2 12 1190 http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/844cac8cfab2c44bbc2806b344a9f573.pdf 0d6e14cd7ad77504f542e54c8714a457 PDF Text Text EN V I R 0 N M E N T ---------------------------------------------------------------- sided with the gold miners and squatters, and have continued to intimidate Macu.xi people. Because of the activities of the gold miners, fish in nearby rivers have disappeared, and those that remain have high levels of mercury. In addition, the stagnant pits of expel nearly 400 men, women, and water left by miners have introchildren f1·om their land. Two duced malada in epidemic p•-oporMacuxi Indians were severely beat- tions. Malaria has become the en. Others were kicked, harassed, main cause of death of the Macuxi. and detained. The pouce destroyed Tht-oughout Brazil, Indigenous three houses, a cattle coral, and a peoples continue to fight for land demarcation. Brazilian President livestock pen. The following week, 170 Macuxi Fernando Henrique Cat·doso bas returned to the livestock holding the power to sign into law the area and began to work there. rights of Indigenous peoples to Twelve military policemen came their traditional ancestral lands. and desb-oyed hammocks, food, and Because of pressul'e from local cooking il.nplements. When the politicians, he has not yet signed Macuxi attempted to stop this this decree. ~ destruction, t he police allegedly beat several Indians and fired at SAJIC has se~~t f<LXes supporting the Macuxi's demand for l<md demar· theil.· possessions. cation and clenouncing human In pt·otest of this expulsion, rights abuses. We encourage you to Macu.xi cotomunities from other do the same. Please write letters parts of Roraima gathered at demaltdi1 that tlw Brazilianpou1g Caraparu II. Federal police report ernment demarcate tradition<z that military police have intil.nidat- Indigenous lands to: ed Macwd communities by flying President Fernando Henrique over their villages in helicopters Cardoso, Pa/.6cio do Planalto, and pointing weapons down at the 70. 159-970, Brasllia DF, Brazil, Indians. According to a statement Fax: 55 61 226 7566 released by the Indian Council of Rorail.oa state, "The motive for the Exmo. $~: MinUitro da Justica, S~: Nelson Jobim, Ministerio da invasion was to guarantee the con- JustU:a, Espl.anad.a <los Ministerios, stmction of the hydroelectric dam Bl.aco 23, 70.064, Brasilia DF, Brazil, Fa.<: 55 61 224 2448 on the River Contil.-.go." The Macwc:i persisted in their Send opposit ion and sent a delegation to to: copies showing your supp ort the federal capital of Brasilia to pt-otest the violence the state mili- TIU! lndige11.0uS Council of tary police of Roraima used against Roraima, Conselho Indigena de them. They also demanded il.nmedi- Roraima, Caixa Postal 163, 70.300 ate demarcation of their lands. On Boa Vi$ta, RR, Brazil March 17, a federal court issued a Information from Amnesty restraining order halting the con- International's Urgent Action struction of the Contingo River Appeal, CIMI a ndianist Missionary dam pt-oject. But the Macu.xi land Council), SEJUP (Seruico bas not yet been demarcated. At1ny Brasileiro de Justica e Paz), and personnel sent to Raposa/Serra do the Urgent Action Bu/J.etin of Suruiual lnternational. Sol to protect the Macuxi have Brazil: Macuxi People Oppose Building of Dam he Raposa/Serra do Sol region along Brazil's border with Venezuela and Guyana is home to 11,000 Macuxi and 3,000 lngarik6 Indi ans. Like other Indigenous peoples throughout Brazil, t he Macuxi have been seeking demarcation of their land. FUNAI, the government's Indian agency, identified t heir land as Indigenous in 1993, but the govetnment has not yet signed the order. Meanwhile, gold m.iners and squatters have invaded the Macuxi's land, bringing malada to the region and destroying the environment. At the same time the Macuxi and Ingarik6 have successfully campaigned against a dam p1-oject in their region that would have flooded nearly 4,000 hectares of land. This dam would have changed theil.· tmditional lifestyle and severely limited their freedom to hunt, fish, and gathe.: In 1992, the state electricity company (CER) began to study the lands known as Indian Raposa/Sen·a do Sol for a hydroelectric dam project on the Contingo River. The study clail.ned that only 45 Ind.i ans would be affected. Alternative studies maintain that 3,400 Indigenous people would be affected by the construction of the dam. The Macu.xi campaign to stop construction of this dam was met with force by the state military. On January 7, 1995, 50 Roraima state military police and seven members of the army invaded the Tamandua livestock holding camp of the Macuxi Indigenous community of Caraparu II in order to illegally T 28 Alzy.;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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 Brazil: Macuxi People Oppose Building of Dam Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Amnesty International Urgent Action Appeal Indianist Missionary Council (CIMI) Servico Brasileiro de Justica e Paz (SEJUP) Urgent Action Bulletin of Survival International Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Brazil: Macuxi People Oppose Building of Dam Item Type Journal Article Contributor Amnesty International Urgent Action Appeal Indianist Missionary Council (CIMI) Servico Brasileiro de Justica e Paz (SEJUP) Urgent Action Bulletin of Survival International Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 28 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note The Brazilian government wants to put a dam along the Contingo River in Raposa/Serra do Sol. This measure has been opposed by Macuxi people but the Brazilian government has met the resistance with force. Attachment Title Brazil_Macuxi_People_Oppose_Building_of_Dam.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Development Macuxi Raposa/Serra do Sol resistance http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/c1e0999cfaecec6d332b483c09a1fb3d.pdf 807198fd12ac8b3b60212bf436f7d288 PDF Text Text E N V IR ON ME NT Chile, Upper Biobfo: Hydroelectric Power Plant Threatens Environment and Pehuenche Communities he construction of the Ralco power plant on the Upper Biobfo river, Chile, threatens to topple the rivet's fragile ecology and cut off vital access to water for nearby Pehuenche communities. A campaign led by the Pehuenche to stop the project is underway, but faces powerful opponents such as national energy corporations and international funding agencies. Since ENDESA, Chile's biggest and most powerful electrical company, began to design a series of six hydroelectric interdependent power plants on the Biobfo River in the 1960s, the Ralco power plant has been considered the "key component" of this ambitious hydroelectric project. When the campaign to save the Biobfo River began, ENDESA and the CNE (The National Energy Commission) denied that they were planning several short-term projects along the Biobfo River. For example, they presented an earlier project, the Pangue power plant, as an independent project, completely divorced from Ralco or any others. An accomplice to thls tactic was the IFC (The lnternationa.l Financial Corporation), an entity affiliated with the World Bank. The IFC provided $100,000,000 in funds for the construction of Pangue. ENDESA and CNE deceived the public about the real number of proposed plants as a tactic to minimize the public's fear of negative effects from the power plants in the region. Considered independently of each othe•; the harmfu.l effects of the power plants apperu-ed to he less severe. Independent investigations reveal that ifRalco becomes a reality, it would have detrimental social and environmental effects on the Upper Biobfo region. With the dev- T Vol. 9 No.1 astation of 5,597 hecta1·es of land, at least two Pehuenche communities (Quepuca Ralco and Ralco Lepoy) with a combined total of about 650 families will have to he evacuated from their territory. ENDESA has promised to give them land for resettlent and jobs in the construction project. Howeve•; the Pehuenche communities have The proposed Ralco Hydropower project raises serious questions of ecocide for the Biobio watershed and the Pehuenche rejected these offers to p1-eserve their communities. The Pehuenche derive their income li·om subsistence fa•·ming and the sale of cattle and crafts. The proposal offers them little more than temporary labor as unskilled workers in the power plant's construction. Pangue, S.A. (the company in charge of Pangue tm·ough its Pehuen Foundation) has also instituted a system of credit (i.e. debt peonage) by whlch members of the Pehuenche communities of Quepuca Ralco and Ralco Lepoy may buy items needed for their home, such as stoves, pots, and other items. Howeve•; to acquire these items, the members of the communities must register their names with the company. The Pehuenches rejected thls program because of fear that their signatures will he used by Pangue, S.A as proof that the Pehuenche communities acquiesce to the building of the hydroelectric plant. The environmental effects of the Ralco hydroelectric plant will he devastating. Estimates indicate that about 3,400 hectal'eS of native fo1-est would he flooded, affecting about 45% of the fauna and 60% of the flora. The creation of an rutificial lake would endanger about 8 species of fish, 9 species of repti.les, 10 species of amphlbians and 27 species of mammals. Humidity in the a.-ea would increase, affecting crop production and altering the region's micro flora and micro fauna. The humidity would also help increase soil erosion. The effects of toxic gas emission and toxic sediments are still to he determined. But given the magnitude of the project, they would undoubtedly he environmentally and economically catastrophlc. Because of Ralco's negative impact on the Pehuenche communities a11d the envin>nment, it would seem that Chile's Indigenous Law and the Environmental Bases Law should he able to stop its construction. The Indigenous Law (No. 19,253) establishes norms for the protection, promotion and development of ethnic communities. It states that Indigenous land cannot be "aru1exed, mo1tgaged, levied or 1-epossessed except for Indigenous communities or persons . .."(Art. 13). Continue'd on page 38 27 �ORGAN I Z A TION AND Amazon, Forum II f11he future of the Amazon .l depends on its Indigenous peoples and the state of their environment. The Coalition in Support of Amazonian Peoples and Their Environment held its se<:ond international fomm in Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History on May 10-12. The meeting brought together North American non-governmental orgamzations with representatives from the Amazon Basin to coordinate long-te• efforts on behalf of m Indigenous and forest-dependent peoples. Secretary-General of the Organization of Ame,;can States, Cesar Gaviria, and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the US. Department of the Inte,;o•; Ada Dee•; gave keynote addresses at a reception welcoming participants on the evemng of May 9th. For m.ore information on tlte Amazon Forum, contact: Melina Seluerston, Amazon Coalition, 1511 K. Street, N~V, # 1044, Washington, DC 20005, 'tel: (202) 637- 9718, Fax: (202) 637-9719, e-mail: amazoncoal@igc.apc.org. State Frontiers and Indian Nations Continued {rom Page 7 bru· (page ?)for extracts from the declaration) to guarantee the integrity and respect for Indigenous peoples. With· all of these declarations, Indigenous leaders reiterate the importance that Indigenous pruticipation should have in peace talks. They •·ightly point out that a meaningful and lasting peace will not be reached as long as the Indigenous peoples who live in the disputed te11-itories continue to be ignored. Still, the governments of Ecuador and Peru are not listemng. The government of Pem, for exrunple, has proposed a plan to strengthen 38 COMM U N I C A T I O N its borders by g•vmg away Indigenous land to colonizers from different ru-eas of the country. But peace will not come through the fmther colonization of Indigenous people. On the contrary, peace will only be achieved when Indigenous land is rightly and justly protected, and the Indigenous way of life seem-ed. A joint declaration from AIDESEP and CONFENIAE states: "Nowadays, it is in vogue to speak of integration. Howeve•; we have lived for thousru>ds of years in peaceful communion with our Indigenous neighbors on both sides of the border. Fmthermore, borders that the white people created have divided communities like the Shuar, Quichua and Cofan. But we continue to feel as though we were part of one Indian continental nation: the ancient Abya Yala ." f1) Additional declarations and in{ormczt.ion from Indigenous organiza· tions on this border conflict are in SAl/C's PeaceNet coll{erence saiic.indio as well as on the Internet at: http: II ulwnaix.cc.ulwns.edu/-mar c / geography / latinam I ecuador/ bor der_;nain.html. Chile, Upper Biobfo Contmued {rotn page 27 Howeve•; because of a lack of resom-ces and interest, this law is not always enforced and large companies such as ENDESA can circumvent the law by, for example, buying land and building houses in other a•·eas, trying to persuade native communities to "sell." The purpose of the Environmental Bases Law (No. 19,300) is " to regulate all activities that in one way or another a.ffe<:t the environment." However, because the law still lacks spe<:ific and definitive legislative language, it is easy for large corporations to act in defiance of the spirit such laws. As of now, it is apparent that the CNE will recommend the constmction of the Ralco power plant without objectively re-evaluating its inevitable effects. In December 1994, the CNE re<:ommended the construction of the plant's gas pipelines. Ralco ab-eady has utilization rights on the Biobio Rive1's non-drinkable water, the provisional electrical concession, and engineering studies in their final stages of completion. Even though the CNE did not include the Ralco powe•· plant in its latest plan of works, the government is·about to consent to its constmction. If the government does give Et-.'DESA the permission to build Ralco, it ,viJl close the possibility for a real environmental evaluation to be conducted. Ralco, like Pangue, will become an example of how the Chilean govermnent allows big co•·porations to undertake socially and envil:onmentally risky ventures despite the existence of laws that prohibit such proje<:ts. A sinrilru· multi-dan> project during the 1970s, Antuco County on the Laja River, did not make good on its promise . Antuco is today one of poo1-est counties of Chile. Public outcry has been massive. Different environmental orgauizations like GABB (Action Group in Defense of the Biobio), Indigenous 1ights g>-oups, student activists and other outraged citizens have joined forces to stop the constmction of Ralco. In a public declaration, GABB called fo•-a complete halt to any other pt-oject along the Biobio River, the enforcement of the Environmental and Indigenous Laws, respect for the Pehuenche communities, their land and culture, and the creation of an effective energy policy that would prioritize the social and ecological sustainability of the country. f1) 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Chile, Upper Biobío: Hydroelectric Power Plant Threatens Environment and Pehuenche Communities 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, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Chile, Upper Biobío: Hydroelectric Power Plant Threatens Environment and Pehuenche Communities Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 27, 38 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Construction of the Ralco power plant on the Upper Biobío river in Chile threatens to topple the river's fragile ecology and cut off vital access to water for nearby Pehuenche communities. A campaign to stop the project is underway, but faces powerful opponents such as national energy corporations and international funding agencies. Attachment Title Chile_Upper_Biobio_Hydroelectric_Power_Plant_Threatens_Environment_and_Pehuenche_Communities.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Development ecology environmental disaster Pehuenche http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/8c2efa9660d4ffb58ea51680efee700b.pdf f6139ff2bf82770dda6e65cecf82c8b2 PDF Text Text ENV I RO N MENT Island of Chiloe, Chile: Huilliches Fight Lumber Company to Save Their Forests "In these territories (beins considered for exploitation), there live around 100 families. They beIons to the communities of lncopulli de Yaldad, TusOeo de Coldita, Piedra Blanca de Coldita, and Coinco. These communities have historically been threatened by companies that have wanted to steal our land. This is why, today, we make public our complaints to demand that the authorities respect our rishts and those of all of our sisters and brothers in Chiloe. · General Council of Caciques of Chiloe wo lumber projects threaten to alter the ecological balance of the Island of Chilo<\ (located on the Pacific Ocean, west of mainland Chile), endangering the livelihood and way of life of the Huilliche communities that live there. Golden Spring, a multinational company based in Hong the companies Kong, and Hawerden and Los Pru-ques, S.A., plan to exploit a combined area of about 179,459 hectares of Chiloe's forest. Since 1993, the Huilliches have been trying to keep Golden Spt;ng from acquiring 50,000 hectat·es of land in the island of Chiloe to complete its lumber projects, and from drunaging the land that the company presently owns. Golden Spt·ing's initial goal is to export round logs to the Asian market, especially Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. The second stage of the company's longterm -plan is to build a plant in Chiloe for the production of plywood. The comprury has declru·ed that its plan for the exploitation of Chiloe's forest is ecologically sound and al.lows reforestation. However, the actions of Golden Spdng up to now have been far from ecologically sow>d. Golden Spring began cutting down trees to build a road inside Tepullueico almost two months before receiving permission T 26 from the government agency (CONAF) that grants such permits. The damage to the land was so great and public outrage so massive, that CONAF fined the company $20,727,562. However, the Huilliche community is not satisfied with this fine because of a series of factors. First, large companies have traditionally been able to forgo their responsibility in paying ftnes imposed by CONAF. Second, CONAF had originally denied Golden Spdng permission to build the road based on earlier documentation that declared the ru·ea in question willt for exploitation, but then changed its mind a few days later. Because of this abrupt chatlge in policy, the Huilliches feru· that the government sides with Golden Spdng and will pursue the company's interest ove•· theirs. The company's intentions became a topic of hot debate among environmental and governmental agencies until, finally, in Apt;] of 1994, Judge Francisco del Campo issued an order to halt two of Golden Spdng's project, namely, the widening of yet another road in Yerba Loza and the construction of a "piedraplen" (rock base) for the employment of a port in the Compu Stream in Chaildad. However, the order is useless since the widening of the road had been completed before the call to halt and the con- struction of the "piedraplen" had been halted earlier pending a permit from the maritime authorities. In April of 1994, CONAMA (The National Environmental Commission) and Golden Spring reached an accord in which Golden Spring agreed to commission a study of the environmental impact of its plan of exploitation of Chiloe's forest before it can continue to exploit any additional land. However, as environmental g>-oups and leaders n-om the Huilliche commw>ity point out, the study should have been done before Golden Spring was allowed to buy land in Chilo<\ with the purpose of forest exploitation. FUJthermore, Golden Spring is allowed to continue exploiting the land ( 135.000 hectares) that was already approved before the accord with CONAMA Lastly, because the study is being financed by Golden Sptmg, CONAl"lA is powerless in making sure that a neutral patty (like a university) conduct the study. Golden Spring continues to this day its operations in Tepullueico and is looking to buy more land in Chilo<\. Its plan is to own about 50,000 hectares of forest in order to achieve its production goals. The Huilliche community of Chiloe is very concerned because, albeit public outcty, government intervention and the halt of some of its operations, it looks as though Golden Spring is confident it will be allowed to continue to exploit the forest in the marmer they intended given the runount of money (so far; 8 million dollars out the 25 million dollars set aside for tlus project) they continue to invest in heavy machinery, vessels and personnel. As if the threat of Golden Spdng was not enough, the Huilliches also have to contend with plans for another pt-oject that would have devastating •·amifications for thei•· Continued on page 34 Abya Y News ala �I N T E R N A T I 0 N ~ l-----------------------------------------------------------A~ Mexico: Indians and Campesinos Massacred in Guerrero series of assassinations of Mixtee Indians topped with the massacre of 17 campesinos, has mru·ked this past June as one of the bloodiest months in recent history for Indigenous and rural peoples in Mexico. On June 10, Mixtec members of the Consejo Guerrerense 500 Ailos de Resistencia Jndigena (Guen·eran Council of 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance) Perfecto Gonzalez Rufino and Alejandro Tenorio Perfecto were assassinated, followed by the murder of member Rey Flores Hernandez on June 18, 1995. Then, on Wednesday, June 28, at a site known as Aguas Blancas in the Sierra of Coyuca de Benitez, approximately 70 policemen intercepted a passenger truck traveling to Atoyac, Guerrero, and began firing indiscriminately against the vehicle and its occupants. Of the roughly 60 campesinos traveling in the truck, 18 were confirmed dead. Eight people also disappeared and 19 people are gravely injured. In both cases, the incidents are tied to the increased level of popu- A Jar mobilization in Guerrero, one of Mexico's poorest states, with an Indigenous population of about 300,000 out of 2,650,000. In the first case, the murders are the product of the intolerance of regional cacique and municipal president of Tlacoachistlahuaca, Armando Ramos. A group of Mi.xtec Indians began a peaceful takeover there of the municipal building on May 22 to protest corruption and government indifference towards the needs of Indigenous communities. In the second case, some of the passengers belonged to the Organizaci6n Campesina de Ia Siena Sur (OCSS-Peasant Organization of the Southern Sien·a), and were on their way to a demonstration in Atoyac. There, on May 18th, members of the OCSS had prevented the exit of local authorities from the municipal building dw'ing the 28th annive•·sary of the initiation of the Lucio Cabanas uprising. As a result of the massacres, tensions between state authorities and campesinos in Guerrero have reached a boiling point. Peasants Information from Consejo de have fo•·med a popular commission Pueblos Nahuat cmd La Jomadc• In the study, researche•'S consider the exploitation of 129,459 hectares of land located at the Continuecl from page 26 southern tip of the island, in tbe township of Quell6n, with an communities and the ecological bal- annual deforestation of about ance of the island of Chiloe. In May 150,000 square meters. 28, 1994, the General Council of This project would use up about Caciques of Chiloe announced their 37% of all the forest in Chiloe, with knowledge of a document called: "A an annual deforestation volume Study to Identify the Possibilities of equivalent to 5 times the current Forest Exploitation in the At·ea annual seJTated wood production known as Puerto Carmen- Big in Chiloe and 3 times the consumpIsland of Chiloe," commissioned by tion of firewood. Wood production Los Parques, S.A. and Le Banque in Chiloe would double as a result of this project. Colbert of France. Chiloe Forests 34 for the resignation of state governor Ruben Figueroa Alcocer, who appears to have been informed of the police action prior to the incident. The coalition faces a powerful opposition that the ruling PRJ (Institutional Revolutionary Party) deputies mounted in support of Figueroa. In addition, on July 1st, what may have been members of OCSS ransacked and attempted to burn down the municipal palace in Coyuca de Benitez, site of a number of large popular protests denouncing the incident. Two state police agents and 8 local policemen believed to have been involved in the incident have been detained and are presently awaiting trial. State attorney Antonio Alcocer Salazar has also accused membet'S of the OCSS, including leader Benigno Guzman Mattinez, of "engaging in criminal conduct" in relation to the June 28 massacre. He also accused the OCSS of "tbeft of public property, destruction of commwucation lines, and causing harm to society" dw·ing various OCSS activities in 1994. He did not clarify what "criminal conduct" he was referl'ing to, however. '(>) According to these facts, the project (officially called, "Plan Astillas Puerto Carmen"), which is already being considered by the regional and provincial autholities, would become the first industrial exploitation of Chiloe's forest. This would mean the total transformation of all life forms in the island's ecosystem and a real threat to the sw'Vival of many species in it. The General Council of Caciques of Chiloe consider implementation of this project a violation of Indigenous people's ancestral rights. '(>) Abyo 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 Island of Chiloé, Chile: Huilliches Fight Lumber Company to Save Their Forests 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, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Island of Chiloé, Chile: Huilliches Fight Lumber Company to Save Their Forests Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 26, 34 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Lumber companies threaten the ecological balance of Chiloé and the lives of the Huilliche communities. Golden Spring, a multinational company, and others expect to exploit around 180,000 hectares of Chiloé's forests. Attachment Title Island_of_Chiloe_Chile_Huilliches_Fight_Lumber_Company_to_Save_Their_Forests.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Chiloé Development Golden Spring Huilliche Tepuhueico http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/82832b5d947194f41ec0122184119899.pdf cf7494e5792b67170760fef245578d87 PDF Text Text Peruvian State Targets "Abandoned" Lands of Ashaninka Since about 1989, Ashaninka communities in the Selva Central region of Peru have been the object of Shining Path guerilla violence. The civil war has led to increased colonization from the highlands into Ashaninka areas. Faced with extermination, Ashaninka communities have had to leave their lands, clearing the way for state-sponsored colonist land invasions. In this interview, Mino Eusebio Castro, vice-president of the Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rain forest (AIDESEP, a national coordinating body for Indigenous regional organizations representing over 500,000 Indigenous people living in the Peruvian rainforest), talks with SAIIC about the people's hardships and their efforts to organize and save their communities. Interview with Mino Eusebio Castro Tell us about yourself and your community. My name in my maternal language is Naaperori Shirampari Asheninka, in Spanish it is Eusebio Castro. I am Ashaninka. The Ashaninka are one of 63 groups that inhabit the Amazon region of Peru. Traditionally, the Ashaninkas were a warrior society that controlled a magical area. We lived from resources such as hunting, fishing and trade with other Indigenous communities. But all that changed, and our history became conquered by lies and broken promises. We tried to reject tokens brought to us, but there were many abuses and violations. Our Indigenous rights were violated, and many of our women were raped. In some cases, we were enslaved. What have been the major threats to the Ashaninka? The exploitation of lumber by colonists has resulted in much violence. The guerrilla groups Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) have also violated Indigenous rights. They have oppressed us and killed bilingual teachers and leaders. Although we tried to resist, we did not have sophisticated weapons. If we did defend ow-selves and killed someone, the Peruvian Constitution declares that we would be tried as murderers. Thus by justice, we were between two fires as it is said. When did the intrusion of the Shining Path into the Ashaninka communities begin? It began in 1978 and 1979, and by 1980 there was incursion into our areas, not with violence, but with lies, so we would become their strength. By 1989, there was an uprising in the Pichis valley to reject the revolutionary movement. The MRTA kidnapped and killed our hero Alejandro Calderon. As a result, many leaders rose up to protest and counter this force. By 1991, we were able to expel all those guerrillas who had infiltrated the Pichis Valley. The Shining Path entered our communities in 1993 which resulted in the massacre of the Chiriary community in the region of Satipo. About 57 people were killed (see Abya Yala News, Vol. 7, Nos. 3 and 4). Presently, we have more than 39 communities that have disappeared. Many people have been displaced and are refugees. We have organized ourselves into self-defense groups. We asked the military if they would be willing to collaborate with us to achieve peace. We want peace. You have made an alliance with the military with a goal of pacification, yet, according to international information, many of the those killed have been as a result of the military. Do you have faith in the military or was it through circumstances that you had to make a necessary pact? This is not our war. The military does not know who is who. We indicated that since we know the territory, we should help defend it, but we were not given sufficient arms to confront the guerrillas. Who cares when an Indigenous person is killed? No one. When one of the military dies, then it is another story. They are made into heroes. When and Indigenous person dies in defense of his territory, no one says anything. What were the guerrillas and military disputing in the region? Until now the struggle has been for power. The Shining Path wanted to gain more power by using the Indigenous people in the war against the state, but since we are dedicated to peace, we did not concede easily. How is AIDESEP preparing for the defense of territories, for maintaining biodiversity, and assuring a future for the Indigenous communities of the Amazon? In AIDESEP we have a program of establishing communal reserves. In the zone of Guayali, we have gained more than 100 property titles for the communities. There are still 80 left that need to be signed. There are many blocks through the Ministry of Agriculture because of lobbying of lumber companies. In the new Peruvian Constitution, articles 82 and 83 have decreed that our lands can be seized if they are deemed “abandoned” by the state. They can then be bought by those who have the most economic power, like the petroleum companies. Do you have lands that you consider abandoned? Traditionally, for us there are no abandoned lands, because we view land space in an integral marmer·. We are trying to take initiative in protecting and in managing the rich biodiversity of the area. What have been the major developments surrounding petroleum companies in Indigenous areas of the Peruvian Amazon? The Candoshi community has been the most affected by oil exploitation. It is located in the northern region by the Maranon and Pastaza rivers. Occidental Petroleum has bought lot number four. The Candoshi reject this completely. AIDESEP and the Candoshi community has staged protests and put pressure on the government arguing that this was not done with the consent of the Candoshi community. AIDESEP has sent letters of protest to Occidental Petroleum, yet their responses are vague, stating that they are concerned about the environmental impact. But a few months ago we verified that there was a major spill on the Pastaza River. This means that all the flora and fauna will be poisoned. In addition, the Candoshi will not be able to subsist on hunting and fishing. In the San Juan community, the oil company has been offering to pay people to relocate to another area. They have come in with clothing and medicine. The Candoshi general council declared that they do not recognize these actions as legitimate. They took back all the things given to the families, and the company was told to leave. This has created quite a reaction from the company as well as the Ministry of Energy. Is there much contamination in the rivers? There is mercury in rivers such as Madre de Dios. Some of the people have eaten contaminated fish and have become very ill. As you know mercury is deadly. In the Chanchamayo and Perene Rivers, there has been so much mineral waste that all of the fish have been killed. Has a political movement formed to stop this contamination? Various environmental and ecological organizations have tried to raise public awareness, but to date the government has not imposed any regulations to stop the dumping of mineral waste. 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 Peruvian State Targets "Abandoned" Lands of Asháninka Interview with Mino Eusebio Castro 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, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Peruvian State Targets "Abandoned" Lands of Asháninka Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 24 - 25 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Asháninka communities in the Selva Central region of Peru have been forced to leave their lands due to guerilla violence. Mino Eusebio Castro, vice-president of the Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rain Forest talks about the hardships to save their communities. Attachment Title Peruvian_State_Targets_Abandoned_Lands_of_Ashaninka.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] AIDESEP Ashaninka Development guerillas Shining Path Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/de4b8f280d5db57519e392f301e0450a.pdf a45b65daff469d670518902f83e46701 PDF Text Text Amazanga: A Scientific Research Institute in the Ecuadorian Amazon In 1992, as a response to negotiations with oil companies attempting to expand their operations into the Pastaza region, the AMAZANGA institute was formed. Since then, it has been on the forefront of new attempts to incorporate and protect indigenous knowledge of the environment. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Leonardo Viteri, director of the Amazansa Institute, and Quichua Indian from the Pastaza region of Ecuador. Interview with Leonardo Viteri Can you tell us about the Amazanga Institute? Since the 1970s, a number of Indigenous organizations in Ecuador, like OPIP (Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza), CONFENIAE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon), and CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), have come together, making important political and organizational advances. However; we have overlooked the very important areas of technology and scientific investigation. These would permit us to consolidate and strengthen our ability to negotiate and plan for the future of Indigenous peoples in terms of economic development, territorial protection, education, health and everything that an autonomous development really means. In this vein, OPIP, an Indigenous organization in Pastaza, has worked to legalize Indigenous territory. Fifty-two percent of the 2.5 million hectares comprising that territory were legalized in 1992. This has given greater security to Indigenous communities, giving them more harmonious lives and assuring their future. Another 48% of Indigenous territory has yet to be legalized, so we're continuing our effort to have traditionally Indigenous territory recognized and legalized by the government. Having legalized territory does not automatically solve Indigenous problems. It gives us many more commitments and challenges. We must manage the territory, protecting it and managing the natural resources in order to live there. In response to these challenges, in 1992 OPIP decided to create the Amazon Institute of Science and Technology (AMAZANGA). Indigenous knowledge which has developed over centuries is a fundamental pillar of this Indigenous-run organization. This institute has been put in charge of the environmental planning of all traditional territories, focussing on their use and management in harmony with the existing natural resources. The research, application and development of Indigenous knowledge is necessary to achieve a level of autonomy. All the work of the institute leads to designing and planning a program of development for the Indigenous people of Pastaza. Our concept of development guarantees a harmonious advance of our people, both nationally and internationally. We want to prepare for the future of our people, to assure a dignified autonomous life beyond this century. Basically, over the last 30 years we've been losing our autonomy, and that is what we want to regain and strengthen. We want to project ourselves before the country and international community with our proposals, our contribution to society, our technologies, our discoveries, and our knowledge. What is the basic Indigenous knowledge that has allowed your people to live for thousands of years in harmony with the Amazon? We Indigenous people have vast knowledge; this is what has allowed us to survive up until the present. First, holding of land is fundamental; based on our land, we can identify what we have as a people within that territory. Territory is the foundation that allows for unity among peoples. It guarantees the strengthening of cultural identity and allows us to be really autonomous. It also gives us validity as Indigenous people on this planet, providing us with natural resources which allow us to live in dignity without being overly dependent on others. The biodiversity which exists in our territory is so great that only the knowledge we've attained over time lets us manage it equitably. At least 80% of the resources the Indigenous communities of Pastaza have are from the rainforest and the rivers. A plan for the management of at-risk species is already established through AMAZANGA. We are also facing continuing pressures from economic interests such as logging, petroleum companies, and tourism. These economic development projects necessitate envit·onmental impact studies. We should also develop contingency plans for salvaging deteriorated areas and for disasters such as floods, illness, and contamination. Have you done research on the resources in your territory, such as its biodiversity? Yes, we’re starting those activities, especially inventorying our resources. Right now in the lower part of Pastaza we’re inventorying flora and fauna, including fish, different wood species, medicinal plants, and pond-dwelling species. This research will direct proper management of these resources. Is there community participation in these plans for research, resource management, and development? Without community participation, there is no research. Although AMAZANGA technicians are systematizing Indigenous knowledge, they can’t inventory all of it. Community participation is the backbone of the project, and communities should manage the natural resources. All the information comes from the community and is returned to the community to be applied. There are currently projects for collecting Indigenous genes for scientific purposes. What stand does AMAZANGA Institute take on this issue? The creation of the AMAZANGA Institute responds precisely to the need to prevent any project that would harm or control biodiversity or genetic resources of any kind. We oppose any kind of aggression against or appropriation of Indigenous knowledge and integrity. We’re trying to stop the proliferation of groups that have come to Indigenous communities lately to steal knowledge of medicinal plants, technology of forest and river management, etc. We’re working to develop respect for our knowledge, and our communities are well aware of the danger that this theft of genetic resources represents. Lately we’ve heard about more complex projects like the Human Genome Project. For us, this is nothing less than an inhumane insane project which assaults our peoples’ dignity, the natural order, and goes against our beliefs and religion. Our job is to stop this type of project. 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interview with Leonardo Viteri 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, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Amazanga: A Scientific Research Institute in the Ecuadorian Amazon Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 22-23 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note In 1992, as a response to negotiations with oil companies attempting to expand their operations into the Pastaza region, the AMAZANGA institute was formed. Since then, it has been on the forefront of new attempts to incorporate and protect indigenous knowledge of the environment. Attachment Title Amazanga_A_Scientific_Research_Institute_in_the_Ecuadorian_Amazon.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Amazon Institute of Science and Technology Autonomy Development Human Genome Project Pastaza http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/1ccad2d0793de1cf667321be077d9826.pdf 7cc03e63486c3507ef0d596af5a18a79 PDF Text Text A Neoliberal State of Siege On April 18, 1995, a series of strikes organized by lndigenous peasants and urban teachers forced the central government to declare a state of siege that has lasted three months. The international press has marginally covered this event. A state of siege is a serious menace to the concept of democracy and reminiscent of authoritarian rule. It is the first state of siese that neoliberalism could not avoid. In what follows, sociolivera Cusicanqui interprets the reasons behind such measures and underlines the double moral standard of current politics in Bolivia. by Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui Democracy and violence are not incompatible terms or exclusionary in and of themselves. In Mexico, a solid clientelistic state structure serves as the base of the oldest electoral farce in America, while hundreds of thousands of rural Mexicans and Indigenous peoples die or flee from their country. In Colombia, democratic regimes elected according to various conventional norms have co-existed during more than a century with the most repressive and brutal military and paramilitary violence, and with the most varied forms of popular armed resistance. In the Bolivian Constitution, the "state of exception” permits a wide margin of arbitrary state power that remains partially within the legal bases of a legitimate republic. These are the "democratic fictions" that, historically, enabled the oscillation between democracy and dictatorship, and that in the present, lead to the consolidation of the “double moral standard” which is at the very heart of Bolivian democracy. Bolivia is a country where there is democracy for the few and dictatorship for the many. Vast rural regions of Bolivia are subject to the law of “survival of the fittest,” where open and concealed violence is a structural feature of modern daily life, exemplified by underdevelopment, displaced populations, extreme poverty, and a total loss of popular will. For more than a decade, untried killings and repression of Indigenous peoples in the Chapara region (the center of coca cultivation) abound, and no one has been able to enforce the constitutional laws of the state. For centuries, thousands of Indigenous peoples, mestizos, cholas, and bircholas (urbanized peasants) have filled the Bolivian prisons. They are always the unyielding enemies, the silent threats to this "pigmentocratic" system in which whites or q'aras rule through a mandate that seems inherited from the depths of history Teachers and Cocaleros Forty years ago, who would have thought that teachers and cocaleros (coca growers) would be the last remnants of the classic confrontation of Bolivian politics: a unionized sector--and here we know that unionization covers a wide range of sectors entrenched in a diverse Bolivian culture--and the formal country represented by political parties and the state. The gap between these sectors continues to grow, fed by constant violence. Here is why this last national strike and the call for th state of siege hides a vaster unease: the frustration of a people who voted hoping for change, and who now see more of the same misery and repression that has not changed in centuries of q'ara domination of the Bolivian state. The ingenious conception of the "blank slate" inherent in all reformism blinded the government to this phenomenon of collective frustration over the design of a "New Bolivia." a project that, as in other times, runs the risk of remaining a propagandistic slogan. Fundamentally, none of what was promised in the elections was accomplished, beginning with the promise of 250,000 jobs. Furthermore, Bolivia Jacks even the minimal maneuvering power necessary to defend its once buoyant "illegal" economy (not only narco-trafficking, but also contraband and industrial pirating) that enjoys a flourishing stability in the North. How useful, then, is educational reform and popular· participation if the pillar of the model promised (and discerned) by the ruling coalition is crumbling to pieces? Was it merely a calculation error? Or are we, as in other conjunctures, again witnessing the sad spectacle of an oligarchic blindness or myopia of the powerful, who lack the historic sense necessary to impose, among other things, a long-lasting legitimate rule because their language (and particularly their reformist language) has decayed into a parade of lies and linguistic run-arounds? Nevertheless, the problem of the double moral standard, and the fragile legitimacy it supports, is not only a ballast of the state and its leaders. I would say that it is a key feature of Bolivian political culture, and in this sense, constitutes us as actors and shapes our perceptions, behavior, and expectations. In this case, the lack of coherence in the actions and explicit demands of the COB (Bolivian Workers Union) and the teachers is evident. The teachers' resistance to yielding union acquired privileges speaks more to corporate entrenchment than to authentic revolutionary unionism. What's more, the teachers are the main actors and principle obstacles involved in the renovation of our antiquated educational system. But who are the teachers? They are a product of the 1956 educational reform and, in this sense, also reflect the government of 1952-the same clientelistic methods, spheres of influence, and corruption. And who is the MNR (the ruling governmental party) to clean up the corruption of the educational sector? Who can really do it? In the end, even the strike is inscribed in the double moral standard. While public schooling grinds to a halt, the same teachers who are striking continue to work diligently and profitably in the private educational institutions. So, are the Capitalists not the enemies of the Workers? Why doesn't the whole educational sector come to a stop? Tragically, the most affected are the children of the very workers--rural and urban--who are the only ones left who depend on the devastated public education services. The rest--including a strained blue-collar and popular sector-support the private schools. They live as though in a different country, going to classes and dutifully following their curriculum, while the rest of us are striking. Among other factors, the professional and union conduct of the education sector has contributed to this insurmountable gulf that separates the rural from the urban, the upper and middle from the lower classes, and schools of the first, second, and last category. Popular malaise and profound and legitimate collective frustration on one side, union members and politicians increasingly distant from the collective identity on the other- this all has contributed to the consolidation of a deeply conservative authoritarian political culture apparently totally resistant to change. The state of siege summarizes, therefore, the primary failure in the scheme of government reforms being carried out by the government, and at the least will leave it with the comfort of learning that no change is possible without the participation of the protagonist and affected majority Excerpt front a longer text published in HOY (La Paz, Bolivia). Silvia Rivera is professor of sociology at the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Bolviia. She is a member of THOA (Andean Oral History Workshop), Chukiyawu, Kollasuyu (Bolivia). 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 Neoliberal State of Siege Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title A Neoliberal State of Siege Item Type Journal Article Author Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 20-21 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note On April 18, 1995, a series of strikes organized by indigenous peasants and urban teachers forced the central government of Bolivia to declare a state of siege that has lasted three months. Sociologist Silva Rivera Cusicanqui interprets the reasons behind such measures and underlines the double moral standard of current politics in Bolivia. Attachment Title A_Neoliberal_State_of_Siege.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Bolivia self-determination teachers Territory http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/bf258061e055e15245aaf6de366cdba7.pdf 3dbe01b9011d5fa1d98c3c12765939cd PDF Text Text CICA: A Pan-Indigenous Organization in Central America by Atencio Lopez (Kuna) On July 21, 1995, in the city of Guatemala, the Indigenous Council of Central America (CICA) was founded, which integrates indigenous representatives from Guatemal to Panama, including Belize. The initiative to found the Council was born during a reunion in Panama held in June, 1994. There, attendants agreed on the urgent necessity for Indigenous peoples in Central America to coordinate their efforts on a regional level to defend their rights in the face of the political and economic structural changes stemming from the democratization process. The founding of CICA is particularly important as it occurs during a time when dialogue and pacification follow the civil wars that have impoverished our countries and impacted most strongly in Indigenous communities. CICA will also facilitate the Regional Program for the Support of Indigenous Peoples in Central America (PAPICA) organized with the European Community which makes available approximately 8 million dollars. CICA staff includes : Leopoldo Tzian (Maya-Guatemala), President; Mauricio Castro (Zicaque-Honduras), General Secretary; William Borregon (Embera-Panama), Treasurer. For more information, contact: CICA, in care of COMG, 2a. Calle 3.40, Zona 3, Chimaltenago, Chimalt. Guatemale. Tel/Fax: 5029392709 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 CICA: A Pan-Indigenous Organization in Central America Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Atencio López (Kuna) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title CICA: A Pan-Indigenous Organization in Central America Item Type Journal Article Author Atencio López (Kuna) Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 19 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note On July 21, 1995, the Indigenous Council of Central America (CICA) was founded, which integrates indigenous representatives from Guatemala to Panama, including Belize. Attachment Title CICA_A_Pan-Indigenous_Organization_in_Central_America.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] CICA Indigenous Council of Central America self-determination Territory http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/b7648857417d966d1989ef28e7f730f8.pdf faf47e6d8ac52d3c3e64d898bf179cef PDF Text Text Breaking the Myth of the Nation: Proposal for Autonomous Regions While recent negotiations between the Mexican government and the Zapatistas progressed little, the fallout from the uprising has led Indigenous organizations and campesinos to consider autonomous regions. In this article, we present some selections from the proposal. In 1994, various Indigenous organizations in Mexico including the Council of Indigenous and Peasant Organizations of Chiapas, the Guerreran Indigenous Council, the Independent People's Front, the Union of Indigenous and Peasant Communities Iztmo, and the Yaqui Tribal Council met on several occasions to elaborate a proposal for the formation of autonomous regions. The proposal was aimed first at Indigenous peoples, later to be presented to the Congress of the Mexican Union. Then, on April 9-10, 1995, a general reunion of Indigenous organizations gave rise to the Plural National Indigenous Assembly for Autonomy. Under the title of “Initiative for the Creation of Autonomous Areas: the assembly proposed to change certain articles of the Mexican constitution so as to allow Indigenous peoples in different regions to govern themselves. In the "Considering" section, the proposal states that, "The Mexican State cannot, and must not, continue to be structured politically as though Indigenous people do not exist. To correct this injustice, it is necessary to abandon the project of a homogenous state and, in turn, put forth a new national project and constitution based on a federal system in which Indigenous peoples compose an organic element… “The Mexican nation-state was organized in ignorance, or explicit denial, of Indigenous peoples. The various Indigenist strategies practiced by the government, especially throughout the 20th century, were of such ethnocentric and centralist character that they are 9today) the principal cause of misery and oppression (in Mexico)... “In the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas, Puebla, Yucatan, Hidalgo, and Guerrero, 78 percent of the total Indigenous population lives. In some states, the Indian population is greater than that of non-Indians, such as in Oaxaca and Yucatan; in others, the Indigenous nuclei constitute more than one third of the total population, as in Chiapas and Quintana Roo. Out of all the municipalities of the country (2,403), one third, or 803, are municipalities with one third or more of Indigenous population, of which more than 13,000 are qualified as “eminently indigenous localities” as a consequences of having 70 percent or more of persons speaking an Indigenous language.” Antonio Hernandez is a Mayan Tojolabal of Chiapas and has been Secretary General of the Central de Obreros y Campesinos Agricolas de Chiapas (CIOAC - Central Union of Workers and Agricultural Peasants). In a speech in front of the Congress in November, 1994, he stated: “We want to contribute to the foundation of a democratic and plural state...Open your minds and your hearts to the Indigenous demands for autonomy. There will not be complete democracy in our country while a decentralization allowing our self-governing is not included in the organization of the state. The next meeting will occur in Oaxaca on August 25- 26, 1995 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 Breaking the Myth of the Nation: Proposal for Autonomous Regions 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, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Breaking the Myth of the Nation: Proposal for Autonomous Regions Item Type Journal Article Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 19 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note While recent negotiations between the Mexican government and the Zapatistas progressed little, the fallout from the uprising has led indigenous organizations and campesinos to consider autonomous regions. In this article, we present some selections from the proposal. Attachment Title Breaking_the_Myth_of_the_Nation_Proposal_for_Autonomous_Regions.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Autonomy Council of Indigenous and Peasant Organizations of Chiapas self-determination Territory http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/686d39b28f1f005dd7c4ec3f0d73689d.pdf 31c22b4674476e5c6f4b40282f607f2f PDF Text Text Salta, Argentina : Electoral Politics Delay Granting of Land Title The 4500 Indigenous people of the Wichi, Chorote, Nivakle, Toba, and Tapiete communities in the northern Argentinean Salta region are still waiting for an official land title for the area where they traditionally live. They require a joint title for the area where they traditionally live. They require a joint title for the five communities in order to continue living according to their traditional customs of hunting and gathering over a wide area, a way of life that does not allow land privatization. In 1984, when they first demanded a land title, they were only offered separate titles for each family, which they refused. In 1991, the 27 communities of the “Asociacion de Comunidades Aborigenes Thakas Honat" - ACATH (Association of Aboriginal Communities Thakas Honat) submitted a proposal (including maps) for the legalization of their land to the provincial government. This led the provincial government to pronounce the decree 2609/91 and give clearance to the redistribution of “a piece of land without subdivision and with only one land title, …. and big enough for the development of their traditional way of life” to the Indigenous communities of districts 14 and 55. However, the redistribution of land has not happened yet and land conflicts are developing between the Indigenous communities and the local criollo smallholders, who have been increasingly using out of the traditional Indigenous area for the pasture of theix cattle. Such conflicts are not unusual in situations which lack agrarian reform. Instead of struggling for the implementation of agrarian reform. Instead of struggling for the implementation of agrarian reform, some smallholders tend to move into marginal or Indigenous areas. Governments are duty-bound under the Right to Food to protect access to food for both marginalized smallholders and Indigenous people. This means that the implementation of agrarian reform and the protection of the Indigenous people promote conflicts among the very poor by encouraging the smallholders to move into marginal and Indigenous areas. The Indigenous communities’ right to feed themselves is at stake as long as no legalization of their traditional territories occurs. According to recent information, the government is reluctant to implement the above mentioned decree before the forthcoming election. Furthermore, the government seems to plan to provide the Indigenous communities with a land title concerning only a small part of the original territory. This would mean a breach of article 75 and 17 of the Argentinean constitution and the ratified ILO convention 169, both guaranteeing the property of the traditional land where they live to Indigenous communities. As a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Argentina, is also duty-bound to protect and respect the Indigenous communities’ right to feed themselves. Until a satisfactory solution is reached, and while the struggle continues, the Wichi, Chorote, Nivakle, Toba and Tapiete people also face harassment and violence from those who oppose the redistribution of land in the area. In a formal declaration issued by ACATH, Indigenous leaders expressed deep concerns regarding the “threats that are continually being directed to our brothers and sisters, the wire fences that the criollos continue to put up on our land, the wood that continues to be taken illicitly and the burning of three houses by a policeman named Moron. All of these crimes go unpunished by the authorities. This makes us feel unprotected and neglected by the government.” Support the Indigenous communities in the Salta region by writing letters encouraging the government to support the right to feed oneself and to provide a land title for districts 55 and 14. Send letters to: Sr. Gobernador de la Provincia de Salta, Roberto A. Ulloa, Casa de Gobierno, Gran Burg 622, 4400 Salta, Argentina, Fax: 54 87 360 400. Sr. Presidente de Ia Republica. Dr. Carlos S. Menem, Casa Rosada, Capital Federal, Argentina, Fax: 54 87 343 2249 / 331 7976. lntformation provided by FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN). 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 Salta, Argentina: Electoral Politics Delay Granting of Land Title Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Salta, Argentina: Electoral Politics Delay Granting of Land Title Item Type Journal Article Contributor FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN) Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 18 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Indigenous peoples in the northern Argentinean Salta region wait for an official land title for the area where they live. They require a joint title for their communities in order to continue to live traditionally and not face threats by neighbor criollos. Attachment Title Salta_Argentina_Electoral_Politics_Delay_Granting_of_Land_Title.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] agrarian reform Criollo Salta region self-determination Territory http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/7ba8590382df9a99c60e9436c78f45f5.pdf fd1d6c2682d8f97f9b6c465ad77d49d0 PDF Text Text So That We, The Ye'kuana, May Inhabit Our Land In Venezuela, the Ye'kuana nation has organized itself against a legal invasion. In 1978, the government of Venezuela, bypassing the Ye'kuana peoples, declared Duida-Murahuaca a National Park and OrinocoCasiquare a "Biospheric Reserve. Until recently, however, other than declaring both areas under Special Administration, its implementation never occurred. According to the Ye'kuana, government bureaucrats have systematically ignored their historical presence and territorial rights make decisions on their behalf. by Jose Felix Turon Transcribed b y Simeon Jimenez Turon I have come to Caracas for the first time in my life because our land is being threatened. Where I live, along the source of the Cunucunuma Rivet; I have heardrumors of invasions of lands close to us and of future plans to invade other lands in the area. Therefore, I, having always lived along the source of the Cunucunuma River, have come Caracas to write about the historical bases of our territorial rights. I will speak about the real owner of the land and about the origins of the land. This is how Wanadi gave us a piece of the Amazonian territory. The Origins of Our Land S/he who made the earth is called Wanasedume. There was no earth In the beginning Wanadi (or Wanasedume) created the earth so that we, the Ye'kuanans, may inhabit it, care for it, feed off it, manage its resources, and so that we may die there. Wanadi said, "Take care of the land. It belongs to you; do not destroy it ." That is how the land became ours. The owner of the material necessary to make the earth was Mane'uda. With his material Wanasedume created the earth. He made it inhabitable. That is how the earth was created. In the Beginning Wanasedume realized that people on earth had nothing to eat. S/he brought the yucca from the heavens, being the only one who knew where in the heavens it was. S/he first planted it in Roraima, so that everyone there could have food to eat. Wanasedume then realized that the Ye'kuanans, in their place of origin (Kamasoinaa, north of the Cutinamo River), had no food. Where she first brought the yucca, Maarawakajaina, it did not grow.S/he then took it to the Cunucunuma River where it grew for 24 hours until it reached the skies. Therefore, we, the Ye'kuanans, consider as our land the territory that begins at the Cutinamo River, as well as the Cunucunuma, the Ventari, and the Manapaire River. Wanadi gave the yucca to Kamasenadu. She was the owner of all food. Therefore, it is only the women, as the mothers or guardians of agriculture, who cultivate the earth. Wanadi planted the yucca in the yard of a house that belonged to a man by the name of Tudumashaka. Many fruits were born from the trunk of that yucca tree. The fruits were like rocks. The tree grew so big that no more yucca could be planted; people only ate the yucca that feU from the tree. Seeds and rain also fell. No longer able to grow upward, the tree grew sideways. Then the rock-hard fruits fell dangerously. Tudunadu, son of Tudumashaka, died picking up fruit to eat. Some told Kamasenadu that people were dying, urging her to find a solution soon. Kamasenadu agreed, granting permission to cut down the tree. The chief of the felling was Yakawiyena. He visited neighboring villages and asked Waimene, a chief with workers, to help him. They worked one day and night but the trunk did not fall, one of its branches being hooked to the sky. Kamasenadu was present at the felling to collect branches. Kamasenadu sent Wayuni (the moose) and Majadaku (the tiger) allnthe way to Mudumununa to bring water back to the place of the felling. There, a number of other chiefs were now also waiting. Seeing that the trunk was not sent falling, Kamasenadu sent Wadajaniyu to discover what was happening with the trunk above. Wadajaniyu returned, saying that he had no teeth and could not cut the branch hooked to the sky. Then, Kamasenadu sent Kadio (the squirrel), who was like people, advising her to stand on top of the trunk so that she could come down the same way she went up while the branches fell off. Kadio was able to grab a fruit and save it in her mouth before chopping the branch with her teeth. The tree fell and the squirrel came down with it. Ever since then, the trunk of the tree is called Madawkajujo. Kadio fell to her death at the foot of the tree in Tudumashaka's yard. The fall was so violent, her eyes welled up. This is why the squirrel's eyes are welled up. Kamasenadu quickly revived the squinel by blowing on her. When the tree fell, Wayuni and Majadaku were not present and therefore did not get fruit from the tree. The main branch fell toward chief Padamo. Majadaku, angry, threatened to eat people if he could not eat yucca. Wayuni, not having heard Majadaku very well, said that they would eat the leaves. Majadaku then said that he too would settle for leaves. Kadio, after her revival, sat on the trunk with the fruit hidden inside her cheeks. She mocked Majadaku for not getting any yucca. Soon their insults turned to fighting. They placed bets on who could kill whom. The winner would take the fruit as a prize. Majadaku jumped from trunk to trunk. Kadio lay Majadaku a trap. She placed a loose rock on his path. Majadaku stepped on it and fell. All of those involved in cutting down the tree became animals: Majadaku (the tiger), Wayuni (the moose), Kadio (the squirrel), Wadajaniyu (the "tuqueque"), Nukoyame (the woodpecker), and Dakono (the "tara larga"). The food which Wanadi gave to us was meant for the Ye'kuanans. All those who nowadays eat cassava took notice of where the branches of the tree of life fell, taking stems and sprouts from the branches. Some did not know how to properly cultivate yucca. The land surrounding the Autana River and the hills along its headwaters, and the land surrounding the Cutinamo, Padamo, Cunucunuma, the Ventuari rivers are apt for the cultivation of yucca. The lower regions (for example, the savannas of the Ayacucho Port, of the Esmeralda, or even the lands north of the Orinoco River) are not. This is the story of the beginnings of the domestication of yucca and other foods native to the Orinoco and the Amazon region-foods that all of us, peoples of the Amazon, eat today. Second Demarcation: Present-Day Boundaries of the Ye'kuana Communities We, the Ye'kuanans, have lost a great deal of the land which Kujuyani left us as his sacred legacy. We must defend this sacred legacy in the same way other religious groups demand respect for their churches or places of worship. On our land, we, the Ye'kuanans, should not permit others to indiscriminately and disrespectfully frequent our sacred sites - as is the case in Madawaka, Duida, Autana, parts of Piaora, and in the Pemon region of Roraima. During the months of March, April, and May, 1993, we the Ye'kuana coommunities of Culebra, Akanafia, Esmeralda, Tookishanamana, Watamo, Modeshijaina, and Huachamakare, met and agreed to establish our communities’ boundaries and to demand state recognition of those boundaries. Based on our people’s collected memory - embodied or condensed in the historical wisdom of Jose Felix Turon - six communities were able to demarcate their lands according to the teachings of the story of origins. Thus, our occupation of the lands we now reclaim dates back centuries. Our occupational rights precede the Europeans’ arrival and the founding of the Venezuelan State. Some national constitutions of Latin America have acknowledges these rights, including Brazil (1988), Colombia (1991), and Paraguay (1992). No declaration is more transcendental or powerful than our peaceful, productive, and conservationist occupation of the land that Wanadi and Kuyujani left in our custody. In this age of"preservation" and "sustainable management," it is imperative that the Venezuelan government respect our rights. Granting us legal rights to the lands we have occupied for centuries would not only be just and right, but also a guarantee for their "sustainable management." We fear there could come a time when we will not be allowed to live off the land. We do not want that moment to arrive, since our lands are food, shelter, our life, and religion. To deny us our land would be to amputate our soul and our supreme reason for living. Based on an excerpt from Esperando a Kuyujani by Simeon Jimenez and Abel Perozo (Eds) San Pedro de Lo Altos, Venezuela, 1994. 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 So That We, The Ye'Kuana, May Inhabit Our Land Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource José Félix Turón Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title So That We, The Ye'Kuana, May Inhabit Our Land Item Type Journal Article Author José Félix Turón Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 16-17 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note In 1978, the government of Venezuela, bypassing the Ye'Kuana peoples, declared Duida-Murahuaca a National Park and Orinoco-Casiquare a "Biospheric Reserve." According to the Ye'Kuana, government bureaucrats have systematically ignored their historical presence and territorial rights make decisions on their behalf. Attachment Title So_That_We_The_Ye'kuana_May_Inhabit_Our_Land.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] boundaries Cunucunuma River self-determination Territory Ye'kuanan yucca http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/360b13882b74b7028d3cf8cea3dcbba3.pdf 5cea7c5e0af964c594f5ffe1283dc33e PDF Text Text State Frontiers and Indian Nations: Commentary on Implications for the Mapuche and Indigenous Peoples by Aucan Huillcaman Paillama In cultures around the world, formal law often stands in antithesis to justice and rights. The Council of the Indies, an administrative structure that the Spanish colonial government imposed on what they deemed the "New World," legalized anoppressive system toward us as Indigenous peoples. Historically, oppressive laws which states imposed by force suppressed persistent Indigenous uprisings in defense of our life, rights, and freedom. Today, many claim that times have changed. However, the formation of the current state has maintained the oppression initiated by these early colonial institutions. Not only were states established ignoring existing Indigenous territories, but state institutions have not been able to administer justice among Indigenous peoples. It was not through carelessness or ignorance that the institutionalization of Spanish colonial legal systems clashed with Indigenous cultures. Many times they have made us believe, incorrectly, that through courts we can obtain justice. At other times we attempted to improve our position by submitting amendments to modify the state constitution. Although today the Chilean state has approved laws relating to Indigenous peoples, these have undermined Indigenous systems of justice. While we are claiming our rights, justice, dignity and freedom, the ideology of colonialism continues to distort our reality as Indigenous peoples. Legal language continues to define us as "ethnic minorities" without defining the nature of our· ethnic character. This ignorance reduces us to simple statistics. The state continues to deny our inalienable right to self-definition. This is a right that we as Indigenous peoples have never yielded. We have not given anyone the right to define who we are. An administrative division of lands carried out during the colonial period forms the basis of many of the current state borders. States, in turn, are founded through force and violence. In our perspective, we Indigenous peoples, as the real Nations, consider the founding of the nation-state as a perpetuation of our oppression. The Criollo (the colonial elite descended from the Spanish conquistadors) independence did not mean independence for us as Indigenous peoples. The colonial borders that were transferred to independent state boundaries are still only inventions, walls that separate Indigenous peoples. They are ideological, legal, political, and institutional walls. It is commonly said that "the walls have fallen in the modern world," and that we are quickly advancing to an integrated, developed, modem existence. Nevertheless, how do we define the walls that divide, for example, the Aymara Nation into Bolivians, Peruvians, Chileans, and Argentinians? The Mapuche Nation also has its own wall. Today, the Chilean and Argentinian border divides us. Violence mars the history of the fragmentation of the Mapuche people. The Spaniards, upon entering Wallmapuche (Mapuche territory), imposed their will, by force. Alonso de Ercilla, author of The Araucanian, describes the battles fought by the Mapuche in defense of their lives, dignity, freedom, and rights. Based in part on this information, the Spanish kings believed that there had been a war in Mapuche lands. Charles V made decisions based on the supposed War of Arauco, the name that the Spaniards gave to our Wallmapuche. In 1641, before the Mapuche uprisings, limited Spanish military capacity forced the Spaniards to meet with the Mapuche. They established the first Parliament of Quillem on January 6, 1641. At this meeting they fixed the Mapuche territorial border at the Bio-Bio River to the south. Out territory then comprised eleven million hectares of land. The Parliament of Quillem also recognized our absolute independence in the interior of our territory. The Mapuche were forced to accept the introduction of missionaries into our territories during the summers. In addition, in colonizers requested the return of the Spaniards captured by the Mapuche. The Mapuche demanded that the Spaniards retreat from Los Confines, which today is the city of Angol. Each time the Spaniards, in violation of the Treaty of Quillem, were militarily able to penetrate Mapuche territory, they did. After the Mapuches expelled them, they agreed to sign new treaties to delineate borders and support the political independence of the Mapuche people. At the time of Chilean Creole Independence (1810), the Mapuche often supported the Spanish Creoles. During that period of our history, it was inconceivable that the Mapuches not ally with the independence process from Spain. Finally, the Chileans militarily invaded the Mapuche territory. This did not happen, however, until 1881; the Mapuche maintained their independence 71 years after the formation of the Argentinian and Chilean states. To achieve the submission of the Mapuche, the two states had to coordinate their military forces. In Argentina the military campaign was called the “Conquest of the Desert” (“desert” because whites did not live there), while in Chile it was called the “Pacification of the Araucania” (or, the”Pacification of the Savages”). Both actions were nothing short of the execution of state-sponsored genocide, sanctioned by their respective legal systems. In 1883, Chile and Argentina permanently demarcated their state borders. In the logic of state structures, we Mapuches who remained under the jurisdiction of the Chilean state became Chileans. Those who remained under dominance of the Argentinian state became Argentinians. The unilateral actions of states are well known, and similar to the Papal Bull Inter Caetare proclaimed by Pope Alexander VI when he divided Indian territories between the kingdoms of Portugal and Castilla in 1532. In 1990, the Mapuche organizations existing under Chilean and Argentinian state jurisdiction began a process of decolonization. To work toward this goal, we decided to revive the emblem of the Mapuche Nation, This action provoked reactions in many different socio political sectors. Our traditional Mapuche authorities, however, were firm and clear. In their words, the “flag is not meant to deny anything to anyone, nor to impose on anyone, nor to invade other people. Rather it is a flag which reaffirms our identity as a distinct culture. We accept that the Spanish and Chilean people exist, in the same way that we the Mapuche exist. Because of this we have legitimate rights to manifest our culture, our reality. The Mapuche national flag is not a conquering symbol like the flag of Napoleon Bonaparte. To the contrary it is a manifestation of our existence within human diversity, and therefore is fully legitimate and valid.” One Lonko (a traditional Mapuche leader) said, “Now we have the following alternatives: To follow the flags of the state and of political parties, or the flag of the Mapuche Nation.” The most powerful tool that we Indigenous peoples have is that of consent. We have not resigned our fundamental rights. The day Indigenous peoples accept the concept of the state as a Nation will be the day we have given up our fundamental rights. We have consented to the state on one level when we participate in their elections. To participate in that process is equivalent to the acceptance of a system that does not recognize us. It is also an ideological contradiction of our peoples, even if, frequently, it is the efforts of some determined leaders who push us in that direction. Consent is our only tool for achieving change. States can continue to make laws and impose them; these will be invalid, for we Indigenous peoples have not expressed our willingness to conform. What states seek through their new colonialism is to involve us: They have designated “participation through conference,” as if the only right that we have is to be consulted. However, our true Indian liberation will begin when we assume our condition of immemorial identity, when we abandon the identities of the national states that dilute and disavow us. 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 State Frontiers and Indian Nations: Commentary on Implications for the Mapuche and Indigenous Peoples Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Aucan Huillcamán Paillama Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title State Frontiers and Indian Nations: Commentary on Implications for the Mapuche and Indigenous Peoples Item Type Journal Article Author Aucan Huillcamán Paillama Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 14-15. Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Indigenous peoples consider the colonial and state borders as artificial barriers to their indigenous nations. The best way to maintain unity to fight state oppression is reinforce the right of consent by indigenous peoples. Attachment Title State_Frontiers_and_Indian_Nations.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Argentina Chile Consent Mapuche http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/files/original/e1f3e7582aa4b78596b81c6ebde3c4a4.pdf e1fcbd5b1d64b0096421683831ce0c83 PDF Text Text Nicaragua: Colonial History Repeats Itself on the Atlantic Coast of Central America by Amalia Dixon In 1821, the Criollo governors of the Central American countries met in Guatemala to celebrate their political independence. At the same time, they defined the border demarcations of their respective states, overstepping the previous historic demarcations of the ancestral Miskitu, Sumu, and Rama peoples. By arbitrarily deciding where national borders would be, the new states violated our territorial rights. What already existed between our peoples was distorted. It remains impossible to accept these impositions. Part of the southern Caribbean coast of Honduras is Miskitu territory. It was crossed by the Rio Coco, which today serves as a dividing border line between Nicaragua and Honduras. After the Criollo Independence, what remained on the Honduran side was considered disputed territory. It was added to Honduras. A first attempt at relocating all the Miskitus to Nicaragua precipitated the deaths of many Indigenous people, both young and old. Banished from their ancestral land, deprived of their natural medicine, they suffered from scarcity of food, clothing and animals. In short, the migration had a tremendously negative physical and emotional impact. Some decided to return to Honduras, their birth place, traumatized and insecure about their future and way of life. The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, representing almost half of the country, was officially incorporated into Nicaragua in 1894. Today this area is inhabited by Miskitus, Sumus, Ramas Garifonas, Afro-Nicaraguans, and mestizos, who came from the Pacific. Until 1894, the English recognized this land as “Mosquito” territory. The English arrived on these coasts during the time of the buccaneers (English pirates that preyed on Spanish trade ships), and they intermarried with the natives. They influenced our culture by giving us English last names, imposing a new religion, and promoting their monarchy. History tells us that the English imposed four kings and eleven chiefs on the Miskitus. History was repeated in 1982 when the Sandinista government in Nicaragua relocated people from the Rio Coco by force, in accordance with a unilateral decision guaranteeing its own political interests. This resulted in an uprising in defense of our ancestral Indigenous rights. As a move towards autonomy, the Congress under the Sandinista government approved the Autonomy Statute Law for the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua in September of 1987. The government of President Violeta Chamorro ratified the Autonomy Law, but did not consider it a priority. As a consequence, its enforcement stagnated. Nevertheless, for the people of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, it provided the answer to our struggle for ancestral rights. Soon after in Honduras, Indigenous people began to question their· real identity, since they are of the same origin as those in Nicaragua. This illustrates that the Rio Coco border line makes no sense for us as Indigenous peoples. The Autonomy Law needs to have a serious program of implementation. Buying seeds for agricultural production, either for household consumption or for the market, is a priority for the region. Until now, the presence of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the communities has partially alleviated their immediate needs. By contrast, economic activities that affect natural resources like agroforestry and concessions for the exploitation of lumber, minerals, and marine life, are "What keeps us together as a people is our spoken language and our social structure in which community practice persists." all in the hands of the central government. Today, mining companies have returned to this area and are repeating the past history of exploitation. The central government and multinational companies have also signed several accords that do not contain positive development plans for Indigenous communities. The presence of these companies means minimum wage work, conditions of economic exploitation, and ecological destruction for Indigenous peoples. The Smnu people, for example, have endured serious environmental impacts. Several rivers like the Bambana are already contaminated. In the end, the Autonomous Government has very little participation and decision-making power in these negotiations. Meanwhile, the subscription of the Nicaraguan government to the new policy of the ESAF (Economic Structural Adjustment Facility) has deepened the economic crisis of the Atlantic Coast peoples. The government subordinates all deals and national resources, like minerals, lumber, and marine life to privatization. In other words, it does not offer alternative strategies for the betterment of our people. Only 20 percent of the taxes that the companies pay are given to the Autonomous Governments of both the southern and northern regions or their administrative expenses. Recently, unemployment there has reached 90 percent. This means profound limitations in agricultural production and little economic income for families. These economic limitations do not allow the autonomous government of the region to plan an appropriate development strategy that could produce qualitative changes. In response to the economic fragmentation of Indigenous peoples caused by the war and the cultural confrontation with the Sandinista government (only since 1990 have our people begun to return to their places of origin from refugee centers located in Honduras), the autonomous leaders of the Atlantic Coast are studying the implementation of a production system that would solidify our traditional economic system as an alternative strategy. It would attempt to alleviate our urgent survival needs, but keep us a unified community for years to come, What keeps us together as a people is our spoken language and our social structure in which our community practice persists. We have lost of our traditional way of dressing (many costumes have disappeared), but our struggle for self-determination is still ongoing. Amalia Dixon is a Miskitu woman from the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, a board member of the Abya Yala Fund as well as the Miskitu organizations Panapana and FURCA. 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. 9, no. 1 (Spring 1995) 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 Nicaragua: Colonial History Repeats Itself on the Atlantic Coast of Central America Type The nature or genre of the resource Journal Article Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Amalia Dixon Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Spring, 1995 Language A language of the resource English English Zotero Title Nicaragua: Colonial History Repeats Itself on the Atlantic Coast of Central America Item Type Journal Article Author Amalia Dixon Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 12-13 Publication Title Abya Yala News: Journal of the South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC) ISSN 1071-3182 Date Spring, 1995 Language English Abstract Note Indigenous peoples along the Rio Coco that splits the countries of Honduras and Nicaragua have been subjugated to unequal land and resource agreements. Because of the Sandinista government and the Nicaraguan civil war, indigenous peoples in the area are struggling to return to economic sustainability for themselves. Attachment Title Nicaragua_Colonial_History_Repeats_Itself_on_the_Atlantic_Coast_of_Central_America.pdf Attachment URL [No URL] Autonomy borders Development Miskitu Sandinista