 1nd1genous customary re.sourtt uses, nunagtmtnt and pracuces 1010 susa:amablc dcvelopmt'nt plans. poh· ctes and proccsstS at mtemauonal and national levels, recogmzmg transbound· ary issues lmJ>OrHIIl1 to htd1genous Peoples: a) encoumge muhihueml institu· lions, international ngcncics. research institutions a.nd non·govcrnmcnt organi· zations to Involve indigenous knowledge. innovations n.nd pmcllces rela.ted to the US( and m.anagemcm of resources in their plans and programs b) establtsh an mdtgt-nous global btoch"crsuy momtor· ing system based on e•rly wammg sys· tems usmg 1nd1genous knowledge Mth the backmg of satellite teehnology and geographic mform.auon S)"Sttms c) rtqum~ tht IJ\C'Of'POr.lUOn o( mdtgtnous perspeCIII'eS and soe1al and cultural Conllnutd on page 35 /W(a Yala News �HuM ... N The Nightmare and Hope for Tomorrow ·Acual is the symbol of a "·ar of txtermina· t1on, tht true government f()ponsc to the JUSl demands of the lnd1grnous p<opl-. of Mcxt<o. But A(ualls al.io the symbol of the Slruggle of '"o t/foru thor of rhe government "hieh seeM to mal:c 1mpunU)' and fory,tifulntsS rnumph. and rhar of cinl S«itty. \<hl<h dtmands lr«<JUSilC< and rtfusa ro fory,tt rht "'""' cnmt of tht laSl 30 year$. And rhe Slrusglt for mtmory and justice is the $tn4ggle for o JUSl pta<t... -Comm1mlq11t from rht QandtSiine Rt\'Oiutlonary Indigenous Commitrtt- Ccnual Command of rlle Zot>arista Army of NCIIional Ubci'Otlon, )amwry 12, 1998 hesc words from a recent Z.-tpatiSl3 l"OnunutliCIU~ succmc-tly sum up the snu:ulon tn Chtapas smce the Deccmb<r 22. 1997 n13SS.1Cre of 45 T Tzotzll Ind1ans m the vdbge of Acteal. \Vhat 1s clear from tht)t few lmes. and r«cnt eVJden«. as tlut the mass3Cre at Acteal "-'35 not an asolated UlCtdcnt. nor was u tht product or Inter-community confltct 3S the Mcxtcan go\'tmment would hke us to b<hr-·c It was a cart!ully planned act .xecuttd by the h1red gunmen or loco I PRl bosses. and 1n complicity wnh State and evtn £edtra1 authonues. Df:spne all thetr rhttonc. the Mex1can government cannot h1dc the truth that ActC31 was the outgrowth of a larger framework 0£ VIOlence :tnd terror created by the more than 60.000 Mextcan troops m Chiapas. and by government sponsored p.uannluary groups who have acted wnh tmpumty for more than 3 years. The has the terror and ""lltary stronglehold Ot'l the communlllcs II\ Clu:lpas ceased. The Mexican go\'enuncm~ low·mtensny war that has already cr,umed the lwcs or more than 1500 pwple smce 1994. continues. Thtny-thrtt ZapauSta commumties run·e born the brunt or at ltast 44 armed and 1ll<gal mcurs1ons by fedcral troops Since Oc<:cmbcr 22nd In all o! these ClSCS, sold1en. ranSO<:kcd homes looking for we>pons. 1nt<rrog.>ttd and t\-en tonurtd some rtStdents m thtu search lor the Zaponsta lc3dcrsh1p and msurgents. On january 12th, Stat< Secunty pohcc opened fir< on protesters in O<:osmgo. k1lhng a 25 y<ar old Indigenous wom:m and wounding her baby. In addnion three Zapansta sympathizers were found hung weeks l:uer. For all the government rhctonc regarding the effoJtS to bring the guilty of ilctealto JUStice. one must ask why the federal annr ins1.sts upon u:rronzlng lnd1genous com· mumues under the pretext or lookulg for weapons. when the pro-government p3r3mdnary groups and the MeX1<3n military rernam rrtt and art :.'III<M•td to conduet th< bustntSS of d1ny low-mt<OSH)' war as usual The answer lS clcar-wh1le the Me.A1c.tn go,·emment talks peace n makes war. h makes war because 1t can not and wt11 no1 implement the San 1\ndrts Agreements on lnd1genous R1ghts and Culture. Thcse unfulfilled p<ace aceords. s1gned by b01h the Zapatistas and the Federnl government in 1996, pose a tremendous threat and contradiction to the Ctlrrcnt reality or power and economic glob.1hzation in Mexico under the PRI The unplementa· sole mtenuon of ahe Mexu:an go,·em· tion or the San Andres Agrtements, the mcnt~ comp.11g11 smce 1994 has been to produCt of the dtaloguc and consensus or repress lnd1genous pwples and their represenunvcs o! th< fi!ty-stx d1ff<rtnt nglus 3nd hopts for~ new Mextco. lnd1genous nattOrb 1n Mcxtco and the Zapoustas. would gwt the more than 12 Oesp1tc the Silence o£ m:unsueam m1lhon lndlg<nas 1n MtXICO th< nght to mtdla OUtSide or Mt>-.co, the blood or the stlr..dtttrmmauon and autonom>' 1t lnd1genous has not stopped flowmg. nor '"'Ould rep~m a h1stonc :md unprttt· Vol. 11 No.1 R I GHTS dented step to,varcls redefining the rcta.. tionship o£ the Mexican St:ltC tO lndl:'lll p<opi<s, and would gwc lndmn p<oples the right to implement their own forms of sell-governance. Such nghts would in<,,tably l<ad to brooder pontc1patton o! Indians pwples m the pohc1cs that a!f«:t then commumucs The agrccments would also S''"e lnd1an pwples the nght to control thetr l•nds and the r<SOUrces wtthin them, as wtll as tht nght to rctam and nunurt d\ortr dt\'trse cuhurt:s. hlstC>nos and languages Fmally 11 would optn the door to broadcr and more profound changes wnhm the nauon :lS n whole and allow lor the possibility or. new MeXICO, in panncrslup with the Indigenous and all Mexican p<oples. The San Andres Agrccmerus were designed to tmd the conunued oppres.sion. m.arginaliz~uion and exploitatiOn or Indigenous peoples that colonaz.auon brought to the Amencas Vet 1l IS clc:ar that the Mextcan go"emmcnt has too much to lose by acknowledgmg the l<gHnnacy or the Zapousw denunds !or a r.r. o! dignity m Mextco-bnd. housmg. work. rood, educatton, health care, 3UtOnomy, democrncy, hbcny. JUSllc< and peace first it would bt an admiSSIOn that neoliberal econom1c pohcu:s. cochfied m NAFTA, have not helped the extreme levels or poverty and m1sery suffered by the majority in Mexaco. Secondly, the Mexican govemmcnt would jeopardtze its abilit)' and access to slr:negic ualurnl resources within m:h lnd1genous lands, such as those In Cluapas for exomplt, Chiapan 011 accounts for 81 2% or Mexico~ crude expotts, 68 6% of ItS petroleum den\'auves and 90.6~ of Hs p<trochemu:als Chtapas also produces 55% of M<J,,cos hydroelectriCity and contains 20% of u.s bK'Hil\'Ct')lly 1n the Lacandon JUngle. Fnully. to Justly me<t the demands or th< Indigenous peoplos v.:ould not mean makmg mmor adjust• Conllnu< on pagt 35 27 �RIGHTS F or centuries, pcrh:tps even mil~ for the body and sptnt. hons of years. the Xa'·antc pro- The unique Xa\'otnte 1denuty is marked by t~ hau·cutS that d&SunguiSh thtm from any othtr n:mon m the world. b)' th<tr nch and soph1>t1<Jlcd language. by the cUS<om of removmg cyel.l;hes and eyebrows. by t~ nchly eltbornte body patntings done for each ceremony. by the songs 1hat emerges from drc~uns. by the umque dances and g:tmcs th:n unites the people in strong. unified movements, capable of shakmg the ground of the forest. This is the people of Auwe Ulllabi. true pwple, Xavante pt"Oplc of the S.rra do Roncador. pi<. hkc ot~r lndt~nous pro- pic around the , ..·orld, ha,·c b«n dcvd~ opmg n dtffertnt ·way of be1ng n'l the world, btulding their own umquc 1dcnt1· 1)', thc1r own unique culture. They M\'C learned from the stones. passed down b)' theu anctsaor from a tunt" 1mmemortal, how to thmk :\bout the world and how to reblt to t\'tl)1hmg 1h:.u tx•sc.s around them, ahvc and mySttnous They ha,·e learned to mo,·c between the coumrys1de and the dense forc$ts. learning abom C<'Ch mumal. each plant. each s.ar and constdl:ttion. each movement of the sk)', :md 1hc n"cr. m complete hannony and connccuon wuh C\'trything around them \'aSl Takmg from nature - and rttummg <>'<1)1hmg that t~)' nttd for SUI\Wal food. shdt<r, color and b<aut), medtcmc 28 The first encounter wuh 1he "'wara..."'U'"' - whnes- occurred 2 cemuncs ago. when 1her entered the centr.ll-castcm pan of Brazil in search or gold and precious stones. After a tentatl\'C c:orxtstence wuh the whites. th:lt ended 10 ambush and mass.-.c;rc of hundreds of Xavames. the Auwc J>eoplc decided to nvoid contact wuh the "'warazu· . Thcr retreated deep tnto the forests. seckmg out m thear tmdtuonaltcrritoncs plO\Ccs that had nOt yet For dose to two hundred years, they had h\•td 111 relata\'C peace. with a few confront:u•ons. but sull rna1ntaining, thc•r autonomy By the begmning of the 19-WS, new attacks from the mvadtrs, nO\\o' much more agg:rt:ssn:e and well org;~mzcd, brought warfare. death and suffenng tO the Au"'t Upubi_ The l'"t 50 years have been a penod or dnngcr, ducats and rear. But this hunt· ing !>COJ>Ie htwe teamed how to cope wilh 1he predators that have continued 10 invade the1r territories again a.nd agam. In lookmg ror ways tO tnamtain j)(3Ce, to p.'lclf)' the '"v.'Jraz:u... the:)• learned how to Crtatt: new ronns or COCXISltnte and SUr· vi val. The great chtcf Ahopo<n. lcad<r o( thlS Xowantc commumt)~ guaded hiS people through contact, b<hevmg that peace with the whiles would be the only way to ensure 1he SUI'VIVtll o£ the Auwc )>COplc. These warl'iors decided to control their terrnones with complete autonomy. decided to present thttnsclvcs to the ··wara.zu.. through the1 O\\n culture. r bttn mvaded A~YalaNews �H u MA N Cars. with their strange and continu- ous: tracks on the ground, are no longer a mystery to the Xavante people. The youth of the village leam to drive Toyotas. tntcks and tracwrs with ease. Technology such as video cameras, recorders, solar panels, radio transmiuers does not frighten them. They are confident in their capabilities. ancestml memory and sophisticated arlalytical reasoning. The village of Pimentel Barbosa. which was first contacted over 50 years ago. has been able to successfully maintained its traditions by resisting the emrance of tnissionaries. governmem agencies and interference from the outside world. With the strong leadership of the great chief Ahopoe. this village has created strategies to maintain a pe.aceful coexistence with the ··warazu .., They decided to choose a group of youth to leave the village to study and live ' vith the whites, to learn the language and C\LStoms. returning later. possessing this knowledge. to work inside the community and strengthen the traditions of the culture. 1n the 1980's, with the continuing disappearance of animals for hunting. the elders voiced their concerns about the f~1ture of the people and the traditions. With the hell> of the knowledge gained by the youth. who had been prepared in the '"world of the warazu,.. the Xavames created the jaburu Project, a research and management project set \II> to gu.1.mmee the continuance of hunting in the tcrritO· ry now enclosed by ranches. In the last 4 years, The Xavames, in partnership with the "N\tcleo de Cuhura lndlgena" (an Indigenous NCO). launched the first Indigenous music CD in Brazil - .. Etenhiritipc'\ - Traditional Songs of the Xavante." The record ' vas recorded in the village, with professional equipment. and the songs were registered in the name of the village, guaranteeing the payment directly to the authors. Several additional projects ca.me out of the Xavames first CD. One was a collaboration with the rock band Sepult\11'3 on their latest record ·Roots." A successful music video was also created 10 publicize the Etenhiritip<\ record, and was exhibit· ed at Indigenous film festivals in the United States. Mexico and Europe. Vol. 11 No. 1 Even \vith all these contacts from the exterior world, the young men continue to be traditionally prepared in HO (the singles house) for years. They maintain close contact with their godfathers and continue to learn the anceStral traditions. They arc taught in this way until the time when their ears arc pierced . marking the transition from a child to an adult, and their entrance into the life of a 'varrior. RIGHTS plams. memories. A human being alive. with a past and a future, this is the way or Auwe Uptabi. .. - In partnership with the NUcleo de Ct~lturallndlgena. the Xavante people arc organizing a big event for the middle of 1998. called "Xavante - SO Years of Contacl... This work has reunited various generations from the villages. the elders who participated in the contact with the During their apprenticeship. the ·warnzu· in 1946 and the yomh and chilyoung men follow the animal tracks in dren that ha,·e already mastered !westtheir h~mting games. They participate in ern} writing and drawing skills. Everyone the solidarity game . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . has bten working which requires ntn· with the ning with large palm recorders and video tree logs, and a1so in cameras and panicipating in the effort the secret initiation ceremonies where to register the histo· ry of this period for the real world ceases the present and for to exist. the future. M:lybe it is difficult for outsiders to This event will understand the bring together phocomplexities of the tographs of the inicontemporary tial contact between the Xavantes and Xavante culture. The clothes, the t-shirts the "\vara.zu.'" along and caps with w•ith original drawEnglish inscriptions ings. texts. and objects. A group of that no one reads or \,»iadl¥edw.S.iu~·•ulb;t. understands, the 25 warriors will give machines that FUNAJ (the Brazilian gov- singing and dancing perfonnances and ernment agency for Indigenous people) traditional rituals and ceremonies will be left when the)' tried to create an presented as well. Also on the agenda are Indigenous development project there... plans to make a documentary, a bilingual These things mean nothing when the book in X..wante!Ponuguese and a CD elders join together everyday. to greet the ROM . arrival and the departure of the sun. to exchange their impressions of the world The Xavame people of Pimentel on a daily basis, to discuss the path to the Barbosa live in an Indigenous reserve future. The ..warA... the advice from the called "Rio das Mortes," that shelters 3 adult males, is the strOJ'\gcst insdtution in other villages in the state of Mato Grosso, the village and is resJ>Onsible for giving in central-eastern Brazil. Six more direction and continuing the dail)' tradi- reserves of the Xavame people Slill exists. tions. approximately totaling 60 villages and ~ population of more than 4 thousands it is here that the elders discuss the Indians. " confrontation between the Xavante comTh~ authot tf'Oiks with N6deo Je (ullurallndlg~na in munity and the cuhur~ of "'progress. This connict can be seen at the "Rio das Soo Pcu/c, Bto<il. Mortes" (River of Dtath). a drainage channel from the neighboring ranches For more infonn<llion and the purchase of and a exportation corridor for Mercosul. postcards and CDS. ple(~se contacc Ntideo For the Xavante people, the river is the de Cultural Jndtgena, Rua Roquelt Pinto fountain of life. of stories and histories, 381 . Prcvi<Uncia - S. Paulo. Brasil. PltondFax: 5511-8131754, £-m<~il: and must remain full of fish. sheltering nci@ax.apc.org and feeding many animals. people. ft 29 �S E L F DETERM I NATION & TER RITORY A~t~~w4. Alberto A BILINGUAL INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN ECUADOR principal objective or these i>rojects was to proselytize the Indians. By the 19605, Indigenous organizations is under the direction of Mr. Leonidas Proano, bilingual education was by Ecuador> Public to rcju\'tnate and preserve addressed Educational Radio Program which had local culture. Fonunately, there is an audiences imo the Sierra. In the sevemies the Shuar System of Radio Education increasing mo\'emem towards bilingual (SERBISH) was implemented in other Indigenous schools in the Bolivar. imercuhural education which aims to Cotopa.,.i and Na1>0 provinces. The exl)eritnces gleaned from these promote and develop Indigenous Ian· predr<:essors made way for the creation of a fonnal Indigenous educational pro· guages and cultures and make them part gram. The huercuhural Bilingual Education Initiative, was established in of the national culture in their respective 1986 with the signing of a conunct between GTZ of Germany and the Ecuadorian Government. They elaborat· coumrics. cd a tentative curriculum, didactic mate· Born of this movement arc a number rials in Quichua for primary schools, and of effons in Ecuador attempting to del'cl- designed programs providing training op the country$ Indigenous education and support to rural organizations for the through new pedagogical techniques suit· purpose or educational and cultural proable to the l3 Indigenous peoples. This mOlion. project has a considerable histOry develThe following is an interview we con· oping outside of any official protocol , bm it has recently gained official s.ams as the dueled with the director of the National Jmcrcuhural Bilingual Education office of Bilingual Intercultural Initiative. cl Proyecto de Educaci6n Education. (Oirccdon National de educa· Intercultural Bilingue (EIB). cion 11uercuhural Bilingue·DINEIB), Alberto Andrnngo. Mr. Andrnngo is a In the fifties, the SIL (Summer Quichtc1 and has had considerable expeInstitute o£ Linguistics) and the Andean rience ''-'Orking in the field of education. Mission developed projects involving He also 'vas the vict·prtsidem of what is Indigenous education . However. the now the National Federation of A 30 long-standing objective of Indigenous and Black Workers o f Ect"'dor (FENOCIN). In what year was the OINEIS crealed ? \ Vh y was it necessary to create the OINEIB? \Vhat a re some other confcd· er.u ions a nd orga_ izations that partie· n ipatc in and contribute to the political aclivhies and adminis tration o f the OINEIB? f-low is the OlNEIB Slruc· tured ? The DINEIB was created in November of 1988, but local. regional, provincial and national Indigenous organizations had been demanding its fonnation for years. In 1988. CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities o£ Ecuador) played a very imponam role by launching a proposal for the education of Indigenous peoples. It was a propos.1l generated by Indigenous and non· Indigenous professors and educalional specialists bm was strictly tied to plans made for the enhancement of the Indigenous nations in Ecuador. An agn::c· ment was made between the Minisc.er of Ct>lturc and Education and CONAIE to ilnplcmcm the DINEIB according to local directh·es concerning bilingual intercul· tural education. Long before DINEIB, organizations, principally the FENOCIN and also the ECUARUNARI (affiliated with the CONAl E), had continuously Struggled to A'(y.fa Yala News �S E L F DETERMINATION & TERR ITO RY make the government recognize the Two of the tnOSI significant goals of Bilingual Intercultural Education move. the Indigenous move ment have been ment (EIB). For example. l remember to encourage muhicuhura1isnl and between 1981 and 1982. prior to the participatory democracy. In what existence of the CONAIE and the sense is the OINEIB a realization of OINEIB. there was an massive national these goals? march calling for the recog· " ... WE HAVE TO The OINEIB is a state instilu· nition o£ the El6 by the government of jaime Roldos tion. but we are also an insti· DEVELOP OUR Aguilera. At this time. there tution of the Indigenous com· was a conStam demand for munities of Ecuador. For this IDENTITY, PRErecognhion from every orgareason. the DINEIB is subject nization. This also helped to SERVE OUR LAN - to the comrol, support and precipitate the creation or the GUAGE IN ORDER the direction given by the national o£ftce. Local and TO BETIER CON- Indigenous nations. As a for· regional ex1>eriences were mal state institution we are FRONT OTHER administratively. financially compiled and used to create an all-encompassing propos· and technically decentralized. CULTURES" ol presented to and recogTherefore, we are dependent nized by the government. By on the directives generated by the time Rodrigo Borja took o£ftce the all of the individuals working within the national Bilingual lntercuhuml Education DINEIB. The OINEIB is a conglomerate program was institutionalized in of individuals, Indigenous for the most Ecuador. part but also non-Indigenous, 1hat partie· ipate on be hal£ or all the national organi- conuibutc to the operations of their bilingual education program. by organizing a budget. infrastntcture. teaching tllaterials and any other fonn of support neccss.1ry to the realization o£ the El6. Once the DINE18 was formed, the rest of the Indigenous and Campesino organizations, like the FEINE (Federation o£ Evangelical Indians). FENOC (Federation o£ Campcsinos). FENACLE (Federation o£ Free Campesinos) and FEI (Federation of Ecuadorian Indians), came to panicip3te: at first they were suspi· cious but eventually they evolved suffi· ciem trust lO panicipate within all levels o£ the EIB. I believe the EIB has actually facilitated a dialogue among our national organizations; a dialogue that concerns not only crucial issues put £onh by the EIB. bm also other issues conceming thtse organizations. The organizations 1 mentioned have supported this process. some with considerable fortitude and dedication and others with somewhat ltss. But by all means these six major participants have significantly contributed to the development o£ the EIB. l believe another accomplishment of the DINEIB is institutional decentrali%3tion. We have attained a degree of autonomy that enable,s us tO advance obje<:tives o£ the EIB. This decentralization also allows us to select our own candidates for administrative positions. The only remaining power of the central govemmem is to give legitimate title to the candidate elected by Indigenous organiza· tions. Otherwise, the electoral process occurs in the selection or provincial directors. They are elected by local organizations following a public debate. This election system is unique. distinct from the tradition of appointments dictated by the ministry and government which are commonplace il'l other state il'lStitutions. zations previously mentioned. In this way DINEIB recognizes the objectives or each or these diverse organizations. As for the conununities. is th ere a way in which families or local groups are able to participate in II\C Bilingual Intercultural Education system? There arc local EducatiOt'lal Advisory Councils (CEC) that have been established in some provinces and some communities. Through these community councils, locaiJ>eoples are able to J»rticipate directly in the bilingual intercultural education efforts~ The local Educational Advisory Councils are comprised of delegates from parent's commit· tees and community organizations. stu· dent and teacher representatives, and delegates from other local institutions. So. these boards arc local and panici· patory by nature. They ore obliged to Vol. 11 No.1 \Vhat would you say are some of the successes of the DINEIB and some of its failures or shortcomings? One success of the program is that we have managed to bring together six major organizations in a convers..u ion concem· ing bilingual and intercultural education and have also generated a dialogue dealing with other imponant issue-s or the lndigenous·campesino movement in Ecuador. Previously, although these groups were ideologicall)• on the same path, they sparred often in the political arena. Wnh the EIB as a foundation, these groups are united ...while. of course. they continue to respect one another's diverse experiences and objectives. As tO our educational model, we have been. able to develop our own prototype without the intervention of the central government dictating this or that model. \Ve are creating materials for each of the 31 �S E L f & D ETER M I NAT I ON T ERRITORY Indigenous nauons. and art able to t'f.ab.. uon·the lack of • "11hngn<SS tO suppon orate our own budget for tht Htms that we rtqmrt lnd•genous tducauon on the pan of the \Vh:u has been the atthudc toward the OINEJB o r dirrcrcnt administra· tions O\'Cr the years? Ba''C they volun· tarily supported the OIN EIB or have t hey 1ricd to undermine rhc initiatives or Oilingu:ll lntercuhural Education? We hnvc clucOy had financial prob· lcms. The govcrnmcm does not allocate sufficient funds tO sustaul Bilingual edu· cauon. In the last year the go\'cmmcnt d1d not gl\'c us a smglc ccm to invest in Awo government 01 course Ecuador docsn\ have 3n cnonnous budget, but ne,·cnhtl<ss. the,.. ought to bt enough funds ava1lablt: so that we m1ght work somewhat normally dc\'clopmg the EIB. \Vh:u types o f l'rojccts :uc proposed for chc schools? \Vith the l!IB we do not want 10 work solely wuh clnldrcn and young people. \Ve also w;mt to eStablish development proJects.. . considtnng the povcny of our lnd1genous people. we need to figh t a.gamst th1.s extreme poveny... to prepare mdwrduals for work, armmg them with the tools nee<5S.1r)' to bt producU\'C, so they nuy btnc£it thc1r bmrhcs. thear commumues and the cnurt $OCtet)~ f>.) . S.ON& ~<uaow 2. (),ocf; 8. }. 4. Quod-... 9. Tsxha O>Un So<or• We would hkc to strengthen our development pro.ttcts for agricuhure, ammal husbandry. mechanks. callJOntry tmd emit production. Some groups have begun to work on realizing these projects but they are limIted by a shortage or financial support. We need funds lor baste 1n:uerials. tools. etc. lf::we )'OU proposed that non·lndigcnous people learn an Indigenous language? II. s. ~... "'*"""' tO q,... our proJtClS. or to tr:.un our profC'$SOrs and admmlSirntors nor d1d we rteeivt: a smgle ctnt for u:achmg matenals for our variOUS lnd1gcnous communmes. Nor have they sup1>hed us wllh the necessary tools or technology. Th1s ts n con.s~<lemb l y serious problem for us. \\'e hn,•e been able to make a little prO&r<S< with the finanCial suppon of the GTZ o£ Gennany. but by no mea.ns does thiS suffice Is this lack o f S\1pport a rcs·ult o( a ShOrtage of rt':SOUfCCS '''ithin the go\·· cmmcnt or their unwillingness to help! Indeed. m our msututes of b1hngu•l educatiOn the,.. are non·lndtgtnous chdd,..n. students. professionals who would hkc to ltam an lnd•genous bng\aagc In Quno we are set· ung up n langu;_•gc trammg program for the ch1ldrcn of DINEIB employees. the children of d•rectors or 1lt'll1011a1 organiza· tions :md :myone else who would like to learn. 'Nc will bcgm the program with Quichua, then S1>amsh. and then English. the1r ch1ldrcn ltam QU1chua \\'c connn· ue to thmk that tht whntlmt.stazo. \Vcstcm world IS bctttr and that our own lnd1g<nous SOCICt)' 15 wonhlcss We have been mcukattd wuh thl$ auuudc pro. h1bumg the use of the lndtgenous lan· guagcs by ~IISpamc professors Our own youth have bced thb when they have attended college ~nd have been prohibited from speak1ng thetr nauve tongue. \Vc have expencnccd and endured the Spanish invaston that tncd to crush our cultures. We ha\'t suffered through colomalism that has tned to make us feel ashamed of ourselves. Some r~umhcs conunuc to bchcve that our culture and tradtuons are Mthout \'alue Loc.tl and reg~onal org.>mzauons nf'-td to nuSt ptOpleS COr\SClenccs, con,'ln« 1Mm othcrv.1St. that our cui· ture lS cmmtntly wonh)' and we ha,·c 10 de"clop our 1dcnuty, prescr"e our lan· guage m order to bttter confront Other cultures Th1s way we wtll lx well pre· pared for an)' snuauon T hen, il is Still r•cecss:,ry to combat colonialis m? Ccnainly. il is crucial that we erase this mcntaht)~ Vle have w confront the lack of sell-esteem. We must foster sell· wonh and coumcr the low stlf.esu~em which stall txrststs m some of our com· mumuts IntroduCtiOn tO thas mten"aCw '""aS 13.ken from • paper wnnen bv !>.1m1 Pll<o (Qu~<:hua) of the DINEIB '!I Alkrto AMrllflgO. tloo iilt<IO< ol tloo Noiionol ollict ol Malti<vhurol lifingONJI Uucotioo !DINE/I/ is o Quicb.. from (c..JO<. lAII( lrltr.l. t.Mrt AMolino who 6., fivtJ ond woth<l l• EtONJdor illlftv~.-.<1 Af!trto Androngo in 011ito for Abya Yo/a Ne'ti1. HI h tvmntly wwking •• hit Jissottot~• on tho po/ili<l ol tho lndigtnO(If movtmMI In (cu~OI. Last year I had the OJ>J>Ortunily to visit a bilingual school in the pro,--incc of hnbaburn. \Vc spoke with a teacher. who cold us s he was worried that some parents did not wa.nc their ch_l· i drcn to 1carn Quiehua in schooL \Vhat is being done 10 dtal ,,•hh 1his prob- lemr llxh<''C 11 15 mo,.. the absence of voli· 32 Some pa,..nts ""' opposed to ha"ng At:r(a Yala News �_ __, S E L F D ETE R M I N A TI ON & TERR I T O R Y Margarita Calfio M argarita works with the LIWEN U:nter for Mapuche Studies and Documentation and is a member or the Mapuche lnStiH.HiOr\S and Organizations of the IX Region Organizing Committee. She was also president of the Urbon Mapuehe Indigenous Youth and Student Union, and founder and boord member of the urban Mapuchc association. ~ Kinen Mapu.'" Margarita came to visit SAIIC in \Vc know that you work with Ihe Mapuche youth in Temuco. Chile. How are urban Mapuche youth keeping their idenc i1y? Actually. I was working with youths when l resided in Santiago. betwe.-:n '92 and '95. I worked with a youth organization called the Urban Mapuche Indigenous Youth and Student Union. One of my wishes now is to start a project with urban Mapuche youths in the city of Temuco. because revitalizing identity in these spaces is urgem. \ Ve know very well that citie-s are nOt the appropriate environment for the rtprodu<tio'' and socialization of lite cultural elements of an Indigenous People. These places. rather than facilitating the formation of a unique identity and positive self-image for the younger Indigenous generation. tend to degrade you as a human being and encourage negative and alienating values. mid-March to pllnicipate in a num~r of local events. She gave a presentation at SAIIC's "Recognizing and Honoring Contributions and Perspectives of Indigenous WomcnM event on March 13th. While visiting our office, Margarita spoke with SAIIC about her work with urbon Mapuche youth in Chile. Vol. 11 No.1 According to the 1992 population census, there are one million two hundred Mapuche people. Of this. over than four hundred thousand Mapuches live in Metropolitan regions. and only about 15% live in rural zones. The urban Mapuche population is mnde up of migrants from the n1ral communities and their children born and raised in the cities. They are youths with Mapuchc last names, but they are usual· I)• lacking cultural references that would enable them to connect with their Indigenous identity in a positive way. I p·ersonally li\'ed this reality and it was a slow, complex process. because when I began to reconnect with my Mapuche heritage, my parents were unhappy. They didn't understand or did· tl't wam to comprehend my need lO reconnect with my roots.. .lt was a difficult battle agninst the social currents.. and against your o'vn fe.ars... How much in nuencc has urban culture had on Indigenous youths ? The city influences you with values that alienate you from your identity as a Mat>uche. but when you resolve your own identity issues and begin to accept yourself and feel proud of your origins. it gets easier. There arc always people that will help you. especially the grandmoth· ers and grandfathers, \vho will hand you all their knowledge without questioning. A very relati\'e J>Oint is that when you assume your identit)', being urban, you have mastered the elements of the Other world , of the dominant society. This is really an advantage. because you posses the tools that you can utilize to benefit your people. This is what we are trying lO with many Mnpuche young people, make them conscious of our heritage, conscious or our need to become professionals. \ Vh at is "' Kinen Mapu'', the Urban Mapuche Association doing to S\1pport the Mapuchc youllt and to s u cngthen their culture? 33 R �S E L F DETERM I HATIOH This organization is new and has n01 yet completely defined its course of action. which is something that we have to do soon. I've been working'for some time with the ll\Vt;N Cemer for Mapuche Studies and Documentation. The objective of this institution is w generate knowledge from our own perspective al'td to d isseminate il to all sectors. especially the Mapuche. For example. we work on topics relating to the Mapuche people, to the situation of other Indigenous nations· in their own CO\nHries. and on the issue of Bilingual Intercultural Education. \Vha t is the differe nce between the programs for Mapuche children and those fo r 1hc youths? With the children you have to work in a p1ayftt1 comext, where you keep the youngster entertained while they're learning. and of course you must involve the famil)' in some way. This is difficult , because many times the parents don't agree that their child should learn about Mapuche culture because they view this as negative bUlthis is not their fault. \Vc don't know what negative experiences they have had that have made them opposed to it. \ Vorking with young people or adolescents is a liule more complex. They are going through a difficult stage. building their identit)~ They have marly fears. and to come to terms with being an Indigenous person in a racist country is not an easy thing. You have tO gain their confidence slowl): They must see that you as a woman car'l be a role tnodel. that being Ma1>uche is not bad or ugly, not m all. \Vc know th:tt you did some research on the oral histo ry of cite fa milies or urban Mapuche youths. \Vhal were the most impor1ant points 1hat ca me out o f this research? This study came about due to the interest that a group of us young Mapuche students had in retrieving our history, that history which was denied us ror our having been born in a differem context than our parents and grandpar· ems. It was :m arduous task. because fro m the bcgil'tning our families didn't 34 & TERRI T ORY understand our interest in understanding things of such liule relevance to them. The people in the countryside usually don\ value their legends. their family his· tOries. They doni comprehend the rich· ness of their own knowledge. V.le got them to change their anitude: they stancd to talk, to spill out a whole marvelous. unknown world for us. \ \.'c really teamed an enom1ous amoum. It was magical to listen to it all, and the most imponam thing is that we were able to get our relatives. om aunts and uncles. cOtlSins. etc .. invoked. \Ve'd like to as k why you, as a young Mapuche woman, arc involved in this type of work? l work with conviction, because I really feel that itS necessary to Slruggle for our rights as Mapuche people. The COnditions o£ poverty and O!>prcssion ir'l which we live today must change. Mapuchc children should grow u p in a healthy atmosphere, in peace and hannony with the environment. \Vhen I took consciousness of my identity, or my history. or my culture. it was really like a liberation. I strongly feel the need to supj>OM my people in every 'vay that I can. ItS a life choice. \Vhat would you like to sec in the future fo r Mapuchc youth? And what would you like to do to make it hap· pen? The future o£ the youth and children is a worry that we have as a people. In many communities. the young people must migrate to the urban centers to find any work they can. Their dreams of studying arc dashed at a very youn$ age and that's not fair. I'd like to do many things. but we need to design strategies at the community level. Individual initiatives should be within a larger context to make the desired impacts and changes. We're working for this. \ Ve know that you've been working on a p roject on Indigenous \Vo men and Gender in \ Vashingwn. DC. Could you te ll us what the focus of your research has been? In S<!ptember. 1997. I was selected by the JXvclopmcm Fund for Indigenous Peoples 10 develop a work apprentice-Ship in the Indigenous People-s· Union or the lntcramerican Development Bank. located in Washington. DC. I'm St>ecifically working on editing a re1>0n about the topic or gender relations in indigenous communities and development. It is a renective work, whose main objective is to understand Indigenous women's thoughts and perceptions aboUl develop· mem. Essentially, the idea is to propose certain strntegies that can be incorporated into the Bank's policies in relation to indigenous women. "!' Contino<ed from p<lgt 22 contribution to society, not only the Indigenous one of Ecuador. but in whichever place throughout the world. \ Vhat have been the challe nges that you have had to face as an Indigenous woman doctor? I don't like being labeled as an Indigenous woman doctor; well. I feel like any other womar\ or ar\y other culltlrt and nation. Btu in fact I've had w race cenain challenges. like knowing that the people of my community viewed me as the s.wior from the health problems affecting the community. The leaders of my t>rovincial community trusted so in my abilities. One demonstration of this was their inviting me to work in the SAMAY Project. Onanced by the European Unior'l. I'm talkir\g about a pro Hre project that would permit us, in a significant manner, to build our society, that would allow us to control our own destiny. Being a representative of the Confederation o£ the Indigenous Nationalities o£ Ecuador. CONAIE, is another challenge. 4 To respond positively to all these challenges. 1 always ll)' to le.arn more to better understand the culture of Globalization. to learn how to manuever myself \vithin the dynamics or the modern age, in distinct levels and spheres of humal'lttctions. For me, it is important to take imo account the advice and the points of view of the grtat Indigenous leaders. and or the great ideologies. both old and new. '11 Abya Yala News �S A I I C C...tonucd from pagt 26 damc:nsaons amo environmental tmpact assessment processes of research U\)1.1lute-s. mululatcral institutions, go,•ern- mcms, etc. 6. Dc\'clop standards and guidelines for the protection. maintenance nnd developmen1 of mdigcnous knowledge. whtch a) facllnate the development o£ SUI gcncns S)'Stems of protecuon for tndagcnous knowledge accordang to md1gcnou.s customary laws. \'alues and world Vltw b) reeognize the concept of the collccuve rights of lndtgenous Peoples and mcorporate this in all nauonal nnd mternational lcgislauon c) take into account :md incorporate cx1stmg ProJect. the Human G;,nome Dechrnuon of the UNESCO. the FAO CommiSSIOn on PJam Genetic Resources and n:uional and regional intellectual 1>ropeny nghts legislation under devclopmem. 1 ncorpo· rote the rights and concerns of lndtgenous Peoples as cxprcS>ed tn the ILO Convention 169, the Draft Decbrauon on the RightS of lndtgenous Peoples, the Kan Ocl Declarauon. the Mawtua Dtt:larauon. the Santa Cnaz Declaration, the i.cn= Declar:tnon ond Plan of Attton, the Treaty for a Life Forms Patent Free Paciflc and prtV1ous state· mcnts of Indigenous forums co1wtned :u prev1ous CBD/COP and mterscss1onal meenngs. Indigenous Peoples' politkal ond !ego! systems :md Indigenous Peoples' cuswmary usc or re-SOurces d) recogmzc tr.tdl- 10. Provide material "nd non·matcri· al support mechamsms and mcenuves to uonal agnculturol systems or lndagcnous lndtgenous Peoples for cap.1<1ty butldtng People> e) mvolve Indigenous Peoples 111 m1ttaU\'CS towards: a) the de\"tlopmcnt of the development of rcs<arch gutdehnes SUI genens syStems based on andtgenous customary la"'s for the prot«uon and and standards promouon of lndtgeno~ knowledge. 7 De,·elop standards and gutddmes mno,•J.uons and pracuces b) m.s.utuuonal for the prevention of biopiracy, the mon· strengthening and negonoung eapacny c) nonng of b•oprospecting and access to local!)• controlled pohcy. research and genetic resources: a) affec1 a momwrium development Strategies and :ICtiVIllt'S for on all bioprospecling and/or collecuon or the maintenance and development of biologtcal n13terial,s in the territoncs or Indigenous knowledge lndtgcnous Peoples and protected Mtas and patenung based on these coll<euons 11 Require the rcvltaltz.mon and unul acceptable su1 ·generis S)'Stems are numtenance of Jnd1gcnous l.lngu.ages as estabhshed b) affect a mor.uonum on the pan or the lmpltmentatton or 3rttclc 8j r<g15<cnng of knowledge c) re<ogni.U the and rtloted anides and suppon the nghts of lnd•genous Peoples' to acccS> de,·elopmcnt of edutatJ(mal S)'Stems and repatnote genetic matenals held tn all b.1S<d on mdigenous values and world ex-suu collecuons. such as gene banks. \'tew. mcludmg 1he estabhshmem of :m lnd1genous uni,•erstty. herbanums and botamcal gardens. 8. Ensure the sharing of the bencRts derived from the use o f indigenous knowledge includes other rights. obhga· uons and responsibilities such as land nghts and the mamtenance or lndtgenous cultul't's co faethtate the transmtSS•on of knowltdge. 1000\oauons. pracu«S and values to future generations. 12. Require that research and devel· opment activities in the reahn of lndtgcnous Peoples' knowledge. practices ~md mnovation systems arc gl\'en 1he same financial and pohcy support :as •for· nul scicnufte:• research nnd development ac:uvmes. 13. PrO\ide matenal and non·l1\3ttn· 9 Ensurt that rtlevant pi'OvlSIOns or a.l1nctmh·es for mam1ammg nnd enlunc:· tmcrnauonal mechanisms and agrte· mcms of dtrcct relevance to the tmplc· mcm:uion or :tntcle Sj. and rchued :.tl'tt· clcs. such "' the Trnde Related Intellectual Propeny agreement of the World Trnde Organization. the European Union dtrecuve on the patenung of hfc forms. the Human Genome D•vtrsuy Vol. 11 No. 1 C...tmutd from page 2i mentS and rdorrns 10 1he Mexican State. rather n would be admmmg that what. is needed is a radtcal tr.msfonnntion to the corrupt structures or J>OWCr in Mexico that have been dornmatcd by the more than 70 year old PRI dictatorship. It would mean allowmg for not onl)f the Zapaustas. but all of ~h~x1can ctv1l soct· ety to have the nght to trnnsfonn the government mto somethmg 1hat would govern by obtytng the needs and ton· sensus of the MeA1<3n p<ople, rather than conunue to be me<hator of due global busmc-ss mtcresa and an mSlru· mem of repress1on Unfortunately Mex1co ac1s with the reassurances of its 1radc panncrs, the United States :md Canada. The only thing standmg In the way of Mexico's unacceptable poltcy towards Indigenous peoples IS CtYII SO<l<t) both 111 Mexico and globally CMI SO<l<ty through both tts pohtical '-'111 and ~sons can put an end to tht> genoctdal war. The Indigenous people are dtar that the solutiO!\ wall come rrom nowhere else. nor can they do It alone. "'Neuher peace nor JUstice \Vlll come from the govern· mem. They wtll come from civil society. from its a muauves. from us mobiliza· tions. To her. to )'OU, we speak toda):"'tl er,.r;~ fdoiJcri • • ..-.. o1"' ,...,. K ;ti;o. m r.ds f:t t:lt K :1iol<l( - l o t o.-«r iaMi.Oc•. SO. .r:ta!fd t:lt U~int!itrol !osux ia ~ ~ riett sit loll ol«..tfon ia Hisl«y < o :J _ , io SociolorJ follticolllo~ ...t.,,,, hot ~/;<sis ootl:. [opclirJ"' l• Stptlf!lbt1 1996, U.. .., Dlit4 10 joN 1b• Nottb AmtricOJIIldioo O,.,.!ioo r. tho U Kofioo~ nitt4 wt~ 6"119,. t/11 Otoh OtdOiotioll oo tO. t~bJS of .. llldigtoolll P"91" io Gt,o,,., lit O.Crmhet of t!nt ytct, sit ''""~d t•l• ktolidoJ, ~ M ood prod.ctd o ixko IKitR.g , ,.., tiN sittlclioa;, Gir:;cs. li«• "" A.. ""' ....t~ag 11ili N DM. (JysJd A.. C ll<fli<J oclior:rilt,. ,.., uJ ecliln ,_ pk r:r«JCJ"' 1.....,....;.. n;«XXr lomcg .. «; ~ llriA=oirco W. c-&to Slrog;fos ol ~ s»<9ts io IUAic• ,,.Jtl '"""''\<""'' ''f''rlin' ,_r" tng biodiversit)1, indu~mg l:md nghts and the recognition of acluc\'emems by lnd1gcnous Peoples in protcctmg b1 0<h· ve rslt y. '!I 35 �SA I I C Urgent Action: Indigenous communties in Amazon resisting pressure to allow the patenting of their sacred plant Ayahuasca. SAMPLE LETTER: Mr. ~cmge Evans p,rlt'~ldent of ~h~ lnrcr·Amuican Foun<larion A ln~ton. V1rgmla USA Background: Fax: r03·8·H ·0973 In a recent lcucr addressed w the lnter-Amtrican Founda1ion. <·mail: como@itif.gqy Antonio jacanamijoy. the General Coordinator of the Coordinating Body for Dear ,'vir. Evans Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COlO\) refused to back ' down from a resolution proclaimed by COICA at their congress in Georgewwn. Guiana in May of 1996. The resolulion which was adopted . ~am writing to you to t.Xpress my concern abomthe through sovereign means by more than 80 delegates representing 400 ;ol~t~n ofthe religious traditions of the Amazonian J'(O· groups of indigenous people from nine Amazonian countries efffectively su~· ~ 0 noc S{!pport the tflorts of l.crcn Milltr in his rb:mncd the entrance and safe passage of the American researcher. Loren 1 t to .fXltcm <md cffutivtly gil'C himself <md~h mcmauonal Plant Medicine Ccrporation corurol of ~~ Miller. ~red Ayl~hu~a plant Iundcrnand that this platll is a Loren Miller commined a large offense against Indigenous people in a~J ~~td ob~cr ~<he Indigenous p<ople in the Amazon the pateming of a variety o£ the S."\Cred Ayahuasca plant that he claims tO th . • '.t \t at l cy have suffered a grave offcnu 10 have '"'discovered... Hts work with the international Plant Medicines Clr rtligtous btliefs and traditions. Corporation in the United States am their attempts to g.1.in a monopoly over the plant is a serious \'lOiauon of many Indigenous communities I ~~ a concerned individual in solidarity wlth the " <gtnous people of rhe Amaz"''· I do nor support the sacred beliefs. prt$Surc that the llltcr-Amcriam FoundaJion Ln . I d ''"' act As a resuh of COLOI:s deosion to ban loren !llhller from entering u~n COICA to mraa thdr resolutiOn umcernin Ptha rfwurc rdationship mth Loren M<lle• 0 1;,l.r g . r these communities again in a desrespectful manner, the lnter~American (. ~ J' '· ll .)WC VlSIIOTS Foundation has pur pressure on COICA and also on the Indigenous fed· annm .. IS•rspcaful to the traditions of the lndigtiiOttS - _, , . eration of amazonian peoples of Ecuador (CONFENIJ\E). They have commumttts and expect lwspitalitv anu CCOptrattOn m m Uk ·~ been ordered ro return funds for an education project suppor1ed by IAF of t~a~· wh~ha~IY cultud•~ <Jr •cligwus tradition, a ''iolaticm if they do not retract their support or COIOI:s decision to ban rhe . IS sacrt IS not a mauu to be taken li htl ctf«<!JflYt when .someone aucmplS to gain C<Jmrolrga~ entrance of Loren Miller. ;;;'~;;~ty ,ram tt. I hot)(~~~ you \\111 consider the offense . ,.. thtse communcmcs and rtconsidcr your dt:sirc R ecommended Action: fi01 t.hem to back Jqwn from thdr ''f:SQ{tdiOn. It is thar Please send leuers, faxes and email to the President of the lmer· right to demand re.spea for their religious traditiOn$. American Foundation it\ support of COIO\S decision not tO allow fur· Sinccrtly. ther violations of their sacred traditions by outsiders. For more informacion please conract The Coordinating Body for tht lndigneous People's Organizations of tht Amazon Basin) COICA ar coica@uio.samtc.nec The Nathe Monthly Reader A 50Mb1y,_.,.,pe< lor yotrog O<iJts 7{'J,{'Pci~<iJ<s you to "'6sai&for W'.Jr S<MO/; cw.r- 66r.:ry, orJomify. The Ntth·e Moothly Reader is pt~blished llvooghootlhesdlool><ar.(O<t. . ~by).am is cleoiitl<d (O< llle middl< ...S hill> sdlool81"1< loe\'tf, Tbis publ:btion is brWinJ the ~S· tanee to moli~nic: and cthnic-specifte cur· rioub in thudoc:alional system. Jqin us in M4'eflf6 mm<UfturdtmUrS14nJi"8for ~SJDUI~ .M rf.tjuturt. ~-US$ 1~o:~10 po< mo. $110.20 pe< ""' Sl iiC>OO po< mo. ·-~ ilodSu1 ilo:IMO P.O. 8ox 122 • Croston&. CO 81131 019) 256-4843 Phor>t>Jfax http://www.samexplo.org best source of information and advice for travel in South America. Membership services include expert trip planning, discounls on maps. guidebooks, angu<1ge schools, tours, plus e-mail, phone, fax. and storage in Lima and Quito. U.S.: 126 1ndian CreekRd. llhxa.NY 14850607-277-0488 txplorer@samcxplo.org JF~~~ =~·<1l>S<<<C.•Org. <C - =-· Abya Yala News �NEWS FROM SAIIC Upcoming Events April 14-16 May 4 • 15 AMEJlJNOIIW PEOPlES ASSOCIATION ANNVAl CONGRESS. Guyana Contact AmMndoon ~ 1\ooootoon at S92-27027S April 22 • 23 WORI<SHOP ON BIODMRS!TY ANO IMPACT ASSESSMENT. Oonst""-<d<. New Zealand. Coordna:ed by lt.JCN. to be hdd at the 18th ......, WA ~ong. (Cootaet ~ lt.JCN.The \\brid Ccnsetva:>on Vnoon. Ec"""""' Senoc:es l.ln."t. Rue Mo~Mmey28.Cird 1196~ t'S~o~ift•nd'b' •ucn http/loucnoo t'll~· 'otlloc"""""')• rg: Prin<ip~ FOVRTH MEE11NC OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PAATIES TO THE C80: COP-'4. e.-.w.va. (Coot><t C80 SecretN1at \\brid Trade Center. 393 St jacques Street Suite 300. Montreal. Quebec, Cana<la HlY IN9;Tel: +1-$14-288-2220, Fox: +1-$11·288· May4- 15 1'/TERNATlONAl EXH181TIO'I ON 81(). LOGICAL DIVERSITY To be held n eotlun<· """ """ COP-'4 to the ceo .. (Cont>ct: "1. S<elon l'<u-c. NCHE· II-" 7. ss2 Sl ~ -Tel: +4217·802-liOIOSt:Fox: +4217· 847·9WS81·165.Teltx 092-255) e.-.wav.. c..., May I - 3 Cl08Al e;()()MRSITY F0R1JM. Bt>t&r.~. SlcMI.a. (Cont>ct: C.vclonc M.ltUie!. lt.JCN. The \\brid v-. 28 Rue CH-1196 Gird. SwrtzMand; tel: +11.2l999.0001:1ax: •11.22.999.002$: e·ma>t ccmtlhq.iuen.Cf1) Ma- eo.,..,.,,""" May 1-4 ca ~acy COYet June 17-20 ......_ .,.. they "" lot .. •nc~og<nous trMI h:wn North Arnero.lf )0.1 M"t Wltet• WCitNtl ....., n ·~ please contact Odx>toh H¥ry at r.l (702) 571.0248. F..: (702) S71-02S9. E<n>t ~- May 4 - 5 v-.QRl.D MlN•STERIAI. ROIJNOTA8l.E ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY. Ths onteract""' evtnt Wll also be ht~ .n conjl.nction ''lith COP-1 to the C80 "' Bratl!lavo. S1cm1<ia. (Contact: HE. Mr. Jozer Zloch> Hv-Oster of Etwii"'OMent. M~t~•stry of EnvirootniY'It Nimest•e L Stut• I, Bra•stava. 812 35. Slov•loa: Tel: t121·7·516-21SS/2460: Fax: +121-7-SI6-25S7 Of\ Zuzw eu-, Nat>ONI s..m.n.. lot the ~ on Boo1oga1 o....n.ty M-.ry ol E~ Sid. 811 01 8rrutM. SloMa: Tel +421-7-786·581/$68 E·m• 1: ~Wo«.Sk) Vol. 11 No.1 lhdigenous (l,II\Urt-s rn lrtcratul't; lndigeoous literatu~; Ant~ arwj sooe>1og>ca1 a.speas of lndog<nous 11<nwrc: Editon. pcblosher$. ilnd po.tJI ~ ~ .1l"dWts and wnt~ f-1.1ss medsa 1nd ln6genous t<nture: OfiNI " " ' -...... ......... " lndog<nous ~.... ~ ~"""">' o.rnnu m trends Once "~ w your--- No been~ """ you • coo•l•••••ct ~ ~J<Jiy 27......... ol-ts;J<Jiy 28- J'.'1AZON COAI.IIlON ANN\JAI. 1".££T. I~>.'C.c.rac..,.~PI<.,. ncMy""'-> Co.l<tion t you pl.ln to att<!ld at I5 II K St Suite 627. Was!>ongtOI\ DC lOOOS. Tel: 202· 637·9718.E-.,.tomazonc~.opc.org July 28-3 1 DIVERSE WOMEN FOI\ BIODIVERSITY CONFERENCE. B<.W.V.. Slovaloa. 1M P<'"' ~• • be<1g OO'S"'led by Slwo. ....t other_,.,., """"on the boologi- song;-· Methodologoes and t«lwqve1 of wntong 6S88: · · -ctvr@boodov"'1) v- topics indudt: ln6genous iterot~m ol the 1\menas: Po<tty ilnd l)ric """'.,..,· shon stones and foctlorcThcat!< ilnd drarno: 0t-aJ tradit>OI\ mytl\ legend. t.stOI)< fable. comedy. cOIJ<\sol: Wondview and ffiST CONGRESS OF INDICENOVS UTER· ATVRE OF THE AMERICAS-CALL FOR PAPERS- The S'AbEYB'AbAI. c.Jt... 1\ooootoon CO<• .t n~-'<1- to 1>"1>0p.-.e ., the RRST CONCI\ESS OF r>.'DICENOUS UTERATVRE OF THE N'SJIIOS. wlloch wl be lldd )IJy 28-31. 1998 10 Cwtem.ll.t CJtf. tilly...,., ., ln6genouswnt......... .,..... ~­ " ther """' ~ (J>t<~) or other ~ ilnd .llso noo-lndog<nous __.., NYe oo lnclgetlous lrter.ture of the J\rnef'ias 111! II'N'Ited to ~tan abstract or theO' pap« no longer !hM 3 P>&t• by Ajlnl 30, 1998 to 8""' the Org""'ong Cc><rnmtte ~ to ..,.... thc>r l>"'bbP>~ ..,.t.,. -----~e-mal-..s. fax. telephone .,.. We ol the _.. 8erore the ....,. the _ . sllooAd be '"'" on -.,., or pnn:ed oo letter·= Pll'<" nl sllooAd tk no ~on&« th>n )I) """""" to rt.ad. The popen wl be p.blohed 01 a tote< elate. 30. the ~s otself. )IJy 3I, exCI.nOOn to pi<tvresq~~e pl>ces "' Cu.ltemal~ In the wo1 be an oppot\\My to pre- ...,;ng me.. ""'' lrt<!f>ly, theatric>!. donee. ,.,.;c or other perio<matl<es from Cu.ne....~ and the comlri<s of ong.n or the ~ W.te"""1\jo 23 611'erent etlric P4" each """' of. fernnt dothrng. l~nguage and lrft s~. lntom.tional port<opor>ts rrw """' to bnng t<giONI costume<. ~ WO<i;s. and san'jlles of ther ort to the cult.,.. nchntst of the Amenc.as. There G a nort1NI r.. oiQ.SOOO lot W . : " " " ' - nl US $20.00 lot . - from w..r cO<I':nes. -t ~ . . . . . to-"""""- lot.,....,_• ., ....... ,.....,..ol"""' For~ ..ror....-cont.ICI. ~­ ConlJle1. (~ Coordna:or). F"'- 232· 2n3. W.temA ..,.~ bc.ld<@&wtellet August 2-3 9TH ANNVAL PROTECTING MOTHER EARTH CONFERENCE. Theme: S.Cred Srtes Sponsoted by lndogel\0\ls E,.,,.,.,..,..l "-'e•vort. hosted by S....Oth Cenetatoon Fund. Modoc National fOt<St. nw AIIIAs. Cailotnoa. VSA For """" onror....toon conuct. lEN a: P.O 8ox 485, Semocfr, MMesota 56619 Tel: 21 8-75 1-4967, fox:l18·75 1.()$61 E-mot~ cwSMnth <l<ncntoon Fund .. (707) 825-7610 37 �B 0 o K RE V IEWS Recommended Publications & Events Indigenous Agriculture In The Mountains of Guerrero By: Matcos Marias Alonso. Indigenous Anchropologisc from Guerrero State, Mexico. p11bli$hed by: Plaza y Valdes, SA de C. V., Manu<! Maria Contreras No. 73, Colonia S<m Rafael, Mexico D. F. cp. 06'170. 1997. (249 pages+ API>endices) he author invites us to analyze the complex process or appropriation and integration in an Indigenous region: How and why are system.s of agricultural proI.;\ ACRICUI.TtfRA duction modiIN"OICt :N,\ t':. '; " fied? What conI.J\ :\t O~"'r~'\:A 0 £ sequences CU£R.R.E:RO resuh from the T transition from an isolated and rraditional agricultural society toward a modernized rural sodct)'? Is the '--------....J c o n t i n u a I decline of traditional agricultural systems irreversible? = In this book. Indigenous amhropologist Marcos Matias Alonso. provides an analysis or how the process of modern~ ization of Indigenous agricult\lrt is based on the incorporation and apt>lication or multiple technological inno,•ations (mechanization, use or improved seed varieties, application of agrochemicals, etc.) He also discusses how traditiOI\al styles of agricuhure arc fundamentally based on the use of the people's own resources (labor provided by the family, production for self~subsistence, use of local fertilizers. no investment of money. etc.) As his investigation dcep<ns. he comes to realize that Indigenous agricul· ture imegrates traditional and modern techniques in its own unique way. The results of his research data show the exis· tence and complimentary nature of tradi: tional techniques coupled with modern ones in Indigenous agricuhure. According to Matias Alonso. campesino subsiStence and survival relics precisely on the selective and compli~ 38 me1uary use of local and foreign resources. This adaptation does not imply loss of cuhural identity for the Indigenous communities of the moun· tains who employ this survival strategy. He Stresses tile importance or having an understanding of Indigenous languages in order to study and analyze agricultural S)'Stems. Evel)' concept has social signifi~ cance and carries with it implicit mean· ings that describe a process or an agricult\lrC phase. Indigenous languages consti· tute a key to understanding and describ~ ing Indigenous agriculture. Language makes us aware of the cosmology of a community. ·tt is like the entrance to comprehension of local cuhure... This book is available in Spanish only. Indigenous Communities and Education )oumal No.39·iO,)anllaty-)tme 1997,215 l'ages, Published by Ediciones Abya Ytda, A>< 12 de Ocwbrc 1430 y Wilson, Casilla 17-12-719, Q11l1o, Ecuador. ndigenous Communities and Education, is thematic journal pub· lished by Edicioncs Abya Yala which comes om three to fou r times a year. The journal comains nine · · ani· cles pertaining to education and Indigenous people in L.'ltin America. This is an informative collection of analytical essays for anyone interested in the complex issues of Indigenous education in Mexico, Central and South America. Some of the varied themes fea· tured in the 1997 issue number 39·40 include development strategies for multi· lingual educational programs in Mexico. Bolivia and Chile, arl analysis or various ways to create reading material in Indigenous languagc,s, and discussions about the merits of teaching in an Indigenous language. In their anicle on Indigenous I Education in Mesoamerica. authors Roberto Vasquez and Vilma Duque emphasize the need to modify 1raditional education programs. The Rigobeno Menchu Tum Foundation initiated a process to identify the needs and interests of Indigenous communities in the Mesoamerican region . The principal problem is the lack of focus on a cultural and ling\listic curriculum pertaining to Indigenous I>COplc. Xavier Albo presents a summary of his important work, "Muhi·lingual Bolivia" published by UNICEF in 1994. which includes a description and analysis of a series of respectful policies for the successful development of Indigenous education. In their ankle on bilingual imcrcul· tural education in Chile. Elis.1 L onc6n and Christian Maninez present their pro~ posal for educational refonn in the Mapuche region. This includes the implementation or an autonomous bilin· gual~imercultural education program suitable to the Indigenous people. Moreover they stress the need for an ade· quate lir\guistic policy to accompa''Y this project. 1\vailablc in Spanish only. For mo'l information concaa: Cdicioncs Abya Yala,tel: 593 (2) 562-633 or 506247./ax: 593 (2) 506-255. e-mail: abyayala@upsq.etlu.ec The Indigenous and Popular Struggle in Mexico Carmen Valadez. representative from the FZLN CZapat1sta National l1berat1on Fronl) and Melqui<ides Rosas Blanco. delegate from the Mazateco NatiOn and representative from the CHI (National lnd!f)neous Congress) will be speaking about the current situation of the lnd!f)neous commun1!1es attacked by the Mex+can government's policies. Tt;p ,.••,--.~: \', ;·; c\0 fec :~:'e ··p,-,::•"~"\ .':'IKx-. ,"<X ,fi( < crd ~~y_;.:;,' IJ11\ , /(/'~l ,';_v:;C.:.·r~ 1!0" : ( c:•1c,:n ,; !)c-;_._-~·.t . A .·. t> cr;d 1!,,:7'c.·; 1::-;h ~~ fKCfC!L/O~.<'">·;-<; (J< 1 April I~ at Horace Mann Scllool Auditorium Vale11ci>@ 23rd St. S.n francisco Carmen and Melqw.3des w1ll be VISiting the SAI!C office on their upcoming trip to lhe Bay Area. A~Yala News �SA I I C News from SAIIC 1998 HAS ALREADY BEEN vel)' productive and eventful for SAIIC. V..1e have co-sponsored numerous local events and r:tllics and jusl recemly coordinaled lhe \ 1isit of Margarita Calfio to the Say Area. from a leuer from Alexis Alvarado, Legal Program CoordinalOr a< The Dobbo Y ala Foundation in PanamA follow: "Dt<ir Compaiteros, Tltank you for sending us the .. Indigenous VQi~es"' Radio Program. MARGARITA CALFIO (MAPUCHE) E"e'yone in our organizarion has already worked as pan of the Professional Team listene<lto it and it seems to us this was a at LIWEN. 1he Cemer for Mapuche SlUdy lot oj wttrk for your orgam.Z<lliOn to put and 0()(;umentation. which gathers and together. We are organizing wvious worh· s disseminates information on the shot> and trai11ing sessions on Indigenous Mapuche community, ethnic and nation- Law and will bt wing your wpe in these \'trlthough our country al issues, and muhi-cuhural and bilingual programs. G education. \ Vhile she was here, sht; was interviewed by several radio programs including, Terra Verde at KPFA. Pacifica Radio, and Making Contact. and spoke av U.C Berkeley and before lhe Chilean embassy as pan of the .. International Day of Action Against Dams a,nd for Rivers. \Vater, and life... (l>mwnUI) lws nO< ratified tilt 11.0 Com·e~uion J69. Wt would also Wtt to Jmow ifyou could sencl us your book 'Proucth)g what~ Om'S~ Indigenous Peoplt and BiOtlh•ersid<ul, · it ·h·ould be very help j1d in cur work."' Founda<ion (New El Salvador Today). Glob.1l Exchange, and olher B Area ay non·profits. After teaching in San Francisco schools for lhe pas< few years. he is excited to be returning to interna· tion.al solidarity work and supJ>Oning the struggle.s of Indigenous people.s fo r selfdetermination. SAIIC WISHES TO THANK all of our members, donors, SJ>Onsors and volun· teers. We ~ou l d not continue with our illlJ>Ortant.,prOgrams without this finan· cia I support ana the dediCaliOn and COin· mitmem of 1 people who give their he litne 10 SAilC. For 1hosc of you who have helped out ln ou~ office or at our events or translated anicles. we w ant to thank you ! Also. Laura Soriano, our Execu1ive Director. and Marcos Yoc, Board Member, SA IIC CONGRATULATES lhe Abya rectmly relUrned from A TRIP TO NEW Yala Fund on their new office, and looks Margarita also Sp()kc at a re<cnt event YORK AND DC where lhey me~ wilh forward to c01;n inuing our sister organi· from the Ford zatlon relationship in the fulllre. While sponsored by SAIIC honoring lnd)genous representatives women. This event also reatured Foundation, Fund o£ the Four Oirecti91 'lS, SAIIC and lhe Abya Yala Fund bolh work ~! A R IA ELENA C U[.l.RUCHICHE the Gaea Foundation, the Rainforest on issues concerning the Indigenous peoAN D ADELINA NICHO COME>!: . Foundalion. and Share Our S1reng1h. In ples of Meso and Somh America • and two Mayan ".romen painters who dis- addition, they met with various whUc we both use the Kuna phrase ~Abya cussed their work, Gina Pacaldo, <\ cul- Indigenous righls and solidarily organi- Yala," or "€ontincnt o~ Ufc• · we are sep· tural tmist who perfonned dance and zat.ions and donors in both New Y and anuc organizations with different mis· ork lhea<er. and Beaniz Res1repo wilh Gmpo DC. lt was a very busy week for them sions and areas of expenisc: ~lnico de Colomb\a. who performed lr:l.· and ,],. lrip renewed SAIICs partnership ditional and impresslonist Colombian whh various otgc'lni2ations and individu· • SAIIC IS AN INFORMATION CEN· dance. This evem was very successful in -als. laura and Ma~os came back with TER promoling lhe rig~ts of Indigenous reaching out to the Bay Area community exciting ideas that will help strengthen peoples of L11in America lhrough our about Indigenous women. their corn ribu- our Organization. journal Abya Y ala New>! Nolieias de ttons and perspectives. ala, our radio program ~voces t\bya Y OUR JOURNAL COORDINATOR, jess lnd fgenas,~ and our Visitors Program. In addition. we recently finished OUR Falkenhage" ,.;II be leaving SAIIC iJ\ SAIIC is located " ' 1714 Fr:tnklin Sl.. 3rd LATEST ISSU E OF NOTICIAS DE ea rly April to travel to Kuna Y ala, Floor. Oakland . CA 94604. To comaCl ABYA YALA , 1he Spanish edilion of our Panam(\, je.ss will miss herworK on Abya SAIIC. please call (5 10)834-4263 journal. This issue covered Convention Yala News and being part of lhe 'SAIIC 169 in L1tin America. as well as currem family'. She is looking (oz:ward 10 lhls • THE ABYA YALA FUND is a projecl ne'vs from Columbia, Chile, Venezuela opportunity tO travel in Central an(} of the Tides Foundation, and promotes and Chiapas, Mexico. This Spanish issue South America and visit some of the com· Indigenous seJf. rcliance and communit)' was dist ributed to 625 Indigenous orga- munities that she has been working with development through grams. loans and niz.uions and communities throughout during her time at SAilC. SAIIC will miss lraining. The Abya Y Fund is localed ' ala l\.·lexico. Central . and South America. as her dedication and enthusiasm and at Higgins House-678 13lh S1., Suilt well as others in EurOJ)e and Nonh apprccia<c.s the hard work and deep love 100. Oakland, CA 94612 and may be America. h has also been hand-delivered she has contributed to Abya Yala eon<aCled Ol (510)763-6553. to some communities. including the News/Noticias de Abya Y and to the ala U'\ Va community in Colombia. work of SAilC. SAIIC welcomes lhe STAFF OF HIE NATIONAL RADIO PROJECT. who We have gouen a lol of posilive feedback Steve Rudnick wiU be taking over the now share office space with us. 'Vt.1c look from OUR LAST RADIO PROG RAM journal Coordinator position arter jess' forw· rd to working with them on media· a that was sent out in December. Excerpts departure. Steve has worked with NEST rela1ed issues. '!I Vol. 11 No. 1 39 �Daughters of Abya Yala ndlgMOUS Testimonies of Indian women orga· nizing throughout the Continent. Statements from grassroots Indigenous women leaders from South and Meso America. Includes r'esolutions from Indigenous women·s meeting. a directory of Indigenous women's organizations and key contacts. information on Indian women's projects. and poems by Indian women. Printed on recycled paper. Available from SAIIC for S7 .58 + $3 shipping. ofBuru rflies A Skirt Full of Butterflies IS·minute Video. Five Zapotec women from Southam Oaxaca. Mexico tell what it is like to live in a community where women manage the econmy: where women's wotk is just as valued as men's: where women and men work side by side in political resistance. A valuable tool for discus· sions of Indigenous women's issues. For every purchase. a second copy will be send to an Indigenous organization. $1 g .gs +$3.00 shipping.Available from SAIIC. t , lndigtnous ptOplt from lbt t-latt of Ow< Kui<o oft ~.n udnimy 1ptak our own a. b'f''l'' »d 11m • ,;gniliwt b'f''l' b>rriu with Sp>J>ilh ~~ >lont ~~ 0. 8iatiwl Owe» I ~IIOIIS A6aA« (ftOS.. frwtt llldtgtna Owq utiio Bi~cionll), a fiO.I.for-profit Ofganizatiol\ tc<ogoiltd tbt Aft(! ror irlltrprtltfS tor l_nd~tf!OU· Otu<an ~ptlk· tn ol tlittt<o Of Upot«o. To addms this nttod, fl08 u u ttd tllt Hui<:u ln(Jtfnou1 lntttpttter P rojt<t to uaiA a.cd coordi~tatt iftttn H ixtt<o W Upoct<o inwprtttn fOf SU!t·widt stf'lict. Tht prtstigiou1 Hc.tttttty lmtitvtt or language ~!ud"its pro-Mtd a wttk·long training to our inttrprtttn. W fiOS is liOW contacting mry rfltyant iMtiNiiM Uld orga..'liu6on to inrorm thtm of our inttrprtttr U:Mcts in tht tvtnt chat thfy cow into contact with O lllGUI lo5gtn.M peopk in llttd of an intttprtttt.W lodigtlll* ptOplt hlrt a right to aA itutrprtttr in oor ewm ~. t p3otfS. W\it Ft08 h1S ~ ttw first sttp, tbt wit is youn to i&:atity Owua lnQgfnotn pt09&t monolicpai ift 0111 bllgu~ts Of insuricitfltft bilinpal in ~ wflo "''ii~ bt-nt6t from 0111 mttrprtttr Stnicts. Vft also wotk wid! Guaw.Wlt lndigtnous inttrprtttn. Plt11ot ktl frtt 10 (OQU<C G aJpar ~«11 at 201 lt.t 4287 for furt1itr infol;natioo tboot ocr procn=~ or our a.1si:sunct in furn~ ln4itfnou1 inttrpmtn. '' '.opl" • nd ! Proteding What's Ours 8kH:IfwNJty, ... ,; Indig e nous Peole~and Biodiversi t y Draws a clear pic· ture for Indigenous and non lndigel'lOus alike of issues Sl.lf· rounding biodiversity and possible suategies for co,,serving natufal resources. It is an invaluable resource in the Indigenous struggle for control and consesvation of bio· diversity. knowledge. and genetic resources. Available in English and Spanish. 132 pp. $10.83 and shipping. Call for Papers Announcing a special issue of American Indian Culture and Research Journal: Environmental Caketaking on Indian Lands in the United S tates. We are soliciting contribut ions to a spe· cial issue that is dedicated to discovering the range of envi· r'Onmental and ecosystem management initiatives occuring on Indian Reservations in the US under Tribal or joint Tribal· other government action. The emphasis will be on efforts to reverse envimnmental degradation and pmtect Of festofe environmental quality or ecosystem integrity. The scope of activities covered will include: solid wastes management. air pollution control. water pollution control. watef management and water rights. cultural resource protection. and wild life and RsheMes management. ·Call for Abstracts· Authors are invited to submit abstracts for consideration by the guest editors. Authors whose abstracts are accepted will be asked to prepare full papers for publication. Abstracts should be on one page and may be up to 200 words in leng th and are due by Sept. 1. 1998. Questions fegafding the special issue and requiremnts for contributing. please contact the guest editors: Richard Harris. Dept. of Environmental Science. Policy. and M anagement. 164 Mulford Hall. Berkeley. CA 94720·3114. tel: (510) 642·2360. e·mail: nnanis@nature.berkeley.edu South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) P.O. Box 28703, Oakland, CA 94604 Non-profit Organizat ion us Postage PAID Oakland, CA Permit No. 79 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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. 11, no 2 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English Zotero Issue 1 Language English Volume 11 Publication Title Abya Yala News Abstract Note Entire issue Pages 1-39 https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/f2dda1bd26659f3c2dc59a3dd3f7403f.pdf 7e83c327307458ad96b323e7d65c97da PDF Text Text E c o-Jusrt c E A Poisoned Culture: the case of the Indigenous Huichol Farm Workers + by Patricio Dlaz-Romo and Samuel Solino~Aivorez 'I I'I I Migrant workers and pesticides Knous mdscators of the su~uon which nug.runt \\'Orkcrs tncounttr In 1993 1t w.tS esumated that to each plaming season opproxnnatel)• 170,000 Oeld workers Qrlive m the valleys of Sinaloa. 1\n average cl 5.000 agricultural workers $Uffer from tOXtCpoiSOning 3$0 result o( the handling or. or prolonged t.'q)OSUr< to, pesll<:tdes that •rc used m cuJu,-.uon Olthe 35.000 •81'<"'hur>l labor<rs that worked m rhe S.n QUIImn Valley of B>J• C.hlom~a m 1996, 70"m:rc lod1gtnou.s Artl<l< 20o( the 11.0 Convenuon 160 emphatically calls for signatory govenuntms 10 do ~urc. because the contractOr$ do not pro-cvcr)•thmg possible to prc:v-em workers ,;de them with >.1fcty cqUtpmem, and from being subject to contractual work· btouse tht condtuon.s 10 which they lave: lng conditions dangerous to the.r htol!h. and work m the a~trotndiiS(rto! fidds pn:- panteularly ·as a con5"CIU<n<:e of their \'rolS them. lor example. from bathmg <xpo<ure to pcsuctdcs or othtr dangerous and from "-ashlng thetr clothes after subsl•nces•. bemg m contact wtth pesundes recently •PI>lied or wuh n:stdual pes!ICldes. Accordmg to researchers. the maJOrity uf the Indigenous m•grnnt workers who The cases of !>ot~nlng and dearh work m lhe agroindustrinl fields m north· (rom peSI.icidc.-s count among the most ern Mex1co are: MiXIC'COS. lflqms. 3nd ~ exposure to pesll<1dcs 1S one or the greatest nsks wt lndtgenous mtgrant workers face. In MeXICO, the tobacco oompanies with agro1ndustnal cuhh~tlon usc enormous quantlllcs of these danger· ous agrochc.mtcal produce$ ,OJithout com· plytng wllh the lnternauonal levi I'<Sinctions dCSlgntd tO prot<ct hum:tn hie The lndtgenou$ wori<us •~ esp<· Cllllly vulnerable to the pernlC:tous dfttl-' o( the pesltddes for di\'CI'SC re<~SC>ns, among thent the r..ct that they lack mlor· malton regarding the dongers or expo- 10 Zapotec> from Oaxaca. Nahuas. Munccos and TI•pcnecos from Guerrero and Purh'epechns from Michoac•n. The dcmogn•phlc data indicates a cx~remely serious shuatton According 10 Estel• Guzm~n A)'lllo, women (34%) ond ehtl· dren undtr 12 years o( age 02'4) constt· lUte 66, of the lndtgcnOUS f>bor (c>rce tn tbe ogncuhural regions In northern Mexico Ruth franco. a docror spec1:>lt:• mg m work-related health and the coor· dmator of the Progmm for D•y Loborers o( the IMSS delevtion In Slnalo:t, C51i· mOles th111 25% of rhe 200.000 workers tn the Smalo.1 valleys during the 1995· 1996 ..ason wtre children bctwtcn the agu of 5 •nd H . 01 the t blldrtn from southern Me;aco. 63% •re ht1ed by tntern~td1011c> tn thetr place or ongtn ond the rtSitn the state of Smaloa forty lour per· c<nt of these chtld laborers are female ond Ofty SIX percem male. 55% of the d11ld farm workers ha"e been workmg in the fields (or I to 5 years and 14% for over 5 years At the conclusion of the agrlcultur· al sc;uon, 72, rtturn Wl!h !httr r~mthcs to tht1r rcspecu''t States, 20$, R"m:un in Sm•loa. >nd 9% conunue along •he nug.rant v.'Orktr rome to Other desnna· uons The extenr of the mdtS<:nmlnate use of pesticides has been frequen!ly exposed and dcnaunctd 1 the Mex1a1n prtss.. his n esumJted thai thousands of used contruntrs and tOXIC n:s•ducs that an: gener.lltd by the ann~! use o( upw•rd.s o( 8 mtlhon 1ons o( pt>ttddcs arc cnmmall)• diSposed of tn •d hoc trash btns. channels. drams, mcmer.nors. ;.nd recycled to store dnnk~ fng Willtr The hannfuJ cffCC\S ()[ pt~l· cides on human health t'lnd on the en''l· ronm.ent h:we been dearly docum~med �ECO·J U ST t CE Huichol~s and p~sticides The Huicholes sptak a l~nguage belonging to Lhe uto·:Ul<'«~ linguistic f,tmoly that •lso mdudes N~huad, Hop•. ShMhon<, Comench( .1nd m."Uiy other t.ngwges m a \'liSt lftllon tlut extends nonhward to tht Umt<d Smrs and southward 1nto cenml MexiCO. Some stud~<s est•mate that betwecn 15 and 20 thousand Huicholcs. Inhabit th«:: moun· tams or the Sierrn Madre Occldemal with· in ,, territory that comprises pans of the Mexican SL>t<s of J.•Hseo, Nayam, Oumngo, and lacatcw Ynr oft<r )nr. approxonuttly -10$ of .1l1 Hutchole famJhcs t('.Wt the1r <Jommu· nutes m the dry season 10 find employ· mem. IXX>rly p01d and dnngerous. m the tabat'<o fields of the Nay>lit coast. The <."1mses of this tempornry migmuon stem rrom the socioecononuc Situa.uon or the Indigenous people and from thm ritual c-•ltnd.ar In tht rainy sc~n the llu~tholts tl':l· d1!100>lly culn\'au'd • rombmauon of conl, ch1lt, ~ans. THE "VALUABLE squ:t,.h, 0\nd runa- AND APPRECIAT· ED" HUMAN MERCHANDISE INCLUDES r " n t h Unfonunatel)•, the Mcxlcon govern· mcm $1IC:· PREGNANT WOMEN AND BABIES INCAPABLE OF promotes exactly the oppo- monocultura1 pbnung·by diS· tnbuung hybrid se-eds of com that r<qu~re the usc of pesticides and nnificl:t1 renilizcrs. r<plactng the rn~>ed seeds that CRYING, MUTE v.-trc trodluonally FROM PAIN, WHO used by Huteho!es HAVE RECENTLY BEEN BORN TO •nd other Indigenous ogn· cuhuml peoples. Monocuhure agri· MALNOURISHED culture nnd other MOTHERS modem develop· mC"nlS brt:ak down the lnd•gcnous tn1dmons of coopenmon m tht communal agncultutal work and 1ncr~3.5e.. at an at.vmmg rntt. tht tnci- dcnce or malnutrluon and olcohohsm The mtroducuon Of herbiCides like P~raquat and 2,4·0 gradually destroys commun:~.l farm practices, puts the ht31lh of cult"·ators and th<•r famihu In danger. Vot 11 No.1 and dettnorates ranntng th>l typically occurs on lnllsides. With increasingly fewer opp<Jnunlties to $Uf\•hte in •he mountrtlns, the Hu•eholcs fed forctd to mtgmtc tn $<:1r<h or work '" the tobacco f~tlds '" tht c:oasl.tl pl.lntauons of N'.l)'ant Tht HuiCholts also mtgnte for cultural rta· sons Ncgnn cll•ms that "they ha•·c the rdlgtou; nectSSit)' to vi~n the ocean, :m ancestral female f1gurc associ.1ltd with fenih· 1 3nd t h.c tanh y Once they reach '"" (OJ$[ howt\'<r, thty fmd that tf they don' work m the t.tb<tC<'O plan· HUtcholts and the loetl landowners - the huter Actmg as imermcdlarlcs between the labor force and the ' IHg tobacco c•punl - usually takes place tn the pl.w or the commumues, on the m.11n lughw-.ty•. ur ut the houses of the <mpiO)-trs Som<umes the Hutchol« osk, hesitantly, for .som~ •txtra.s-: a «M31n quantity of tOrttlla.s a da)' per f•m•ly <>r some ration or w:uer. worker< ore these For tho:<t 5Uccted. '' Is grtat ac:c:om· plishmtnt. The r<St wtll ha\'t tO drink water from the 1rngauon uuions, lht.y can- channels deriving not t'ttum home from the S•ntl.tgO to 1hr mountams_· River. one or the most comamtn~t· TabJcco Ius td in M<Xt<O, or bttn grown in from the wells of Nay.tnl \10('-t long tht rtg•on, \\·h•ch before the •mv:tl are also com~nH· of the Sp:mish. nated in th.lt, but It WO\S in the o wing 10 the 1940~ when the 11\tensive usc or tab.lC:c:o market pestictdts tn the took orr ... result zone, thc dongtr· of the Second /kMIIddpiWOIIftJe:hlbli'-'"'-""*" ous agrochtmlals World W•r The ~blto~lo:m. ha,·e k.u:htd Into muntdpalny or the •qu1ftr SantL1go lxcutmla m Naynnt 1s the Me.;..1can eapnnl or tabacOne of the reasons •hat the Hu•cholts oo production. Every year, local l.mdown· contrnct to work in the cuumg (lnd crs mcc1 1n lhcir town plazas to hire the: stringing of tobacco. and not m other Huichole workers and subcontroct them agricultural work, •s because these opera· as a chup labor for« HuJchole workers tions :lrt done tn lht 1.3tt afternoon or are •PP""'I.Itcd because their \\ork wtlh mom1ng. wh(n th~ tempcnnurt ts rnorc the tobacco lea,·cs (hang•ng ond agr<tablt compared wuh '"" h<at or th< bundhng) ts practically an •n nuddle of the d•y Dunng U.. hang1ng and bundling of the lea•·cs one stays The Hu•choles make the Journey from under the shadt or the "branches." Tht the ~1cms unde-r subhuman conduions. apparent 'ldvnmnge of working i1\ the nrrlvtng at the tobacco fields hungry • shade becomes a henlth thr<at when the thirsty ond exhausted. The "v.tlu.lble and Huteholcs arc cutting the moLSt lr:wes apprtdatcd* human mrn-hnndise: and they be<~>me wet from he<td to tot. mcludts preg.nJnt women ;;and tx\b1es Moist slun .•bsorbs pesuodts more •~•ly. lnc.opoblc or ''>'ng. mute from ~n. who Tht \'tT)' DICOCUW ln tob3cco (:aU5($ dun ha'T m:cntly bten bom to malnounshtd imtauons and hl\'es, symptoms whtch, tn mothers or mothers with tuberc:tJlosts the Untttd St>t<>, ha~e bten identified as Vulnemble tlders and t\-tn the ·s~rong" Green Tobacxoo S1ckness. men nrrivt nt these ccntcf"!i' m Wt3k con· dhion, The The children, who actively p.1nlcll)atc ncgotUn1ons belwctn the in the CUl ling of the lea\'eS. art paniculnr· ly susceptible to the harmful effectS of the 11 �Ec o - J u s TI CE pesticides and the nicotint. It is considered ..easy.. for them to work in the first ph>SC of ~1e cutting because they can gather the leaves at the base of the plams. Mexican government's health and envi· ronmental Institutions have taken the migmnt workers, in the Indigenous com· munities of1he Hukhole sierra, a.~ well as necessary measures to pro•ect the h~altl> i!'1 the principle municipalities of the tobacco zone in the coast of Nayarit. In these workshops they showed, in both furrows, cuning of the wol'kcrs that handle these toxic substances. The endemic malnutrition the leave-s. their bodies are smeared with that the Huicholc populftlion suffers Huichola and Spanish, the sticky gum t~nd resin that covtr$ the tobacco. At the same time. they inhale becomes more ~cute \vith the rise in aleo· As they work along t~e the video and absorb the residues of the toxic pesticides that hove been applied to the planes. holism. which increases during the work· ing season on the coast. This in wm Huicho!es and Pesticides. whtch includes the tesumonies of Indigenous and mesti· zo farm workers who have suffered from oggnwmes 1he tox icological problem. problems of pesticide poisoning. The families li\'C and sleep in boxes, or under blankets or plastic. beneath the T h e Huicholes and Pesticides Project •s smngs of tobacco leaves that are drying. In their makeshift shelters, they try to protect themselves from the inclement health sun during the day and from the wet cold between at night , themsth•cs undertaking a study exposing in the process to the toxic substances that cover References: latrines. Even the food is cooked beneath the hanging strings of S101emenrs by Diego Ag<ciiM Acuna. leadu of rhe Narional Union of Wag< Field 111>rkus (CTM). El Univusal, tobacco. Oceasionolly the Hmchoks use the out p."l.ying notice to the gmvc dongc•-s that this represents. since the majority cannot read the mslrtiCtions on the labels which may be wriuen in English. Other wnes 1hey bring these containers back home to the mountains as ..practic-al souvenirs"'. Pesuctdes 1\re poisons spcctfically designed to kill. They arc toxins that con· taminate and degrade- everything wilh which they come into oomaet; there are no remedies or cures against them :md. contrary to their manufacturers· clairns, they are destroying the cycles of life and the ecosystem of 1he planet and Its inhabitants. Nowmlxr 9rl•, 1993. Pmonal communfcatlon <>/ Ramiro CMd"" orwkl the ogo ol I 2ci!Ollilllte 3~ of A1't<>yo Scpul"edc1, (ltlvisor lO ""lt>digM!M la1>x (l)((t in ""o¢clltlif0f lh< Ncuional PtogY<m~ of togioos ol N011htm H•xico. Agricultural WOrkers. \\~th the Surerary of Social Devdopmtnt. Magcltdrna Gomrz. I"dfan Rlglu$. Uaurc prcs.:rued ar Indigenous and mestizo workers the 1691h Convention of tht lntttnationaf designed in coordination with the Organitcnion of \\1>rit. INI. 1991. Pg,78. La Pesticide Education Center of San jornada,july 22. 1996. Esrela G~ttman Frnncisco. California and lnch.tdes col lab· Ayala. Healrh a1 worl.: rhe case of rhe agrioration from the University of cultural workers, rtported in La)ornada. Guadalajara and the Autonomous Ap•il 19rh. 1997. pg.46. Excelsior, University of Nayarit. The study began in Ftlmcary l71h. 1996. El Universal, july 28, 1995 and includes perfomting two blood 1996. juan Negrin. The liuichol Cr<<llion of an:)lyses to dc-tennine the levels of cry· rhe World. Yam Tablas by j<>s< Bcnll<t throcyle chohnesterase. The pesticides Sanch<t and Turukila Cm·rfllo. E. B.Crocker Neither the national and tmnsnatton· al companies that manufacture pesticides. nor the tobacco producers. nor the 12 '11 inhibn the activit)' of this neurotransmitter. producing various effects on oneS Arr Gallery. Sacramcnro, CA. health. including death. As of this wming 111t outh01s work wiJb Jht HukhM•s oM Ptstitide1 Projttl in ll.~rico Gly, Mtt.K(I. For mote inf01mo6on1 plt-~m con/tXt: Hukholes y Plogllitidos~ (mjfio (txtt lot 111·9, 11560Mtxko, Mexk•. (·m1l;l: biDk@moil.inltmtJ.com.mr the study is :u the stage of data analysis in collaboration whh imponant Mexic~m non govcmmcmal organ1zations dedicated 10 the epidemiological investigation. 4 Urgent need for an investigation the large pharmaceutical companies and tob.1cco grow· crs Olre "iolating rights to infomlation and health and, in the process, are polluung land. rivers. aqu1fers, and finally the ocean. whom the the Sea" Haramarn. water, nor any empty ptSticide con· tainers w caiT)' their drmking water, w1th· in the agroindustrial fields. Huicholcs cali "Our Mother of the lca,,es. Ther:e is no potable drainage, There is no doubt that, with the massi\'C use of pesticades ll<tween 1996 and 1997. the team working on the Huicholes and Pesucides project produced vt~riO\IS mfonnational workshops on the human rights of 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Poisoned Culture: the Case of the Indigenous Huichol Farm Workers Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Patricia Diaz-Romo Samuel Salinas-Alvarez Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Poisoned Culture: the Case of the Indigenous Huichol Farm Workers Item Type Journal Article Author Patricia Diaz-Romo Samuel Salinas-Alvarez Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 10-12 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note Exposure to pesticides is dangerous and potentially deadly to Indigenous migrant workers. The Huichole people, being forced to leave their communities during dry seasons to find employment, suffer from farming practices and toxins. Attachment Title A_Poisoned_Culture_the_Case_of_the_Indigenous_Huichol_Farm_Workers.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Farming Huichol Mexico Toxins https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/7c76f8893e2aef54532ac21c596baec5.pdf df626b86fd28d17f99f1a65c45c9f3a8 PDF Text Text Eco-Jusr1cE "DURING THE LAST 500 YEARS, MINING HAS BEEN, MORE THAN ANY OtHER HUMAN ACTIVITY, THAT WHICH HAS TRANSFORMED THE ECOSYSTEM OF LATIN AMERICA" ·ELIZABETH DORE (MEXICANliESEARCHER) 12 largeSt copper deposits in the world. ore than tw<nt)' five years after tht Ngobc-611gl¢ (Gua)'mi) people forst r.llscd their voie<s in protest over the immJncnl danger that the Cerro Colorado mming project presented to the regionS social, cultural ~nd en,rlronmcmal life. 1he same ghost of gold and copper fevtr has rctumcd to haum the region. M The various lndigenous communities surro\tndil'lg the 75,000 hectares granted to Panacobrc would be directly affwcd 1f the O'linmg cxploiHuion were to begin. Outing mining opcmtiOI'l S In the 1970s, t-ommunities were alarmed when the $..'\n Felix River, which originates at the b~\St of the Cerro C.olor.1do, brought thick mud down from the mount.'\in com:nninating other rivers and Sttcam.s. Ghosts of Cerro Colorado Mining Project continue to haunt the Ngobe-Bugle + by Anelio Merry Lopez Without taking mto account the Ngobc·Buglfs htstoric tights as original inhabitants of the regionS mountains, rivers and streams. the Panaman.i£~n go\·emmenl signed a new contract in 1996 with the mining company Panacobre S.r\. for the explo· mtion of Cerro Colorado. known to the Ngobcs as 'NgMuo Taint. This mounta_ is considered br geologists to be one of the il'l Vol. 10 NO.3 ll i.s very probable thal these w:.uerways will bt used to u·-ansport waste <'nd toxic Stlbstancts from mining sites which will undoubted!)' affect the hcahh of the Indigenous cqmmunities as wtll as lhe great diversity or animals thal usc the river daily. The concerns of the Ngobc-Buglf, of the peasant and social orgamzations, the church, human rights orgtmiuuions and of the community in general, stem not only from prtvious CXj>ericnccs with min· ing at Cerro Colorado (which caused enonnous environmental damage to the region ) bm :"tlso from experiences with other similar projects. During the time when the S.1.n Felix River experienced contamination. negative envuonmemal impacts were registtred. including the appearance of dead fish. shrunp and other SJ>CCICS t\long the riverS shorts. The river b«amc so polluted that j:>e:OJ>le wtrc forced to stop bathing in its waters. The transnational corporations together \\~th the national government worked to promote the mining project under the guise of development and progress and to generate ~m air of confusion among the Ng6be·6\1glt popuhuiOI\. 13 �Eco - J u sr1cE After the San Felt'= River disaster an evaluation was con· ducted to 3SSC.<s the projects im1>act on the Ng6be-8uglt. The teSts were onlr carried out for two months. an insufficient period of time w draw any meaningful conclusions, The mining project itself. however ,will take an)'wherc from 25 to 50 yeats. One of the largeSt imJXtctS that renewed mining at Cerro Colorado will have on the local Indigenous people is loss or '""t tracts of land which would further strain land rights issue in the region. \:Vith increased mining exploitation in 1he area. some Indigenous communities will undoubtedly be rorccd to relocate. According to Panacobre S.A.• thOS¢ affected by relocation will receive · just" reimbursements and will be allowed to retum to their lands once the opcrntion 1s finished. proce.sses. During this new mining procedure, tht rock frag· mems will be sprayed with a water and sulfuric acid solution which will travel in a dosed maze of tanks ::u'ld tubes. then the )3SSed on to a second tank where an orga1 liC: m1xturt will be J solution will be adde<l which separates copper. Finally. the mixl\lrc will be sent to a founh tank where it will receive elccuical charges to dislodge the copper omo a metal slab. 1\ccording to a cornmuniqu~ from the CommissiOI'l of Indigenous Afloirs of the legislative AsSembly of PanRma, as \VCII as many other communiquts demanding the susp·ension or the proJect. mining :u Cerro Colorado · represents a serious threat to the NgOble·Buglt people from the physical. social. cultural and environmentttl standpoint." In the past rear. various sectors have M INING AT organized to b.:mle against mining projects which threaten human and environmental CERRO survival. particularly the health or Indigenous people. Some e><ampll'S of local COLORADO organizing include: the S..1meno From Against Minmg (Frcnte Santeno Comra 1a "REPRESENTS Mineria) which wfts created in the Province of Los Samos last May: 1he A SERIOUS National From Against Mining (Frcmc Rivers near the mine. like the Cuibora and the Tabasara will Nacional de Lud1.1 Contra Ia Mincria } was THREAT TO THE most likely provide the great quamily of water required for the founded in june in the Province of Pan.a.ma: l-arge-scale mining e.-..ploitation. These rivers rt4'\y also be used the Indigenous and Peas.mt Front Against NGOBLE-BUGLE to construct a dam. as has been previously planned. Mining of Alto ll.1)'ano (the Frente lndigena PEOPLE FROM y Campesino de Alto ~ayano Contra Ia The Ng6ble-Buglt pointed out in testimony that "the con· Mineria) was fonned last August in the THE PHYSICAL, struction of h1ghw3ys has created dangerous consequences. for Kun:\ communhy of llx-di in Alto Bayano exan>ple. the earth removed during the dry season due to the and the ProvUlce or Veraguns . ront Against F SOCIAL, constnlCtion or the highway from Hato Chami to Nanci~o was Mining ( Provincia de Vcraguas Frente \Yashed into the rivers and Sl.rcams by Veraguen.se Contra Ia Mincria} was also CULTURAL AND THE RIVER the rains which prevented the local founded last August. ENVIRONcommunill.ts from crossing. Landslidts Minfng activity has always been and BECAME SO caused by the mining exploitation are MENTAL also a threaL continues to be a serious threat to the sur· \'!Val or Indigenous peoples. Mineral POLLUTED STANDPOINT ." The Panacobre mining corporation has exploitation inevitably disrupts the unique THAT PEOPLE 3nnounce:d that aftct completing its S)'mbiotic relationship which Indigenous pre-fe:tsibilit)' studies it has begun its people have "ith the land. Despite odvaneed tcchnolog•es nnd WERE FORCED £C"asibility studies in order to detenninc impact assessment evaluations. there is no guarn.mee that these the construction costs of minmg instal· projects will not affect the ecosystem, the environment or ilS TO STOP lations and later operations. These people. ~fining is continually promoted as an alternative devel· studies include a social and environ~ opmcm that will btneRt the lndigenous people m the are3. BATHING mental impact rcpon undenaken b)' when in reality the communities face relocation and displace· two consuhory firms. The first being a mem from their native land. and a host or illness which are an IN ITS Canadian firm, Hallam Knight Piesold inevitable consequence or polluting mining activities. ..,. WATERS. and the other a Pamnnanl:m company. Panamanian Ecological ConS\IIt:mts (Consuhores Pana.mcnos £cologicos. S.A). The rc1>0n. now in Tht oulb/Jr is o Kuno ;ovmolisl who htn (OtJtfibuleJ lo numt-1~ per~dicals and pvbfJ. wM. its second phase, include-s the Study of rive:rOows, the quality or (Q~IU tJnd hM (O<ptodU<td vtuious todia ptogtams oboul KfllfQ is Ht ohc wotk$ with tht Mo<rimiento dt to Jvrtlltud Ku~M~ (Ku~M~ Youth Movtmtnl}, water, the flora, vegetation, cultuml characteristics of the areas' inhabitantS and lhe fenility of the land. ll is estimmcd that in the Cerro Colorado area there are 1,360 million metric tOns of copper mixed with traces of molyb-denum. gold, silver. as well great quamities of suUur found in pyrite. Annu-ally, tbe mining project would t xunct .113 million metric tons of rock from Cerro Colomdo out of an open air mine pit. The 26 million metric tons or w-aste produced by this extraction and tr.msponed in pipes toward tht coast, does not include the \Y:\Ste produced dtuing the processing of the minerals. Panacobre will employ mining technologies known as "lix· iviacion en pitas'". '"solvent exn<lction" and "'electro·deposltion" which :according to them arc sa.fe and en,Jironmcntally sound 14 A bya 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Ghosts of Cerro Colorado Mining Project Continue to Haunt the Ngobe-Bugle Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merry Lopez Anelio Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Ghosts of Cerro Colorado Mining Project Continue to Haunt the Ngobe-Bugle Item Type Journal Article Author Anelio Merry Lopez Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 13-14 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note The Panamanian government has signed a contract with a mining company which will lead to an exploitation off Cerro Colorado, significantly harming the large Indigenous population. Toxins from mining is likely to do much harm, and mining itself is a serious threat to the Noble-Bugle peoples way of life. Attachment Title Ghosts_of_Cerro_Colorado_Mining_Project_Continue_to_haunt_the_Ngobe-Bugle.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Cerro Colorado Exploitation mining Panama https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/4f3883b4c8fcb038ff3f861f814074c4.pdf e5bacd3a1cf6f47130a0cfa4dd8c83d8 PDF Text Text • by Protop Chatterjee I �E<o-Jusri<E "Tl1e white warriors went across in their long dugouts. T he Indians said they would meet them in peace so wl1en the wl1ites landed Ll•e Indians went to welcome them ... Ge-W i-Li/1 said l1e Ll~rew up l1is hand ... but. the wl1ite man fi•·ed and shot him in d1e arm ... (s)he said when they gatl1ered d1e delld, they found all the lillie ones were killecl by being stabbed and many of the women were t~lso hilled by swbbing ... (l)l•is old lady also told c•boul (/lOw) the whites lnmg a mc111 on Emerson island ... and a lm·ge fire built under (/lim). And another ... was lied 10 a tree and burnt to death" -William lknson. Porno hisrotimt, rtcounrs m(ls.stl(rt;s. "' CleM l..ahe. Califor~~ia. May 18SC "A group of loggers cmcl miners near the town of Pontes e Lacerda ambushed and violently t1ssaulted at least 14 KaLiwulhu Indians in d•e SMare reserve. T he loggers subsec1uenLiy looted Ll•e Indians village, clmnllging a IJealth post and scl•ool ancl stealing money, Loots mul vehicles belonging 10 the lndit~ns. Supporters of d1e /ndillns, w/10 have a11empt ed 10 mobilize fed eral officials 10 comply wit/1 court orders to remove the illegal loggers and miners from tl1e reserve subsequently received delltll LhretiiS tmd inlimic/(l(iOn. The Katitau/1111 were also thre(l(enecl with f urrile!' violence by the invaders. Mediwl reports sLtlle that 14 lndicms were wounded, many by having been Lied up and bet~ten. " - T housands of kilometers. :lnd almoSt a ceotlU')' and a half, separate the two viol~m incidents againSJ the Pomo peoples of California and the Nambikwam peoples of Malo G=. Brozil. Yet the root cause for bo1h incidents 'vas exactly the s.~me: stu1ers in search of gold. The Clear lake incadcm was a direct ou1come of the arrival of Charles Stone and Andrew Kelsey. two nmchcrs who arrived at the l:lke i.n 1847. who captured and bought hundreds of Pomo. forcmg them to work as slaves. Kelsey forced Pomo men into the mountains as virtual slaves 10 help him look for gold. Evemuall)• two Pomo cowboys, Shak and Xasis, took the law into their own hands and cxe<:utcd both seulers bringing the wrath of the United States am'ly upon them in the incidents described above. The: Katitaulhu are one of l2 Nambikwara subgroups. '"'hose lands were first it'waded in the 1970s when the Vol. 11 NO.1 Envitonm~t~Wl Dfjcnsc Fund ,.tportfrom Mmo Grosso, Br~il. November 1996 World Bank-funded BR 364 rood from Cuiaba in Mo.to Grosso to Porto Vclho in Rondozlia wns opened by 8raa:iiS miht{\ry govcmmem. Decimated by epidcm:ics and forcibly relocated w make way for 1849 Cold Rush 'vas the basis of the foundation of the state of California and today the \\lorld Bank makes a prof'il sup~ paning gold mines. the road. the Nambikwarn died in great Pizarro, the Spanlsh conquistador. arri"td in Cajamarca (now pan of Pem) in 1532 to trick Atahualpa, the last Inca king. into an ambush that led to the collapse of his empire. One of the last acts of Atahualpa was an auempt to bu}' off che Spanish b)' offering them a room full of gold and two rooms full of Silver. The Spanish ace<:J>led the offer bu1 after they got 1he gold. they murdered Atohualp.' and proceeded to raze the rest or the c:ity to the ground. numbers making desperate pilgrimages in ;\11 auempl to return to their tmdition· a! lands. Some 6.000 gold miners invaded the Sarare reservation m the 1990s seriously polluting major watercourses m the ma, disrupting loco! fishing ond hunting. spreading malaria a1 viral dis· ld cases. The mcidem descnbed abo,·e is just one of many auacks on the Nambikwara in the last l wo decade-s. Foundation of empire Gold has been the foundation of emptres throughout hi5'01)' ~nd <:ontin· ues w be the root cause of many gen<><:i· dal auacks against Indigenous people around the world. The Romans founded their empire on Spanish gold, the Spanish founded their empire on Inca gold, the 1bda)' the ransom room is the only surviving monumcm to the Inca pr..:-sencc but the reg1on is Still being raped for gold: it is the Sltc ofYanacocha. the biggest gold mil'le in latin America, which is nm by NC\\IlllOill of Colorado and funded by the World Bank. Almost 500 )'Cars after 1hc Inca died defending their lands. 1he pco7 �Eco - J U S T I C E pie of Capmar<'a are dymg b<cause of 1he contamination of loc:al waters. and their l~nds are still being seized. Ycl cconomiS(S. historians and media Yanom:uru ls terrifyingl)' snnil~r. today there arc an estimated 8,000 people left. a 60 percent drop from the esumated 20,000 who lived in 1hc region just 20 years ago. alike continue to celebrntc the metal. In 1994 World Bank economists lavished pr.\ise on Peru for becoming 1he f~s1eS1 growing ccono1ny in the world by invll· ing in 1he new gold mines. In 1998 histo· rians and the media launched into 3 cc!ebr.uory frenzy over the J50th anniversary of thC' fo\.mding of the state of California after 1he famous 1849 Gold Rush. But for Indigenous communities the arrival of gold miners has always meant disease and death, whether it be among the Nomlaki peoples of nonh-westem CatironUn m the 1850s or the Yanomami of the A1nazon in the l990s as the two examples below demons! rate. Deadly diseases '"They (the Namrc Amencan.s} had been hiding in the hills. There was no min for Lhree years and fighting going on every day. No clover, no acorn, juniper ocrries or pepper gross. Nothmg for three years. Finally the Indians got smallpox and the Indian doc~orcouldn"!: cure them. Gonorrhea carne among the Indians. They died by the thousands.- - Andrew f-reeman, Nomlakl historian, recoummg 1he s1ory of his peoples in 1hc !$50s. -The biggest problem for 1he Yanomarni now are the garimpe1ro (gold~ miners) who are ifl our land. and the ill~ ne.sses they bring with them. Among them some have illnesses like U.tber· culosis and venere-al diseases. and coma· minate my people. Now we art afraid 1hey "ill bring measles and also AIDS. this illness \\thich is so dangerous that we do nol want it among us. But the worst illness for tlS is malaria, which comes in wilh the goldmlners. The governmentS National Health Foundation Sa)' th~.tt J300 Vanomami had got malaria up until ~·lay this ytnr: statement by Davi Yanomami. August 1997. nu. Some 60 percent of the esumatcd 150,000 l\3th·e peoples or Calirornia were wiped O\H by famine and disease between the years of l$50 and 1870 while anolh· cr 20 percem were killed br senlers. The ratt of destruction of the Brazilian 8 Mercury Madness Armed militia and deadly d1seases are not the only terror that stalked the Native. peoples of California m 1hc 1850s and the Indigenous communhles or the Amazon in 1he l980s. Mercury, a highly toxic metal. used for centttrirs by small· scale gold miners to extract the tiny necks of shiny metal from the ore, has also taken a rnajor toll. MCYC.\Iry c-an dJSSOivc as much as 60 percem of gold out of ore into a phys•cal soiUlion, known as an amalgam. This amalgam can oc broken down quick!)' and easily by hcaung ofT the mercury, similar to the ''JC\Y s.-tlt can be recovered from sea water. This mercury ~por gets trapped in aunos· pheric m.oisturt and precipitates down mto local water sup· plies where it can poison fiSh and ani· mats higher up i1\ 1he food chain. The California Gold Rush of 1849, perhaps the most celebrated in history. lef1 a deadly legacy or an estimated 7.600 tOns of mer· cury in the Jakes. rivers and sediments or the state while O\'er one thousand tons or mercury art currcn1ly ocing dumped by small miners in the fragile rainforests or lhe Amazon. just one gram o£ mercury poured into eiglny million !hers of water would b< cause for coneern under United States federal human health s1 andards for drinking water and enough to contaminate a smaH lake. Mercury is a persistent toxin wh1ch C\n destroy fcms.es, the huma1 ctntral r~ervous system. rcproduc· 1: tive organs and immune s~em. \:\,1 ell ovtr a century ahcr the miners invaded California, decades arter the mines were shut down, ftShing is still prcr hibiled i l''l Clear Lake. CaHronua, because or the heavy mercury contamination of the lake. Emironmental experts orl the tribal rescr,1mions in north·wcstern Cahfomm nrc realizing that lhC)' may have to seek help cleaning up the waste that contaminate. the Trinny river. s Meanwhile nobody knows 1he full extent or the problems in the Bmz11ian AmatO!\ bUL initial studies have shown that the levels of merc.:ury in Tapojos river Osh in 1995 were 3.8 pans per million (ppm), almOst eight Limes the permined federal ""''1mum of 0.5 ppm. in 1989. fish in the Madeira river tested as high as 2.7 ppm. Good news, bad news Fonunalcly. mercury is no longer used in eanromia and the small.scalc miners were recently evtcted from the (orlit c.m, S.'>oshoM ncdiliorld .W11. "/o ~ oodet tilt ot~~~b ID gtiiO rf>ol go/d. ID p!mp outlhal I>OIIt 10 !If/ ID tbcr gold, • • <time. its • ,,.,. cgoinstiJrJmoMr. .. • Yanomami tcrmory m january 1998 by the Bmzllian army. Theres more good news. the Macuxi peoples of Roraima, Brazil, blockaded roads in 1997 10 successfully demand 1he removal of gold miners rrom their lttrTitOI)'. However, today the l~nds of Nauve peoples in Nonh America are the sub;cct of a new invasion or gold miners and the Indigenous comnmnities of L1tin America arc next on the list as described below. Abya Yala News �_ Cyanide: the new t error Also poisoned by cyanide are the peoples who live on the ~quibo rh·er in In the 1960s~ Ncwmom corporation Guyana, where dead fish and hogs were of Colorado teamed up with the Unhed reponed in August 1995 after a waste Suucs Bureau of Mines to perfect a tech· water dam at the Omai gold mme broke nique to extract 97 percent or gold from and spilt 3.2 billion liters or <}'l\nidcore dug up in the dcstns of Nevada using laced waste into the river in what is a chemical called cyamde. These desen belie\'ed lObe the biggeSt such dis<tster in lands, the s.1crcd and traditional lands of history. Studie-s by the Pan Amencan the \Vestern Shoshone, are now the: Health OrgaoizaliOn have shown th:n ~11 source of half the gold in the United 3quatic life in the four·ki1omettr·long States today. creek that n.ms (rom the mine to the Esscquibo was killed. Suspicious fish. Corporations around the world have cattle and even human de-aths have also followed suit, using this cyanide tcchnol· been reported among the people of ogy together with the powerful explosives c.,_;amatca. Peru, where Newmom is and massive eartlHnovil~g equipment using cyanide to extract gold. that allows them to blast apan entire mountains, to take over the business of Meanwhile a number of other gold mining. Indigenous and traditional oomnmniue-s throughout L.1tin Americ;t nre being tar· A \Caspoonful of twO-J>et'Ccnt soluliOr'l gctcd for new gold mines like the Maroon of cyanide can kill a aduh human. community of Nieuw Koffiekamp in C)'anide blocks the absorption of OX)'gen Suriname where Golden Star of Colorado by cells. causing the ''ctim to effectively "suffocate." Adverse iml>acts of cyanide on fish have been reported at levels of 0.01 ppm, concentrations as low as five pans per billion have been found to irthibit fish reproduction, while levels of (also the JOint opemtors of the Omai gold mine in Guyana) have reponedly threat· ened and har3ssed community members by using live ammunition tO (righten thent aw:.l)' from areas in which the com· pany is e., ploring for gold. 0.03 ppm an: known to kill fish. Human beings can experience decreased respiratory and thyroid functiOI'tS, eitrdiac pa.in. vomiting. headaches and cemraJ nervous system toxicity rron'l oral exposure to low levels of cyanide. In Central America, the Panamanian Natural Resources Directorate reports that 70 percent or the :\pproximately 20.000 square ktlomcters of Panama deemed to have mining potential is on land claimed by Indigenous groups. The Shon tcnn exposures to high ltvels of government h3s already approved exten· cyan.ldt compounds can cause breathing sive copper a.nd gold mJning concessions problems. central nervous system toxicity within the Ng<)})e..8uglt and Kuna tcrrito· ries. and gastro-intestinal corrosion. __,,_0 0 E C J - U S T I C E h is high tome for people around !h< wodd to suppon these Struggles and demand an end to the stat\tS of gold as a barbaric c-ustom. As the leaders of the nrst peoples of the Amenca.s have ltSti* fied below, pure water. tmditiom\1 cultures and life arc more precious than all the gold dug up from under the ground. "\Ve have the right to put up oppOSi· lion because history has made us skepti- cal of certain white men. bcc:.use we have lOSt mitlions of human live.s, millions of hectares of land and millions of tons of gold, silver and copper with no comptn· sation,"- Atencio Lopez. Kuna, Panama. August 1996. ..\Vc want progress without destruc-uon. \Ve \\-"ant w study. to learn new ways of cultivating the land. living from its fi'Uits. We do not wa_ t to live without n trees, hunting, fish and dean water. 1f this happens misery will come to our people. I hope that yo\\ will help me in this fight" - Oavi Ko~>ena wa Yanomami, Bmzil, August 1997 "To dig under the earth to get to thot gold. to puntp out that W :.lter to get to that gold. is a crime. it's a crime againSt humanity, a crime againSt life, the very !i[e upon which all people depend, not only people but we have Other things out there-- we ha\'C the deer. we have the eagle. we ha\'e the rnbbils, we h<\\'C all life om there and the gold mining today is going to destroy that, it is destroying that. the life for the f1tturc generations is going to be gone'' - C..1rrie Dann, \Vtstcm Shoshone traditional elder, spring 1997.1) This dtadly chemical is being used today il'l No1 America on the lands of th peoples like the l'omo in California. the \\'estern Shoshone in Newtda, the Sioux in Sotnh Dakota, the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre in Montana. Also under threat art the Quccha1'l in 1\nzona. the Paiute in Nev;tda. and the Colvilles in Washington state whose lands are being targeted for new gold mines. Yet communmes are fightir'lg back :-tcross the A1nericas. The Assiniboine, the Colvilles. the Gros Ventre, the Sioux and the \Vestern Shoshone htwe gone to court to protest the gold mints while the peo· pies of l.otin America arc also putting up a spirited opposition, from road _blockades in Panama to complaints to imcma· tiona) bodies by the Surinamese Maroons. T outhor1's mining comPQigrttl let f1oje<t be Vndetgrovnd, o h11molf rights group bDud in Bttktky, Colilomio. His lattsl reporl, "Gold, G1tttl and GentKide: unmasking lhe Myth of tlrt '49el'$,"' is qrof~b/e (tQI'It Ptofo<l UnJtrgu>mJ lot USSS.OO. Project Unclcrgrowtd c:an be rictc:hed by phone ac •I 5JO 705 8970./ax m •I 510 705 8993,or e-mail at: projtct_und<rground@moles.org · or visit: hup:l!wwnwu:HtS.org. Vol. 11 No. 1 9 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Gold, Greed & Genocide in the Americas California to the Amazon Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Chatterjee Pratap Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Gold, Greed & Genocide in the Americas California to the Amazon Item Type Journal Article Author Pratap Chatterjee Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 6-9 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note Settlers in search of gold have caused two violent incidents against the Pomo peoples of California and the Nambikwara People of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Mercury, disease, and cyanide have all worked against the indigenous population, and in favor of the gold seeking settlers. Attachment Title Gold_Greed_&_Genocide_in_the_Americas_California_to_the_Amazon.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Katitaulhu mining Nambikwara Pomo Resources https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/53553da7dc1da9f77d52bd71046f4b3f.pdf 2e9c9d9c9c30aa503204664821401a49 PDF Text Text H uM ... N The Nightma re and Hope for Tomorrow ·Acual is the symbol of a "·ar of txtermina· t1on. tht true government rt)ponsc to the JUSl demands of the lndtgcnous p<opl-. of Mcxt<o. But A(ualls al.io the symbol of the Slruggle of'"" tfforu thor of rhe government "hieh seeM to mol:c 1mpunU)' and fory,tifulntsS rnumph. and rhar of cinl S«i<1)\ \<ht<h dtmar.ds !rut JUSilC< and rtfusc.; ro fory,tt rht worsr cnmt of tht IGSl 30 year$. And rhe sr~lt for mtmory and justice is the $l'14~1e for o JUSl pta<c... -Commtmlq11t from rht Qand<Sline Rt\'Oiutlonary lndiJ:cnou.s Commitrtt- Ccnual Command of rllc Zot>arista Army of NCttional Ubct·atfon, ]antwry 12, 1998 hesc words from a recent ZapatiSl3 l"OnununiCIU~ succmc-tly sum up the snu:ulon tn Ch1:\pas smce the Oeccmb<r 22. 1997 n13SS.1Cre of 45 Tzotzal Indtans m the vdbge of Acteal. \Vhat 1s clear from tht)t few lmes. and r«cnt eVJden«. as tlut the rNSS3Cre at Acteal "-'35 not an asolated UlCtdcnt. nor was u tht product or Inter-community confltct 3S the Mcxtcan go\'tmment would hkc us to behevt It was a cartrul· ly planned act .xccut«l by the htred gunmen or loco I PRl bosses. and tn complicity wnh Statt and even redtral authonues. Df:spne all thetr rhttonc. the Mex1can government cannot htdc the truth that ActC31 was the outgrowth of a larger framework or VIOlence :tnd terror created by the more than 60.000 Mextcan troops m Chiapas. and by government sponsored p.ummluary groups who have acted wnh tmpumty for more th~n 3 years. The sole tnttntton of ahe Mexu:an go,•ern· ment~ comp.11g11 stnce 1994 has been to repress lnd1genous proples and their nghtS 3nd hopes for~ new Mex,co. T has the terror and ""ll!ary smmglehold Ot'l the communlllcs II\ Clu:lpas ceased. The Mexican go\'emmcm~ low•lntensny war that has already cr,umed the lwcs or more than 1500 people smcc 1994. continues. Thtny-thrte ZapauSta commumties M\'t born the brunt o! at I<>St 44 anntd and tll<g.d tncurs•ons by fed<ral troops Stncc Oc<:<mb<r 22nd In all o! these ClSCS, soldten. ransa<:ked homes lookmg for we>pons. tnt<rrog,n«l and t\"t.n tonurtd some n:stdtnts m thtu search lor the Zap.lnsla l<>dtrshtp and msurgen1s. On january 121h, Stal< Secunly pohcc opened fire on pro1es1ers in O<:osmgo. ktlhng a 25 year old Indigenous wom:m and wounding her baby. In addnion 1hrcc Z.tpanS<a sympathizers were found hung weeks truer. For all the government rhetonc rcgordin,g the effotts 10 bring the gulhy of t1c1eal 10 JUStice. one must ask why the federal annr ins1.sts upon terronzlng lnd1genous com· mumues under the pretext or lookulg ror weapons. when the pro-government p.lr.lmthtary groups •nd 1he MeX1C3n mtlitary rernam rrtt and art :.'lllowtd to conduet the bUSIOCSS of dtny lOW·InltOSH)' war as usual The answer lS clcar-wh1le the Me.A1c.tn go,·emment talks peace n makes war. h makes war becaust 1t can not and wt11 no1 implement the San Andrts AgreementS on lndtgenous R•ghts and Cuhure. These unfulfilled p<ace accords. stgned by both 1he ZapatiStas and the Fcdernl government in 1996, pose :\ tremendous thrc~t and contradiction to the Ctlrrcnt reality of power and economic glob.1hzation in Mexico under the PRI The unplementa· tion or the San Andres Agrtements, the product of the dtaloguc and consensus or repr<sentanves o! th< filly-siX dt!ftrenl lndtgenous nattOrb 111 Mcxtco and the ZapouSias. would gwe rhe more than 12 Despite the SlltnCt o£ m~tn.SU'eam mtlhon lndlg<nas tn MtXtCO th< nght to mtdta OU!Stdt of Mtx>OO, the blood o! the stl£..dettrmmauon and autonom>' 1t lndtgtnous has not Slopped flowmg. nor ''"'Ould rcp~m a histone :md unprttt· Vol. 11 No.1 R I GHTS dented step tO\varcls redeOmng the rela· tionship o£ the Mexican st:ltC tO lnd1an p<opl<s, and would gl\'t lndtan p<oples the right to implement their own ronns of sel!-govcrn>nce. Such ngh1s would in<,,tably l<ad to brooder p.lntctpauon o! Indians peoples m the pohctes trot o!f«:t then commumues The agrtcments would also gtve lndtan peoples the nght to control thetr londs and the resourc<s wtthin them, as wtll as tht nght to rttam and nunurt d'l-(tr dt\'trse cuhurts. htst().. nos and languages Fmally 11 would optn the door 10 broadn and more profound changes wnhm the nauon :lS n whole and allow lor the posslbtll!y or a new MeXICO, in pannerslup with the Indigenous and all Mexican p<oples. The San Andres Agrccmenas were designed to tmd the conunuecl oppression. m.arginaliz.a1ion and exploitauon o£ Indigenous peoples that colontz.auon brought to the Amcncas Vet tt as clc:ar that the Mcxtcan go"cmmcnt has 100 much 10 lose by 3Cknowl<dgmg the l<gHnnacy or the Zap.1nsw dcnunds !or a It!• o£ dignity tn Mtxlc:o-land, housmg. work. rood, cducatton, hcahh t:art, 3UIOnomy. democrncy. hb<ny. JUSitc< and peace first it would bt an admiSSIOn that neoliberal econom1c pohcu:s. cochfied m NAFTA, have not htlped the extreme lev.. cis or poveny and m•sery s~tf!cred by the majority in Mextco. Secondly. the Mexican govemment would jeopardtze its a.bility and access to str:ncgic u:nurnl resources within nch lndtgcnous lands, such as those In Cluapas for example, Chiapan otl accounts for 81 2% or Mexico~ crude expons. 68 6% of tts petroleum dt:n\':.tllVtS and 90.6~ or HS p<trochemtcals Chtapas also produces 55% of MeJ,,cos hydroelc<trletly and COntains 2()% o( ll.S biO-(h\'CT)Ity tn the Lacandon JUngle. Fnully, to Justly mt<t th< demands or th< lndtgcnous peoplos v.:ould not mean makmg mmor adjust• Conttnu< on pagt JS 27 �S A I I C C...tonucd from pagt 26 damc:nsaons amo enVIronmental tmpact assessment processes of research msulutts, mululatcral institutions, go,•ernmcms, etc. 6. Dc\'elop standards and guidelines for the protection. maintenance nnd developmen1 of mdigcnous knowledge. whtch a) faclluate the development o£ SUI gcncns S)'Stems of protecuon for lndagcnous knowledge accordang to mdagcnou.s customary laws. \'alues and world VIew b) reeognize the concept of the collecuve rights of lndtgenous Peoples and mcorporate this in all nauonal nnd mternational lcgislauon c) take into account :md incorporate cx1stmg Indigenous Peoples' politkal ond !ego! systems :md Indigenous Peoples' cuswmary usc or resources d) recogmzc tr.tdluonal agnculturol systems or lndagcnous People> e) mvolve Indigenous Peoples In th< dtvelopment of research gutdehn.s and standards 7 De,·elop standards and gutddmes for the prevention of biopiracy, the mon· 11onng of b•oprospecting and access 10 genetic resources: a) affec1 a momwrium on all bioprospecling and/or collecuon or biologtcal n13terial,s in the territoncs or lndtgcnous Peoples and protected Mtas and patenung based on these collecuons unul acceptable su1 ·generis S)'Stems arc cstabhshed b) affect a mor.uonum on th< rcg>5<enng of knowledge c) rcrogmze the nghts of lnd•genous Peoples' to acccS> and repatnote genetic matenals held tn all ex-suu collecuons. such as gene banks. herbanums and botamcal gardens. 8. Ensure the sharing of the benc01s derived from the use o f indigenous knowledge includes other rights. obhga· uons and responsibilities such as land nghts and the mamtenance or lndtgenous cultul't's co faethtate the transmtSS•on of knowltdgt. mOO\oauons. pracutt.s and values to future generations. 9 Ensure that rtlevant pi'0\'1SIOns or tmernauonal mechanisms and agrte· mcms of dtrcct relevance to the tmplc· mcmation or :tntcle Sj. and rehued al'tt· clcs. such "' 1he Trnde Related lnlellectual Propeny agreement of the World Trnde Organization. the European Union dtrecuve on the patenung of hfc forms. the Human Genome Otvtrsuy Vol. 11 No.1 ProJect. the Hu.man Genome Dechrnuon of the UNESCO. the FAO Comm1sston on PJam Genetic Resources and national and regional intellectual 1>ropeny ngh1s legislation under development, 1 ncorpo· rote the rights and concerns of lndtgenous Ptoples as cxpreS>ed u1 the ILO Convention 169, the Draft Dechrauon on the RightS of lndtg<nous Peopl.s. th< Kan Ocl Declarauon. th< Mawtua Dtt:larauon. the Santa Cnaz Declarauon, th< Len= Declar:tnon ond Plan of Amon, the Treaty for a Life Forms Patent Free Paciflc and prtV1ous Slate· mtntS of Indigenous forums COIWtned :U prev1ous CBD/COP and mterscss1onal meenngs. 10. Provide material "nd non·matcri· al suppon mechamsms and mcenuvcs to lndtgenous Peoples for cap.1<1ty butldtng m1ttaU\'CS towards· a) the de,'tlopmcnt of SUI genens S)"Sltms based on andagcnous customary la"'s for the prot«uon and promouon of lndtgcno~ knowledge. mno,•J.ttons and practtces b) m.s.tttuuonal strengthening and negonoung eapacny c) local!)• controlled pohcy. research and development strategies and acttvlllts for the maintenance and development of Indigenous knowledge 11 Require the rcvualtz.uton and numtcnance o£ Jnd1gcnous 13ngu.agts as pan or the implementation or antcle 8j and r<loted anicles and suppon the de,·elopmtnl of cdutall(mal S)'Stems b;osed on mdig<nous valuts and world \'ltW, mcludmg lhC CStabhshmtlll Of :m lndtgenous uni,•ersny. 12. Require that research and devel· opment activities in the reahn or lndtgcnous Peoples' knowledge. practtccs tmd mnovation systems arc gl\'en 1he s:tmc financial and pohcy support :as •for· nul scacnufte• research and development l(IIYltlts. 13. PrO\ide matenal and non·maltn· a.ltnctmh·es for mamtammg and enhanc· tng biodivcrsit)1, indu~mg l:md nghts and the recognition of acluc\'ements by lndtgcnous Peoples in protcctmg btO<h· ve rslt y. '!I C...tmutd from page 2i mentS and rdorrns 10 1he Mexican State. rather n would be admmmg that what. is needed is a rndtcJI tr.msfonnntion to the corrupt structures or J>OWCr in Mexico that have been dommatcd by the more than 70 y<•or old PRI dicLatorship. It would mean allowmg for not onl)f the Zapaustas. but all of Mcx1can ctv1l soct· ety to have the nght to trnnsfonn the government mto $0mcthmg that would go\'em by obeymg the needs and consensus of the MeX1<3n people, rath<r than conunue to be medtator or due global busmes.s mtcrtsts and an msa.ru· mem of repress1on Unfortunately Mextco acts with the reassurances or its tr..dc panncrs, the United States and Canada. The only 1hing standmg In the way o£ Mexico's unacceptable pol•cy towards Indigenous pcopl.s IS ciVll SO<tety both m Mexico and globally Cl\11 SO<ltty through both tts pohtical "111 and ~IOns an put an end to Lht> gtnoctdal war. The Indigenous people art clear that the solutiO!\ wall come from nowhere else. nor can they do It alone. "'Nenher peace nor JUstice w1ll come from the govern· mem. They wtll come from civil society. from its a muauves. from us mobiliza· tions. To her. to )'OU, we sptak toda):''tl er,.t;l fdoiJcri is o ..... olIN,...,. K ,0, ;ti;o. r.ds f:t t:lt K :1iol<l( - l o t o.-<q ialli.Oco. SO. «:tlifd t:lt Ulitlnilyol !osuxia ~ ~ riett t:lt c ...P,Jtl loll ol«..tfon ia Hisl«y o o :J - . ; , SociolorJ r<llticrJ ~ ...t htt tmis ootl:. [opclirJ"' I• Stpllcfllll l 1996, liN ""' Dlit4 10 jojw tb• Noctb AmtricOJ lodioo O.S.,.rioo to tho U Kofioo~ llitt4 W"t~ 610119,. tilt Otch Oodototiocl co tho t~hts of llldigtAOlll Pf<9(" io Gt,o,,., In O.Crmhu of t!nt ym, sit tror..<d lolo toolidoJ, ~ M cod pcod.cod • irko '""F''·\om•IKitfi<g 'lf''clin' tiN sittlclioa;, llio.,....li«, ....t~ag 11ili N IJ.II. (JysJd C •w • ""'t ""A..""' lf<Jri<J ooJioc:oi4t,. .... - A.. ...t eclifn ,_ pk or«JCJ INI..,,....;.. "9'<XXr /omcg 01 "' ~ llriAr:toitco Slrog;fos ol ~ ~ io IU.dc• """,_.,,,owen" 35 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Chiapas: Massacre in Acteal Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Echohawk Crystal Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Chiapas: Massacre in Acteal Item Type Journal Article Author Crystal Echohawk Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 27, 35 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note The massacre of the Tzotzil Indians in Acteal was not an isolated incident. There have been multiple violent incursions since. The passage of the San Andres Agreements would give autonomy to more than 12 million Indiginas. Attachment Title Chiapas_Massacre_in_Acteal.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Acteal Autonomy https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/502c3dd3e60a270f238058cbacf10838.pdf 7df127902fa004d8088d5391b079952d PDF Text Text S E L F DETERM I NATION & TER RITORY A~t~~w~ Alberto A BILINGUAL INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN ECUADOR A long·standing objective of Indigenous organizations is to rcju\'tnatc and preserve local culture. Fonunately, there is an increasing mo\'emem towards bilingual imercuhural education which aims to promote and develop Indigenous Ian· guages and cultures and make them part of the national culture in their respective coumrics. Born of this movement arc a number of dfons in Ecuador attempting to del'clop the country$ Indigenous education through new pedagogical techniques suit· able to the l3 Indigenous peoples. This project has a considerable histOry developing outside of any official protocol . bm it has recently gained official s.:uus as the Jmcrcuhural Bilingual Education Initiative. cl Proyecto de Educaci6n Intercultural Bilingue (EIB). In the fifties, the SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) and the Andean Mission developed projects involving Indigenous education . However. the 30 principal objective or these i>rojects was to proselytize the Indians. By lhe 19605, under the direction of Mr. Leonidas Proano, bilingual education was by Ecuadors Public addressed Educational Radio Program which had audiences imo the Sierra. In the sevemies the Shuar System of Radio Education (SERBISH) was implemented in other Indigenous schools in the Bolivar. Cotopa.,.i and Na1>0 provinces. The exl)eriences gleaned from these predr<:essors made way for the creation of a fonnal Indigenous educational pro· gram. The huercuhural Bilingual Education Initiative, was established in 1986 with the signing of a contr'3Cl between GTZ of Germany and the Ecuadorian Government. They elaborat· cd a tentative curriculum, didactic mate· rials in Quichua for primary schools, and designed programs providing training and support to rural organizations for the purpose or educational and cultural promotion. The following is an interview we con· ducted with the director or the National office of Bilingual Intercultural Education. (Oirccdon National de educa· cion 11ucrcuhurnl Bilingue·DINEIB), Alberto Andrnngo. Mr. Andrnngo is a Quichtc1 and has had considerable experience ''-'Orking in the Oeld of education. He also ..vas the vicc·prtsidcm of what is now the National Federation of Indigenous and Black Workers o f Ect"'dor (FENOCIN). In what year was the OINEIB created ? \ Vh y was it necessary to create the OINEIB? \Vhat a re some other confed· er.u ions and orga_ izations that partie· n ipatc in and contriburc to the politica l activities and adminis tration o f lite OINEIB? f-low is the OlNEIB Slruc· turcd ? The OINEIB was created in November of 1988, but local. regional, provincial and national Indigenous organizations had been demanding its fonnation for years. In 1988, CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) played a very imponam role by launching a proposal for the education or Indigenous peoples. It was a propos.1l gcner.ucd by Indigenous and non· Indigenous professors and educational specialists blll was strictly tied to plans made for the enhancement or the Indigenous nations in Ecuador. An agn::e· ment was made between the Minister of Ct>lturc and Education and CONAIE to ilnplcmcm the OINEIB according to local dire<:th·es concerning bilingual intercul· tural education. Long before DINEIB, organizations, principally the FENOCIN and also the ECUARUNARI (affiliated with the CONAl E), had continuously Struggled to A'(y.fa Yala News �S E L F DETERMINATION & TERR ITO RY make the government recognize the Two of the tnOSI significant goals of Bilingual Jmercultuml Education move. the Indigenous m ove ment have been ment (EIB). For example. l remember to encourage muhicuhura1isnl and between 1981 and 1982. prior to the participatory d emocracy. In what existence o£ the CONAIE and the sense is the OINEIB a realization o f OINEIB. there was an massive national these goals? march calling for the recog· " ... WE HAVE TO The OINEIB is a state instilu· nition o£ 1he El6 by 1he government of jaime Roldos tion. but we are also an insti· DEVELOP OUR Aguilera. At this time. there tution of the Indigenous com· was a conStam demand for munities of Ecuador. For this IDENTITY, PRErecognhion from every orgareason. the DINEIB is subject nization. This also helped to SERVE OUR LAN - to the comrol, support and precipitate the creation or 1he GUAGE IN ORDER the direction given by the national orftce. Local and TO BETIER CON- Indigenous nations. As a for· regional ex1>eriences were mal state institution we are FRONT OTHER administratively. financially compiled and used to create an all-encompassing propos· and technically decemralizcd. CULTURES" al presented to and recogTherefore, we are dependent nized by the government. By on the directives generated by the time Rodrigo Borja 1ook office 1hc all of the individuals working within the national Bilingual lntercuhuml Education DINEIB. The OINEIB is a conglomerate program was institutionalized in of individuals, Indigenous for the most part but also non-Indigenous, 1hat partie· Ecuador. ipate on be hal£ or all the national organi- conuibutc tO the operations or their bilingual education program. by organizing a budget. infrastructure. teaching tllaterials and any other fonn or support ncccss.1ry to the realization o£ 1he El6. Once the DINE18 was formed, the rest of the Indigenous and Campesino organizations, like the FEINE (Federation o£ Evangelical Indians). FENOC (Federation o£ Campcsinos). FENACLE (Federation o£ Free Campesinos) and FEI (Federation of Ecuadorian Indians), came to panicip3te: at first they were suspi· cious but eventually they evolved suffi· ciem trust w panicipate within all levels o£ the EIB. I believe the EIB has actually facilitated a dialogue among our national organizations; a dialogue that concerns not only crucial issues put £onh by the EIB. bm also other issues conceming thtse organizations. The organizations 1 mentioned have supported this process. some with considerable fortitude and dedication and others with somewhat ltss. But by all means these six major participants have significamly contributed to the developmem o£ the EIB. l believe another accomplishment of 1he DINEIB is institutional decentrali%3tion. We have attained a degree of autonomy that enable,s us to advance obje<:tives o£ 1he EIB. This decentralization also allows us to select our own candidates for administrative positions. The only remaining power of the cemral goven\mem is to give legitimate title to the candidate elected by Indigenous organiza· tions. Othcnvise, the electoral process occurs in the selection of provincial directors. They are elected by local organizations following a public debate. This election system is unique. distinct from the tradition or appointments dictated by the minisny and government which are <:ommonplace i1\ other state ii\Stitutions. zations previously mentioned. In this way DINEIB recognizes the objectives or each or these diverse organizations. As for the conununitics. is th ere a way in which families or local groups a re able to participate in II\C Bilingual Intercultural Education system? There arc local Educational Advisory Councils (CEC) that have been established in some provinces and some communities. Through these community councils, locaiJ>eoples are able to participate directly in the bilingual imercuhural education effons~ The local Educational Advisory Councils are comprised of delegates from parent's commit· tees and community organizations. stu· dent and teacher representatives, and delegates from other local instilutions. So. these boards are local and panici· patory by nature. They are obliged to Vol. 11 No. 1 \Vhat would you say are some of the successes of the DINEIB and some of its failures or shortcomings? One success or the program is that we have managed to bring together six major organizations in a convers..u ion concem· ing bilingual and intercultural education and have also generated a dialogue dealing with other imponam issue-s of the lndigenous·campesino movement in Ecuador. Previously, although these groups were ideologicall)• on the same pmh , they sparred often in the political arena. Wnh the EIB as a foundation, the-se groups are united ...while. of course. they continue to respect one another's diverse experiences and objectives. As to our educational model, we have been able to develop our own prototype without the intervention of the central government dictating this or that model. \Vc are creating materials for each of lite 31 �S E L f & DETERMINATION lnd1genous ruuons. and art able to dab· orate our own budget for tht Hems that W( ffqUII't \ Vh:u has been the atthudc toward the OINEJB o f dirrcrcnt administrn· tions over the years? Ba"'C they volun· tarily supported the OIN EIB or have they 1ricd to undermine rhc initiatives of Oiling u:ll lntcrcuhural Education? We hnvc clucOy had financial prob· lcms. The govcrnmcm does not allocate sufficient lunds to sustaul Bilingual edu· cauon. In the last year the go\'cmmcnt d1d not gl\'e us a smglc ccm to invest in Awo uon·the lack ol • "'lhngn<SS to suppon lnd1g<nous <duauon on the pan of the government 01 course Ecuador doesn\ have 3n cnonnous budget, but ne,·cn.htl<ss. the,.. ought to bt enough funds ava1lablt: so that we maght work somewhat normally dc\'clopmg the EIB. \Vh:u types o f l'rojccts :u c proposed for chc schools? \V'ith the EIB we do not want to work solely wuh clnldrcn and young people. \Ve also w;mt to CSt3blish development proJects.. . oonsidcnng the povcnr of our lnd1genous people. we need to right a.g.amst th1.s extreme povcny... to prepare mdwrduals for work, armmg them with the tools nee<5S.1r)' to bt producU\'C, so they nuy btnerit tht1r bmrhcs. thear commumues and the enure $OCtet)~ f>.) . S.ON& ~<u>ow So<or• 2. (),ocl; 8. }. 4. Quod-... 9. Tsxha O>Un 10 II. q,... s. our proJtClS. or to tram our profC'$SOrs and admmlSir:uors nor d1d we receive a smgle C('nt for tcachmg matenals for our variOUS lnd1gcnous communmes. Nor have they sup1>hcd us wllh the necessary tools or technology. Thts ts n con.s~<lernb l y serious problem for us. \\'e hn,•e been able to make a little pro&r<ss with the flnanc1al suppon of the GTZ o£ Gcnnany. but by no mea.ns does th1s suffice Is this lack o r S\1pport a rcs·ult or a shortage or rt":SOurccs '\\'ithin the go,·· t mmcnt or their unwillingness to help! T ERRITORY ~... "'*"-"' We would hke to strengthen our development prOJI!ClS for agricuhure. ammal husbandry. mechanks. C311J0ntry ttnd craft production. Some groups have begun to work on realizing these projects but they are limIted by a shortage of financial support. We need lunds for baste 1n:ucrials. tools. etc. the~r ch1ldrcn ltam QU1chua \Ve connn· ue to thmk that the whntlmtstazo. \Vcstcm world IS better and that our own lnd1g<OOUS SO<I<l)' 15 wonhless We have been mcukattd wuh thl$ atutudc pn:>hlbnmg the use of the lndtgenous lan· guages by ~hspamc professors Our own youth have bced thb when they htwe attended college and hJtve been prohibited from speak1ng lhetr nauve tongue. \Vc have expencnccd and endured the Spanish invaston that tncd to crush our cultures. We ha\'e suffered through colomalism that has tned to make us £eel ashamed of ourselves. Some r~umhcs contmuc to behcvc that our culture and trad1uons are Mthout "alue Loco.l and reg~onal orgamzauons n~-td to nuSt ptOpleS COr\SClcnccs, con,'ln« thtm othcrv.'lSt. that our cui· ture 1S cmmtntly wonh)' and we ha,·e to de"clop our tdcnuty, prescr"e our lan· guage m order to btttcr confront Other cultures Th1s way we wtll be well pre· pared for an)' snuauon T hen, it is still ncecss:,ry to combat colonialism? Cenninly. il is crucial that we erase this mcntnht)~ Vlc have 10 confront the lack of sell-esteem. We must foster self· wonh and coumcr lht low stlr.esteem which stall prrslStS m some of our com· lf::wc )'OU proposed that non·lndigcnous people learn mumuts an Indigenous language? IntroduCtiOn tO thas mtcrvacw was 13.k<n lrom a paper wnntn bv !>.1m1 Pll<o (Qu~<:hua) of the DINEIB '!I Indeed. m our U\SUtutes or b1hngu•l <duco.uon the,.. .,.. non·lndtgtnous children. students. professionals who would hkt to ltam an lnd•genous bng\aagc In Quno we are set· ung up n languJgc trammg program for the ch1ldrcn ol DINEIB employees. the children of d•rectors or nnuona1 organiza· tions :md :myone else who would like to learn. 'J!/c will bcgm the program with Quichua, then S1>amsh. and then English. Alkrto AMrrmgo. tloo "''""of rht Notionol ollie• of Malti<vhurol l i/ingONJI Uucotioo (OINE/1/;, o Q .. ui<b from (c..JO<. lA/1( lrltn~ t.Mrt AMolino who 60> lived ond worhd in ltvoHr inttrYitwed A!Hrto Androngo in 011ito for Abya Yo/a N HI h tvmntly 1Y11. wwking •• biJ Jissortot~• on tho po/ili<l ol tbt lndigtttO(If movtmMI In (cu~OI. las t year I had the OJ>J>Ortunily to visit a bilingual school in Lhc pro,--incc of hnbaburn. \Vc spoke with a teacher. who told us shc was worried that some parents did not wa nt their ch_l· i drcn to Jearn Quiehua in schooL \Vhat is being done 10 deal " 'hh 1his prob- lemr I b<h<'·e Ill$ mo,.. the absence of voli· 32 Some pa,..nts an: opposed to ha'"ng A~YalaNews � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 An Interview With Alberto Andrango Bilingual Intercultural Education in Ecuador 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 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title An Interview With Alberto Andrango Bilingual Intercultural Education in Ecuador Item Type Journal Article Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 30-32 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note There is an increasing movement towards bilingual intercultural education to help develop and preserve Indigenous language and culture. There have been many movements and organizations created to ensure this goal is reached, and much success and failure along the way. Attachment Title An_Interview_With_Alberto_Andrango_Bilingual_Intercultural_Educator_In_Ecuador.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bilingual Culture Language https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/369d2453de1e813c0fcc99a8b86bd68b.pdf 8b468604d09d39d4401d9172cfdc8d2a PDF Text Text DA U G H TE R S OF ABYA YA L A Bolivia, a mining country, hosting Women and Mining Conference in 2000 In January 1997, women from all over the world involved in mining met in Baguio City, Philippines for the First International Women and Mining Conference. Women, particularly Indigenous women, have long been uniquely affected by and involved in the mining that goes on in their countries. With the expan~on of large scale mining and its inevitable dependence on the global market, women have been faced with changes to the organization of their societies, their economic systems, their interpersonal relationships, their natural environments as well as the health of themselves and their children. Despite their hardships and sacrifices, Indigenous women have often been invisible in the mining world. In many countries local women's groups and community organizations formed to confront the reality of the effects of mining on their cultures and the environment and to come up with ways to reverse the negative effect that mining had on their lives at the individual. familial and community level. These organizations began to see more and more the need to interact with other like-minded organizations at a regional and international level. The NGO, Minewatch (England) was instrumental in forming an international network of women mine workers to coordinate with one another and share information. Minewatch, together with the Women Workers Program, organized and hosted the First International Women and Mining Conference in the Philippines, the first of its kind. Representing their organizations, unions and Indigenous communities, women from Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and North America shared their experiences of multinational mining and discussed ways to resist its threats to their lives and communities. The delegates developed strategies for collaborating and supporting each other. Respondin9 to the urgency of their needs, the delegates decided to organize reg<onal events after the Conference and to strengthen their existing networks. Plans are now under way for the Second International Women and Mining Conference to be hosted by CEPROMIN (Centro de Promocion Minera) in Bolivia in 2000. The organization hopes to bring 50 delegates representing all of the continents. The objectives of the Second International Conference are: to discover the shared and the particular situation and specific problems of the women in mining zones around the world, to facilitate the exchange of ipformation concerning the impact of rl)inlng:'and. to denounce Human rights-violations, both territorial and culture. <IS well as the ecological disasters and health ramifications of mining activities. Other goals are to utilize the shared creativity of all those present to come Opwith tactics to improve the conditions of life in mining z'ones, and to establish links between organizations and bet)'lleen the countries to work on common issues and 10 negotiate before the pertinent organizations at the governmental and international levels. The themes of the Second International Conference On Women and Mining will be those issues of central concern to the women and their organizations. T~ese concern~relate to the changes at the global level in regard to mining exploitation,...the infor111al and invisible work of women mineworkers (related to the global tendency to informalize and undeNalue the c0ntributions of women's work, following the model of domestic labor), the conditions of life, health and education, a'nd the effeczts of the expan~on of mining into new areas and its real impact on the ecosystem and lhe culture). Bolivie, the si e of the upcoming conference, is a country with a long history of mining. Its inhabitants have seen first ~a~d lhe ext(aordioa<y impact of mining on the politics, environment and socio-economic dynamic of this country. The organizations <n Bolivia have fought for decades for their survival, their rights and their dignity despite the massacres and militarization of their communities. CEPROMIN has extensive documentation of the severe health effects of mining on Indigenous women in Bolivia.Native women miners suffer respitory illnesses, skin diseases. muscular afflictions and die young from the compounded polluting effects of life in the mines. lnfomtalion from CEPROMIN, Mujeres y Minerla Hacia la Segunda CotiferenGia lnttrnacional For more information: CEPROMIN (ttl) 00591-2 35 94 02 (/ax) 00591-2 37 39 83 (e-mail) cepromin@caoba.tnttlnttbo GOntaCf Vol. 11 No. 1 23 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Bolivia, a mining country, hosting Women and Mining conference in 2000 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 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Bolivia, a mining country, hosting Women and Mining conference in 2000 Item Type Journal Article Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 23 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note Women from all over the world participated in the First International Women and Mining Conference, bringing their struggles and hardships forward in an area where they are largely invisible and underrepresented. Attachment Title Bolivia_A_Mining_Country_hosting_Women_and_Mining_Confrence_in 2000.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bolivia mining Women https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/da01a85f671d9229834010ee1703bdff.pdf cecc27b6750119523278d6f49aa323cf PDF Text Text ENV I RONMEN .:._ _ __ T • • ous people r forest ng local communities, ps and non-governmental off against a major I n a bid to prote<t their livchhoods. the Indigenous communities of the PilOn Lajas lndigenotl.S Territory and Biosphere Reserve in Bolivia's northern Bcni department have united against one of the areaS biggest logging companies. The Chimane. Mosttcne and Tacana peoples have joined forces with the Rurrenabaque municipal gov· cmmem and Veterinarians \Vithout Borders (VSF), a French NGO which oversees administration of Pi16n lajas. to ban the Berna logging compa1\y from the reserve. 24 A'<Yta Yala News �ENVIRONMENT ..\Ve want the :tuthoritie-s to throw out 1hc logging companies. so 1hey leave 1he lCrrilOl')' for good : said Bern~n SolO. "THE SUCCESS cuhure secretary or OR FAILURE OF San luis Chico. Berna, however, has THE PILON a legal concession issued by former LA)AS AREA, Presidcm Gonzalo DESIGNATED AS SAnchez de Loz..'lda AN INDIGENOUS (1993·1997). and TERRITORY AND ahhougluhc compa· ny has not resumed BIOSPHERE RESERVE IN 1991, DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT THE LOGGING INDUSTRY IS CONTROllED" logging in the area, 1he baule is far from over. Berna$ logging contract does not expire umil 2011. "The success or fail· ure of 1he Pil6n L'ljas area, designated as an Indigenous territory and biosphere rescnre in 1991. derxmds on whether or not the logging indusuy is controlled," s..<tid Daniel Robinson, national coordinator of VSF. Bolivia$ forest reserves are considered among the worldS richest, \\i lh more 1han 2.500 species of 1rees. The coalition against Berna s.c1.y that the company, along with hoards o£ inde· pendem loggers. is steadily deforesting 1hc supposedly pro1ec1ed area. ' They are tearing out various timber SJ>Ccics. 1nain· ly mahogan)', and selling them for excellent prices; Soto said. In addition , ~vlosetene representative Macario Canare said. "For every mahogany trunk they take om , they cut down 70 more trees geuing to it." logging also 1hrea1ens Ira· ditional hunting grounds on which Indigenous communi· ties depend for their livelihood. '"The loggers hunt animals in 1he jungle for food. and 1he sound of their machines scares many more away... Canare said. lov.red. The law givts Indigenous people the exdusive right to tase foreSt resources on commur~al land in territory reserved for Indigenous groups. Protected art.as indude more than 9.5 million hectares, while Indigenous areas amount to about 1 million hectarts. In comrasl. more than 21 million hectares have been granted il'l foresiTy concessions (NA jul)' 18. 1996). ''The lumber companies and indepen· dent loggers are taking away tree-s that we have title to. withOUl giving anything i11 return to the communities ... Soto said. Robinson and the Indigenous peo· pies of Pil6n L'ljas argue that local communities should a1 leas1 gel a pcrcemage of loggers' pror.lS. The Indigenous communities have created a prece· dem of resistance and some head· way has been made in defending Pil6n lajas. In 1996. VSF sued 1he !lelia Visla and El Pino logging companies for working without comracts, and they were forced to suspend operations, the first time such action had ever been 1akcn. A 1hird company. Selva Negra, lef1 the area volumaril)~ Bema. the largest comp..1ny remaining in Pil6n L1jas, is proving hard 10 dislodge. Robinson said VSF "FOR EVERY lawyers have "extensive evi· dence lha1 lhe cornpanys log· MAHOGANY ging prncticcs do not comply TRUNK THEY wilh 1he foremy law." For example, Bema has not begun TAKE OUT, THEY 1he reforeSialion program CUT DOWN 70 de1ailed in ilS original con1rac1. and its employees continue to MORE TREES hum for food, ahhough Imming is prohibited. many people want Bema to stay. Rumnabaquc, a frontier settlement on the Scni River. thrives on lite exlt'ac· lion of mahogany from Pil6n L'ljas. Mos1 or the town is built from second·rnte mahog...tny. and it is an open secret that 1he local s.'wmill culS illegally harveSled wood into commercial planks. Despite its shortcomings, the new forestry law has staned to control the flow of wood fron't the area. By allowing people to make a living from logging. but regulating the indus· try through forest inventories and extrnction plans. the area could have a S\.lStainable more future. ..People have realized that by limit· ing their output they can s1ill make good mone>~ Since the vol· umc has dropped in R\lrrenabaque, the price of lumber has almoSl doubled: Robinson said. But these small advances are threatened by large·scale. unsus· tainablc operations like llemas in Pil6n Lajas. "If l&rnal isn't thrown out, then the whole lhing will fall 1hrongh. lndeJ>endcm loggers will 'If 1hcy'rc not going to make the big guys leave the protected areas, then why should we lleavel?" Robinson said. '"'Y· Despite the obstacles, the Indigenous communities in Pil6n l.aja arc detem'tined to protect the restrve. ..ItS our right to protect our territory," C.'\nare &'tid. "lf we can't control il, and if this logging doesn't stop. we lose the fumre we are fighting for." ~ GETTING TO Bolivia's forts~ry law, passed w is everyoneS fervent hope it in 1996. allows 1he governIT." ment to lease forests to private that Berna will be thrown out, companies in 40·year conces· but tht)' are very powerful sions. providing regulations governing here,- Robinson said. The logging indussustainable forest management are fol· try is imponant to the local economy, and Vol. 11 No.1 25 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Bolivia: Indigenous People Fight for Forest, An alliance among local communities, Indigenous groups and non-governmental organizations faces off against a major logging company. Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grant Jaime Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Bolivia: Indigenous People Fight for Forest, An alliance among local communities, Indigenous groups and non-governmental organizations faces off against a major logging company. Item Type Journal Article Author Jaime Grant Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 24-25 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note The Indigenous communities of the Pilon Lajas Indigenous Territory and Biosphere Reserve have challenged a large logging company, asking for their overthrow. They claim that logging causes negative environmental, health, ad social effects. Attachment Title Bolivia_Indigenous_People_fight_for_forest.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Beni Bolivia Logging Pilon Lajas Indigenous Territory and Biosphere Reserve https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/f1bacde55806dd44a9b35894bdcc134d.pdf 74266006b2e347233bd5e5d5729ee0d0 PDF Text Text _ __, S E L F D ETE R M I N A TI ON & TERR I T O R Y Margarita Calfio M argarita works with the LIWEN umer for \Vc know that you work with Ihe Mapuche youth in Temuco. Chile. How are urban Mapuche youth keeping their idenc i1y? I personally li\'ed this reality and it was a slow, complex process. because when I began to reconnect with my Mapuche heritage, my parents were Mapuche Studies and Actually. I was working with youths unhappy. They didn·t understand or did· or the when l resided in Santiago. betwe.-:n '92 and '95. I worked with a youth organi- tl't wam to comprehend my need lO reconnect with my roots.. .lt was a difficult battle agninst the social currents.. and against your o'vn fears... Documentation and is a member Mapuche lnStiu.nions and Organizations of the IX Region Organizing Committee. She was also presidem of the Urbon zation called the Urban Mapuche Indigenous Youth and Student Union. One of my wishes now is to start a project with urban Mapuche youths in the city of Temuco. because revitalizing identity in these spaces is urgem. Mapuehe Indigenous Youth and Student \ Ve know very well that citie-s are nOt the appropriate environment for the Union, and founder and boord member rtprodu<tio'' and socialization of the cultural elements of an Indigenous People. These places. rather than facilitating the formation of a unique identity and positive self-image for the younger Indigenous generation. tend to degrade of the urban Mapuchc association. ~ Kinen Mapu.'" Margarita came tO visit SAIIC in you as a human being and encourage negative and alienating values. mid-March to pllnicipate in a num~r of According to the 1992 population local events. She gave a presentation at census, there are one million two hun- SAIIC's "Recognizing and Honoring dred Mapuche people. Of this, over than four hundred thousand Mapuches live in Contributions and Metropolitan regions. and onl)' about 15% live in rural zones. Perspectives of Indigenous WomcnM event on March 13th. While visiting our office, Margarita spoke with SAIIC about her work with urbon Mapuche youth in Chile. Vol. 11 No.1 The urbat> Mapuche population is mnde up of migrants from the n1ral communities and their children born and raised in the cities. They are youths with Mapuchc last names, but they are usual!)• lacking cultural references that would enable them to connect with their Indigenous identity in a positive way. How much in nucncc has urban culture had on Indigenous youths ? The city influences you with values that alienate you from your identity as a Mat>uche. but when you resolve your own identity issues and begin to accept yourself and feel proud of your origins. it gets easier. There are always people that will help you. especially the grandmoth· ers and grandfathers, \vho will hand you all their knowledge without questioning. A very relati\'e J>Oint is that when you assume your identit)', being urban, you have mastered the elements of the Other world , of the dominant society. This is really an advantage. because you posses the tools that you can utilize to benefit your people. This is what we are trying to with many Mnpuche young people, make them conscious of our heritage, con- scious or our need to become profession~ ais. \ Vh at is "' Kinen Mapu'', the Urban Mapuche Association doing to Slipport the Mapuchc youth and to s tre ngthen their culture? 33 R �S E L F DETERM I NATION This organization is new and has n01 yet completely defined its course of action. which is something that we have to do soon. l've been working'for some time with the ll\VEN Cemer for Mapuche Studies and Documentation. The objective of this institution is w generate knowledge from our own perspective al'td to disseminate il to all sectors. especially the Mapuche. For example. we work on topics relating to the Mapuche people, to the situation of other Indigenous nations· in their own co\mtrics. and on the issue of Bilingual Intercultural Education. \Vhat is the difference between the programs for Mapuche children and those for 1hc youths? & TERRI T ORY understand our interest in understanding things of such liule relevance to them. The people in the countryside usually don't value their legends. their family his· tOries. They doni comprehend the rich· ness of their own knowledge. V.le got them to change their anitude: they stancd to talk, to spill out a whole marvelous. unknown world for us. V.lc really teamed an enom1ous amoum. It was magical to listen to it all, and the most importam thing is that we were able to get our relatives, om aunts and uncles. cOtlSins. etc .. involved. \Ve'd like to ask why you, as a young Mapuchc woman, arc involved in this type of work? l work with conviction, because I really feel that itS necessary to Slruggle With the children you have to work in a p1ayftt1 comext, where you keep the youngster entertained while they're learning. and of course you must involve the famil)' in some way. This is difficult, because many times the parents don't agree that their child should learn about Mapuche culture because they view this as negative bUlthis is not their fault. \Vc don't know what negative experiences they Mve had that have made them opposed to it. for our rights as Mapuche people. The COnditions o£ poverty and Ot>prcssion ir'l which we live today must change. Mapuche children should grow up in a healthy atmosphere, in peace and hannony with the environment. \Vorking with young people or adolescents is a liule more complex. They are going through a difficult stage. building their identit)~ They have marly fears. and to come to terms with being an Indigenous person in a racist country is not an easy thing. You have tO gain their confidence slowl): They must see that you as a woman car'l be a role tnodel. that being Ma1>uche is net bad or ugly, not at all. \Vhat would you like to see in the future fo r Mapuche youth? And what would you like to do to make it hap· pen? \Vc know th:tt you did some research on the oral history of cite fa milies of urban Mapuchc youths. \Vhal were the most impor1an1 points 1hat came out of this research? This study came about due to the \Vhen I wok consciousness of my identity, or my history. or my culture. it was really like a liberation. I strongly feel the need to supj>OM my people in every 'vay that I can. ItS a life choice. The future of the youth and children is a worry that we have as a people. In many communities. the young people must migrate to the urban centers to find any work they can. Their dreams of studying arc dashed at a very youn$ age and that's not fair. I'd like to do many things. but we need to design strategies at the community level. Individual initiatives should be within a larger comc~·a to make the desired impacts and changes. We're working for this. interest that a group of us young Mapuche students had in retrieving our history, that history which was denied us for our having been born in a differem context than our parents and grandpar· ems. It was :m arduous task. because from the bcgil'tning our families didn't 34 \Ve know that you've been working on a project on Indigenous \Vomen and Gender in \ Vashington. DC. Could you te ll us what the focus of your research tms been? In S<!ptember. 1997. I was selected by the JXvelopmem Fund for Indigenous Peoples tO develop a work apprentice-Ship ln the Indigenous People-s· Union of the lnternmerican Development Bank. located in Washington. DC. I'm St>ecifically working on editing a report about the topic of gender relations in indigenous communities and development. It is a renective work, whose main objective is to understand Indigenous women's thoughts and perceptions aboUl develop· mem. Essentially, the idea is to propose certain strntegies that can be incorporated into the S.mk's policies in relation to · indigenous women. "!' Contino<ed from p<lgt 22 contribution to society, not only the Indigenous one of Ecuador. but in whichever place throughout the world. \ Vhat have been the challe nges that you have had to face as an Indigenous woman doctor? I don't like being labeled as an Indigenous woman doctor; well. I feel like any other womar\ of ar\y other culltlte and nation. Btu in fact l'"e had to face cenain challenges. like knowing that the people of my community viewed me as the s.wior from the health problems affecting the community. The leaders of my l>rovincial community trusted so in my abilities. One demonstration of this was their inviting me to work in the SAMAY Project. Onanced by the European Unior'l. I'm talkir\g about a pro Hfe project that would permit us, in a significant manner, to build our society, that would allow us to control our own destiny. Being a representative of the Confederation of the Indigenous Nationalities o£ Ecuador. CONAIE, is another challenge. 4 To respond positively to all these challenges. 1 always U)' to le.arn more to better understand the culture of Globalization. to learn how to manuever myself 'vithin the dynamics of the modern age, in distinct levels and spheres of humal'lttctions. For me, it is imponam to take imo account the advice and the points of view of the great Indigenous leaders. and of the great ideologies. both old and new. '11 Abya Yala News �S A I I C C...tonucd from pagt 26 damc:nsaons amo enVIronmental tmpact assessment processes of research msulutts, mululatcral institutions, go,•ernmcms, etc. 6. Dc\'elop standards and guidelines for the protection. maintenance nnd developmen1 of mdigcnous knowledge. whtch a) faclluate the development o£ SUI gcncns S)'Stems of protecuon for lndagcnous knowledge accordang to mdagcnou.s customary laws. \'alues and world VIew b) reeognize the concept of the collecuve rights of lndtgenous Peoples and mcorporate this in all nauonal nnd mternational lcgislauon c) take into account :md incorporate cx1stmg Indigenous Peoples' politkal ond !ego! systems :md Indigenous Peoples' cuswmary usc or resources d) recogmzc tr.tdluonal agnculturol systems or lndagcnous People> e) mvolve Indigenous Peoples In th< dtvelopment of research gutdehn.s and standards 7 De,·elop standards and gutddmes for the prevention of biopiracy, the mon· 11onng of b•oprospecting and access 10 genetic resources: a) affec1 a momwrium on all bioprospecling and/or collecuon or biologtcal n13terial,s in the territoncs or lndtgcnous Peoples and protected Mtas and patenung based on these collecuons unul acceptable su1 ·generis S)'Stems arc cstabhshed b) affect a mor.uonum on th< rcg>5<enng of knowledge c) rcrogmze the nghts of lnd•genous Peoples' to acccS> and repatnote genetic matenals held tn all ex-suu collecuons. such as gene banks. herbanums and botamcal gardens. 8. Ensure the sharing of the benc01s derived from the use o f indigenous knowledge includes other rights. obhga· uons and responsibilities such as land nghts and the mamtenance or lndtgenous cultul't's co faethtate the transmtSS•on of knowltdgt. mOO\oauons. pracutt.s and values to future generations. 9 Ensure that rtlevant pi'0\'1SIOns or tmernauonal mechanisms and agrte· mcms of dtrcct relevance to the tmplc· mcmation or :tntcle Sj. and rehued al'tt· clcs. such "' 1he Trnde Related lnlellectual Propeny agreement of the World Trnde Organization. the European Union dtrecuve on the patenung of hfc forms. the Human Genome Otvtrsuy Vol. 11 No.1 ProJect. the Hu.man Genome Dechrnuon of the UNESCO. the FAO Comm1sston on PJam Genetic Resources and national and regional intellectual 1>ropeny ngh1s legislation under development, 1 ncorpo· rote the rights and concerns of lndtgenous Ptoples as cxpreS>ed u1 the ILO Convention 169, the Draft Dechrauon on the RightS of lndtg<nous Peopl.s. th< Kan Ocl Declarauon. th< Mawtua Dtt:larauon. the Santa Cnaz Declarauon, th< Len= Declar:tnon ond Plan of Amon, the Treaty for a Life Forms Patent Free Paciflc and prtV1ous Slate· mtntS of Indigenous forums COIWtned :U prev1ous CBD/COP and mterscss1onal meenngs. 10. Provide material "nd non·matcri· al suppon mechamsms and mcenuvcs to lndtgenous Peoples for cap.1<1ty butldtng m1ttaU\'CS towards· a) the de,'tlopmcnt of SUI genens S)"Sltms based on andagcnous customary la"'s for the prot«uon and promouon of lndtgcno~ knowledge. mno,•J.ttons and practtces b) m.s.tttuuonal strengthening and negonoung eapacny c) local!)• controlled pohcy. research and development strategies and acttvlllts for the maintenance and development of Indigenous knowledge 11 Require the rcvualtz.uton and numtcnance o£ Jnd1gcnous 13ngu.agts as pan or the implementation or antcle 8j and r<loted anicles and suppon the de,·elopmtnl of cdutall(mal S)'Stems b;osed on mdig<nous valuts and world \'ltW, mcludmg lhC CStabhshmtlll Of :m lndtgenous uni,•ersny. 12. Require that research and devel· opment activities in the reahn or lndtgcnous Peoples' knowledge. practtccs tmd mnovation systems arc gl\'en 1he s:tmc financial and pohcy support :as •for· nul scacnufte• research and development l(IIYltlts. 13. PrO\ide matenal and non·maltn· a.ltnctmh·es for mamtammg and enhanc· tng biodivcrsit)1, indu~mg l:md nghts and the recognition of acluc\'ements by lndtgcnous Peoples in protcctmg btO<h· ve rslt y. '!I C...tmutd from page 2i mentS and rdorrns 10 1he Mexican State. rather n would be admmmg that what. is needed is a rndtcJI tr.msfonnntion to the corrupt structures or J>OWCr in Mexico that have been dommatcd by the more than 70 y<•or old PRI dicLatorship. It would mean allowmg for not onl)f the Zapaustas. but all of Mcx1can ctv1l soct· ety to have the nght to trnnsfonn the government mto $0mcthmg that would go\'em by obeymg the needs and consensus of the MeX1<3n people, rath<r than conunue to be medtator or due global busmes.s mtcrtsts and an msa.ru· mem of repress1on Unfortunately Mextco acts with the reassurances or its tr..dc panncrs, the United States and Canada. The only 1hing standmg In the way o£ Mexico's unacceptable pol•cy towards Indigenous pcopl.s IS ciVll SO<tety both m Mexico and globally Cl\11 SO<ltty through both tts pohtical "111 and ~IOns an put an end to Lht> gtnoctdal war. The Indigenous people art clear that the solutiO!\ wall come from nowhere else. nor can they do It alone. "'Nenher peace nor JUstice w1ll come from the govern· mem. They wtll come from civil society. from its a muauves. from us mobiliza· tions. To her. to )'OU, we sptak toda):''tl er,.t;l fdoiJcri is o ..... olIN,...,. K ,0, ;ti;o. r.ds f:t t:lt K :1iol<l( - l o t o.-<q ialli.Oco. SO. «:tlifd t:lt Ulitlnilyol !osuxia ~ ~ riett t:lt c ...P,Jtl loll ol«..tfon ia Hisl«y o o :J - . ; , SociolorJ r<llticrJ ~ ...t htt tmis ootl:. [opclirJ"' I• Stpllcfllll l 1996, liN ""' Dlit4 10 jojw tb• Noctb AmtricOJ lodioo O.S.,.rioo to tho U Kofioo~ llitt4 W"t~ 610119,. tilt Otch Oodototiocl co tho t~hts of llldigtAOlll Pf<9(" io Gt,o,,., In O.Crmhu of t!nt ym, sit tror..<d lolo toolidoJ, ~ M cod pcod.cod • irko '""F''·\om•IKitfi<g 'lf''clin' tiN sittlclioa;, llio.,....li«, ....t~ag 11ili N IJ.II. (JysJd C •w • ""'t ""A..""' lf<Jri<J ooJioc:oi4t,. .... - A.. ...t eclifn ,_ pk or«JCJ INI..,,....;.. "9'<XXr /omcg 01 "' ~ llriAr:toitco Slrog;fos ol ~ ~ io IU.dc• """,_.,,,owen" 35 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Interview with SAIIC: Margarita Martha Calfio Montalva Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Zotero Title Interview with SAIIC: Margarita Martha Calfio Montalva Item Type Journal Article Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 33-35 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Language English Abstract Note Margarita Marta Calfio Montalvo works closely with Mapuche youth in Temuco, Chile. She discusses urban cultures affects on Mapuche youth, her hopes for the future of the Mapuche youth, and challenges she faces as a women in the field of medicine. Attachment Title Interview_With_SAIC_Margarita_Marta_Calfio_Montalva.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Chile Mapuche https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/7e77791cb0ba88c19cdbf5dd7a07376b.pdf f1cdc06893ef1b27c8d9a2f8b87bd121 PDF Text Text EN V IRONMENT Second International Indigenous Forum On Biodiversity and the Convention on · Biological Diversity Workshop THE CONVENU()N ON 81ot.OC.ICAL 0MRSITY IS niE FIRST IN'TERNAnONAU.Y IINOING AGREEMENT LOOSELY RE<)VIRING ll"S 165 MEM8.£R NATIONS TO SUSTAlNABlY USE THE \\'ORLOS 810lOGICAI. OMRSITY, THE AGREEMENT WAS OPE:NEO fOR SK.NATURE IN JUNE 1992 AT UIE EARTH SUMMrT IN RIO DE JANEIRO, AND HAO RECEIVED 168 SIGNATURES 8Y JUNE 4 OF 1993- rom November 20a23, Indigenous pc:OJ>I<: (rom around the world met ru the Second International Forum on B1odwersn)' m Madrad. Spain to pre· par< a proposal for the Traditional Knowl<dge and Stologtcal O.,·crslly of the Con\•enuon on B•ologrcal Diversity (CBD) Workshop. wh1ch was hdd from NO\• 24th to the 28th The Workshop f0<U5«1 on the 1mplcmentauon of Anicle 8). as pbnncd at the thud Conftr<nce of !'antes (COP) tn Buenos AntS. Argentina. 1he pn~:vtous year 111 NO\·embt-r 1996. F What follows IS the proposal drafted by the lnd1genous Forum on Biodiversity and submitted to the \Vorkshop on Trnditionol Knowledge and Biological Oavcrsuy. The results from the lntcmauon:d Indigenous rorum will be presemed to the Founh Conference of Pantes in Urmi.slava, Slovakia, in May of 1998. Working document on the implementation of article 8j. and related articles PREAMBLE lndcg<nOtiS Peoples comt from the land and ha"c b<tll our lift rhrough rht land. \Vt clo nOl tdmt lO the land th<u w e came from <b prOI)(rty, we rd<Ue ro the lcmd a.s our Mol her. nwt the lcmd is our 1\lfother cmmOl bt denied, just <IS it caml.()l be denied thm our htmum mother is our rt!Clher. In this t·rspca we as lndlget~ous Peoples ha,·e rcsportslbllltttS lO honor and nutrurc our Earth 10 tnsutt rhat she can conrim'c to ght us life. Ou• role and rtspo11$ibcliry is co prOt((( ""' MOth<~ &mh from d<Slfuaion and abllsn·e lreoln".c'nt, JUSt as we u·mdd defend our human moLher. In ca'!)1ng out chLS r«ponslbthty owr a period of cJwu. ,.,ru~, of )tars. we ha>t b«®K a crncral comporttnl of rht l>lorl"''""Y of the Eanh. 8"''" 26 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ELEMENTS FOR THE FORMULATION OF A WORK PROGRAM 1 Ensure thal the tmplementauon of an1cle 8). and related an1des. take into constdcrauon lht txt.sung lndlgenous decbrauons •nd proposals. mcludmg the Draft Declarauon on the Rights of lnd1genous Peoples. the Kan Oea Decbrnuon. the Macaatua Decbration. tht S.'tma Cruz O¢clamuon. the Leucia Declarnuon and Plan of Aeuon. the Treaty (or a L1re Fomts Patent Free Pac1flc. the Uk\I))SCI'\1 Kun\\ Yala Declaration. and prev1ous stmcmcms of Indigenous Forums convened nt J>revious CBD/COP and intcrscssional meetings. 2. Ensure Indigenous Peoples· full and mcanmgrul p:micipatlon in the implemcmatton of an.1clc 8J. and related antc:les: a) r'('(:Ogmu: lndagcnous Peoples as Pan•es to the Co1wenuon on 81ological o,,·ersuy b) adopt lht recommendation of the S.eond lntemauonal lnd1genous Forum to cstabhsh an lnd1gcnous Peoples' Workmg Group c) m•·ol"e the lndtgenous Peoples' \\~mg Group in thc mttrprumon and amplcmentation of anrcle 8J and related amcles. ancludmg the monnonng of the eomphance of the Pan.1es to the Convcnuon to thear obliga~ uons under the Convenuon d) de"clop mechanisms to ensure Indigenous Peoples' p:micipallon in decision making processes al the intcrnauonal level (UN, COP. lFF, etc.) e) de"elop mechanisms to ensure lndagc,~ous Peoples' participation m dccasion making processts at the nauonallevel. mc1udmg 1hc de,·clopmem and 1mpltmentauon of lcg~sbuon , envt· ronment:al acuon plans and 1mpaa stud· 1es 0 de.·elop meehamsms to ensure the full pan~etpauon of lndcgenous Peoples tn State P3n.ts' str.ucg.ra 10 desagnatc and manage protected ams g) mcorporate the nght to obJecnon m all meehamsms to ensure Indigenous Peoples' pa.rtidpa· tion h) incorporate the light to free and prior infonned consent 111 all mechanisms w tnsure lndtgcnous Peoples' pantcip.1· uon. 3. Develop mechan1sms to ensure the full and equal pamopa110n of Indigenous women 1n all processes rtl.ltrd to the 1mp!c:mencauon of the Com·enuon. a.nd suppon the umque mpons1bdcuu of Indigenous womrn tn tht canng of 1hetr tradmonal lands and temtones and the protect ton o( baodi\'C:rslty 4. De"elop mechan1sms and process· es to ensure Indigenous Pcot>lcs' control over l:mds and territories to affect the protecuon a.nd cnhanccmcm of biodiversity: n) recognl:e the malienable a priori rightS of Indigenous Peoples b) recognize 1he. rela.uonsh11> thm cxis1s between the lands and tcrrnoncs o( lnd1genous Peoples and thm knowledge. innovations :tnd pmet1CCS rclaung to b•odi\'ei"Sil)' c) de\'elop proeesses to rep.,ui· ate the lands and temtones of lndtgenous Peoples 5. Incorporate 1nd1genous customary resourtt uses, nunagtment and pracuces 1010 sustamable: developmtnt plans. poh· c1es and proctsstS at mtemauonal and nation~J levels, recogmzmg transboundary issues tmportnnt to lnd1genous Peoples: a) encoumge muhihueral institu· lions, international ngencics. research institutions a.nd non·govcrnmcnt organi· zations to Involve Indigenous knowledge. innova1ions n.nd pmctlce.s rela.ted to the use and m.anagemtm of resources in their plans and programs b) estabhsh an mdtgt-nous global b1och"crsuy momtor· ing sys~em based on early wammg sys· t<ms usmg 1nd1genous knowledge Mth 1he backmg of sa~tllue technology and geographic mform.auon S)"Sttms c) requ1re thc mcorpor.auon of md1gcnous perspecuves and soe1al and cultural Conttnucd on pog< 35 /W(a Yala News �S A I I C C...tonucd from pagt 26 damc:nsaons amo enVIronmental tmpact assessment processes of research msulutts, mululatcral institutions, go,•ernmcms, etc. 6. Dc\'elop standards and guidelines for the protection. maintenance nnd developmen1 of mdigcnous knowledge. whtch a) faclluate the development o£ SUI gcncns S)'Stems of protecuon for lndagcnous knowledge accordang to mdagcnou.s customary laws. \'alues and world VIew b) reeognize the concept of the collecuve rights of lndtgenous Peoples and mcorporate this in all nauonal nnd mternational lcgislauon c) take into account :md incorporate cx1stmg Indigenous Peoples' politkal ond !ego! systems :md Indigenous Peoples' cuswmary usc or resources d) recogmzc tr.tdluonal agnculturol systems or lndagcnous People> e) mvolve Indigenous Peoples In th< dtvelopment of research gutdehn.s and standards 7 De,·elop standards and gutddmes for the prevention of biopiracy, the mon· 11onng of b•oprospecting and access 10 genetic resources: a) affec1 a momwrium on all bioprospecling and/or collecuon or biologtcal n13terial,s in the territoncs or lndtgcnous Peoples and protected Mtas and patenung based on these collecuons unul acceptable su1 ·generis S)'Stems arc cstabhshed b) affect a mor.uonum on th< rcg>5<enng of knowledge c) rcrogmze the nghts of lnd•genous Peoples' to acccS> and repatnote genetic matenals held tn all ex-suu collecuons. such as gene banks. herbanums and botamcal gardens. 8. Ensure the sharing of the benc01s derived from the use o f indigenous knowledge includes other rights. obhga· uons and responsibilities such as land nghts and the mamtenance or lndtgenous cultul't's co faethtate the transmtSS•on of knowltdgt. mOO\oauons. pracutt.s and values to future generations. 9 Ensure that rtlevant pi'0\'1SIOns or tmernauonal mechanisms and agrte· mcms of dtrcct relevance to the tmplc· mcmation or :tntcle Sj. and rehued al'tt· clcs. such "' 1he Trnde Related lnlellectual Propeny agreement of the World Trnde Organization. the European Union dtrecuve on the patenung of hfc forms. the Human Genome Otvtrsuy Vol. 11 No.1 ProJect. the Hu.man Genome Dechrnuon of the UNESCO. the FAO Comm1sston on PJam Genetic Resources and national and regional intellectual 1>ropeny ngh1s legislation under development, 1 ncorpo· rote the rights and concerns of lndtgenous Ptoples as cxpreS>ed u1 the ILO Convention 169, the Draft Dechrauon on the RightS of lndtg<nous Peopl.s. th< Kan Ocl Declarauon. th< Mawtua Dtt:larauon. the Santa Cnaz Declarauon, th< Len= Declar:tnon ond Plan of Amon, the Treaty for a Life Forms Patent Free Paciflc and prtV1ous Slate· mtntS of Indigenous forums COIWtned :U prev1ous CBD/COP and mterscss1onal meenngs. 10. Provide material "nd non·matcri· al suppon mechamsms and mcenuvcs to lndtgenous Peoples for cap.1<1ty butldtng m1ttaU\'CS towards· a) the de,'tlopmcnt of SUI genens S)"Sltms based on andagcnous customary la"'s for the prot«uon and promouon of lndtgcno~ knowledge. mno,•J.ttons and practtces b) m.s.tttuuonal strengthening and negonoung eapacny c) local!)• controlled pohcy. research and development strategies and acttvlllts for the maintenance and development of Indigenous knowledge 11 Require the rcvualtz.uton and numtcnance o£ Jnd1gcnous 13ngu.agts as pan or the implementation or antcle 8j and r<loted anicles and suppon the de,·elopmtnl of cdutall(mal S)'Stems b;osed on mdig<nous valuts and world \'ltW, mcludmg lhC CStabhshmtlll Of :m lndtgenous uni,•ersny. 12. Require that research and devel· opment activities in the reahn or lndtgcnous Peoples' knowledge. practtccs tmd mnovation systems arc gl\'en 1he s:tmc financial and pohcy support :as •for· nul scacnufte• research and development l(IIYltlts. 13. PrO\ide matenal and non·maltn· a.ltnctmh·es for mamtammg and enhanc· tng biodivcrsit)1, indu~mg l:md nghts and the recognition of acluc\'ements by lndtgcnous Peoples in protcctmg btO<h· ve rslt y. '!I C...tmutd from page 2i mentS and rdorrns 10 1he Mexican State. rather n would be admmmg that what. is needed is a rndtcJI tr.msfonnntion to the corrupt structures or J>OWCr in Mexico that have been dommatcd by the more than 70 y<•or old PRI dicLatorship. It would mean allowmg for not onl)f the Zapaustas. but all of Mcx1can ctv1l soct· ety to have the nght to trnnsfonn the government mto $0mcthmg that would go\'em by obeymg the needs and consensus of the MeX1<3n people, rath<r than conunue to be medtator or due global busmes.s mtcrtsts and an msa.ru· mem of repress1on Unfortunately Mextco acts with the reassurances or its tr..dc panncrs, the United States and Canada. The only 1hing standmg In the way o£ Mexico's unacceptable pol•cy towards Indigenous pcopl.s IS ciVll SO<tety both m Mexico and globally Cl\11 SO<ltty through both tts pohtical "111 and ~IOns an put an end to Lht> gtnoctdal war. The Indigenous people art clear that the solutiO!\ wall come from nowhere else. nor can they do It alone. "'Nenher peace nor JUstice w1ll come from the govern· mem. They wtll come from civil society. from its a muauves. from us mobiliza· tions. To her. to )'OU, we sptak toda):''tl er,.t;l fdoiJcri is o ..... olIN,...,. K ,0, ;ti;o. r.ds f:t t:lt K :1iol<l( - l o t o.-<q ialli.Oco. SO. «:tlifd t:lt Ulitlnilyol !osuxia ~ ~ riett t:lt c ...P,Jtl loll ol«..tfon ia Hisl«y o o :J - . ; , SociolorJ r<llticrJ ~ ...t htt tmis ootl:. [opclirJ"' I• Stpllcfllll l 1996, liN ""' Dlit4 10 jojw tb• Noctb AmtricOJ lodioo O.S.,.rioo to tho U Kofioo~ llitt4 W"t~ 610119,. tilt Otch Oodototiocl co tho t~hts of llldigtAOlll Pf<9(" io Gt,o,,., In O.Crmhu of t!nt ym, sit tror..<d lolo toolidoJ, ~ M cod pcod.cod • irko '""F''·\om•IKitfi<g 'lf''clin' tiN sittlclioa;, llio.,....li«, ....t~ag 11ili N IJ.II. (JysJd C •w • ""'t ""A..""' lf<Jri<J ooJioc:oi4t,. .... - A.. ...t eclifn ,_ pk or«JCJ INI..,,....;.. "9'<XXr /omcg 01 "' ~ llriAr:toitco Slrog;fos ol ~ ~ io IU.dc• """,_.,,,owen" 35 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Second International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and the Convention on Biological Diversity Workshop Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Zotero Title Second International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and the Convention on Biological Diversity Workshop Item Type Journal Article Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 26, 35 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Language English Abstract Note A proposal was drafted at the Second International Forum on Biodiversity that includes recommendations for elements of a work program which ensures Indigenous rights. Attachment Title Second_Internation_Indigenous_Forum_on_Biodiversity_and_the_convention_on_Biological_Diversity_Workshop.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Madrid Spain https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/cfa52d7b144f2e05d1314911d9d2af53.pdf 257f276f61906327396c7ff78df987e9 PDF Text Text RIGHTS F or centuries, pcrh:tps even mil~ for 1hc body and sptnL hons of years. 1hc Xa'·amc pro- The unique Xavame 1denuty is marked by ~~ hau·cuiS 1ha1 dtsunguiSh thtm from any oth~r n:mon m the world. b)' 1httr nch and soph1>11<Jicd language, by lht cUSlom of removtng cyel.l>hts and eyebrows. by ~~ nchly eltborme body patntings done for each ceremony. by the songs 1hat emerges from drc~uns. by the umque dances and g:tmcs th:n unites the people in strong. unified movements, capable of shakmg 1he ground of 1he for<SL This is 1he people of Auwe Utllabi. 1rue poople, Xa\'anl< pt"Opl< of 1hc S.rra do Roncador. pi<. hkc 01~r lndt~nous pro- pic around the , ..·orld, ha,·c b«n dcvd~ opmg n d1ffertnt ·way of be1ng n'l the world, btuldillg their own umquc 1dcnt1· 1)', thc1r own unique culture. They ha\'e k~med from 1hc Slones. passed down b)' theu anctsaor from a tunt" 1mmemortal, how to thmk :\bout the world and how 10 reb•• 10 t\'tl)1hmg 1h:.u tx•sc.s around them, ahvc and mySttnous They ha,·e learned to mo,·c between the \'aSl coumrys1de and the dense forests. learning abom C<'Ch mumal. each plant. each s.ar and constdl:ttion. each movement of the sky, :md 1hc n"cr. m complete hannony and connccuon wuh C\'trything around them Takmg from nature - and rttummg C\'CI)1htng 1ha1 l~)' nttd for SUI\Wal food. shcher, color and btam), mediCme 28 "'U'"' The first encounter wuh 1ht "'w.ua... - whnes- occurred 2 cemuncs ago. when 1her entered the centr.1l-eastem pan of Brazil in search or gold and precious stones. After a tentatl\'C coext.stence wuh the whites. thnt ended 10 ambush and mass.-.c;rc of hundreds of Xavames. the Auwc J>eoplc decided to nvoid contact wuh the "'warazu·. Thcr retreated deep tnto the forests. seckmg out m their tmd•uonaltcrritoncs places that had nOt yet b«n mvaded For dose 10 1wo hundred years, 1 hcy had h\•td 111 relata\'C peace. with a few confront:u•ons. but sull rna•ntaining, thc•r autonomy 8)• the ~g.nning of the 19-WS, new auacks from the mvad~rs. nO\\' much more agg:rt:ssn:e and wtll org;~mzcd , broughl warfare. dea1h and suffenng 10 1ht Au"'t Upubi_ I'"' The 50 years ha\'C been a ptnod or dnngcr, ducats and rear. But this hunt· ing people htwe teamed how to cope wilh 1he predators that have continued to invade the1r territories again a.nd agam. In lookmg ror ways to mamtain peace, to p.'lclf)' the "v.'Jraz:u", the:)• learned how to Crtate new ronns or COCXISI.C'nce and SUrvival. The greal chtcf Ahopo<n. ltader o( thlS Xowantc communny, guaded hiS people 1hrough con1a<1 , bthevmg 1ha1 p<ace wilh dtc whiles would be 1he only way 10 ensure the S\11'\'IV:.ll or the Auwc (>C:Oplc. These warl'iors decided to control their terntones with complete autonomy. decided 10 prcsc111 lhctns<lves 10 1he ··wara.zu.. through thc1 O\\n culture. r A~YalaNews �H u MA N Cars. with their strange and continuous: tracks on the ground, are no longer a mystery to the Xavante people. The youth of the village leam to drive Toyotas. tntcks and tractors with ease. Technology such as video cameras, recorders, solar panels, radio transmiuers does not frighten them. They are confident in their capabilities. ancestml memory and sophisticated arlalytical reasoning. The village of Pimentel Barbosa. which was first contacted over 50 years ago. has been able to successfully maintained its traditions by resisting the emrance of tnissionaries. governmem agencies and interference from the outside world. With the strong leadership of the great chief Ahopoe. this village has created strategies to maintain a pe.aceful coexistence with the ··warazu .., They decided to choose a group of youth to leave the village to study and live ' vith the whites, to learn the language and C\LStoms. returning later. possessing this knowledge. to work inside the community and strengthen the traditions of the culture. 1n the 1980's, with the continuing disappearance of animals for hunting. the elders voiced their concerns about the f~1ture of the people and the traditions. With the hell> of the knowledge gained by the youth . who had been prepared in the '"world of the warazu,.. the Xavames created the jaburu Project, a research and management project set \II> to guarantee the continuance of hunting in the tcrritO· ry now enclosed by ranches. In the last 4 years, The Xavames, in partnership with the "N\tcleo de Cuhura lndlgena" (an Indigenous NCO). launched the first Indigenous music CD in Brazil - .. Etenhiritipc'\ - Traditional Songs of the Xavante." The record ' vas recorded in the village, with professional equipment. and the songs were registered in the name of the village, guaranteeing the payment directly to the authors. Several additional projects ca.me out of the Xavames first CD. One was a collaboration with the rock band Sepult\11'3 on their latest record ·Roots." A successful music video was also created to publicize the Etenhiritip<\ record, and was exhibit· ed at Indigenous film festivals in the United States. Mexico and Europe. Vol. 11 No. 1 Even \vith all these contacts from the exterior world, the young men continue to be traditionally prepared in HO (the singles house) for years. They maintain close contact with their godfathers and continue to learn the anceStral traditions. They arc taught in this way until the time when their ears arc pierced. marking the transition from a child to an adult, and their entrance into the life of a 'varrior. RIGHTS plams. memories. A human being alive. wilh a past and a future, this is the way or Auwe Uptabi. .. - In partnership with the NUcleo de Ct~lturallndlgena. the Xavante people are organizing a big event for the middle of 1998. called "Xavante - 50 Years of Contacl... This work has reunited various generations from the villages. the elders who participated in the contact with the During their apprem iceship. the ·warnzu· in 1946 and the yomh and chilyoung men follow the animal tracks in dren that ha,·e already mastered !westtheir h~mting games. They participate in ern} writing and drawing skills. Everyone the solidarity game . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .. has bten working which requires ntn· with the ning with large palm recorders and video tree logs, and also in cameras and partieipating in the effort the secret initiation ceremonies where to register the histo· ry of this period for the real world ceases the present and for to exist. the future. M:lybe it is difficult for outsiders to This event will understand the bring together phocomple:\ities of the tographs of the inicontemporary tial contact between the Xavantes and Xavame culture. The clothes, the t·shirts the "\vara.zu.'" along and caps with w•ith original draw· English inscriptions ings. texts. and that no one reads or ~,»iad J¥edwtiDJS iu~"ldK,Ib;t. objects. A group of understands, the 25 warriors will give machines that FUNAJ (the Brazilian gov- singing and dancing perfonnances and ernment agency for Indigenous people) traditional rituals and ceremonies will be left when the)' tried to create an presented as well. Also on the agenda are Indigenous development project there... plans to make a documentary, a bilingual These things mean nothing when the book in X..wante/Ponuguesc and a CD elders join together everyday. to greet the ROM . arrival and the departure of the sun. to exchange their impressions of the world The Xavame people of Pimentel on a daily basis, to discuss the path to the Barbosa live in an Indigenous reserve future. The ..warA... the advice from the called "Rio das Mortes," that shelters 3 aduh males, is the strOJ'lgcst insdtution in other villages in the state of Mato Grosso, the village and is resJ>Onsible for giving in central-eastern Brazil. Six more direction and continuing the dail)' tradi- reserves of the X.wame people Slill exists. tions. approximately totaling 60 villages and a population of more than 4 thousands it is here that the elders discuss the Indians. 'f confrontation between the Xavante comTh~ authot tf'Oiks with N6deo Jt (ullurallndfg~na in munity and the cuhur~ of "'progress. This connict can be seen at the "Rio das Soo Pcu/c, Bro<il. Mortes· (River of Dtath). a drainage channel from the neighboring ranches For more infonn<llion and the purchase of and a exportation corridor for Mercosul. postcard.~ and CDS. ple(~se contacc Ntideo For the Xavante people, the river is the de Cultural Jndtgena, Rua Roquelt Pinto fountain of life. of stories and histories, 381 . Prcvi<Uncia - S. Paulo. 8r<!Sil, PltondFax: 551 1·8131754, £-m<~il: and tn\lSt remain full of fish . sheltering nci@ax.apc.org and feeding many animals. people. ft 29 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 The Xavantes of the Serra do Roncador Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Angela M Pappiani Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title The Xavantes of the Serra do Roncador Item Type Journal Article Author Angela M Pappiani Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 28-29 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note The Xavante people have been developing their culture in harmony with nature for centuries. They encountered whites but were able to tentatively coexist while maintaining their autonomy. The elders created the Jabiru Project which aims to guarantee the continuance of hunting in their territory. Attachment Title the_Xavantes_of_the_Serra_do_Roncador.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Autonomy Coexist Serra do Roncador Xavantes https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/3abfd49474c50b74f7a4bf8efea43334.pdf c7a445d42c2415cb8e5817b3a0c8426f PDF Text Text IN pies arc also <hrca<cned as <he drough< has ruined their crops. The fire:; arc now t:uing their way into the jungle, which is usually far too h\nnid and wet w burn. According to meteorolo· gists. 1:1 Nil)o may be affecting the bizarre weather, which has caused Oooding in 6raz1l's south and drought in the Amazon region to the Nonh. Romima has not seen rail'\ for five months. .and the winds push lhc names quickly lhrough !he foreSl aided by lhe exuemel)• low levels of the rivers and creeks, natural firebreaks. At this writing. the Orcs had already entered seven miles into the Yanont."mi's vast ttrritory along, the 8ra:ii-Vcnczuela border. The rivers in the :li'Ca ha\'C dried up to such an extent that heahh care providers-arc unable to reach Yanomami villages affected by 1nalaria. 1'he fires come at a time when the. garimpenos, poor gold miners who swanned into Yanoma.m1 lands by the tens of 1hous.1nds in <he 1970s and 80s. have finally been rc,novc by the gov~mmem this j3J\\I3_y. Yanomami leader Oavi Kopcnawa t Yanomami has -appealed for help to stop the f'ires from encroaching fun her into the jungle and desnoying any villages. He expressed concern <hal <he fires will open <he way for gold miners and landless farmers who would normally be slopped by <he dense jungle. The Consdho lndlgena de Rornima (CIR) has appealed 10 the imcrn::nional community for dis.'1Ster aid to help fight the severe eondi<ions created by the fires ond drough<. As pan of <heir solidari<y campaign. CIR is trying <<> drill wells, build water c.xmals and provide food for the Jndigenous t>eoples in Roraima. where the f'ircs ha\'e alr~ad)• consumed 25% of the state's forests. Pft<lS€ tonwa CIR at: cir@technec.com.br BRIEF d:.uncotal, a.nd rtj>rtscms the first time that the multiculturalism of the nation has been legally recognized. To comply with the Convention, the government must con· suit '''lth the Indigenous communities before nlSlituting any projccl <ha< could ~ffect <he communi<ies directly. The S<a<c is atso obliged to establish the means through which the commu. nities can panicip:ne freely in decision-making with govem.. ment authoritu~.s. In the Constituent Asstmbl)·. whlch was seated in late December and is charged with rtwriting the Ecuadoran ConStitution. members of the 1~chakutik mo\'emem , cemer.Jeft panics and former Presidem Osvaldo Hunado ( 1981·84). head of <he Peoples Democracy pany and speaker of the assembly. have promised to defend the ILO conventiOI\. In tts debates Ol\ plurinatiOilttlhy. the assembly is considering the issues addressed in Convention 169 including such topics as: juridical pluralit)', which would pcnnil Indigenous communities to have their own laws. legal t-ode.s and s.t~nctions, and provide legal recognition of some decisions made under traditional juStice systems. nlthotlgh many aspects of these decisions would be subordinate lO t:cuadorian law; making the official govcmmcm rcprcscmative in a locality an elected post in Indigenous tcrrito· ries, rather than a political appoimcc or I he provincial govemor; m<'tking Quich\13 n nauonal langunge, on the same level as Sp~nish. while less·"~dely spoken Indigenous <ongues would be recognized as official languages i1\ the areas where they are SJ>okcn: allowing 1ndigcnous communities to organize themselves according to their own traditions. Even if Ecuador joins the eight other Uuil\ Amcrican coun· . tries that have. ratified Convcmion 169. signing this interna- tional agreemem is not a guaramee of compliance Lluco ciles the example of Mexico. who ratified the accord in 1990 but is Ecuador- Indigenous People Push for Ratification now persecuting the ln<ligenous commtmitie-s in Chiapas. Many of ILO Convention 169 Indigenous leaders think that it is necessary lO incOrJ>arate the Convention into the national constitUtion. According to Lluco " Congressional recognition is fundamental , but it is only the f'irst in Ecuador, Indigenous people kicked off the momh of step ... February with demonstrntiOJ\S and marches tO pressure 1he govemmtnt tO ratify the International labor Org;,lnization's The recent discussions In Congress surrourlding: the ILO Convention 169 ~hat rtcognizcs the rights of Indigenous and Convention 169. have sp.·u kcd nationwide debmcs about mul· Tribal People. Their rcccm efforts include the massive march of ticuhuralism and what il mC'ans to be a muhi·ethnic state. "Our more than 1,500 Indian that arn"ed in Quito on the 4th or nonns are pan of a survhral system that hM- nothing to do wilh Fcbruaf)\ On Feb. 5th interim President Fabi~n Alarc6n sent western laws. ·nU\t is why it is imperative for Indigenous com· Congress his report on the issues addressed in the convention. mur~ities to be give'' the J>Ower to re-solve their own internal Congress is now deb~Uil\g the ratification or the international conOicLS. For this reason. it is indispensable that the constitu· tion include judicial pluralhy. Obviously there is a need to ere· accord. ate a l.aw to harmonize gtncral legislation with that of the Since it was ratified by the lntemationa] Labor Org~t.nization Lndigenous communities. where matters of justice are ::tlso in Geneva in 1989. the dose 10 3.5 million Indigenous people decided collectively and where the entire commun1ty panid· in Ec.ttador have been fighting for hs ratification. lndigcnoll$ pates.. Lluco concluded . leader Miguel Lluco. congressional representative of the P<tchakmik Plurinational Movement. has conti0\.100 to raise the Information from: Nolicias Ali(ldas. Pc:n• issue of rmineation or the convention tn Congress. Lluco says that there ,..,.~ "nn unjustified delay on the. part or 1he executive bmnch" in handing over the convcmion to Congress for mtifi· cation. For the 11 Indigenous nations in t:cuador. -a country of J 1 million inhabitants. the ratification of the Convention is fun· l Vol. 11 No.1 5 � 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. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) 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 Ecuador - Indigenous People Push for Ratification of ILO Convention 169 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 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Ecuador - Indigenous People Push for Ratification of ILO Convention 169 Item Type Journal Article Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 5 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note The Indigenous people of Ecuador held demonstrations and marches to push for the ratification of International Labor Organization's Convention 196. This would legally recognize the multiculturalism of the nation for the first time. Attachment Title Ecuador_Indigenous_People_Push_for_Ratification_of_ILO_Convention_169.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Autonomy Ecuador ILO Convention 169