11 12 1190 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/0ddd4b6fcd140b0ddcd65036b55c120b.pdf 00ca4c215dfc802619cc94fd725c133c PDF Text Text 5 E l F 0 E T E R M I N A T I 0 N A N D --. ' .- T E _.,'-.!' l ..c._,"'--'R-''--- - - - - - - - - - - - - R Rc..!.. T O " Y PachakutikNuevo Pais: Breaking New Ground in Ecuadorean Politics In an historic moment, Luis Macas, former president of CONAl£ (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) ran as a candidate to the National Congress in Ecuador's last presidential elections and won a seat as National Deputy on the Pachakutik-Nuevo Pais (New Country) ticket. This was the first time in recent Ecuadorian history that an Indigenous leader sought election to a national office. In this interview, we talk with Luis Macas about CONAl£ and the future of the Indigenous movement in Ecuador. f~~wMt. Luis Macas lufs Macas during a recent visit to SAIIC. Our fundamental objective was to consolidate a social base in our country. united with workers, Afro- We wanted to consolidate a strategic Ecuadorians, women. youth, profes- base of Ecuadorian peoples for the near sionals, teachers, human rights work- and long range futu re. Y have to ou ers, and the grassroots Christian com- remember we had an absolute disad· munity. That is to say. all the inhabi· vantage facing political panics of the dida1cs? tams of our country who anxiously right, parties that have invested milor the Indigenous movement want change, transfomuuion. and bet· lions of dollars in their campaigns: the Social Christian Pany, the Roldosista it is an extremely valuable ter days for our nation and people. The fact we will forge this great Ecuadorian Party, the Popular experience. \Ve have experi· cnccd triumph and gains in movement, achieving the unity of Democracy party, the Conservative many forms. Firs1, the Ecuadorian peoples. is really a tri- Party. and the party led by Mr. Noboa. increased coverage of the Indigenous umph. For us. it means an historic All have invested money. and what they movement's struggle, the extension of step. It signifies having initiated a dif- want is to get back, with interest. their the Indigenous movement's political ferent process in the country. and one investments in the political campaigns. realm to other social sectors. and the that is unique in Latin America. I However, they are not the only ones formation of the Movimiento Unidad· would say this time we believe we have who personaH)' make investments but Plurinacional Pachakutic-Nuevo Pafs. gained a lot. also other businessmen. I would say In general , could you cvalua1e 1he For us, this is a move forward. Now, election process from the poi•u of view of the Indigenous w'inncrs- not just the significance of the number of votes, but also of this e lection and of the participation of Indigenous can· Indigenous peoples are not alone. but F 18 Abya Y News ala �SELF DE T ERMIHATIOH this is how corruption in electoral cam- meaning between a traditional cam- paigns begins. Once they are in power, the debts accumulated b)' the electoral machine have 10 be paid 10 the businessmen. In this last election, it was an incredible machine, as never before in the history of Ecuador. paign and the traditional fonn in which the political parties have driven their electoral campaigns. First, we focused AHD TERR I TORY on contenl. It was obvious to rely on Ecuadorian people a government program. Everyone has to submit 10 what they think. There is no consultation abou11he needs of the people, the community. So thats another difference. the candidates at a local, provincial and Theirs is an individual effort, the work national level. \Ve favored a govern* \¥e were also at a disadvantage con- ment program. \Ve didn't want to imi· cerning time, but the Indigenous candidates quickly achieved a national presence with people in positions a1 a local, provincial. and national level. In two months and two weeks. we saw the election of approximately seventy authorities at a national level. For us, this is a triumph. I tate the traditional political ways: the cheap offers 10 the Ecuadorian people of an aristocracy that scorns the people. Another difference is in electoral spending. They have spent millions of dollars in this electOral process. In my in an attempt to convince them and opinion they raised an offensive cam- auract their votes. the discourse of paign what everyone is accustomed to. don 't want to say we are in second or third place. We believe we are the first political force at a national level. Ours is a political force that lsn·t necessarily sponsored by any political party. Civil society expressed its political will with decision. I would say that in this game the lndigenous movement has played an important role. Before the convoking of the Indigenous movement, all the social forces, all the popular forces of our coumry decided 10 organize a national minga (communal work) to build something different, something that hasn·t been seen in the history of our patria. What were sonte of the differences between the campaigning style of t he Pachakutik movement and that of the traditio nal political parties? How did you implement the campaign? There is a radical difference in Vol. 10 No. 2 against the political clientelism, and nothing more. This clientelism is The difference is our proposals don't originate from the presidential candidate, nor from the candidates for deputies. Our proposals come from the people. We have been working on them for years. They are a collective effort, a collective force. They are the Ecuadorian peoples-an aggressive campaign. They have appeared on television and on the radio puuing out a series of lies to our peoples. They use these publicity spots to appear together with a poor woman or with a poor child. With these images the)' try to make an impression on the people. Also, the other urban sectOrs that see them are definitely affected. It may not reach the majority of the people, but it reaches a wide social sector "We didn't want to imitate the traditional political ways: the cheap offers to the Ecuadorian p eople in an attempt to convince them and attract their votes, the discourse of political clientelism, and nothing more." result of uprisings, struggles, and the marches of our peoples. This then 1ransfonns itself into a political proposal, into a government program. This isn't how Mr. Nebot proceeded. who only presented his political proposal, or Mr. Rodrigo Paz. What they do is sit down at a desk with their two specialists. write whatever, and show the of the country. If we had 10 describe our country right now. we would say that there it is absolutely covered in paint. The walls, trees, rocks, and paths are covered with posters. Everything is covered. We can observe the differences in the campaign proceedings. There are posters everywhere. Where did this 19 �S E L F DETERMINATION A N D TERRITORY paign to every last corner of our country- from the last community in the Amazon region, to the last plateau in the sierra region, to the last beaches in the coastal region. This has been our way of running a campaign. \ Ve have had to walk. We have been accompanied by these people. We anended meetings in plaz.1s. many of which were designed by the people. Because they asked . we had to walk to such places. \\1c had w auend serninars in such places. Everything was done in a collective and coordinated way. in common agreement , in a great minga. These are the differences we were able to establish. money come from, we ask ourselves? ence. A very wealthy campaign facing a These expenses> There, I would say, is campaign of programs that visits the where the corruption of the politics of communilies. How have we instituted our count ry is initiated. The aristocrats our candidacy> We have gone to the of national politics have an under- communities. We have gone to the standing of political work. What. for neighborhoods. We have gone to the families. We have gone to the coopera- me, personally is a sacred act, for them it is a civic act, transformed into one of buying and selling, of business. Because, neither at a provincial nor at a national level can you explain the polit- ical staying power of these men. I would be ashamed. For example, Nebot is a candidate for the second time. This is his second electoral cam- paign. For Abdala Bucaram. this is his third time. Even though the Ecuadorian people don't want them, nevertheless. these men keep appearing in our politics. There we established another differ- 20 tives. That is, we have gone to the peo- ple. We have gone to our peoples. to the Indigenous communities. V/e have • gone with a message. wilh a proposal. Our campaign has been absolutely differenL \ Vith this government program, what we have done is hold workshops. seminars, assemblies. Thankfully, the Indigenous movement has a national structure, as do the workers and some campesino organizations that are part of the Movimiento UnidadPiurinacional-Pachakutik. These struc· tures have helped us to bring the cam- What does your new pOSlltOn in Ecuadorian national politics imply for the project of establis hing a plur'i-national s tate in Ecuador? ls it compatible? Or, if it isn't, what is the principle objective of CON AI E now? I believe that parallel to the beginning of this process, to the great calling of the Indigenous movement in Ecuador, there has been a great answer from the Ecuadorian peoples. But what was the proposal? \Vhat was the content of this political process that called ian peoples? It is preto the Ecuado1 cisely this proposal. one of the construction of a modem state and a sHne that responds to the needs of all Ecuadorians. We have said that in Ecuador the legislation provides for-i n theory at least- individual rights, rights of the citizens, rights of the family, but it doesn't consider collective rights, the rights of Indigenous peoples. We are going to insist that it is time. in the ough in stage our country is living thr latin America, for a change, a qualitative transfonnation in the way we conceive the state and the nation, to put ourselves at the height of the advances humanity has achieved in these recent times. The construction of a plurinational state responds to this-to raise. to dignif)' the rights of Indigenous peoples. However, we are not only talking about benefits for Indigenous peoples. We Abya Y News ala �SELf wam to stan to revise the trndmonal, archaic legoslauon. We think ours Is a Constitution that doesn\ respond to this era. this information age. It absolutely does not respond. It benefits only a few groups in power in our country. In this, we have a great backing. h os because of this that we arc now a grc::n pohtical force in our coun· try. Secause there never was one before. all the Ecuadonan peoples have assomolated themselves to this proposal. Before. no polotical pany was capable of doing It, nor did they ever intend to change our country. Therefore. things only changed liule by little. We are going to continue fighting in the Nauonal Congress with or without sup.pon. Obvoously, we are going to look for the necess:>ry suppon in different sectors and progressive poliucal mo,·emcnts. We will buold a polhocal fooce on the parhament so that the interests of the people, and those of the Indigenous peoples. can be defended. What would you say to someone who Ignores the potential benefits of the CONAIE proposals and the general project o f the Pacha.k utikl How would you lnvite other sectors to unite: with P:tcha_ utik? k Our proposal is a national one. although ot has not been finished and presented to the others. What we want Is a nauonal debate. Everyone should particip:ltc in this. First, in our countr)'• we think the changes should be global and structural. The changes can't apply to only a minimal sector or society. one \vith economic or political power. \Ve want all Ecuadorian people to assess actl\'ely panocipatong in the neohberal model. Thos polocy is agaonst the Ecuadorian people. What we want IS to g1''e d1gmty to politics in our countr)'· We thonk the structure and traditional ways of doing politics in our country should be changed. This representative democracy has to transform itself Into a participatory democracy. Could there possibly be equality without participation in Congress? No. Haven't Vol. 10 No. 2 DETERMINATION lndogenous peoples htStoncally been o solated from Congress? I definitely believe that of we don' begin to understand ourselves. in the framework or mutual respect. if we don't begin to be conscious of each sector and it's particularities. our country Is finished. We believe It is necessary ond imponant that everyone have the opponunlty to panlcopate on the benefits tht statt can gl\·c: thtm. Htrt, we are obviously speakong not only of bettcnng the lives in the lndoos and the campesinos. but also of all Ecuador's citizens. On the other hand. we arc called to AND TERRITORY political institutions or the s tate: deputies, advisers. mayors. etc. How do you think this will change Lhe future of the Indigenous movement? I think this question is very important. The Indigenous movement is going through a cruclol stoge, precisely because of our great achievements. First. I would say there are people we have struggled Mth: regional organizations. grassroots organtzattons. provincial organtz.at•ons. communities. And, at least for me. this makes me think the Indigenous movement in Ecuador in general and CONAIE will undergo a great development. "I will continue working on the proposals that come from organizations and not just those from myself and from the National Congress. Proposals from underneath, from the communities, will be delivered to the National Congress. Only like this can we speak from a parliamentary level, instead of an individual one." a great chore. We have to search for an ideological focus point. I beheve the fundamental issue all Ecuadorians have spoken to us about IS odentny. Thos is onother of the cnses we hve \vith. Although in recent years we ho,·c seen an appropriate response to thos problem, there still isn't the rccognotion of human vnlues in ourselves. We arc not going to be able to change politically :md economically because we are living in o global crisis. Thos crisis is the absence of self-recognition. the absence of the recognouon of the human values in one's self. as well as the \oalues of the collecuve group. Therdore. we are also m0\'10& towards thts odea. What the lndogenous movement proposed years ago 1sn't an empty discourse. We believe the resources ror the development of our people are in ourselves. There are various elected Indigenous people who 'vill occu py places in the Second. our fundamental objective wasn't only tO win positions in these last elections at a local. provincial, and national level. Our fundamental objec11\'e was searchang ror a. way to consol· idate our organazatrons. Here l belie,·e we have taken an amponant step. This will serve to strengthen the organizations in their respective levels. We think that if there Is a collective decision our peoples will respond to the correct needs. At least, I personally think I shouldn' seule down and I won't. For example. I will cominue working on the proposals that come from organozatoons and n01 just those from myself and from the N3lional Congress. Proposals from underneath, from the communities. \viii be delivered to the National Congress. Only like this can we speak from a parliamentary level. instead of an individual one. This is what we propose. Because of this. I think it os a dofficult challenge. but we ha,·e to take it on. 't 21 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Pachakutik-Nuevo Pais: Breaking Ground in Ecuadorean Politics Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Pachakutik-Nuevo Pais: Breaking Ground in Ecuadorean Politics Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 18-21 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note Historically, Indigenous leaders have not been elected into national government positions. This article details the election of Luis Macas, and indigenous leader, to the national government and his fight to give indigenous peoples rights. Attachment Title Pachakutik_Nuevo_Pais.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Ecuadorean Politics Election Indigenous Leader http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/f2dda1bd26659f3c2dc59a3dd3f7403f.pdf 7e83c327307458ad96b323e7d65c97da PDF Text Text E c o-Jusrt c E A Poisoned Culture: the case of the Indigenous Huichol Farm Workers + by Patricio Dlaz-Romo and Samuel Solino~Aivorez 'I I'I I Migrant workers and pesticides Knous mdscators of the su~uon which nug.runt \\'Orkcrs tncounttr In 1993 1t w.tS esumated that to each plaming season opproxnnatel)• 170,000 Oeld workers Qrlive m the valleys of Sinaloa. 1\n average cl 5.000 agricultural workers $Uffer from tOXtCpoiSOning 3$0 result o( the handling or. or prolonged t.'q)OSUr< to, pesll<:tdes that •rc used m cuJu,-.uon Olthe 35.000 •81'<"'hur>l labor<rs that worked m rhe S.n QUIImn Valley of B>J• C.hlom~a m 1996, 70"m:rc lod1gtnou.s Artl<l< 20o( the 11.0 Convenuon 160 emphatically calls for signatory govenuntms 10 do ~urc. because the contractOr$ do not pro-cvcr)•thmg possible to prc:v-em workers ,;de them with >.1fcty cqUtpmem, and from being subject to contractual work· btouse tht condtuon.s 10 which they lave: lng conditions dangerous to the.r htol!h. and work m the a~trotndiiS(rto! fidds pn:- panteularly ·as a con5"CIU<n<:e of their \'rolS them. lor example. from bathmg <xpo<ure to pcsuctdcs or othtr dangerous and from "-ashlng thetr clothes after subsl•nces•. bemg m contact wtth pesundes recently •PI>lied or wuh n:stdual pes!ICldes. Accordmg to researchers. the maJOrity uf the Indigenous m•grnnt workers who The cases of !>ot~nlng and dearh work m lhe agroindustrinl fields m north· (rom peSI.icidc.-s count among the most ern Mex1co are: MiXIC'COS. lflqms. 3nd ~ exposure to pesll<1dcs 1S one or the greatest nsks wt lndtgenous mtgrant workers face. In MeXICO, the tobacco oompanies with agro1ndustnal cuhh~tlon usc enormous quantlllcs of these danger· ous agrochc.mtcal produce$ ,OJithout com· plytng wllh the lnternauonal levi I'<Sinctions dCSlgntd tO prot<ct hum:tn hie The lndtgenou$ wori<us •~ esp<· Cllllly vulnerable to the pernlC:tous dfttl-' o( the pesltddes for di\'CI'SC re<~SC>ns, among thent the r..ct that they lack mlor· malton regarding the dongers or expo- 10 Zapotec> from Oaxaca. Nahuas. Munccos and TI•pcnecos from Guerrero and Purh'epechns from Michoac•n. The dcmogn•phlc data indicates a cx~remely serious shuatton According 10 Estel• Guzm~n A)'lllo, women (34%) ond ehtl· dren undtr 12 years o( age 02'4) constt· lUte 66, of the lndtgcnOUS f>bor (c>rce tn tbe ogncuhural regions In northern Mexico Ruth franco. a docror spec1:>lt:• mg m work-related health and the coor· dmator of the Progmm for D•y Loborers o( the IMSS delevtion In Slnalo:t, C51i· mOles th111 25% of rhe 200.000 workers tn the Smalo.1 valleys during the 1995· 1996 ..ason wtre children bctwtcn the agu of 5 •nd H . 01 the t blldrtn from southern Me;aco. 63% •re ht1ed by tntern~td1011c> tn thetr place or ongtn ond the rtSitn the state of Smaloa forty lour per· c<nt of these chtld laborers are female ond Ofty SIX percem male. 55% of the d11ld farm workers ha"e been workmg in the fields (or I to 5 years and 14% for over 5 years At the conclusion of the agrlcultur· al sc;uon, 72, rtturn Wl!h !httr r~mthcs to tht1r rcspecu''t States, 20$, R"m:un in Sm•loa. >nd 9% conunue along •he nug.rant v.'Orktr rome to Other desnna· uons The extenr of the mdtS<:nmlnate use of pesticides has been frequen!ly exposed and dcnaunctd 1 the Mex1a1n prtss.. his n esumJted thai thousands of used contruntrs and tOXIC n:s•ducs that an: gener.lltd by the ann~! use o( upw•rd.s o( 8 mtlhon 1ons o( pt>ttddcs arc cnmmall)• diSposed of tn •d hoc trash btns. channels. drams, mcmer.nors. ;.nd recycled to store dnnk~ fng Willtr The hannfuJ cffCC\S ()[ pt~l· cides on human health t'lnd on the en''l· ronm.ent h:we been dearly docum~med �ECO·J U ST t CE Huichol~s and p~sticides The Huicholes sptak a l~nguage belonging to Lhe uto·:Ul<'«~ linguistic f,tmoly that •lso mdudes N~huad, Hop•. ShMhon<, Comench( .1nd m."Uiy other t.ngwges m a \'liSt lftllon tlut extends nonhward to tht Umt<d Smrs and southward 1nto cenml MexiCO. Some stud~<s est•mate that betwecn 15 and 20 thousand Huicholcs. Inhabit th«:: moun· tams or the Sierrn Madre Occldemal with· in ,, territory that comprises pans of the Mexican SL>t<s of J.•Hseo, Nayam, Oumngo, and lacatcw Ynr oft<r )nr. approxonuttly -10$ of .1l1 Hutchole famJhcs t('.Wt the1r <Jommu· nutes m the dry season 10 find employ· mem. IXX>rly p01d and dnngerous. m the tabat'<o fields of the Nay>lit coast. The <."1mses of this tempornry migmuon stem rrom the socioecononuc Situa.uon or the Indigenous people and from thm ritual c-•ltnd.ar In tht rainy sc~n the llu~tholts tl':l· d1!100>lly culn\'au'd • rombmauon of conl, ch1lt, ~ans. THE "VALUABLE squ:t,.h, 0\nd runa- AND APPRECIAT· ED" HUMAN MERCHANDISE INCLUDES r " n t h Unfonunatel)•, the Mcxlcon govern· mcm $1IC:· PREGNANT WOMEN AND BABIES INCAPABLE OF promotes exactly the oppo- monocultura1 pbnung·by diS· tnbuung hybrid se-eds of com that r<qu~re the usc of pesticides and nnificl:t1 renilizcrs. r<plactng the rn~>ed seeds that CRYING, MUTE v.-trc trodluonally FROM PAIN, WHO used by Huteho!es HAVE RECENTLY BEEN BORN TO •nd other Indigenous ogn· cuhuml peoples. Monocuhure agri· MALNOURISHED culture nnd other MOTHERS modem develop· mC"nlS brt:ak down the lnd•gcnous tn1dmons of coopenmon m tht communal agncultutal work and 1ncr~3.5e.. at an at.vmmg rntt. tht tnci- dcnce or malnutrluon and olcohohsm The mtroducuon Of herbiCides like P~raquat and 2,4·0 gradually destroys commun:~.l farm practices, puts the ht31lh of cult"·ators and th<•r famihu In danger. Vot 11 No.1 and dettnorates ranntng th>l typically occurs on lnllsides. With increasingly fewer opp<Jnunlties to $Uf\•hte in •he mountrtlns, the Hu•eholcs fed forctd to mtgmtc tn $<:1r<h or work '" the tobacco f~tlds '" tht c:oasl.tl pl.lntauons of N'.l)'ant Tht HuiCholts also mtgnte for cultural rta· sons Ncgnn cll•ms that "they ha•·c the rdlgtou; nectSSit)' to vi~n the ocean, :m ancestral female f1gurc associ.1ltd with fenih· 1 3nd t h.c tanh y Once they reach '"" (OJ$[ howt\'<r, thty fmd that tf they don' work m the t.tb<tC<'O plan· HUtcholts and the loetl landowners - the huter Actmg as imermcdlarlcs between the labor force and the ' IHg tobacco c•punl - usually takes place tn the pl.w or the commumues, on the m.11n lughw-.ty•. ur ut the houses of the <mpiO)-trs Som<umes the Hutchol« osk, hesitantly, for .som~ •txtra.s-: a «M31n quantity of tOrttlla.s a da)' per f•m•ly <>r some ration or w:uer. worker< ore these For tho:<t 5Uccted. '' Is grtat ac:c:om· plishmtnt. The r<St wtll ha\'t tO drink water from the 1rngauon uuions, lht.y can- channels deriving not t'ttum home from the S•ntl.tgO to 1hr mountams_· River. one or the most comamtn~t· TabJcco Ius td in M<Xt<O, or bttn grown in from the wells of Nay.tnl \10('-t long tht rtg•on, \\·h•ch before the •mv:tl are also com~nH· of the Sp:mish. nated in th.lt, but It WO\S in the o wing 10 the 1940~ when the 11\tensive usc or tab.lC:c:o market pestictdts tn the took orr ... result zone, thc dongtr· of the Second /kMIIddpiWOIIftJe:hlbli'-'"'-""*" ous agrochtmlals World W•r The ~blto~lo:m. ha,·e k.u:htd Into muntdpalny or the •qu1ftr SantL1go lxcutmla m Naynnt 1s the Me.;..1can eapnnl or tabacOne of the reasons •hat the Hu•cholts oo production. Every year, local l.mdown· contrnct to work in the cuumg (lnd crs mcc1 1n lhcir town plazas to hire the: stringing of tobacco. and not m other Huichole workers and subcontroct them agricultural work, •s because these opera· as a chup labor for« HuJchole workers tions :lrt done tn lht 1.3tt afternoon or are •PP""'I.Itcd because their \\ork wtlh mom1ng. wh(n th~ tempcnnurt ts rnorc the tobacco lea,·cs (hang•ng ond agr<tablt compared wuh '"" h<at or th< bundhng) ts practically an •n nuddle of the d•y Dunng U.. hang1ng and bundling of the lea•·cs one stays The Hu•choles make the Journey from under the shadt or the "branches." Tht the ~1cms unde-r subhuman conduions. apparent 'ldvnmnge of working i1\ the nrrlvtng at the tobacco fields hungry • shade becomes a henlth thr<at when the thirsty ond exhausted. The "v.tlu.lble and Huteholcs arc cutting the moLSt lr:wes apprtdatcd* human mrn-hnndise: and they be<~>me wet from he<td to tot. mcludts preg.nJnt women ;;and tx\b1es Moist slun .•bsorbs pesuodts more •~•ly. lnc.opoblc or ''>'ng. mute from ~n. who Tht \'tT)' DICOCUW ln tob3cco (:aU5($ dun ha'T m:cntly bten bom to malnounshtd imtauons and hl\'es, symptoms whtch, tn mothers or mothers with tuberc:tJlosts the Untttd St>t<>, ha~e bten identified as Vulnemble tlders and t\-tn the ·s~rong" Green Tobacxoo S1ckness. men nrrivt nt these ccntcf"!i' m Wt3k con· dhion, The The children, who actively p.1nlcll)atc ncgotUn1ons belwctn the in the CUl ling of the lea\'eS. art paniculnr· ly susceptible to the harmful effectS of the 11 �Ec o - J u s TI CE pesticides and the nicotint. It is considered ..easy.. for them to work in the first ph>SC of ~1e cutting because they can gather the leaves at the base of the plams. Mexican government's health and envi· ronmental Institutions have taken the migmnt workers, in the Indigenous com· munities of1he Hukhole sierra, a.~ well as necessary measures to pro•ect the h~altl> i!'1 the principle municipalities of the tobacco zone in the coast of Nayarit. In these workshops they showed, in both furrows, cuning of the wol'kcrs that handle these toxic substances. The endemic malnutrition the leave-s. their bodies are smeared with that the Huicholc populftlion suffers Huichola and Spanish, the sticky gum t~nd resin that covtr$ the tobacco. At the same time. they inhale becomes more ~cute \vith the rise in aleo· As they work along t~e the video and absorb the residues of the toxic pesticides that hove been applied to the planes. holism. which increases during the work· ing season on the coast. This in wm Huicho!es and Pesticides. whtch includes the tesumonies of Indigenous and mesti· zo farm workers who have suffered from oggnwmes 1he tox icological problem. problems of pesticide poisoning. The families li\'C and sleep in boxes, or under blankets or plastic. beneath the T h e Huicholes and Pesticides Project •s smngs of tobacco leaves that are drying. In their makeshift shelters, they try to protect themselves from the inclement health sun during the day and from the wet cold between at night , themsth•cs undertaking a study exposing in the process to the toxic substances that cover References: latrines. Even the food is cooked beneath the hanging strings of S101emenrs by Diego Ag<ciiM Acuna. leadu of rhe Narional Union of Wag< Field 111>rkus (CTM). El Univusal, tobacco. Oceasionolly the Hmchoks use the out p."l.ying notice to the gmvc dongc•-s that this represents. since the majority cannot read the mslrtiCtions on the labels which may be wriuen in English. Other wnes 1hey bring these containers back home to the mountains as ..practic-al souvenirs"'. Pesuctdes 1\re poisons spcctfically designed to kill. They arc toxins that con· taminate and degrade- everything wilh which they come into oomaet; there are no remedies or cures against them :md. contrary to their manufacturers· clairns, they are destroying the cycles of life and the ecosystem of 1he planet and Its inhabitants. Nowmlxr 9rl•, 1993. Pmonal communfcatlon <>/ Ramiro CMd"" orwkl the ogo ol I 2ci!Ollilllte 3~ of A1't<>yo Scpul"edc1, (ltlvisor lO ""lt>digM!M la1>x (l)((t in ""o¢clltlif0f lh< Ncuional PtogY<m~ of togioos ol N011htm H•xico. Agricultural WOrkers. \\~th the Surerary of Social Devdopmtnt. Magcltdrna Gomrz. I"dfan Rlglu$. Uaurc prcs.:rued ar Indigenous and mestizo workers the 1691h Convention of tht lntttnationaf designed in coordination with the Organitcnion of \\1>rit. INI. 1991. Pg,78. La Pesticide Education Center of San jornada,july 22. 1996. Esrela G~ttman Frnncisco. California and lnch.tdes col lab· Ayala. Healrh a1 worl.: rhe case of rhe agrioration from the University of cultural workers, rtported in La)ornada. Guadalajara and the Autonomous Ap•il 19rh. 1997. pg.46. Excelsior, University of Nayarit. The study began in Ftlmcary l71h. 1996. El Universal, july 28, 1995 and includes perfomting two blood 1996. juan Negrin. The liuichol Cr<<llion of an:)lyses to dc-tennine the levels of cry· rhe World. Yam Tablas by j<>s< Bcnll<t throcyle chohnesterase. The pesticides Sanch<t and Turukila Cm·rfllo. E. B.Crocker Neither the national and tmnsnatton· al companies that manufacture pesticides. nor the tobacco producers. nor the 12 '11 inhibn the activit)' of this neurotransmitter. producing various effects on oneS Arr Gallery. Sacramcnro, CA. health. including death. As of this wming 111t outh01s work wiJb Jht HukhM•s oM Ptstitide1 Projttl in ll.~rico Gly, Mtt.K(I. For mote inf01mo6on1 plt-~m con/tXt: Hukholes y Plogllitidos~ (mjfio (txtt lot 111·9, 11560Mtxko, Mexk•. (·m1l;l: biDk@moil.inltmtJ.com.mr the study is :u the stage of data analysis in collaboration whh imponant Mexic~m non govcmmcmal organ1zations dedicated 10 the epidemiological investigation. 4 Urgent need for an investigation the large pharmaceutical companies and tob.1cco grow· crs Olre "iolating rights to infomlation and health and, in the process, are polluung land. rivers. aqu1fers, and finally the ocean. whom the the Sea" Haramarn. water, nor any empty ptSticide con· tainers w caiT)' their drmking water, w1th· in the agroindustrial fields. Huicholcs cali "Our Mother of the lca,,es. Ther:e is no potable drainage, There is no doubt that, with the massi\'C use of pesticades ll<tween 1996 and 1997. the team working on the Huicholes and Pesucides project produced vt~riO\IS mfonnational workshops on the human rights of Abya Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 11, no. 1 (Spring 1998) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Poisoned Culture: the Case of the Indigenous Huichol Farm Workers Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Patricia Diaz-Romo Samuel Salinas-Alvarez Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring 1998 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Poisoned Culture: the Case of the Indigenous Huichol Farm Workers Item Type Journal Article Author Patricia Diaz-Romo Samuel Salinas-Alvarez Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 10-12 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring 1998 Language English Abstract Note Exposure to pesticides is dangerous and potentially deadly to Indigenous migrant workers. The Huichole people, being forced to leave their communities during dry seasons to find employment, suffer from farming practices and toxins. Attachment Title A_Poisoned_Culture_the_Case_of_the_Indigenous_Huichol_Farm_Workers.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Farming Huichol Mexico Toxins http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/dc1ed82ddcbe1ca07bb9332d9aaddfd7.pdf d6a25b1d5d27cf060042a5433b5aa6a0 PDF Text Text 1000 INDIANS MARCH TO PROTEST ARMY'S KILLING OF COMMUNITY LEADERS (Colombia) last November the principal Indian leader of the Arhuaoo lndlans, Luis Napolc6n Torres, his brother, Angel Maria Torres, and another Arhuaoo, Hugues Chaparro were travelling by bus from the local city ol Valleclupar, the Colombian capital of Bogotll. They were going to protest to government authorities about anny and police harassment of their communities. At a stop along the way, ncar the town of Curumani, soldiers forced the three off the bus and took them away. The bus driver reported this to the local police but they appear to have done little o r nothing. Two weeks later the Indians' bodies were discovered in three different places- all had been severely tortured. About a thousand Indians later marched to Valleclupar in protest and to take the bodies bad< to the mountains for traditional funeral rites. Two of the dead were traditionalmmno (shamans) and all were highly respected Indian leaders. On the same day as the three leaders disappeared, another Arhuaoo, Vicente Villafafle, and his brother had their house searched for anns- none were found. They were taken to the army base in Valledupar where they were beaten and tortured. Two days later, November 30th, one of Gran Chaco Indigenous Peoples Call for Land Commission (Bolivia) Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco region of the Bolivian Amazon have requested the Bolivian government to establish a commission to deman:ate their territory. In an open letter to President Jaime Paz Zamora, the Mataoo and Tapiet~ peoples, who live on the banks of the Plloornayu River, Informed the President that they conducted a general assembly last November (1990) in Villamontes. At the end of the gathering. they issued a resolution calling on the President to take immediate measures to halt the injustices and abuses they are suffering at the hands of colonists. The resolution denounces the " ... total paralysis of our attempts to acquine property rights and land tiUes, a process that has been dctained by the National Agrarian Reform. We demand to be treated the same way as our Sirion6 brothels and sisters at lbiato. The Sirion6 have been able to press for the approval ol Supreme Decree# 22609 which declares as 'indigenous territory' the lands they inhabit." Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco explain Vol6 Nos 1&2 them was taken by army helicopter to the Indian community of Vlndivameina (Santo Domingo) where soldjers searched houses, shot their rilles into the air, and stole food from the school and equipment from the health post. The Colombian army views all peasant and Indian communities as potential guerrilla collaborators. In other areas of Colo mbia, guerrillas themselves have killed Indian leaders who refuse to affiliate with their particular antigovernment group of which there are several. In many areas the Indians suffer at the hands of both the rebel and government forces. A Colombian court has begun an investigation into the killings but this is unlikely to bring any results without a show of support for the Indians and protests at the violations of their rights. Please write to the President of Colombia, protesting the army's killing and torture of lndlan people. Senor Presidente Dr Cesar Goviria, Presidente de lo Republica Coso de Noriiio, Carrero 8 No 7-26 Bogot6, COlOMBIA \,~·-:........ -' . that the agrarian reform paper work has been suspended. They arc accusing the government of stalling the approval of previous documents. The Mataco and Tapiet~ said that in July of 1980, agrarian reform officers instructed them to proceed with the land tiUe paper work and that native authorities visited the Indian commu.nities to explain the objectives. With economic aid from the Swedish Mission in Bolivia, along with the approval ol the agrarian reform officers, they Initiated the paper work along legal path$. They paid the required fees to the local judge Hilda Palavlsino, a SECretary, and a land surveyor. The local judge is now advising cattle ra.nchers and pits them against the Indians. She has been responsible for the legal curtailment of paper worlc that was to benefit the Mataco. In the meantime, the Mataco and Tapiet~ say that the governmental commission must be formed by the Ministry of Peasant Affairs, the Indigenist Institute, CIOOB (Indigenous Confederation of Eastern Bolivia) and representatives of the Mataco and Tapict~. They warn against colonizers encroaching on their lands. They also denounce Judge Hilda Palavlsino for bias towards catUe ranchers because of her friendship and familial ties. "'four petition falls through, and is not resolved favorably and immediately, the Indigenous Peoples of the Gran Chaco will adopt other de facto measures," they warn. 19 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 6, nos. 1&amp;2 (spring/summer 1991) 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 Gran Chaco Indigenous People Call For Land Commission Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1991 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Gran Chaco Indigenous People Call For Land Commission Item Type Journal Article Volume 6 Issue 1,2 Pages 19 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1991 Language English Abstract Note Amazon peoples in Bolivia want a land commission. Attachment Title abyayala_v06n01_02_p019.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bolivia Bolivian Amazon Gran Chaco http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/bd3ffbc0c4f790c0085b5f74769ee5c6.pdf 5b7341f908390f87f36673132f1c8d35 PDF Text Text C 0 N F R 0 N T_:_.!:.....:~_.::,_,'-"- T U R A L :..._: I N G C u L-' E X T I N C T I ., N' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0'---'-' New and Old Disease Threats in the Peruvian Amazon: The Case of the Urarina by Ritchie Witzig An estimated 90% of Indigenous people in the Americas died after exposure to novel infectious diseases brought by Europeans- and over half the Indigenous groups once present in the Americas have become extinct. Biological extinction mandates cultural extinction, although in the modem era cultural loss may preclude physical extinction. Isolated Amazonian peoples that have managed to keep their culture and language intact remain at risk of biological and cultural extinction. The Urarina of the Peruvian Amazon are one group still struggling with increasing threats to their physical survival as a people. he Umrina have lived in the Chambim and Urituyacu river basins for at least half a millennium. The word ·umrina" is thought to be derived from the Quechua root words of "people" and "below"-meaning the "people from below." The)' call themselves "KacM," meaning "the people." The Umrina have remained relatively isolated due to the remoteness of their settlements and by choice. The blackwater river basins where the)' live are supplied by a giant T Rircltie IVitzig is an irifeuious diseases physician currently direc1ing medical projects in 1he Amazon and Andean regions of Peru. 6 aguajal. or swamp, providing insulation from an)• incursions from the nonh. east. and west. The Umrina are ecologically flexible, able lO live both on the low-nutritional blackwater rivers or in the rainforest. They have resisted missionary influ. ence and cultuml integmtion (from colonists). All these facwrs may be the reason the Umrina speak a unique language, and have survived as a distinct people. However, in the present their traditional territory has been invaded, and they have yet to affiliate with any Indigenous rights group. Not surprisingly. the Peruvian government has not officially registered their lands. Incursions of "foreigners" (non-Urarinas) intO Urarina traditional lands are currently from river Abya Y News ala �CONFRONTING traders. loggers. colonistS. oil explorntion teams. and recently. "drug· voyeur· tounsts. All of these groups ha'-e brought s•gn•fic:~nt dlS<asc pressure on the Uranna that threatens thear way of life and Sul'\ival. Rl\'er trnders. loggers. and colomStS commg from lqunos to explon tht Ur.mn• and thear land for natural resources are known to ha"e transport· ed two measles ep1dem1cs m the latt 1980s and 1991. They cenamly brought the cholera ep1dem1c of September 1991 and October 1993 upri"er from tqu1tos. as well as dengue r.-·er and different strams of g;~Strom­ testinal and respiratory d1seases to which the Urarina have had no preVIous immunological exposure. The traders and colonists also bnng m poor nutri· tiona! quality foods such as nee and sugar that arc altering the d1ct in some Urarina villages. The Urarina tr:Jditlonol diet is high in protein which prc"ents malnutrition. even under the stress of several infections. Once their diet includes more refined foods. malnutrition and consequently disease morbid ity (the rate of Incidence of a dl.sease) and mortality will prob.1bly increase. The oil explorntion and dnlling teams are from Petroperu facihtlcs bordering Urnrina territory. but their personnel arc imponed from \"Orious areas in Peru. An oil pipehne crosses under the Chambira nver JUSI before the connuence of the Tignllo. on llS way from Trompeteros on the Comentes to S:lramuro on the Maral\on. The p1pehne then coursts across the Andes to th< Pacific. The northern secuon of th1s pipehne crosses Uranna l•nd JUSI nonh of the agua)<JI (S\\"Omp) suppl)•ng the \Vater lOr thear nvers. Pcuoperu has planned a huge Chambu-a 011 drlihng project tn the center of Uranna land as soon as they rece1ve stanup moneys The cultural. b1olog>eal. and ccol<>g~col effectS on the Uranru~ '"II hkely be devastating. 01l dnlhng teams are renowned ror transportang new strams of malaria and sexually tr:msnuned diS· eases mto temtoncs they explon. The Urarina do not marry outside thear Vol. 10No. 2 CULTURAL EXTINCTION group and se><-ually transmitted diseases are not yet a problem among them. New StrainS or malart.1, however. are CUrrtnt· ly dcc1mat1ng the Urarina peoples. In the past twoyears.twoAmeric:~ns ha"e amnged "Jungle ecology tours· that mclude a two wetk trip up the ., Amazon and Marafton ri\'ers. and recently the lower Chamb1ra nver. Dunng the n'·er tour. a ·shaman· from tquuos manufactures the sacred halluCinog<niC ayahuasca (Banistcriop<is caapt) for the tounStS to dnnk and ·expcntnee the JUngle hke the ru~ti,-es." Fmally. they am"< m Uranna villages to "look at the lnd1ans" and take pictures Right after a tour mthe spring of 1995. most or the children m one ,;llage which had been "isned c:~me down with a rcs1>1ratory ailment requiring antibi- l 1 Petropcu operations on the Maral'lon. otics to recO\•cr. This infection was most likely SUI>phed by these "drug-voyeur" tourists rrom overseas. The Urarina are alanned at this invasion. especially as they know the tour operators arc anned with weapons and Hike drugs, effectively mocking the Urarina religious ceremonies. The affected ,;llages organized to write n compktint lO the P eruvian Ministries of the Interior and Tourism in lqunos. and the rlmericon Embassy in L1ma. demandmg that the indi\iduals respons1ble be barred from their lands. In August 1992. a medical sun-ey was IOHlally conducted in Urarina territory As the Urarina had pre\'iously ne\'er seen a ph)'Stcian, 1t took eight days before a four-year-old girl was brought forward 1n critic:~l condition suffenng from malaria. amotbic dysen· tery. and three l)'ptS of wonn mfect1ons. After she reco\'ered. commumty members were Interested m complementing thear 0\\11 soph1st1cated tthnobotanical med1c1nes to prc\'ent morbidity and monaht)' from""''' d1seases. These maJ. ad1es mcluded mostly recently introduced d1seases. such as the deadly cholera and ma.lana. Uranna communi· tits suffered gra"ely from the introduction of cholera into the Chambira river system m September 1991 (cholera \\'35 remtrodueed into South Americ:~ in january 1991). Some communities ... they arrive in Urarina villages to "look at the Indians" and take pictures. Right after a tour in the spring of 1995, most of the children in one village which had been visited came down with a respiratory ailment requiring antibiotics to recover. 7 �CONFRONTING CULTURA L Children are especially at risk of diseases like malaria. reported population losses of up to 20%, an incredibly high population mortality rate even rrom this well· known disease that can kill in less than 12 hours. A second epidemic of cholera in the Chambira with significantly less monality followed in October 1993 after village heahh workers had been trained to treat cholera. Urarina communities also suffer from endemic vi\'W: malaria. which still produces significant mol'bidity and contributes to mortality especially among children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Other important illnesses documented in Urarina cotnmunities in the initial 1992 survey were helminth infections. dysentery (amoebic and bacillary). and viral and bacterial respiratory infections. After the initial medical survey was performed, the Urarina communities elected 3 village health workers (VHWs) who were then trained to diagnose and treat the most common medical illnesses. The VHW communities were provided medical supplies for their village as well as any surrounding Urarina comrnunity in need. VH\oVs and the Urarina people are encouraged to con· tinue using and developing their own medical system for r nany ailments 8 EXTINCTION which it can ameliorate. further medical surveys from August to October 1993, February to April 1994, January to April 1995, and October to December 1995 revealed progressive disease threats. furt hered training of the VHWs. and replenished medical supplies. When the second wave of cholera came up the Chambira, the VHWs were ready to give oral rehydration solutions and tetracycline to the sick. Only one fatal case was reponed from the VHW villages after that outbreak. The most recent disease th reat to the Urarina has been the deadly Plasmodium falcipan~m malaria strain. Previously confined to small areas of Peru. in the last 5 years this strain has spread across most of northeastern Peru. h first appeared in the Urituyacu river system 2 years ago, and spread into the Chambira river from the Tigrillo river in 1995. The Urarina region has been the most affected. The malaria research lab in lquitos has identified a staggering 79% of all P. falciparum cases in July. August. and September 1995 to have originated rrom the r nain river systems in which the Urarina live (Chambira, Urituyacu. and Corricmes). However. these figures still underestimate the severity of the new malarial suain on the Urarina. since most of their cases ar c never reported . A further p roblem is that the new strain has grade II (two) drug resistance. While colonists on the lower Chambira and Tigrillo rivers arc seeking the most effective drug trcatrnent at medical posts on the Marat'\on and Amazon rivers, it is unavailable to the Urarina because of logistical and financial reasons. To illustrate the seriousness of the epidemic, the Urarina village of Tagual had 6 people (5 children and one pregnant woman) out of 80 die or the new strain the week before the last medical survey and supply trip arrived. All other Urarina communities experienced monalit)r from the new strain, ahhough at a lower rnte. What is to become of the Urarina? The most negative spin on the future must be confronted as a potential reali- ty. If the past is an)' measure regarding Indigenous peoples in Peru. the govern- ment will attempt to assimilate them into Peruvian society. Young Urarina men, for example, will be drafted to do their mandatory military service ror • fatherland" Peru. Colonists will continue invading Urarina territory. Petropent will drill in the Chambira oil field. Ecological destruction and introduced diseases will gradually decimate them. Urarina mao dying of cholera, treated for the d isease just in time. Many people do not survive this treatable illness. for the optimistic spin, the Urarina could remain where they are, in their own territory and self·sufficient. Since Peru is a signatory of the International Labor Organization Convention 169 which e£rectively advocates for the defense of Indigenous cultures, it could legally recognize their territory. This would lead to their self-detem>ination. and the control of their own destiny. Thankfully. a few optimistic signs have emerged for the Urarina. First, Peruvian anthropologists have succeed· ed in petitioning the Peruvian Department of Agricuhure on their Abya Yala News �CONFRONTING behalf to conduct a population survey, the first step necessary for land titling. The survey is being conducted by the Peruvian NGO CEDIA (Centro Para el Desarrollo del lndlgena Amaz6nico). The s11rvcy started in November 1995. with expected completion in late 1996 or early 1997. However. this is only a start. With the odds stacked against them, the Urarina will likely ne<!d political support from outside Peru or they will join the long line of extinct cultures and peoples left behind by the ongoing colonization of this continent. 1' CULTURAL EXT I NCTION Map showing Urarina territOI)' in the blackwater systems of the Chambira and Urituyacu. The rivers drain from a swamp to the north, helping to isolate the Ucarina. Thanks to Rafad M<za, !..dis Ri\•era Chdi'<Z, )ost Morosco. jotge Quintana Zurita. Luis Icomcna, and Massitl Astendos Linares for their comribulions ro Urarina stlf-dtttnnfnation and d1e Urarina medical project To call aw:ntion to and protctl d1t Urarina~ territorial iruc:grity: \\~tt the Pr'tZ.itlent of Ptnl, Alberto Fujimori, urging him to secur~ the Urarina and other Indigenous peoples' tenitorial rights and to stop destruaive~ invasive tourism into Indigenous peoples communities. Send your letters to Ministerio de Ia Presidencia, -1297 Paseo de lc! Repti.bliat, Uma 1, Peru. To proUGl Indigenous peoples from importtd diseases: If you ar< working with isolated lndigtiiOIIS peoples (aruhropologists. l1uman riglus workers. ttc.), please co>ifin" that bo<h you and your local guides ha\'t all tile ncU$Sar)' \'DC· cinations and prophylactic medications. A.ny ptfSCn panicipating in rlfe project who is curn:ntly Ill should dtl>er b< left lxfli,d, or the project should lx delayed until that person has r<eovcn:d. 8AAZil If you a•• engaging in e<Olowism, please do 1101 enroll in •exotic'" tou~ pmmising to mttl isolat<d p<oples. Then: is no advantage for them to meet you. Tl1e tour opemtors arc in business to makt money. Tour operators l1a\'e no incentive to P'~'·tnt diSCQS( or impto\'e httdth among thes< peoples. Please Inform local Indigenous organizations or 01hcr adequate cnririts of tour operacotS operating u.ndcr such co11ditions. Vol. 10 No.2 i i ·Map Areas oil operation contracts and areas d irectly operated by Petroleos del Peru: Blod< 8 falls directly on top of the Urarina's territOI)'. 9 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New and Old Disease Threats in the Peruvian Amazon: The Case of Urarina Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ritchie Witzig Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title New and Old Disease Threats in the Peruvian Amazon: The Case of Urarina Item Type Journal Article Author Ritchie Witzig Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 6-9 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note Since the first Europeans came to the West, the Indigenous peoples have dwindled due to warfare, but more importantly, biological warfare. This article details the struggles of the Urarina people of Peru as the try to maintain their isolation from the outside world as to avoid biological deterioration, as well as cultural deterioration. Attachment Title New_and_Old_Disease_Threats_in_the_Peruvian_Amazon.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Cultural Extinction Disease Indigenous Peoples Peruvian Amazon http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/09d9e14e5bfca58697c46e710e407521.pdf d6a25b1d5d27cf060042a5433b5aa6a0 PDF Text Text 1000 INDIANS MARCH TO PROTEST ARMY'S KILLING OF COMMUNITY LEADERS (Colombia) last November the principal Indian leader of the Arhuaoo lndlans, Luis Napolc6n Torres, his brother, Angel Maria Torres, and another Arhuaoo, Hugues Chaparro were travelling by bus from the local city ol Valleclupar, the Colombian capital of Bogotll. They were going to protest to government authorities about anny and police harassment of their communities. At a stop along the way, ncar the town of Curumani, soldiers forced the three off the bus and took them away. The bus driver reported this to the local police but they appear to have done little o r nothing. Two weeks later the Indians' bodies were discovered in three different places- all had been severely tortured. About a thousand Indians later marched to Valleclupar in protest and to take the bodies bad< to the mountains for traditional funeral rites. Two of the dead were traditionalmmno (shamans) and all were highly respected Indian leaders. On the same day as the three leaders disappeared, another Arhuaoo, Vicente Villafafle, and his brother had their house searched for anns- none were found. They were taken to the army base in Valledupar where they were beaten and tortured. Two days later, November 30th, one of Gran Chaco Indigenous Peoples Call for Land Commission (Bolivia) Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco region of the Bolivian Amazon have requested the Bolivian government to establish a commission to deman:ate their territory. In an open letter to President Jaime Paz Zamora, the Mataoo and Tapiet~ peoples, who live on the banks of the Plloornayu River, Informed the President that they conducted a general assembly last November (1990) in Villamontes. At the end of the gathering. they issued a resolution calling on the President to take immediate measures to halt the injustices and abuses they are suffering at the hands of colonists. The resolution denounces the " ... total paralysis of our attempts to acquine property rights and land tiUes, a process that has been dctained by the National Agrarian Reform. We demand to be treated the same way as our Sirion6 brothels and sisters at lbiato. The Sirion6 have been able to press for the approval ol Supreme Decree# 22609 which declares as 'indigenous territory' the lands they inhabit." Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco explain Vol6 Nos 1&2 them was taken by army helicopter to the Indian community of Vlndivameina (Santo Domingo) where soldjers searched houses, shot their rilles into the air, and stole food from the school and equipment from the health post. The Colombian army views all peasant and Indian communities as potential guerrilla collaborators. In other areas of Colo mbia, guerrillas themselves have killed Indian leaders who refuse to affiliate with their particular antigovernment group of which there are several. In many areas the Indians suffer at the hands of both the rebel and government forces. A Colombian court has begun an investigation into the killings but this is unlikely to bring any results without a show of support for the Indians and protests at the violations of their rights. Please write to the President of Colombia, protesting the army's killing and torture of lndlan people. Senor Presidente Dr Cesar Goviria, Presidente de lo Republica Coso de Noriiio, Carrero 8 No 7-26 Bogot6, COlOMBIA \,~·-:........ -' . that the agrarian reform paper work has been suspended. They arc accusing the government of stalling the approval of previous documents. The Mataco and Tapiet~ said that in July of 1980, agrarian reform officers instructed them to proceed with the land tiUe paper work and that native authorities visited the Indian commu.nities to explain the objectives. With economic aid from the Swedish Mission in Bolivia, along with the approval ol the agrarian reform officers, they Initiated the paper work along legal path$. They paid the required fees to the local judge Hilda Palavlsino, a SECretary, and a land surveyor. The local judge is now advising cattle ra.nchers and pits them against the Indians. She has been responsible for the legal curtailment of paper worlc that was to benefit the Mataco. In the meantime, the Mataco and Tapiet~ say that the governmental commission must be formed by the Ministry of Peasant Affairs, the Indigenist Institute, CIOOB (Indigenous Confederation of Eastern Bolivia) and representatives of the Mataco and Tapict~. They warn against colonizers encroaching on their lands. They also denounce Judge Hilda Palavlsino for bias towards catUe ranchers because of her friendship and familial ties. "'four petition falls through, and is not resolved favorably and immediately, the Indigenous Peoples of the Gran Chaco will adopt other de facto measures," they warn. 19 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 6, nos. 1&amp;2 (spring/summer 1991) 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 1000 Indians March To Protest Army's Killing of Community Leaders Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1991 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title 1000 Indians March To Protest Army's Killing of Community Leaders Item Type Journal Article Volume 6 Issue 1,2 Pages 19 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1991 Language English Abstract Note The Colombian Army discriminates against indians and calls them possible guerilla collaborators. Attachment Title abyayala_v06n01_02_p019.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Arhuaca Colombia paramilitary attacks http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/9e25b58b3ea3f6bf64774513d5bb9a50.pdf 575f00a4701652c8d0f3ed317e5af682 PDF Text Text _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __;~~ S E L_cF DETERMINATION AND TERRITORY Indigenous Peoples and Peasants of Bolivia Press Government for Solutions ~ s the month of September brings the spirit of spring to the Andes, Indigenous organizations have again challenged the neoliberal government of President S~nchez de Lozada and Aymara vice-president 0\rdenas. The call to march to La Paz by Indigenous peoples follows governmental failure to implement previously signed decrees in favor of Indigenous peoples--a Slate version of the ancient dictum, "I obey but I do not comply." The government has obstructed the application or laws and delayed measures aimed at solving the problems over Indigenous territories. The main demand of the march is to enact at least nine Decrees signed by the Government after the massive Indigenous peoples' march of close to 1 million to La Paz in 1990, and to have ntral laborers integrated into the General Labor Law Indigenous leader Marcial Fabricano, representative of CIDOB (Confederation of Indigenous peoples of Bolivia) called for the march. He also organized the 1991 "March for Territory and Dignity." joining Mr. Fabricano in the organizing process are Roman Loayza, representative of the CSUTCB, the national peasant confederation and Modesto Condori, representing CSCB, an organization of landless peasants also known as "colonizers." It is the first time, Indigenous peoples, peasants, and landless rural workers have come together in a strong A coalition. Urban workers, who have fared poorly because of neoliberal policies brought by governing parties MNR (Nationalist Revolutionary Movement) and MRTK (Revolutionary Movement Tupaq Katari), have lent their active solidarity. The Decrees in question, which agreed to grant rights over land, should Vol.10 No.2 have created Indigenous territories for the Siriono Indigenous peoples of the lsiboro National Park , Secure, Pillon, Chiman, Tim, Araona, Moseten, Chiman, Yuqi. Chiquitano, and \>/eenhayek (Mataco), all located in the eastern Amazon region. Their noninforcement prompted the march, as well as more ongoing problems no different from similar areas other nationstates share in the Amazon basin. Ranchers, lumber companies, miners, and landless peasants consider the Amazon ·an empty area," lawless., and ideal for "colonizing." Indigenous peoples have worked to defend their rights coordinating themselves nationally and forging international alliances to denounce this situation. Ranchers and landowners in the area continue to benefit from the conditions or lawlessness, and are actively pressuring the government to declare these lands (and territories) "negotiable" at market prices. The march constitutes a strong indictment against President Sanchez de Lozada's administration regarding the environment, biodiversity, and land and territorial management. Recent statistics published in Bolivia by LlDEMA (Environmental Defense League), demonstrate that the rate of deforestation has increased to unprecedented levels, as well as the percentage of national territory adversely affected by soil erosion. President Sanchez de Loz.ada, whose administration is plagued b)• inefficiency, has answered by menacing the marchers to postpone a debate over a law drafted by the National Agrarian Reform Institute, lNRA-Iikely due to strong pressures from ranchers and agroindustries whose interest he strongly supports. Indigenous peoples conflicts in Boli\•ia have been widespread since the election of President Sanchez de Lozada in July 1993. His administration has seen the return of old forms of rural labor enslavement and debt peonage in cattle ranches and other estates in the Departments of Chuquisaca, Beni, Santa Cntz, and Tarija (Chaco). There have been no significant actions taken by his administration to eliminate such illegal practices, although many Indigenous nations, such as the Guaran, have publici)• denounced it within the last four years. Practically all the well-known Indigenous peoples such as the Yuqui, Moseten, Chiquitano, Araona, Guaran, Chiman, and Weenhayek. have persistently endured physical abuse, enslavement, forced prostitution, debt-peonage, and the theft or their wages and lands. Long marches are a recent strategy by rural inhabitants to press for their human rights in Bolivia. This 1996 march differs from recent ones because, rather than simply complain, it explains Indigenous peoples' overdue demands. The Bohian case, amidst those of the other Amazonian countries, is another example where governmental measures could stop the environmental collapse this area is currently undergoing, Indigenous peoples in the area have a long-term commitment to restore this forest, but not when under heavy pressures from non-sustainable forms or land management. Obviously, land tenure laws cannot be implemented without the input or peasant and Indigenous peoples' organizations. Although the Sanchez de Lozada administration ran and enacted a Popular Participation Law, little has advanced in tenns or participation, and most decisions in ract continue to exclude Indigenous peoples' large representative confederations . ... 27 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Indigenous Peoples and Peasants of Bolivia Press Government for Solutions Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Indigenous Peoples and Peasants of Bolivia Press Government for Solutions Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 27 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the struggle of the Indigenous peoples of Bolivia as they seek to be treated with dignity in the nation they live, but separated as their own culture. Attachment Title Indigenous_Peoples_and_Peasants_of_Bolivia_Press_Government_for_Solutions.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bolivia Indigenous Peoples Self Determination and Territory http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/702e80f4fdf97a36a4cc23b6c8867801.pdf 19d74c01fd6343d75021caa2c76f7700 PDF Text Text Flu Threatens to Annihilate the Nukak (Colombia) One of Colombia's last nomadic peoples, the Nukak, are being decimated by outside diseases. 1lleir numbers have already been brought danger· ously low by continual attacks from colonists and coca grower$. Over 100 Nukak have died from flu over the last three years. Now their children are threatened by cerebral malaria • which is usually fatal. As one of Colombia's last nomadic tnbal peoples, the Nukalc's future depends on their land being legally recogJiizcd and colonization halted. But the Colombian Government has not recognized 90% of their land, and taltcn no steps to protect the Nukak from hostile invasions. 1lle Nukak have had little non-Indian contact. What contact they have had has proved devastating. With a population of around 1100, the tribe cannot afford more losses. In 1987 approximately20Nukak were attacked and killed by colonists in the north of their territory. 1lle survivors of the massacre fled to the south. deep into the heart of their rainforest lands. At the same time, another group had been attacked by coca growers. 1lle survivors of these two groups joined up and emerged out of the forest on the outskirts of the town of Calamar. However any Nukak who had lived in the area were killed off by colonists during the 1940's rubber boom. It seems that other Nukak had been shot at by the Colombian army from the air; they were mistaken for coca growers or left-wing guerillas. Meanwhile 20 Nukak children had been stolen by colorusts to work as unpa;d laborers. 1lle disoriented survivors of the 1987 massacre· mostly women and children • only spoke Nukak. so could not speak with the townspeople about the attacks. 1lley were unused to life outside the rainforest and became depressed and sick. A missionary from the extremist USbased organization, New Tribes Mission (NTM), arrived, claiming to speak Nukak.lt then emerged that N1M (whose activities amongst tribal people worldwide have done untold damage) had had a base in the north of the Nukak lands for at least 12 years. 18 1lle Colombian goverruncnt's response to the Nukak's plight has been totally unacceptable. Despite protests, the government new some of the Nukak back to the New Tribes Mission base.1lley were already infected with the flu virus after living in Calamar. 1lle Nukak have no resistance to this new disease and no way of treating it. At least 109Nukak have died as it has spread through their territory. 1lley were returned from the NTM base to their forest homes with no medical care and no protection from further attacks. As well as the fust cases of CErebral malaria in children living near the NTM base, cholera has also appeared in the region. 1lle Nukak traditionally live In the headwaters of the lnfrlda and Papunaua rivers and the southern basin of the River Cuaviare. 1lle Nukak will only survive If their rights to all their lands are fuUy recognized and properly enforced. 1lle Colombian government must also initiate a health project for the Nukak. Please write courteous letters urging the Colombian government to tiUe aU of the Nukak's lands to them. an area of approximately 1 million hectares in Cuaviare province. The government must ensure that there is no further colonization ofNukak lands. A properly funded health project must be initiated, to allow small medical teams to treat the Nukak before more of them die. Every effort must be made to recover those Nukak children who have been captured by colonists. Source: Survit>U lnJ.tmal'iDiriZI Pleose send your leHers lo: Seilor Dr Cesar Govirio, Presidenle de lo Republica Coso de Noriiio, Carrera 8 No 7·26, Bogot6, COLOMBIA and lo: Dr Femondo Cotroles Cruz Centro Administrotivo Nocional , EcSficio INCORA Gerencia General, Bogot6, COlOMBIA SAIIC Newsletter � 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. 6, nos. 1&amp;2 (spring/summer 1991) 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 Flu Threatens to Annihilate the Nukak Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Survival International Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1991 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Flu Threatens to Annihilate the Nukak Item Type Journal Article Contributor Survival International Volume 6 Issue 1,2 Pages 18 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1991 Language English Abstract Note The Nukak fight for survival against outside diseases such as the flu. Attachment Title abyayala_v06n01_02_p018.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Colombia Disease Nukak http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/99acaa47353a7f2af73d5d72f82ef53d.pdf b0de957245535c24001e4dff44289110 PDF Text Text S E LF D ETER M IN A TIO N A ND T E R R I T O RY In Our Own Words Ac~~~~w~ Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez is the author of A Mayan Life (La otra cara), first published in 1992. It is considered the first novel by a Mayan author. A Mayan Life traces the rich life of Lwin, a Q'anjob'al Maya, whose eyes reveal to the reader the bitter realities of Mayan existence in contemporary Guatemala. Gaspar Pedro Gonzales was born in 1945 in San Pedro Soloma, and attended the University of Mariano Galvez, majoring in Educational Planning. He is a member of the Academy of Mayan Languages of Guatemala. He has written on Mayan languages, Mayan literature, and educational policy in Guatemala. In continuation, we present excerpts from two separate interviews. The majority of the material comes from an interview conducted on May 5, 1995, by Bob Sitler, from the Department of Foreign Languages at Stetson Univer.sity, Florida. The other was conducted by SAIIC on July 5, 7996 any people, when they read my novel. take it to be autobi· ographical. In some ways, there are indeed parts of Ill)' own life that relate closely to this '' ble, that is immaterial. They also sa)' that all those who are born on this day hold these qualities. This is like the horoscopes of Western culture. you sec. I lived a good portion of my infant life in the community. So most of what 1 write is real, not imaginary. l lived it. work. For example, the initial seuing. I had the novel son of simmering in head for several years. I was always that initial education that I absorbed in the heart of the home. l was born in 1945 in San Pedro Soloma, in the department of In)' Huehuetenango. I was born on a very moving forward because, first, I had no special day when the Ma)"'n people hold a ritual celebrating the first ripening fruits of the Earth. That day is called Ox Tz'ikin in the Mayan calendar. and signifies "Three Birds: · The expert priests who study this say that this idea how to go about publishing my work. Second. there was a stage in the political life of Guatemala at which no writer. let alone a Mayan , had the certainty of living freely and s.~fely. ..tz'ikin" is in other contexts the spiril. attempt to publish it. But someone told me, ·why don't we wait a little.' The creativity, initiative, all that is inlangi- 22 aching to write. I would jot down notes, and then I carne up against a period of stagn:uion, in which I wasn't Yes. It was J978 when there was an national political conflicts had begun . When the tide of violence hit in the 1980s, anyone with paper or pen in his house was risking his life. So I took the drafts and stuffed them into a cardboard box. and saved them from the 80s, for the 90s. The 90s brought the movement of cultural revival and the fost-approaching commemoration of the 500 years of Columbus. It then seemed to me to be an opportune time to publish this thing. In the end I reached my goal. It was a struggle for someone with few resources, with liule influence in society. to achieve publishing. I think it was a ke)' experience that strengthened my spirit of resistance in the sense that I never threw in the towel. This is so important. I reach out to my fellow Attya Yala News �[ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __,~ L _!F_D E T E R M I N A T I 0 S E~ Mayan friends and I tell you that )'OU have to persevere. If you accept defeat, you'll never reach your objective. When 1 had to turn all this into Spanish. I took refuge in poetry, and lyrical and rhetorical speech in C..1Stilian. For that reason, as 1 was writing the novel. sometimes I would get a little ahead of myself in Spanish so as not to lose emergent ideas. There are ne,·enheless ways to say these things through the Mayan parallelism that exists in our oral literature. There are literary resources in Maya such as repetition. There are literary figures that I had to study to adapt these ideas to Maya. llS a bit ironic because poetic speeches are uncommon in Q'anjob• at The culture offers us another type of rhetoric. known by the elders, who in turn use it for ceremonies and special occasions. . "I thought the novel in Maya, and when the time came to bridge everything, I had to work it out theo· retically and avoid being too materialistic in Spanish. For example, concepts as love. God, and metaphysical manifestations are difficult to write with Mayan words. In our culture these experiences are felt . In the Mayan languages, these things are refereed to through material experience. 'love,' for example, has no translation in Q'anjob'al. lt"s not that these experiences don't exist. They are lived. They are not for analyzing or conceptualizing critically. No. they are lived situations. When I wrote the pan of the novel where Lwin and Malfn fall in love. I realized what love signified for a more complex, perhaps more sophisticated society. But for Mayas it"s feeling, experimenting. and living. \\1ords are not spoken. One lives, dances. is lured to a spiritual realm internally to the sounds of the marimbas. That night when they dance for the first time. they don"t say a word . There are no discourses. no sweet words. Vo1.10No. 2 " Writings abound on Mayans by non-Mayans. But a novel of this nature. written in the Mayan lan· guage. is, to the extent of my knowledge, the first. There is a novel. for example, juan Ptre:;:jolore, that presumably deals with the Tzotzil Maya, written by Ricardo Pozas, a Ladino author. There's El desrino del Indio, by Oliver L1 Farge. a novel on the Maya in Chiapas and Guatemala. Miguel Angel Asturias obtained the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967 precisely due to his writings on the Maya. N A H D TERR IT ORY He is respected as one of the foremost Latin American authors. But our worlds are so completely different. The day more Mayan authors emerge. we will expand our different interpretations of Asturias. He is a m.m of the literary medium whose raw material is the Maya. much like contemporary painters. sculptors, and other Ladino aniSts. Though. his identification with the Mayan people is a whole different story Asturias" thesis is a scientific endeavor where Asturias the artist and Asturias the impassioned novelist are not present. If you get a ch.tnce to read this thesis. you won) see his later opinions on the Maya. In this work. he comes ofT as full of stereotypes and prejudices. as when he says that Mayas are indolent, filthy... He sees the plight of the "Indian" as the perfect opponunity to better himself. but in no way does he '"'lue that humatl being. When Miguel Angel Asturias tra,·els to Europe, especially France, he begins to mature and learns to appreciate the Ma)'lln civilization when faced with his hosts. His '"sion of the Maya is that of a Ladino. There is a certa.in tendency to engage in 'positivism,' to portray the Maya as stoic, battle-hardened. This in turn serves to construct a nationalist identity based on certain values. You have, for example, the case of Tecum Un>an (the leader of a Mayan rebellion]. The military adopts this Mayan symbol, shrouds it in myth , and shines it back on the Ma)'ll to entice them into the military. He becomes a warrior that defends the nation. But, whose muion is it? lt is a nation of the few. of Ladinos and for their benefit, not of the Mayan people. More concretely. I think that in Asturias' Men of Com (Hombres dt Mar:;:), this phenomenon occurs. He seeks to depict our society abroad, a society he recreates based on personal criteria, and he puts on display for the world after applying some literary cosmetics. But the Maya fail to appreciate it because it is like a bad ponrait. In A Mayan Ufe. 1 try to diston these stereotypes, and present the Maya with their values, their anguish, their view or the world, and of mankind in that pan of the world. 23 �S E L f DETERMINAT I ON "A P""and estheuc expression. lA rrom the necessity ror anisuc Mayan U/el Is m a cenain sense a staunch cnuque or the social conditions and, l>-1rttcularly. an attempt to make the Q'anjob'al cultUre known. A Mayan Life falls into the genre or testimonial novel because it is a testimo ny to the exploit:'ltion :md marginalization then is rampant ncross Mayan society. I think that thanks to a Mayan presence In different circles. in different stages or national life. it is becoming accepted that the Maran people speak. that they express thetr thoughts. and th.1t the bws be more closely heeded. In A Mayan ufc. there IS no invention. nor IS On)1hmg that we describe surreal. We are stmply transferring a son or radtography or a society that is ]i,ing. that IS dynonuC, that iS aware of a book published by a Ma)oan. Many non- Mayan rncnds have congratulated me ror the work. h has been an interna- tional success. I think that it is beginning 10 be seen as a key part or the culture or this diverse society. or course there are sectors or the populouon that still spurn this voice. There are sectors that oppose the strengthemng or the ~1a)>an languages, or thot MO)>an tdcnuty be reinforced. They want to standardaze the counuy. or "lodmtze" n, much as in past periods. ~lay.an soctety today is being born24 A N 0 TERR I TORY bardcd Ill " scnes or cultural im'3Sions. Progressl\·tl)• people arc less and less , responswc to m.1n1festations of spirituality. The medta tS a key factor in theSe invasions. The maJority or Ma)'3n houses have a radto. That radio says nothing about the Maya. It plays no Mayan music, nor do we hear Mayan languages. On the same side or the coin, the present religions, the religious sects, have divided the Mayan people. One village is rmctured into 4 or 5 churches. Social coheston •s wantmg. Society is diSJOined. Each factton tries tO pull the other to tts stde. We arc becoming complacent because our collective identity has d\\ondled. Nevertheless. 1 percetve that there exists a rovorable cm'\ronment to publish. ror example. the results or scientific investigations in Guatemala. or the works or people who write novels o r poetry. You can't conceal the truth indefinitely. Eventually these things must be tOld, and the political atmos· pherc must give In, and begin to develop a conscience or these things. Still. It remains the reality that Ma)•an authors ha,·e great difficulty in publishmg thctr work, because the cconomtc factor tS so cructal. I know people who ha,·e wnucn documents or lit· erature, and there they are locked up in a box because they dont ha,·e the resources to pubhsh n. << T he reality is that education poll· cics, or simply. education. is constructed on philosophical bases. If in a n a tio nr~l education plan, the policies are not well defined, ot· even the philosophies, it Is hard to imagine what the goals or an education system arc. This IS the tOpiC or another work or mine. In Mayan Languages and Education (Las ld1ornas mayas y Ia tducact6n escolar) . I try to present some ideas as an educ:monal planner. to suggest mcchamsms. pohctes. and educational phtlosophtcs ror this country with multthngunl. multicultural. and muluethmc charactensucs. I also proposed to wnte what turned out to be my other book. llecouse. the first step in the construclion or ll:ltiona1hy is precisely th'! or education. But if we rail tO construct our education rrom and within a culture, we nrc probably distorting, or we're dcstroymg the idcmity or an entire porttOn or the population which in thts case is primartly Indigenous and-in thts country-above all Maya. Various mswutcs tn 1hc mterior of the country are usmg A Mayan Life in courses hke lnerature or anthropol<>g): On the same token we are stri,ing to coordm:nc w1th educa11on authori- ties. to present to them these sugges· tions to tmphcate them in curricula-because we have known first hand the effects or an education based on dcstntclion. Chi waltoq skawllal he k'ul ayex he masanil yul hin q':'lnej. yin mas.c\n k'ulal jetoq ko mns.,nil. ("From here I greet you all in my language. may peace reign in the hearts or all.") " To obtam atopy of A Ma)'an Life. writ< to: Yax Te' Press. 3520 Coolhe~ghts Dri•·c. Rontho Palos Vcrdrs. CA 90275·6231; Td/Fax 010) 377-8763 Abya Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource In Our Own Words: A Conversation with Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title In Our Own Words: A Conversation with Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 22-24 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article is an interview with the Myan author, Gaspar Pedro Gonzalez, as he details the importance of Indigenous histories being written in the native languages, as well as by a native of the culture. Attachment Title In_Our_Words_A_Conversation_with_Gaspar_Pedro_Gonzalez.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Culture Guatemala Mayan http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/f48c70285bc4bba85907f2e978cc214b.pdf 07f84433b6d59cd94dff1c4f294e909a PDF Text Text A MESSAGE FROM THE HUAORANI ¥ (Ecuador) Under increasing pressure from indigenous peoples uf the Ecuadorian Amazon and tnVironmenllll organizations within and outside Ecuador, C = Oil Comparty announad on October 11 that it tooS withdrawing from all oil develqpment in the regicn of the Amazon that comprises the traditional territory of the Huaorn11i lndums. Conoco's decision came thrre w«ks after the Inter·Amerialn Commission on Hurnan Rights hmrd arguments by SAIIC coordinAtor, Nilo Cayuquro and IAuri Adams of the Sieml Club Legal Defense Fund. They argued that actions by the government uf Ecuador apprwing Conoco's massive oil deve/qpmenl project in the hMrl uf the HIIQOnmi's traditionallllnds violates the Indians' a.sic human rights to life, hMith, hame, family, and cullurt. The following Idler wzs sent to Canoco by the Huaomni organiz.aticn in the Ecuadorian Amazon (ONHAE). See issues Vo/5 Nos 3&4 of the SAIIC NttDSldter far more information on theUmoc:o • Huaomni case. General Manager DuPont - Conoeo Company Un ited State8 of America Dear Sir: The Orqaniution o! the Huaorani Nation.>lity of the Ec\l.odorian 1\mozon Region (ONHAE) , in a.n extraordinary meeting held on the lOth and 11th of January, 1991, adopted the following re301utions: 1. 'n\at oil exploitation in the ftuaora.ni territory rrust be provontod, because the pollution hao killed """Y anift.lo, tiohos and plants, and haa produoed many diaeasea. 'n\at is what we have a.oen, and it is th.reat6t\i.ng the life of th4l Hua.oranie. 2 . 'll\o.t tho oil OOCTpa.nies enter ovr territory without t akinq ue into acoount. '11\at thoy como in a.nd do thoir work doepito tho fe.ct that thoy know wo have the proporty ri9hte over this land., disrupting our orga.niz.ational process; tho Co.nooo ~y wants to work by itself, uei.nc), in an iaolat«:l fashion, Hua.ora.nis from Cononaoo and Yasuni . 3. That the Ccnooo ~ is discussing the fate of the Huaora.nia in fn60ting-s in whidl tho Hua.ora.nis are not preet~nt and that we a.re t~t.cl as it we are gue.st~. We mJet not be treated as questa when the dia.cussion is about our lives . We rrust eorr.ct this situation, because our liv<ts au on the liM. 4 . 'Ibat we, tho ONHAE, ratify our opposition to the construction ot any roads in Hua.ora.ni tor-rito.ry. S. Thot th• drillin9 of oil wolls pollut•a tho rivers. 6. That the Huaorani culture sunrive and prosper. We do not want nie.s to oocro a.nd civiliu us. OOftt)O.- 7. 'Ihet vo do not want to be doc::eivod by the oil <XX'fl)41\iea. 8. !bot vo aro aware of the problems of the world. Despite thea.o, wo will oontinue to defend our land. Awaiting your respo.nse to caja Postal 17-21-166, Quito, Ecuador, we rotn11in sincerely, Ro.m' n Hua.noni COb&, Moi Enoman9a Na.ntohua, President, antA& Vioe Vol6 Nos 1&2 President,~ Eugenio Qu-ri C. Secretary, ONKAE 17 � 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. 6, nos. 1&amp;2 (spring/summer 1991) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Message From the Huaorani Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1991 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Message From the Huaorani Item Type Journal Article Volume 6 Issue 1,2 Pages 17 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1991 Language English Abstract Note Conoco Oil withdraws from Huarorani territory, in part from a letter explaining why oil exploitation must be prevented. Attachment Title abyayala_v06n01_02_p017.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Ecuador Huaorani http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/47349985db60326b46a226155e2ca650.pdf 44f955d3831f447747d580d72fe88684 PDF Text Text S E L F DETERMINA T ION A N 0 TERRITORY Gold Miners Invade Yanomami Area, Again ince the government suspended its surveillance operation of the Yanomami area on March, 1996, thousands of gold prospectors have re-invaded the Yanomami area in Northern Brazil. Since then there has been no attempt by FUNAI (National Indian Foundation), the police, or the armed forces to stop the gold miners from invading the demarcated Yanomami area. S Davl Kopenawa Yanomami, the Yanomami representative ·we Yanomami und a message to you. \Ve are very worried that our Yanomami area is being again h1vadcd by gold mineN. TJ1is is why we Yanomami arc informing that the gold mi"trs <H't in the ri\'t.:r Cauimani and the high Cacirimani. They an: also around Xiteia, Homoxi. Papili, 011d for the moment there are: 35 illegal runways in the Yanomami area. The number ofgold miners has ani,,ed at 3000 in Brazil and 4000 in Venezuela. leader. writes: :De-~t'l; o!S .il~ q;...~o • .o~~ •"• C:4 r o' a-~ . elC Jt~olo •.nlO.. , c.o.r t'<~o. ,.,...-... .J,~...,.. The invasion of the gold miners has set off a dramatic rise in malaria cases, and resulted in the deaths of at least three Indians, shot with guns supplied by gold miners. "'\Vc Yanomami want help from you to publicize the inva· sion of gold miners. \Ve ask that this dcmouncemeru arrive to the \'arious countries of Europe and the Urlited Stale$ so that they know what is happening in the Yanomami area. \Vt ask that d1e organizations of those countries SUfJport us and S<nd leuers <o <he Pre.sidell! of Brazil asking rhar he free <he funds for the op<m<ion of removing the gold miners so this situation e.ruls." Letter sent by David Kopenawa in tne hopes of stop- ins tne latest invasion of Yanomami land. . s Voi.10No. 2 The invasion of the gold miners has set ofr a dramatic rise in malaria cases, and resulted in the deaths of at least three Indians, shot with guns supplied by gold miners. In April alone 12 Y anomami died from malaria and pneumonia. Tuberculosis and venereal diseases are also increasing throughout the Yanomami area. The gold miners are also supplying guns and ammunition to the Yanomami in exchange for food or sexual relations with Yanomami women. The presence of guns has heightened the level or ( 25 �SELF DETERMINA TION \OOiencc among 1he Yanomam1. lradmg 10 numerous dea1hs and InJUrieS. One Yanomami leader lostlhe use of an ann after bemg sho1. In early May lhree Yanomami were sh01 de.1d during !riba! conflicls. There are reports thm gold minc1·s arc encouraging ~ribal conflicts. FUNAI officials fear lhat al any moment Venezuela will also expel several1hous.1nd more Brazilian gold nuners who crossed 1he border as the resuh of earher eviclions from 1he Yanomam1 area. FUNAI also said 1ha1 planes have been seen flying over 1he l':lrima, Cmrimani, Parafuri, Paapi. X1dea. and other rivers in the area. The mmcrs :md ANO T E RRITORY 1heir machinery ha•·e been seen workmg in 1he Ca1nrn.1n1 Paap1u Aracaca. Curimala, and Mapula rivers. The Yanom::um reserve was officially dcmarca1ed by 1hc llmzilian government in 1992 :t(tcr international protests over the mass invasion of up to 40,000 gold miners at 1hc end of 1he 1980's. nr.een pcrccm of the Yanomami popula1ion died as a resuh. Besides 1he 1crnble efTec1 on the Yanomami people, 1he presence of 1he gold prospec10rs also causes huge em;. ronrnemal damage. contaminating rivers and destroying riverbanks and fores1. We urge you to appeal to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso to free the funds needed (approximately US $6 million) to restart the miner removal operation. Sample letter: Presidente Fernando HenMque Cardoso. Palacio do Planalto. 70 159-970. Brasilia OF Brazil; Fax: 06 1-2267566 Dear President Cardoso. The survival of an ancien! people. the Yanornami. is in your hands. The Yanomami are known throughout the wolid as one of the last large groups of Indigenous peoples who have been recently contacted. Now they are threatened by a new illegal invasion of gold miners and your inexplicable delay in authorizing the funds needed for their expulsion. an operation already jointly planned by differenl departments of your government in cooperation with the government of Venezuela. We would like to remind you that on 29/ 3/96 in London. Juslice M inister Nelson Jobim promised the intemalional press and non-governmental organizations that this operation was imminent. Three months have passed and nothing has been done to stop the entry of new gold miners or remove those who are illegally inside the demarcated Yanomaml area. 26 The good resul1s oblained by 1hc Com1SSA0 Pr6-Y3nomami's (CCPY) heahh programme, will be complclcl)• undermined if 1he invasion is allowed to contmuc. for the Yanomami it is a mmtcr or life and dca1h. For 1he Brazilian government it would be a mauer of honoring 1hctr word. During his reccnl VlSil 10 Europe Justice Minister Nelson job1m promiSed 1ha1 1he federal pohcc and 1he armed forces would be used 10 expel 1hc gold prospec1ors. '!I lrifonnarlon from CCPY (Comissllo Pr6~mommni) Sec bdom We know from reports from the area itself that the consequences for the Yanomami are disastrous: there has been an increase of malaria and venereal diseases and cases of injuries and even deaths caused by firearms supplied to the Indians by gold miners. Many rivers are being polluted and contaminated. A visit by members of the Human Rights Commission of the OAS to the Yanomami area in December. 1995, found that a binational operation to put an end to the chronic problem of invasions on both sides of the fronlier by mostly Brazilian gold miners was needed. The internatiOnal commun.ty expects that you. Mr. President. will fulfill your commrtments and protect a people who are vulnerable. but have the same right to life as anyone else. Therefore we appeal to you to free the necessary funds for the operation to remove the gold miners who have illegally entered into the Yanomami reserve in Brazil immediately and introduce a system of permanent vigilance to prevent them retumlng. Yours sincerely. For more information contact: Claudia Andujar. Comissao Pro-Yanomami. Yanomami Campaign Coordinator. Rua Manoel Nobrega 111 cj .32. 0400 1-900 Sao Paulo SP Brazil: phone (011> 5511 -289-1200: fax(011) 55 11 -284-6997: email: apccpybr@ax.ibase.org .br Al:::l(a Yala News � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Vol. 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gold Miners Invade Yanomami Area, Again Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1996 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Gold Miners Invade Yanomami Area, Again Item Type Journal Article Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 25-26 Publication Title Abya Yala News ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1996 Language English Abstract Note This article details the Yanomami Valley, which was under government supervision until 1996. Since the supervision was stopped, numerous gold miners have come to valley seeking riches and ultimately destroying the land for the people who live on it. Attachment Title Gold_Miners_Invade_Yanomami_Area_Again.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Gold Miners Territory Yanomami http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/108101827fb1324244e822d14e2facd9.pdf 75a7fe705b50cf121e7531c803ec1c6c PDF Text Text AMAZON Amazon Indigenous Coordinating Body Elects New Officers The Coordinating Body for the Indigenous Peoples" Organl?.atlons of the Amazon Basin (COICA) held Its annual meeting 1n November. 1992 In Manaus. and elected Valei10 Grefa ofCONFENIAEtn Ecuador as Its new General Coordinator. The delegates also approved a new. more hor!.zontal structure. abollshtng the posltlonofPresldent.Inits place. they created a Board of DireCtors to preside over the General ASsembly. a Coordinating Committee compriSed of the leaders of each of the ntne national afllllates or their delegates. and an Executive Committee compriSed of four thematic coordinators. Antonio Jacanamljoy (ONlC. Colombia) w1ll be the coordinator for Territorial Defense. Jose Luis GonzAles (CONlVE. Venezuela) w1ll be the coordinator for Environment and Natural Resources. Evartsto Nugkuag (AIDESEP. Peru) w1ll be the coordinator for Economy and Development. Orlando Melguetro da SUva (COIAB. Brazil) w1ll be the coordinator for Human. Political and Social Rights. COICA also expanded Its membership to Include the national Amazonian federations from Venezuela (CONlVE). Surinam (O!S). Guyana (OIG). and French Guyana (FOAG). COlAB was selected the representative from Brazil. COICA"s headquarters w111 move from Lima to QuJto. A working meeting between COJCA"s Coordinators and U.S. environmental and h uman rights oxgaruzatlons w1ll be held tn Washington DC on May 11-12. COICA has also moved Its offices from uma. Peru to Quito. Ecuador and can be now contacted at: Colle Alemonio No. 832 y Av. Mariano de Jesus Casillo Postal 17-21-753 1 Quito, Ecuador Telephone and Fox: 553-297 Vol7 Num 1 & 2 Si6 Kaxinawd and Paulo Cipass~ Xauante from Brazil visit New York Amazon Initiative: A working conference to protect Indigenous rights The Amazon Initiative conferencew111 beheld on May 11 and 12. 1993tnWashlngton. DCwtth the purpose offormtng a permanent coalltlon of NGOs wtth Interests In the Ama7..on Basin. The conference w1ll brtng together northern NGOs and Indigenous representatives from the Amazon to develop concrete strategies for protecting the nghts of Indigenous peoples and safeguarding their environment. The conference w1ll also focus on the logtstlcs of creattng a permanent coalition based In Washington. DC. Co-<:oerdinators and participants Include: Cultural Survival. Environmental Defense Fund. Friends of the Earth. Global Exchange. OxfamAmertca. Rainforest Action Network. Rainforest Foundation International. Sierra Club . SAIIC. World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund. For more Information contact SAn C. 15 � 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. 7, nos. 1 &amp; 2, (Winter/Spring 1993) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Amazon Initiative: A working conference to protect Indigenous rights Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring/Winter 1993 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Amazon Initiative: A working conference to protect Indigenous rights Item Type Journal Article Volume 7 Issue 1,2 Pages 15 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring/Winter 1993 Language English Abstract Note A conference scheduled for May 11-12, 1993 in Washington, D.C. will unite a coalition of NGOs interested in the Amazon Basin, with the goal in mind to protect the Amazonian Indigenous peoples and their environment. Attachment Title Amazon Initiative-A working conference to protect Indigneous rights.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/da339a4a16357da7208d2df9b5df63dd.pdf fbcf5bb54385425345cc3980023360d2 PDF Text Text A VICTORY FORTH E PEOPLE OF THE PERUVIAN AMAZON (Peru) On September 19th, the Peruvian Minister of Energy and Mines publicly announced that Texas Crude had decided not to sign a contract to explore for oil in Lot 61, home to some 180 Amaz.onian indigenous and nonindigenous river communities for whom the park and its resources constitute their sole means of survival. One year ago, newly~lected President Alberto Fujimori signed a landmark environmental code prohibiting the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources and banning oil drilling in the nation's parks and reserves. In April of 1991, under pressure from powerful economic interests, Fujirnori reversed his position and granted the Houston-based Texas Crude Incorporated a vast tract of rainforest, known as Lot 61. Opposition to the Corporation's plans to begin oil exploration developed immediately as national environmental and indigenous groups discovered that over three-quarters of Lot 61 lay within the Pacaya Sarniria reserve in Peru's northern Amazon jungle. It is the oldest and largest protected area in Peru's national park system. The ptospect that Pacaya Sarniria- already contaminated by the activities of petroleum companies allowed to operate in the reserve prior to the passing of the environmental code- could be further jeopardized galvanized local, national and international opposition. l.n june, a local priest, along with AIDESEP {Association of Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon) organized a general strike in the jungle town of Jquitos, and succeeded in brieOy paralyzing the community. Two months later, AIOESEP issued a declaration denouncing the Peruvian government's manipulation of environmental codes and its willingness to grant transnational corporations a dcgrcc of security never 16 acoorded to Peru's own citizens. A document prepared at AIDESEI"s 15th General Assembly stated that "neither the people nor the environment bear the responsibility for the extreme poverty our country faces. White this poverty may indeed require urgent remedies, actions which threaten to irreversibly destroy food and natural resources cannot be justified, particularly since the presumed wealth which will be generated will never be seen by the people." Internationally, San Francisco's Rainforest Action Network launched a joint campaign with Global Response to bornbard Texas Crude headquarters with !etten protesting the proposed project. The President of Texas Crude cited numerous reasons for the corporation's decision, including: the threat of legal action by the Peruvian Environmental Law Society (SPOA); the "substantial number of letters endeavoring to discourage exploration for environmental reasons" (over 1000 !etten were sent!); and the recent letter sent to President Fujimori by 54 Peruvian house representatives and senators showing their disapproval of the contract. In early October the Peruvian Ministry of Enetgy and Mines began negotiations with the U$-based Santa Fe Energy Rcsourccs Company for two other oil exploration tots, both outside of Pacaya Samiria. Although the contract has yet to be signed, and must be approved by the full Peruvian cabinet, it is considered likely that the project will be given the go-ahead given the extreme economic situation Peru is confronting. It is important to note, however, that Santa Fe Energy and Resources specifically opposed any contract involving areas within national reserves or parks, stating that the environmental concerns were too great. SAIIC Newsletter � 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. 6, nos. 1&amp;2 (spring/summer 1991) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Victory for the People of the Peruvian Amazon Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Summer 1991 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Victory for the People of the Peruvian Amazon Item Type Journal Article Volume 6 Issue 1,2 Pages 16 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Summer 1991 Language English Abstract Note President Fujimori denies oil tycoon request for land. Attachment Title abyayala_v06n01_02_p016.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Fujimori Alberto Peru Peruvian Amazon