DOCSLIB.ORG

Indigenous Peoples Under International Law: an Asian Perspective

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Indigenous Peoples Under International Law: an Asian Perspective Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-30-2012 12:00 AM Indigenous Peoples under International Law: An Asian Perspective Tashi Phuntsok The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Sara Seck The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Law A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Laws © Tashi Phuntsok 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Phuntsok, Tashi, "Indigenous Peoples under International Law: An Asian Perspective" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 943. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/943 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Indigenous Peoples under International Law: An Asian Perspective (Spine title: Indigenous Peoples under International Law) (Thesis format: Monograph) By Tashi Phuntsok Graduate Program in Law A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Tashi Phuntsok 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Professor Sara Seck Professor Valerie Oosterveld Supervisory Committee ______________________________ Professor Joanna Quinn ______________________________ Professor Michael Coyle ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ The thesis by Tashi Phuntsok entitled: Indigenous Peoples under International Law: An Asian Perspective is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes Asian understandings of the definition of indigenous peoples in international law. The rights of indigenous peoples have emerged strongly in the international domain, culminating in 2007 with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Yet, the question of definition and identity of indigenous peoples remains uncertain and indeterminate, at least from an Asian perspective. Traditionally indigenous peoples are understood to be those who were victims of European colonial settlements. It is the aim of this research to find out whether indigenous peoples exist in Asia by analyzing the approaches taken by select Asian states and non-state groups within these states who claim to be indigenous peoples. The thesis also examines whether there are any specific rights belonging to indigenous peoples which have attained the status of customary international law. KEYWORDS Indigenous peoples, minorities, self-determination, self-identification, international law, customary international law, tribal people. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Sara Seck from the University of Western Ontario for giving me an opportunity to pursue Master of Laws (LL.M) program under her supervision. I am deeply thankful for her continuous support, invaluable insight, patience, motivation and most importantly for believing in me. I also wish to express my warm and sincere gratitude to the second reader of my thesis, Prof. Michael Coyle from the University of Western Ontario for taking the time to provide helpful and insightful comments, which greatly helped improve my thesis. Lastly, I would like to thank the Graduate Program, Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario for giving me a chance and funding for the program, without which my thesis would not be possible. iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the undying spirit (optimism and resistance) of all oppressed peoples around the world and their quest for justice and identity. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii KEYWORDS ..................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................. iv DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Methods and Literature Review ........................................................................ 1 1.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Objectives and Scope ............................................................................................... 1 1.3. Sources of International Law ................................................................................... 3 1.4. Theory of Indigenous Peoples as Participants in International Law ........................ 8 1.5. Understanding the Problem of Definition in International Law ............................ 10 1.6. Methodology .......................................................................................................... 18 1.7. Literature Review................................................................................................... 21 1.7.1. Primary Legal Sources .................................................................................... 21 1.7.2. Secondary Legal Sources ................................................................................ 23 1.8. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 2: Historical Evolution of the Concept of Indigenous Peoples in International Law ................................................................................................................................... 28 2.1. Natural law and Indigenous Peoples ...................................................................... 29 2.2. Emergence of Modern State System ...................................................................... 33 2.3. Positivist International Law and Indigenous Peoples ............................................ 35 2.4. Deskaheh at the League of Nations, 1922-1924 .................................................... 38 2.5. Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations .......................................................... 42 2.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 46 Chapter 3: Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Processes ................................... 48 3.1. Emergence of Indigenous Peoples as International Lawmakers............................ 49 3.2. UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations .................................................... 54 3.3. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues ................................................................ 58 3.4. The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ............................... 60 3.5. UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ............................... 61 3.6. World Bank Policies .............................................................................................. 63 vi 3.7. International Labour Organization and Indigenous Peoples .................................. 68 3.8. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 74 Chapter 4: Asian State Views on the Definition and Identification of Indigenous Peoples ........................................................................................................................................... 75 4.1. Problems and Approaches to the Definition and Identification ............................. 75 4.2. The Asian Situation................................................................................................ 83 4.3. India’s view ............................................................................................................ 85 4.4. China’s view .......................................................................................................... 89 4.5. Philippines’ View................................................................................................... 92 4.6. Bangladesh’s View ................................................................................................ 95 4.7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 98 Chapter 5: Asian Group Views on the Definition and Identification of Indigenous Peoples ........................................................................................................................................... 99 5.1. Asian Context......................................................................................................... 99 5.2. Groups in India .................................................................................................... 104 5.3. Groups
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 07 Dilemma in National Integration the Tasaday As a Case in Point.Pdf
    DILEMMA INNATIONAL INTEGRATION: THE TASADAY .- AS A CASE IN POINT Editor', note. The panel discussion on national integration opened with the showing of about 15 slides on the Tasaday, the small band of cave-dwelling food gatherers dis­ covered in South Cotabato in June 1971 (see PSR 20 [3]>. After this Dr. Robert B. Fox, Director of the Panamin Research Center, reviewed for the audience basic information • about the cultural minorities of the Philippines: how they are legally and socioculturally def'med; how many they are (69 groups in all); how they range in numbers (from 500,000 Maranao Muslims through 120,000 Ifugao to 811 Agta and 25 TasadaY)j and who works with them (for the smaller groups, misslonaries or Panamin). Dr. Fox was followed by Eric Casifto, Teodoro Llamzon, and William Henry Scott, whose papers are published below. National Integration and National Language TEODORO A. LLAMZON • March 17, 1972 • The language situation in the Philippines today is described in terms of total number of langu&8es, official languages, lingua francas, and medium of instruction. If language is a symbol of national unity, which language(s) is it important that the Tasaday should leam? Perhaps the solution of Fr. Antoon Postma, S.V.D., missionary to the Mindoro Hanunoo, should be considered. While seeing that they leam more and more about Hanunoo languase and culture, he also has them leam Pilipino and English. The problem of national integration is of great Pampanggo - are spoken by more than 95 per­ interest, especially from the point of view of cent of the total population; the so-called language.
    [Show full text]
  • Kaplan & Katzenbach: the Political Foundations of International
    Michigan Law Review Volume 61 Issue 5 1963 Kaplan & Katzenbach: The Political Foundations of International Law Leo Gross The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr Part of the International Law Commons, and the Legal Writing and Research Commons Recommended Citation Leo Gross, Kaplan & Katzenbach: The Political Foundations of International Law, 61 MICH. L. REV. 1015 (1963). Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol61/iss5/14 This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by the Michigan Law Review at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RECENT BOOKS THE POLITICAL FOUNDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. By Morton A. Kaplan and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 1961. Pp. xi, 372. $6.95. The stated objective of this book is to "make use of a systems theory of international politics" to relate "the norms of international law to thejr political foundations." (p. v) More concretely, the authors' aim is to set forth the difference between international law in the two systems: the nineteenth century "balance of power" system and the prevailing "loose bipolar system." The authors also expect to show that state behavior neither is, nor ought to be, given solely to the pursuit or acquisition of power, as is asserted by the neo-realists, but that it also is subject to normative constraints.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5 DK-1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark [email protected] Received: 21 November 2008; Revised: 4 April 2009; Accepted: 6 April 2009
    Late Sovereign Diplomacy Adler-Nissen, Rebecca Published in: Hague Journal of Diplomacy DOI: 10.1163/187119109X440870 Publication date: 2009 Document version Early version, also known as pre-print Citation for published version (APA): Adler-Nissen, R. (2009). Late Sovereign Diplomacy. Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 4(2), 121-141. https://doi.org/10.1163/187119109X440870 Download date: 02. okt.. 2021 Th e Hague Journal of Diplomacy 4 (2009) 121-141 brill.nl/hjd Late Sovereign Diplomacy* Rebecca Adler-Nissen Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5 DK-1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark [email protected] Received: 21 November 2008; revised: 4 April 2009; accepted: 6 April 2009 Summary Most scholars are inclined to assume that the diplomatic practices of the European Union’s member states remain fundamentally unchanged. Th e EU’s Council of Ministers is accordingly seen as a setting where sovereign states speak with one another. Yet if state interaction in the EU is only viewed from this perspec- tive, a number of important qualitative changes will remain underexposed. Th is article argues that leading political forces in the European states have come to view their nations as anchored so deeply within the supranational institutions of the EU that their diplomats merge the promotion of national interests with those of the Union. In this late sovereign phase of diplomacy, political and legal authorities overlap, territorial exclusivity is replaced with functional boundaries, and states begin to speak with one voice. Th e article explores three interlinked aspects of late sovereign diplomacy: the teleological interpretation of the EC and EU treaties; the intense socialization of state representatives; and the negotiation process, which promotes national positions as part of a European cause, thereby delocalizing the national interest.
    [Show full text]
  • Philip C. Jessup Papers a Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
    Philip C. Jessup Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2003 Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78027771 Additional search options available at: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms004004 Prepared by Allen H. Kitchens and Audrey Walker Revised and expanded by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Michael W. Giese and Susie H. Moody Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2004 Revised 2010 April Collection Summary Title: Philip C. Jessup Papers Span Dates: 1574-1983 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1925-1983) ID No.: MSS27771 Creator: Jessup, Philip C. (Philip Caryl), 1897-1986 Extent: 120,000 items Extent: 394 containers plus 2 oversize and 1 classified Extent: 157.6 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. LC Catalog record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78027771 Summary: Jurist, diplomat, and educator. Family and general correspondence, reports and memoranda, speeches and writings, subject files, legal papers, newspaper clippings and other papers pertaining chiefly to Jessup's work with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Institute of Pacific Relations, United States Department of State, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and International Court of Justice. Includes material relating to his World War I service in Spartanburg, S.C., and in France; and to charges made against him by Senator Joseph McCarthy and postwar loyalty and security investigations. Also includes papers of his wife, Lois Walcott Kellogg Jessup, relating to her work for the American Friends Service Committee, United States Children's Bureau, and United Nations, her travels to Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, and to her writings.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Governance and the Changing Face of International Law
    Texas A&M University School of Law Texas A&M Law Scholarship Faculty Scholarship 1-2001 Global Governance and the Changing Face of International Law Charlotte Ku Texas A&M University School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Charlotte Ku, Global Governance and the Changing Face of International Law, (2001). Available at: https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/574 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by Texas A&M Law Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Texas A&M Law Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ISBN: 1-880660-20-2 The Academic Council on the United Nations System Yale University Box 208206 New Haven, CT 06520-8206 TEL: 203/432-6512 FAX: 203/432-5634 EMAIL: [email protected] Reports and Papers are published and distributed by the Academic Council on the United Nations System as part of its program to expand the understanding of the problems of international cooperation and the role of international institutions. The individual author(s), however, remain responsible for the content of the work that is presented. © 2001 by the Academic Council on the United Nations System. All rights reserved under International and Pan American Convention. No part of this report may be reproduced by any other means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • Behind the Scenes
    ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 467 Behind the Scenes SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK We love to hear from travellers – your comments keep us on our toes and help make our books better. Our well-travelled team reads every word on what you loved or loathed about this book. Although we cannot reply individually to your submissions, we always guarantee that your feed- back goes straight to the appropriate authors, in time for the next edition. Each person who sends us information is thanked in the next edition – the most useful submissions are rewarded with a selection of digital PDF chapters. Visit lonelyplanet.com/contact to submit your updates and suggestions or to ask for help. Our award-winning website also features inspirational travel stories, news and discussions. Note: We may edit, reproduce and incorporate your comments in Lonely Planet products such as guidebooks, websites and digital products, so let us know if you don’t want your comments reproduced or your name acknowledged. For a copy of our privacy policy visit lonelyplanet.com/ privacy. their advice and thoughts; Andy Pownall; Gerry OUR READERS Deegan; all you sea urchins – you know who Many thanks to the travellers who used you are, and Jim Boy, Zaza and Eddie; Alexan- the last edition and wrote to us with der Lumang and Ronald Blantucas for the lift helpful hints, useful advice and interesting with accompanying sports talk; Maurice Noel anecdotes: ‘Wing’ Bollozos for his insight on Camiguin; Alan Bowers, Angela Chin, Anton Rijsdijk, Romy Besa for food talk; Mark Katz for health Barry Thompson, Bert Theunissen, Brian advice; and Carly Neidorf and Booners for their Bate, Bruno Michelini, Chris Urbanski, love and support.
    [Show full text]
  • Performing Thai and Indigenous Igorot American Folklore and Identities: Ethnic and Cultural Politics Revealed
    Jati, Volume 18, December 2013, pp185-205 PERFORMING THAI AND INDIGENOUS IGOROT AMERICAN FOLKLORE AND IDENTITIES: ETHNIC AND CULTURAL POLITICS REVEALED Jonathan H. X. Lee and Mark S. Leo San Francisco State University ([email protected]) Abstract In this paper, we explore the interplay of performing ethnic culture through folklore, the politics of identity formations, and subjectivities of minoritized Asian Americans and their communities. In Asian American Studies, cultural performance and its relation to identity formation have commonly been viewed as lineal, and positive phenomena, especially among the youth. As marginalized Asian Americans — Thai and indigenous Igorot American folkloric performances reveal conflicts and tensions that question the notion of Asian American pan- ethnic solidarity. These can be situated externally (i.e., inter-ethnic conflicts and tensions between two ethnic groups), as well as internally (intra-ethnic conflicts within one ethnic group).1 They demonstrate how cultural and folkloric performances can be employed as both a strategy and mechanism for ethnic and cultural hegemony (as in the case of Filipino/Filipino American misappropriation of Igorot/Igorot American folklore and performances), and as a counter narrative to the dominant Asian American narrative of exceptionalism (i.e., the Model Minority). Thai and indigenous Igorot American youths challenge hegemonic cultural groups in their quests for social justice. Thai American Buddhists perform Thai religious identity and rituals to question the misinterpretation of Thai Buddhism by non-Asian Buddhists. Indigenous Igorot Americans challenge mainstream Filipino/Filipino American cultural and narrative hegemony by acting and performing their folklore and customs in their own space as a critique of an invisible interethnic cultural and subversive domination.
    [Show full text]
  • Resisting Large-Scale Mining
    Resisting large-scale mining The struggle against a large-scale mining company by the Guinaang tribe in Northern Luzon, the Philippines Master thesis International Development Studies Anton Neefjes Resisting large-scale mining The struggle against a large-scale mining company by the Guinaang tribe in Northern Luzon, the Philippines Anton Neefjes Student number: 910412597120 [email protected] MSc Thesis International Development Studies (MID) Department of Sociology of Development and Change Thesis code: SDC-80433 Wageningen University, January 2016 In cooperation with: the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC) Supervised by: dr. Elisabet Dueholm Rasch Abstract In resistance studies on resource conflict little attention has been paid to the micro-political ecology of resistance. This study addresses this gap by looking at a mining struggle carried out by an indigenous tribe in the mountains of the Cordillera, the Philippines, through a micro-political framework. The resistance carried out by members of the tribe is aimed at a large-scale gold and copper mining company. The form of resistance is that of rightful resistance. In brief, ‘rightful resistance’ means that people use the official legal and political channels of the government to make their claims (Li and O’Brien 1996). They use state power to combat corrupt government officials. This case study looks at how rightful resistance has successfully been used by members of the Guinaang tribe in preventing the Makilala mining company to mine in their place of residence. In particular, this study has analysed how the livelihood strategies of the people have influenced the way the people have engaged with the company.
    [Show full text]
  • Imperfect Justice at Nuremberg and Tokyo Downloaded from by Guest on 23 September 2021 Kirsten Sellars*
    The European Journal of International Law Vol. 21 no. 4 © EJIL 2011; all rights reserved .......................................................................................... Imperfect Justice at Nuremberg and Tokyo Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/21/4/1085/418156 by guest on 23 September 2021 Kirsten Sellars* Guénaël Mettraux (ed). Perspectives on the Nuremberg Trial. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Pp. 832. £36.99. ISBN 978019923234. Neil Boister and Robert Cryer. The Tokyo International Military Tribunal: A Reappraisal. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Pp. 358. £63.50. ISBN 9780199278527. Yuma Totani. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial: The Pursuit of Justice in the Wake of World War II. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2009. Pp. 355. $22.95. ISBN 9780674033399. Abstract When the international criminal tribunals were convened in Nuremberg and Tokyo in the mid-1940s, the response from lawyers was mixed. Some believed that the Second World War was an exceptional event requiring special legal remedies, and commended the tribunals for advancing international law. Others condemned them for their legal shortcomings and maintained that some of the charges were retroactive and selectively applied. Since then, suc- cessive generations of commentators have interpreted the tribunals in their own ways, shaped by the conflicts and political concerns of their own times. The past two decades have seen the establishment of new international courts, and an accompanying revival of interest in their predecessors at Nuremberg and Tokyo. Recent commentaries have analysed the founding documents, the choice of defendants, the handling of the charges, the conduct of the cases – and also the legal and political legacies of the tribunals. They demonstrate that long-standing disagreements over antecedents, aims and outcomes have still not been settled, and that the problems inherent in some of the original charges have still not been solved, despite the appearance of similar charges within the remit of the International Criminal Court today.
    [Show full text]
  • Preservation of Indigenous Culture Among Indigenous Migrants Through Social Media: the Igorot Peoples
    Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2017 Preservation of Indigenous Culture among Indigenous Migrants through Social Media: the Igorot Peoples Khavee Agustus Botangen Shahper Vodanovich Jian Yu School of Engineering, Computer, School of Engineering, Computer, School of Engineering, Computer, and Mathematical Sciences and Mathematical Sciences and Mathematical Sciences Auckland University of Technology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand Auckland, New Zealand [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract The universal goal is its retention among community The value and relevance of indigenous knowledge members and its transmission from the present towards sustainability of human societies drives for its generation to the next [16]. Accordingly, there have preservation. This work explored the use of Facebook been a considerable number of significant ICT-based groups to promote indigenous knowledge among Igorot approaches implemented to help address this cause. peoples in the diaspora. The virtual communities help They range from simple databases to massive intensify the connection of Igorot migrants to their digitization projects such as e-libraries, e-museums, traditional culture despite the challenges of assimilation comprehensive websites, information systems, and to a different society. A survey of posts on 20 Facebook knowledge systems; several examples are enumerated groups identified and classified the indigenous cultural and discussed in [39], [38], and [23]. Yet, these novel elements conveyed through social media. A subsequent works could interface with the popular social media to survey of 56 Igorot migrants revealed that popular further preservation outcomes.
    [Show full text]
  • American Journal of International Law
    American Journal of International Law VOLUME 65 1971 Published by The American Society of International Law 7 The American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law was organized in 1906 "to foster the study of international law and to promote the establishment and mainte­ nance of international relations on the basis of law and justice." The Society serves as a meeting place and forum for scholars, teachers, offi­ cials, lawyers and others, from some ninety-seven countries. At the end of April, it holds a three-day Annual Meeting in Washington at which current prob­ lems of international law are discussed. The Society also sponsors regional meetings outside of Washington in co-operation with other institutions. Salient questions of international law and relations are considered in depth by panels and study groups organized by the Society's Board of Review and Development. Works of scholarship are often published under the Society's auspices in connec­ tion with studies sponsored by the Board. The Society periodically issues three publications: The American Journal of International Law, the leading journal in the field of international law, has been published since 1907. A special number of the Journal carries the papers and discussions of the annual meeting of the Society. The Journal is distributed to all members of the Society without additional charge, and is available to non-members at a subscription rate of $30 a year. International Legal Materials, a bimonthly, is a unique international collection of texts of current official documents, including legislation, treaties, court deci­ sions, and reports.
    [Show full text]
  • Experiences of Attaining Higher Education for Igorot Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines Digna Adonis Jen Couch
    Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 57, Number 2, July 2017 ‘The trails to get there’: Experiences of attaining higher education for Igorot Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines Digna Adonis Jen Couch Australian Catholic University The title of this paper alludes to the hours of walking on mountain paths, which one of the authors, growing up in an Igorot Indigenous community in post-colonial Philippines undertook to go to school. This is an apt symbol of the sheer effort it can take to overcome physical, social, cultural and psychological barriers to access, persevere with and complete, higher education. This article explores the hardships of attaining higher education and the effects of education on the Igorot community. The article shares the experiences of Igorot leaders and how they have used their higher education learning to work for the promotion of maintenance of their Igorot culture. Keywords: barriers to education, Indigenous learning, westernized higher education 198 Digna Adonis and Jen Couch Introduction Digna’s Story: I come from a remote village in the highlands of Benguet. At an early age, my siblings and I were trained by our parents to help in household duties, farm work and participate in family and community rituals, which according to the Igorot culture are good ways to learn about life and its wisdom. Shortly before I turned seven, government representatives came to our village and enlisted children, telling us we needed to go to school to learn. After I finished elementary school, I needed to leave home to study at a private high school in a mining town centre, about five to six hours walk from my village.
    [Show full text]