1 12 19 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/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/93955106c601e328473b04cf3cc0805d.pdf 11d59f8c8b0ca9f8b8daefb32e293e6f PDF Text Text Eco - Jus r 1cE T o protest the World Bank's Pro-Mining Conference last May, the Latin American Project of Minewatch (UK) and Acci6n Ecol6gica (Ecuador) organized a parallel conference in Quito. The alternative conference attracted more than sixty participants from Indigenous communities and NGOs in nine countries (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica , Panama, Nicaragua , Chile, Brazil and Ecuador). Due to its regional importance, the event was discussed on television and in national newspapers of several of the participating countries, thus contributing to the general debate on mining. According to many delegates, the benefits of mining have yet to appear. "It may sound quaint to say that communities don't want the type of "modern" development that mining brings, but its consequences for us are often literally a matter of the life or death of the community" said Luis Robelino of Ecuador. "Why basins of the Huallaga, Mantero and Alto Mararl.on rivers due to mining. He also revealed to the audience strategies usecl, by the multi-nationals in order to avoid discussing the 'fesult of environmental studies, as well as their policy of securing exclusive access to rivers through the acquisition of large extensions of land. As a result , communities have seen their rivers confiscated , with drinking water rationed to every other day during the summer months and to only a few hours a day in the winter. Gladys Marquez, from the Peruvian organization LABOR, spoke about their long battle against the Southern Peru Corporation. The air in the city of Ilo is highly polluted and each day several spells of heavy mist are experienced, causing breathing difficulties among the population and forcing them to remain indoors until the fog disperses. Levels of S02 in the air are 30 times the guidelines established by the WHO. In addition, arsenic and lead levels exceed those found in the Tacoma smelter of the company in Washington State , an indication that the corporation applies different environmental standards in different countries. The effect of these air pollutants is not restricted to Ilo alone. A video shown demonstrated that as the air travels it affects an extension of approximately 30 thousand hectares, the smog being responsible in 1995 for destroying about 4 thousand hectares destined for agriculture use. The Parallel Conference on Mining and the Community It is worth mentioning that the World Bank conference included the participation of Mr. Hans Flury, a spokesman for the corporation. In his speech he did not address any of the environmental problems for which the Southern Peru Corporation is responsible. Ecuador: Carlos Zorilla spoke in defense of the Cotacachi-Cayapas ecological forest reserve (Ecuador's last remaining coastal rainforest) ,which is affected by the mining activity around the buffer zones, leading to further invasion of land and deforestation of thousands of hectares of pristine woods. Local delegates from this area spoke of their frustration over the past five years , due to the refusal of by Glevys Rondon THi s ARTICLE ALso APPEARED IN THE MINEWATcH su LLETIN : HIG HER vAL uEs Bishimetals to provide the Indigenous community with the requested environmental study Despite the should we accept something that is imposed on us by institu- absence of a management plan for the activities , the company tions like the World Bank, on behalf of a system which benefits has built a 9km road through primary forest , and dug various only rich people in the north and in the large cities of the south, holes near the Junin river, which two years later were gushing and which wastes the materials it uses and destroys the com- 300 liters of water per minute. As no environmental managemunities and land from which they are extracted?" he added. ment or contingency plans were ever formulated , the community is unable to hold the company responsible for the damages. During the parallel event, Indigenous and NGO delegates Shortly after the conference ended, local inhabitants organized discussed what they felt to be the true cost of mining and their several pacific actions with the aim of confiscating the equipown real needs. Amongst other topics , representatives were ment and occupying the installations of the company briefed on the role of the World Bank in the new impetus, to· open up mining in Latin America, and the strategies used by Brazil: Marina Kahn, from the Instituto Socio Ambiental corporations to win over or to divide communities. Several case spoke about the implications of the privatization of the state studies were presented from mining operations in various coun- mining company Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) . The Indigenous tries of the region. Among the most striking were: communities will be affected as the company previously contributed up to US $26 million annually to the local budget. The Peru: Miguel Palacino , spokesman for the "Frente de fate of the some 17,000 Indigenous people who live within the Defensa Ecol6gico de las Comunidades Campesinas y Pueblos forest region may also depend on the goodwill of the new ownde la Zona Alto Andina" referred to the contamination of the ers. Thirteen Indigenous groups distributed in 24 reserves could Quito, Ecuador May 7th-9th I 997 + Vol. 10 No. 3 15 �Eco - J u s rac E be affected by the C.1rnjas Projw. The reje<t the neo-libernl model of the ·free pressures to '"develop· resources could market', which serves Lhe. imerests of a herald major consequences ror these globa1 minority whose: objective is the communities as well as the biodiversity of indi.scrimmatc consumption of rtSOtlrtCS and which is bringing the mitliOl'\S of the l'<gion. · people surplus to the system to the edge Chile: Urb.1no Alfaro, a diver from a of ex-tinction ... States the declaration. small fishing village in the region of Antofagasta. discussed the impact of the The delegates also promised to carry Minerra Es<:01\dida Ltd, whose acdvilies om wide-ranging educational campaigns ha\'C led tO comamination of the fish and on indh-i.dual and collective rights. and to shellftsh they depend on for their living. strengthen the coordination of the strug· The company boasts that it produces 80 glc againSt mining at the local, national thous.1od tons of copper per year, ttsing and regional level. the mOSt advanced technolog)' in the world. In h1s exposition, he added lh~n the company fttds to expl~i.n that no other was willing to :\cccpt the plam CO\lOll')l due to the enonnous environmental con· se-quences. ·rhe treatment of the ore mvolves dischatging into the sea highl)' toxic chemicals. which among other problcn'ls have raised the temperature of the waters and produced dcfonmties, especially in prawns. The problems do not circumscribe themsclv~s to the sea. The company transports these toxins right through the town in ordinary trucks which have h~d no modification. The viltagers greatest rear is that in the event or a brake faihu·e or cr:\sh, these chcm1cals will esc."tpc, contaminating the air. soil and even causing an explosion. Again, at the World Bank Conference the comp.--my's representative concentrated on the economic benefits, highlighting that the production of "La Escondida" represents 6% of the total exported by the country. Ftmhcnnore, as there are plans for incre-asing production. Chile will become a world leader in the producuon of copper. Resolution : Towards the end of the conference the ddegates prepared a state· rnent which v.ras read out to the press during a speech in the Congl'<ss Press Office. The document, known as the "Dcdaraci6n de Quno", rcje<;tS ..mining activity in latin America and the pernicious role of the \Vorld Bank in promot· mg. and financing mining in the r.::g:1on". Delegates asscned "the right of lndigenous people and communities to continue their ham1onlous ways of life and decide their own destiny". Nor were delegates in agreement with the 6:mk's macro·economic poh~>~ "'\V~ 16 Their demands can be summarized as urging national govemmems to prioritize quality of life, food, security and environmcnt:'tl prestrvation above anything else., thC)' requested that alternath•es to mining should be sought and that aU mining development monC)' be channeled to other sectors of the economy managed by communities. World Bank Conference: Delegates from Latin Amcrie<~n NGOs attending the: \Vorld a'lnk Conference expressed their reservations about the event in a letter addressed to the President of the B.·mk, which was read · out during their speeches in the final panel. understanding of the unpact or numng at the local level. To be more precise. they stated in the lener that out of the 40 delegates to the \Vorld Bank Con(erence there was j\ISt one Indigenous person. and he w~ from canada and reflected in his spee<:h cxa>encnces far removed frorn those of laun Americans. In addition, rcprescmatives from L<uin America had been unable: to auend the workshop "Processes used during consuhauon"' on the 7th of May due to the absence of a Spanish-Engli'h tmnshnor. This unfonunate example of how liule the organizers had thought about the needs of delegates from the rt":gion happened not just on<;c. On two more ex<:asions and due to the same problem , Spamsh-speaking delegates were left without :my option but to abarldon the diSC\ISSions. As a result, they expressed doubts about the value of the consu.hation process msugated by the B nk, concluding that their partidpiltion . a wns mcrdy token. This is in marked contrast to a promise of "'lncan~ngful" panic~ lpation made by the Bank in a leucr addressed to the l....'\tin America Project. dated April 18th. ~ 11tt outhtN now works (CJ tht Lorin Ameri<o Minjng !Mnitoril>g frogtomme {wu.if/ I I 3 Hig~/and ,d., 8tomley, Kenl, Eng/end, m 4AA. Tti:OI81·280107. (·moil: <glevys@ul<l"'eb.demon.<o.Uh> UPDATE: During the debace many fa~ and Indigenous people spoke about e Mir wishes to •see• rite real extenc of environmental deceriorarion c open-pic har mining has produced in Peru. by far one of rhe v~t cas presented during e che conference. As a follow up to chis requescThe Latin suongly·worded letter was used by the delegates to express their di53greement with the orgttnizatlon of the event and the conclusiot\S reached dunng discussions. Reading. from a lencr prepared b)" the group. Hector Huenas Gonzalez ( a Kuna from Pan,ma) <:ommunic~ncd the .. groupS diS(lppointmcnt at the absence of a significant number of NGOs and commtmtty delegates. They felt the confer· encc had not been able to reach an A America Mining Monicoring Program (LAMMP) and Accion Ecologica are ~ntfy organizing an incemac ional exchange crip berween farmers and Indigenous people from E cuador and Peru. It isthe inrenrion of the group co >is in Peru the communiries of Cerro it de Pasco, Oroya and the ciry of 1/o and ro offer inlerflaCional wppon co c hese communities. 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 The Parallel Conference on Mining and the Community Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gloves Rondon Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title The Parallel Conference on Mining and the Community Item Type Journal Article Author Gloves Rondon Language English English Abstract Note More than 60 participants from Indigenous communities and NGOs in nine countries contributed to a general debate on mining. The representatives spoke on the true costs of mining, and the needs of those they represented. Issue 1 Volume 11 Publication Title Abya Yala News mining Parallel Conference 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/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/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/9f66d30ffc6d03104e545463fb2a9b6c.pdf 6f87d29300763c9565dd108613212f4f PDF Text Text _ _ _ _ _ _ __,:....:: 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 � 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 Urarina Survival Update: Continued Resource Exportation and Disease Importation by Foreigners and Newly Initiated by Multinational Oil Companies Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ritchie Witzig Massiel Ascencios 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 Urarina Survival Update: Continued Resource Exportation and Disease Importation by Foreigners and Newly Initiated by Multinational Oil Companies Item Type Journal Article Author Ritchie Witzig Massiel Ascencios Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 17-19 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Language English Abstract Note The Kacha people are increasingly being exploited for their natural resources. Oil companies are spreading disease and ruining environments, with a negative impact on Indigenous life. Attachment Title Urarina_Survival_Update_Continued_Resource_Exportation_and_Disease_Importation_by_Foreigners_and_Newly_Initiated_by_Multinational_Oil_Companies.pdf Urarina_Survival_Update_Continued_Resource_Exportation_and_Disease_Importation_by_Foreigners_and_Newly_Initiated_by_Multinational_Oil_Companies.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] [No URL] Disease Kacha Urarina https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/97f2399097c9aa0c697adc4d889d40aa.pdf 123f00a33edc77789ad32e2d9a11f87d PDF Text Text E c o - J u S T I CE radioacth•e waste dump in \Vard Y.lltey in Environmental Racism: The J U! N ear lndusty An Nat Americans the C.1.lifomia Mojave descn, tt.n area which is sacred for five native peoples, the Fon Mojave. Chemehuevi, Quechan. Ux:opah and Colomdo Ri\'Cr Indians. An estimated 30.000 tons of m1clet\r W.Stc are in tempor.\ry stor<lge m the US.• 'J either in underw3ter pools or il\ steel and concrete casks. at 109 nuclear reactors across the country. Btu these .stores are almost full. Some plants may have to shut down within the nex't few years unless more swrnge space is round.. There is no cemml facility in the US for handling, processing. stOring or disposing of nuclear waste. The 11\tclear industry IS :\ttempting to force the t'latiotkal government- specifi· by Ul/a Lehtinen cally the D<panmem of Energy-to take resJ>Onsibility for nuclear waste, bm the MSAATW:IJ AlSO~~O ~ ~ ·~ t:.'l.~i'IAI. ~ depanmcnt ma.intttins il docs not have ,;f \ o,«( l•.t'WS, \ Q.). f!,St.lf J 'l the cap.1city to do so. ll is howevtr, mandated to "provide" a ccmral underground or decades. the United States has stOr-.tg,e site for the comnryS entire stock mined Native American lands for of high-level nuclear waste. The onl)' can· urnnium and has tested nuclear didate it hn.s come up " fith 1$ Y\ICCft weapons on them. Some 75 J>Crcent of Moumain. + F the coumryS trranium reserves lie under native lands- lands once considered so wonhless that the authorities did not mind designating them as reservationswhile all nuclear testing within the United Stat<s has been carried out on native Lands. Children now play on radioactive ,....aste from the mmes sio1ply left where it was piled up. Some of the waste has been used to build houses or schools. In man)' areas, the death rate among children is higher than among the miners. In New Me11:1Co, Arizona :\nd Somh Dakota, radi- ation from uranium mining tailings has contaminated water resources. The Shoshone have fought for decades to end nuclear tesung on tht1r land m the Nevada desert which has exposed them to levels of radiatior\ many times higher than that generated b)' the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ~~ the end of the Second World War. Now the authorities want to dump nuclear 'vastt on nath·c lands as well. 1\vo propos.-lls are currcmly being moOI· ed: a high-level rad1o:.t<:tive dump on Yuc<:a }.·loumain Ill the lands of the Shoshone in Nevada, and a low le\'cl 20 Millions of dollars 1\ave been spent studying the safet)' of burying nuclear waste at Yucca. the results of whJch arc ttnything but promlsing.. Located in a vol· canic area and potential canhquakc zone, the proposed site is also near ground water. Even though the site has not been approved as an underground nuclear \ WI.SlC dump, funhcr S\UdiCS have been commissioned and its opening has been postponed until 2010 at the earliest, sev· eral proposols current!)' going through the US Sel\3te and Congress aim tO send radioactive waste tO Yuoca Mountain from 199$ on,vards. H approved, this waste would simply sit in the nuclear cquh'a· lem of a parking lot without adequate controls or equ1pment .. 6cside the permanent site of Yucca Mountain, the Oepanmem <>f Energy has also suggested 21 temporary dump sites in the US for high-level \OJ<\Ste, IS of which arc on native lands. L·n-gc sums of money ha,·e been offered to "persuade'" the various tribes to ~tcept these propos· als; so far 311 but two nations. the Goshule and the Paiute-Shoshonc, ha"e refused. In neither of these two cases did the 1" ribal Council put the decision to the Abya Yala News �Eco-JusTICE tribe as a whole. Probably for good r<a· son: prc,iously the Goshute rejected a proposed ~oxic \WlS\e incincr:nor Ol'l Lheir lands and decided lO Start a recycling business instead, while, in a survey of the Paiute~Shoshone, tribal members opposed the nuclear dump by 4 to I. The go\'emment and nuclear indttStl')' are also forging ahead with plans for the low- level radtoactive waste dum(> in Ward Valley in the California Mojave dcS<n. Despite misltading terminology. low-level radioactive waste comains the: s.1mc ingredients as high-level waste~ the half-lire of some low level waste is tens or Lhousands of years. The waste would be placed in steel drums inside scaled plastic or steal comainet'$ and then buried in shallow, unlined trenches. Tile propoS<d dump Is right above • major aqu.Her and about 30 Kilometers from the Colorado River which Oows through the vaUey on its way to Mexico. Scientists of the US Geological Survey warn thaL leaking mdioactivity n\<\)' eod up in the river. Even the National Academy of Science's Soard on Radioactive Management has recom- mended further s.1fety studies. The river and its caMls bring drinking water to o"er 20 million people in Los Angeles to Vol. 11 No.1 the west and Ph04nix and Tucson to the south, as well as providing water for agriculture and caule. In Bcauy, Nevada, ::t.n e:." istil"1g dump, similar in design to Lhc proposed Ward V..lley site and also in a descn. has stal't· ed to leak and contaminate ground w:uer. even though it is only 20 years old. from there and now the native lands are mmcd into dump sites. They take our water, then the pOison IS hU,l'ling an Jiving things there. I don't really appreciate what the government is doing. They know it is dangerous bm ~ill they move nuclear waste through roads to seas. We the people should be out there at the front. ThatS why we have asked the non· Indian people to Stop the government. Ward Valley 1S in the m1dst o£ eight Ncn only here but everywhere: in designated wilderness areas :mel is a pro- England. Puerto Rico. Russia-we should tected area because it encomp.1SSCS the really unite! \Vein Nevada have too much few remaining habitats for the endan- mining and chemk:nls th;\l go to the water gered descn tono>Se. Tile valley IS also t.'tble.. .ln my pa.n of the coumry, we saw S.1Crtd tO five native peoples Of the area. that I'Uclcar radiation was making our Their ancestors have walked there, their lives shorter. I've seen children bom ancestors arc buried there and their spir· without legs: l've seen ems bom with juSt its .still roam there. It is their church and too legs. I've. seen a lot or hun.1a11S die of grave)'ard. The Mojave believe they are disc•scs eat>Sed by radiation ... Everybody g<•ardians of the land. caretakers of ll•e has been polluting !this Iandi and every· water and neighbors of the dtsen ani· body has to pitch in and make 1hings bet· mals. If the Colomdo River dies. the ter. If we continue to destro)' lhings, than Mojave believe they will disappear as nobody will be able to smvive at all. l( we ,..,ell. Together wilh the other native peo.. doni Start working togeLher to d .. n up pks of Lhe area. the Mojave have orga· the planet soon . there won't be :.\nyone 'ies nized protests and ccremo1 in the area. left to dean up our messes tomorrow. We They have set up a 1x:rmanem camp on have w unite to understand 'vhat nuclear the proposed dump site where some of en•'l>Y does: ~ the elders stay. Corbin Harney, a Shoshone Elder and healer. said: ier •This nuclear pov is :;lhvays taken to nath·e Lands. First ilS mined 21 � 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 Environmental Racism: The US Nuclear Industry and Native Americans Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ulla Lehtinen Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Zotero Title Environmental Racism: The US Nuclear Industry and Native Americans (not attached) Item Type Journal Article Author Ulla Lehtinen Abstract Note Uranium mining and testing has occurred in the United States for decades, mostly on native lands. It has been proposed that nuclear waste should be dumped on these already radioactive lands. This could have significant social and health implications for the natives of southwestern United States. Attachment Title Environmental_Racism_the_US_Nuclear_Industy_and_Native_Americans.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 1 Language English Volume 11 Publication Title Abya Yala News Pages 20-21 Native American Nuclear Waste United States https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/7fbed328b34c08cd6622a298b7f64712.pdf e087ec9f36593625df25e61b3324d5b7 PDF Text Text DAUGHTERS 0 F A BY A YA L A t~~w~ Dr. Leticia Dianna Viteri Gualinga it is evident that while the chemical con- LLuy Virui is a Quiduw from Ecutulor. She is a r-ep~StiH<Hivc of CONAIE, rl1t Cmifedcration of the lmligcnous Nationalities of Eawdor. l.tuy is t~ doctor· \\'ho since O<rober of 1997 h<IS wor'ktd with cl1e Pcmcmterican Health Organitacfcn OPS wori~ing in rhe Promotion and Protection of Heal<h and heal<hy lif<s<yles division, spedfically in the mental health t>r~ram. She has also woi'Ju:d ou a numbu oJ lr1digtr1ous health fJrOjects and studies, In ~,n of your invesligations in nm'l.l communilics, what has been the pri ncipal cause of illnesses among the Indigenous people (colonialization. tourism . petroleum, etc.)? <tS well llS conducting reset1rch on Indigenous htal<h issu<s. SAilC asked Lelly <o disa•ss some aspurs of !ttdigenous l1calrh for our &o-]us<ice ami Htal<h issue of Abya Yala News. In this issue we're exploring the tamination of the environment has affected the health of these communities. il is imponant to substamiate this reality with serious Studies. rcla~ tion that exis ts between 1hc CXJ>Ioita· lion of natural resources like minerals1 petroleum, cac., and the negative e ffec ts of this type of exploitation on the health of the Indigenous cOonunu· nitics. In your work as a doctor ha"c you enco untered cases of this l'Y pe? There exists a number of facwrs that impact the health of the Indigenous com· munities. This new epidemic lrend which we arc living through is a just response tO the political violence, the ecological and e<:onomic violence. the social discrimination. the poverty, the anned conflict. among other things, and in this manner has given rist tO a new order o£ illnesses like alcoholism. Could you give us specific examples of communities? The P<'troleum devdopment brought One time when 1 visited Lake Agrio. in Sucumbios. 01~e of the 5 Amazonian provinces of Ecuador. we visited the oil wells where Texaco operated. Dt11ring the vish, we became acquainted with many of the J>eople who lived around these wells. l could observe various types o-f symp~ toms of the skin afflictions. rashes: one boy with a t)rpe of congenital m~lforrna· tion which I don't know whether il was related to the chemical contamination of the environment. or course the exploita· tion of any natural resource brings with it a disequilibrium of ecosystems and this directly affects the health of the commu· nitit~ in these regions, On <he other hand violence to the Huaorani communities of Tot\ampari and Quihuareno in 1988. They committed a terrible crime· an oil spill that destroyed the richness of the rivers. the land and the health of the trouble il~ the actual planning and execution !o( soltnionsl. There are some (com· rnuniticsl , like the case or Sarnyacu, Curnmy. which are sufficiently large and have the intention of doing many things. In the same way. the h~digenous organi· z:ations arc only now beginning to con· cern themselves with the health of our people. \Vhat are the mos1 common h eahh problems affecting Indigenous women? \Vhat arc the specific issues t hal 1hey face? The mental health of the women con- S<itutcs the principal health problem and 1lhis seems to be affected by <.:enain <.-aus· es wonh considering. 1t is important to point out that they [the women! have lost the tradilional knowledge concerning family planning. Along with this. they don't have access to the modern forms of birth control and they often don't have the right to choose the number of children they would like to have. [Other s.trcsses include) domestic violence. the excessive physical labor associated with domestic chores and !taking care on their fanns. the transporting of water. among other details that have a serious impact on the health or I he women. Huaorani communit)'· The emire city of Lago Agrio. the capital of the Sucumbios province, has been affected. as well as all of the villages of the Siona-Secoya and Cofan P<'Oples. \Vhal was your moth•e for slUdying m edicine and for serving Indige nous communities? 1 chose to stud)' medicine because \Vhat are the Indigenous organiza. tions doing to resolve this problem? ahvays liked it and the vocation 1 con· The communities are concerned s.tructed in the COtiTSe of the career. l always thought that medicine is a science which is esscmially social , and that about these problem$, but often har e 1hrough thi$ I could somehow makt a Continued on fXigc 34 22 A'cY-;a Yala News �S E L F DETERMINATION This organization is new and has not 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 LIWEN Center for Mapuche Studies and Documentation. The objective of this institution is to generate knowledge from our own perspective and to disseminate it 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 countries, and on the issue of Bilingual Intercultural Education. What is the difference between the programs for Mapuche children and those for the youths? With the children you have to work in a playful context, where you keep the youngster entertained while they're learning, and of course you must involve the family 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 but this is not their fault. We don't know what negative experiences they have had that have made them opposed to it. Working with young people or adolescents is a little more complex. They are going through a difficult stage, building their identity They have many 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 slowly They must see that you as a woman can be a role model, thatbeing Mapuche is not bad or ugly, not at all. We know that you did some research on the oral history of the families of urban Mapuche youths. What were the most important points that came out of this research? This study came about due to the interest th at 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 different context than our parents and grandparents. It was an arduous task, because from the beginning our families didn't 34 & TERRITORY understand our interest in understanding things of such little relevance to them. The people in the countryside usually don't value their legends, their family histories. They don't comprehend the richness of their own knowledge. We got them to change their attitude: they started to talk, to spill out a whole marvelous, unknown world for us. We really learned an enormous amount. It was magical to listen to it all, and the most important thing is that we were able to get our relatives, our aunts and uncles, cousins, etc., involved. We'd like to ask why you, as a young Mapuche woman, are involved in this type of work? I work with conviction, because I really feel that it's necessary to struggle for our rights as Mapuche people. The conditions of poverty and oppression in which we live today must change . Mapuche children should grow up in a healthy atmosphere, in peace and harmony with the environment. When I took consciousness of my identity, of my history, of my culture, it was really like a liberation. I strongly feel the need to support my people in every way that I can. It's a life choice. What would you like to see in the future for Mapuche youth? And what would you like to do to make it happen? 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 are dashed at a very young 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. We know that you've been working on a project on Indigenous Women and Gender in Washington, DC. Could you tell us what the focus of your research has been? In September, 1997, I was selected by the Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples to develop a work apprenticeship in the Indigenous Peoples' Union of the Interamerican Development Bank, located in Washington, DC I'm specifically working on editing a report about the topic of gender relations in Indigenous communities and development. It is a reflective work, whose main objective is to understand Indigenous women's thoughts and perceptions about development. Essentially, the idea is to propose certain strategies that can be incorporated into the Bank's policies in relation to Indigenous women. ..., Continued from page 22 contribution to society, not only the Indigenous on e of Ecuador, but in whichever place throughout the world. What have been the challenges 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 woman of any other culture and nation. But in fact I've had to face certain challenges, like knowing that the people of my community viewed me as the savior from the health problems affecting the community The leaders of my provincial community trusted so in my abilities. One demonstration of this was their inviting me to work in the SAMAY Project, financed by the European Union. I'm talking about a pro-life 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 of Ecuador, CONAIE , is another challenge. To respond positively to all these challenges, I always try to learn more to better understand the culture of Globalization, to learn how to manuever myself within the dynamics of the modern age, in distinct levels and spheres of human actions. For me, it is important to take into account the advice and the points of view of the great Indigenous leaders, and of the great ideologies, both old and new. ..., 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 Interview with Dr Leticia Dianna Viteri Gualinga 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 Dr Leticia Dianna Viteri Gualinga (Not attached) Item Type Journal Article Language English Abstract Note Interview with a Quichua from Ecuador, who works in the health field. Discusses exploitation of natural resources, and the negative social and health implications of continued exploitation. Issue 1 Volume 11 Publication Title Abya Yala News Pages 22, 34 Exploitation Health https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/4d0c299cf37909e950db05dd9d9fcac8.pdf aaa63783558b831de889a5de963768e1 PDF Text Text I N B R I E F Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast Update: Logging Stopped! The Oineh communnyS long history Qf rtsJStance reached a pivotal I>Oint in 1974, when the US Congress appro,·ed the Navnjo-Hopi S<:ulemem Aet. The previous am:mgement of dual ownership of lhe lands by the Dlneh and the Hopi complicated the mining companies ability to seek land leases for co.1.l extr~u:· tion. This new law. sponsored in part by the mining indu$try, resulted in the £on:ed relocation of 12.000 traditional Oineh from their land. In 1996 the US government attempted another Oineh·l-lopi settlement act that offered land le:ases to a few ftun· i1ies while authorizing the forcible relcx-ation of those who did not qualify for a lease pemlit, The Oineh art feeh ng the pressure to rtsettle w oper1 1nore land for mining. he 16th of February, Nicaragua's Environment .and N:nur:.\1 Rt.SO\trctS Millisuy withheld permits to SOL· CARSA, the Korean Lumber company, declaring their logging concession null and void Two rears ago. the Violcta Chamorro government grnnted a 153,000 acre concession to SOLCARSA. a subsidiary of the Korean tronsnatlonal Kum K)~mg (~e Abya Y a!a News. Summer 1997, Vol 10. No.3. Pg.34). The rainforest concession violated laws protecting the nght of lnd•genous <:Oml'nunities of the North Atlantic Atonomous Zot•e (Rt\AN) to control their natuml resour:cts. The In addition lO being the primary SOU~C of deStruction for recent dcdaration has. come after the Nicaraguan Supreme Court has ruled that the logging concesston is unconstitutional traditional Oineh burial and sacred sites. the cool st rip~mine h:tS for a second time. The Korean logging g1ant has already paid 1 cr~U':d several etwlronmental problems. Tht mine threatens the million dollars in fines for violating logging regulations. sole sourc;e of water for the communities in the region. The coal from the Slack M~ mine is mixtd with ,.,:rater and ttansportcd For the Miskito and Sumo people. the eviction of SOI..- 273 miles through a slurry line to the Mojave Generation Station CARSA is the first step towards recognizing 'heir constitutional in laughlin. Nevad:t. To function properly. the slurry line must right to title their lands. Armstrong \Viggins, a M~skito lawrer <U pump up to 1.4 billion g$llons of wt.\tcr each year frotn the the Indian Law Resource Ccncr s.1id that '"this was an imj>Ort.arn Oineh aqtlifer. battle, hard fought ... but to keep this from happening again. we In his four·day visit , Mr. Amor heard from lndtg.cnous have to press now for the demarcation of all lndigneous lands in nations m Arizona on other maaers 3S well. including: the Nicaragua.'" Un1versity of Arizol'H\'s plac:eme1\l of tcltsc:opes on tOp of Momu lnformmion from: R csoutce Ctrucr of rite AmcrfcM and GlolHd Graham , a place sacred to the Apa<:he people: urnnium mining Resp<>11se: globrrsp<>nse@igc.apc.org on the high pl:ueatt~ of the Grand Canyon, which is s.'\cred to the Havasupai and many other Indigenous peoples nath•c to Arizona. Nevertheless. Mr. Amor refustd to validate or refute "''l' until he h.•d time to United Nations Investigates Human Rights Abuses :.md allegations he had rccti"ed fromdigest the documentation testim<m)' more than one hundred Against Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Cif~y people in his four day vish. Amor's report from lus U.S. vlsit will likely be: heard by lhc U.N. Commiss1on on Hum:m February 1-4, Mr. Abdelfauah Amor. the UN Special Rights in March 1999. It is possible the UN may rcle•~ the Rapponcur of Religious Intolerance of the Unitt.-d Nntions report to the public by the end of 1998. Comm~ssion on liuman rughlS, l'nCl With traditional Olnch The aides to the stateS congression:t1 delegation in Arizona (N~wajo) elders to investigate charges of humatl rights violations by the Un i u:~d States govcmmcnL A comingem of various non· said they had never heard of Amor nor had any idea why he had government organizations, most of them faith based. were 1nvlt· selected AriZOI\9. tO ilwestigate the subject or re.hgious lntOicrcd by the Dineh to participate in the event. More chan one: htm· anct. dred people sat on the din floor of a hogan liStenit'lg tO u:sti· \tfars.ha ~\lf<mc~.rcr.sl()l, monies about rtligiotts violations. This was the firs~ time that For more irifomuuion please comacr: 1 the United States has ever been £onnally investigated by the UN Consultam to So\'trtign Dine.h Nmior1. Co-Chair, NCO Huma~~ Rights Caucus at 'he VN Commi.ssior~ on Su.stairwble De\'elopmeru for violations the right lO freedom of rclig.ton. T I or Abdelfauah Amor came in response to n fonnal complaim filed by the lntcn>atlonallndian Treaty Council (liTC) on behal£ of the Sovereign Oineh Nation of Big Mountain, Arizona focus· ing on forced relocation and its impacts on religious freedom. The religious rights of the Dineh Nauon are thrc:uencd by the British-owned Peabody Coal Company (PCC). the world~ largest pri\'Otcly-owned coal company. which operates the Black Mesa/Kayenta strip mine in the heart of Black Mesa. Over 4.000 burial and sacred snes have been destroyed as a result of strip mining. There is no protection given to Oinch burial grounds and sacred sites. Members of the: t.:olnmunit)t are ba.rrtd access 10 cenain s.1cred sites to pray. which interferes with the.ir abibty to practice thc1r religion. which is land~bascd and sile Sj>ecific. 4 (718) 349-1841 t•mail: sdmuiorJ@tarlhlhlk.P~tl Roraima, Brazil: Forest Fires Reach Yanomami Territory T he raging fires sweeping the Amazon have r!!ached the Yanomami's dense jungle territory. for the past two months. fires set by subsis(ence fam1ers to cle:tr the1r land ha\'e ravaged the s.wanna highlands of Roraima state. The dcv.. · asuuing Orcs are coupled with one or the worst droughts the region has e.ver faced. Thous..1.nds of Macuxi, \ V3ptxan:t. Taurcpangi, \Vai \ Vai, Pcmon. Maiongong and Patamona pc:oA~Yala News �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 Roraima, Brazil: Forest Fires Reach Yanomami Territory 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 Roraima, Brazil: Forest Fires Reach Yanomami Territory Item Type Journal Article Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 4-5 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1988 Language English Abstract Note The combination of drought and forest fires have threatened thousands of indigenous people. Attachment Title Roraima_Brazil_Forest_Fires_Reach_Yanomami_Territory (1).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Conselho Indigena de Roraima Roraima Yanomami https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/7bfe4407af57a382fcb0d8640ba8ab6e.pdf 412598f4866c3d617137d29ffdf712b8 PDF Text Text I N B R I E F Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast Update: Logging Stopped! The Oineh communnyS long history Qf rtsJStance reached a pivotal I>Oint in 1974, when the US Congress appro,·ed the Navnjo-Hopi S<:ulemem Aet. The previous am:mgement of dual ownership of lhe lands by the Dlneh and the Hopi complicated the mining companies ability to seek land leases for co.1.l extr~u:· tion. This new law. sponsored in part by the mining indu$try, resulted in the £on:ed relocation of 12.000 traditional Oineh from their land. In 1996 the US government attempted another Oineh·l-lopi settlement act that offered land le:ases to a few ftun· i1ies while authorizing the forcible relcx-ation of those who did not qualify for a lease pemlit, The Oineh art feeh ng the pressure to rtsettle w oper1 1nore land for mining. he 16th of February, Nicaragua's Environment .and N:nur:.\1 Rt.SO\trctS Millisuy withheld permits to SOL· CARSA, the Korean Lumber company, declaring their logging concession null and void Two rears ago. the Violcta Chamorro government grnnted a 153,000 acre concession to SOLCARSA. a subsidiary of the Korean tronsnatlonal Kum K)~mg (~e Abya Y a!a News. Summer 1997, Vol 10. No.3. Pg.34). The rainforest concession violated laws protecting the nght of lnd•genous <:Oml'nunities of the North Atlantic Atonomous Zot•e (Rt\AN) to control their natuml resour:cts. The In addition lO being the primary SOU~C of deStruction for recent dcdaration has. come after the Nicaraguan Supreme Court has ruled that the logging concesston is unconstitutional traditional Oineh burial and sacred sites. the cool st rip~mine h:tS for a second time. The Korean logging g1ant has already paid 1 cr~U':d several etwlronmental problems. Tht mine threatens the million dollars in fines for violating logging regulations. sole sourc;e of water for the communities in the region. The coal from the Slack M~ mine is mixtd with ,.,:rater and ttansportcd For the Miskito and Sumo people. the eviction of SOI..- 273 miles through a slurry line to the Mojave Generation Station CARSA is the first step towards recognizing 'heir constitutional in laughlin. Nevad:t. To function properly. the slurry line must right to title their lands. Armstrong \Viggins, a M~skito lawrer <U pump up to 1.4 billion g$llons of wt.\tcr each year frotn the the Indian Law Resource Ccncr s.1id that '"this was an imj>Ort.arn Oineh aqtlifer. battle, hard fought ... but to keep this from happening again. we In his four·day visit , Mr. Amor heard from lndtg.cnous have to press now for the demarcation of all lndigneous lands in nations m Arizona on other maaers 3S well. including: the Nicaragua.'" Un1versity of Arizol'H\'s plac:eme1\l of tcltsc:opes on tOp of Momu lnformmion from: R csoutce Ctrucr of rite AmcrfcM and GlolHd Graham , a place sacred to the Apa<:he people: urnnium mining Resp<>11se: globrrsp<>nse@igc.apc.org on the high pl:ueatt~ of the Grand Canyon, which is s.'\cred to the Havasupai and many other Indigenous peoples nath•c to Arizona. Nevertheless. Mr. Amor refustd to validate or refute "''l' until he h.•d time to United Nations Investigates Human Rights Abuses :.md allegations he had rccti"ed fromdigest the documentation testim<m)' more than one hundred Against Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Cif~y people in his four day vish. Amor's report from lus U.S. vlsit will likely be: heard by lhc U.N. Commiss1on on Hum:m February 1-4, Mr. Abdelfauah Amor. the UN Special Rights in March 1999. It is possible the UN may rcle•~ the Rapponcur of Religious Intolerance of the Unitt.-d Nntions report to the public by the end of 1998. Comm~ssion on liuman rughlS, l'nCl With traditional Olnch The aides to the stateS congression:t1 delegation in Arizona (N~wajo) elders to investigate charges of humatl rights violations by the Un i u:~d States govcmmcnL A comingem of various non· said they had never heard of Amor nor had any idea why he had government organizations, most of them faith based. were 1nvlt· selected AriZOI\9. tO ilwestigate the subject or re.hgious lntOicrcd by the Dineh to participate in the event. More chan one: htm· anct. dred people sat on the din floor of a hogan liStenit'lg tO u:sti· \tfars.ha ~\lf<mc~.rcr.sl()l, monies about rtligiotts violations. This was the firs~ time that For more irifomuuion please comacr: 1 the United States has ever been £onnally investigated by the UN Consultam to So\'trtign Dine.h Nmior1. Co-Chair, NCO Huma~~ Rights Caucus at 'he VN Commi.ssior~ on Su.stairwble De\'elopmeru for violations the right lO freedom of rclig.ton. T I or Abdelfauah Amor came in response to n fonnal complaim filed by the lntcn>atlonallndian Treaty Council (liTC) on behal£ of the Sovereign Oineh Nation of Big Mountain, Arizona focus· ing on forced relocation and its impacts on religious freedom. The religious rights of the Dineh Nauon are thrc:uencd by the British-owned Peabody Coal Company (PCC). the world~ largest pri\'Otcly-owned coal company. which operates the Black Mesa/Kayenta strip mine in the heart of Black Mesa. Over 4.000 burial and sacred snes have been destroyed as a result of strip mining. There is no protection given to Oinch burial grounds and sacred sites. Members of the: t.:olnmunit)t are ba.rrtd access 10 cenain s.1cred sites to pray. which interferes with the.ir abibty to practice thc1r religion. which is land~bascd and sile Sj>ecific. 4 (718) 349-1841 t•mail: sdmuiorJ@tarlhlhlk.P~tl Roraima, Brazil: Forest Fires Reach Yanomami Territory T he raging fires sweeping the Amazon have r!!ached the Yanomami's dense jungle territory. for the past two months. fires set by subsis(ence fam1ers to cle:tr the1r land ha\'e ravaged the s.wanna highlands of Roraima state. The dcv.. · asuuing Orcs are coupled with one or the worst droughts the region has e.ver faced. Thous..1.nds of Macuxi, \ V3ptxan:t. Taurcpangi, \Vai \ Vai, Pcmon. Maiongong and Patamona pc:oA~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 United Nations Investigates Human Rights Abuses Against Indigenous Peoples in the United States 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 United Nations Investigates Human Rights Abuses Against Indigenous Peoples in the United States Item Type Journal Article Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 4 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Language English Abstract Note Delegates from the United Nations met to discuss the United States violation of the right of freedom of religion reguarding the Navajo and the Soverign Dineh Nation of Big Mountian. Attachment Title Nicaragua's_Atlantic_Coast_Update-_Logging_Stopped.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Exploitation Religion Soverign Dineh Nation of Big Mountian