1 12 35 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/e89ee2e7002ca94bae5f8604357f6527.pdf 898ed8d452000e1f54e1751ce69d29eb PDF Text Text NEWSLETTER South and Meso-American Indian Information Center {SAIIC) Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7550, Berkeley, CA 94707 USA Office: 523 E. 14th St, Oakland, CA (415) 834-4263 Vol. 4, Nos. 2 &3 Fall, 1988 & Winter, 1989 GUATEMALA: The Widows of \f\Jar Page4 ECUADOR: Gains in Bilingual Education BRAZIL: "No" to Xingu Dams Page 19 Rediscovering our America 500 Anos de Resistencia India �Page 2 ,.., 500 ANOS DE RESISTENCIA INDIA Esta edicion del Boletfn Inforrnativo del Centro de Informacion Indfgena de America del Sur y Meso-America esta dedicado a los 500 aii.os de resistencia indfgena en su lucha por los territorios, la cultura, y por proteger La Madre Tierra. Las comunidades y organizaciones indfgenas se preparan para el Quinto Centenario de la invasion Europea al continente americana, y el SAIIC urge a todos a reexaminar la historia de 500 anos de colonialismo, y ver de que manera el neocolonialismo sigue negando nuestros derechos ancestrales .. Esta es una oportunidad para el auto-descubrimiento, para intercambiar experiencias y expresiones. Mientras que los gobiemos europeos planean celebrar el "descu· brimiento de America" reencamando la talllamada "conquista" de las naciones indfgenas, los 500 Aii.os seran conmernorados de varias formas por los Indfgenas-a traves de la participacion de los niii.os, las rnujeres, y los hombres, a traves de la tradicion oral, contando las antiguas, ceremonias de curacion, musica, danzai cantos, artesenato, reinterpretacion de los hechos, a traves de la investigacion sobre la situacion actual de las comunidades indfgenas, a traves de la auto-dernarcacion de los territorios ancestrales, a traves de libros, programas de radio, peliculas, hacienda llamados a los noindfgenas a un nivel nacional e intemacional para que nos unamos en la campaii.a de auto-descubrimiento. El SAIIC esta trabajando .con organizaciones indfgenas de las Americas sobre la campaii.a de 'los 500 Aii.os, y planea ayudar a organizar una conferencia intemacional para discutir estrategias para las actividades sobre los 500 Aii.os. Invitamos a cada uno de Ustedes, a unirse con nosotros en el "redescubrimiento de nuestra America," y a tomar accion inmediata dando apoyo al trabajo de las organizaciones indfgenas en su mira hacia la construccion de la sociedad del future. En esta edicion, tambiem queremos expresar nuestro senti· miento de pena por el asesinato de muchos indfgenas cuyas vidas han sido cegadas por su lucha por la tierra y por defender los derechos humanos. No es con tristeza pero con una fuerza que aumenta cada vez mas que guardamos su memoria con nosotros mientras seguimos adelante. �Page 3 This edition of the SAIIC Newsletter is dedicated to 500 years of organized Native resistance, in the fight for land, culture, and to protect the Mother Earth. As Indian communities and their organizations throughout the Americas prepare to observe the SOOth anniversary of the European invasion of the American continent, SAIIC urges everyone to reexamine the historical record of colonialism , and to take note of the ways in which policies of the "new colonialism" are still denying our ancestral rights. While European governments plan to celebrate the "Discovery" of America by reenacting the "conquest" of Indian nations, there are diverse ways in which Native people will commemorate the 500 Years-through the participati9n of children, women, and men; through oral tradition, storytelling, collective memory, healing ceremonies, music, dance, song, handicrafts, reinterpretation of events; through the investigation of the current situation in Native communities, through the self-demarcation of ancestral territories, through books, radio programs, and films, reaching out to nonIndian people at a national and international level to join forces in our campaign of self-discovery. SAIIC is working with Native organizations from throughout the Americas on the 500 Years campaign, and plans to help organize an international conference to discuss strategies for the 500 Years activities. We invite everybody to join with us in "rediscovering our America," and to take immediate action in support of the work of Indigenous organizations as they look toward the future. In this issue, we also mourn the assassination of many Native people whose lives have been taken for defending their land and basic human rights. It is not with sadness but with ever-increasing strength that we keep their memory with us as we go forward. © 1989 Aguirre/Switkes/ AMAZONIA �Page 4 GUATEMALA THE WIDOWS OF WAR ~G~~ In September 1988, the National Coordinating Committee of Widows of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA) held its first assembly. According to Native activist Rigoberta Menchu, "CONAVIGUA is the hope of so many widows in our country-it is bringing together a great force." The following is a statement issued by CONAVIGUA: "We held our assembly in order to make our voices heard, and to exercise our legitimate rights. The cruel history of repression which our people have suffered for the last five centuries has left many thousands of Guatemalans kidnapped, disappeared, tortured, assassinated, and massacred. Many others have died of illnesses formerly unknown, from pesticides which come from the United States and Europe, spread on large farms where coffee, sugar cane, and cotton are produced. (See following article.) Thousands of women have lost their husbands, and when we return home to eat tortillas with salt and herbs it hurts and moves us to hear the cries of our children from so much suffering, seeing them with stomach aches, fevers, backaches, bellies swollen with malnutrition, and without the ability to buy them even an aspirinThese injustices and the love of our husbands who have been taken away from us by the repression and illness. For these reasons, we have begun to talk among ourselves, uniting to think of what we will do, to look for solutions to alleviate our problems because each day our situation gets worse". �Action which took place last October, these widows took the podium to denounce the violent acts of which they are victims: •'' in the town of Chucaman, in the state of Quiche, Manuel Us and Crispin Gomez, through innumerable threats, forced the dissolution of the Coordinating Committee of CONAVIGUA, declaring their actions illegal; • in the town of Canto Carrizal in Quiche, the military chief, Sebastian Calel, is accusing the widows of being spokeswomen for the guerrillas, and · · · · them to not hold · .-·h''.. "i~.:.~:..'\. •·. . . is persec:utingj.J women and girls 8, 9, and 10 years old, and going to· the cornfields and eating their com, in order to .. frighten the people; • in the Tululche hacienda, Chiche-Quiche, administrator is intimidating people at meetings, saying that they are "acting against the .·· >-. ·~.s.~"' -~g The Widows of Guatemala call for "international and national solidarity at this critical moment, ./~~~ 1 ::::::: . '"' and support in writing letters, so that people will know about the Committee-CONAVIGUA-its struggles and its fighting, and if possible to join with us to find solutions for our situation." ;::...... . ® �Page 6 Condemnation from a broad spectrum of Guatemalan society followed the torture and murder of 21 campesinos in El Aguacate, San Andres Itzapa, Chimaltenango, on November 26th. According to the Comite Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), there was strong evidence implicating the Guatemalan military in the massacre. The Comite thereby requests, in an open letter to the government of Guatemala and the International Communit)j that they: • "be alert to any kidnapping and disappearance of any of the widows or children of the murdered, since armed men in plainclothes have been seen near their houses; • restrain the military from reprimanding the widows, and telling them, "If you don't say that the guerrilla did it, you'll pay for it"; • not permit the widows to be taken to other countries, even though they are threatened with death if they contradict the army; • not permit politicians to profit from the pain and suffering of the widows for political gain-it's an insult to use them as a way to gain sympathy; • fix responsibility on the army and the soldiers for the death and kidnapping of campesinos in San Andres Itzapa, since the army has publicly stated their intentions "to get those whose names are on the list." �"FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE Page MARGINAL AND OPPRESSED" 7 A new Council of Ethnic Communities "RunujelJunam" (CERJ) has been formed in Guatemala "to defend the human and cultural rights of Indigenous communities in Guatemala, so that they may keep their Identity as the original and legitimate Representatives of the Guatemalan people." In August, CERJ presented a protest to the Human Rights Commission of the National Congress, saying that those who wished to leave the "Voluntary Defense Committees" established by the military were being accused of being "Communists" and threatened. The organization also plans to work for land rights, literacy, housing, and cultural values. SOURCE : Consejo De Comunidades Etnicas, Sa. Avenida 3-13, Zona 5, Santa Cruz Quiche, Guatemala. PLANTATION WORKERS STRIKE Families of the "desaparecidos," Guatemala. ©Rick Droz ~,_/---~ On January 23, 198~ 40,000 farmworkers launched a strike against the coffee, cotton, and sugar cane plantations of the southern coast of Guatemala. The strikers, coordinated by the Committee ofFarmworker Unity (CUC), are calling for the daily wage to be raised to 10 quetzales (U.S. $3.70) per day. According to CUC, hundreds of workers have been fired for participating in the strike, and workers are being threatened and denounced as subversives by armed men in plainclothes, working for the plantation owners. �Page 8 U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDS SPRAYING OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS A Guatemalan government program of aerial spraying of pesticides and defoliants is taking a fatal toll in Indigenous communities. Among the pesticides used is one containing ethylene dibromide (EDB), banned in the U.S. since 1984 due to its properties as a potential cancer-causing agent. According to Surv:ival International, 14 Indian campesinos, including two children, have died from drinking contaminated water. The spraying program has generated controversy. The government says spraying is taking place to destroy plantations of marijuana and opium poppies (though some highland areas are too cold for either to grow) and to .control the northward spread of the "medfly" which damages fruit crops. Opponents say the use of defoliants and pesticides is part of a Vietnam-style strategy to terrorize the Indian population, and is concentrated in areas where guerrilla activity is strongest. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Guatemala News and Information Bureau, P.O. Box 28594, Oakland, CA 94604. l I;L _S_~l::_VA_RQ...;...;.ROIIII!II'III INDIANS DEFY MILITARY, HOLD MEETING From December 18th to 21st, the National Association of Salvadorean Indians (ANIS), held its World Indigenous Festival and Cultural and Spiritual Symposium in the war-torn country, despite harassment by the Salvadorean military. According to ANIS, the indigenous peoples' organization had negotiated with both the army and the guerrillas prior to the meeting to ensure that Native representatives would not be impeded from travelling to the meeting site in Perquin, Morazan province. Though the guerrillas withdrew from the area, the army violated its agreement "to not have any armed presence in or near Perquin in order to avoid any civilian casualties," according to ANIS. Instead, the Armed Forces set up road blocks at three-kilometer intervals and harassed those arriving for the conference. For this reason, the meeting was moved to Sonsanate, after delegates met with Indigenous people of Perquin to document "constant violations of individual human rights by the Salvadorean Armed Forces." �Page 9 Salvadorean military harass delegates travelling to the AN.I.S. conference. Among the conclusions of the three-day meet• on Justice: "That justice is to follow that path of ing, which included the participation of Maya, action which does not alter the Universal and Lenca, and Nahuat Indians from El Salvador and Natural Order in an irrational and unbalanced Native people from Mexico, Guatemala, Colomway. In this invading culture, justice is a way of bia, Peru, Canada, and the United States were: expropriating what belongs to those who work • on Culture: 'That Indigenous culture must be the land and make it produce, therefore the Indiunderstood as a form of knowing and recognizing genous peoples must demand the creation of laws in Nature our own origin and essence, and that for their own protection as well as that of their the harmony of our lives within Her permits the traditional ways of interaction with Nature". continuity of our people. Since Mother Earth is • on Solidarity: "That world solidarity makes its the origin of the Salvadorean Indian, the fact that presence actively felt among our invaded peoples we don't have land is a way of both doing away through cultural, economic, political, and social with our culture and of killing Nature and its support." expression of universal harmony. The White ''We demand that all governments respect the Invaders cannot justify their attack against Human Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, espeNature through the technologies of their sup- cially our Land, Life, and Ancestral Culture." posed 'civilization,' since these were designed only to throw the natural order out of balance and -""""~""""""""!'!"""""'~= ·-----""!""-""""""!!~­ prepare for their infamous invasion and resultant destruction". �Page 10 HURRICANE LEAVES DESTRUCTION IN ITS WAKE Carlos Maibeth, Miskitu from Waspan, Rio Coco, and a SAIIC member, recently returned trom a trip to the Atlantic Coast, devasta~ed by Hurricane Joan last October 22-23. Now, three months later, the impacts are still very much bemg felt. Q: What was the purpose of your trip? A: To witness the impacts of the hurricane up , close, and to talk to my people-Miskitu, Sumu," Rama, and blacks to meet with them and share their pain. Q: How is the access to the Atlantic Coast? A: It is difficult to travel from Managua to Bluefields for various reasons-transport is very limited, and the road was destroyed by the hurricane. The trip is now taking 16 hours by bus. It's hard to get a seat, because many people want to go either because they are from there or have relatives or friends there. Because there has been so much destruction, there is nowhere to sleep, and little to eat. You have to take many things with you, so you can go only for a short time. Q: Can you describe the extent of the destruction? A: Bluefields was hit by 150 miles per-hour winds, and more than 90% of the town was destroyed. Some of the concrete houses are still standing, but they are very weak. Nearly all the rooves were blown off. Wooden houses were totally destroyed, their posts knocked to the ground. The houses of dirt floors and wooden walls were swept away by the flooding. In all, 322,000 people had to be evacuated. They were taken from Bluefields to Rama and to Managua. Some stayed, especially in Com Island, where those who work in the fisheries didn't want to leave their houses, fearing looting. Old people who spent their entire life there didn't want to leave. Rescue missions helped old people, tying ropes to them so that the wind woudn' t blow them away, and helped to evacuate them. Luckily, only 121 people were killed. There was a lot of human solidarity-many young people risked their lives to help others. 182 were wounded, and 119 have disappeared. 150-mile-per-hour winds devastated Nicaragua's Atlantic coast. Q: How were Indigenous communities affected by the storm? A: The island of Rama Key was destroyed. But, people have good spirit for the future. My house was destroyed, but we are using what was left in order to construct houses that are smaller. Agriculture was hardest hit. People grew bananas, rice, beans, sugar cane, and all this was destroyed. In agriculture alone, nearly $100 million was lost. It was nearing the time of harvest, and all was lost. The exception was sugar cane, but the roads do not allow access to harvest the cane now. Bananas,, an important export crop, were totally destroyed. Another very important effect was the ecological destruction-animals like the jaguars and deer were killed or have disappeared from the region. Cusuco (armadillos) and monkeys also died, eliminating other sources of food. Birds also were affected by the trees falling. Lobsters have left for other areas of the ocean. Turtles, which were in danger of becoming extinct, are now nearly gone. �Page 11 Q: How is the rebuilding going? A: The government gave each family ten pieces of zinc to rebuild their roofs. Also, one of the first things the government did was to restore electricity with a generator, so that the people could have light to dance and celebrate Christmas. Q: Is aid from other countries reaching the communities? A: On the day I was in Bluefields, a boat arrived with supplies from people in the U.S. via Canada-clothes, food, tools, and medicines. Help has come from Europe. Also, a lot of aid from Cubapowdered milk and medicines, and Cuba offered to re-construct a lot of houses. The U.S. government has refused to help. There is still lack of clothing, and while there is now food for a few months, afterwards there will be a serious shortage of food. Mosquito nets are also needed. Diarrhea is widespread due to contaminated water, so there need to be wells dug and projects to provide good drinking water. Malaria broke out caused by mosquitos breeding in the water. Technicians are needed to restore power, since material won't without skilled workers. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Provide assistance by sending urgently needed money, materials and technical assistance. Inquiries can be directed and checks may be sent to Quest for Peace/Hurricane Relief, P.O. Box 5206, Hyattsville, MD 20782, or to Nicaragua Hurricane Relief, 1400 Shattuck Ave., Ste. 7-125, Berkeley, CA 94709. (415) 531-0779. ~ ��- ANDEAN REGION COLOMB I "We are very dose to the anniversary of the 500 years of conquest, destruction, and of our people. We the Indians haven't had any truce in the hard struggle for survival as ethnic groups for our life, land, autonomy, and the right to be recognized by the national society." -editorial in "Unidad Alvaro Ulcue," newspaper of the CRIC. Late last year, the Regional Indian C0uncil of Cauca (CRIC) held its Eighth Congress in the area of Tierradentro with the participation of more than 4,000 Indian delegates fiom the department of Cauca. CRIC has long been one of the strongest Indian organizations of the Americas, and the resolutions of its Congress show that the delegates viewed problems affecting Indian people as symptomatic of deep-rooted problems in Colombian society. According to CRIC, "the Indian movement does not dwell on its own issues, but it is also concerned with the rest of the Colombian people who have been suffering massacres, arbitrary detentions, and assassinations by the armed groups-whether miltary or paramilitary. "Faced with these circumstances, the Indian communities see the need to create mechanisms for unity, to organize and confront the dirty war with which we live in this country. Equally important are the proposals presented for the peace plan through a national dialogue with the participation of the government, guerrilla, civic movements, political sectors, Indian and peasant organizations, and the private sector, to look for a way out without more bloodshed." Among the resolutions of the CRIC Congress were: • Commission for National Affairs: "It is not wise to enter into a general way, for this would bring more bloodshed to all sectors, and the social and economic consequences for the country would be disastrous. Although the popular sectors do not want war, they must be prepared to confront it, for the massacres are unjustifiable. An integrated program of agrarian reform must also be implanted. �Page 14 �Native violence. . The wave of violence and abuses against Native communities has increased in a country where life often hangs by a thin thread. The motives for assassinations are varied: to rob Indian land, to intimidate organizers, to intimidate Indians seen as collaborating with the guerrillas, and those seen as being informants for the army; or simply because they are Indians. The following is a list of some of the Native people who were murdered in 1988: Four Tukanos from the area of San Jose del Guaviare; Five Emberas in Satinga; Fourteen Native people in Casanare; Twelve Indians in Araracuara; Peliberto Moniel, Alfredo Muente Ortiz, Luis Francisco Perez Solano, and Ignacio Pef\.ate Perez from San Andres de Sotavento; Ramon Tote from Resguardo de Coconuco; Graciliano Matos, Cubeo; Emeterio Mesa Garabato, Alejandro Chirimi, Facundo Gambato from the Comunidad Reo Satinga, Costa Pacifica; Plinio Ordonez Orozco, Comunidad Indfgena del Resguardo de Jambalo; Hernando Camayo, plus five more Indian people from Parcialidad de las Delicias, Buenos Aires. POR EL DERECHO A LA VIDA! �uar Federation radio classroom remote communities during the rainy season. © 1989 Aguirre/Switkes/AMAZONIA The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the Ecuadorian government have signed an agreement for a National Board of Indian Education, which will develop and implement intercultural bilingual education at a national level. The project was announced by Ecuador's Minister of Education and Culture, Arq. Alfredo Viera at the opening of CONAIE's Second National Congress in November. Under the agreement, CONAIE hopes to use as models those bilingual education programs that have already been developed by regional Indian organizations in Ecuador, with the goal of creating an educational system for Indigenous people that departs from that of the dominant white-mestizo society, and which strengthens the language and cultural identity of Native people. Luis Montaluisa of CONAIE was named the first national director of the Board. At the Congress, CONAIE delegates stressed the need to maintain independence from the Ecuadorian government, but to press for solutions in the areas of: • Legal recognition of CONAIE; • Defense and definitive legal recognition of the "natural settlements" of Indian nations in Ecuador, and a true application of the agrarian reform program for Indian people of the highlands; • Recognition of the right of self-determination of Indian peoples; • Expulsion from Indian areas of "pernicious and harmful" foreign religious sects, including the Summer Linguistic Institute (ILV), World Vision, and the Mormons, as well as political groups like Tradition, Family, and Property; • Discussion of constitutional reforms and a new project of laws concerning Indigenous Nationalities; • "Pushing ahead nationally and internationally the campaign against the celebration of the 500 Years of the invasion of the Ainerican continent." CONAIE elected a new Board of Directors, including Cristobal Tapuy, President a:nd Luis Alberto Macas, Vice President. �Page 17 MAPUCHE COMMUNITIES "" UNDER MILITARY ATTACK Last November 16th, 400 Carabineros from the Triguen base and the Fifth Military Region attacked six Mapuche communities in the Ercilla area. This was the second attack by the military, the first having occurred on October 31st. The military forces issued a communique, justifying the attack by saying that some of the Mapuche illegally possessed firearms, and that some of the accused "planned to attack health centers and churches in the area." Directors of the Mapuche organization AdMapu held a press conference in Temuco, denouncing this and other violations suffered by the community at the hands of the military government. According to Ad-Mapu, the soldie~s interrupted a meeting of the Mapuche comm:uruties, striking some of those present, and shooting teargas into the group. As a consequence of the attack, three persons were seriously wounded: Juana Montoya, 90 years old; Maria Clementina Torres; and a baby only a few months old. 14 people were also detained, but most were released a short time after, leaving only Luis Patricio Manque! and Francisco Huayquillal in custody. Two others, Alvaro Curinao and Jose Rubilar Jofre are unaccounted for, and it is feared that they now count among the "disappeared." The Mapuches have been forced to struggle _ for survival and defend their ancestral rights since the military coup of 1973. Their strong resistance has prevented the government from enforcing various decrees which would divide their lands, traditionally held collectively, into individual parcels. In the last plebiscite, organized by the military government to determine whether General Pinochet should continue in power until1998, the people of Chile voted a resounding "NO", and the Mapuches participated in a march from the south of Chile to Santiago (435 miles) in the "Caravan of Happiness," organized by the opposition. NORTHERN AYMARA AND RAPA NUl MEET THE MAPUCHE From the 4th to the 6th of August, the First Encounter to draft a constitutional proposal on Indigenous peoples in C.hile was held in Te~~co. The meeting was organiZed by the Comnusswn on Human Rights of the 9th Region, and included the participation of representatives of the Mapuche, northern Aymara, and the Council. ~f Chiefs of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Also partiCIpating were non-Indigenous organizations and the Bishop of Temuco. . The representatives discussed four maJOr problems facing the region: 1. water shortages in the land of the northern Aymara, due to the new Water Code passed by mining companies in 1981; . 2. lack of recognition of Easter Island. ternl?ries, which the Chilean government dauned m 1933 arguing that these lands "didn't have o~ers:' Currently, the Rapa Nui Chiefs' ~ounc~ are claiming their territory through the ISlands judicial system; 3. the serious problem of the ~apuche, ~7 to the division of nearly all of therr communities, through Decree 2568 of 1979; 4. the lack of respect for the land rights of the Huilliche Mapuche people, which ~ere recognized by the Chilean government m the last century. �CLORINDA GUALMES: ONE WOMAN AGAINST THE MILITARY ~ Following the military coup of 1976, Indian people in Argentina were subjected to widespread oppression, with large landowners conspiring with the military to displace Indians from their ancestral territories. In Nequen province, many families were evicted by the military so that they could extend their estancias (landholdings) and headquarters. One such estancia, called Pulmari, already consisted of 125,000 acres, yet the military wanted to further extend their lands, so they evicted onethird of the Mapuches from the community of Lonco Luan. Clorinda Gualmes, like her ancestors, lives with her family in El Faldeo del Cerro Otto, close to the army base and ten kilometers from Bariloche. The military tried to chase her off her land on several occasions, but she and her family always returned. Now, the Argentine army is trying to sue Clorinda and take away her land by judicial means, accusing the Gualmes family of illegally occupying the land. Elogio Frites, a Kalla Indian lawyer working in legal defense, says that "514 hectares (1,270 acres) belong to the Gualmes family forever, and laws 23302 and 14932 protect their rights." "On1y with my Courage and my Will" Elizabeth Draper recorded the following statement by Clorinda Gualmes: "My family has lived on my land for 100 years. I have a photo of my grandfather and his animals there taken in 1907. My father was the first wood and coal seller, my mother the first to make local cheese. But now, I have been evicted three times. First, by the National Parks and then by the army. They say they need the land for maneuvers. The last time was in 1983, on the 29th of July, at a quarter to 11 in the morning. It was snowing, when 40 soldiers came in and tore everything down. They left me without anything. Even my furniture was taken by the rain. For over a qconth that winter, I had nowhere to go with my animals. I lived in a tent. I have pictures of it covered with snow. I hid my cows in the hills. The soldiers had wanted to take them to the market. Now, I am on the same land. I came back by myself without anyone's help. Only with my courage and my will. I know that it is mine. Since then, soldiers have come two or three times to tell me they are going to practice on the shooting range. In all the years since I was born there, they have never shot around my house as they have in the last four or five years. The bullets would hit my house, or pass beside the corral. Now, they are bothering me so that I will get tired and I will leave. They haven't achieved this, yet. I have filed three or four complaints against them, so they have stopped bothering me in this way. I have a big file of the notes I have written to the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, and other officials. But I never know when I leave my home what I will find when I get back. The Centro Mapuche came to find me when I was in the tent and I have been working with them ever since, as Treasurer of the organization." �Page 19 KAYAPO ORGANIZE OPPOSITION AT HYDROELECTRIC DAM SITE The Kayap6 of the Xingu River region, . incensed over the prosecution of two of their leaders by the Brazilian government, and wishing to take direct action to oppose a series of dams planned for the Xingu, convened a meeting February 21-26 to mobilize opposition to the hydroelectric projects. Kayap6 organizers brought together nearly 1,000 Indian people from the Xingu region at the site of Kararao dam, and they plan to establish a permanent settlement at the dam site in order to more closely monitor the surveying and construction activities. �Page 20 One of the Kayap6 indicted by the government Bepkororoti (Paiakan), who was charged with for treason under the "foreigner's law" for criticizing the government's hydroelectric plans, recently visited seven countries, including the U.S., to enlist international support. The Kayap6 have come out in opposition to a $500 million loan to the Brazilian electric power industry under consideration by the World Bank, which would facilitate the construction of th~ Xingu Dams. In October, Bepkororoti's co-defendent, Kuben-i, was refused admission to the courtroom in Belem for appearing in traditional Kayap6 dress and warpaint. The judge then ordered the two to undergo psychiatric testing to determine their "fitness" to stand trial. The charges were finally dropped in early February Among the Native groups summoned to the meeting were the Arara, Parakana, Xipaia, Kuruaia, Arawete, and Asurini, all of whom would be impacted if the dams were built. The date chosen for the meeting conformed with the Kayap6 calendar, and the festival of new com was concluded in Altamira , the site of the meeting. Bepkororoti (Paiakan): "No one of us is strong enough to win alone." Bepkororoti issued a call.for international support for the Kayap6's initiative in defense of the rainforest: "The forest is one big thing-it has people, animals, and plants. There is no point saving the animals if the forest is burned down; there is no point saving the forest if the people and animals who live in it are killed or driven away. The groups trying to save the races of animals cannot win if the people trying to save the forest lose; the people trying to save the Indians cannot win if either of the others lose. The Indians cannot win without the support of these groups, but the groups cannot win without the support of the Indians who know the forest and the animals and can tell what is happening to them. No one of us is strong enough to win alone-together, we can be strong enough to win." SOURCE: Ecumenical Center for Documentation and Information (CEDI), Av. Higien6polis 983, CEP 01238 Sao Paulo SP, Brasil. For more information on the meetin& and how you may assist the Kayap6 in their effort, please contact SAIIC. �Page 21 ~~""-~~~~~ "YANOMAMI LAND"-THE FARCE OF DEMARCATION President Jose Sarney has taken an unusual action to open up for development lands which only two months earlier had been reserved for the use of the Yanomami Indians. Interministerial Decree 250, on November 18th, annulled a measure that had guaranteed the Yanomami "permanent possession" of a National Park and two National Forests carved out of their lands. Instead, the Yanomami will have "preferential," but not exclusive use of these ancestral territories. The Yanomami are the largest Native group in the world still not in permanent contact with the national society. As the demarcation of their land, executed by the Brazilian military as part of their 'Calha Norte' program, now stands, the Yanomami could lose as much as 70% of their land. The government has recognized lands in the vicinity ofYanomami villages as 19 '1ndian Colonies," but these offer little protection to the semi-nomadic Yanomami in the wake of an invasion by 40,000 gold panners and the presence of a large contingent of Brazilian soldiers in the border area. Many observers feel that the President's actions are designed to pave the way for largerscale mineral exploitation in the area, which contains rich reserves of gold, uranium, cassiterite, and strategic minerals. Already, rivers in the Yanomami area have been polluted by the gold miners, who use large quantities of mercury to purify the gold. The Yanomami have no antibodies to protect them against diseases brought in by the miners and soldiers, and health workers from the Catholic Church and the Commission for the Creation of a Yanomami Park (CCPY) have been expelled from the Yanomami area by the government. �YANOMAMI LEADER WINS U.N. AWARD Ivanildo Wawnaweytheri Yanomami, 34, speaks about the situation in his territory: "In the beginning, when there were no whites, there were no planes, there were only Yanomarni on the Earth. They say that the Yanornarni have a god, and the white man has his god. And there carne a time when the god of the white man made the Naba. Our god, Ornarna, lived with the Yanornarni, instructed them. When the time changed, the Naba appeared, planes began to fly, and boats carne on the river. It was at that time that the Naba began to appear, that he carne into contact with the Yanornarni. Until that time, no one suffered from diseases, the Yanornarni lived welL always had plentiful food, the children did not suffer as they do today. The Yanornarni began to become sad and Ornarna went away. Now [my people] think that there will come a time when there will be no more Yanornarni. And they are very worried. At Surucucu, where whites never before entered, any kind of ailment, even a weak flu, kills the Yanornarni. They are very weak and I have already seen· much sadness. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Send telegrams to Pres. Sarney insisting that Intenninisterial Decree (Portaria) 250 be annulled, that the gold prospectors (garimpeiros) be expelled and the Yanornarni be guaranteed their constitutional right to use of their lands. (Pres. Jose Samey, Presidencia da Republica, Gabinete Civil, Palacio do Planalto, CEP 70150 Brasilia, DF, BRASIL-Telex 613ll7 PRDF) SOURCE: "Urihi," Commission for the Creation of the Yanomami Park (CCPY), Rua Manoel da Nobrega ill 3a. cj. 32, CEP 04001 Sao Paulo SP, Brasil. Davi Yanornarni joins the late Chico Mendes as winner of the United Nations Environmental Program's Global 500 Award. He says, "With this prize I am stronger. In my tribe the Yanornarni, we are backward, we are primitive; there everybody runs around naked. I was not born to live in the city. I was raised in the forest, and I never left my horne where my parents were born and raised ' I knew that the gold prospectors would come to my land, I knew all this. I knew the FUNAI would allow the gold prospectors to invade. The Indians asked the FUNAI to remove the gold prospectors and nothing happened. I am not against the gold prospectors. I am against gold prospecting, because it makes holes and ruins. the rivers and the river channels. The Yanornaffil do not do that, cut the ground, cut the trees, bum the forest. We are not enemies of nature. The whites also suffer- the poor. Aren't they suffering? For. they have no land to plant things on, no land to live on. Most of my relatives do not know I have won this prize. We are so spread out- it is hard to communicate. They will only know when I arrive. But I have other relatives who are very worried about me. The medicine men who work to protect me are very worried. Because I am an only son who defends the Yanornarni people. So the medicine men are doing their work so that what happened to Chico Mendes will not hapi:'en to me. There are also warriors who are on my s1de, taking care of me. And that is what I had to say. �Page 23 ACRE PROTECTION PLA 1'" INADEQUATE :--.., 1111 In 1985, the Interamerican Development Bank, yielding to protests that their plan to pave the BR364 road from Porto Velho, Rondonia to Rio Branco, Acre would adversely impact Indigenous people, rubber tappers, and other people of Acre, created a "Plan for the Protection of the Environment and Indigenous Communities (PMACI)," to be designed and implemented before the road project was approved. The latest version of PMACI, however, shows that the "national security" considerations of the Brazilian military have been placed above the concerns of the populations struggling for survival in Acre. In particular, the plan calls for the creation of '1ndigenous Colonies," which UNIAcre, the regional council of the Brazilian Indian movement, has flatly rejected, saying that it will continue to press for the complete, legal demarcation of Indian lands. The Brazilian military has ruled out recognition of large extensions of Indian lands in the border regions as a threat to "national security." (See Yanomami article above.) WHAT YOU CAN DO: Send letters or telegrams to Enrique V. Iglesias, President, The Interamerican Development Bank, 808 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, protesting the failure to incorporate the concerns of Native people into the PMACI. £NfYUANTO 1550 8M WASII!Nt]TON. . . /i~z~(~~­ 'Acre will get money only after you demarcate Indian lands." 'Who would think-Gringos with a heavy consc1ence. • II MACUXIINDIAN KILLED IN JAIL Velario Damasio Macuxi, 17, was found dead in his cell at the civil police station in the town of Normandia, Roraim~ on October 23rd. Other youths held in the police station allege that they had been severely beaten by members of the police. . The Macuxi, of the savannah reg1on of the northern Amazon, have suffered encroachment on their ancestral lands by cattle ranchers. Recently, the Macuxi have become more assertive of their land rights, and in 1988, SAIIC sponsored the visit of Gilberto Macux~ one of the tribe's spokesmen, to the U.S. (See Summer 1988 newsletter.) Amnesty International, which has launc~ed a year-long campaign to denounce human n?ht_s violations in Brazil, says that a number of meldents have been reported where Macuxi Indians engaged in non-violent activities aimed at protecting their land were detained and abused by the police and army. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Amnesty International, 322 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10001. �Page 24 IN MEMORIAM: FRANCISCO MENDES FILHO (1944-1988) -- I\ 1 On December.22,1988, "Chico'' Mend~~~~ President· oftheRubber Tappers' Uriio!L,ei~~ · Xapurl,Acre, was gurined down by an as,sa~,5l sin hired by cattle ranchers~ During his Jiffl~~i tiille, Chico Mendes worked to forge<·~~ alliance between rubber tappers and I114!~t genous people of the Amazon, viewing b?:S!i:'l groups as com:mon .victims of the predatocy~l d~stt;JCtion ()f th~rainforest. Chico 1\1e~d~if~J .·. . ... . ~veson through a new fuundationi;n,Y his'nam.e which will support the !llbb~j :'tappers' struggle. . . ,,i;~~:1l , ,: ~" ' :: :' ',/~<f\~>' A<:corarngto.ChicoMendes/Tthinktf{i~j ,~~·~~ .."~· thaf we are starting to bring.§tQl . . ..· ~lli~ce ..ofthe peoples oftl{~J raJmtlJtest is what \consider to be on~ qf t~~;J ttu)StiJ:rlpcrrtaJnt f>teps forward in thes · • '· ·.·. •. · . 6f;\ma26nia. Chico Mendes worked to forge an Alliance of the Peoples of the Amazon. © 1989 Aguirre/Switkes/ AMAZONIA .· .•.•,• . •·••• 1llote }han ·10(1 years~ the rub ,. , .tal)p(~rsw~re ttsed by .their posses h~~:J.~J . .. · ·. ·. ·. asslaves... used ag~inst tl:~e~g~::~ .... <illS, . IU~ssacre those Indians whoweref1:1¢;i ·legithnate o.vnersofthese forests. !odai•~l important·· awakening has .takeri p~~~:d I where the Indian ahd the seringueiro.ha'ie.i ! I\OW discovered thattheyarenot enemie(~:il <that it was those who caused this fighfitlg! . .who were the ~eal enem.ies then--,and.f~1~.J~.I . the real enemtes today are those who,'~ . d~vouring and devastating our rainf()te~f&.l~ ' ·andwho want to finish off Amazonia.". ·;;~, I Chico Mendes: wor~ lives onthroug;~~~.i new foundation. in.his name which.~;/ supp()rt the rubber. tappers' struggle ~:,G, 1 :i[[i1:t WR<\TYOU CANDO: Donations may):)~l • sent to the. Chico Mendes FuD.d, c/o .·Environmental Defense Fund, 257 Park!\~1 · So., NeW Yor\<, NY10010. · . ~~ tne] 2 �E~UADq~.JI Page 25 CONFENIAE PRESSES FOR HUAORANI LAND DELIMITATION ~~~ The Confederation of Indian Nations of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) is supporting the Huaorani Indians in an attempt to delimit and protect their territory from the encroachment of colonists and from the adverse effects of oil development. Together, they are cutting a survey line and making the boundaries of the approximately 7,722 square miles of traditional Huaorani territory, an area about the size of New Jersey. The Huaorani have been trying to secure rights to these lands, vital _for the continued physical and cultural survival of their people. Huaorani territorial integrity is threatened from two directions-first by the building of state roads bisecting their territory, and secondly by the building of oil roads into the more remote eastern part of their land. The first incursion into the heart of Huaorani territory has been the building of roads which have brought the Huaorani into conflict with colonists seeking to establish land claims within the area with the support of the government's land titling institute (IERAC). The most immediate threat comes from colonization along the Coca-Curaray road, which is being constructed as part of the national transportation system. The Coca-Curaray road has already nearly bisected a corridor of Huaorani territory-a stretch of land approximately 60 km. long that connects the already titled Huaorani Reserve (only one-third of tradit~onal Huaorani territory) with a larger part of therr land now located within the boundaries of Yasuni National Park. �Page 26 The second danger to Huaorani territorial • paralization of all oil activities within the Huaointegrity is linked to the development of oil rani territory and Yasuni Park, examination of the reserves on a lease granted to Conoco, an Ameri- terms of the oil contracts, and a new policy on oil can oil company. Conoco has already drilled ten extraction in the Amazon to be formulated with wells on Huaorani territory within Yasuni Park, the participation of CONFENIAE; and is considering putting four of these wells into • immediate action on the part of IERAC to preproduction. They insist that they must build a vent further invasions ofHuaorani land by colonos; road to install and service the pipeline needed to • the suspension of all roadbuilding in Huaorani pump out the oil, and have already surveyed and territory by the Ecuadorian Army Corps of Engimarked most of the extension of the road. Once neers until the lands are legally recognized, and the route is known, colonists will inevitably follow until the problems with colonos and oil companies the road to claim land the Huaorani say is theirs. are resolved; CONFENIAE and numerous national and inter- • the government to work with CONFENIAE on national environmental groups have vigorously proposals for the integrated development of the protested the construction of a road for oil explo- Huaorani nation; ration within Huaorani territory. • the government to take responsibility for any In light of these developments, CONFENIAE serious problems that are caused within Huaorani territory; is calling for: • topographic measurements of the Huaorani area • the National Board of Tourism to prohibit tourwith the participation of the regional federations ism in the Huaorani area, or else they will have to of CONFENIAE; be responsible for any unfortunate circumstances • the new government of Dr. Rodrigo Borja Ceval- that take place. los to proceed with the urgent legalization of the Huaorani territory; WHAT YOU CAN DO: Send letters or telegrams to Pres. Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, Presidencia de la Republica, Garcia Moreno 1043, Quito, Ecuador. Send a copy to CONFENIAE, Aptdo. 4180, Quito Ecuador. . .. ...,... ' . �Page 27 PERU AIDESEP CALLS FOR CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT AMAZON POLICYL_j l__r--JA~ LJ -~== ...r-i.. The Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Amazon (AIDESEP) held its Thirteenth Assembly in September, 1988, and called for changes in Peruvian government policy to include Indian participation in designing Amazon development policies. Among the themes discussed were those of land, natural resources and ecology, production and commercialization, social services, and organization. Consensus emerged on several key points: •"to demand changes in the government's economic policies for the Amazon, so that development benefits our comm~nities, and not the bosses and business interests" -to develop an urgent program for nutrition and medicine, with the funding for this project controlled by Indian representatives in order to avoid corruption; •to develop a national plan for land titling for Indian communities, with AIDESEP coordinating the self-demarcation of Indian lands. •that international funds from development agencies be prioritized to "recognize, title, and increase the size of" Indian lands, "because we are the ancestral owners and the best caretakers of the Amazon''. Representatives of the 19 regional organiza-tions attending the meeting in Villa la Paz, Chosica elected a new Board, consisting of : President, Miqueas Mishari, Ashaninka Vice-President, Roman Shajiam Sakejat, Aguaruna-Huambisa Vocals, Eli Sanchez Rodriguez, Shipibo and Raul Casanto, Shingari Treasurer, Oswaldo Manihuari Muray~ Cocama; and Secretary, Santos Adan Atsua, Aguaruna. SOURCE : "Voz Indigena'', Av. San Eugenio 981, Lima 13, Peru. --- __-::__ -- ;> ~ ~ }) JJ? ~~ _tl~~6 ~- ASHANINKA INDIANS HELD IN SLAVERY ~ -S-._c;_? Among the most serious · violations of the human rights of Indian people in Peru is the enslavement of the Ashaninka people in the Ucayali, Tambo, and Urubamba River regions. At the recent Congress of the Regional Indian Organization of Atalaya (OIRA), delegates called for immediate action on the part of the Peruvian authorities to stop these violations. Delegates of the community of Diobamba stated that 'Beman Cagna, owner of the Fundo Nueva Luz has been exploiting more than 50 Ashaninka families for more than 30 years through slavery and hard labor without payment, and with threats of putting people in the private jail he has built. Cagna has about 60 men working in the extraction oflumber in the Tahuania Creek, forcing them to work from 6am to 6pm.". Florinda Arenas Campos denounced the patron Victor Merino for raping her 15-year old daughter in fron of her. Later, she said, Merino took the young woman to the Fundo Salvaje on the Ucayali River. In spite of Florinda's denunciations, no action has been taken by the authorities. She revealed that Merino has 20 Indian people working in his house as slaves. There may be thousands of Indian people in the Atalaya region who are being physically mistreated or held in slavery, whose lands have been stolen,. Some who protested have been murdered. According to OIRA, this is in clear violation of the Law of Native Communities and related government regulations. �Page 28 ~ ._. SURINAM . INDIGENOUS PEOPLE SPEAK (The following is from a statement by George Pierre, representing Caraiben and Lokono people of the Indigenous organization TUNA-SARAPA at the meeting of the Coordinadora of the Amazon Basin, June 1988.) Civil War Brings Turmoil "Brothers and sisters, we come from the "Our brothers and sisters lived spread out region of Guyana, north of the Amazon River and throughout the Surinam territory in 39 villages, of bordered by the Chinoco River, the Amazon, and between 75 and 2,000 people. Between October Atlantic Ocean. In Indian communities, we are 1986 and January 1987, 26 of these villages were 8,000 Caraiben, 4,000 Lokonos, 2,000 Trios!),eQq;::··· totally sacked and burned, due to the civil war Aloeko~janas, 600 v:rajarekoeles: and 30,0 V,Va~~~?~;:t betyv.een the army led by ex-soldier Roni BrunsPeople m these regions are umted by langu(l e·•i!l'" mjk, ~nd the. army of Commander Colonel Desi culture, religion, ways of life, and the struggl · · Bouterse, .leader of Surinam's military junta. / / ., i•;;\t? During this civil war, we had opted for a neutral land rights. w_e live by ~racticing agriSuliuJ.:e, fis.~g, position;··. whlch, created suspicion in both the huntmg, and makmg crafts. The F~D1en: cwr;vate ; r~bel army. and the junta. cassave (manioc), annanas (pin~appl~s)~Cpinda~,, r: ··, . . 8,000Indians. had to flee to French Guyana, (peanuts), camotes (sw.eet pota\dt::s1!· :?pi wf:H"~~~< •· :Bt~z,il, artdtoSurir!am's capital, Paramaribo. Many known com, and a variety of gre,e11s:.J;Y~men··Clocc\ other brothers and sisters fell into the hands of the ceramic work, weaving the 4m;Um9cks and Brunswijk's ar.my,7and were then tortured, raped, I preparing various foods, such as n\ani()c. :,i.'" .. i~~ and killed. Thi.Sdvil war has been catastrophic for We men are responsible for the p:t}p'at~ti~:Bf.~~;~~) SinceNo~e:inber 25, 1987, Surinam has had a ·the land for cultivation. Hunting is 'aJso ~Et~~::.~~ • derr.9cra~ic"gcivemment. work. We take our sons with us, so that th~y·:~~:;;;~·,. , ..Brothers and Sisters: In the hope that our also learn. Handicrafts are the work of both~mefi~·~·< health and true religion and medicinal force holds and women. The men weave baskets and bags, •···· · our work together. Jallalla!'' FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tuna Sarapa Surigrind manioc, prepare arrows, and sew fishing nets. Fishing takes place in rivers as well as in the name, Postbus 10497, 100IEL, Amsterdam sea. We use floating nets one to two kilometers in Holland. ------------------length with boats we build, but which use outboard motors. Women do the ceramic work, weaving the hammocks and preparing various foods, such as manioc. Many of our brothers and sisters also ::; work in: industry and administration, but we are really a minority. Some of us, with difficulty, ~ opened small shops to sell food and various things, small transportation companies, and companies to treat fish. "' 1 1 us. ~ :~ I ):: .I~ "' j "" ~ 00 ~@ of TUNASARAPA �Page 29 NORTH AMERI Ill NAVAJO, CHARGED WITH SPYING, REMAINS IN PRISON Marine Sgt. Clayton Lonetree, originally Big Mountain, Arizona, remains in military at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, accused of over top-secret documents to the Soviet Human rights advocates charge that Sgt. tree is a scapegoat to cover up a series of c:.<>r'11rihr' fiascos at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Lonetree was stationed, and that his arrest have been arranged in retaliation for his activism to defend their land at Big Mountain. Lonetree was court-martialled and convicted, although his defense attorneys were denied visas to travel to Moscow and conduct an investigation\'-_ of the charges, and all of the service guards and ', embassy personnel who might have provided· evidence to exonerate Lonetree were transferred\, '@~~.:---••••~--­ to 19 countries in different parts of the world. Sgt. -~ Lonetree faces 25 years in prison, but his con vic- , \. tion is now being appealed. · According to Lonetree's attome)j William Kunstler, "Never in my more than forty years of . practice have I ever witnessed a more flagrant and ~ unabashed effort to see to it that a defendant was~--· denied every fundamental constitutional~ protection." ~;:--~·- · Lonetree's mother, Sally Tsusie, says, '1 believe .,, "· that because of what's going on at Big Mountain ... that they were just looking around for something to attack him with. I'm originally from Big Mountain and in 1980 I was arrested for interfering with fencing of the BIA.... They filed eight · charges against me which never went to court." <-- WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to Sens. DeConcini, __ , -/ Inouye, and McCain of the Senate Select Commit- s~j tee on Indian Mfairs, asking for an investigation - ~ into the circumstances of Sgt. Lonetree's arrest and conviction. Donations for Sgt. Lonetree's defense may be made to the Clayton Lonetree Defense Fund, P.O. Box 1380, Tuba City, AZ 86045. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Big Mountain Support Group, Box 9908, Berkeley, CA 94709. �MALAYS TRIBAL PEOPLE ARRESTED IN LUMBER PROTESTS \Perth__ _ "ONE ABORIGINAL FAMILY" Aboriginal activist Pat Dodson, Chairman of the National Federation of Land Rights Councils, gave this report on the Aboriginal mobilization in observance of the 200th anniversary of the Europeans' arrival in Australia: "About 15,000 Aboriginal people were in Sydney on January 26th, 1988-the largest protest by any one people in Australia's history. When we marched, the spirit of our forbears was with us. We all remembered Jandamarra, Pemulwuy, the Kalkadoon warriors, Arapie-all the heroes and heroines who died defending the land, the culture, the ceremonies. Those without a spirit or a heart to see would not have experienced, known, or appreciated this. "We marched together as one Aboriginal family and we reasserted our nationhood. This was expressed by Central Land Council Chairman Wen ten Rubuntja when he said Aboriginal people living along the coast where the white people took over first might not know their language anymore, but the Emu story and the Snake story go all over Australia and we are all descended from these stories, they come from the sea through our country, all over Australia.' "On the streets of Sydney, we were like one great black snake and our presence was living proof of the 200-year-old lie that founded white Australia-the legality' that declared Australia an 'empty continent' or Terra Nullius. "For the remainder of 1988 our struggle will focus on these self-evident truths-our fundamental demand for land, culture, and justiceand we will continue to build our theme: We have survived-we were always here, and we will always be."' SOURCE: LAND RIGHTS NEWS, P.O. Box 3321, Alice Springs, NT 5750, Australia. ,-">··" Malaysian police have cracked down on Penan tribal people protesting the invasion of their lands by logging companies. In December and January, 128 Penans from Sarawak province were arrested under a new law that makes blocking a logging road an offense punishable by a two-year jail sentence, and a fine equivalent to U.S. $2500. So many of the younger Penan men have now been jailed that it is feared that the women and children left in the forest villages will face acute food shortages. The Penans arebeing held in small cells in the police stations at Miri and Marudi. Despite cramped conditions and inadequate facilities, they are reported to be in good morale. The Sarawak Director of Forests, Mr. Leo Chai, has said that firm action against the Penan needed to be taken because they have been "stubborn" and "have to be taught a lesson." Some of the blockades have been tom down by police andreerected by the Penan nine or ten times. 80% of the hardwoods logged in the Penan rainforest are exported to Japan. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Rainforest Action Network, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, CA 94133. Objectives and Goals of SAIIC SAIIC's goals are to promote peace and social justice for Indian people: (1) by providing information to the general public in the U.S., and to human rights and solidarity organizations regarding the struggles for survival and self-determination of Indian peoples of South and Meso America. (2) by facilitating exchange and promoting direct communication and understanding between Indian people. c ;§Aile can be reachedviaTelex #154205417 (Attn:. Telex/Electronic Mail: SAIIC) or by electronic mail via Peacenet (cdp: ·. SAIIC). '-'- �SAIIC's projects and programs include: (1) publication of the newsletter and other special publications; (2) Indian visitors program; (3) human rights advocacy; (4) radio program; (5) project of support for Amazon Indians; (6) 500 Years campaign; (7) Central American Native support campaign; (8) public presentations. Do you have time or skills you would like to contribute to SAIIC? Friends of SAIIC can assist with newsletter and radio show production, office work, fundraising, art, and with our visitors' program. Newsletter To receive the SAIIC newsletter for one year (four issues), please send a donation of US$10 for addresses in the United States, Mexico and Canada or US$12 for addresses elsewhere. Publications Working Commission Reports: Second Conference of Indian Nations and Organizations of South America. Tiwanaku, Bolivia, published by SAIIC, 1984. US$2. Brazilian Indian Lands, 1989. US$1. Page 31 Radio Show One-hour tapes of SAIIC radio programs can be purchased for US$8 each. Titles include: (1) Evaristo Nugkuag, Amazon Indians' Coordination/ Indigenous Peopls and the World Bank; (2) Sofia Painequeo (Mapuche, Chile); (3) Francisco Mamani (Aymara, Bolivia); (4) Gilberto Macuxi, Brazil; (5) Amalia Dixon (Autonomy Commission of Nicaragua), Juan Salgado and Elasio Holmes (Kisan for Peace), Miskitu, Nicaragua; (6) Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala. The SAIIC radio program "South and Central American Update" is aired the third Friday of each month at 8:00 p.m. on KPFA-FM, 94.1 in northern California. SAIIC's Newsletter is a quarterly publication. Donations SAIIC welcomes all contributions! The newsletter, our radio program, and other projects are financed by donations from our supporters. Your generosity is appreciated. Acknowledgements Coordination, Nilo Cayuqueo Editor, Glenn Switkes Assistant Editor, Monti Aguirre Design and Layout: Fragua -Rodrigo Betancur, Jairo Monar. Word Processing: Wayne Payne; Taller sin Fronteras. Typesetting : La Raza Graphics. Printed at Inkworks. SAIIC acknowledges the contributions of Elizabeth Draper, Rigoberta Menchu, Terence Turner, Juan A Aulesti~ Paul Bloom, and Helene Lorenz to this issue. For production assistance, we thank the American Friends Service Committee, Onaway Trust, Vanguard Foundation, Intertribal Friendship House, Earth Island Institute, Wes Huss, Maya Miller, and SAIIC members: Monti Aguirre, Rodrigo Betancur, Nilo Cayuqueo, Xihuanel Huerta, Dominique Irvine, Julio Le6n, Peggy Lowry, Carlos Maibeth, James Muneta, Gina Pacaldo, Eli Rosenblatt, Maria Lucia da Silveira, Maria Amalia Souza, Paola Sesia, Ellen Speiser, Anna Glenn Switkes, and Lucilene Whitesell. ~~----~~--~--~--~- �The Kayap6 have learned video to document their stmggle to protect the rainforest. SAIIC P.O.Box 7550 Oakland, CA 94707 © 1989 Kit Miller � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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. 4, Nos. 2&3 (Fall 1988 & Winter 1989) "Recovering Our America" Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title Vol. 4, Nos. 2&3 (Fall 1988 & Winter 1989) "Recovering Our America" Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Volume 4 No. 2 & 3.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language Spanish Volume 4 Pages 1-32 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter Brazil Ecuador Fall 1988 Guatemala Winter 1989 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/58fa3eab825143fa63ecd98002464743.pdf 26bc0b088e4ccb38226e6cc0b8d5966f PDF Text Text NEWSLETTER South and Meso-American Indian Information Center {SAIIC) Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7550, Berkeley, CA 94707 USA Office: 523 E. 14th St, Oakland, CA (415) 834-4263 Vol. 4, Nos. 2 &3 Fall, 1988 & Winter, 1989 GUATEMALA: The Widows of \f\Jar Page4 ECUADOR: Gains in Bilingual Education BRAZIL: "No" to Xingu Dams Page 19 Rediscovering our America 500 Anos de Resistencia India � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 Cover Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title Cover Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (1).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language Spanish Volume 4 Pages 1 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter Brazil Ecuador Fall 1988 Guatemala Winter 1989 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/76ad8cf3245263e908c70c88b1613419.pdf b99e381a8d45ba332789b32f04b51350 PDF Text Text Page 2 ,.., 500 ANOS DE RESISTENCIA INDIA Esta edicion del Boletfn Inforrnativo del Centro de Informacion Indfgena de America del Sur y Meso-America esta dedicado a los 500 aii.os de resistencia indfgena en su lucha por los territorios, la cultura, y por proteger La Madre Tierra. Las comunidades y organizaciones indfgenas se preparan para el Quinto Centenario de la invasion Europea al continente americana, y el SAIIC urge a todos a reexaminar la historia de 500 anos de colonialismo, y ver de que manera el neocolonialismo sigue negando nuestros derechos ancestrales .. Esta es una oportunidad para el auto-descubrimiento, para intercambiar experiencias y expresiones. Mientras que los gobiemos europeos planean celebrar el "descu· brimiento de America" reencamando la talllamada "conquista" de las naciones indfgenas, los 500 Aii.os seran conmernorados de varias formas por los Indfgenas-a traves de la participacion de los niii.os, las rnujeres, y los hombres, a traves de la tradicion oral, contando las antiguas, ceremonias de curacion, musica, danzai cantos, artesenato, reinterpretacion de los hechos, a traves de la investigacion sobre la situacion actual de las comunidades indfgenas, a traves de la auto-dernarcacion de los territorios ancestrales, a traves de libros, programas de radio, peliculas, hacienda llamados a los noindfgenas a un nivel nacional e intemacional para que nos unamos en la campaii.a de auto-descubrimiento. El SAIIC esta trabajando .con organizaciones indfgenas de las Americas sobre la campaii.a de 'los 500 Aii.os, y planea ayudar a organizar una conferencia intemacional para discutir estrategias para las actividades sobre los 500 Aii.os. Invitamos a cada uno de Ustedes, a unirse con nosotros en el "redescubrimiento de nuestra America," y a tomar accion inmediata dando apoyo al trabajo de las organizaciones indfgenas en su mira hacia la construccion de la sociedad del future. En esta edicion, tambiem queremos expresar nuestro senti· miento de pena por el asesinato de muchos indfgenas cuyas vidas han sido cegadas por su lucha por la tierra y por defender los derechos humanos. No es con tristeza pero con una fuerza que aumenta cada vez mas que guardamos su memoria con nosotros mientras seguimos adelante. � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 500 Anos de Resistencia India Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title 500 Anos de Resistencia India Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (2).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language Spanish Volume 4 Pages 2 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter 500 Anos de Resistencia India Fall 1988 Resistencia Winter 1989 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/b31aa3b638b5f0c6cce5ba5886238228.pdf ad78bce6d1f1406edbd43bea4e609ed1 PDF Text Text Page 3 This edition of the SAIIC Newsletter is dedicated to 500 years of organized Native resistance, in the fight for land, culture, and to protect the Mother Earth. As Indian communities and their organizations throughout the Americas prepare to observe the SOOth anniversary of the European invasion of the American continent, SAIIC urges everyone to reexamine the historical record of colonialism , and to take note of the ways in which policies of the "new colonialism" are still denying our ancestral rights. While European governments plan to celebrate the "Discovery" of America by reenacting the "conquest" of Indian nations, there are diverse ways in which Native people will commemorate the 500 Years-through the participati9n of children, women, and men; through oral tradition, storytelling, collective memory, healing ceremonies, music, dance, song, handicrafts, reinterpretation of events; through the investigation of the current situation in Native communities, through the self-demarcation of ancestral territories, through books, radio programs, and films, reaching out to nonIndian people at a national and international level to join forces in our campaign of self-discovery. SAIIC is working with Native organizations from throughout the Americas on the 500 Years campaign, and plans to help organize an international conference to discuss strategies for the 500 Years activities. We invite everybody to join with us in "rediscovering our America," and to take immediate action in support of the work of Indigenous organizations as they look toward the future. In this issue, we also mourn the assassination of many Native people whose lives have been taken for defending their land and basic human rights. It is not with sadness but with ever-increasing strength that we keep their memory with us as we go forward. © 1989 Aguirre/Switkes/ AMAZONIA � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 500 Years of Indian Resistance Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title 500 Years of Indian Resistance Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (3).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Abstract Note This issue is specifically dedicated to the 500 years of fighting for land, culture, and to protect the Earth by the Natives. It asks that we reconsider what days like Columbus Day mean for Natives, not for oppressors. Pages 3 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter 500 years of fighting Fall 1988 Native Resistance Winter 1989 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/d17f7ce2cabcd3c46dc8217f617b25e1.pdf b44882c6402906dfbefa2aacc6be051e PDF Text Text Page 4 GUATEMALA THE WIDOWS OF WAR ~G~~ In September 1988, the National Coordinating Committee of Widows of Guatemala (CONAVIGUA) held its first assembly. According to Native activist Rigoberta Menchu, "CONAVIGUA is the hope of so many widows in our country-it is bringing together a great force." The following is a statement issued by CONAVIGUA: "We held our assembly in order to make our voices heard, and to exercise our legitimate rights. The cruel history of repression which our people have suffered for the last five centuries has left many thousands of Guatemalans kidnapped, disappeared, tortured, assassinated, and massacred. Many others have died of illnesses formerly unknown, from pesticides which come from the United States and Europe, spread on large farms where coffee, sugar cane, and cotton are produced. (See following article.) Thousands of women have lost their husbands, and when we return home to eat tortillas with salt and herbs it hurts and moves us to hear the cries of our children from so much suffering, seeing them with stomach aches, fevers, backaches, bellies swollen with malnutrition, and without the ability to buy them even an aspirinThese injustices and the love of our husbands who have been taken away from us by the repression and illness. For these reasons, we have begun to talk among ourselves, uniting to think of what we will do, to look for solutions to alleviate our problems because each day our situation gets worse". �Action which took place last October, these widows took the podium to denounce the violent acts of which they are victims: •'' in the town of Chucaman, in the state of Quiche, Manuel Us and Crispin Gomez, through innumerable threats, forced the dissolution of the Coordinating Committee of CONAVIGUA, declaring their actions illegal; • in the town of Canto Carrizal in Quiche, the military chief, Sebastian Calel, is accusing the widows of being spokeswomen for the guerrillas, and · · · · them to not hold · .-·h''.. "i~.:.~:..'\. •·. . . is persec:utingj.J women and girls 8, 9, and 10 years old, and going to· the cornfields and eating their com, in order to .. frighten the people; • in the Tululche hacienda, Chiche-Quiche, administrator is intimidating people at meetings, saying that they are "acting against the .·· >-. ·~.s.~"' -~g The Widows of Guatemala call for "international and national solidarity at this critical moment, ./~~~ 1 ::::::: . '"' and support in writing letters, so that people will know about the Committee-CONAVIGUA-its struggles and its fighting, and if possible to join with us to find solutions for our situation." ;::...... . ® � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Widows of War (Guatemala) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title The Widows of War (Guatemala) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (4-5).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Abstract Note 500 years of fighting have caused many women to lose their husbands to kidnappers, disappearances, torture, assassination, and massacre, in addition to diseases caused by pesticides funded by the US and Europe. Pages 4-5 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter assassination Disease Fall 1988 Guatemala Massacre pesticides torture Widows of War Winter 1989 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/9c52ed25f46eb6d0393037af3ffcea78.pdf d330c051497481b9a2ac1f47dfa723fb PDF Text Text Page 6 Condemnation from a broad spectrum of Guatemalan society followed the torture and murder of 21 campesinos in El Aguacate, San Andres Itzapa, Chimaltenango, on November 26th. According to the Comite Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), there was strong evidence implicating the Guatemalan military in the massacre. The Comite thereby requests, in an open letter to the government of Guatemala and the International Communit)j that they: • "be alert to any kidnapping and disappearance of any of the widows or children of the murdered, since armed men in plainclothes have been seen near their houses; • restrain the military from reprimanding the widows, and telling them, "If you don't say that the guerrilla did it, you'll pay for it"; • not permit the widows to be taken to other countries, even though they are threatened with death if they contradict the army; • not permit politicians to profit from the pain and suffering of the widows for political gain-it's an insult to use them as a way to gain sympathy; • fix responsibility on the army and the soldiers for the death and kidnapping of campesinos in San Andres Itzapa, since the army has publicly stated their intentions "to get those whose names are on the list." � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 Massacre Leaves 21 Widowed (Guatemala) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title Massacre Leaves 21 Widowed (Guatemala) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (6).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Abstract Note The Guatemalan military was highly implicated in the torture and murder of 21 "campesinos" in Guatemala in November. Pages 6 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter Fall 1988 Guatemala murder torture widow Winter 1989 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/d49cae9278140ff9c726776605ae95b3.pdf 5c9220046fadbb6733e72a34ca0656e1 PDF Text Text "FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE Page MARGINAL AND OPPRESSED" 7 A new Council of Ethnic Communities "RunujelJunam" (CERJ) has been formed in Guatemala "to defend the human and cultural rights of Indigenous communities in Guatemala, so that they may keep their Identity as the original and legitimate Representatives of the Guatemalan people." In August, CERJ presented a protest to the Human Rights Commission of the National Congress, saying that those who wished to leave the "Voluntary Defense Committees" established by the military were being accused of being "Communists" and threatened. The organization also plans to work for land rights, literacy, housing, and cultural values. SOURCE : Consejo De Comunidades Etnicas, Sa. Avenida 3-13, Zona 5, Santa Cruz Quiche, Guatemala. PLANTATION WORKERS STRIKE Families of the "desaparecidos," Guatemala. ©Rick Droz ~,_/---~ On January 23, 198~ 40,000 farmworkers launched a strike against the coffee, cotton, and sugar cane plantations of the southern coast of Guatemala. The strikers, coordinated by the Committee ofFarmworker Unity (CUC), are calling for the daily wage to be raised to 10 quetzales (U.S. $3.70) per day. According to CUC, hundreds of workers have been fired for participating in the strike, and workers are being threatened and denounced as subversives by armed men in plainclothes, working for the plantation owners. � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 "For the Rights of the Marginal and Oppressed" (Guatemala) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title "For the Rights of the Marginal and Oppressed" (Guatemala) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (7).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Abstract Note A new council was formed in Guatemala to protect the human and cultural rights of local Natives. Pages 7 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter Derechos Humanos Fall 1988 Guatemala Human Rights protection of human rights Winter 1989 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/809932d9824c0e07293dc251c06fb1f2.pdf 5c9220046fadbb6733e72a34ca0656e1 PDF Text Text "FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE Page MARGINAL AND OPPRESSED" 7 A new Council of Ethnic Communities "RunujelJunam" (CERJ) has been formed in Guatemala "to defend the human and cultural rights of Indigenous communities in Guatemala, so that they may keep their Identity as the original and legitimate Representatives of the Guatemalan people." In August, CERJ presented a protest to the Human Rights Commission of the National Congress, saying that those who wished to leave the "Voluntary Defense Committees" established by the military were being accused of being "Communists" and threatened. The organization also plans to work for land rights, literacy, housing, and cultural values. SOURCE : Consejo De Comunidades Etnicas, Sa. Avenida 3-13, Zona 5, Santa Cruz Quiche, Guatemala. PLANTATION WORKERS STRIKE Families of the "desaparecidos," Guatemala. ©Rick Droz ~,_/---~ On January 23, 198~ 40,000 farmworkers launched a strike against the coffee, cotton, and sugar cane plantations of the southern coast of Guatemala. The strikers, coordinated by the Committee ofFarmworker Unity (CUC), are calling for the daily wage to be raised to 10 quetzales (U.S. $3.70) per day. According to CUC, hundreds of workers have been fired for participating in the strike, and workers are being threatened and denounced as subversives by armed men in plainclothes, working for the plantation owners. � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 Plantation Workers Strike (Guatemala) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title Plantation Workers Strike (Guatemala) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (7).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Abstract Note 40,000 workers in cotton, sugarcane, and coffee plantations went on strike in January 1989. Pages 7 Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter coffee Committee of Farmer Unity cotton Guatemala January 1989 plantation strike strike sugarcane http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/9f9104aaf97cfa2eac6aa674f6002d0b.pdf a0f1fb0d66853a98c30282fca7269b2c PDF Text Text Page 8 U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDS SPRAYING OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS A Guatemalan government program of aerial spraying of pesticides and defoliants is taking a fatal toll in Indigenous communities. Among the pesticides used is one containing ethylene dibromide (EDB), banned in the U.S. since 1984 due to its properties as a potential cancer-causing agent. According to Surv:ival International, 14 Indian campesinos, including two children, have died from drinking contaminated water. The spraying program has generated controversy. The government says spraying is taking place to destroy plantations of marijuana and opium poppies (though some highland areas are too cold for either to grow) and to .control the northward spread of the "medfly" which damages fruit crops. Opponents say the use of defoliants and pesticides is part of a Vietnam-style strategy to terrorize the Indian population, and is concentrated in areas where guerrilla activity is strongest. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Guatemala News and Information Bureau, P.O. Box 28594, Oakland, CA 94604. l I;L _S_~l::_VA_RQ...;...;.ROIIII!II'III INDIANS DEFY MILITARY, HOLD MEETING From December 18th to 21st, the National Association of Salvadorean Indians (ANIS), held its World Indigenous Festival and Cultural and Spiritual Symposium in the war-torn country, despite harassment by the Salvadorean military. According to ANIS, the indigenous peoples' organization had negotiated with both the army and the guerrillas prior to the meeting to ensure that Native representatives would not be impeded from travelling to the meeting site in Perquin, Morazan province. Though the guerrillas withdrew from the area, the army violated its agreement "to not have any armed presence in or near Perquin in order to avoid any civilian casualties," according to ANIS. Instead, the Armed Forces set up road blocks at three-kilometer intervals and harassed those arriving for the conference. For this reason, the meeting was moved to Sonsanate, after delegates met with Indigenous people of Perquin to document "constant violations of individual human rights by the Salvadorean Armed Forces." � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 U.S. Government Funds Spraying of Dangerous Chemicals (Guatemala) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title U.S. Government Funds Spraying of Dangerous Chemicals (Guatemala) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (8).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Pages 8 Abstract Note The United States funded the spraying of pesticides over Guatemalan plantations, including the use of a chemical that has been banned in the US since the 1980's due to cancer causing qualities. At least 14 Natives died as a result of the spraying. Publication Title SAIIC Newsletter fatal Guatemala pesticides plantations http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/7c0af083aaeb093c503225d19f0f4b02.pdf 2bf72d80571a59be6ac7ce2b5a5da304 PDF Text Text Page 8 U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDS SPRAYING OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS A Guatemalan government program of aerial spraying of pesticides and defoliants is taking a fatal toll in Indigenous communities. Among the pesticides used is one containing ethylene dibromide (EDB), banned in the U.S. since 1984 due to its properties as a potential cancer-causing agent. According to Surv:ival International, 14 Indian campesinos, including two children, have died from drinking contaminated water. The spraying program has generated controversy. The government says spraying is taking place to destroy plantations of marijuana and opium poppies (though some highland areas are too cold for either to grow) and to .control the northward spread of the "medfly" which damages fruit crops. Opponents say the use of defoliants and pesticides is part of a Vietnam-style strategy to terrorize the Indian population, and is concentrated in areas where guerrilla activity is strongest. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Guatemala News and Information Bureau, P.O. Box 28594, Oakland, CA 94604. l I;L _S_~l::_VA_RQ...;...;.ROIIII!II'III INDIANS DEFY MILITARY, HOLD MEETING From December 18th to 21st, the National Association of Salvadorean Indians (ANIS), held its World Indigenous Festival and Cultural and Spiritual Symposium in the war-torn country, despite harassment by the Salvadorean military. According to ANIS, the indigenous peoples' organization had negotiated with both the army and the guerrillas prior to the meeting to ensure that Native representatives would not be impeded from travelling to the meeting site in Perquin, Morazan province. Though the guerrillas withdrew from the area, the army violated its agreement "to not have any armed presence in or near Perquin in order to avoid any civilian casualties," according to ANIS. Instead, the Armed Forces set up road blocks at three-kilometer intervals and harassed those arriving for the conference. For this reason, the meeting was moved to Sonsanate, after delegates met with Indigenous people of Perquin to document "constant violations of individual human rights by the Salvadorean Armed Forces." �Page 9 Salvadorean military harass delegates travelling to the AN.I.S. conference. Among the conclusions of the three-day meet• on Justice: "That justice is to follow that path of ing, which included the participation of Maya, action which does not alter the Universal and Lenca, and Nahuat Indians from El Salvador and Natural Order in an irrational and unbalanced Native people from Mexico, Guatemala, Colomway. In this invading culture, justice is a way of bia, Peru, Canada, and the United States were: expropriating what belongs to those who work • on Culture: 'That Indigenous culture must be the land and make it produce, therefore the Indiunderstood as a form of knowing and recognizing genous peoples must demand the creation of laws in Nature our own origin and essence, and that for their own protection as well as that of their the harmony of our lives within Her permits the traditional ways of interaction with Nature". continuity of our people. Since Mother Earth is • on Solidarity: "That world solidarity makes its the origin of the Salvadorean Indian, the fact that presence actively felt among our invaded peoples we don't have land is a way of both doing away through cultural, economic, political, and social with our culture and of killing Nature and its support." expression of universal harmony. The White ''We demand that all governments respect the Invaders cannot justify their attack against Human Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, espeNature through the technologies of their sup- cially our Land, Life, and Ancestral Culture." posed 'civilization,' since these were designed only to throw the natural order out of balance and -""""~""""""""!'!"""""'~= ·-----""!""-""""""!!~­ prepare for their infamous invasion and resultant destruction". � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 Indians Defy Military, Hold Meeting (El Salvador) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title Indians Defy Military, Hold Meeting (El Salvador) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (8-9).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Pages 8-9 Abstract Note The Salvadorean military intentionally tried to impede the progression of the World Indigenous Festival and Cultural and Spiritual Symposium. The natives pushed back and were able to continue with their meeting. ANIS military National Association of Salvadorean Indians Salvadorean Military http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/dfcaedf2d70a73fe22f9b236b8dabf92.pdf 5f1d051ad3758ca86e2ddd0f73d3d7b5 PDF Text Text Page 10 HURRICANE LEAVES DESTRUCTION IN ITS WAKE Carlos Maibeth, Miskitu from Waspan, Rio Coco, and a SAIIC member, recently returned trom a trip to the Atlantic Coast, devasta~ed by Hurricane Joan last October 22-23. Now, three months later, the impacts are still very much bemg felt. Q: What was the purpose of your trip? A: To witness the impacts of the hurricane up , close, and to talk to my people-Miskitu, Sumu," Rama, and blacks to meet with them and share their pain. Q: How is the access to the Atlantic Coast? A: It is difficult to travel from Managua to Bluefields for various reasons-transport is very limited, and the road was destroyed by the hurricane. The trip is now taking 16 hours by bus. It's hard to get a seat, because many people want to go either because they are from there or have relatives or friends there. Because there has been so much destruction, there is nowhere to sleep, and little to eat. You have to take many things with you, so you can go only for a short time. Q: Can you describe the extent of the destruction? A: Bluefields was hit by 150 miles per-hour winds, and more than 90% of the town was destroyed. Some of the concrete houses are still standing, but they are very weak. Nearly all the rooves were blown off. Wooden houses were totally destroyed, their posts knocked to the ground. The houses of dirt floors and wooden walls were swept away by the flooding. In all, 322,000 people had to be evacuated. They were taken from Bluefields to Rama and to Managua. Some stayed, especially in Com Island, where those who work in the fisheries didn't want to leave their houses, fearing looting. Old people who spent their entire life there didn't want to leave. Rescue missions helped old people, tying ropes to them so that the wind woudn' t blow them away, and helped to evacuate them. Luckily, only 121 people were killed. There was a lot of human solidarity-many young people risked their lives to help others. 182 were wounded, and 119 have disappeared. 150-mile-per-hour winds devastated Nicaragua's Atlantic coast. Q: How were Indigenous communities affected by the storm? A: The island of Rama Key was destroyed. But, people have good spirit for the future. My house was destroyed, but we are using what was left in order to construct houses that are smaller. Agriculture was hardest hit. People grew bananas, rice, beans, sugar cane, and all this was destroyed. In agriculture alone, nearly $100 million was lost. It was nearing the time of harvest, and all was lost. The exception was sugar cane, but the roads do not allow access to harvest the cane now. Bananas,, an important export crop, were totally destroyed. Another very important effect was the ecological destruction-animals like the jaguars and deer were killed or have disappeared from the region. Cusuco (armadillos) and monkeys also died, eliminating other sources of food. Birds also were affected by the trees falling. Lobsters have left for other areas of the ocean. Turtles, which were in danger of becoming extinct, are now nearly gone. �Page 11 Q: How is the rebuilding going? A: The government gave each family ten pieces of zinc to rebuild their roofs. Also, one of the first things the government did was to restore electricity with a generator, so that the people could have light to dance and celebrate Christmas. Q: Is aid from other countries reaching the communities? A: On the day I was in Bluefields, a boat arrived with supplies from people in the U.S. via Canada-clothes, food, tools, and medicines. Help has come from Europe. Also, a lot of aid from Cubapowdered milk and medicines, and Cuba offered to re-construct a lot of houses. The U.S. government has refused to help. There is still lack of clothing, and while there is now food for a few months, afterwards there will be a serious shortage of food. Mosquito nets are also needed. Diarrhea is widespread due to contaminated water, so there need to be wells dug and projects to provide good drinking water. Malaria broke out caused by mosquitos breeding in the water. Technicians are needed to restore power, since material won't without skilled workers. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Provide assistance by sending urgently needed money, materials and technical assistance. Inquiries can be directed and checks may be sent to Quest for Peace/Hurricane Relief, P.O. Box 5206, Hyattsville, MD 20782, or to Nicaragua Hurricane Relief, 1400 Shattuck Ave., Ste. 7-125, Berkeley, CA 94709. (415) 531-0779. ~ � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 Hurricane Leaves Destruction in its Wake (Nicaragua) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title Hurricane Leaves Destruction in its Wake (Nicaragua) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (10-11).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language Enlgish Volume 4 Pages 10-11 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/11fcb4186e898a888f84fe6f34af3edc.pdf 6acd2ca07ded906888ddf30a581b86a0 PDF Text Text � 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. 4, Nos. 2&amp;3 (Fall 1988 &amp; Winter 1989) Zotero Volume 4 Language English 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 South America (Transition Page) Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Fall 1988 & Winter 1989 Zotero Title South America (Transition Page) Item Type Journal Article Attachment Title Vol. 4, nos. 2 &3 (12).pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Issue 2 & 3 Language English Volume 4 Pages 12