1 12 16 https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/4a1f2675828399aea6727567a8814a55.pdf e053aef5f9e28ade7eb1b0099560342d PDF Text Text H BRIEF Ecuador: Occidental Signs Unconscionable and Fraudulent Agreements in the Amazon S-based transnational OCCIDENTAL is currently negoti· ating with Indigenous communities in Ecuadorian Amazonia, offering linle more than twentieth century trinkets--<:hainsaws, medicine chests, and rain-coats-in exchange for undefined access to Indigenous territOry for "petroleum activities.• OCCIDENTAL is one of the worlds largest oil companies, currently operating in over eleven different countries outside the US, and extracting over 200,000 barrels of crude per day. Indigenous communities have been pressured ro sign completely inadequate agreements, in the presence of the military- agreements which oblige the communities to allow the companies to carry our undefined petroleum exploration and extraction activities for undefined periods of time. Occidental has used various fonns of coercion 10 secure agreements \vith the leaders of the Indigenous communities. Leaders of the Secoya report that prior to negotiations, the legal representative of Occidental threatened to bring the military to the community. Occidental's legal representative also told Secoya communi!)' leaders that "they did not want to see anyone else at the discussions.• Such statements amount to coercion and directly violate the Secoya people's right tO independent consultation. In one instance, Occidental brought a draft agreement to the negotiations and was very reluctant to include any of the proposals made b)• the community. In the end, only a vague reference to the possibility of temporary employment was included . In previous discussions, Occidental had wid the community that the company onl)• ' vamed pem1ission to do seismic testing. However, the agreement signed permits Occidental to carry our any form of "petroleum activity." A Secoya leader later realized that the granting of pem1ission for "petroleum activities" was a mistake, and asked Occidental to change the agreement. Occidental also reportedly told Secoya leaders that the company could not pay in advance because they didn\ have the money. To explain this situation, the company used the analogy that "a farmer cannot pay the rent for the land until he's harvested all the com.• The company also told the Secoya leaders that if they did not gram permission, the Ecuadorian government could expropriate the land and the community could lose its territory. Occidental operates in an area of over 200,000 hectares called Block 15. This block includes a pan of the Limoncocha Biological Reserve, a protected area, and pan of the Secoya, Siona, and Quichua Indigenous territory. Occidental signed an agreement with the Ecuadorian government that grams the company extraction rights for 20 years. Using Occidentals own estimates of the existing reserves, the entire production of Block 15 will supply the equivalent of US oil consumption for just 12.7 days. U lnfomwlion from: Carlos Sergio Flguein:do Tawz 4 Write lerrers 10 the directors of occidental corporation denouncing the immoral and illegal way in which they are carryi11g out negoliatio11s. demand that they suspend negotiations and conduct all future negoti· ations ethiwlly <md legally: Ray R. Irani, Preside11t and Chief Executive Officer, Occiderual Petroleum, 10889 Wilshi~ Boulevard, Los Angtles, CA, 9002'1-'1201; Mastorm Cum1ingham, Occidental Exploration and Production Co.. A>< Amazonas 3837 y Corea, Casilla J 7-15-0095-C, Quito, Ecuador Chile: South and North American Indigenous Peoples to Protest Chilean Dam Project A n historic meeting of Indigenous peoples from North and South America has been scheduled to coincide with the annual meeting of the worlds largest association of dam construction and hydroelectric technology companies. At issue is the planned construction by ENDESA, Chiles largest private company, of Ralco Dam, the second in a series of six dams planned for the Biobfo River, ancestral Andean homeland of the Pehuenche Indians The Indigenous delegation will begin its activities in Chile on October 9 in Santiago, culminating in a demonstration at the annual meeting of the International Consonium on Large Dams (!COLD) in Santiago on October 16. Despite the fact that 100 Pehuenche Indian families, Chile's most traditional Indigenous group would have their villages flooded by the project, no relocation plan was included in ENDESAS em~ronmental impact statement, which was submiued in April to Chilean environmental authorities. The Pehuenche say they are determined to exercise their rights guaranteed under Chilean law ro remain on their ancestral lands, and have called for support from North American Indigenous people, many of whom have personall)• experienced the impacts of large dams. Nine native peoples from the Nonh will be making the trip to meet the Pehuenche, and ro participate in political discussions, spiritual ceremonies. and public demonstrations. The delegation includes prominent leaders from diverse Indigenous communities and nationally-based Native American organizations. Ralco would be a 155 meter-high dam with a 3,400 hectare reservoir. The dam would generate 570 Mega,vatts of electricity at a cost of $500 million . The dam would also Oood over 70 km of the river valley, inundating the richly diverse forest and its \vildlife, and leaving downstream portions of the river dry for months at a rime, devastating fish stocks. The first dam on the Biobfo, called Pangue, was constructed after the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank assured investors that it would be the only dam built on the river. In response to a complaint by the Pehuenche and Chilean environmentalists, the World Bank has now initiated a formal inquiry into irregularities in the Pangue loan. Environmenral groups and Chilean Energy Commi.ssion officials have questioned the need for construction of Ralco, Abya Yala News �IN BRIEF citing plans for construction of two trans-Andean gas Armando Antonio Ptrez, two members of AN IS. The Perez pipelines importing natural gas from Argentina. and the brothers appealed to the Supreme Coun of justice. but to no planned construction of new gas· fired powerplants. The US. avail; the coun ruled to have them expelled from the com· based Natuml Resources Defense Council rettntly conclud· munity. ed a Study demonStrating that improvement of energy deliv· Presently. a warrant is out for the arreSt of Don Adrian cry SyStems m Chile would make Ralco unnecessary. Esquino. president ANIS. on the grounds that he has Stolen The lnternauonal Commission on J..arge Dams is an Org;t· land and murdered. On May 3. an explosion tore through the nization of engineers from 79 countries which promotes con· house of the Esquino family. but caused only structural dam· struction of dams throughout the world. Founded in 1928. age. Faced with this situation. Esqulno is urging human it is headquartered in Paris, France. rights organizations to pressure the Salvadoran state to protect the rights of Indigenous communities under fire. Information from: lntemarfonal Rivus Networl1 (IRN), 1817 Berllelcy Wily. Bcrlwley, Califomia 94703 USA; Tel: (+510) 818· Colombia: Another Zenu Leader Killed 1155: Fax: (+510) 8'18-1008; email: im@igc.al'(.O~ Lummi Indian Nation, 2616 Kwlna Road, Bellingham, \\whington 98226. USA: efore the very eyes of Indigenous and national authoriTel: (+360) 38'1·2288; Fax; (+360) 738-8863 ties, one by one the members of the San i\ndrts de Sotavento Resguardo (Indian reserve). are being killed. At 1:30pm on Sunday, August 18. on the site known as El Salvador: Deputies Threaten Indigenous La Arena (Olrdoba State), two armed men on a black motor· Organization, Target Community bike assassinated the Indigenous leader of the town council he deputies Renato Ptrez. Adolfo Varela. and acU\151 m and mayoral ex-candidate of the town of San Andrts. Albeno the rightiSI ARENA political pany jorge Rufz are present· Cheito Malo Alean. ly attempttng to evict the Indigenous residents of the J..as The Zenu leader was 38 years old. mamed. and had two Hojas county of the San Antonio del Monte Sonsonate juris· children. By profession, he was a civil engineer. lie was the diction. Ptrez. Varela, and Rufz accuse the leaders of the brother of Htctor Malo Vergara. Cacique (chicO of the San National Sah'3domn Indigenous Organization (ANIS) of Andrts de Sotavento Resguardo. who was assassinated on being land thieves and murderers. March 26, 1994, along with three other Indigenous persons. Through the Ministry of Agriculture and Ranching. the This year 12 Zenu leaders have been killed. plaintiffs presented their accusations against the members of The Zenu of the San Andrts de Sotavento protested the AN IS before the tribunals of Sonsonate. They arc accused of lack of any meeting \vith representatives of the state in search violating the agricultuml norms of the country. At this point of solutions to this crisis of civil order. Their attempts have 10 members of AN IS were summoned to appear before the so far yielded nothing. Sonsonate courts to present their testimony regarding this The Cacique Rosenburg Clemente confirmed that the situation. according to the president of AN IS, Fermin Garcia Indigenous people are scared because they don' know who woll be next or when. Guardado. Several lndogcnous nations inhabit J..as Hojas count)'. He added that the massacres ha,·e contmued unabated. mcludmg Nahuats, l.A:nkas. and Mayas. This regoon was aoded by the indifference of the authonues. This comes after acquored by ANIS on 1978 as a safe region in whoch to work those same authorities had promised on a recent meeting in with the communities. They organized cooperatl\'es and are Manillo to establish a vigilante SyStem and to assure peace working communally. In this same spot. 74 Indigenous peo· and autonomy in the Resguardo. pie were massacred in 1983 by the $ah'3doran army. It The International Brotherhood of Human Rights has proremains today a s.1cred place for them and they ask that it be posed the creation of a human rights commission in the area. respected . The Church in turn has suggested that a Reconciliation Since january a number of violent actions have been Commission be set up in conjunction with international directed at the Indigenous people of the region. such as on observers. Nothing has come of any of this. however. january 27 when unknown masked individuals entered the The Cacique requested that impunity be stopped and that community at midnight and nred bullets on the house of the the results or the inveStigations or the murders under way be spiritual leader and Indigenous leaders connected to ANI$. made public. At the same time they threatened to repeat the bloodshed of He also denounced the fact that there arc heavily armed I 983. At that time Amnesty International had led a camp.1ign mercenaries in the majority of the ranches existing in the of informing human rights organizations to pressure the region of the San Andrts de Sotavento Resguardo in Olrdoba Salvadoran Slate to inforcc jUStice. and Sucre. On the 12 of March, the national police ransacked the office of ANIS and detained Rafael Anuro Ptrez and lnformatwn from El Tiempo, Bogot4 B T Vol. 10No. 2 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chile: South and North American Indigenous Peoples to Protest Chilean Dam Project Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Carlos Sergio Figueiredo Tautz Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Chile: South and North American Indigenous Peoples to Protest Chilean Dam Project Item Type Journal Article Contributor Carlos Sergio Figueiredo Tautz Volume Volume 10 Issue Number 2 Pages 4-5 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article depicts the efforts of the indigenous peoples as they protest the building of the Chilean Dam Project. Attachment Title Chile.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Chile ENDESA Protest https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/2c6874b314ce1c02f454d588c0feff62.pdf 5e46ac46768096987ebd3e76d13fc254 PDF Text Text IN BRIEF citing plans for construction of two trans-Andean gas Armando Antonio Ptrez, two members of AN IS. The Perez pipelines importing natural gas from Argentina. and the brothers appealed to the Supreme Coun of justice. but to no planned construction of new gas· fired powerplants. The US. avail; the coun ruled to have them expelled from the com· based Natuml Resources Defense Council rettntly conclud· munity. ed a Study demonStrating that improvement of energy deliv· Presently. a warrant is out for the arreSt of Don Adrian cry SyStems m Chile would make Ralco unnecessary. Esquino. president ANIS. on the grounds that he has Stolen The lnternauonal Commission on J..arge Dams is an Org;t· land and murdered. On May 3. an explosion tore through the nization of engineers from 79 countries which promotes con· house of the Esquino family. but caused only structural dam· struction of dams throughout the world. Founded in 1928. age. Faced with this situation. Esqulno is urging human it is headquartered in Paris, France. rights organizations to pressure the Salvadoran state to protect the rights of Indigenous communities under fire. Information from: lntemarfonal Rivus Networl1 (IRN), 1817 Berllelcy Wily. Bcrlwley, Califomia 94703 USA; Tel: (+510) 818· Colombia: Another Zenu Leader Killed 1155: Fax: (+510) 8'18-1008; email: im@igc.al'(.O~ Lummi Indian Nation, 2616 Kwlna Road, Bellingham, \\whington 98226. USA: efore the very eyes of Indigenous and national authoriTel: (+360) 38'1·2288; Fax; (+360) 738-8863 ties, one by one the members of the San i\ndrts de Sotavento Resguardo (Indian reserve). are being killed. At 1:30pm on Sunday, August 18. on the site known as El Salvador: Deputies Threaten Indigenous La Arena (Olrdoba State), two armed men on a black motor· Organization, Target Community bike assassinated the Indigenous leader of the town council he deputies Renato Ptrez. Adolfo Varela. and acU\151 m and mayoral ex-candidate of the town of San Andrts. Albeno the rightiSI ARENA political pany jorge Rufz are present· Cheito Malo Alean. ly attempttng to evict the Indigenous residents of the J..as The Zenu leader was 38 years old. mamed. and had two Hojas county of the San Antonio del Monte Sonsonate juris· children. By profession, he was a civil engineer. lie was the diction. Ptrez. Varela, and Rufz accuse the leaders of the brother of Htctor Malo Vergara. Cacique (chicO of the San National Sah'3domn Indigenous Organization (ANIS) of Andrts de Sotavento Resguardo. who was assassinated on being land thieves and murderers. March 26, 1994, along with three other Indigenous persons. Through the Ministry of Agriculture and Ranching. the This year 12 Zenu leaders have been killed. plaintiffs presented their accusations against the members of The Zenu of the San Andrts de Sotavento protested the AN IS before the tribunals of Sonsonate. They arc accused of lack of any meeting \vith representatives of the state in search violating the agricultuml norms of the country. At this point of solutions to this crisis of civil order. Their attempts have 10 members of AN IS were summoned to appear before the so far yielded nothing. Sonsonate courts to present their testimony regarding this The Cacique Rosenburg Clemente confirmed that the situation. according to the president of AN IS, Fermin Garcia Indigenous people are scared because they don' know who woll be next or when. Guardado. Several lndogcnous nations inhabit J..as Hojas count)'. He added that the massacres ha,·e contmued unabated. mcludmg Nahuats, l.A:nkas. and Mayas. This regoon was aoded by the indifference of the authonues. This comes after acquored by ANIS on 1978 as a safe region in whoch to work those same authorities had promised on a recent meeting in with the communities. They organized cooperatl\'es and are Manillo to establish a vigilante SyStem and to assure peace working communally. In this same spot. 74 Indigenous peo· and autonomy in the Resguardo. pie were massacred in 1983 by the $ah'3doran army. It The International Brotherhood of Human Rights has proremains today a s.1cred place for them and they ask that it be posed the creation of a human rights commission in the area. respected . The Church in turn has suggested that a Reconciliation Since january a number of violent actions have been Commission be set up in conjunction with international directed at the Indigenous people of the region. such as on observers. Nothing has come of any of this. however. january 27 when unknown masked individuals entered the The Cacique requested that impunity be stopped and that community at midnight and nred bullets on the house of the the results or the inveStigations or the murders under way be spiritual leader and Indigenous leaders connected to ANI$. made public. At the same time they threatened to repeat the bloodshed of He also denounced the fact that there arc heavily armed I 983. At that time Amnesty International had led a camp.1ign mercenaries in the majority of the ranches existing in the of informing human rights organizations to pressure the region of the San Andrts de Sotavento Resguardo in Olrdoba Salvadoran Slate to inforcc jUStice. and Sucre. On the 12 of March, the national police ransacked the office of ANIS and detained Rafael Anuro Ptrez and lnformatwn from El Tiempo, Bogot4 B T Vol. 10No. 2 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 Colombia: Another Zenu Leader Killed 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Colombia: Another Zenu Leader Killed Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 5 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the ever growing issue of indigenous leaders being assassinated. Attachment Title Colombia_in_brief.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Colombia Indigenous Leader https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/490a7abaaf588f9e5a20f2b8f13c31ac.pdf 30278d33a93a18ffde4e19cb78f18cd8 PDF Text Text Hu M " " R I G--'H T S_ _ _ _ _ __ ' -'-''-:! Colombia: Indigenous Peoples Mobilize to End Violence, Land Invasions ' resonating protest by offices and demanded action in the face Indigenous peoples in of peasant invasions of their land and Colombia lasting thiny seven the vinual cess.,uon or land reform laws days ended last August 5, 1996 after lnhi:lted m 1991. negotiations with the go\'emment Since Apnl of this ytar, 10 )'1Clded offici:!! promises for human lnd1genous leaders from various lndi:ln nghts and greater control O\'er their nations have be<n assassinated, bringown tcmtones. Indigenous peoples and ing the total to 200 smce 1990. · Across their leaders from over 60 different the regions of C¢rdova, Antioquia. Indigenous nations agreed to lea,·e the Choc6, they are killing Indigenous peomain branch of the Colombian ple, for political, or e'·en territorial reaEpiscopal Conference in Bogot~ which sons." affirms Abadio Green, Kuna they had been occupying since july 5. Indian and president of ON IC 1996. Another group of Wayuu Indians (National Indigenous Organiuuion of had taken over the Office of Indigenous Colombia) in an interview with SAJJC. Affairs of the Interior Ministry on june "Indigenous peoples arc not willing to 24, 1996. let go of their land, so they r.ght and This latest round of nation-wide thats why they are killed." Indigenous mobilization in Colombia Duling 37 days of demands and was tO protest government inaction and extensive negotl:ltlons. the go\'emment ind1fferene< to 1he wavt of killings of of President Emesto Samper agreed to lnd1genous peoples on the pan of drug- the establiShment of • special human sponsored paramilitary mafiaS. They rights comml.S$10n, :tnd. two weeks also took O\'er vanous go,·emment later, to the formation of a permanent A ·mesa de concenacl6n," or a permanent council of major Indigenous representatives and members of the national government that could stop harmful development pfOJCCIS on lndig<nous lands. "'No works. anvesaments, envi· ronmenta1 he<nse, or de\·tlopment project can be executed wlthm lnd1gtnous lerritories without lhe consenl or Indigenous peoples." says Green, who actively negotiated the agrc<ment. If this measure Is Implemented, it 'viii effectively cunail the careless destruction of Indigenous territories in Colombia. Since the beginning of Colombias coca-growing and coca paste industry in the 1970s, wealthy dn1glords have come to comprise a new land-owning elite. with 12% of the best lond in thtir hands. Res1stmg thiS trend •~ th< peasant orgamzauons and guerrilla groups, in place smce th< 1950s. To get nd of wha1 u cons1ders · commumsts; 1he Atr(a Yolo News �HuMA military has sided with the narco landowners and trained joint paramili· tary units. These have not only attacked guerrilla forces, but civilian organiza· tions and leaders as well, many of them Indigenous. The result has been a bloody struggle in the countryside that has displaced campesinos and Indigenous people-perhaps as many as 800,000-and killed thousands. Many campesinos have invaded long-since established Indigenous territories, known as resguardos. in search of land. Many others have simply swelled the slums surrounding Bogot~ and other major cities. There is another aspect 10 the violence against Indigenous leaders, how- ever. Since 1991. when a new constitution gave the roughly 750,000 Indigenous peoples in Colombia broad political, judicial. and financial powers to control their territories (resguardos), many Indians have been elected 10 political posts at various levels, and this has not gone over well with the tradi· tiona! power structure. "Throughout Colombia." says Green, "we have achieved, politically speaking. a cenain equality-we can be mayors, deputies, councilmen. In many pans the Indians have had an importam political impact. The big politicians that have always controlled everything have idemified this as a threat. For this, 100, they are killing Indigenous people." With their wealth, the narco-spon· sored paramilitary groups have international institutes includ· ing the ILO. The question of land. still the most poignant aspect of the Indigenous strug· gle. took the front stage during the protests. Aside from the penna- nent council --- 10 regulate land concessions affecting Indigenous areas, Indigenous peoples calls for the creation of a National sought to reaclivate the provisions of would be responsible for researching Indigenous land tenure necessities and determining and administrating the required funds. II will be composed of which there is no protection for Indigenous leaders who have received death threats. "You fight under these circumstances and when becomes have retained their old dimensions obvious that you're in danger, about all you can do is leave the region and go while their Indigenous population has increased. Few additional Indigenous territories have been officially titled. In addition, the process of saneamiento, or the purchase of land by the state from small landholders located within it somewhere else," explains Green. ONIC was the target of paramilitary violence in 1994 when gunmen killed four Zenu leaders, among them Porfirio Ayala, assistant secretary general of ONIC. The others were Hector Malo. who was running for the senate; Luis Arturo Lucas, a former ONIC representative; and Cesar Meza. Vol. 10No. 2 RIGHTS As pan of the demands in this latest round of protests, the spe· cial Human Rights Commission would be com· posed of the miniSier of the interior, of defense and justice, the presidential council for human rights, Indigenous sena· tors, and would be monitored by the 1991 constitution, which declared Colombia a multi-ethnic nation and gramed them two seats in Congress. Legislation soon followed that gave them unprecedented judicial. political, and financial control over the resguar· dos, which are lands under old Spanish colonial titles now officially recognized by the state as Indigenous territories. Since then, however, the resguardos amassed an impressive arsenal, against N Commission or Territories. which various ministers and the Colombian land reform institute, INCORi\ . .., T11e Indigenous Regional Council of Couca (CRJQ, one of the oldest Indigenous organi· zations in Colombia as wt:H as Latin America, wilt bt sending se"eral Indigenous representatives to Europe and the US to mobilize the intemational c:ommwlity and expose the plight of Indigenous p<oples in Colombia. They plan 10 par!icipatc in the National Confer<nce of the Colombian Humm1 Righrs Networh In New York city from October 25-27. Indigenous territories in order to remove them, has not been adequately carried out. To remedy this situation, one of the decrees signed by President Samper For more iriformarion, c:oncacr the Columbia Multimedia Project, P.O. Box 1091 CPO, New Yo•·h, New Yoli• 10116-109; Phone: (1 18) 369-4182; email: mm«>m!"@igc.apc.o.g 33 � 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 Colombia: Indigenous Peoples Mobilize to End Violence, Land Invasions 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Colombia: Indigenous Peoples Mobilize to End Violence, Land Invasions Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 32-33 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the Indigenous peoples and their protest in Colombia for human rights and and control over their own territories. Attachment Title Colombia.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Colombia Human Rights Indigenous https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/512ee31d74e56371967a3cbb83b0c11a.pdf 911660bf48a3164e2c55c177c8202793 PDF Text Text EN VIRONMENT Hidrovia: Declaration of the Rio Paraguay The following declaration states the conclusions of participants in the Floating Seminar of the Paraguay River, organized by Sobrevivencia - Friends of the Earth Paraguay and the Coalition Rios Vivos Paraguay-Parana-Plata, who in three boats descended the Paraguay River between 17-27 July, 1996 as part of a permanent dialogue with the populations of the La Plata Basin. Along the way. they travelled through sections of the river programmed for large-scale engineering works as part of the Paraguay-Parana Hidrovla industrial waterway. currently being planned by the governments of the region. Participants included citizens of the countries of the La Plata Basin, North America, and Europe. W e, Indigenous peoples of the Paraguay basm. u:.dnional communitres. scttnt&sts, env11onm<mal expcns. and ttol<>g!Sis from various countries, COrK.'Cmtd w1th the future of our rivers, have taken p;~n '" the Floating Seminar on the Pr.raguay River. and united in our message, propose strategies for the construction of su. tainable societies in the s region. We are the Eanh. the peoples, the plants. the animals. the waters. the sun's rays, the breath of the wmds. We wJnt to honor the Eanh 3S the pl:tee of allll\•mg beings. \Vc have come to ttsufy to the depredation we have witnessed along our entire descent of the Paraguay River. from Corumbj to Asunci6n. The model of occupation established in our region bears no relation to the needs of the peoples who live along the river bank, nor with the potenllal of il$ ecosystems. indigenous peoples h3\·e been txpelled from thetr terntones and dtpm·td of their sustamabk means of 'VlSdom. of happiness. and of hie. liuge barge convoys have replaced the anetstral means of transpon and navtg.1tion adapted to the natural conditions of the river: mining and mineral loading docks contaminate their surroundings: logs pile up in the lumber mills which consume the final remains of the lush anctent for<Sl$: enormous columns of 30 smoke and JShes darken the sky in midday announcang the Imminent end of prosperity on the eonh and the tel ipse of its ongmal cultures. Signs of the inevitable collapse or this hean of Amtrica in wh- rhythm pulses and breathes the security of life in the La Plata Basin. lations. cspectally Indigenous peoples. JSSunng the sustainability, the equahty. and the respect for di\'trshy in our SOC'I· eties. Sustamable societies are based on the sell-determmation or local communities and original peoples in full "-"<rcise of their right to decide on the man- Facing this situation, and because agement and administration of the ecosystems which they are part of. paths which serve to improve the conAdministration or resources should we still have time, we wnnt to propose dition of life in the basin: paths which do no< destroy. but which restore the balance today threatened. The salvauon of the plantt and its peopks. present and future, demands the creation or a new c•v'lhzation based on an ethic which respects ils limits. di\'ersity. solidarity, equality. justice. and libeny. V..'c are alia unh In our diversily. \Vc be directed and controlled by local cornmuntttes throughout the: process. based upon cnteria or sustainabihty. defined by studtes which dettrmme their carrpng cap;~city. and the forms or processmg and commtrcialization. having as thetr basis self-sufficiency and inter-dependence. The diversity of habitats and cultures who live in them determine dif· assume the shared responsibility w fercm uses which in tum make inter· pro<ect a.nd to restore the Earth so that its natural resources m:.ty be used wise· ly, presel'\;ng ecologtcal balance and the social. economtc. and sptritual , ..J. change possible, and establish factors of inter-dependence which must be respected and made compatible. We constder that our region must be thought of as an integrated whole lor the destgn or pohCles lor management and temtonal use. The La Plata 8.1>in in ilS entirety must be the unit for all plans. projects. or activities. The restoration of ecosystems which have been damaged by the currem predatory development, is a need which can not be delayed. The balance ues which assure sUSt:unabJht)'· The txisting patterns of consumption. of producuon and dtstribution of resources. currently oratnted toward e>.:traction. concentrmion, and expro- priation, bring human societies and the ecosystems which sustain them to an inevitable disaster. All initiatives must therefore be urgently directed to meet the needs of local and tradtttonal popu- �ENVIRONMENT and integrity of ecosystems must be recuperated, especially in degraded needs of local populations and not external interests. Respecting this crite· areas of critical importance for the ria, all initiative must have as its origin structural restoration of hydrological and finality the needs and interests of systems. Proposed actions such as per- local communities. Even so. ils implemanent dredging and the conStruction mentation must adapt ilself to natural of dams for water regulation or for sed- conditions, avoiding negative social iment retention do not constitute solu- and environmental impacts. The govtions, but rather threats. They do I\Ot ernmental project for the Paraguaylook at the true causes of problems of Paron~ industrial waterway does not sedimentation of river beds and deteri- respond to either of these criteria. This oration of hydrological systems, but project, designed behind the back of rather the maintenance or the predatO· populations of the region, will not ry system which only seeks economic bring any benefits nor solutions for the benefits for large corporations, while needs of the peoples of the Basin, but financial and environmental costs are rather will increase even more their paid by populations and by nature. problems. generating greater impacts The infrastructure to be implanted and increasing social and environmenin the region must be in function of the tal costs, ""'ny of them irreversible. The existing resources destined for mega-projects promoted by, interllational financial institutions and entities of cooperation must be re-directed toward the tn•e needs of local populations, moving away from their current orientation to promote unsustainable projects which only benefit those small groups in whose hands ~wer and resources are concentrated. '1t From dtt curves of the Paragt,ay River. july 27, 1996 For more information: Glenn Swithes, Dircccor of the lAtin America Progmm at Ihe International Rivers Neiwoth, 1847 IJtrheley IVa)j B<rkeley, CA, 94703; Tel: 510/848·1 155; Fax: 5J0/8i8-J008 us Argentineans, they don't respect us. They cd to p<acefully takeover tl~t lands arcnmd don't recogni<e this latJd as ours. They play the bridge on lite 25 of August. \Ve will occu· land. Jn 1994, d~ey made their first trip Old- around, saying '"\Vait jusr a liule bit more... py the laml uruil the: g<wernmeru of Salta side their land to spcah at the United Bur whllt we walt, they ntO\'t ahead with give,.'$ a concrer.: n.ospon.se in regards to our Narions about dttir plight. In conrimradon. their projws: They seule Oltr latJd, lay down requests. This is an act of hop<. wt ttptoduet the latest attempt by the \Vicl1l their roads, d1eir lxlrb·wi~ ftnccs, aml dteir to secure rheir territory. towns. And rtOw thc:y a~ lmilding a bridge in IVe ash that you collaborate, by sending peo· La Paz and they that we have to paGh up and plt who belit\'t in our cause to accompany us For the Titling of Our Land: T<•keover of the gil't them space. and assure: that there be no acts of violence lnttnlational Bridge Over the Pilcomayo against our families. River (l.a Pav \V are 1101 animals n.mning loose. \Ve are e not dogs to be driven away at the whims of E\·trl aftet d1e taheo"e'; you can support our Many years have passed sinGe we requested their owner. \Ve are the flowers of the Earth, cause by sending leuers to: the go\'trnmtnt of Salta province, Argentirta, platJted by God Himself 10 and duive in to officially gmnt ItS title to the land that we these lands. Sr. Gobemador de Ia Provincia de Salta, D.& ha\·e always irdtabited. \Ve have stru ltlltrs. juan Carlos Pomero, Casa de Gobietno, Meetir1gs take place. new laws and decrees \Ve have asked the autJ1oritles to suurc: the Gra.n urg 4400, Salta, Argentina are passed, ar1d yet more topographic stud. titles 10 thestlatJdS befort: undertaking these ies... \Ve are nqw irt the fourth administra· large projeCts in rht places when: we live. Sr. Prcsideme de Ia RepUbliGa Argentina, Dr. tion. Yet they ha"e not rtSl){)ndcd to our These are fiscal lands and the Ia"~ therefore Carlos S. Mencm, Casa Rosada, Capital demands. Years pass and our lands become recognize our right of OW>ltrslt!p. Amlds1 all Federal, Argentina; Fax: 54 J 343 2249 or impoverislted, btt"m'se the people 'vho have this tall: of Mercosur. we see a more secure 54 1331 7976 come from the outside to occupy dtem Know future simply in the ownersltip of out land. not how to manage them. Years pass and we Asociaci6n de Comunidades Aborlge,les btcome poorer. Faced with no response and the upcoming Lahlta Honhat, San luis, Sta. Victoria Este, inauguration of the bridge, dtt 35 communi· Rh·adavla B. Norte, CP i58J, Pcia. Salta, Even thougl1 we lzm•e official papers making ties belonging to our QSSO(iation ha\'t decid· A~entina Continued from page 1!2 li•·• Voi.10No. 2 31 � 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 Declaration of the Rio Paraguay 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Declaration of the Rio Paraguay Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 30-31 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This declaration states the end of the Floating Rivers Seminar, in which indigenous peoples went down the river to protest for more sustainable measures to be taken in the construction of industrial waterways. Rio Paraguay https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/35a1168efc6fe8926f8eb223bb0019e4.pdf 437d7f2ec5857a5fa231ceee0aee54a2 PDF Text Text S E l F ~'-"__,.__,_ --'0-.':.. T E R M I H A T I 0 0 E Decr~e H A H D TERRITORY 1775 Update: Jobim Calls for Revision of Demarcation of Eight Indigenous Territories f the 83 Indigenous territories contested as a result of the controversial Decree 1775. Brazil's Minister of justice, Nelson jobim has targeted 8 for alterations and possible reductions. The Indigenous areas slated 0 for alteration are: Kampa do Rio Envirn (Acre); Raposa/Serra do Sol, (Roraima): Sete Cerros, (Mato Grosso do Sui), Krikati (MaranhAo): Maxakali (Minas Gerais): Tapeba (Ceara); Apyterewa, and Bau (Para). There are now 90 days for FUNAl (the National Foundation for Indian Affairs) to study each of these individual ca5<'s and hand its recommendcuions to jobim who will n1ake the final decision. Decree 1775, wriuen by jobim, was signed into law by Brazilian PresidenL Fernando Henrique Cardoso on january 8. 1996. The Decree allows private interests and state and local gov· ernmcms to appeal the demarcation of those Indigenous reserves not alread)r demarcated. By the end of the April 8 contestation deadline, FUNAI had received over 500 appeals targeting 83 different Indian areas from miners. loggers, ranchers, and governrnent offi- cials. jobim will now have a chance to prove his good intentions when s.·\ying that Decree 1 775 was necessar)' to move on with the demarcation process. All but 8 terrilOries have officially gone through the contestation process and can continue with their demarcation. Indigenous peoples and their Brazilian and international allies want to sec the immediate demarcation or all other Indigenous territories. The process is now constitutional and funds are being made available from the World Bank's Pilot Program for the Amazon. 28 The Mano dance of the Bororo, who inhabit the heavily colonized southern portion of the state of Mato Grosso. In Brazil, there are about 150,000 Indigenous peoples forming 215 distinct nations and speaking about 170 languages. Most inhabit 526 Indigenous areas nationwide that corn· prise a total area of 190 million acres an area twicc the size of California. There is also evidence of 50 other Indigenous groups that are still uncontacted and living in the depths of the rainforest. Most of these Indigenous lands, about 188 million acres. are located in the Amazon region of Brazil very significant con5<'rvation strategy. However. 125 million acres of Indigenous lands still await final demarcation. ~ Please write to Minister ofjustice ashing him to P10nor Article 231 of 1he Brazilian Constitution by orderi,1g 01e immediate demarcation of all Indigenous territories and 10 guarantee rlwt the rights of Brazilian Indigenous J>eoples em~ ,.ewecrcd. 0,: Nelson jobim, Minislro da justicia, in the states of Acre, J\lnapA, Amazonas, Para.. Mato Grosso, Maranhao, RondOnia. Roraima, and Tocamins. Considering that Brazil contains about DF - CEP: 70.061·900, Fax: (0115561) 221-2148; email: njobim@ax.apc.org 65% of the Amazon Basin and that 188 million acres of it belong to Indigenous peoples. the demarcation of Indigenous Rt~infore.st territories is not only imperative ror 5<'Curing Indigenous rights, but also a Esplanado dos Ministtrios, 81. T, Brasilia, Adapted from a text of Bcto 8o>gts of the Actiou Network For more in fo,.. mation contact RAN. 450 Sansome Sr., Suire 710, San Francisco, CA 91111; Tel (115)398·1104; Fax: (415)398-2732. 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 Decree 1775 Update: Jobim Calls for Revision of Demarcation of Eight Indigenous Territories 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Decree 1775 Update: Jobim Calls for Revision of Demarcation of Eight Indigenous Territories Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 28 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the growing issue of demarcation of Indigenous lands, by the Decree 1775 by Nelson Jobim who used this decree to allow private and state institutions to use this indigenous land for economical gain. Attachment Title Decree_1775_Update.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Decree 1775 Indigenous Territories Jobim Nelson https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/2a4c391a0f0fa931935a70b8163c898b.pdf 4ba6dc78b143c2fcd4672657c592651c PDF Text Text H BRIEF Ecuador: Occidental Signs Unconscionable and Fraudulent Agreements in the Amazon S-based transnational OCCIDENTAL is currently negoti· ating with Indigenous communities in Ecuadorian Amazonia, offering linle more than twentieth century trinkets--<:hainsaws, medicine chests, and rain-coats-in exchange for undefined access to Indigenous territOry for "petroleum activities.• OCCIDENTAL is one of the worlds largest oil companies, currently operating in over eleven different countries outside the US, and extracting over 200,000 barrels of crude per day. Indigenous communities have been pressured ro sign completely inadequate agreements, in the presence of the military- agreements which oblige the communities to allow the companies to carry our undefined petroleum exploration and extraction activities for undefined periods of time. Occidental has used various fonns of coercion 10 secure agreements \vith the leaders of the Indigenous communities. Leaders of the Secoya report that prior to negotiations, the legal representative of Occidental threatened to bring the military to the community. Occidental's legal representative also told Secoya communi!)' leaders that "they did not want to see anyone else at the discussions.• Such statements amount to coercion and directly violate the Secoya people's right tO independent consultation. In one instance, Occidental brought a draft agreement to the negotiations and was very reluctant to include any of the proposals made b)• the community. In the end, only a vague reference to the possibility of temporary employment was included . In previous discussions, Occidental had wid the community that the company onl)• ' vamed pem1ission to do seismic testing. However, the agreement signed permits Occidental to carry our any form of "petroleum activity." A Secoya leader later realized that the granting of pem1ission for "petroleum activities" was a mistake, and asked Occidental to change the agreement. Occidental also reportedly told Secoya leaders that the company could not pay in advance because they didn\ have the money. To explain this situation, the company used the analogy that "a farmer cannot pay the rent for the land until he's harvested all the com.• The company also told the Secoya leaders that if they did not gram permission, the Ecuadorian government could expropriate the land and the community could lose its territory. Occidental operates in an area of over 200,000 hectares called Block 15. This block includes a pan of the Limoncocha Biological Reserve, a protected area, and pan of the Secoya, Siona, and Quichua Indigenous territory. Occidental signed an agreement with the Ecuadorian government that grams the company extraction rights for 20 years. Using Occidentals own estimates of the existing reserves, the entire production of Block 15 will supply the equivalent of US oil consumption for just 12.7 days. U lnfomwlion from: Carlos Sergio Flguein:do Tawz 4 Write lerrers 10 the directors of occidental corporation denouncing the immoral and illegal way in which they are carryi11g out negoliatio11s. demand that they suspend negotiations and conduct all future negoti· ations ethiwlly <md legally: Ray R. Irani, Preside11t and Chief Executive Officer, Occiderual Petroleum, 10889 Wilshi~ Boulevard, Los Angtles, CA, 9002'1-'1201; Mastorm Cum1ingham, Occidental Exploration and Production Co.. A>< Amazonas 3837 y Corea, Casilla J 7-15-0095-C, Quito, Ecuador Chile: South and North American Indigenous Peoples to Protest Chilean Dam Project A n historic meeting of Indigenous peoples from North and South America has been scheduled to coincide with the annual meeting of the worlds largest association of dam construction and hydroelectric technology companies. At issue is the planned construction by ENDESA, Chiles largest private company, of Ralco Dam, the second in a series of six dams planned for the Biobfo River, ancestral Andean homeland of the Pehuenche Indians The Indigenous delegation will begin its activities in Chile on October 9 in Santiago, culminating in a demonstration at the annual meeting of the International Consonium on Large Dams (!COLD) in Santiago on October 16. Despite the fact that 100 Pehuenche Indian families, Chile's most traditional Indigenous group would have their villages flooded by the project, no relocation plan was included in ENDESAS em~ronmental impact statement, which was submiued in April to Chilean environmental authorities. The Pehuenche say they are determined to exercise their rights guaranteed under Chilean law ro remain on their ancestral lands, and have called for support from North American Indigenous people, many of whom have personall)• experienced the impacts of large dams. Nine native peoples from the Nonh will be making the trip to meet the Pehuenche, and ro participate in political discussions, spiritual ceremonies. and public demonstrations. The delegation includes prominent leaders from diverse Indigenous communities and nationally-based Native American organizations. Ralco would be a 155 meter-high dam with a 3,400 hectare reservoir. The dam would generate 570 Mega,vatts of electricity at a cost of $500 million . The dam would also Oood over 70 km of the river valley, inundating the richly diverse forest and its \vildlife, and leaving downstream portions of the river dry for months at a rime, devastating fish stocks. The first dam on the Biobfo, called Pangue, was constructed after the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank assured investors that it would be the only dam built on the river. In response to a complaint by the Pehuenche and Chilean environmentalists, the World Bank has now initiated a formal inquiry into irregularities in the Pangue loan. Environmenral groups and Chilean Energy Commi.ssion officials have questioned the need for construction of Ralco, 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ecuador: Occidental Signs Unconscionable and Fraudulent Agreements in the Amazon Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Carlos Sergio Figueiredo Tautz Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Ecuador: Occidental Signs Unconscionable and Fraudulent Agreements in the Amazon Item Type Journal Article Contributor Carlos Sergio Figueiredo Tautz Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 4 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the accounts of the United States based oil company, Occidental, attempting to persuade indigenous peoples to allow them to use the land for monetary gain. Attachment Title Ecuador.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Amazon Ecuador https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/9984adb5bd3df97691c0357ef88ffeba.pdf dd3c713619bf542a720dded28a4d213d PDF Text Text IN BRIEF citing plans for construction of two trans-Andean gas Armando Antonio Ptrez, two members of AN IS. The Perez pipelines importing natural gas from Argentina. and the brothers appealed to the Supreme Coun of justice. but to no planned construction of new gas· fired powerplants. The US. avail; the coun ruled to have them expelled from the com· based Natuml Resources Defense Council rettntly conclud· munity. ed a Study demonStrating that improvement of energy deliv· Presently. a warrant is out for the arreSt of Don Adrian cry SyStems m Chile would make Ralco unnecessary. Esquino. president ANIS. on the grounds that he has Stolen The lnternauonal Commission on J..arge Dams is an Org;t· land and murdered. On May 3. an explosion tore through the nization of engineers from 79 countries which promotes con· house of the Esquino family. but caused only structural dam· struction of dams throughout the world. Founded in 1928. age. Faced with this situation. Esqulno is urging human it is headquartered in Paris, France. rights organizations to pressure the Salvadoran state to protect the rights of Indigenous communities under fire. Information from: lntemarfonal Rivus Networl1 (IRN), 1817 Berllelcy Wily. Bcrlwley, Califomia 94703 USA; Tel: (+510) 818· Colombia: Another Zenu Leader Killed 1155: Fax: (+510) 8'18-1008; email: im@igc.al'(.O~ Lummi Indian Nation, 2616 Kwlna Road, Bellingham, \\whington 98226. USA: efore the very eyes of Indigenous and national authoriTel: (+360) 38'1·2288; Fax; (+360) 738-8863 ties, one by one the members of the San i\ndrts de Sotavento Resguardo (Indian reserve). are being killed. At 1:30pm on Sunday, August 18. on the site known as El Salvador: Deputies Threaten Indigenous La Arena (Olrdoba State), two armed men on a black motor· Organization, Target Community bike assassinated the Indigenous leader of the town council he deputies Renato Ptrez. Adolfo Varela. and acU\151 m and mayoral ex-candidate of the town of San Andrts. Albeno the rightiSI ARENA political pany jorge Rufz are present· Cheito Malo Alean. ly attempttng to evict the Indigenous residents of the J..as The Zenu leader was 38 years old. mamed. and had two Hojas county of the San Antonio del Monte Sonsonate juris· children. By profession, he was a civil engineer. lie was the diction. Ptrez. Varela, and Rufz accuse the leaders of the brother of Htctor Malo Vergara. Cacique (chicO of the San National Sah'3domn Indigenous Organization (ANIS) of Andrts de Sotavento Resguardo. who was assassinated on being land thieves and murderers. March 26, 1994, along with three other Indigenous persons. Through the Ministry of Agriculture and Ranching. the This year 12 Zenu leaders have been killed. plaintiffs presented their accusations against the members of The Zenu of the San Andrts de Sotavento protested the AN IS before the tribunals of Sonsonate. They arc accused of lack of any meeting \vith representatives of the state in search violating the agricultuml norms of the country. At this point of solutions to this crisis of civil order. Their attempts have 10 members of AN IS were summoned to appear before the so far yielded nothing. Sonsonate courts to present their testimony regarding this The Cacique Rosenburg Clemente confirmed that the situation. according to the president of AN IS, Fermin Garcia Indigenous people are scared because they don' know who woll be next or when. Guardado. Several lndogcnous nations inhabit J..as Hojas count)'. He added that the massacres ha,·e contmued unabated. mcludmg Nahuats, l.A:nkas. and Mayas. This regoon was aoded by the indifference of the authonues. This comes after acquored by ANIS on 1978 as a safe region in whoch to work those same authorities had promised on a recent meeting in with the communities. They organized cooperatl\'es and are Manillo to establish a vigilante SyStem and to assure peace working communally. In this same spot. 74 Indigenous peo· and autonomy in the Resguardo. pie were massacred in 1983 by the $ah'3doran army. It The International Brotherhood of Human Rights has proremains today a s.1cred place for them and they ask that it be posed the creation of a human rights commission in the area. respected . The Church in turn has suggested that a Reconciliation Since january a number of violent actions have been Commission be set up in conjunction with international directed at the Indigenous people of the region. such as on observers. Nothing has come of any of this. however. january 27 when unknown masked individuals entered the The Cacique requested that impunity be stopped and that community at midnight and nred bullets on the house of the the results or the inveStigations or the murders under way be spiritual leader and Indigenous leaders connected to ANI$. made public. At the same time they threatened to repeat the bloodshed of He also denounced the fact that there arc heavily armed I 983. At that time Amnesty International had led a camp.1ign mercenaries in the majority of the ranches existing in the of informing human rights organizations to pressure the region of the San Andrts de Sotavento Resguardo in Olrdoba Salvadoran Slate to inforcc jUStice. and Sucre. On the 12 of March, the national police ransacked the office of ANIS and detained Rafael Anuro Ptrez and lnformatwn from El Tiempo, Bogot4 B T Vol. 10No. 2 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 El Salvador: Deputies Threaten Indigenous Organizations, Target Community 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title El Salvador: Deputies Threaten Indigenous Organizations, Target Community Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 5 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This small article details the efforts of the indigenous people of Las Hoyas county to stay on their land, while deputies of the area attempt the evict the main indigenous cultures from the area. Attachment Title El_Salvador.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] El Salvador Indigenous Organizations https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/47349985db60326b46a226155e2ca650.pdf 44f955d3831f447747d580d72fe88684 PDF Text Text S E L F DETERMINA T ION A N 0 TERRITORY Gold Miners Invade Yanomami Area, Again ince the government suspended its surveillance operation of the Yanomami area on March, 1996, thousands of gold prospectors have re-invaded the Yanomami area in Northern Brazil. Since then there has been no attempt by FUNAI (National Indian Foundation), the police, or the armed forces to stop the gold miners from invading the demarcated Yanomami area. S Davl Kopenawa Yanomami, the Yanomami representative ·we Yanomami und a message to you. \Ve are very worried that our Yanomami area is being again h1vadcd by gold mineN. TJ1is is why we Yanomami arc informing that the gold mi"trs <H't in the ri\'t.:r Cauimani and the high Cacirimani. They an: also around Xiteia, Homoxi. Papili, 011d for the moment there are: 35 illegal runways in the Yanomami area. The number ofgold miners has ani,,ed at 3000 in Brazil and 4000 in Venezuela. leader. writes: :De-~t'l; o!S .il~ q;...~o • .o~~ •"• C:4 r o' a-~ . elC Jt~olo •.nlO.. , c.o.r t'<~o. ,.,...-... .J,~...,.. The invasion of the gold miners has set off a dramatic rise in malaria cases, and resulted in the deaths of at least three Indians, shot with guns supplied by gold miners. "'\Vc Yanomami want help from you to publicize the inva· sion of gold miners. \Ve ask that this dcmouncemeru arrive to the \'arious countries of Europe and the Urlited Stale$ so that they know what is happening in the Yanomami area. \Vt ask that d1e organizations of those countries SUfJport us and S<nd leuers <o <he Pre.sidell! of Brazil asking rhar he free <he funds for the op<m<ion of removing the gold miners so this situation e.ruls." Letter sent by David Kopenawa in tne hopes of stop- ins tne latest invasion of Yanomami land. . s Voi.10No. 2 The invasion of the gold miners has set ofr a dramatic rise in malaria cases, and resulted in the deaths of at least three Indians, shot with guns supplied by gold miners. In April alone 12 Y anomami died from malaria and pneumonia. Tuberculosis and venereal diseases are also increasing throughout the Yanomami area. The gold miners are also supplying guns and ammunition to the Yanomami in exchange for food or sexual relations with Yanomami women. The presence of guns has heightened the level or ( 25 �SELF DETERMINA TION \OOiencc among 1he Yanomam1. lradmg 10 numerous dea1hs and InJUrieS. One Yanomami leader lostlhe use of an ann after bemg sho1. In early May lhree Yanomami were sh01 de.1d during !riba! conflicls. There are reports thm gold minc1·s arc encouraging ~ribal conflicts. FUNAI officials fear lhat al any moment Venezuela will also expel several1hous.1nd more Brazilian gold nuners who crossed 1he border as the resuh of earher eviclions from 1he Yanomam1 area. FUNAI also said 1ha1 planes have been seen flying over 1he l':lrima, Cmrimani, Parafuri, Paapi. X1dea. and other rivers in the area. The mmcrs :md ANO T E RRITORY 1heir machinery ha•·e been seen workmg in 1he Ca1nrn.1n1 Paap1u Aracaca. Curimala, and Mapula rivers. The Yanom::um reserve was officially dcmarca1ed by 1hc llmzilian government in 1992 :t(tcr international protests over the mass invasion of up to 40,000 gold miners at 1hc end of 1he 1980's. nr.een pcrccm of the Yanomami popula1ion died as a resuh. Besides 1he 1crnble efTec1 on the Yanomami people, 1he presence of 1he gold prospec10rs also causes huge em;. ronrnemal damage. contaminating rivers and destroying riverbanks and fores1. We urge you to appeal to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso to free the funds needed (approximately US $6 million) to restart the miner removal operation. Sample letter: Presidente Fernando HenMque Cardoso. Palacio do Planalto. 70 159-970. Brasilia OF Brazil; Fax: 06 1-2267566 Dear President Cardoso. The survival of an ancien! people. the Yanornami. is in your hands. The Yanomami are known throughout the wolid as one of the last large groups of Indigenous peoples who have been recently contacted. Now they are threatened by a new illegal invasion of gold miners and your inexplicable delay in authorizing the funds needed for their expulsion. an operation already jointly planned by differenl departments of your government in cooperation with the government of Venezuela. We would like to remind you that on 29/ 3/96 in London. Juslice M inister Nelson Jobim promised the intemalional press and non-governmental organizations that this operation was imminent. Three months have passed and nothing has been done to stop the entry of new gold miners or remove those who are illegally inside the demarcated Yanomaml area. 26 The good resul1s oblained by 1hc Com1SSA0 Pr6-Y3nomami's (CCPY) heahh programme, will be complclcl)• undermined if 1he invasion is allowed to contmuc. for the Yanomami it is a mmtcr or life and dca1h. For 1he Brazilian government it would be a mauer of honoring 1hctr word. During his reccnl VlSil 10 Europe Justice Minister Nelson job1m promiSed 1ha1 1he federal pohcc and 1he armed forces would be used 10 expel 1hc gold prospec1ors. '!I lrifonnarlon from CCPY (Comissllo Pr6~mommni) Sec bdom We know from reports from the area itself that the consequences for the Yanomami are disastrous: there has been an increase of malaria and venereal diseases and cases of injuries and even deaths caused by firearms supplied to the Indians by gold miners. Many rivers are being polluted and contaminated. A visit by members of the Human Rights Commission of the OAS to the Yanomami area in December. 1995, found that a binational operation to put an end to the chronic problem of invasions on both sides of the fronlier by mostly Brazilian gold miners was needed. The internatiOnal commun.ty expects that you. Mr. President. will fulfill your commrtments and protect a people who are vulnerable. but have the same right to life as anyone else. Therefore we appeal to you to free the necessary funds for the operation to remove the gold miners who have illegally entered into the Yanomami reserve in Brazil immediately and introduce a system of permanent vigilance to prevent them retumlng. Yours sincerely. For more information contact: Claudia Andujar. Comissao Pro-Yanomami. Yanomami Campaign Coordinator. Rua Manoel Nobrega 111 cj .32. 0400 1-900 Sao Paulo SP Brazil: phone (011> 5511 -289-1200: fax(011) 55 11 -284-6997: email: apccpybr@ax.ibase.org .br Al:::l(a Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 Miners Invade Yanomami Area, Again 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Gold Miners Invade Yanomami Area, Again Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 25-26 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the Yanomami Valley, which was under government supervision until 1996. Since the supervision was stopped, numerous gold miners have come to valley seeking riches and ultimately destroying the land for the people who live on it. Attachment Title Gold_Miners_Invade_Yanomami_Area_Again.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Gold Miners Territory Yanomami https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/99acaa47353a7f2af73d5d72f82ef53d.pdf b0de957245535c24001e4dff44289110 PDF Text Text S E LF D ETER M IN A TIO N A ND T E R R I T O RY In Our Own Words Ac~~~~w~ Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez is the author of A Mayan Life (La otra cara), first published in 1992. It is considered the first novel by a Mayan author. A Mayan Life traces the rich life of Lwin, a Q'anjob'al Maya, whose eyes reveal to the reader the bitter realities of Mayan existence in contemporary Guatemala. Gaspar Pedro Gonzales was born in 1945 in San Pedro Soloma, and attended the University of Mariano Galvez, majoring in Educational Planning. He is a member of the Academy of Mayan Languages of Guatemala. He has written on Mayan languages, Mayan literature, and educational policy in Guatemala. In continuation, we present excerpts from two separate interviews. The majority of the material comes from an interview conducted on May 5, 1995, by Bob Sitler, from the Department of Foreign Languages at Stetson Univer.sity, Florida. The other was conducted by SAIIC on July 5, 7996 any people, when they read my novel. take it to be autobi· ographical. In some ways, there are indeed parts of Ill)' own life that relate closely to this '' ble, that is immaterial. They also sa)' that all those who are born on this day hold these qualities. This is like the horoscopes of Western culture. you sec. I lived a good portion of my infant life in the community. So most of what 1 write is real, not imaginary. l lived it. work. For example, the initial seuing. I had the novel son of simmering in head for several years. I was always that initial education that I absorbed in the heart of the home. l was born in 1945 in San Pedro Soloma, in the department of In)' Huehuetenango. I was born on a very moving forward because, first, I had no special day when the Ma)"'n people hold a ritual celebrating the first ripening fruits of the Earth. That day is called Ox Tz'ikin in the Mayan calendar. and signifies "Three Birds: · The expert priests who study this say that this idea how to go about publishing my work. Second. there was a stage in the political life of Guatemala at which no writer. let alone a Mayan , had the certainty of living freely and s.~fely. ..tz'ikin" is in other contexts the spiril. attempt to publish it. But someone told me, ·why don't we wait a little.' The creativity, initiative, all that is inlangi- 22 aching to write. I would jot down notes, and then I carne up against a period of stagn:uion, in which I wasn't Yes. It was J978 when there was an national political conflicts had begun . When the tide of violence hit in the 1980s, anyone with paper or pen in his house was risking his life. So I took the drafts and stuffed them into a cardboard box. and saved them from the 80s, for the 90s. The 90s brought the movement of cultural revival and the fost-approaching commemoration of the 500 years of Columbus. It then seemed to me to be an opportune time to publish this thing. In the end I reached my goal. It was a struggle for someone with few resources, with liule influence in society. to achieve publishing. I think it was a ke)' experience that strengthened my spirit of resistance in the sense that I never threw in the towel. This is so important. I reach out to my fellow Attya Yala News �[ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __,~ L _!F_D E T E R M I N A T I 0 S E~ Mayan friends and I tell you that )'OU have to persevere. If you accept defeat, you'll never reach your objective. When 1 had to turn all this into Spanish. I took refuge in poetry, and lyrical and rhetorical speech in C..1Stilian. For that reason, as 1 was writing the novel. sometimes I would get a little ahead of myself in Spanish so as not to lose emergent ideas. There are ne,·enheless ways to say these things through the Mayan parallelism that exists in our oral literature. There are literary resources in Maya such as repetition. There are literary figures that I had to study to adapt these ideas to Maya. llS a bit ironic because poetic speeches are uncommon in Q'anjob• at The culture offers us another type of rhetoric. known by the elders, who in turn use it for ceremonies and special occasions. . "I thought the novel in Maya, and when the time came to bridge everything, I had to work it out theo· retically and avoid being too materialistic in Spanish. For example, concepts as love. God, and metaphysical manifestations are difficult to write with Mayan words. In our culture these experiences are felt . In the Mayan languages, these things are refereed to through material experience. 'love,' for example, has no translation in Q'anjob'al. lt"s not that these experiences don't exist. They are lived. They are not for analyzing or conceptualizing critically. No. they are lived situations. When I wrote the pan of the novel where Lwin and Malfn fall in love. I realized what love signified for a more complex, perhaps more sophisticated society. But for Mayas it"s feeling, experimenting. and living. \\1ords are not spoken. One lives, dances. is lured to a spiritual realm internally to the sounds of the marimbas. That night when they dance for the first time. they don"t say a word . There are no discourses. no sweet words. Vo1.10No. 2 " Writings abound on Mayans by non-Mayans. But a novel of this nature. written in the Mayan lan· guage. is, to the extent of my knowledge, the first. There is a novel. for example, juan Ptre:;:jolore, that presumably deals with the Tzotzil Maya, written by Ricardo Pozas, a Ladino author. There's El desrino del Indio, by Oliver L1 Farge. a novel on the Maya in Chiapas and Guatemala. Miguel Angel Asturias obtained the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967 precisely due to his writings on the Maya. N A H D TERR IT ORY He is respected as one of the foremost Latin American authors. But our worlds are so completely different. The day more Mayan authors emerge. we will expand our different interpretations of Asturias. He is a m.m of the literary medium whose raw material is the Maya. much like contemporary painters. sculptors, and other Ladino aniSts. Though. his identification with the Mayan people is a whole different story Asturias" thesis is a scientific endeavor where Asturias the artist and Asturias the impassioned novelist are not present. If you get a ch.tnce to read this thesis. you won) see his later opinions on the Maya. In this work. he comes ofT as full of stereotypes and prejudices. as when he says that Mayas are indolent, filthy... He sees the plight of the "Indian" as the perfect opponunity to better himself. but in no way does he '"'lue that humatl being. When Miguel Angel Asturias tra,·els to Europe, especially France, he begins to mature and learns to appreciate the Ma)'lln civilization when faced with his hosts. His '"sion of the Maya is that of a Ladino. There is a certa.in tendency to engage in 'positivism,' to portray the Maya as stoic, battle-hardened. This in turn serves to construct a nationalist identity based on certain values. You have, for example, the case of Tecum Un>an (the leader of a Mayan rebellion]. The military adopts this Mayan symbol, shrouds it in myth , and shines it back on the Ma)'ll to entice them into the military. He becomes a warrior that defends the nation. But, whose muion is it? lt is a nation of the few. of Ladinos and for their benefit, not of the Mayan people. More concretely. I think that in Asturias' Men of Com (Hombres dt Mar:;:), this phenomenon occurs. He seeks to depict our society abroad, a society he recreates based on personal criteria, and he puts on display for the world after applying some literary cosmetics. But the Maya fail to appreciate it because it is like a bad ponrait. In A Mayan Ufe. 1 try to diston these stereotypes, and present the Maya with their values, their anguish, their view or the world, and of mankind in that pan of the world. 23 �S E L f DETERMINAT I ON "A P""and estheuc expression. lA rrom the necessity ror anisuc Mayan U/el Is m a cenain sense a staunch cnuque or the social conditions and, l>-1rttcularly. an attempt to make the Q'anjob'al cultUre known. A Mayan Life falls into the genre or testimonial novel because it is a testimo ny to the exploit:'ltion :md marginalization then is rampant ncross Mayan society. I think that thanks to a Mayan presence In different circles. in different stages or national life. it is becoming accepted that the Maran people speak. that they express thetr thoughts. and th.1t the bws be more closely heeded. In A Mayan ufc. there IS no invention. nor IS On)1hmg that we describe surreal. We are stmply transferring a son or radtography or a society that is ]i,ing. that IS dynonuC, that iS aware of a book published by a Ma)oan. Many non- Mayan rncnds have congratulated me ror the work. h has been an interna- tional success. I think that it is beginning 10 be seen as a key part or the culture or this diverse society. or course there are sectors or the populouon that still spurn this voice. There are sectors that oppose the strengthemng or the ~1a)>an languages, or thot MO)>an tdcnuty be reinforced. They want to standardaze the counuy. or "lodmtze" n, much as in past periods. ~lay.an soctety today is being born24 A N 0 TERR I TORY bardcd Ill " scnes or cultural im'3Sions. Progressl\·tl)• people arc less and less , responswc to m.1n1festations of spirituality. The medta tS a key factor in theSe invasions. The maJority or Ma)'3n houses have a radto. That radio says nothing about the Maya. It plays no Mayan music, nor do we hear Mayan languages. On the same side or the coin, the present religions, the religious sects, have divided the Mayan people. One village is rmctured into 4 or 5 churches. Social coheston •s wantmg. Society is diSJOined. Each factton tries tO pull the other to tts stde. We arc becoming complacent because our collective identity has d\\ondled. Nevertheless. 1 percetve that there exists a rovorable cm'\ronment to publish. ror example. the results or scientific investigations in Guatemala. or the works or people who write novels o r poetry. You can't conceal the truth indefinitely. Eventually these things must be tOld, and the political atmos· pherc must give In, and begin to develop a conscience or these things. Still. It remains the reality that Ma)•an authors ha,·e great difficulty in publishmg thctr work, because the cconomtc factor tS so cructal. I know people who ha,·e wnucn documents or lit· erature, and there they are locked up in a box because they dont ha,·e the resources to pubhsh n. << T he reality is that education poll· cics, or simply. education. is constructed on philosophical bases. If in a n a tio nr~l education plan, the policies are not well defined, ot· even the philosophies, it Is hard to imagine what the goals or an education system arc. This IS the tOpiC or another work or mine. In Mayan Languages and Education (Las ld1ornas mayas y Ia tducact6n escolar) . I try to present some ideas as an educ:monal planner. to suggest mcchamsms. pohctes. and educational phtlosophtcs ror this country with multthngunl. multicultural. and muluethmc charactensucs. I also proposed to wnte what turned out to be my other book. llecouse. the first step in the construclion or ll:ltiona1hy is precisely th'! or education. But if we rail tO construct our education rrom and within a culture, we nrc probably distorting, or we're dcstroymg the idcmity or an entire porttOn or the population which in thts case is primartly Indigenous and-in thts country-above all Maya. Various mswutcs tn 1hc mterior of the country are usmg A Mayan Life in courses hke lnerature or anthropol<>g): On the same token we are stri,ing to coordm:nc w1th educa11on authori- ties. to present to them these sugges· tions to tmphcate them in curricula-because we have known first hand the effects or an education based on dcstntclion. Chi waltoq skawllal he k'ul ayex he masanil yul hin q':'lnej. yin mas.c\n k'ulal jetoq ko mns.,nil. ("From here I greet you all in my language. may peace reign in the hearts or all.") " To obtam atopy of A Ma)'an Life. writ< to: Yax Te' Press. 3520 Coolhe~ghts Dri•·c. Rontho Palos Vcrdrs. CA 90275·6231; Td/Fax 010) 377-8763 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 In Our Own Words: A Conversation with Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title In Our Own Words: A Conversation with Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 22-24 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article is an interview with the Myan author, Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez, as he details the importance of Indigenous histories being written in the native languages, as well as by a native of the culture. Attachment Title In_Our_Words_A_Conversation_with_Gaspar_Pedro_Gonzalez.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Culture Guatemala Mayan https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/9e25b58b3ea3f6bf64774513d5bb9a50.pdf 575f00a4701652c8d0f3ed317e5af682 PDF Text Text _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __;~~ S E L_cF DETERMINATION AND TERRITORY Indigenous Peoples and Peasants of Bolivia Press Government for Solutions ~ s the month of September brings the spirit of spring to the Andes, Indigenous organizations have again challenged the neoliberal government of President S~nchez de Lozada and Aymara vice-president 0\rdenas. The call to march to La Paz by Indigenous peoples follows governmental failure to implement previously signed decrees in favor of Indigenous peoples--a Slate version of the ancient dictum, "I obey but I do not comply." The government has obstructed the application or laws and delayed measures aimed at solving the problems over Indigenous territories. The main demand of the march is to enact at least nine Decrees signed by the Government after the massive Indigenous peoples' march of close to 1 million to La Paz in 1990, and to have ntral laborers integrated into the General Labor Law Indigenous leader Marcial Fabricano, representative of CIDOB (Confederation of Indigenous peoples of Bolivia) called for the march. He also organized the 1991 "March for Territory and Dignity." joining Mr. Fabricano in the organizing process are Roman Loayza, representative of the CSUTCB, the national peasant confederation and Modesto Condori, representing CSCB, an organization of landless peasants also known as "colonizers." It is the first time, Indigenous peoples, peasants, and landless rural workers have come together in a strong A coalition. Urban workers, who have fared poorly because of neoliberal policies brought by governing parties MNR (Nationalist Revolutionary Movement) and MRTK (Revolutionary Movement Tupaq Katari), have lent their active solidarity. The Decrees in question, which agreed to grant rights over land, should Vol.10 No.2 have created Indigenous territories for the Siriono Indigenous peoples of the lsiboro National Park , Secure, Pillon, Chiman, Tim, Araona, Moseten, Chiman, Yuqi. Chiquitano, and \>/eenhayek (Mataco), all located in the eastern Amazon region. Their noninforcement prompted the march, as well as more ongoing problems no different from similar areas other nationstates share in the Amazon basin. Ranchers, lumber companies, miners, and landless peasants consider the Amazon ·an empty area," lawless., and ideal for "colonizing." Indigenous peoples have worked to defend their rights coordinating themselves nationally and forging international alliances to denounce this situation. Ranchers and landowners in the area continue to benefit from the conditions or lawlessness, and are actively pressuring the government to declare these lands (and territories) "negotiable" at market prices. The march constitutes a strong indictment against President Sanchez de Lozada's administration regarding the environment, biodiversity, and land and territorial management. Recent statistics published in Bolivia by LlDEMA (Environmental Defense League), demonstrate that the rate of deforestation has increased to unprecedented levels, as well as the percentage of national territory adversely affected by soil erosion. President Sanchez de Loz.ada, whose administration is plagued b)• inefficiency, has answered by menacing the marchers to postpone a debate over a law drafted by the National Agrarian Reform Institute, lNRA-Iikely due to strong pressures from ranchers and agroindustries whose interest he strongly supports. Indigenous peoples conflicts in Boli\•ia have been widespread since the election of President Sanchez de Lozada in July 1993. His administration has seen the return of old forms of rural labor enslavement and debt peonage in cattle ranches and other estates in the Departments of Chuquisaca, Beni, Santa Cntz, and Tarija (Chaco). There have been no significant actions taken by his administration to eliminate such illegal practices, although many Indigenous nations, such as the Guaran, have publici)• denounced it within the last four years. Practically all the well-known Indigenous peoples such as the Yuqui, Moseten, Chiquitano, Araona, Guaran, Chiman, and Weenhayek. have persistently endured physical abuse, enslavement, forced prostitution, debt-peonage, and the theft or their wages and lands. Long marches are a recent strategy by rural inhabitants to press for their human rights in Bolivia. This 1996 march differs from recent ones because, rather than simply complain, it explains Indigenous peoples' overdue demands. The Bohian case, amidst those of the other Amazonian countries, is another example where governmental measures could stop the environmental collapse this area is currently undergoing, Indigenous peoples in the area have a long-term commitment to restore this forest, but not when under heavy pressures from non-sustainable forms or land management. Obviously, land tenure laws cannot be implemented without the input or peasant and Indigenous peoples' organizations. Although the Sanchez de Lozada administration ran and enacted a Popular Participation Law, little has advanced in tenns or participation, and most decisions in ract continue to exclude Indigenous peoples' large representative confederations . ... 27 � 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 Indigenous Peoples and Peasants of Bolivia Press Government for Solutions 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Indigenous Peoples and Peasants of Bolivia Press Government for Solutions Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 27 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the struggle of the Indigenous peoples of Bolivia as they seek to be treated with dignity in the nation they live, but separated as their own culture. Attachment Title Indigenous_Peoples_and_Peasants_of_Bolivia_Press_Government_for_Solutions.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bolivia Indigenous Peoples Self Determination and Territory https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/bd3ffbc0c4f790c0085b5f74769ee5c6.pdf 5b7341f908390f87f36673132f1c8d35 PDF Text Text C 0 N F R 0 N T_:_.!:.....:~_.::,_,'-"- T U R A L :..._: I N G C u L-' E X T I N C T I ., N' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0'---'-' New and Old Disease Threats in the Peruvian Amazon: The Case of the Urarina by Ritchie Witzig An estimated 90% of Indigenous people in the Americas died after exposure to novel infectious diseases brought by Europeans- and over half the Indigenous groups once present in the Americas have become extinct. Biological extinction mandates cultural extinction, although in the modem era cultural loss may preclude physical extinction. Isolated Amazonian peoples that have managed to keep their culture and language intact remain at risk of biological and cultural extinction. The Urarina of the Peruvian Amazon are one group still struggling with increasing threats to their physical survival as a people. he Umrina have lived in the Chambim and Urituyacu river basins for at least half a millennium. The word ·umrina" is thought to be derived from the Quechua root words of "people" and "below"-meaning the "people from below." The)' call themselves "KacM," meaning "the people." The Umrina have remained relatively isolated due to the remoteness of their settlements and by choice. The blackwater river basins where the)' live are supplied by a giant T Rircltie IVitzig is an irifeuious diseases physician currently direc1ing medical projects in 1he Amazon and Andean regions of Peru. 6 aguajal. or swamp, providing insulation from an)• incursions from the nonh. east. and west. The Umrina are ecologically flexible, able lO live both on the low-nutritional blackwater rivers or in the rainforest. They have resisted missionary influ. ence and cultuml integmtion (from colonists). All these facwrs may be the reason the Umrina speak a unique language, and have survived as a distinct people. However, in the present their traditional territory has been invaded, and they have yet to affiliate with any Indigenous rights group. Not surprisingly. the Peruvian government has not officially registered their lands. Incursions of "foreigners" (non-Urarinas) intO Urarina traditional lands are currently from river Abya Y News ala �CONFRONTING traders. loggers. colonistS. oil explorntion teams. and recently. "drug· voyeur· tounsts. All of these groups ha'-e brought s•gn•fic:~nt dlS<asc pressure on the Uranna that threatens thear way of life and Sul'\ival. Rl\'er trnders. loggers. and colomStS commg from lqunos to explon tht Ur.mn• and thear land for natural resources are known to ha"e transport· ed two measles ep1dem1cs m the latt 1980s and 1991. They cenamly brought the cholera ep1dem1c of September 1991 and October 1993 upri"er from tqu1tos. as well as dengue r.-·er and different strams of g;~Strom­ testinal and respiratory d1seases to which the Urarina have had no preVIous immunological exposure. The traders and colonists also bnng m poor nutri· tiona! quality foods such as nee and sugar that arc altering the d1ct in some Urarina villages. The Urarina tr:Jditlonol diet is high in protein which prc"ents malnutrition. even under the stress of several infections. Once their diet includes more refined foods. malnutrition and consequently disease morbid ity (the rate of Incidence of a dl.sease) and mortality will prob.1bly increase. The oil explorntion and dnlling teams are from Petroperu facihtlcs bordering Urnrina territory. but their personnel arc imponed from \"Orious areas in Peru. An oil pipehne crosses under the Chambira nver JUSI before the connuence of the Tignllo. on llS way from Trompeteros on the Comentes to S:lramuro on the Maral\on. The p1pehne then coursts across the Andes to th< Pacific. The northern secuon of th1s pipehne crosses Uranna l•nd JUSI nonh of the agua)<JI (S\\"Omp) suppl)•ng the \Vater lOr thear nvers. Pcuoperu has planned a huge Chambu-a 011 drlihng project tn the center of Uranna land as soon as they rece1ve stanup moneys The cultural. b1olog>eal. and ccol<>g~col effectS on the Uranru~ '"II hkely be devastating. 01l dnlhng teams are renowned ror transportang new strams of malaria and sexually tr:msnuned diS· eases mto temtoncs they explon. The Urarina do not marry outside thear Vol. 10No. 2 CULTURAL EXTINCTION group and se><-ually transmitted diseases are not yet a problem among them. New StrainS or malart.1, however. are CUrrtnt· ly dcc1mat1ng the Urarina peoples. In the past twoyears.twoAmeric:~ns ha"e amnged "Jungle ecology tours· that mclude a two wetk trip up the ., Amazon and Marafton ri\'ers. and recently the lower Chamb1ra nver. Dunng the n'·er tour. a ·shaman· from tquuos manufactures the sacred halluCinog<niC ayahuasca (Banistcriop<is caapt) for the tounStS to dnnk and ·expcntnee the JUngle hke the ru~ti,-es." Fmally. they am"< m Uranna villages to "look at the lnd1ans" and take pictures Right after a tour mthe spring of 1995. most or the children m one ,;llage which had been "isned c:~me down with a rcs1>1ratory ailment requiring antibi- l 1 Petropcu operations on the Maral'lon. otics to recO\•cr. This infection was most likely SUI>phed by these "drug-voyeur" tourists rrom overseas. The Urarina are alanned at this invasion. especially as they know the tour operators arc anned with weapons and Hike drugs, effectively mocking the Urarina religious ceremonies. The affected ,;llages organized to write n compktint lO the P eruvian Ministries of the Interior and Tourism in lqunos. and the rlmericon Embassy in L1ma. demandmg that the indi\iduals respons1ble be barred from their lands. In August 1992. a medical sun-ey was IOHlally conducted in Urarina territory As the Urarina had pre\'iously ne\'er seen a ph)'Stcian, 1t took eight days before a four-year-old girl was brought forward 1n critic:~l condition suffenng from malaria. amotbic dysen· tery. and three l)'ptS of wonn mfect1ons. After she reco\'ered. commumty members were Interested m complementing thear 0\\11 soph1st1cated tthnobotanical med1c1nes to prc\'ent morbidity and monaht)' from""''' d1seases. These maJ. ad1es mcluded mostly recently introduced d1seases. such as the deadly cholera and ma.lana. Uranna communi· tits suffered gra"ely from the introduction of cholera into the Chambira river system m September 1991 (cholera \\'35 remtrodueed into South Americ:~ in january 1991). Some communities ... they arrive in Urarina villages to "look at the Indians" and take pictures. Right after a tour in the spring of 1995, most of the children in one village which had been visited came down with a respiratory ailment requiring antibiotics to recover. 7 �CONFRONTING CULTURA L Children are especially at risk of diseases like malaria. reported population losses of up to 20%, an incredibly high population mortality rate even rrom this well· known disease that can kill in less than 12 hours. A second epidemic of cholera in the Chambira with significantly less monality followed in October 1993 after village heahh workers had been trained to treat cholera. Urarina communities also suffer from endemic vi\'W: malaria. which still produces significant mol'bidity and contributes to mortality especially among children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Other important illnesses documented in Urarina cotnmunities in the initial 1992 survey were helminth infections. dysentery (amoebic and bacillary). and viral and bacterial respiratory infections. After the initial medical survey was performed, the Urarina communities elected 3 village health workers (VHWs) who were then trained to diagnose and treat the most common medical illnesses. The VHW communities were provided medical supplies for their village as well as any surrounding Urarina comrnunity in need. VH\oVs and the Urarina people are encouraged to con· tinue using and developing their own medical system for r nany ailments 8 EXTINCTION which it can ameliorate. further medical surveys from August to October 1993, February to April 1994, January to April 1995, and October to December 1995 revealed progressive disease threats. furt hered training of the VHWs. and replenished medical supplies. When the second wave of cholera came up the Chambira, the VHWs were ready to give oral rehydration solutions and tetracycline to the sick. Only one fatal case was reponed from the VHW villages after that outbreak. The most recent disease th reat to the Urarina has been the deadly Plasmodium falcipan~m malaria strain. Previously confined to small areas of Peru. in the last 5 years this strain has spread across most of northeastern Peru. h first appeared in the Urituyacu river system 2 years ago, and spread into the Chambira river from the Tigrillo river in 1995. The Urarina region has been the most affected. The malaria research lab in lquitos has identified a staggering 79% of all P. falciparum cases in July. August. and September 1995 to have originated rrom the r nain river systems in which the Urarina live (Chambira, Urituyacu. and Corricmes). However. these figures still underestimate the severity of the new malarial suain on the Urarina. since most of their cases ar c never reported . A further p roblem is that the new strain has grade II (two) drug resistance. While colonists on the lower Chambira and Tigrillo rivers arc seeking the most effective drug trcatrnent at medical posts on the Marat'\on and Amazon rivers, it is unavailable to the Urarina because of logistical and financial reasons. To illustrate the seriousness of the epidemic, the Urarina village of Tagual had 6 people (5 children and one pregnant woman) out of 80 die or the new strain the week before the last medical survey and supply trip arrived. All other Urarina communities experienced monalit)r from the new strain, ahhough at a lower rnte. What is to become of the Urarina? The most negative spin on the future must be confronted as a potential reali- ty. If the past is an)' measure regarding Indigenous peoples in Peru. the govern- ment will attempt to assimilate them into Peruvian society. Young Urarina men, for example, will be drafted to do their mandatory military service ror • fatherland" Peru. Colonists will continue invading Urarina territory. Petropent will drill in the Chambira oil field. Ecological destruction and introduced diseases will gradually decimate them. Urarina mao dying of cholera, treated for the d isease just in time. Many people do not survive this treatable illness. for the optimistic spin, the Urarina could remain where they are, in their own territory and self·sufficient. Since Peru is a signatory of the International Labor Organization Convention 169 which e£rectively advocates for the defense of Indigenous cultures, it could legally recognize their territory. This would lead to their self-detem>ination. and the control of their own destiny. Thankfully. a few optimistic signs have emerged for the Urarina. First, Peruvian anthropologists have succeed· ed in petitioning the Peruvian Department of Agricuhure on their Abya Yala News �CONFRONTING behalf to conduct a population survey, the first step necessary for land titling. The survey is being conducted by the Peruvian NGO CEDIA (Centro Para el Desarrollo del lndlgena Amaz6nico). The s11rvcy started in November 1995. with expected completion in late 1996 or early 1997. However. this is only a start. With the odds stacked against them, the Urarina will likely ne<!d political support from outside Peru or they will join the long line of extinct cultures and peoples left behind by the ongoing colonization of this continent. 1' CULTURAL EXT I NCTION Map showing Urarina territOI)' in the blackwater systems of the Chambira and Urituyacu. The rivers drain from a swamp to the north, helping to isolate the Ucarina. Thanks to Rafad M<za, !..dis Ri\•era Chdi'<Z, )ost Morosco. jotge Quintana Zurita. Luis Icomcna, and Massitl Astendos Linares for their comribulions ro Urarina stlf-dtttnnfnation and d1e Urarina medical project To call aw:ntion to and protctl d1t Urarina~ territorial iruc:grity: \\~tt the Pr'tZ.itlent of Ptnl, Alberto Fujimori, urging him to secur~ the Urarina and other Indigenous peoples' tenitorial rights and to stop destruaive~ invasive tourism into Indigenous peoples communities. Send your letters to Ministerio de Ia Presidencia, -1297 Paseo de lc! Repti.bliat, Uma 1, Peru. To proUGl Indigenous peoples from importtd diseases: If you ar< working with isolated lndigtiiOIIS peoples (aruhropologists. l1uman riglus workers. ttc.), please co>ifin" that bo<h you and your local guides ha\'t all tile ncU$Sar)' \'DC· cinations and prophylactic medications. A.ny ptfSCn panicipating in rlfe project who is curn:ntly Ill should dtl>er b< left lxfli,d, or the project should lx delayed until that person has r<eovcn:d. 8AAZil If you a•• engaging in e<Olowism, please do 1101 enroll in •exotic'" tou~ pmmising to mttl isolat<d p<oples. Then: is no advantage for them to meet you. Tl1e tour opemtors arc in business to makt money. Tour operators l1a\'e no incentive to P'~'·tnt diSCQS( or impto\'e httdth among thes< peoples. Please Inform local Indigenous organizations or 01hcr adequate cnririts of tour operacotS operating u.ndcr such co11ditions. Vol. 10 No.2 i i ·Map Areas oil operation contracts and areas d irectly operated by Petroleos del Peru: Blod< 8 falls directly on top of the Urarina's territOI)'. 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 New and Old Disease Threats in the Peruvian Amazon: The Case of Urarina Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ritchie Witzig Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title New and Old Disease Threats in the Peruvian Amazon: The Case of Urarina Item Type Journal Article Author Ritchie Witzig Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 6-9 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note Since the first Europeans came to the West, the Indigenous peoples have dwindled due to warfare, but more importantly, biological warfare. This article details the struggles of the Urarina people of Peru as the try to maintain their isolation from the outside world as to avoid biological deterioration, as well as cultural deterioration. Attachment Title New_and_Old_Disease_Threats_in_the_Peruvian_Amazon.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Cultural Extinction Disease Indigenous Peoples Peruvian Amazon https://www.abyayalanews.org/files/original/0ddd4b6fcd140b0ddcd65036b55c120b.pdf 00ca4c215dfc802619cc94fd725c133c PDF Text Text 5 E l F 0 E T E R M I N A T I 0 N A N D --. ' .- T E _.,'-.!' l ..c._,"'--'R-''--- - - - - - - - - - - - - R Rc..!.. T O " Y PachakutikNuevo Pais: Breaking New Ground in Ecuadorean Politics In an historic moment, Luis Macas, former president of CONAl£ (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) ran as a candidate to the National Congress in Ecuador's last presidential elections and won a seat as National Deputy on the Pachakutik-Nuevo Pais (New Country) ticket. This was the first time in recent Ecuadorian history that an Indigenous leader sought election to a national office. In this interview, we talk with Luis Macas about CONAl£ and the future of the Indigenous movement in Ecuador. f~~wMt. Luis Macas lufs Macas during a recent visit to SAIIC. Our fundamental objective was to consolidate a social base in our country. united with workers, Afro- We wanted to consolidate a strategic Ecuadorians, women. youth, profes- base of Ecuadorian peoples for the near sionals, teachers, human rights work- and long range futu re. Y have to ou ers, and the grassroots Christian com- remember we had an absolute disad· munity. That is to say. all the inhabi· vantage facing political panics of the dida1cs? tams of our country who anxiously right, parties that have invested milor the Indigenous movement want change, transfomuuion. and bet· lions of dollars in their campaigns: the Social Christian Pany, the Roldosista it is an extremely valuable ter days for our nation and people. The fact we will forge this great Ecuadorian Party, the Popular experience. \Ve have experi· cnccd triumph and gains in movement, achieving the unity of Democracy party, the Conservative many forms. Firs1, the Ecuadorian peoples. is really a tri- Party. and the party led by Mr. Noboa. increased coverage of the Indigenous umph. For us. it means an historic All have invested money. and what they movement's struggle, the extension of step. It signifies having initiated a dif- want is to get back, with interest. their the Indigenous movement's political ferent process in the country. and one investments in the political campaigns. realm to other social sectors. and the that is unique in Latin America. I However, they are not the only ones formation of the Movimiento Unidad· would say this time we believe we have who personaH)' make investments but Plurinacional Pachakutic-Nuevo Pafs. gained a lot. also other businessmen. I would say In general , could you cvalua1e 1he For us, this is a move forward. Now, election process from the poi•u of view of the Indigenous w'inncrs- not just the significance of the number of votes, but also of this e lection and of the participation of Indigenous can· Indigenous peoples are not alone. but F 18 Abya Y News ala �SELF DE T ERMIHATIOH this is how corruption in electoral cam- meaning between a traditional cam- paigns begins. Once they are in power, the debts accumulated b)' the electoral machine have 10 be paid 10 the businessmen. In this last election, it was an incredible machine, as never before in the history of Ecuador. paign and the traditional fonn in which the political parties have driven their electoral campaigns. First, we focused AHD TERR I TORY on contenl. It was obvious to rely on Ecuadorian people a government program. Everyone has to submit 10 what they think. There is no consultation abou11he needs of the people, the community. So thats another difference. the candidates at a local, provincial and Theirs is an individual effort, the work national level. \Ve favored a govern* \¥e were also at a disadvantage con- ment program. \Ve didn't want to imi· cerning time, but the Indigenous candidates quickly achieved a national presence with people in positions a1 a local, provincial. and national level. In two months and two weeks. we saw the election of approximately seventy authorities at a national level. For us, this is a triumph. I tate the traditional political ways: the cheap offers 10 the Ecuadorian people of an aristocracy that scorns the people. Another difference is in electoral spending. They have spent millions of dollars in this electOral process. In my in an attempt to convince them and opinion they raised an offensive cam- auract their votes. the discourse of paign what everyone is accustomed to. don 't want to say we are in second or third place. We believe we are the first political force at a national level. Ours is a political force that lsn·t necessarily sponsored by any political party. Civil society expressed its political will with decision. I would say that in this game the lndigenous movement has played an important role. Before the convoking of the Indigenous movement, all the social forces, all the popular forces of our coumry decided 10 organize a national minga (communal work) to build something different, something that hasn·t been seen in the history of our patria. What were sonte of the differences between the campaigning style of t he Pachakutik movement and that of the traditio nal political parties? How did you implement the campaign? There is a radical difference in Vol. 10 No. 2 against the political clientelism, and nothing more. This clientelism is The difference is our proposals don't originate from the presidential candidate, nor from the candidates for deputies. Our proposals come from the people. We have been working on them for years. They are a collective effort, a collective force. They are the Ecuadorian peoples-an aggressive campaign. They have appeared on television and on the radio puuing out a series of lies to our peoples. They use these publicity spots to appear together with a poor woman or with a poor child. With these images the)' try to make an impression on the people. Also, the other urban sectOrs that see them are definitely affected. It may not reach the majority of the people, but it reaches a wide social sector "We didn't want to imitate the traditional political ways: the cheap offers to the Ecuadorian p eople in an attempt to convince them and attract their votes, the discourse of political clientelism, and nothing more." result of uprisings, struggles, and the marches of our peoples. This then 1ransfonns itself into a political proposal, into a government program. This isn't how Mr. Nebot proceeded. who only presented his political proposal, or Mr. Rodrigo Paz. What they do is sit down at a desk with their two specialists. write whatever, and show the of the country. If we had 10 describe our country right now. we would say that there it is absolutely covered in paint. The walls, trees, rocks, and paths are covered with posters. Everything is covered. We can observe the differences in the campaign proceedings. There are posters everywhere. Where did this 19 �S E L F DETERMINATION A N D TERRITORY paign to every last corner of our country- from the last community in the Amazon region, to the last plateau in the sierra region, to the last beaches in the coastal region. This has been our way of running a campaign. \ Ve have had to walk. We have been accompanied by these people. We anended meetings in plaz.1s. many of which were designed by the people. Because they asked . we had to walk to such places. \\1c had w auend serninars in such places. Everything was done in a collective and coordinated way. in common agreement , in a great minga. These are the differences we were able to establish. money come from, we ask ourselves? ence. A very wealthy campaign facing a These expenses> There, I would say, is campaign of programs that visits the where the corruption of the politics of communilies. How have we instituted our count ry is initiated. The aristocrats our candidacy> We have gone to the of national politics have an under- communities. We have gone to the standing of political work. What. for neighborhoods. We have gone to the families. We have gone to the coopera- me, personally is a sacred act, for them it is a civic act, transformed into one of buying and selling, of business. Because, neither at a provincial nor at a national level can you explain the polit- ical staying power of these men. I would be ashamed. For example, Nebot is a candidate for the second time. This is his second electoral cam- paign. For Abdala Bucaram. this is his third time. Even though the Ecuadorian people don't want them, nevertheless. these men keep appearing in our politics. There we established another differ- 20 tives. That is, we have gone to the peo- ple. We have gone to our peoples. to the Indigenous communities. V/e have • gone with a message. wilh a proposal. Our campaign has been absolutely differenL \ Vith this government program, what we have done is hold workshops. seminars, assemblies. Thankfully, the Indigenous movement has a national structure, as do the workers and some campesino organizations that are part of the Movimiento UnidadPiurinacional-Pachakutik. These struc· tures have helped us to bring the cam- What does your new pOSlltOn in Ecuadorian national politics imply for the project of establis hing a plur'i-national s tate in Ecuador? ls it compatible? Or, if it isn't, what is the principle objective of CON AI E now? I believe that parallel to the beginning of this process, to the great calling of the Indigenous movement in Ecuador, there has been a great answer from the Ecuadorian peoples. But what was the proposal? \Vhat was the content of this political process that called ian peoples? It is preto the Ecuado1 cisely this proposal. one of the construction of a modem state and a sHne that responds to the needs of all Ecuadorians. We have said that in Ecuador the legislation provides for-i n theory at least- individual rights, rights of the citizens, rights of the family, but it doesn't consider collective rights, the rights of Indigenous peoples. We are going to insist that it is time. in the ough in stage our country is living thr latin America, for a change, a qualitative transfonnation in the way we conceive the state and the nation, to put ourselves at the height of the advances humanity has achieved in these recent times. The construction of a plurinational state responds to this-to raise. to dignif)' the rights of Indigenous peoples. However, we are not only talking about benefits for Indigenous peoples. We Abya Y News ala �SELf wam to stan to revise the trndmonal, archaic legoslauon. We think ours Is a Constitution that doesn\ respond to this era. this information age. It absolutely does not respond. It benefits only a few groups in power in our country. In this, we have a great backing. h os because of this that we arc now a grc::n pohtical force in our coun· try. Secause there never was one before. all the Ecuadonan peoples have assomolated themselves to this proposal. Before. no polotical pany was capable of doing It, nor did they ever intend to change our country. Therefore. things only changed liule by little. We are going to continue fighting in the Nauonal Congress with or without sup.pon. Obvoously, we are going to look for the necess:>ry suppon in different sectors and progressive poliucal mo,·emcnts. We will buold a polhocal fooce on the parhament so that the interests of the people, and those of the Indigenous peoples. can be defended. What would you say to someone who Ignores the potential benefits of the CONAIE proposals and the general project o f the Pacha.k utikl How would you lnvite other sectors to unite: with P:tcha_ utik? k Our proposal is a national one. although ot has not been finished and presented to the others. What we want Is a nauonal debate. Everyone should particip:ltc in this. First, in our countr)'• we think the changes should be global and structural. The changes can't apply to only a minimal sector or society. one \vith economic or political power. \Ve want all Ecuadorian people to assess actl\'ely panocipatong in the neohberal model. Thos polocy is agaonst the Ecuadorian people. What we want IS to g1''e d1gmty to politics in our countr)'· We thonk the structure and traditional ways of doing politics in our country should be changed. This representative democracy has to transform itself Into a participatory democracy. Could there possibly be equality without participation in Congress? No. Haven't Vol. 10 No. 2 DETERMINATION lndogenous peoples htStoncally been o solated from Congress? I definitely believe that of we don' begin to understand ourselves. in the framework or mutual respect. if we don't begin to be conscious of each sector and it's particularities. our country Is finished. We believe It is necessary ond imponant that everyone have the opponunlty to panlcopate on the benefits tht statt can gl\·c: thtm. Htrt, we are obviously speakong not only of bettcnng the lives in the lndoos and the campesinos. but also of all Ecuador's citizens. On the other hand. we arc called to AND TERRITORY political institutions or the s tate: deputies, advisers. mayors. etc. How do you think this will change Lhe future of the Indigenous movement? I think this question is very important. The Indigenous movement is going through a cruclol stoge, precisely because of our great achievements. First. I would say there are people we have struggled Mth: regional organizations. grassroots organtzattons. provincial organtz.at•ons. communities. And, at least for me. this makes me think the Indigenous movement in Ecuador in general and CONAIE will undergo a great development. "I will continue working on the proposals that come from organizations and not just those from myself and from the National Congress. Proposals from underneath, from the communities, will be delivered to the National Congress. Only like this can we speak from a parliamentary level, instead of an individual one." a great chore. We have to search for an ideological focus point. I beheve the fundamental issue all Ecuadorians have spoken to us about IS odentny. Thos is onother of the cnses we hve \vith. Although in recent years we ho,·c seen an appropriate response to thos problem, there still isn't the rccognotion of human vnlues in ourselves. We arc not going to be able to change politically :md economically because we are living in o global crisis. Thos crisis is the absence of self-recognition. the absence of the recognouon of the human values in one's self. as well as the \oalues of the collecuve group. Therdore. we are also m0\'10& towards thts odea. What the lndogenous movement proposed years ago 1sn't an empty discourse. We believe the resources ror the development of our people are in ourselves. There are various elected Indigenous people who 'vill occu py places in the Second. our fundamental objective wasn't only tO win positions in these last elections at a local. provincial, and national level. Our fundamental objec11\'e was searchang ror a. way to consol· idate our organazatrons. Here l belie,·e we have taken an amponant step. This will serve to strengthen the organizations in their respective levels. We think that if there Is a collective decision our peoples will respond to the correct needs. At least, I personally think I shouldn' seule down and I won't. For example. I will cominue working on the proposals that come from organozatoons and n01 just those from myself and from the N3lional Congress. Proposals from underneath, from the communities. \viii be delivered to the National Congress. Only like this can we speak from a parliamentary level. instead of an individual one. This is what we propose. Because of this. I think it os a dofficult challenge. but we ha,·e to take it on. 't 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. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) 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 Pachakutik-Nuevo Pais: Breaking Ground in Ecuadorean Politics 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 Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Pachakutik-Nuevo Pais: Breaking Ground in Ecuadorean Politics Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 18-21 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note Historically, Indigenous leaders have not been elected into national government positions. This article details the election of Luis Macas, and indigenous leader, to the national government and his fight to give indigenous peoples rights. Attachment Title Pachakutik_Nuevo_Pais.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Ecuadorean Politics Election Indigenous Leader