PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 2013 Is Published by Intercontinental Cry and Licensed Under a Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) License

PEople Land TRUTH

WWW.INTERCONTINENTALCRY.ORG

VOLUME N. 02 YEAR 9 2013 CONTENTS In THIS VOLUME

Nations & States 06 Coexistence through subsidiarity

1 The Republic of 09 Murrawarri

They’re Trying To Steal 11 Aché Lands Returning Waters 13 Klallam Celebrate Cultural and Ecological Good Riddance! Renewal in the Wake of Dam Deconstruc- 16 Talisman Energy Announces tion Withdrawal From Achuar Terri- tory A Dance Of Complicity: 18 Mining And Powwows

The World Bank 20 World Bank Implicated In Grave Human Rights Abuses

700 Indigenous Peoples 27 Occupy Brazilian House Of Representatives

Until The Sun Stops Panama 23 29 Police Brutality Signals Impend- Rising ing Storm Over Barro Blanco Interview with Salvadoran Indigenous Dam leader Shandur Kuátzin Makwilkali Ecotourism Project In 33 Tayrona National Park Suspended

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH CONTENTS In THIS VOLUME

Inconvenient Truths Altai Under Threat 34 De-Bunking China’s Plan To 62 Sacred Sites and Indigenous Settle Nomadic Populations Peoples Of The Altai Back Under Threat After New Decree Protecting Koongarra Against Creation 2 39 Koongarra now permanently pro- 64 Alarming Results Of Secret Study tected from uranium mining On Transgenic Maize

Harper Launches The Unknown Truth 41 Major First Nations 67 Behind The Moais Termination Plan

Bowman Expedition Lumad Peoples Want 48 2.0 69 To Live In Peace

Intelligence What Kind Of 51 Information Ideas 71 Solidarity For West Papua?

A Question Of Relevance The End Of Human 53 The 2014 World Conference On 79 Safaris? Indigenous Peoples

Apocalypse Tourism Colombia & FARC 55 Mexico Bans Maya Leaders From 82 Indigenous Peoples Still Accessing Ancestral Temples Plagued by Violence Amidst Reconciliatory Talks Flooding Hope Our Autonomy 57 Manitoba Displacement Politics 86 The Triqui Peoples continue their Towards Lake St. Martin First struggle for autonomy and secu- Nation rity in Oaxaca Indigenous Settler? Redeveloping The 60 Decolonization And The Politics 89 Millennium Of Exile

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH CONTENTS

Anti-Indian Hate 91 Campaign

3 Quebec Government 99 Concedes To Barriere Lake Algonquins

Occupy Enbridge 101 Taking A Stand On Red Lake Sovereign Land Voice Of The Earth: Growing Frustration In 111 105 Kaokoland The Struggle To Defend Mupo

Mount Taylor Faces 108 ‘Permanent & Severe’ Cultural Impacts

Uranium Mining And 117 Native Resistance

India Prepares To 119 Extinguish Indigenous Rights 121 White Power On The It Begins With Salish Sea 150 Respect The Meaning of Living Well For The Tseltal & Tsotsil Mayans Of Chiapas Idle No More & 124 Indigenous Nationhood

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH CONTENTS

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH

A’ole Gmo: The 127 EDITORS Struggle To Reclaim Tracy Barnett Paradise John Ahni Schertow CONTRIBUTORS Robert Desjarlait, Robin Llewellyn, Jay Taber, John Ahni Border Wall Schertow, Hannibal Rhoades, Curtis Kline, Artiso Mandawa, 4 131 U.N Committee Raises Concerns Vera Belazelkoska, Richard Arghiris, Jen Wilton, Jason Ma- Over Impacts Of US/Mexico Wall cLeod, Nuunja Kahina, Russell Diabo, Joe Bryan, Klee Benal- ly, Tracy Barnett, Rebecca Sommer, Imani Altemus-Williams, Jeff Conant, Dan Bacher, Taiaiake Alfred, Mati Hitorangi

Defending The PICTURES AND ART 133 Ricardo Mbekrorongi, Kate Benkert, Doug Zimmer, Bithplace of the Sun gill_penney, Laura Borealis, Robin Llewellyn, José Cruz/ ABr, Richard Arghiris, International Campaign for Tibet, theweathergroup_U, Alberto Otero García, Grand Velas Riviera Maya, Ryan Klatt, TatyanaPenn, openclipart.org, Nua Rapa Nui, Keith Bacongco, Martin Pelcher, www.bonrix.net, Another Nakba Jen Wilton, ilkerender, Earth Peoples, Gaia Foundation and 137 International Community Finally the Mupo Foundation, rajkumar1220, Wonderlane, Tracy Takes Notice Of Israel’s Plan For Barnett, Physicians for Human Rights - Israel, H Dragon, Tim Russo / ImagenArte, Ministério da Cultura

DESIGN Tree Of Peace? John Ahni Schertow 139 Oil Palm Expansion Is Tearing PRODUCTION Apart Indigenous Peoples’ Lives John Ahni Schertow

PUBLISHING Maya Qeqchi V. Intercontinental Cry 141 Hudbay HOW TO CONTACT US Twitter: @indigenous_news and @intentlcry Facebook: www.fb.com/Intercontinental.Cry Web: www.intercontinentalcry.org 143 An Amazigh Email: [email protected] Perspective On The SPECIAL THANKS TO Western Sahara John Paul Montano , Linda Goossen Implementing 146 Indigenous Human Rights

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 2013 is published by Intercontinental Cry and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) license

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH intro introduction

The global indigenous movement has grown exponen- tially over the past ten years.

Unfortunately, the world’s media without intermediaries. has not kept up with the times. 5 I can’t even being to tell you PEOPLE LAND TRUTH is our how often I’ve heard people say, annual publication, where we “What about us? What about highlight some of the best our struggle? Why isn’t anybody articles, editorials, op-eds and supporting us? essays that we published over the course of the last year. The media, being what it is, routinely suppresses human Each article that was selected rights abuses, including mass for this year’s issue of PEOPLE evictions, forced relocations, LAND TRUTH has been carefully assassinations and the razing of reviewed, revised, updated and entire villages, not to mention in some cases expanded to make important successes like the sure that you can get the most reclamation of traditional of it. lands, the demilitarization of While some media cover the sacred areas and the creation of Our selection of articles was occasional skirmish or event, impressive cultural protection also adapted for print, so, if you IC alone examines the dynam- initiatives and self-defense feel the need to dig deeper campaigns. At the same time, into anything here, I invite you ics of the movement and the few publishers are willing to to visit our website at www. concepts critical to its success. expose anything on the laundry intercontinentalcry.org - you’ll list of of problems associated find more information there. Without IC, educators, orga- with the World Bank, the United nizers and activists would be Nations and non-governmental That said, I would just like to add operating in a vacuum of es- organizations that undermine that it’s a monumental challenge indigenous rights under the keeping up with everything sential information and insight. cloak of good will and prosperity that’s going on today; but it’s -Jay Taber for all. one that we take on proudly and without hesitation. We know Intercontinental Cry was founded what’s at stake. Media plays a in response to this lack of focus decisive role in the success or on Indigenous Peoples. It is a failure of any movement and reader-funded, volunteer-run when the vast majority of the online magazine dedicated to world’s media fails to cover the keeping the public informed struggles of Indigenous Peoples, about the global struggle for something like Intercontinental Indigenous rights and providing Cry becomes essential. We are an open space for Indigenous committed to the People, the peoples to tell their stories Land, and the Truth.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL NATIONS

& STATES 6 Coexistence through subsidiarity Jay Taber

istening to mainstream and alternative media In some federations of nations like the former Republic discuss conflicts between Fourth World nations of Yugoslavia, the breakdown into Indigenous nation- and modern states, I think what most newscast- states like Slovenia was not precipitated internally, but ers and their listeners have difficulty grasping is rather by external forces hoping to divide and con- the historical context of the Indigenous libera- quer a functioning socialist republic for the benefit of Ltion movement. As I noted previously, states formed transnational corporations. In other states like Canada, throughout the last five hundred years of the colonial the Indigenous nations have been assimilated into a era are breaking down along cultural faultlines. Mul- forced dependency from which they now seek to liber- ticulturalism within homogenous states is evolving in ate themselves. In Indigenous nations like Pais Basque fits and starts toward a plurinationalism that respects or Catalonia, autonomous governance in language, the sovereignty of Fourth World nations. Taking their health, trade, policing and education would seem to be cue from state-centric institutions like the UN, news- sufficient, although over time they may seek complete casters inevitably get it wrong. independence from Spain.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL

In the case of empires like the Soviet Union, dissolved As noted by Andre Frankovits, the words self-determi- into a combination of federations and independent nation appear in the 1948 UN Charter as an enunci- states based on ancient nationhood — like Latvia, ated principle, as well as in the 1960 preambles to the Estonia and Lithuania — self rule affects varying levels International Covenants on Economic, Cultural and So- of governance. In states like Bolivia, where the Indige- cial Rights/Civil and Political Rights, but with a major nous population is a majority, autonomous first nations caveat in the Declaration on the Right to Development, united within a plurinational state seem to have a “aimed at preventing any definition that is not based chance of surviving with their cultures intact. on the gaining of independence of the former colonies of the European powers.” Which shifted the focus away Despite lofty pronouncements like the 2007 United from the rights of peoples to those of governments. Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN — an institution formed of, by, and for Nevertheless, the UN did recognize that colonial, 7 colonial states — is nevertheless actively opposed to foreign and racist domination were situations in which the self-determination of Indigenous nations. Indeed, the right to self-determination is applicable. It just the UN has done all in its power to prevent Fourth wasn’t prepared at the time to recognize that indig- World nations from even participating in discussions enous nations were in this situation. about climate change, biological diversity, or sustainable development. As Frederick Kirgis, Jr. wrote, there are degrees of self- determination, the legitimacy of each claim propor- As more Fourth World nations gain independence, tional to the level of democratic participation allowed autonomy, or some degree of self-governance, the by the government concerned. As Dr. Peter Wilenski ephemeral boundaries of states imposed by colonial observed, realization of the right to self-determination powers will continue to shift with the winds of social entails the continuing right to participate fully in the change. The only thing that will remain constant is the political process by which they are governed. But, as ruthless psychological warfare exercised by transna- international legal scholar Christian Tomuschat notes, tional corporations and globalized militarism seeking the emergence of international human rights law to corrupt or undermine Indigenous sovereignty in amounted to the general recognition that states that order to exploit their resources. As non-Indigenous fundamentally fail to live up to their essential com- citizens of modern states formed by the theft of mitments lose legitimacy. Thus, the movement toward Indigenous territories become active in promoting codification in constitutions of international human democracy and opposing fraud, there is the potential rights, and the creation of international courts and for a powerful alliance between civil society and Indig- tribunals, has been to encourage state accountability. enous liberation. Until they conceive of the difference between civil rights and human rights, however, that As Erica-Irene A. Daes observed, the fundamental con- alliance will remain tenuous. dition for realizing the right of self-determination in practice is trust between peoples, which is impossible Reading In Pursuit of the Right to Self-Determination, without cooperation, dialogue and respect. As Kenneth a 2001 anthology edited by Y.N. Kly and D. Kly, the Deer remarked, the whole idea that indigenous peoples collected papers of the first international conference don’t have the right to self-determination is racially on the right to self-determination examined in part the based, and is ingrained into the very fabric of all the indigenous movement as a means of democratizing institutions of the Americas. the UN and the international system. With the 2007 adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indig- Article 1 of the 1976 International Covenant on Civil enous Peoples, this movement continues to challenge and Political Rights states that all peoples have the the modern state system that denies the fulfillment right to self-determination, and by virtue of that right of these rights. As First Nations in Canada threaten to to freely determine their political status and freely pur- interrupt the flow of timber, oil and hydropower ex- sue their economic, social and cultural development. tracted from their territories without their consent, this Even in 2013, six years after the 2007 UN Declaration seems like a propitious time to reflect on the history on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN is unable of the UN vis-a-vis its role in the development of this to cope with the contradiction between the self-deter- aspect of the international human rights regime. mination of indigenous nations and the sovereignty of

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL modern states. Perhaps as Dina Gilio-Whitaker sug- on by the failure of assimilationist policies. gested in a column at Indian Country Today, indigenous self-determination for American Indian tribes What this means is that state-building by annexation could take the form of associated nations, exercising has come to a close, and further attempts by states to treaties and compacts that elevate their level of self- coerce or defraud indigenous nations will only make determination while advancing toward recognition state collapse more onerous. of their international political status. An incremental approach that is nonetheless decolonizing.

As S.V. Kirubaharan noted, Western liberalism has always emphasized individual liberties, not the collective rights of indigenous peoples that are essential to their culture and lives. As the rights that give meaning 8 to their lives, their destruction constitutes in essence a crime against humanity; when systematically termi- nated by a modern state, a de facto genocide.

As Majid Tramboo observed, democracy may mean little to an indigenous people whose political culture and traditions are different from those of the state. As such, the current conflict in Canada serves as a labo- ratory for the UN and its member states to break the conceptual impasse posed by state-centric bias.

In 1945, there were 46 international states; by 1993, there were 191. More than 90% of all states that ever existed ended in collapse. Since World War II, large states constructed through empires of old have been fragmenting into smaller states and nation-states like Latvia and Slovenia.

As Dr. Richard Griggs of the University of Cape Town observed in his 1999 paper The Breakdown of States, most multinational states are short-lived because they are incapable of generating a cultural life that is sustainable. Compare the longevity of some of the oldest states like Spain (500 years) with that of nations like Euzkadi (10,000 years) or aboriginal nations in Austra- lia (40,000 years).

The endurance of nations, even under occupation, is sometimes so strong it can outlast numerous invasions and annexations: Latvia regained independence after 727 years, Ireland after 800 some years, Albania after 2,537.

Resistance to annexation and assimilation is based in national identity, and state expansion that attempts to deculture original nations are operating contrary to the natural order. Devolving state power to some form of coexistence through subsidiarity is a necessity brought

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH The Republic of 9 Murrawarri Curtis Kline

On April 10, 2013, the Queen of sion showing that the Murrawarri The Republic of Murrawarri is now England received a letter from have indeed ceded their sovereignty, functioning with a People’s Council the Murrawarri Nation of northern dominion and ultimate authority to as an interim government. With its New South Wales and Queensland the Crown of Great Britain, or docu- first meeting on July 13, the People’s in Australia. This letter was actu- ments showing a declaration of war Council elected chairman Fred ally a notice for the declaration of against the Murrawarri Nation would Hooper and passed a resolution to independent sovereign statehood of have all qualified. establish a Provisional Council of the Murrawarri Nation. The Queen However, the fact is that none of State. A constitution and a bill of was given 28 days to produce one these documents exist, the Mur- rights have already been drafted. of three situations accepted in rawarri Nation never signed any international law as well as British treaty with the British Crown, and The permanent government, when Common Law that recognized the war was never declared. This, along formed, will consist of a parliament governed taking over or acquiring with the decision by the High Court of 54 representatives appointed new land. in the Mabo case which stated that by their respective ancestral fam- the principal of Terra Nullius--that ily groups within their respective The three situations could have the land was not under occupa- provinces. The representatives will been: 1) A declaration of war and a tion at the time of Captain Cook’s strictly be half male and half female. subsequent victory; 2) The signing coming to Australia--was complete There will also be four representa- of a treaty or agreement; and 3) a fiction and no longer defensible, tives from non-ancestral Murrawarri lack of occupation of that land by meant the Queen could produce no provinces, and residents who are other peoples. such evidence. not of Murrawarri descent will be allowed to stay on their land and The Murrawarri Nation requested In fact, the Queen did not even automatically be granted Murrawarri that the Queen give proof of any of respond, allowing the Murrawarri citizenship. these three situations. Treaty docu- Nation to de facto claim recognition ments between the Murrawarri and of their Republic as an independent In the declaration, the Murrawarri the British Crown, a deed of conces- nation. strongly claim their right to self-de- PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

and the Queen of England. This would include negotiations for the transfer of all monies collected plus interest by the government and the Crown for the illegal use of land, natural resources, and water within the Mur- rawarri Republic’s boundaries from the time of the first illegal land grant.

The right of self-determination of all peoples is founda- tional in international law, and is the first article in both

10 termination in both asserting the existence of this right as well as claiming how the Nation will put it to use.

In the Declaration of the Continuance of the State of Murrawarri Nation, it is stated that:

We the Murrawarri Peoples declare our people have maintained a physical, spiritual and cultural connection to our Ancient Lands, Subsurface, Natural Resources, Waters and Airspace and we did not cede our Sovereignty Domin- ion and Ultimate Title through any process of treaty nor through any act of war declared on the Murrawarri Nation and its peoples by the British Crown, Government or their servants.

As well as: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The Murrawarri Republic will foster the development of the and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based Cultural Rights. The United Nations Declaration on the on spiritual, cultural, freedom, justice and peace as envis- Rights of Indigenous Peoples also states the right to aged by our peoples. It will ensure complete equality of self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, under Article social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective 3: of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of culture, religion, conscience, language, and education; it will safe- Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. guard our sacred places handed down to us by our creator By virtue of that right they freely determine their political and our ancestors; and it will be faithful to the principles of status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural the Charter of the United Nations. development.

The Murrawarri Nation’s act of self-determination has Disappointingly, since the decolonization era, it has been an inspiring story. Already 27 other Aboriginal been assumed by many that the right to self-determina- groups in Australia have requested Murrawarri’s declaration is no longer meaningful. However, as exemplified tions and constitution to use as templates for their own in the case of the Murrawarri Nation, decolonization is independence movements. The Republic of Murrawarri far from complete, and the right of self-determination is is also turning its attention to establishing a reparations crucial to the protection of Indigenous Peoples around and repatriation process with the Australian governent the world.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE THEY’RE TRYING TO 11 STEAL ACHÉ LANDS John Ahni Schertow

In the 1970’s, The Kuetuvy Aché were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands to make way for the Mbaracayú (Maracaju) Biological Sanctuary in the Alto Paraná department of Paraguay.

Some 30 years later, the Aché community came up with a strategy to regain their land rights: they proposed to develop a comprehensive sustainable forest management plan that would given them control over their lands

After wading through 9 years of bu-

Pictured here: an armed group of reaucracy, in July 2012, the government Ache escort journalists who on their way to an illegal timber harvesting agreed to recognize the Aché’s land camp. Photo by Ricardo Mbekrorongi. rights. It was a great day for the Aché Peoples; Unfortunately, there was little time to celebrate.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

For over 9 years, the Aché have been forced to deal with a seemingly-endless stream of illegal loggers, speculators, and landless settlers trying to claim portions of the Aché Peoples’ land as their own.

The situation started turning for the worst in August 2012. As reported by the Aché community of Kue Tuvy, the illegal loggers started threatening to kill any Aché who attempted to stop them from harvesting efforts. Journalists who attempted to cover the story Photos by Ricardo Mbekrorongi. on the ground were also threatened.

Among the half-dozen threats documented on the blog Aché djawu, Kue Tuvy community leader Margarita Mbywangi received a threatening phone call saying that if any young Aché men go out onto the 12 land they would be executed. Her son, Mbekrorongi, publicly denounced the threat at Aché djawu:

Yesterday (August 15) at 19:30 hours, while our leader Margarita Mbywangi was resting at her house, she received a death threat on her mobile phone from a man, who identified himself as a peasant. He told our leader Margarita that if the young men would come close to them while hunting, that they would be killed. Margarita is sad- dened by this call while our authorities do nothing.

It should have be a time of celebration for the Aché community. Just four weeks before the threats started pouring in, the Paraguayan government transferred some 4,600 acres of the Aché’s traditional territory back to its people.

In exchange for the land title transfer, the Aché people pledged to preserve the region’s biodiversity, even though that’s something they’ve always done as a matter of course.

Following the transfer, landless settlers began working harder than ever to claim Ache lands. As Eduardo Avila reported at Global Voices Online, the peasants started constructing settlements in the hopes of receiving land titles of their own.

In response to the threats, Members of all six Aché communities across Paraguay came together in solidarity to ask government officials to enforce the removal of the peasant groups from “the lands that now rightly belong to the Aché people”, says Eduardo Avila. “They hope[d] that they can resume the celebrations that were scheduled to take place in commemoration of the historical awarding of the land titles.”

August 2013: Despite the Aché’s best efforts, the government has yet to take any action against the invaders who have continued to issue their threats. As reported on Aché djawu, on Feb. 9, 2013, Bruno Chevugi, a respected Aché ranger was also ambushed on the reserve and shot 9 times. After 6 months, the Aché are still waiting for the government to apprehend those responsible for his death.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE RETURNING

13 WATERS Hannibal Rhoades

From the discovery of a ‘legendary’ sacred site, the uncovering of archaeological evidence and the return of the salmon run to the Elwha’s middle range, the Klallam Peoples have much to celebrate after of the removal of an almost century-old dam.

he Elwha River has been indigenous fishing activities were (Re)Discovering the Secrets of key to Klallam life since hindered and the equilibrium of the Dried Land time immemorial. There local ecosystem skewed and dam- The joy felt by the Lower Elwha Kl- T is a relationship that con- aged. In addition, the Elwha Dam lalam at the Elwha Dam’s removal tinues to this day, even though that alone flooded 267 acres of land of this year has been complimented relationship was radically altered cultural significance. by two subsequent revelations. The in the early 1900s, when two dams first of these involves the rediscov- were placed across the Elwha. The After well over half a century in ery of a sacred site strongly linked first of these, the Elwha Dam, was operation, action was finally taken with the peoples’ creation stories. completed in 1913 as the Olympic to reverse the ecological and cul- In two deep rock depressions the Power and Development Company tural damage caused by the dams. Klallam creator spirit is thought sought to generate energy using In 1992 the American Congress to have bathed and blessed the the river. This was followed soon mandated the full restoration of indigenous peoples of the area who after by the Glines Canyon Dam the Elwha’s ecosystem and natural believe they originate directly from lying further up river, effectively fisheries to be achieved via the El- the area. The notion that such a splitting the Elwha into three sec- wha River Ecosystem and Fisheries site should actually exist may not tions. Top, above the Glines Canyon Restoration Act, which was passed have been surprising to elders such Dam; Middle, between this and the in 1995. The involved authorities as Ben Charles, who reports having Elwha Dam: Bottom, below the El- found that the best course of action seen it beneath the waters in his wha Dam. These impositions along to achieve their goal of restor- youth. Yet, despite the testimony the river’s natural course altered ing the Elwha was the complete of elders and records of the rock the character of the watershed, removal of both dams, a process passed on in oral and written with profound natural and cultural that began in 2011. The Elwha Dam history, its Atlantis-like submer- consequences. Fish migrations up- has now been completely removed; sion from sight meant that many river were blocked as designers had its Glines Canyon partner is around younger Klallam believed it to be not thought to include fish ladders, halfway through demolition. only a legend.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

The Elwha River rushing forward after the Elwha Dam Removal. Photo by Kate Benkert / USFWS

Thanks to the reclamation of land other places,” according to Klallam demonstrable archaeological link formerly flooded by the now nonex- language instructor Jamie Valadez, to the ‘new’ land may certainly istent Elwha Dam, all Lower Elwha whose insight illustrates the signifi- help their case. Making the newly Klallam are now capable of seeing for cance of the creation site’s physical dried land a national park or wild- themselves that the legends are true. existence for the community. life refuge are believed to be other Revealed by the waters’ recession, the options under consideration. rock site is visible for the first time The second discovery made possible in nearly 100 years, a potent visual by the removal of the Elwha Dam is THE SALMON RETURN symbol of the tribe’s deep connection the unearthing of archaeological evi- In addition to the newly revealed with the area. Those who have visited dence of a site marked by human use cultural treasures, the Lower El- the stone report a profound experi- that radiocarbon dating puts at 8,000 wha Klallam have also had reason ence, noting not only the power of years old. This makes the find one to celebrate a natural phenom- the stone but also that “everything of the oldest known on the Olympic enon that is equally important is coming back to life” now that the Peninsula, potentially strengthening to their and their ancestors’ dam is gone. After revelling in this Lower Elwha Klallam claims concern- daily lives. Forty tribe members rejuvenation of a sacred place, a ing the antiquity of their inhabitance gathered on the East bank of the number of people filled amulets with of the area. This may aid the group Elwha recently to give thanks for water from the depressions to give in its next endeavour as its members the return of the king salmon, also to the elders who told them of this seek to become the stewards of the known as chinook, to the river. place, themselves filled with joy that land revealed by the ebbing dam After the dams were constructed “it isn’t a myth…it’s a reality,” in the lakes. The National Park Service is the fish were only able to progress words of Tribal Chairwoman Frances currently charged with looking after a small distance up the Bottom Charles. The elders and other mem- the areas and has kept the location section of the river from the sea bers of the tribe have expressed their of both sites mentioned here a secret to spawn, forcing the fish popula- own deep desires to make the newly from all but the tribe to protect them. tion to plummet. With the Elwha possible journey over difficult ter- It is their intention to launch a public Dam gone, eight more miles of the rain to see the hallowed stone. This process to decide what the land is ‘Middle’ river are now accessible is a trip made all the more important used for and who will care for it. The to the fish, as are a number of given that Lower Elwha Klallam ceding of the land to the tribe is one smaller tributaries. “don’t have migration stories from option under consideration, and a

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Tribal leaders and members of the Elwha Tribe listen to speakers at the King salmon have been grations which were vital Elwha celebration ceremony. Photo spotted on numerous oc- to survival for the area’s by Doug Zimmer / USFWS casions by biologists in Indigenous Peoples. the upper reaches of this section. It is the first time Experts know that return- since the park’s establishing the Elwha to a natural ment–in 1938, after the state will take years of dams were built–that hard work to achieve; but salmon have naturally mi- the signs are encouraging. grated into this area. Other The Lower Elwha Klallam species such as steelhead are themselves playing a trout are also appearing vital role in this ecological in these regions, suggest- restoration effort, setting ing a remarkable recovery up, in partnership with the in progress. This recovery National Park Service, the will be further aided by the new Lower Elwha Klal- full removal of the Glines lam Fish Hatchery. This Canyon Dam, scheduled is a venture dedicated to for completion by summer maintaining fish numbers 2013, which will reopen and introducing more fish a total range of over 70 into the upper river during miles of river. It is hoped dam removal to ensure The Elwha River returning to normal life. Photo by NOAA’s National Ocean this will restore the river to that the precious fish are Service close to its original state, cared for and will thrive when numerous species in the future. A five-year of anadromous fish could moratorium on all fishing migrate into the higher activities has been put in reaches of the river--mi- place to aid these efforts.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH GOOD RIDDANCE!

16 TALISMAN ENERGY ANNOUNCES WITHDRAWAL FROM ACHUAR TERRITORY John Ahni Schertow

Sep. 14, 2012 - The Achuar Peoples US-based Occidental Petroleum ium, lead and arsenic and together won a major victory in their eight- (Oxy). As of 2011, the company with hundreds of ongoing oil spills year struggle against a Canadian owned 50% of Block 64 as well as have destroyed hunting and fishing oil company in the Amazon rainfor- 70% of Block 101. Covering some 4 grounds and left the Achuar with est. Talisman Energy announced on million acres (1.7 million hectares) severe health problems. Thursday that it will be withdrawing of pristine rainforest, these two from the Achuar’s ancestral terri- concessions overlap the Achuar’s “Adults and local children have tory–and all of Peru. ancestral territory,. tested positive for dangerously high blood-lead levels, and local “We have fought long and hard From Day One, the Achuar made it residents cite countless tales of against Talisman’s drilling in our clear that they were not going to unexplained diseases, tumors, skin territory because of the negative just sit back and let another oil com- ailments and miscarriages from oil environmental and social impacts pany have their way with the land, exposure. Fish and local game are we have seen from oil drilling which has already been contami- not fit for consumption and fraught around the world,” said Peas Peas nated by 30 years of exploitation with contamination, and the soil is Ayui, President of the National by Oxy and more recently by Argen- also no longer fit to produce agri- Achuar Federation of Peru (FENAP), tina’s Pluspetrol. cultural crops on which the Achuar in a recent press release by Amazon depend for subsistence.” Watch. “Now that Talisman is leaving Amazon Watch, which has worked we can focus on achieving our own alongside the Achuar since 2004, Talisman was headed down the vision for development and leave a provides some background: same dirty path. Despite enormous healthy territory for future genera- local opposition, the company went tions.” “Oxy cut costs [to its drilling opera- ahead with seismic testing and ex- tions] by dumping 9 billion gallons ploratory drilling operations. It also The Calgary-based company first of ‘produced waters’ directly into the built up a false image for sharehold- bought into the Achuar’s territory in rivers instead of re-injecting them. ers, the government and the inter- 2004 by investing in an oil explora- These ‘produced waters’ contain national community by claiming to tion area known as Block 64, with highly toxic substances such as bar- have support from communities and

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

so-called good neighbor agreements with 66 communities downriver from their operations. The company never had such widespread backing–-a fact that Achuar leaders made clear throughout their four separate trips to the Canadian landscape.

“Talisman has had to face up to what the Achuar told them when they first invested in Block 64: The company cannot drill without the consent of the Achuar people,” said Gregor MacLennan, Peru Program Coordinator at 17 Amazon Watch. “Talisman’s exit sends a clear message to the oil industry: Trampling indigenous rights in the rush to exploit marginal oil reserves in the Amazon rainforest is not an option.”

“We are the owners and the original people of this land,” said Peas Ayui. “No outside person or company may enter our territory by force, without consultation and without asking us. We have been fighting against oil development on our land for 17 years and we maintain the same vision to protect our territory and resources for future generations. Let this be a clear message to all oil, mining and logging companies: we will never offer up our natural wealth so that they can extract our resources and contaminate our land.”

By all appearances, Talisman has clued in to that fact. Richard Herbert, Talisman’s vice- president of international exploration, told the Canadian press that the company is leaving because it was “unable to build a material resource position in Peru.”

In other words, it’s because the Achuar wouldn’t take “yes” for answer.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED A DANCE OF COMPLICITY MINING and POWWOWS Robert Desjarlait

“Songs and Dance are Our Soul-Spirits Made Visible” Endaso-Giizhik

Dance has been a part of the Indig- who have passed homeward to the struggle to maintain the Four enous peoples of Turtle Island for Spirit World. Gathering over the ar- Orders of Life. Extractive resource thousands of years. Many dances bor, the center, the manidoog dance colonies continue to rape, pillage, and songs were gifted to our people with us. and destroy Ashkaakamigokwe. through dream-visions. Today, TransCanada, Enbridge, PolyMet, dream-visions continue to shape We know about the Four Orders Rio Tinto, Twin Metals, Glencore are and form the regalia of dancers and of Life. Ashkaakamigokwe (Mother but a few of many names with an the songs of singers. Our dreams Earth) is the First Order of Life; agenda of ecocide. have never left us. We continue to Gitigaanan (Plants) are the Sec- express our dreams in song and ond Order; Awesiinhyag (Animals) TransCanada has become the focal dance. are the Third Order. Last are the point in the struggle against the Bimaadiziig (Human Beings). The Wiindigoog that seeks to destroy Traditions form an integral part of other three orders can exist with- Ashkaakamigokwe in the name the powwow. Traditional drums, out us, but we cannot exist with of greed and profit. They are the healing songs, eagle feathers, eagle them. Therefore, we have a respon- eco-terrorists that intend to literally fans, eagle whistles, are all part of sibility and duty to take care of divide Turtle Island in half through the powwow today. They, and many them. Balance and harmony of the their pipeline and pump their poi- other things, are part of the sacred- Four Orders of Life are part of the son through our lands. ness we give expression to in the Original Instructions given to us by dance circle. In the dance circle, we Gichi-Manidoo (the Creator). Part of the efforts of TransCanada is connect to all those who have left to separate and divide indigenous their dance steps before us – those Today, we live in a time of great communities. One example is their OP-ED

sponsorship of the Thundering Hill indigenous opposition that faces individuals essentially approve of Powwow hosted by the Nekaneet TransCanada, such an attempt mol- an extractive resource company in First Nation in Saskatchewan. lifies a segment of the indigenous its rape, plunder, and destruction of TransCanada Pipeline is listed as the population. After all, sponsoring Mother Earth. Platinum Sponsor. This contest pow- a powwow is, from TransCanada’s wow is offering top prize money to standpoint, good public relations. Is money so important that the lure singers and dancers. First place Original Instructions are forgotten? in the drum contest is $15,000. For However, a much larger segment of Does one compromise traditional dancers, there are 30 dance cat- the indigenous population recog- principals for profit? egories including Old Style Fancy nizes this tactic and is vocalizing op- Shawl – $5,000, Men’s Chicken – position to the Nekaneet powwow. We are in the time of the Seventh $5,000, with 1st place prize money Fire. According to the Seven Fires 19 for Adults – $1.200; Teens – $800; And with it, TransCanada has already Prophecy: It is this time when we Jr. – $400. accomplished part of its strategy will be given a choice between two – to separate and divide. There roads. If we choose the right road, It’s a common practice for mining are those who vehemently oppose then the Seventh Fire will light the companies to invest money into this intrusion on what is basically a Eighth and final Fire, an eternal fire local events and enterprises. One culturally shared institution – the of peace, love, brotherhood and common tactic is donating money powwow. And there are those who sisterhood. to local school funds for school overlook the manipulative agenda supplies, or donating money to local of TransCanada and see no harm in In regard to TransCanada and the food shelves. Such donations help TransCanada’s sponsorship. Thus, Nekaneet powwow, which road do to establish local support for donors the lines are being drawn. you choose? – in this case, TransCanada seeks to present a public image that is So it becomes an issue of complicity. acceptable within the community it Complicity, in this case, of support- is attempting to establish a relation- ing TransCanada. In other words, TransCanada at night ship with. Considering the fierce by competing in this powwow, Photo by Laura Borealis / Tar Sands Blockade

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Photo by gill_penney world bank implicated in grave human rights abuses John Ahni Schertow

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED

n October 2012, Indigenous and I don’t know where he was thousand and forced many more to Peoples from the Gambella taken by the soldiers.” seek asylum”, said a group of Anuak region of Southwest Ethiopia im- Community leaders, in a recent plicated the World Bank in grave David Pred, co-founder and the appeal to World Bank President Jim Ihuman rights abuses that are being Managing Associate at Inclusive De- Yong Kim. carried out as part of a resettlement velopment International (IDI), com- programme headed by the Ethio- mented online that “The shear scale “Out of the estimated four thousand pian Government. of the forcible dislocation of people and five hundred (4,500) refugees in Gambella by the villagization and asylum seekers based in Kenya Under its so-called “villagization” program and the gross human rights around 20% fled the country due programme, the government is abuses that have accompanied it to the current forced villagization working to resettle approximately are indicative of crimes against hu- programme with an average of 2 21 1.5 million people across the coun- manity under international law.” to 3 families arriving every day… try by the end of 2013. It’s sup- The situation is getting worst every posed to be a voluntary process that IDI recently carried out an in depth day given the fact that there is no offers everyone increased access to legal and policy analysis of the vil- media [revealing] the truth and the basic services and improved food lagization program, revealing that intimidating environment”. security to all the newly-settled The International Development As- people. However, according to the sociation (IDA), headquartered in In its official response to the com- Anuak Peoples, nothing could be Washington, D.C., had thus far con- plaint, the World Bank denied any further from the truth. tributed $1.4 billion USD in grants connection between PBS and vil- and loans to the Government of lagization. However, a preliminary The Anuak say they are being dis- Ethiopia through the World Bank-fi- report that was issued by the Bank’s possessed of their fertile, ancestral nanced and administered Protection internal watchdog, the Inspection lands and forced into new villages of Basic Services Project (PBS). Panel, acknowledged that “the two where there is little access to food programs depend on each other, or arable land. They also report “Bank funds are helping to make and may mutually influence the a daunting list of abuses that are possible the villagization process results of the other.” Following the being carried out by the Ethiopian which is violently uprooting tens of release of that report, the World National Defense Forces (ENDF). thousands indigenous people from Bank’s Board of Executive Directors These abuses include intimidation, their ancestral lands,” continues approved a full investigation. beatings, arbitrary arrest and deten- Pred. tion, torture in military custody, Meanwhile the intimidation, beat- rape and extra-judicial killing. “The PBS project’s aims to expand ings, rape, forced evictions and access to and improve the quality of other abuses against the Anuak In a letter to the World Bank Coun- basic services including education, continue unabated, with almost no try Director for Ethiopia, one Anuak health, and water supply are indis- media coverage or acknowledg- man detailed one such experience, putably laudable,” adds IDI Legal ment from leading NGOs and donor Associate Natalie Bugalski. “How- agencies investing in the region, “The relocation was not voluntary, ever, forced relocation as a means including the UK Department for I was not asked if I wanted to be to deliver basic services, and the International Development (DfID) relocated nor did I give my consent use of international public develop- and USAid. to being moved. My village was ment funds to carry it out, is totally forced by the government to move unacceptable.” to the new location against our will. I refused and was beaten and lost “Most Anuaks consider this process my two upper teeth. My brother was to be the realization of the Dec. 13, beaten to death by the soldiers for 2003 mass killing that left more refusing to go to the new village. than 424 educated male civilian My second brother was detained Anuaks; wounded more than a

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED The World Bank And Its Broken Human Rights Record

With the World Bank launching a tation. The Bank provides project Honduras, Panama, Chad, Mexico review of its environmental and financing only where free, prior, and Uganda. social safeguard policies, it’s worth and informed consultation results taking a quick look at the financial in broad community support to the Let us not forget, the World Bank institution’s activities in relation to project by the affected Indigenous is also a major driving force behind the current set of policies. Peoples. Such Bank-financed proj- that crazy little scam called REDD. 22 ects include measures to (a) avoid As the Indigenous Environmental To start things off, let’s go back to potentially adverse effects on the Network and numerous other NGOs 1975, when the World Bank and Indigenous Peoples’ communities; have pointed out, REDD projects the Inter-American Development or (b) when avoidance is not feasi- frequently jeopardize Indigenous Bank (IDB) started funding the ble, minimize, mitigate, or compen- Peoples and forest dependent Chixoy Dam in Guatemala. For ten sate for such effects. Bank-financed communities all for the sake of years straight, the World Bank and projects are also designed to ensure perpetrating a fraud that protects the IDB gave millions of dollars that the Indigenous Peoples receive polluters and justifies even more to successive military regimes in social and economic benefits that development. Guatemala despite the glaring risks are culturally appropriate and to the Maya Peoples who lived in gender and intergenerationally So where do all these safeguard the vicinity of the Rio Negro in the inclusive.” policies fit in? Well, they don’t. department of Baja Verapaz. Even with the ‘limited’ scope of the That said, it’s worth pointing out current set of policies–a problem On February 12th, 1982 those risks that the World Bank’s safeguard to which the World Bank readily became gruesome reality. In an policies aren’t really designed to admits—they are constantly disre- effort to make way for the dam, the “safeguard” anything. They’re all garded in order for the World Bank military carried out a brutal mas- about helping the World Bank in to finance projects that violate hu- sacre of Maya villagers. A second their so-called mission to “eradicate man rights and indigenous rights. massacre followed four weeks later, poverty” through economic devel- on March 13th. Then, a third mas- opment. The World Bank is all about That brings us to the road ahead. sacre was carried out on May 14th. the potential gains, after all–and Even though the World Bank is A fourth massacre took place four there were plenty of gains to go undertaking a review of the safe- months later, on September 18th. around in Guatemala. The military guard policies, no amount of ink regime paid their debt to both will change what’s happening on The infamous Chixoy dam mas- banks in full, plus interest. the ground. sacres would have never happened if the World Bank refused to give The situation with the Anuak Peo- It’s up to us to hold the World Bank the military regimes’ the funds they ples in Ethiopia is a more current accountable. It’s not an easy task, needed for the dam, having applied example, but there are many others but nor is it an impossible one. its safeguard policy on Indigenous Consider the controversial Gibe III Back in the 1980s, the World Bank Peoples, which states that: dam also in Ethiopia, Rio Tinto’s was getting ready to finance the soon-to-be-funded Oyu Tolgoi cop- Belo Monte Dam project in Brazil. “For all projects that are proposed per and gold mine in Mongolia and Fortunately, the UN specialized for Bank financing and affect Indig- Maple Energy’s oil drilling in Peru. agency was forced to walk away enous Peoples, the Bank requires There’s more projects in Uganda, thanks to the resilient efforts of the the borrower to engage in a process India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua Indigenous Peoples of the Xingu of free, prior, and informed consul- New Guinea, Philippines, Nicaragua, River region and a well-organized

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 23

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH UNTILUNTIL THETHE SUNSUN 24 STOPSSTOPS RISINGRISING ~~ PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW INTERVIEW WITH SALVADORAN INDIGENOUS LEADER SHANDUR KUÁTZIN MAKWILKALI Robin Llewellyn

25 Nov. 6, 2012 - “This is not Cabañas,” said Shandur raising living standards, and the Government has been Kuátzin Makwilkali, gesturing around the room and out unwilling to engage in negotiations on the question of the window at the wooded slope, but meaning the entire returning indigenous land. region of that name. He had been describing the growth of indigenous associations throughout this mainly rural “Our philosophy as indigenous peoples is to have our department in northern El Salvador, adding: “Guakotekti land, as she is our mother,” Shandur says. “We need to is its true name, not the militarily imposed name of have our land, to have our fruit, rather than money.” Cabañas. Guakotekti is its good name.” The ownership of land lay behind the Pipil uprising of Shandur is President of the National Federation of Indig- 1932, whose subsequent defeat and repression was enous Peoples of El Salvador, which works to resuscitate one of the darkest chapters of the country’s history. the vitality of indigenous cultures in a part of Central The seeds of that conflict were sown by the national America where they have been systematically and bru- government’s continuation of land concentration that tally suppressed. The challenge is significant: began with the original conquest and ensuing colonial economy. “We don’t have enough unity, solidarity,” he laments, before returning to the positive: “But now we have a The first incursions by the conquistadors into El Salvador federation, present in 14 departments, with 10,000 had ended in defeats, as the range of indigenous com- members.” munities – Lencas, Nahuat, Tepezuntes, Pipil, Kakawiras – thwarted colonial advances. The Lenca army under The Federation celebrated its first anniversary on Jan. their war leader Lempira repeatedly frustrated the Span- 21 this year. In addition to its remarkable growth, the ish, who resorted to feigning peace talks in 1536, where indigenous movement has established a small Univer- they killed Lempira before launching their successful as- sity of the Indigenous Peoples of El Salvador, teaching sault. A range of cash crops including coffee and cotton four courses lasting for three and four years. Students were farmed for export, and indigenous peoples were can study courses in indigenous medicine, the Nahuat dispossessed of their lands in a process that continued language, indigenous administration, and biculturalism. far into the 20th century. (Nahuat or Nawat, also called Pipil, is a Uto-Aztecan language similar to Nahuatl.) José Feliciano Ama was a Pipil indigenous farmer born in Izalco in the west of the country in 1881, who became Another development is the Cooperative Association of a leader of the 1932 revolt. He had been radicalized Savings, Credit, Consumption, Housing and Farming of by the expropriation of formerly communal lands, and the Nahuat-Pipil Nation. The Federation, University, and tortured by forces of the elite before the outbreak ever Cooperative make up the three branches of the move- began. The uprising followed a successful coup against ment that seek to mobilize, educate, and overcome the democratically elected president Arturo Araujo, and in economic poverty of the indigenous communities. the west the Pipil succeeded in taking several towns.

According to Shandur, an unequal distribution of land “It was a rising without firearms, just with machetes”, ownership limits how much can be accomplished in says Shandur. “It was a social rising with the motive of PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW owning their lands for a second time.” Settlement of Investment Disputes to sue the Salva- doran government for $77 million after El Salvador ruled The response of the military under coup leader Maxi- the company’s environmental impact assessment was miliano Martínez was so brutal it has become known insufficient. Wisconsin-based Commerce Group is also simply as ‘La Matanza’ – ‘the slaughter’. A discussion and suing the country under the Central American Free Trade pardon was promised for the rebels if they attended a Agreement (CAFTA) after the government revoked its town square, where thousands were shot dead. Ama was mining permits in 2006 at the La Union mine, where it executed, and over the ensuing days tens of thousands had poisoned local rivers with acid mine drainage and of indigenous Salvadorans – collectively considered cyanide. communist sympathizers by the government – were killed. In October, thousands of demonstrators thronged the streets of San Salvador to the country’s Legislative As- “At this time the government was allied to the US,” says sembly, to demand the country pass laws guarantee 26 Shandur, “and Maximiliano Martínez said, ‘These people ing the human right to safe water and a ban on metal- are Bolsheviks’. They were just indigenous people, stu- lic mining. Shandur was one of the keynote speakers, dents, small business people. All were termed Bolsheviks delivering his address not in Spanish but Nahuat, and it and killed.” included a condemnation of the government:

Being identified as indigenous, whether through lan- “Our needs are not listened to,” he said. “The doors are guage or dress, became grounds for further violence and closed to us. How is this the reality?” persecution, driving the languages to their current state. But indigenous activists are today seeking to reverse Campaigners from across the country are raising aware- the decline in native languages, and Shandur himself ness of the whole population’s reliance on an increas- teaches Nahuat in free weekend classes in San Salvador ingly fragile environment. The majority draw their drink- (“We don’t like money, our language is sacred to our ing water from the Lempa River, which is threatened people,” he says), and in local schools. by Cerro Blanco, a Goldcorp mining project upstream in Guatemala. At a recent meeting, priest and member of He shows a Nahuat language booklet, filled with clas- the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining Father sroom songs. Some are vows to study well, while others Neftalí Ruiz, urged the audience to support a ban on sing of the countryside: mining by saying: “The Earth is our mother. We would not pollute our mother, but that is what the mines would “Ximutalù ximutalù Kauaxchin, do.” Ximutalù ximatalù Kauaxchin, tiyauit With a cultural attachment to subsistence farming, the Kan nemi tèpet…” country’s indigenous people are particularly aware of the cost to both society and the environment of extractive Run, run, my horse, industries and the export-oriented agricultural model. run, run, The ambition of activists such as Shandur to achieve an let’s go, my horse, official recognition and return of indigenous lands to to the mountain… their communities is still a great distance from being The language has around 500 fluent speakers, accord- realized, however, and the chances that their intimate ing to Shandur, and 1,000 more who have some knowl- cultural and spiritual relationship with the land – born edge. Those figures are evident in his observation that of a direct dependence on the Earth – can be restored, “teaching and helping people learn is very good for my remain unknown. language. If I don’t teach, I rarely use it.” Nevertheless, Shandur is not easily discouraged. A short Activists from the indigenous communities are also cam- message accompanies his official correspondence and paigning on environmental issues. could serve as the motto of the indigenous movement as a whole: “Tupal akwa tukili ka ne tunal musekía,” or in El Salvador is currently being sued by two North Ameri- English, “Our struggle shall continue until the sun stops can mining companies: Canadian enterprise Pacific Rim rising.” is using the World Bank’s International Centre for the PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

700 Indigenous Peoples occupy Brazilian House of Representatives John Ahni Schertow

The Brazilian House of Representa- the security of every Indigenous ter- proposed amendment to the Con- tives became the scene of a power- ritory in the country. stitution that would give Congress ful showdown on Tuesday, Apr. 18, exclusive authority to decide the 2013, when 700 Indigenous leaders The Chamber of Deputies was plan- boundaries of all indigenous lands occupied the building in an effort to ning to nominate members of the and conservation areas in Brazil, stop a measure that would threaten Special Committee on “PEC 215”, a including any lands previously

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

in a position of giving a concrete decision for us. The answer given is simply a ploy for us to return to our states and in 40 days make the nominations to compose the Special Committee.”

As the day rolled on, 45 days turned into six months and a table for negotiations was added to discuss all existing legislative proposals and executive orders that threaten 28 indigenous rights. Under the new proposal, says CIMI, “this negotiation group will be divided equally, that is, its formation will have the same number of parliamentarians (of different titles, including those linked to the ‘ruralista’ caucus of agribusiness) and of indigenous leaders.”

Following the action, on the morning of April 17, the group of indigenous delegates held a special assembly to assess the occupation and the ac-

Photo by José Cruz/ABr tions that took place the day before.

All in all, the day was considered to demarcated and ratified by the of the Legislative Chamber. Several be quite successful, even if the indig- Executive Branch of the govern- Indigenous delegates also reported enous leaders had initially hoped to ment. Indigenous peoples found the being physically assaulted by the extinguish the committee altogether. proposed amendment to be a major security forces. threat to the security of their rights, Saulo Feitosa, Adjunct Secretary of leading them to come out in full Despite the assaults, the Indigenous CIMI, commented, “The evaluation force to stop it. leaders continued to stand their was quite positive. And the proposal ground for nearly an hour, until made by Parliamentarians last night In an attempt to stop the occupa- finally, the President of the House was considered an important step tion, the security forces of the House of Representatives, Henrique Alves, toward ensuring indigenous rights used tasers on at least one person, proposed an immediate meeting [...] “We now need to know what the injuring the Executive Secretary of between the 700 leaders and the practical conditions are going to be, the Indigenous Missionary Council parliamentarians prompting a peace- for example, on parity, the number of (CIMI), Cleber Buzatto. The editor of ful end to the occupation. participants in this negotiation and CIMI’s publication Porantim, Renato those who [are] going to fund the re- Santana, who photographed the A proposal soon followed in which turn of indigenous leaders to Brasilia demonstration, was also beaten by the parliament would take no action so that the conversation actually several police officers, had his glass- whatever in relation to PEC 215 for a takes place.” es destroyed and was dragged into period of 45 days; however, that was the Legislature’s café. According to wholly rejected by the indigenous CIMI, Buzatto and Santana both filed leaders. Cacique Marcos Xukuru of a complaint in the police station Pernambuco commented, “They were

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Police brutality signals impending

29 storm over Barro Blanco DAm Richard Arghiris

Mar. 21, 2013 - “Last year, on the day that Jeronimo Rodriguez and Mauricio Méndez were killed, I was one of the injured.”

Luis Jimenez, a young Ngabe man who lives on the banks of the Tabasará River in western Panama, rolls up his trouser leg to reveal the scars of several old wounds. The ugly lacerations on his right calf have left him in pain and unable to walk to properly.

“I can’t work, I can’t walk, and I have my family to support and everything…”

Two years ago, Luis had accompanied this journalist on a research trip into the rugged hills and valleys of the Tabasará watershed, investigating the impacts of the controversial Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam. Today, he struggles to walk across the meeting hall.

Disturbingly, Luis is just one of many individuals who have suffered at the hands of the Panamanian police, who now freely assault protesters with rubber bullets, batons, tear gas, and shot-guns. He was crippled for daring to stand up for his rights, and for daring to defend the natural resources his community has enjoyed for generations.

Based in an annex of the semi-autonomous Comarca

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Ngabe-Buglé, the Movimiento 10 notorious and bloody climax. Three According to their measurements, de Abril (M10) is the front-line in unarmed protesters, who had been the dam will create a 258-hectare a resistance movement that has peacefully expressing grievances reservoir, permanently flooding successfully fought off hydroelectric over the Martinelli administration’s the communities’ most productive development on the Tabasará river mining and energy policies, were farmlands, numerous homes, a spe- for more than 13 years. shot and killed by police on the cialized Ngabere language school, Panamerican Highway. The killings a church, a cemetery, and several Today, a Honduran-owned company, sparked national outrage and scenes archaeological sites. It will also kill Generadora del Istmo (Genisa), of civil disturbance. off the river’s diadromous fish and is months away from completing shrimp species, which form a staple the 28.85 megawatt dam that will Following several days of conflict, of local diets. destroy several indigenous com- peace agreements were finally nego- munities and take food from the tiated between the government, the None of these impacts have been 30 mouths of Panama’s most marginal- Cacica (Chief) of the Comarca, and included in Genisa’s environmental ized peoples. M10 are continuing to Genisa. The so-called San Lorenzo impact assessment, and none of the mount resistance, and as tensions accord included a series of steps affected communities have pro- escalate, fears of violent police re- aimed at resolving the long-stand- vided their free, informed, and prior prisals are becoming reality. ing conflict over Barro Blanco. consent to the project. As such, Barro Blanco is an unlawful development. On Tuesday, March 19, riot squads at- The first step included a UN field tacked a protest camp at Vigui, close study, which reported its findings The second part of the San Lorenzo to the dam site in Veraguas province. earlier this year. Their study Witnesses reported a sudden swarm proved conclusively that the of some 150 armed police, who project is set to inundate indig- descended on the 30-strong vigil enous lands protected as part before dusk. The police dispersed of the Comarca Ngabe-Buglé, the protesters with birdshot, tear directly impacting at least three gas, and rubber bullets, aggressively communities and indirectly pursuing them as they fled into the impacting scores more. hills of the Comarca.

The attack comes after confrontations the previous week, when three protesters were arrested, incarcer- Photos by Richard Arghiris ated, and allegedly beaten in police custody.

Protests over a range of civil, labor, and human rights issues have been gathering pace across Panama in recent months. Worryingly, police reactions to the unrest appear to be growing ever more harsh and uncompromising. Panama’s security forces have long enjoyed the privilege of impunity and now seem to be running out of control.

Last year, tensions between the Ngabe-Buglé peoples and the Panamanian government reached a

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

accord demands the intervention of progress. Despite these delays, an independent expert to investi- Genisa say that the dam will be gate the damages in more detail. On completed in 2014. In June 2013, March 20, the Panamanian govern- Weni Bagama, a Ngabere teacher ment dismissed calls to suspend from the community of Kiad, made construction whilst the expert a compelling presentation at the investigates, breaking the spirit of Bonn Climate Change Conference San Lorenzo. The project is currently in Germany, along with Alyssa Johl 40 percent complete and without a from The Center for International halt to works it will cut off the river Environmental Law (CIEL), and in a matter of weeks. Oscar Sogandares from the Environ- mental Association of Chiriquí. They 31 As the government and Genisa made the case for reform of the play for time, protesters are again UN’s Clean Development Mecha- preparing to take to the streets. nism, which continues to subsidise Bloodshed can be avoided, but projects with questionable human only if the police are brought to rights and environmental records, discipline, and only if Genisa, the including Barro Blanco. In July 2013, government, and Barro Blanco’s the UN Special Rapporteur on the markedly silent financial backers – Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James the German Investment Corporation Anaya, visited the Tabasará commu- (DEG), the Netherlands Develop- nities as part of a tour of Panama. ment Finance Company (FMO), and His comments were supportive the Central American Development and sympathetic, but stopped short Bank – choose to respect the law. of recommending the project’s suspension: „Any exploitation of August 2013: Following confronta- indigenous natural resources in the tions between police and protesters territory must be agreed upon with during the first quarter of 2013, the natives.” Said Anaya, adding that a young Ngabe activist, Onesimo both the government and Genisa Rodriguez, 20, was savagely beaten had an obligation to protect the to death by masked assailants on rights of the Ngabe people. Friday 22 March near the village of Las Nubes in the western Chiriquí The struggle for the Tabasará river highlands. Earlier in the day, he had continues. attended an anti-hydro march in the town of Cerro Punta. The murder remains unsolved and investiga- tors have not announced any link to either the state or the Honduran- owned company.

Today, relations between Genisa and the Tabasará communities remain tense. Sources on the ground say that construction work has suffered setbacks due to internal conflicts between the company, its crew, and its equipment supplier. The onset of seasonal rains has also hampered

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 32

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Beatiae sint periatemo que velesto ecotourism project in Tayrona National Park suspended John Ahni Schertow

controversial ecotourism project was suspend- Kankuamo stated in October 2012 that their position 33 ed last february in Colombia’s Tayrona Na- is “untouchable and nonnegotiable of the sacred sites, tional Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural they are our true Mamos [sacred law] and therefore Tayrona) for threatening sites held sacred by support everything that exists in mother nature,” as Athe Kankuamo, one of four Indigenous Peoples who live reported in Semana newspaper. in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where the national park is situated. The Kankuamo also stood strong against the Dávila tourism complex, another development project by Six In its ruling, the administrative court in the Department Senses. Before turning its attention to the Los Ciruelos of Magdalena stated that construction of the “Los Cirue- project in November 2011, the company promoted the los” project can only take place until such time that the Dávila complex as an environmentally friendly project opinions of the Indigenous Peoples are considered and that would promote ecotourism. It was a mega hotel the project itself is seen as consistent with the “social, that threatened sacred land. cultural and economic integrity of the communities.” The Dávila project took the Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco and The court went on to say that the Kankuamo should Kankuamo by complete surprise. In fact, they only have been consulted before Colombia’s environmental learned about the project after an attorney uncovered a licensing authority granted a license to the ecotourism letter from the Ministry of the Interior which described company, Thailand-based Six Senses. the project area as being empty of any permanent human settlements, something that was simply not true. This is the second time in less than three years the “Los Ultimately, the Dávila project was cancelled, thanks in Ciruelos” project has been formally suspended. In No- no small part to a group of politicians who wanted to vember 2011, construction was brought to a halt after a preserve the sanctity of the National Park, which is also group of wells were drilled in violation of the project’s home to numerous endemic species. environmental license. The company was only permitted to resume construction on Jan. 8, 2013. Six Senses, however, refused to walk away from Tay- rona Park. Instead, the company decided to focus on In addition to the need for consultation, the court stated something that would be more palatable to the govern- unequivocally that development projects should not en- ment and the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada croach on sacred sites or inhabited areas of indigenous de Santa Marta--at least, on the surface. peoples within the National Park, without their prior informed consent. Given the continued failure of Six Senses to obey the letter of the law, clearly, it’s time for the company to According to the Kankuamo, the resort project is being walk away from Tayrona National Park, if not the eco- built on top of sacred grounds. A spokesperson from the tourism industry altogether.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE INCONVENIENT TRUTHS De-bunking China’s Plan To

Settle Nomadic Populations 34 Hannibal Rhoades

quat grey housing announced in June 2012 where stands stoically against the future of all remaining no- the elements in Ne’u, madic groups from these regions Tibet, conspicuous lies. Having been stripped of Sagainst the jagged mountain their legal rights to the land, backdrop. Uniform in its greyness Nomadic Pastoralists in Tibet, and organized in utilitarian rows, Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang the conurbation appears more Autonomous Region are facing like an insecure detention center this upheaval whether they like than the ‘moderately prosper- it or not. ous society’ the Chinese state The re-settled village of Ne’u near Lhasa, Tibet. intends it to be. This is perhaps The numbers involved in imple- Photo by International the last place one would expect menting this policy are huge. Campaign for Tibet to find traditionally nomadic Within the five-year period, the communities, famed and perse- state intends to settle over 1.5 cuted for their mobile lifestyle million nomads into more than and singular understanding of 240,000 new homes. But what communality. are the reasons behind this colossal and, according to the Unfortunately, Ne’u and other Chinese authorities, ‘very popu- settlements like it are exactly lar’ move’? where many nomadic peoples hailing from three of China’s The ‘Nomadic Problem’ most disputed territories have In short, the plan is designed found themselves. It is also, as to ‘solve the nomadic problem’ a result of the Chinese govern- which the Chinese perceive as ment’s new 12th Five Year Plan existing on an environmental

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

and social level. First and foremost as well as others. In light of the been ignored in Xinjiang with the they argue that this measure is evidence to follow concerning the Human Rights Watch reporting being taken to protect the fragile negative effects of State control extensive abuses of Indigenous grassland environments tradition- and intervention, this demonstrates autonomy, including freedom of ally relied on by nomadic groups. not only absolute State faith in a speech and religious expression, at Chinese authorities say that 90 chronically flawed idea of develop- the hands of the State. percent of China’s 988 million acres ment, but also that little respect is The evidence brought to bear by of grassland shows some sign of truly held with relation to nomadic such acts of defiance and the need degradation and cite overgrazing, needs and customs as dictated by for state censorship of protest perpetrated by nomadic herds. the people. point toward nomadic perception of these policies as being aggres- By moving the nomads off the Protest as Expose sive attempts at enforced assimila- 35 grasslands, the Chinese argue that Extensive recent protests have also tion, not benevolent facilitations of they can not only conserve a vital challenged the plausibility of State nomadic wishes. ecosystem; but also, by ending the claims that the new plan has popu- nomadic pastoralist way of life lar nomadic support. In each con- A Planned International through settlement, induce the cerned region, nomadic people have Rights Violation social and economic development persistently responded to plans to The plan’s clear transgression of of nomadic peoples in the form of end their way of life by offering the Nomadic Peoples’ needs and increased GDP and access to state not compliance, but resistance and their desire to remain on their infrastructure ‘where possible.’ protest. ancestral grasslands also has international legal implications. The In the Plan’s own words, all of this Some of the most striking examples initiative defies several articles of is supposedly to be done out of of nomadic anger took place in the UN Declaration of the Rights respect and in knowledge of the Tibet in 2011 where a staggering of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). “actual needs and national customs twenty-five individuals self immo- These include Article Eight, part of the nomadic people, according lated in protest. Eighteen of these one, which states that: “Indigenous to their wishes.” (sic) Yet, just as the were herders protesting the previ- peoples and individuals have the state flaunts the alleged nomadic ous phase of the 12th Five Year right not to be subjected to forced support of this policy, it simulta- Plan, which, as of January 2011, had assimilation or destruction of their neously casts nomadic life and forcibly moved approximately 1.43 culture.” customs as backward. The implicit million ex-nomads into unfamiliar suggestion of the new Five Year urban environments. As well as Article Ten: “Indigenous Plan is that nomads are incapable peoples shall not be forcibly re- of looking after their environment– Most recently, conflict in Inner Mon- moved from their lands or territo- hence the blame for degradation– golia has served to bring attention ries. No relocation shall take place and suffer as social and economic to the continuing distress of herd- without the free, prior and informed anachronisms in a modern world. ing populations and the subjuga- consent of the indigenous peoples tion of their rights. A letter from the concerned and after agreement This attitude toward nomadic worth nomads of Imin Sum to the South- on just and fair compensation and, has been more explicitly detailed ern Mongolian Human Rights Infor- where possible, with the option of by other Chinese sources such as mation Centre (SMHRIC) explained return.” the State-controlled publication how “Through means of deception ‘China Daily.’ In 2009 it described and force, the government is liter- Several other terms of the declara- the Xinjiang Autonomous Region ally plundering our land.” Protests tion also stand to be violated by the as ‘stagnant,’ ‘under-developed’ and in this locality (as well as those of plan. Despite this–and a damning home to a people who “Before the Hailut Township and Ar Horchin report from UN Special Rappor- founding of New China in 1949… Banner), though heavily censored teur Mr. Olivier De Schutter–the led a life of poverty and hardship.” via Internet policing, reveal the plan has somehow retained a kind This appraisal refers directly to clear absence of nomadic compli- of impunity, avoiding worldwide the nomadic peoples of the region ance. Voices of discord have also headlines.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

significantly improves the qual- ment and Development Desk of De-bunking State ity of range lands. On the Tibetan the Central Tibetan Administration, Justifications plateau moderate and intermittent this traditional knowledge “holds Given the 12th Five Year Plan’s grazing has been demonstrated to the key to sustainability on the dry attempts to disguise its violation increase bio-diversity, control toxic lands of the world” for the future. of nomadic autonomy, it would be weed populations and increase foolish to subsequently accept that soil quality by improving the A History Of Chinese its reasons for such violations are carbon-nitrogen ratio. Conversely, Colonization genuine. Enquiry into the eco-so- when traditional grazing methods The wealth of evidence and cial history of the relationship be- were observably removed from an opinion that tells of the benefits tween State, nomadic pastoralists area, as the Chinese propose they of traditional nomadic grazing and the environment casts doubt should be, toxic weed populations has not stopped states like China over the veracity of State claims increased, permafrost was nega- from making unfounded assump- 36 that nomads are responsible for tively affected and bio-diversity tions that nomads and their ways environmental degradation. It also fell. of lifeneed to be abandoded. The radically confronts Chinese pre- new 12th Five Year Plan preys on conceptions of nomadic peoples Other studies in the same region the ignorance of nomadic life, but as socioeconomically backward found that grazing may also be key a look at the history of Chinese and poverty stricken. This is vital to mitigating the effects of artifi- grassland policy acts to cast fur- as these assumptions are key to cial warming on grasslands in both ther doubt on State justifications justifying the means of the plan. winter and summer seasons. Tra- for the planned upheaval. These ditional grazing activity elongated policies can lend some clues as to Consulting independent historical, the growing season, improved how the Chinese State has decep- social and environmental sources vegetative productivity and quality tively managed to rhetorically cast rather than those backed by the and reduced the tangible negative the nomad as the enemy of nature, Chinese state again reveals that effects of warming. making the resettlement plan the new settlement plan has its justifiable. roots firmly planted in deceit. Furthermore, the survival of the nomadic way of life through count- It is strange that, in the latter The first accusation that requires less centuries suggests that tradi- half of the 20th and into the 21st de-bunking is the assertion tional nomadic herd management century, nomadic management that nomadic herds are causing was and can still be environmen- strategies should independently overgrazing, damaging grassland tally stable and sustainable, con- fall out of sync with local ecosys- ecology. State authorities blame trary to Chinese remonstrations. tems and cause environmental the social backwardness of no- Maintaining the correct herd size damage. This is a fair contention madic commons management and in relation to the land’s carrying in light of the facts concerning outmoded traditional knowledge capacity, and avoiding overgrazing, traditional nomadic grazing prac- systems, stating this as a reason was key to prospering and sustain- tices. So where does the blame for why the nomads are in need of ing life. Far from being a primitive overgrazing lie? development. Contrary to these step on the inevitable road to claims, a careful appraisal of stud- agriculture and industry, nomads The sustainability of nomadic pas- ies concerning nomadic lifeways along with various experts around toralism as a mode of subsistence suggests this blame is wrongly the world know that traditional is reliant on free seasonal rotation apportioned. methods were key to “a highly and migration. This allows the soil sophisticated adaption.” and vegetable matter to recu- Though some overgrazing has oc- perate after grazing, preventing curred, it is very unlikely to be the Living in accordance with what overuse. If disrupted this sustain- result of traditional nomadic herd- their environment allows, nomads ability can be damaged; experts ing methods. Non-state sponsored represent the antithesis of back- have long warned of the danger of science has found that traditional, wardness. According to Tenzin State interventions in well-adapt- unconstrained grazing activities Norbu, Director of the Environ- ed nomadic management tech-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

niques, seeing through claims of These ignorant interventions seem than creating more dependent, ‘improvement and ‘modernization.’ to be forgotten by a State which impoverished citizens and resource now conveniently sees the removal problems, developments should be Anthropologist GN Appell, for one, of nomadic groups as the solution looking to foster self-sustainable suggests that the only things such to a problem of its own making. populations. invasions are key to supporting are Designing a sedentary future for the “the practice of designing futures nomads, China is able to deflect the It would be naive to think that the for others and imposing their (the blame for grassland degradation, Chinese are ignorant of this fact. State’s) own economic and environ- which lies firmly at its own door. The next question that must be mental rationality on other social History here shows us that oust- asked then, is what does the State systems of which they have incom- ing traditional knowledge in favor stand to gain from settling the plete understanding.” of ‘modern’ solutions is in fact the nomads? 37 harbinger of environmental peril. The Chinese State is guilty of Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia disturbing nomadic practices and is A Resource-Motivated have been found, relatively recently, demonstrably responsible for much Deception to contain vast mineral deposits of the ecological damage that can The unfortunate truth for the cred- which the Chinese have wasted be put down to overgrazing. Since ibility of the State’s justification little time in claiming. 1950 the State, ignorant of the sus- for the new plan is that Chinese tainability of nomadic practices, has grassland policies, past and present, In Tibet, the building of the new implemented damaging grassland make very little social or ecologi- Golmud Lhasa railway line across policies which have gone through cal sense. Given the scientific and the Tibetan Plateau in 2006 has numerous harmful phases. From the social evidence, the most rational ushered in a mining boom. The communes set up in 1958, which course of action the Five Year Plan Chinese government, in accordance encouraged production and over- could take to conserve the grass- with its policy encouraging large- stocking of the land, to the fencing lands would be to pour its efforts scale explorations, has announced schemes that curbed mobility while into restoring a traditional nomadic plans to exploit 110 deposits in this increasing state control; the options way of life close to the one that fragile area. needed to keep nomadic herding existed before the 1950s. Rather sustainable have been taken from the people.

Simultaneously, the social ‘improvement’ supposedly afforded by such ‘developments’ is virtually nonexis- tent. Again, recent protests demonstrate this, just as the high rate of urban poverty found in forced communities. The promises made by the State over the past 60 years are the same as those made by the new plan. It must be stated that the nomads do not want development or a monetary income. A number of different individuals, including Tenzin Norbu, have reported this, that “almost all of the residents of the concrete settlements would prefer to go back to their previous lifestyle.”

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

There is also considerable foreign mitigate against human and envi- recognize that development can- investment in this venture from ronmental losses, but still cultures not be simply measured in yuan, European and Canadian min- are crushed to allow the exploita- or that nomads are not a problem ing giants such as Rio Tinto and tion of one resource or another. to be solved, but a solution in Eldorado Gold Corp. Nomads have Such projects are also likely to waiting to the ecological issues protested, claiming the lands be accountable for a lion’s share China has apparently no interest in have been poisoned along with of the direct (caused by large addressing. their herds, yet further rail links projects) and indirect (warming ef- and damming projects are under fects) degradation claimed by the construction. Chinese authorities.

In Inner Mongolia, home to a The Inconvenient Truths quarter of the world’s total coal China may have rolled out new tax 38 reserves and a large portion of breaks for sustainable rural initia- its rare metals, a similar story is tives and it may be presenting unfolding. Greenpeace has warned the world with a seemingly green China that further exploration solution to nomadic over-grazing; could cause a water crisis affecting but the facts tell us these are gre- both people and fragile grassland enwashing initiatives designed to ecosystems. It has also found that distract us from the slew of incred- numerous areas have already suf- ibly harmful extractive projects. fered accelerated degradation. Yet the companies involved are still The 12th Five Year Plan pretends planning to increase production. to be at home in a sustainable development paradigm. It claims Xinjiang Autonomous Region hosts to be acting in nomadic and envi- vast coal, gas and oil reserves. In ronmental best interests, but the 2008, 27.22 million tons of crude insistence of these claims is not oil were extracted. Further growth enough to conceal the increasingly is forecast with the region partak- damaging and profitable ecologi- ing in a so-called ‘black gold rush.’ cal extraction initiatives, which The region’s largest sector is that provide the true incentive to State of petrochemicals, and success policies. and development is consistently judged by the number of large Hopefully the myths of this plan projects in the region. have been dispelled here, at least to some degree. The reality that The details of these extensive re- rushes in to fill the gaps left by source exploitations are of course state misinformation is an unset- omitted from official Chinese tling one. It suggests China stands explanations. This further sug- for illegally extinguishing a whole gests that the resettlement of the cultural system and jeopardiz- nomadic population is little more ing of some of the world’s most than an attempt to follow the path precious ecosystems for the sake of least resistance to achieving of economic growth and produc- total control of these profitable tion. It is also tells us that it will lands. It is a story we have seen be achieved through national and before, in 1848 in California and international dishonesty. all over the world since. Extraction techniques may have moved on, But perhaps this is not so surpris- governments may now outwardly ing from a State that does not

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE PROTECTING

39 KOONGAARA John Ahni Schertow Photo by theweathergroup_U

fter years of struggling The piece of legislation, which was Koongarra because I believe that to protect the Koongarra introduced by Environment Minister the land and my cultural beliefs are uranium deposit within the Tony Burke on Feb. 6, 2013, brings more important than mining and Alligator Rivers Region of the 12,000-acre Koongarra area money. Money comes and goes, but AAustralia’s Northern Territory, Jeffrey inside the borders of the UNESCO the land is always here, it always Lee, Djok Senior Traditional Owner World Heritage listed Kakadu Na- stays if we look after it and it will and the Custodian of Koongarra, can tional Park. look after us.” finally rest easy “This is a great day for me, my When the Kakadu National Park was On Mar. 14, 2013, Australia’s senate country and my culture. My mind is created, Koongarra was simply left passed the “Completion of Kakadu at peace now that I know that there out because of the large amount of National Park (Koongarra Project will be no mining at Koongarra and uranium that was discovered there Area Repeal) Bill 2013”, marking an that Djok lands will be protected in the 1970s. It was an extremely end to one of three long-standing forever in Kakadu National Park,” controversial move, given that struggles against uranium mining in comments Jeffrey Lee in a written Koongarra is also home to at least the Northern Territory. letter that was published online. “I 50,000 years of Indigenous history have said no to uranium mining at and culture; nevertheless, it was one

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE that the government made without nated water, as Mirarr Elder Yvonne We want to see the same protection reservation. Margarula explained in a 2011 letter for Mirarr country,” said Mirarr Senior to UN Secretary-General Ban ki- Traditional Owner Yvonne Margarula, In 1995, the Koongarra deposit was Moon. Despite the endless problems, in a public statement. acquired by the French uranium Rio Tinto–through its subsidiary, giant AREVA. The company tried Energy Resources of Australia (ERA)– Around the same time that Environ- several times over the years to carry wants to expand the Ranger mine. ment Minister Tony Burke introduced its mining plans forward; but they the “Completion of Kakadu National were blocked each and every time by The Jabiluka site is a very different Park Bill” the Mirrar Peoples an- Koongarra’s Traditional Owners. The story. Exploitation of this deposit nounced that they had initiated “a company’s last big effort focused on was halted in 1998, following an renegotiated agreement for the ex- whetting the appetite of the current eight-month blockade that involved isting Ranger mine” that provides for Custodian of Koongarra and the sole thousands of indigenous and non- the inclusion of the Ranger area into 40 survivor of the Djok clan (Gundjei- indigenous protesters. As a result Kakadu National Park as the mine is hmi), Mr. Jeffrey Lee. In 2007, the of that effort, Rio Tinto eventually rehabilitated. company told Mr. Lee–who was born came to sign the “Jabiluka Long-Term the same year the uranium deposit Care and Maintenance Agreement” Justin O’Brien, The executive officer was discovered, in 1971–that he which guaranteed that the Mirarr of Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corpora- could be one of the richest men in would have veto rights over any tion, which represents the Mirarr the world. All he had to do was give future ‘development’ at Jabiluka. Traditional Owners, commented, the company his consent to proceed. “This action by the government is to As impressive as it was for a mining be applauded, although the name of Instead of accepting the offer, Mr. company like Rio Tinto to acknowl- the bill incorrectly implies that this Lee began working to have the edge the Mirarr’s veto rights, the completes the national park. There is boundaries of Kakadu Park redrawn agreement just wasn’t enough for further work to be done and we still to encompass Koongarra. That way, the Mirarr People. They, too, want to look forward to the day when all of as Mr. Lee said in 2007, “it will be bring Jabiluka and Ranger into the Kakadu is included in the National protected and safe forever”. National Park. Park and adequately protected from Now it is. On Mar. 15, 2013, Koongar- unwanted industrial development.” ra officially became a part of Kakadu ”Traditional Owners must be allowed National Park. to make their own decisions about development on their country. Jeffrey As welcomed and important as this has been speaking out to protect victory is, the struggle against ura- his country and we support him. The Ranger Uranium mine nium is still far from over; He has always said no to mining The Ranger Uranium Mine has been operating within the bounds of Kakadu Koongarra wasn’t the only area to at Koongarra and we support him National Park for over 30 years. The be excluded from the National Park. when he says he wants to see that mine was established against the expressed wishes of the Mirrar Peoples The government also left out the country put into the National Park. Photo by Alberto Otero García “Ranger” and “Jabiluka” uranium sites, both of which are presently owned by another mining giant, Rio Tinto. Currently, only the Ranger site is being actively exploited.

The Ranger mine is a massive controversy onto itself. Ever since the mining operation began, there have been more than 100 environmental errors and breaches leading to the unintentional release of approximately 12 million liters of contami-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Harper4 . Launches Major4 .First4 .Nations 41 Termination4 .Plan As Negotiating Tables Legitimize Canada’s Colonialism

Russell Diabo

The following essay was originally published in the First Nations Strategic Bulletin (FNSB), June-October 2012.

On September 4th the Harper government clearly sig- assessment process of 93 negotiation tables across naled its intention to: Canada to determine who will and who won’t agree to terminate Inherent, Aboriginal and Treaty rights 1) Focus all its efforts to assimilate First Nations into under the terms of Canada’s Comprehensive Claims the existing federal and provincial orders of govern- and Self-Government policies. For those tables who ment of Canada; won’t agree, negotiations will end as the federal government withdraws from the table and takes funding 2) Terminate the constitutionally protected and inter- with them. nationally recognized Inherent, Aboriginal and Treaty rights of First Nations. • First Nation regional and national political organizations will have their core funding cut and capped. Termination in this context means the ending of First For regional First Nation political organizations the Nations pre-existing sovereign status through federal core funding will be capped at $500,000 annually. coercion of First Nations into Land Claims and Self-Gov- For some regional organizations this will result in a ernment Final Agreements that convert First Nations funding cut of $1 million or more annually. This will into municipalities, their reserves into fee simple lands restrict the ability of Chiefs and Executives of Pro- and extinguishment of their Inherent, Aboriginal and vincial Territorial organization’s to organize and/or Treaty Rights. advocate for First Nations rights and interests. To do this the Harper government announced three new policy measures: • First Nation Band and Tribal Council funding for advisory services will be eliminated over the next two • A “results based” approach to negotiating Modern years further crippling the ability of Chiefs and Coun- Treaties and Self-Government Agreements. This is an cils and Tribal Council executives to analyze and

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

asess the impacts of federal and provincial policies and legislation on Inherent, Aboriginal and Treaty The 2006 Conservative Aboriginal Platform promised rights. that if elected a Harper government would:

These three new policy measures are on top of the fol- Support the development of individual property ownership lowing unilateral federal legislation the Harper govern- on reserves, to encourage lending for private housing and ment is imposing over First Nations: businesses.

• Bill C-27: First Nations Financial Transparency Act The long-term goals set out in the Harper government’s • Bill C-45: Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 [Omnibus Bill policy and legislative initiatives listed above are not includes Indian Act amendments regarding voting on- new; they are at least as old as the Indian Act and were reserve lands surrenders/designations] articulated in the federal 1969 White Paper on Indian • Bill S-2: Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Policy, which set out a plan to terminate Indian rights as 42 Interests or Rights Act the time. • Bill S-6: First Nations Elections Act • Bill S-8: Safe Drinking Water for First Nations • Bill C-428: Indian Act Amendment and Replacement Previous Termination Plans: 1969 White Paper & Act [Private Conservative MP’s Bill, but supported by Buffalo Jump of 1980’s Harper government] The objectives of the 1969 White Paper on Indian Policy Then there are the Senate Public Bills: were to:

• Bill S-207: An Act to amend the Interpretation Act • Assimilate First Nations. (non derogation of aboriginal and treaty rights) • Remove legislative recognition. • Bill S-212: First Nations Self-Government Recogni- • Neutralize constitutional status. tion Bill • Impose taxation. • Encourage provincial encroachment. The Harper government’s Bills listed above are designed • Eliminate Reserve lands & extinguish Aboriginal to undermine the collective rights of First Nations by Title. focusing on individual rights. This is the “modern legisla- • Economically underdevelop communities. tive framework” the Conservatives promised in 2006. The • Dismantle Treaties. 2006 Conservative Platform promised to: As First Nations galvanized across Canada to fight the Replace the Indian Act (and related legislation) with a Trudeau Liberal government’s proposed 1969 termi- modern legislative framework which provides for the devo- nation policy the federal government was forced to lution of full legal and democratic responsibility to aborigi- consider a strategy on how to calm the Indian storm of nal Canadians for their own affairs within the Constitution, protest. including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a memo dated April 1, 1970, David Munro, an Of course “modern” in Conservative terms means assimi- Assistant Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs on Indian lation of First Nations by termination of their collective Consultation and Negotiations, advised his political rights and off-loading federal responsibilities onto the masters Jean Chrétien and Pierre Trudeau, as follows: First Nations themselves and the provinces. . . . in our definition of objectives and goals, not only One Bill that hasn’t been introduced into Parliament yet, as they appear in formal documents, but also as stated but is still expected, is the First Nations’ Private Owner- or even implied in informal memoranda, draft planning ship Act (FNPOA). This private property concept for In- papers, or causal conversation. We must stop talking about dian Reserves—which has been peddled by the likes of having the objective or goal of phasing out in five years. Tom Flanagan and tax proponent and former Kamloops . . We can still believe with just as much strength and Chief Manny Jules—is also a core plank of the Harper sincerity that the [White Paper] policies we propose are the government’s 2006 electoral platform. right ones. . .

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

transfer of programs to other federal departments; The final [White Paper] proposal, which is for the elimination of special status in legislation, must be • Negotiating municipal community self-government relegated far into the future. . . my conclusion is that we agreements with First Nations which would result in need not change the [White Paper] policy content, but the First Nation government giving up their Constitu- we should put varying degrees of emphasis on its several tional status as a sovereign government and becom- components and we should try to discuss it in terms of its ing a municipality subject to provincial or territorial components rather than as a whole. . . we should adopt laws; somewhat different tactics in relation to [the White Paper] policy, but that we should not depart from its essential • Extinguishing aboriginal title and rights in exchange content. (Emphasis added) for fee simple title under provincial or territorial law while giving the province or territory underlying title 43 In the early 1970’s, the Trudeau Liberal government to First Nations lands. did back down publicly on implementing the 1969 White Paper on Indian Policy, but as we can see fromMr. The Mulroney government’s “Buffalo Jump” plan was Munro’s advice the federal bureaucracy changed the temporarily derailed due the 1990 “Oka Crisis”. Mul- timeline from five years to a long-term implementation roney responded to the “Oka Crisis” with his “Four Pil- of the 1969 White Paper objectives of assimilation / lars” of Native Policy: termination. • Accelerating the settlement of land claims; In the mid-1980’s the Mulroney Conservative govern- • Improving the economic and social conditions on ment resurrected the elements of the 1969 White Paper Reserves; on Indian Policy, through a Cabinet memo. • Strengthening the relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and governments; In 1985, a secret federal Cabinet submission was leaked • Examining the concerns of Canada’s Aboriginal Peo- to the media by a DIAND employee. The Report was ples in contemporary Canadian life. nicknamed the “Buffalo Jump of the 1980’s” by another federal official. The nickname referred to the effect of In 1991, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney also announced the recommendations in the secret Cabinet document, the establishment of a Royal Commission on Aboriginal which if adopted, would lead Status Indians to a cul- Peoples, which began its work later that year; the es- tural death — hence the metaphor. tablishment of an Indian Claims Commission to review Specific Claims; the establishment of aBC Task Force The Buffalo Jump Report proposed a management ap- on Claims, which would form the basis for the BC Treaty proach for First Nations policy and programs, which had Commission Process. the following intent: In 1992, Aboriginal organizations and the federal gov- • Limiting & eventually terminating the federal trust ernment agreed, as part of the 1992 Charlottetown Ac- obligations; cord, on amendments to the Constitution Act, 1982 that would have included recognition of the inherent right • Reducing federal expenditures for First Nations, un- of self-government for Aboriginal people. For the first der funding programs, and prohibiting deficit financ- time, Aboriginal organizations had been full participants ing; in the talks; however, the Accord was rejected in a national referendum. • Shifting responsibility and costs for First Nations services to provinces and “advanced bands” through With the failure of Canadian constitutional reform in co-management, tri-partite, and community self- 1992, for the last twenty years, the federal govern- government agreements; ment—whether Liberal or Conservative—has continued to develop policies and legislation based upon the • “Downsizing” of the Department of Indian Affairs and White Paper/Buffalo Jump objectives and many First Northern Development (DIAND) through a devolution Nations have regrettably agreed to compromise their of program administration to “advanced bands” and constitutional/international rights by negotiating under

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

Canada’s termination policies. ment policies. These Land Claims/Self-Government Agreements all require the termination of Indigenous rights for some land, cash and delegated jurisdiction Canada’s Termination Policies Legitimized under the existing federal and provincial orders of gov- by Negotiation Tables ernment.

It has been thirty years since Aboriginal and Treaty Canada has deemed that it will not recognize the pre- rights have been “recognized and affirmed” in section 35 existing sovereignty of First Nations or allow for a of Canada’s constitution. Why hasn’t the constitutional distinct First Nations order of government based upon protection for First Nations’ Inherent, Aboriginal and section 35 of Canada’s constitution. Treaty rights been implemented on the ground? Through blackmail, bribery or force, Canada is using One answer to this question is, following the failure of the poverty of First Nations to obtain concessions from 44 the First Ministers’ Conferences on Aboriginal Matters First Nations who want out of the Indian Act by way of in the 1980’s, many First Nations agreed to compromise Land Claims/Self- Government Agreements. All of these their section 35 Inherent, Aboriginal and Treaty rights Agreements conform to Canada’s interpretation of sec- by entering into or negotiating Modern Treaties and/or tion 35 of Canada’s constitution, which is to legally, Self-government Agreements under Canada’s unilateral politically and economically convert First Nations into negotiation terms. what are essentially ethnic municipalities.

These Modern Treaties and Self-Government Agree- The first groups in Canada who have agreed to comments not only contribute to emptying out section 35 promise their section 35 Inherent and Aboriginal rights of Canada’s constitution of any significant legal, politi- through Modern Treaties have created an organization cal or economic meaning. Final settlement agreements called the Land Claims Agreement Coalition. are then used as precedents against other First Nations’ who are negotiating. The Coalition Members are:

Moreover, Canada’s Land Claims and Self-Government • Council of Yukon First Nations (representing 9 land policies are far below the international standards set claim organizations in the Yukon) out in the Articles of the United Nations Declaration • Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Canada • Gwich’in Tribal Council publicly endorsed the UNDRIP in November 2010, but • Inuvialuit Regional Corporation obviously Canada’s interpretation of the UNDRIP is dif- • Kwanlin Dun First Nation ferent than that of most First Nations, considering their • Maa-nulth First Nations unilateral legislation and policy approach. • Makivik Corporation • Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach Canada’s voted against UNDRIP on Sept. 13, 2007, stat- • Nisga’a Nation ing that the UNDRIP was inconsistent with Canada’s • Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. domestic policies, especially the Articles dealing with • Nunatsiavut Government Indigenous Peoples’ Self-Determination, Land Rights • Sahtu Secretariat Inc. and Free, Prior Informed Consent. • Tlicho Government • Tsawwassen First Nation Canada’s position on UNDRIP now is that they can inter- • Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation pret it as they please, although the principles in UNDRIP form part of international not domestic law. The Land Claims Agreement Coalition Members came together because the federal government wasn’t prop- The federal strategy is to maintain the Indian Act (with erly implementing any of their Modern Treaties. So the amendments) as the main federal law to control and Coalition essentially became a lobby group to collec- manage First Nations. The only way out of the Indian tively pressure the federal government to respect their Act for First Nations is to negotiate an agreement under Modern Treaties. According to Members of the Coalition Canada’s one-sided Land Claims and/or Self-Govern- Modern Treaty implementation problems persist today.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

ken after they are signed by the federal government? The fact that Canada has already broken the Modern Treaties shouldn’t inspire confidence for those First Na- Many of these negotiations are in British Columbi- tions who are already lined up at Canada’s Comprehen- awhere despite the past twenty years of negotiations sive Claims and Self-Government negotiation tables. the B.C. Treaty process has produced two small Modern Treaties, Tsawwassan and Maa’Nulth. The Nisga’a Trea- According to the federal Department of Aboriginal Af- ty was concluded in 2000, outside of the B.C. Treaty fairs there are 93 Modern Treaty and/or Self-Govern- process. ment negotiation tables across Canada. All of these Modern Treaties have resulted in extin- Those First Nations who are negotiating at these 93 ta- guishing Aboriginal Title, converting reserve lands into bles are being used by the federal government (and the fee simple, removing tax exemptions, converting bands 45 provinces/Territories) to legitimize its Comprehensive into municipalities, among other impacts on Inherent Claims and Self-Government policies, which are based and Aboriginal rights. upon extinguishment of Aboriginal Title and termination of Inherent, Aboriginal and Treaty rights. Canada’s Termination Policies Legitimized The First Nations who have been refusing to negoti- The Harper Government’s Termination ate and are resisting the federal Comprehensive Claims and Self-Government negotiating policies are routinely Aside from the unilateral legislation being imposed, or ignored by the federal government and kept under con- the funding cuts and caps to First Nation’s and their po- trol and managed through the Indian Act (with amend- litical organizations, the September 4, 2012, announcements). ment of a “results based” approach to Modern Treaties and Self-Government negotiations amounts to a “take it Attempts by non-negotiating First Nations to reform or leave it” declaration on the part of the Harper govern- the federal Comprehensive Claims and Self-Government ment to the negotiating First Nations. policies aren’t taken seriously by the federal government because there are so many First Nations who have Canada’s Comprehensive Claims Policy requires First already compromised their Inherent, Aboriginal and Nations to borrow money from the federal government Treaty rights by agreeing to negotiate under the terms to negotiate their “land claims”. According to the federal and funding conditions of these Comprehensive Claims government: and Self-Government policies. To date, the total of outstanding loans to Aboriginal For example, following the 1997 Supreme Court of groups from Canada to support their participation in nego- Canada Delgamuukw decision, which recognized that tiations is $711 million. This represents a significant finan- Aboriginal Title exists in Canada, the Assembly of First cial liability for the Aboriginal community. In addition, the Nations tried to reform the Comprehensive Claims pol- government of Canada provides $60 million in grants and icy to be consistent with the Supreme Court of Canada contributions to Aboriginal groups every year for negotia- Delgamuukw decision. tions.

However, the then Minister of Indian Affairs, Robert It is Canada’s policies that forced First Nations to bor- Nault on December 22, 2000, wrote a letter addressed row money to negotiate their “claims”, so the “financial to then Chief Arthur Manuel that essentially said why liability” was a policy measure designed by the federal should the federal government change the Comprehen- government to pressure First Nations into settling their sive Claims policy if First Nations are prepared to nego- “claims” faster. As the federal government puts it, the tiate under it as it is? Comprehensive Claims negotiation process has instead “spawned a negotiation industry that has no incentive to A fair question: why do First Nations remain at negotia- reach agreement.” tion tables that ultimately lead to the termination of their peoples Inherent and Aboriginal rights, especially This accumulated debt of $711 million along with the since it appears that Modern Treaties are routinely bro- $60 million annual in grants and contributions have

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY compromised those negotiating First Nations and their leaders to the point that they are unable or unwilling to The Chiefs and their organizations at the B.C. Treaty seriously confront the Harper government’s termination process negotiation tables have had twenty years to plan. negotiate the “recognition and affirmation” of Aboriginal Title and Rights, but this continues to be impossible Over 50% of the Comprehensive Claims are located in under Canada’s policies aiming at the extinguishment B.C. and the First Nations Summit represents the nego- of collective rights. As a result only two extinguishment tiating First Nations in B.C., although some negotiating Treaties have resulted from the process. Even Sophie First Nations have now joined the Union of B.C. Indian Pierre, Chair of the B.C. Treaty Commission has said Chiefs (UBCIC), thus blurring the historic distinctions “If we can’t do it, it’s about time we faced the obvious – I between to two political organizations. The latter orga- guess we don’t have it, so shut her down”. nization previously vigorously opposed the B.C. Treaty process, but now the UBCIC remains largely silent about By most accounts the twenty year old B.C. Treaty pro- 46 it. cess has been a failure. It has served the governments’ purpose of countering their contingent liabilities regard- These two main political organizations — the First Na- ing Indigenous land rights. Yet it seems the negotiating tions Summit and the UBCIC — have now joined togeth- First Nations are so compromised by their federal loans er into the B.C. First Nations Leadership Council, further and dependent on the negotiations funding stream blending the rights and interests of their respective that they are unable or unwilling to withdraw from the member communities together, not taking into account tables en masse and make real on the demand that the whether they are in or out of the B.C. Treaty process. Harper government reform its Comprehensive Claims and Self-Government policies to be consistent with the This may partially explain why the Chiefs who are not in Articles of the UNDRIP. the B.C. Treaty process also remain largely silent about the Harper government’s “results based’ approach to The same can also be said for the negotiating First Na- Modern Treaties and Self-Government negotiations. tions in the Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions.

First Nations in British Columbia are failing to capitalize The Chiefs who are not in the B.C., Quebec or Atlantic on that fact, that since the Delgamuukw Decision, the negotiating processes have not responded much, if at governments have to list unresolved land claims and all, to Harper’s “results based” approach to Modern Trea- litigation as a contingent liability. Such liabilities can ties and Self-Government. The non-negotiating Chiefs affect Canada’s sovereign credit rating and provincial seem to be more interested in managing programs and credit ratings. To counter this outstanding liability, Can- services issues than their Aboriginal Title and Rights. As ada points to the British Columbia Treaty Process as the one federal official put it, the Chiefs are involved in the avenue how they are dealing with this liability, pointing elements of the 1969 White Paper on Indian Policy like to the fact that First Nations are borrowing substantive economic and social development while ignoring the amounts to negotiate with the governments. main White Paper objective—termination of First Na- tions legal status. Another recent example of how disconnected B.C. First Nations and their organizations are on international versus domestic policy and law, is the First Nations’ outcry over the recent Canada-China Treaty. Conclusion The B.C. Chiefs and their organizations are publicly denouncing the Canada-China Foreign Investment Pro- Given their silence over the Harper government’s motion and Protection Agreement as adversely impact- “results based” “take it or leave it” negotiations approach, ing on Aboriginal Title and Rights, yet they say or do it seems many of the negotiating First Nations at the nothing about Harper’s accelerated termination plan. It Comprehensive Claims and/or Self-Government tables seems the negotiating First Nations are more worried are still contemplating concluding Agreements under about the Canada-China Treaty blocking a future land Canada’s termination policies. claims deal under the B.C. Treaty process.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

This can only lead to further division among First Na- progress report in January 2013. The Prime Minister will tions across Canada as more First Nations compromise probably announce the progress being made with all their constitutional and international rights by consent- of the negotiating tables across Canada, along with his ing to final settlement agreements under the terms and legislative initiatives. conditions of Canada’s termination policies, while undermining the political positions of the non-negotiating It appears First Nations are at the proverbial “end of the First Nations. trail” as the Chiefs seem to be either co-opted or afraid to challenge the Harper government. Most grassroots In the meantime, Harper’s government will continue peoples aren’t even fully informed about the dangerous pawning off Indigenous lands and resources in the situation facing them and their future generations. midst of a financial crisis though free trade and foreign investment protection agreements, which will secure The only way to counter the Harper government is to: 47 foreign corporate access to lands and resources and undermine Indigenous Rights. • have all negotiating First Nations suspend their talks; and Some First Nation leaders and members have criticised • organize coordinated National Days of Action to reg- AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo for agreeing to a joint ister First Nations opposition to the Harper govern- approach with the Harper government, including the ment’s termination plan; Crown-First Nations Gathering (CFNG), but to be fair, • Demand Canada suspend all First Nations legislation the Chiefs across Canada did nothing to pressure Prime in Parliament, cease introducing new Bills and Minister Harper going into the CFNG. Instead, many • Change Canada’s Land Claims and Self-Government Chiefs used the occasion as a photo op posing with the Policies to “recognize and affirm” the Inherent, Ab- Prime Minister. original and Treaty Rights of First Nations, including respect and implementation of the Historic Treaties. The negotiating First Nations who are in joint processes with Canada seem to be collectively heading to the cliff If there is no organized protest and resistance to the of the “Buffalo Jump” as they enter termination agree- Harper government’s termination plan, First Nations ments with Canada emptying out section 35 in the pro- should accept their place at the bottom of all social, cess. cultural and economic indicators in Canada, just buy into Harper’s jobs and economic action plan—and be Much of the criticism of AFN National Chief Atleo has quiet about their rights. come from the Prairie Treaty Chiefs. Interestingly, if one looks at the federal chart of the 93 negotiation tables Russell Diabo is the Publisher and Editor of First Na- [http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1346782327802/13 tions Strategic Bulletin. He can be reached via E-mail: at 46782485058] not too many First Nations from historic [email protected] Treaty areas are involved in the Self-Government tables, except for the Ontario region where the Union of On- tario Indians and Nisnawbe-Aski Nation are negotiating Self-Government agreements.

As a result of the September 4, 2012 announcements regarding changes to Modern Treaties and Self-Gov- ernment negotiations, cuts and caps to funding First Nations political organizations and unilateral legislation initiatives, it is obvious that Prime Minister Harper has tricked the AFN National Chief and First Nations by showing that the CFNG “outcomes” were largely mean- ingless.

One commitment that Prime Minister Harper made at the CFNG—which he will probably keep—Is making a

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Bowman 48 Expedition 2.0 Joe Bryan

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

The Lawrence World-Journal recently modern warfighter.” It’s not clear Maps of the sort produced by the reported the Defense Department’s whether this new expedition will do Bowman Expeditions are certainly decision to fund the latest Bowman the same, though the program fund- useful for this task compiling infor- Expedition led by the American Geo- ing it, the Minerva Research Initia- mation about who lives where and graphical Society and the University tive, evaluates proposals according place names, to give two examples. of Kansas Geography Department. to their ability to address national But maps can only describe the terri- Like the first – and controversial – security concerns. tory. What they cannot describe are Bowman expedition to Mexico, this the intricacies of the “terrain” such as latest venture will be led by KU Ge- The rationale for these Expeditions the social networks through which ographers Jerome Dobson and Peter has been parsed in film, print, and access to land and resources are ne- Herlihy and will target indigenous by academics (myself included), gotiated or the history of struggles communities. revealing them to be little more over land. 49 than intelligence gathering efforts Like previous Bowman Expeditions, carried out by civilian professors The U.S. military is more familiar the expedition’s goal is to compile and their graduate students. Zapotec with this terrain than one might basic, “open-source,” information communities visited by the previous think. Beginning with the “Banana about countries that can be used to expedition to Mexico have further Wars” of the early 20th Century, the inform U.S. policy makers and the denounced Herlihy’s and Dobson’s U.S. military has intervened more military. This time, however, they efforts as “geopiracy,” (and again times in Central America that just won’t be focused on a single country. here) that replay some of colonial- about any other region in the world. Instead they’ll be working through- ism’s oldest tactics of extracting Indeed the Marines’ first resource out Central America, a region that information from communities for on counter-insurgency, the “Small Herlihy and Dobson have elsewhere people (the U.S. Army) who live Wars Manual,” drew extensively from called “The U.S. Borderlands.” What elsewhere. Zapotec communities in their experiences navigating the is this Expedition about? And why Oaxaca have also accused Herlihy indigenous Mayanagna and Miskito is the Defense Department funding of failing to inform them of the U.S. communities in pursuit of Augusto academic research on indigenous Army’s role in funding the Expedi- Sandino’s anti-imperialist forces in peoples? tion and process data collected by it. Nicaragua.

As with the expedition to Mexico, Military funding for the latest Bow- In the 1980s, U.S. military advisors Herlihy and Dobson are focused on man Expedition raises the question once again traversed the indigenous land ownership. Echoing a growing of what the U.S. military wants to areas of Central America for tactical list of military strategists, Herlihy know about Central America. More- gain. In eastern Nicaragua and Hon- and Dobson contend that areas over, why is it funding research on duras, they helped train and organize where property rights are not clearly indigenous peoples? It’s hard to Miskito-led armed groups as part of established and enforced by states imagine that the U.S. military has the proxy battle strategy of the Con- provide ideal conditions for criminal much interest in the nuances that tra War. In Guatamala they targeted activity and violence that threaten distinguish, say, Tawahka communi- Maya communities as bastions of regional security. ties from Emberá ones. Nor does guerilla support with genocidal con- the military appear concerned with sequence. Dense forests and other Herlihy and Dobson propose to use the chronic insecurity of land rights, isolated areas throughout the region maps made with indigenous com- which continues to be one of the further provided cover for airstrips munities of their lands to clarify primary threats faced by indigenous also used for illicit shipments of this problem, ostensibly with an communities. A far more likely an- cocaine and weapons orchestrated eye towards securing legal recogni- swer lies with the military’s growing by the Reagan Administration in sup- tion of their property rights. In their interest in collecting information port of the Contras. expedition to Mexico, Herlihy and about the “cultural” or “human” ter- Dobson turned over their findings to rain that they can use as needed for Herlihy knows this history well. He’s Radiance Technologies, an Alabama- a variety of purposes, from managing been mapping the forested areas based military contractor special- risks posed by natural disasters to in eastern Honduras used by the izing in “creative solutions for the planning military interventions. Contras and Miskito armed groups

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE since the late 1980s. Herlihy’s (and Mosquitia. Two of those bases, El uniform. At the same time, it gives Dobson’s) main military contact, Aguacate and Mocorón, were re- the military precisely the kind of Geoffrey Demarest, knows this his- purposed bases constructed during detailed, georeferenced information tory too. A graduate of the School of the Contra War. The campaign fits a – the spatial “metadata” – sought by the Americas, he served as a military broader pattern of escalating mili- the Human Terrain System for areas attaché to Guatemala. He’s since tarization of Central America further that lie far from current combat become an expert on counter-insur- illustrated by this map compiled by zones. It’s an approach consistent gency, publishing extensively from the interfaith Fellowship of Recon- with what geographer Derek Gregory his experience in Colombia and its ciliation. describes as the “everywhere war” relevance for current wars. More re- currently waged across society on cently, he enrolled in the Geography The application of counter-insurgen- the whole by covert military teams, Ph.D. program at KU under Dobson’s cy tactics gives mapping indigenous surveillance, and drones. By taking supervision. areas a more sinister edge. Histori- the measure of indigenous commu- 50 cally the U.S. military has relied on nities according to security interests, Still, what is the national security the designation of “Indian Country” the Bowman Expeditions stand to interest in Central America that a and “tribal areas” to designate areas perpetuate a role that is far too Bowman Expedition there can help at the edge of state control, often common in Geography’s history. The address? Indigenous land owner- turning them into free-fire zones Bowman Expeditions have gener- ship has already been extensively where the conventions of war, legal ated some productive debate (see mapped in much of the region as and otherwise, do not apply. Bet- also here, here, and here) in this re- part of property reforms supported ter knowledge of these areas has gard, though in a context of shrink- by the likes of the World Bank. Sev- scarcely reduced incidents of violent ing budgets for university research eral countries in the region now also conflict as Dobson suggests. In- and education the allure of military have promising laws on the books stead, that knowledge has served as money remains powerful enough to recognizing indigenous and black a “force multiplier” – to use General trump ethical concerns. land rights. Petraeus’s term – that allows the U.S. military to intervene with greater ef- Meanwhile as geographers de- Yet neither maps nor legal reforms ficiency. Herlihy and Dobson claim to bate the merits of military funding, have been enough to stop the region champion the rights of indigenous indigenous peoples continue facing from becoming a major transship- peoples, but the money and data a long list of violent threats from ment route for cocaine en route to trail suggests that is only a second- drug trafficking, illegal logging, the United States. The State Depart- ary concern to U.S. military interests. loss of lands, and institutional rac- ment estimates that more than 80 ism. The military-funded Bowman percent of cocaine bound for the U.S. So why is U.S. military funding aca- Expeditions merely add to that list. passes through Honduras. Some of demic geographers to do research in Still, as the Zapotec communities this trafficking makes use of infra- indigenous areas in Central America in Oaxaca forcefully remind us, it’s structure created by counter-insur- instead of relying on its own people their information and the decision gency campaigns in the 1980s. to do the work? In Iraq and Afghani- to participate in projects like the stan, the Army has relied on social Bowman Expeditions – or any other In 2011, Herlihy once again mapped scientists embedded with combat research — ultimately resides with the Honduran Mosquitia as part of units as part of the Human Terrain them. Herlihy’s and Dobson’s failure another U.S. Army-funded Bowman System program to gather similar to address those concerns will only Expedition. Shortly thereafter, in information. Funding academic re- diminish their access to this field, 2012, the region was targeted by searchers to do similar work poses a undermining the kinds of rights and the DEA who made use of counter- number of advantages. For starters, free exchange of knowledge they insurgency tactics developed in Iraq it sidesteps the ethical controversy profess to support. to fight traffickers. Among those les- raised by the Human Terrain System. sons of Iraq applied in the Mosquitia It also brings the added benefit of was the use of forward operating relying on “civilian” researchers to bases immersed in the region’s access communities who might oth- physical and cultural terrain of the erwise be wary of soldiers in military

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH not a route.”

intelligence Midway between strategy and tactics, he observes, is “the operational dimension,” i.e., campaigns. A campaign is a series of actions designed to achieve some inter- information mediate objective that is required to get to the final goal. This is not 51 linear. A + B + C does not equal D. Campaigns are not routes, but things between us and our strate- ideas gic goal. Tactics are the techniques we use to win individual battles. They must be highly contingent, that is suited to a particular place and Jay Taber time and situation. Tactics are the legs of the routes we select to get from here to there.

s Stan Goff wrote in his The base criterion is always the Intelligence is the map. It is not 1 February 2007 es- goal of planned actions. Then the the real ground we have to go A say On strategy, tactics information has to be subjected over, but as close as possible to a and intelligence, “Intelligence is to some kind of analytical pro- conceptual representation of the information analyzed for its value cess; and that requires a method. ground so that we can check our- to develop plans for action. Most Operational goals direct the intel- selves along the way. Intelligence of it, even in the world of govern- ligence effort; and intelligence looks at the relative strengths and ment intelligence, doesn’t come (analyzed information) provides weaknesses of the friendly and from breaking codes or running the basis for plans.” enemy forces; and good opera- agents — contrary to the media tions design actions that match myths — but from information As he observes, intelligence our strengths to their weaknesses. that is readily available to every- begins by using the desired one.” end-state goal as the lodestar, Concluding, Goff notes that, then doing an assessment of the “there is a dimension of intel- “Basically,” he says, “that means if strengths, weaknesses, and dis- ligence that corresponds to every we do intelligence gathering and positions of “friendly forces” and level of conflict: strategic, op- analysis right, then ours is going “enemy forces,” and relating them erational, and tactical. Tactics to be as good as theirs… maybe to their surrounding conditions. are techniques designed to win better, since we don’t have bu- battles. Tactical agility is the abil- reaucratic ambitions and political As Goff summarizes, “Strategy ity to see changes in the situa- agendas distorting ours as much.” refers to the overall goal, the “de- tion, understand the implications sired end state” after all is said of those changes, then adjust Goff goes on to say that, “Infor- and done. The best that can be and exploit those changes with mation has to be gathered, which hoped for in a constantly chang- decisive action more quickly than means there has to be some crite- ing reality, he notes, is a strategic their opponents.” ria for what information to seek. direction. A strategy is a compass,

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Read the rest of this essay in CommunicationsY1 in Conflict

G* exclusively at * 52 Intercontinental Cry

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL A QUESTION OF

53 RELEVANCE

The 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples John Ahni Schertow

n 2010, the United Nations General Assembly If all went according to the original plan, the confer- unanimously agreed to organize a high-level plenary ence would bring together Indigenous Nations and Na- meeting in 2014, to be known as the World Confer- tion States “to share perspectives and best practices on ence on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP). the realization of the rights of indigenous peoples and I to pursue the objectives of the United Nations Dec-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL laration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” in the nation of who will participate to be decided by Member words of the United Nations Permanent Forum on States. Indigenous Peoples. And finally,Para 9 places the approval of the outcome It goes without saying, given the sheer number of document of the Conference solely in the hands of indigenous rights-based conflicts around the world– Member States. there are over 500–such a conference is desperately needed. The alterations that Debra Harry outlines undermine The question is: will this conference go according to the best possible outcomes of the conference for deal- that plan? Will it really provide the space that Indig- ing with the issues that so urgently need to be ad- enous Peoples need to advance their basic rights? dressed, in order to secure Indigenous Peoples Rights Or, will it be turned into yet another UN-sponsored around the world. By placing approval of the outcome sideshow that accomplishes nothing? We’re still a year document squarely in the hands of member states, 54 away from the actual conference, so it’s still too early the conference is set go down the path of every other to say for sure. However, some initial developments of major UN-sponsored event where Indigenous Peoples the event may provide an answer. have been marginalized and censored.

In 2012, work was underway to draft the modalities Kent Lesbock of the Owe Aku International Justice resolution of the conference. It’s a resolution like any Project (Owe Aku IJP) said it best: other: it outlines the aspirations of the conference, the methods it will use for making decisions, and so on. “We hate to say so, but we told you so… The states and The document would probably put the average reader their collaborators within the Indigenous caucus had to sleep; but that’s not the problem. no intention of holding an open, transparent, balanced conference based on the Declaration, human rights Over the course of several days, in September, a of Indigenous peoples or treaties. Do you really think number of disturbing changes were made to the draft there will be any “outcomes” of value given the nature in order to accommodate UN member states at the of the dictatorial modalities and the over-willingness expense of Indigenous Peoples. It caused quite the stir of the GCG to compromise on everything? This confer- among the North American Delegation of the Indige- ence under the modalities being proposed in this latest nous Global Coordinating Group* (GCG) which is tasked version, reduces the participation of Indigenous leaders with coordinating Indigenous participation at the WCIP. to tourists in the gallery and denies our existence as peoples and nations. Further participation by any Indig- One of the North American Delegates, Debra Harry, enous nation or support of the demeaning modalities who is the Executive Director of the Indigenous being proposed is nothing less than collaboration with Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, was kind enough colonial practices and a betrayal of the work of our to outline the more significant areas of concern. She ancestors and relatives.” observes: In a statement issued Sep. 16, 2012, Debra Harry and In pp1. reference was deleted to the right of Indig- Arthur Manuel formally responded to the changes. enous Peoples to self-determination and to participate While taking a more conservative approach, they state in decision-making in matters affecting them. unequivocally that “the North American Indigenous Peoples Caucus does not accept, endorse or support In Para 1 the Conference was reduced from 2 days to the draft modalities document transmitted to us … on 1 ½ days. [Editor’s note, the conference was originally September 14, 2012.” supposed to be 3 days] Unfortunately, in spite of their opposition, the draft In Paras 3. b) and c) Indigenous Peoples involvement in resolution was ultimately approved, leading the North the final selection of speakers was removed. American delegation to push on, to salvage what’s left of “the conference that could” but probably won’t In 3.h) participation of organizations and institutions of change anything. Indigenous peoples was limited, with the final determi-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE APOCALYPSE 55 TOURISM

MEXICO BANS MAYA spiracy theorists, doomsdayers, New Agers and well-intentioned tourists who really just wanted to be a part SPIRITUAL LEADERS of the festivities. The press director for the government’s National Institute of Anthro- FROM ACCESSING pology and History claimed there were two reasons for the ban: “In part it is for visitor safety, and also for preservation of the sites, espe- ANCESTRAL TEMPLES cially on dates when there are massive numbers of visitors… Many of the groups that want to hold John Ahni Schertow ceremonies bring braziers and want to burn incense, and that simply isn’t Just as Maya spiritual leaders were ancestral temples, including Chichen allowed.” preparing to carry out ceremonies Itza (pictured above), Coban and for 13 Baktun, the current phase of Tulum. Of course that was just the excuse. their wildly misunderstood long- The government had spent most count calendar, Mexican authorities The temples were about to be over- of 2012 orchestrating a massive forbade the May from entering their run by a curious assortment of con- spectacle for tens of thousands of

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Photo by Grand Velas Riviera Maya people, many of whom were clinging Beijing residents stocked up on loss of culture and language and the to delusional hopes and irrational crackers, bottled water, and life destruction of entire populations. fears about what’s going to happen preservers; in southwest France, The end the calendar represented an at the end of 13 Baktun–December the town of Bugarach prepared for end to this cycle of abuse. 21, 2012. a deluge of visitors who believed “This is the ending of an era for the that aliens would emerge from a Maya, an era which has been very “We would like to do these ceremo- local mountain to save them from intense for us, in which we have had nies in the archaeological sites, but the end of the world; and all the big suffering and pain,” said Manrique unfortunately they won’t let us en- corporate media services happily Esquivel, adding, “We are praying for ter,” said Maya priest Jose Manrique continued to spread the mania–all the wars, the conflicts, the hunger to Esquivel. “It makes us angry, but of which stemmed from little more end.” that’s the way it is … we perform our than basic ignorance toward Indig- rituals in patios, in fields, in vacant enous perceptions and realities. “We would like to do these ceremo- lots, wherever we can.” nies in the archaeological sites, but For the Maya Peoples, the end of the unfortunately they won’t let us enter,” The Maya were still allowed to visit calendar was something sacred. continued Manrique Esquivel. “It their temples along with the tourists, As Jose Manrique Esquive of Mexico makes us angry, but that’s the way it but they had to pay to get in, just pointed, the current cycle of the is … we perform our rituals in patios, like everyone else. calendar, which began around 1618, in fields, in vacant lots, wherever we As the Maya proceeded with their had been drenched by a continuous can.” ceremonies, shops in a Siberian city reign of misery that included the in- sold Apocalypse kits to its citizens; troduction of European disease, the

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Flooding 57 Hope Photo by Ryan Klatt

Manitoba Displacement Politics towards Lake St. Martin First Nation John Ahni Schertow Myrle Ballard Shirley Thompson

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Lake St. Martin First Nation is an Anishinaabe communi- rejected the proposal. ty situated in the Interlake region of Manitoba, Canada. In May 2011, a devastating “superflood” orchestrated by The Manitoba government has been practicing a politics the Government of Manitoba permanently displaced the of displacement with Lake St. Martin First Nation. With- First Nation. out providing meaningful consultation, the province decided to drown the reserve in order to spare the city of As if robbing the community of its ancestral land and Winnipeg from dealing with oncoming flood waters. livelihood wasn’t enough, the government unilaterally selected an abandoned Cold War radar base as an in- The government also had the option to relocate some terim relocation site for the entire community of 2,394 upstream cottagers and farmers who live adjacent to people. the reserve; however, the government would have been forced to compensate them in full. After the reserve was flooded, several Anishinaabe 58 evacuees received letters from Manitoba’s Emergency Flooding has a long history on Lake St. Martin. With the Measures Organization (EMO) stating that they were Fairford Dam that was built in 1961 and the Portage Di- ineligible for any kind of compensation--despite losing version that followed ten years later, all farmland on the everything--because they did not have titles to their reserve was eventually turned into marsh. The flooding houses. became critical when the Province sacrificed the reserve without performing an environmental assessment of any In 2012, the province took things even further by dras- kind or meaningful consultation and accommodation as tically cutting a critical daily allowance that community required by law. members received for food and expenses from $23.40 to $4.00. With no money to purchase food, many of the Sadly, the situation isn’t getting any better for the evacuees from that time on were forced to rely on food Anishinaabe community. The evacuees have reported banks to survive. Some were also stuck in hotels, unable experiencing overt racism daily in their hotels and to afford first and last month’s rent. throughout Winnipeg. What’s more, they are still shaken by the negative way the media and government por- Today, more than two years after the flood, the people trayed them as if they were living high off the public of Lake St. Martin First Nation are still without a land purse. Chief Adrian Sinclair in a Globe and Mail national base. newspaper article described how community members were called “freeloaders” and that Elders were physi- It didn’t have to be like this. As the documentary film, cally assaulted and yelled at. “Flooding Hope: The Lake St. Martin Story” shows, the community designed and proposed a development plan Then there are the mental and physical health impacts for a sustainable “higher ground community” that would of the evacuation. Research on other flooded com- not be at risk of any future flooding. munities has found that the most severe and enduring effects of relocations are when the entire community is affected and where the disaster is man-made rather than natural. The artificial flood at Lake St. Martin First Nation required the entire community to relocate permanently.

Relocation, whether voluntary or compulsory, functions as a significant stressor that disrupts social support networks. Involuntary relocation of rural indigenous communities also can result in a cultural identity crisis that forces increased dependency upon the government responsible for the relocation. The Despite the fact that it would have solved all of the threat of relocation alone for indigenous peoples is First Nation’s problems while saving the province tens associated with severe levels of psychological dis- or even hundreds thousands of dollars, the government tress and dysfunction.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Some community members are already feeling this burden of displacement. A resolution that was authored for the Southern Chiefs’ Organization notes that the “Social impacts from the stress of displacement from the 2011 flood [include] attempted and actual suicides, family break- ups, increased family violence, drug use, alcoholism, and recruitment of community members by gangs in urban centres and host communities.” Health impacts, meanwhile, in- 59 clude “Miscarriages, depression, other mental health symptoms, difficulties addressing those who have a chronic disease... and... premature deaths.”

To begin to heal from this ongoing trauma, the First Nation needs access to appropriate lands in order to build a sustainable community that will accommodate the Anishinaabe identity and provide adequate economic opportunities for everyone. The now-impoverished First Nation tried to raise funds to buy land for such a community; unfortunately, because there was so little left after the flood, and with no government compensation or Cover by Ryan Klatt backing, the effort did not succeed.

The government is now bent on continuing its politics of displacement. Without consulting the First Nation, the province decided to purchase the flood-prone Hala- burda lands adjacent to the old reserve. Despite the fact that this new land would place the First Nation directly on the path of being flooded again, the government insists that it’s the only option.

Both the Province and federal government seem to be betting that the First Nation will accept anything the Province offers them. However, that remains to be seen. Despite being flooded and beaten down, the Halaburda lands offer no hope for a better tomorrow.

The community will vote on whether or not to accept the land sometime in 2013 or 2014.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED INDIGENOUS settler? 60 Decolonization and the Politics of Exile Nuunja Kahina

“Only Hawaiians are Native to Hawai’i. Everyone else is a settler.” 1 Haunani-Kay Trask

hat are the obligations of Indigenous tween being a person of color and being Indigenous. people living as settlers on another The term ‘people of color’ was developed and used Indigenous people’s stolen land? I by racial justice activists themselves and intended to W have been wrestling with this ques- provide a site of solidarity between racial and ethnic tion as an Amazigh (Indigenous North African) activist ‘minorities’ for resisting a hegemonic white supremacist living and working in a settler colony, the United States, nation-state such as the United States. This is supposed on land belonging to other Indigenous nations. Based to include Indigenous groups, but the oppressions that on the conceptions of colonialism, liberation, and sover- American Indians face are quite distinct from those of eignty that I utilize to understand my own experience, I other people of color, as Andrea Smith has pointed out. also understand that I am a settler on occupied Native Settler colonialism and racism are different processes, land. Being a person of color, a Muslim, or an immigrant albeit with a complicated relationship. This is one rea- does not negate one’s settler status in the Americas, son that Indigenous groups sometimes don’t consider as other women of color and Indigenous women have themselves ‘people of color’ – their primary relationship described. But what if you’re an Indigenous activist to the settler state is as an Indigenous person with a yourself, living in exile and unable to return to your own certain connection to their land base. land base? What does that entail, especially for one’s activism? Settlers of color, like their white counterparts, engage in the oppression of Indigenous peoples. Even the In the way people identify, there is a difference be- successes of people of color in the United States or

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED

Canada – such as assimilating into dominant capitalist who continue to face systematic marginalization and structures, as CEOs or other executives – happen at the disempowerment, colonialism and genocide. For there expense of American Indians by further entrenching set- to be an American ‘melting pot,’ there must be an Ameri- tler colonialism. Instead of working to attain ‘success’ by can settler state. joining and normalizing dominant settler society, people of color must work towards justice through decoloniza- Other diasporans, such as the Oromo scholar Asafa tion and reflect on their own status in a settler colony Jalata, have written about promoting social justice from built on violence against Indigenous peoples. the position of the exile and use the language of Indig- enous rights. Yet once again, there is no critical reflec- As an Indigenous person who is not Native to the Ameri- tion of one’s own role in reproducing and supporting the cas but has an active consciousness of indigeneity, my settler colonial state, the state which allowed him to situation is somewhat different from other settlers of pursue his own fight for freedom. In many ways, I think 61 color. The struggle I’m engaged in for my people, the we are simply so engaged in our own struggles that we Imazighen, is opposing the processes of Arab colonial- have become unwilling to accept our own role in violent ism entrenched in North, yet I’m doing this work from a colonial processes. What does it mean if I invoke the settler colony. I certainly didn’t choose to come to the platform of Indigenous rights to achieve justice for my United States, but I directly benefit from the disposses- people if I do nothing to fight for those whose homeland sion of American Indian nations. I am able to attain an I have no right to live upon? education and pursue my goals – including activism for the Amazigh nation – because I live in a ‘Western’ set- There are clear and concrete ways in which settlers, in- tler colony built on the genocide(s) of American Indian cluding settlers of color and exiles, can work for justice peoples. From this position, I have greater power and alongside Indigenous peoples in settler colonies such more opportunities for activism, such as a degree of as the United States. We can work for decolonization political safety. on Indigenous terms, being responsive to feedback and guidance. According to Dakota scholar Waziyatawin, this Problematizing this relationship as both Indigenous and begins with truth-telling and the recognition of our role settler is necessary if I am going to claim any sort of in the destruction of Indigenous lands, sovereignty, and “solidarity” with Indigenous nations in the Americas. In- livelihoods. Waziyatawin herself provides many specific digenous dispossession, genocide, and resistance in the examples of ways in which settlers can contribute to Americas cannot be just convenient analogies for me to decolonization efforts. For example one group of non- use in explaining the struggle of my own people. I have Native activists called Unsettling Minnesota worked heard other Imazighen living in the United States ex- to raise money in order to buy back land on behalf of press solidarity with American Indians, namely that our Dakota people. In addition, we can listen and react to situation and struggle against colonialism is similar. We the demands of Indigenous liberation movements like have not, unfortunately, moved beyond that discourse to Idle No More. question our own complicity in colonialism. The majority of my own activism and work is still The late settler colony allows certain privileges and ad- focused around Amazigh issues, and I continue to feel vantages even to the North African exile: opportunities conflicted about my status as both Indigenous and set- to prosper if one assimilates, to participate ‘equally’ in tler, a diasporic agent of U.S. settler colonialism. This the destruction of Indigenous lands, and achieve mate- recognition is just the first step, not the end. Indigenous rial gains from Indigenous dispossession. As we consider peoples must walk the path toward justice and decolo- the politics of exile – as Edward Said, for example, has nization together. written about as a Palestinian-American – we must step outside ourselves to question: where are we in exile, References and on whose backs? Said writes that “modern Western “Settlers of Color and “Immigrant” Hegemony: “Locals” culture is in large part the work of exiles, émigrés, refu- in Hawai‘i,” Amerasia Journal, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2000. gees” in a fascinating passage offering support for the conception of the American ‘melting pot,’ a poetic multi- culturalism in a land supposedly espousing freedom and liberty for all. All, that is, except the Indigenous nations

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE ALTAI UNDER 62 THREAT Hannibal Rhoades Photo by TatyanaPenn Photo by The Indigenous Peoples and sacred sites of the Altai region are once again under threat from a controversial oil pipeline

here was a jubilant response now seems to have been prophetic. to include the Uch Enmek Nature when IC reported, in July 2012, Park. that a new decree had been Information emerging from the Ukok T passed to facilitate the listing Quiet Zone Nature Park in October This threat comes in the form of a and protection of sacred sites on 2012 suggests that the positive new decree, passed by Altai Repub- the Ukok plateau in Southwestern legal steps that were taken consti- lic authorities on Aug. 2 2012, which Siberia. Yet, even in disseminating tute only a false dawn in the fight to once again gave gas giant Gazprom this good news, the article imparted protect this plateau region. A sacred permission to begin construction a warning against premature jubila- place to Indigenous peoples and a on the controversial Altai pipeline. tion. Caution was advised on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Aleksander Berdnikov, a leader in basis that the Russian government region is theoretically protected by the region, recently mitigated this may well ignore this new commit- both international and Russian fed- in a much criticized move, saying ment. Given recent developments in eral law; however, an old threat has that the new listings of sacred sites the Altai Republic. This trepidation returned and it has been extended must be monitored to “prevent barri-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

ers to the construction of bridges, plateau is where the spirits come from becoming a gas superhighway. roads and other structures.” The to hear the ‘Kai’, or throat singing, Russia and China have not even new decree bafflingly contradicts of the people. It is a vital place of reached an agreement over which June’s protective decree and Russia’s spiritual communion and also, for one will buy the gas channeled by assurances to several environmen- the Telengit especially, an ancestral this line, and there is also strong tal organizations that the “Golden burial ground with a history of well evidence to suggest that the strife Mountains of Altai” would enjoy over 8,000 years of use. The plateau caused by the insistent and illegal better protection, just months after is home to countless burial cham- efforts to disrupt the Ukok Plateau they were made. bers belonging to the ancient Pa- are entirely unnecessary. zyryk people and their descendants, This pipeline--which would stretch noted by archeologists worldwide As Alexei Knizhnikov, head of World from Western Siberia to China--has for their beautiful tattooing. Wildlife Fund Russia’s oil and gas 63 been threatening both the ecology program, maintains, “There are and the people of the Ukok plateau Today even archeologists are alternative routes that are better not for some time now thanks to its banned from exploring this region only from an ecological, but also a stop-start development. Much has which, with its abundance of both profit perspective.” The Save Ukok been said and written about the po- natural and man-made sacred sites Coalition has echoed these senti- tentially devastating environmental, should be benefitting from greater ments, calling the move “against all social and economic consequences protection. The new decree enacts rational and scientific arguments.” the pipeline could have. a U-turn away from such protection, showing, if anything, that authori- It is in light of these facts that the Fears abound that it may degrade ties have yet to acknowledge the reinvigorated building program and underground layers of permafrost region’s true cultural and environ- the decree that allows it have been so vital to the aboveground envi- mental value. called a “moral violence against ronment. Increased activity in the the people;” not, it seems, that the area would negatively affect the Greenpeace recently stated that powers care. Last year, a Gazprom region’s endangered species, such the emerging plan for construc- representative stated that the as the Snow Leopard and Steppe tion also “grossly violates Russia’s company would drive the pipeline Eagle. The area is also prone to international obligations under the “right through the Trinity Lavra of earthquakes. If the pipeline was UNESCO convention concerning the St. Sergius if we have to,” referring breached, a catastrophic leak would protection of world culture and heri- to the spiritual center of the Russian result, profoundly damaging In- tage.” The organization also noted Orthodox Church. It is also believed digenous livelihoods that rely on that Gazprom subcontractors in the that Vladimir Putin insists on the free-range animal husbandry, fishing Ukok area were observed beginning pipeline cutting through the Altai. and hunting. exploratory drilling procedures before the new decree came into force It remains to be seen how Russian The pipeline’s proposed route on Aug. 17. Gazprom is charged and Altai authorities as well as through this region is also envi- with breaching terms on another Gazprom respond to international ronmentally contentious on a more level, since it is clearly stated that declarations of their dishonesty. basic level. As Andrei Ivanov, head such exploration is not to be begun Given their form in the past four of the nature protection fund Altai without approval from the Federal months alone, any reparative action 21, pointed out, “Since the world Ministry of Natural Resources and must once again be treated with is concerned with stabilizing the a Federal Environmental Impact extreme caution. climate, such unique and pristine Report. Neither of these has been territories should be protected.” attained to date.

The Ukok plateau is also a profound- Thus emerges a consistent pattern ly important cultural zone. A sacred of corruption and violation with Rus- area to the Altai, Shor and Telengit sia, the Altai Republic and Gazprom Indigenous peoples, these groups flouting regulations that have so commonly hold that the Ukok far prevented Ukok and Uch Enmek

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Against Creation 64

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Alarming Results of Secret Study On 65 Transgenic Maize John Ahni Schertow

or generations, corn has played a central and dozens of hard-hitting documentaries have been role in the lives of Indigenous Peoples, produced that warn us about the potential health and not only as a sacred food but as a cen- environmental risks of growing and consuming GMOs, tral figure in creation itself. not to mention the dangers of giving a corporation like Monsanto legal rights to a patented organism For instance, the creation story among that was designed in secrecy. At least 30 countries the Lenca Peoples--of what is now have now banned or significantly restricted the southwestern Honduras and eastern growth of GMOs including Australia, Japan and all El Salvador--tells how Creation member nations in the European Union. More will Grandmother used atol (corn paste) and undoubtedly follow. cacao paste as ingredients to create the Ffirst human beings. In northeastern North America, However, up to now there has been a major blind the Abenaki and Penobscot creation story details spot in this worldwide fight against GMOs. There has the legacy of First Mother or Corn Mother, who, after been no proof that designer crops of corn, cotton, giving birth to the Wabanaki nation, sacrificed her life soy, alfalfa, sugar beets, zucchini and squash are by turning her body into the first garden so that her actually dangerous, perhaps even unfit for human people could survive. According to the Maya creation consumption. story, the gods used white and yellow corn as the flesh of humans, after failing miserably to create a That is no longer the case. For two straight years, a stable, functional people on two other occasions, first group of French researchers from the Committee for using mud and then wood. Research and Independent Information on Genetic The biotech industry can find great inspiration in Engineering (CRIIGEN) secretly studied the long term these and other ancient stories of Corn that were health impacts of NK603 Maize (a transgenic maize passed down from one generation to the next. which has been proposed for human consumption) Unfortunately, that inspiration would help fuel and Roundup (the most widely used pesticide on a disturbing agenda to control the world’s food Earth). supply by replacing it with the genetically modified equivalent. It was the first study of its kind, conducted far beyond the maximum three-month research limit permitted The controversy surrounding GMOs and the by Monsanto, the wannabe-god-company behind corporations behind them is well known. Hundreds NK603 and Roundup, among other things. of enlightening campaigns have been carried out

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

A newly released 13-minute film titled GMOs: The • Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash (approx. moment of truth reveals the alarming results of the 25,000 acres) CRIIGEN study, which took the form of a two-year feeding trial on 200 rats. Given the results of the CRIIGEN study, it is equally important for the public to know precisely which We should mourn what these small mammals must products contain genetically engineered ingredients have gone through. so that they can be avoided.

According to CRIIGEN, the rats were only Currently, more than 400 companies use genetically given doses “consistent with typical dietary / engineered ingredients in their products including environmental exposure (from 11% GMO in the Quaker, PepsiCo, Kraft, Phillip Morris, Betty Crocker, diet, and 0.1 ppb in water).” Even with such limited General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola, exposure, the affects were disastrous: Pillsbury, Kellogg’s, Campbell’s, Nestle, Vlasic, 66 Heinz, Stouffer’s, Nabisco and Frito-Lay. “The results, which are of serious concern, included increased and more rapid mortality, coupled with hormonal nonlinear and sex-related effects. Females developed significant and numerous mammary tumours, pituitary and kidney problems. Males died mostly from severe hepatorenal chronic deficiencies,” says CRIIGEN.

“The implications are extremely serious. They demonstrate the toxicity, both of a GMO with the most widely spread transgenic character and of the most widely used herbicide, even when ingested at extremely low levels, (corresponding to those found in surface or tap water). In addition, these results call into question the adequacy of the current regulatory process, used throughout the world by agencies involved in the assessment of health, food and chemicals, and industries seeking commercialization of products.”

More than that, they demonstrate an urgent need for an immediate global moratorium on the production and sale of NK603 Maize and Roundup.

Furthermore, the CRIIGEN study provides us with sufficient proof to warrant further investigation into all GMO crops. In the United States, these crops include:

• Alfalfa (first planting 2011) • Canola (approx. 90% of U.S. crop) • Corn (approx. 88% of U.S. crop in 2011) • Cotton (approx. 90% of U.S. crop in 2011) • Papaya (most of Hawaiian crop; approximately 988 acres) • Soy (approx. 94% of U.S. crop in 2011) • Sugar Beets (approx. 95% of U.S. crop in 2010)

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH THE UNKNOWN TRUTH BEHIND 67 THE MOAIS Mati Hitorangi

the Rapanui people of Easter Island, have the stone sculptures called moais. They have made managed to preserve our Polynesian our island known around the world, and there are WE,culture despite a horrible history; our all kind of theories about them, how we made and ancestors were sold as slaves, infected with deadly moved them. What is really important for us is very diseases, locked up in a ghetto. We have experienced different though. The moais are spiritual tombstones; all sorts of physical and psychological tortures since build to protect the land and the blood matrix to our first contact with the “civilized world” in 1722. which each clan belongs. At the top of the moai, sits the Pukao, or hat, representing a Henua (a mother’s The most striking legacy of our Polynesian culture is womb). The place in which the moai reaches into

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 68 the pukao is the komari, or clitoris, the sacred key that together with our holy sites, was stolen by the state, opens the space for the kuhane (soul) to come into each and later sold. Our moai and ahu were destroyed, so newborn of the clan. The moais stand on top of the that a pool for the five-star “Hanga Roa Hotel” could be Ahus. The Ahus are enormous rock catacombs. When built. What would you call this? I call it cultural assas- someone died his or her body was left on the Ahu, so sination! This luxury hotel is built over the wombs and the flesh could disintegrate, so the bones could be bur- the bones of our clan. The tourists who come, travel ied underneath. Beside it, women buried their placentas around the island taking pictures of the remaining ahus after each birth. Both traditions were done as a gift to and moais. I don’t really blame them, they just don’t Kainga (Mother Earth) so that it would always nourish know. But after uncountable peaceful attempts to re- the clan. Our moais represent conception, birth and cover our land, with nobody wanting to listen, we have death. What for the tourists are unrivaled archaeologi- begun a different fight! We have occupied the land that cal sites, for us symbolize the profoundly spiritual bond was stolen from us. We are taking it back. It is and has we hold with our land. always been ours.

Not long after our island was annexed by the Chilean Our struggle is being filmed by an international team, state in 1888, it was rented – together with all inhabit- and maybe the future tourists of the island will be able ants – to a British sheep farming company. All clans to learn that they are coming to a sacred place. “Nua were dispossessed of their land. It was the darkest time Rapa Nui” is a documentary film project that unfolds of our history, seven decades in the ghetto, forgotten the ancestral richness hidden behind the archaeological and enslaved. I am proud to belong to one of the fierc- sites of Easter Island. It follows my clan, the Hitorangi est clans of Easter Island, the Hitorangi Clan. Our land, Clan, while we risk our lives in defense of our stolen land.

Learn more about the film at www.nuarapanui.com

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE LUMAD PEOPLES

69 WANT TO LIVE IN PEACE John Ahni Schertow

ore than 80 Lumad leaders from around Min- Mindanao, where Muslim Filipinos (Bangsamoros, or danao, the second largest and southernmost more simply Moros) have lived since the 15th century. island in the Philippines, issued a joint declara- During the course of the war, some 2 million people tion reasserting their rights and urging all other were displaced and up to 150,000 were killed. Mstakeholders in Mindanao’s peace processes to let the Lumad Peoples live in peace. The Lumad did their best to stay out of conflict; however, the Moro armed groups MILF and the MNLF, The Midsayap Declaration follows the “Indigenous along with the Communist-led New People’s Army and Peoples’ Conference on the Peace Processes in Mind- the armed forces of the Philippines, constantly turned anao” held in Midsayap, North Cotabato, on Nov. 3-6, to the Lumad to fill their ranks. In doing so, few ever 2012. took the time to notice that the Lumad also held aspirations of freedom and autonomy; they just weren’t The four-day conference brought the Indigenous lead- willing to take it by force. ers together with representatives of Mindanao’s peace panels to discuss the terms of the recently signed Now, with the signing of the FAB, a true end to the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB). The decades-long conflict is on the horizon; the Lumad just preliminary agreement, which lays the groundwork for want to make sure that their hopes and needs aren’t “enduring peace” in Mindanao, was signed on Oct. 15, once again pushed to the side and that they can con- 2012, after nine years of peace talks between the Gov- tinue to live on their lands in accordance with their ernment of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic own customs and traditions. Liberation Front (MILF). A central part of the FAB is the creation of an autono- For more than three decades, MILF–and at least three mous political entity for the Bangsamoro known as other armed groups—fought a war of independence in “Bangsamoro Territory”. Governed by Shari’ah law, the

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

The Lumad represent a total of 17 distinct Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao, namely: Atta, Bagobo, Ban- waon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray and Ubo. Their current combined population is roughly 13 million. Photo by Keith Bacongco

proposed territory would cover the region currently declaration to commit to all Mindanao peace processes known as the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao while reasserting their distinct identity, their ancestral (ARMM). lands and rights, the primacy of their customary laws as well as their traditional governance and justice Sadly, FAB does not provide for Lumad autonomy; systems. though it doestake Indigenous Peoples’ Rights consideration. Article I, Section 5 of the FAB on the Establish- The Lumad also outlined a set of 15 requests to the ment of the Bangsamoro states that the “freedom of Government of the Philippines, the revolutionary choice of other indigenous peoples shall be respected.” groups and other stakeholders in the peace processes. Article III, Section 6 on Powers, further states that the Most notably, they asked for the stakeholders to work “customary rights and traditions of indigenous peoples to fully implement the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act; shall be taken into consideration in the formation of to fully implement and establish the Autonomous Re- the Bangsamoro’s justice system” and that “this may gion of Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao; to spare the include the recognition of indigenous processes as al- ancestral domains of the Indigenous Peoples from be- ternative modes of dispute resolution.” Finally, Article coming battlegrounds in the future and to support its VI Section 3 on Basic Rights provides that “indigenous declaration as Zones of Peace; to stop the recruitment peoples’ rights shall be respected.” of Indigenous Peoples, especially women and children; and to launch open and continuous stakeholder dia- Satisfied by these words, the Lumad agree in their logue between the communities and the armed groups.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY What kind of solidarity for

west papua ? Dr Jason MacLeod The following article was first published at West Papua Media.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

In ‘Fear, Grief and Hope in Occupied West Papua’ [an – other groups also continue to be targeted by the article featured in People Land Truth 2012], author activ- state. Papuan political prisoners in jail represent both ist Martin Pelcher issued a thought provoking challenge highlanders and islanders and a broad diversity of po- to international advocates working in solidarity with litical groups. Political organizations aside from KNPB West Papuans. Pelcher, who is predominately speak- who also pursue independence include the Federal ing to ‘White’, ‘Western’ activists, argues that a recent Republic of West Papua, West Papua National Author- surge in state violence against Komite Nasional Papua ity, AMP (Aliansa Masyarakat Papua), AMP-PT (Aliansa Barat (KNPB – the West Papua National Committee) is Masyarakat Papua – Pegunungan Tengah), DEMAK cause for re-evaluating international solidarity for West (Dewan Masyarakat Koteka), Sonamapa (Solidaritas Na- Papua. Pelcher wonders whether Western support for sional Mahasiswa Papua Barat), FNMPP (Front Nasional Papuan freedom might be counter-productive. While Mahasiswa Pemuda Papua Barat), West Papua National there is much in Pelcher’s article that I agree with I Youth Awarenesss Team (Westpanyat), AMAK (Aliansa think Pelcher lets Western solidarity activists – and by Masyarakat Anti-Kekerasan), ParJal (Parlamen Jalanan), 72 extension governments and transnational corporations Garda and others. Activists in other parts of the country who support the Indonesian government’s continued like Fak-Fak, Manokwari, Yapen, Merauke and elsewhere occupation of West Papua – off too lightly. Reflexivity have also been hit by the repressive force of the Indo- is essential but we need to ensure that Western activ- nesian state. Even groups that eschew an overt political ists do not avoid responsibility for challenging the way agenda, preferring to expand the contours of freedom Western governments and corporations fuel violence through campaigning for basic rights, are routinely ha- and exploitation in West Papua. Solidarity activists can rassed by the state. They include civil society groups take comfort in the fact that a broad spectrum of Pap- like Elsham Papua, Dewan Adat Papua, Bersatu untuk uans[1] are also asking for international support in ways Keadilan, Foker LSM, Jubi, Kontras, the churches and that respect and strengthen their own agency. others. Some human rights defenders have had to periodically relocate themselves and their families to Jakar- Pelcher’s piece is an invitation to dialogue. It has alta to protect themselves from intimidation and threats. ready generated much conversation. The call to make that conversation more public, or visible amongst grow- Papuans also consider the TPN-PB (Tentara Pembe- ing international solidarity networks, has been picked basan Nasional – Papua Barat), or National West Papuan up by the West Papua Advocacy Team in the United Liberation Army – which consists of a decentralised net- States and also by the Faith Based Network for West work of groups based around attachment to clan, tribe, Papua who encouraged people to respond to Pelcher’s and geographic area – an important part of resistance article. This piece is a response to that invitation and to the Indonesian state. But in terms of numbers, activi- written with the desire to continue the conversation. ties and effectiveness the TPN-PB are marginal players. Members of the armed struggle are routinely co-opted Pelcher’s original argument by the state to further the Indonesian security services Western support for a free West Papua taps into deeply own aims, whether that is about protecting vested pri- embedded Indonesian narratives of western imperial- vate business interests – mostly in logging, mining and ism. Pelcher writes that this is not just lingering nation- extortion – or pursuing national security objectives de- alist hurt over the loss of East Timor. Even progressive signed to weaken and destroy the Papuan independence Indonesian activists support West Papua’s continued movement. integration into Indonesia. Notice, for example, Indo- nesian Friends of the Earth’s (WALHI) recent failure to The random and brutal nature repression by the Indo- publicly support their representative in West Papua, nesian state means that citizens not actively involved Fanny Kogoya when she was forced into hiding because in the freedom movement routinely become victims of of her links to KNPB. Indonesian citizen support for the state violence. In his article Pelcher focuses on KNPB occupation is a tremendous source of power for the but alludes to the fact that the whole of Papuan society state that helps the state maintain and justify military is caught up in the same repressive net. Papuans live aggression. with this foreboding sense that they, their family members or their friends could be targeted at any time. Although attacks on KNPB have received more coverage – in what is still a grossly under-reported struggle In seeking to explain the state repression in West

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

Papua Pelcher reminds us that the Indonesian nation underground and into exile … but KNPB maintains it’s was formed and defended in the context of a long, and politically defiance stance. The group’s leader, Victor relatively recent, anti-imperialist struggle against the Yeimo continues to insist that KNPB is committed to Dutch. Nearly two decades after Indonesian national- resolute nonviolent resistance and will not back down ists declared independence in 1945 Sukarno launched a from its call for a referendum. military invasion to wrest back control of what he called the “Dutch Puppet State”. For this reason, as well as for So what should international advocates do? Pelcher has the fact that West Papua’s inclusion into the Indonesian more questions than answers. He acknowledges that archipelago reinforces a multi-ethnic, multi-religious In- Western advocates are increasingly putting Papuan hu- donesian identity, West Papua’s inclusion in the Unitary man rights on the international community’s agenda. Republic of Indonesia is a source of tremendous pride Pelcher also recognizes the work of Papuan human for the overwhelming majority of Indonesians, including rights defenders and their allies in Jakarta who have 73 left wing activists. This view is deeply entrenched. The raised questions about the Indonesian security forces fact that the Indonesian political elite also gained con- use of summary justice instead of legal means to inves- trol of bountiful supply of valuable natural resources tigate acts of violence. However, the dominant story in was simply icing on the cake. Western narratives of the Indonesian media supports a police narrative that Papuans nonviolently fighting for democracy, rights and pins “the blame on the student activists of KNPB as well national liberation against a brutal military occupation as the wider network of underground Papuan national- are rendered immediately suspect, tapping into what ist resistance.” The central question Pelcher raises in many Indonesians believe is a ‘hidden agenda’ by the his article is how can international advocates generate West. The narrative of a Papuan led anti-colonial res- global solidarity against injustice in West Papua without istance struggle does not easily fit with the dominant strengthening the state’s pretext for terror? Indonesian view that they liberated Papua. Instead sympathetic Western portrayals of the Papuan struggle are Papuans are the drivers of the struggle re-cast and attached to ulterior motives. Pelcher: I agree with Pelcher that Papuans are the drivers of the struggle. The more Papuans rise up and collectively Western support for East Timorese independence – and and nonviolently resist the occupation the more the signs of such support being extended to West Papua – legitimacy of the Indonesian government’s continued have been easy to frame [by the Indonesian press] as aggression in West Papua is strained; the more likely vehicles for the West’s neo-imperial manipulation and more people outside Papua will stand in solidarity with pursuit of the region’s abundant mineral and petro- them, and the more effective that solidarity is likely leum resources. The more Western advocates succeed to be. Papuans are the primary architects of their own in focusing global attention on the plight of Papuans liberation. While external solidarity is important it will under Indonesian rule, the more the Indonesian secu- always be secondary to movements for change inside rity establishment can deploy the spectre of a “foreign the country. We need critical reflection about the role intervention” (like the UN’s intervention in East Timor) of external solidarity. As well as reinforcing the way the to mobilize Indonesian public opinion behind its harsh security forces frame Papuan resistance as a foreign led policing measures. plot, at times international solidarity action has tended to tap into unrealistic Papuan beliefs about the willing- One of the reasons why Pelcher’s article is so chal- ness and ability of the international community to as- lenging is that he writes to us as an insider, as a fellow sist Papuan freedom goals. Although solidarity in other solidarity activist, who is searching his conscience for parts of Indonesia and international solidarity outside answers to the question ‘what to do?’, and in doing so Papua is necessary to support Papuan freedom goals, by prompting us to search our own conscience. And it is itself it will never be sufficient. We need solidarity that not as if the issues he raises have gone away. Since is respectful; solidarity that strengthens collective ac- Pelcher wrote the article attacks against KNPB have tion that is led by Papuans. We need less solidarity ac- gotten worse. The Indonesian state has all but “declared tion and rhetoric that fosters dependency, passivity and war” on the pro-independence civilian based organiza- false hopes that outsiders will save the Papuans. They tion. At the time of writing 22 leaders had been sum- cannot. They will not. As Benny Giay, the moderator of marily executed by the security forces. Scores have the Papuan church once said, “Papuans are the captains been arrested. Much of the leadership has been driven of their own lives.”

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

South-South solidarity Harsono and Eko Waluyo are providing leadership here. Pelcher is not arguing against solidarity; he is asking They hold out a challenge to other Indonesians who what kind of solidarity might be most useful to the Pap- care about democracy, human rights, and social and uan’s struggle for freedom. Some solutions are implicit environmental justice. in his article, others Pelcher is more forthright about. In particular, Pelcher calls for more “south-south” solidarity There is a strategic paradox to wrestle with here. Many as a necessary corrective to White Western perspectives. Papuans opposes the Indonesian state but they also need the support of ordinary Indonesians to secure Two types of South-South solidarity are particularly im- greater freedom. This is because Jakarta depends less on portant. The first is solidarity from Pacific Island coun- Papuans to maintain the occupation than on sustaining tries, particularly the Melanesian countries. Why should domestic support for an Indonesian state that includes other states worry about what is happening in West West Papua at all costs. In brief, Papuans need Indone- Papua when Pacific Island countries in general, includ- sian allies. However, when Papuans exclusively appeal 74 ing Australia and New Zealand, and the Melanesian na- to indigenous identity and Christianity, frame their tions in particular, say and do little to support West Pap- grievances around historical injustices, and communi- ua? The voice of Melanesian citizens and governments cate their aspirations in ways that emphasise indepen- are essential to mobilizing greater international support. dence, they unwittingly limit their ability to mobilize If the Papuans continue to push for an independent support from other Indonesians who are overwhelming- state they will need the support of other states but that ly nationalist and Muslim. As a result, Papuans reduce goal, if it eventuates, is a long way off. Independence is their chances of winning over a key influence on the even less likely without the active support of the Mela- Indonesian government: the Indonesian people. nesian Spearhead Group (Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji). This highlights the conundrum for Papuan activists. There is a perception that working for intermediate Secondly, there is much valuable learning that can hap- objectives means selling out the long-term goal of in- pen between Papuans and other peoples who are resist- dependence. Yet to build Indonesian support for greater ing occupations and struggling for self-determination. political freedom in West Papua and to put pressure Recently I had the privilege of witnessing a learning on the Jakarta government requires framing campaigns exchange between West Papuans and Burmese who around intermediate objectives like: freedom of expres- shared notes about how to work nonviolently for de- sion; open access to West Papua for journalists, diplo- mocracy, rights and liberation in a repressive context. mats, NGOs, tourists, and others; democracy; environ- Papuans have learnt much from their colleagues in East mental protection; corruption; sustainable development; Timor and Aceh. Imagine if there were more venues economic justice, civil rights, universal access to educa- where focused learning could take place. Spaces where tion and health services; accountable government; and West Papuans could meet with people from other self- human rights. This does not mean giving up on larger determination struggles who have successfully enlarged goals like independence. As one senior Papuan leader the contours of freedom: East Timorese, South Sudanese recently said to me: “the struggle for basic rights is not and Kosovars. Imagine too if Papuans could exchange the enemy of independence”. It means taking a longer strategies and tactics with people who are still strug- view about building political power. gling for self-determination: Palestinians, Tibetans, Saharawi’s from Western Sahara, Nagas, Kanaks (people Campaigns for more limited strategic objectives can from the French colony of New Caledonia), people from simultaneously strengthen Indonesian democracy and Mahoi Nui (Tahiti and French Polynesia), Bougainvil- build Papuans’ international reputation—developments lians, the Kurds and other indigenous peoples caught in that will leave Papuans in a better position to realize the grip of the state. larger aspirations. This is a strategic challenge. Papuans need to use collective action frames that resonate with Solidarity between Papuans and Indonesians different audiences at different times, define intermedi- I also agree with Pelcher that solidarity with progres- ate demands, and time mobilization to achieve short- sive Indonesians is also essential. This is something term objectives, but in ways that leave the movement that both Papuans and their transnational allies could in a stronger position to achieve their ultimate goal: full cultivate more. People like Budi Hernawan, Andreas political freedom.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

Photo by Martin Pelcher

In this way a new Papua gets built on an inclusive vi- Pelcher articulates the challenges the movement for sion and a deeper articulation of the multiple meanings freedom in West Papua poses not only to the Indonesian of merdeka (freedom). People like John Rumbiak and state but also to transnational capital in West Papua. Benny Giay urge that this vision needs to include not We need more activists like Pelcher who can reach out only diverse Papuan tribes, but also Indonesian mi- to the different parts of the movement and in doing so grants, another source of the Indonesian government’s make more space for unity from inside the movement power in West Papua. Mobilization through an exclusive and solidarity from outside. Papuan identity and through a single focused demand for independence framed exclusively in opposition to Where we disagree: the paradox of repression Indonesia will create a fragile unity, perhaps liable to While I agree with Pelcher’s analysis about how Western break down under stress and less capable of carrying support for freedom in West Papua can tap into Indone- through an agenda for democratic transformation. sian suspicion that there is a foreign plot to access West Papua’s resources I disagree with his conclusions. I think Non-partisanship Pelcher is mistaken in his understanding of the dynam- There are other areas where Pelcher and I agree, ics of repression. I also think that part of our role as particularly his implicit argument for solidarity that is solidarity activists is to continually emphasize that the non-partisanship. It is clear from his article that Pelcher struggle is being led by Papuans and that role of outsid- is close to the radical highland independence youth ers is to support their efforts and amplify their voices. movement, KNPB. This is a group that I also sympathise I don’t think that solidarity by Westerns is the cause with. However, Pelcher does not exclusively take sides. of repression, even though the state will use whatever He also writes about the leadership of the Federal means they can to justify their repression. Republic of West Papua currently imprisoned for determined, unapologetic and nonviolent acts of insurrection. One of the reasons why the Indonesian government is

Photo by Martin Pelcher

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY employing repression against KNPB and other resistance groups – including sanctioning extrajudicial The purpose of state violence is to inflict pain but to do killing – is because they fear the growing power of so in ways that lessen the likelihood that repression will organized nonviolent resistance against the state. Ko- generate moral outrage and consequently, more politi- passus’ (the Indonesian Special Forces) own intelligence cal mobilisation. The Indonesian government wants analysis of the Papuan freedom movement, leaked by to stop people coming together to press for rights and Alan Nairn and the West Papua Project from the Univer- freedom and they are prepared to use any means necessity of Sydney, reveals that the armed struggle is not a sary. In one sense, therefore repression – if it occurs threat because they ‘hardly do anything’. when the movement is growing in numbers and power – can be interpreted as success; that the opponent One of the reasons the armed struggle does not “do recognizes the growing strength of the movement. anything” – or rarely engages in military action – is because it is hard to recruit people to join the armed There is no guarantee of success for any liberation 76 struggle. Guerrilla fighters often live difficult lives iso- movement. But using nonviolent action increases the lated in the jungle and mountains. The TPN does also likelihood of success and provides more opportuni- not have a state sponsor, and while it will be extremely ties for large numbers of people to participate in the difficult for the state to destroy the TPN militarily, the struggle. The consistent use of disciplined and collec- TPN will also never be able to out gun or outnumber tive mass nonviolent action over time will is more likely the Indonesian military. The use of violence to achieve to prompt ordinary Indonesians to question the occupa- political goals also favours fit young men and involves tion and even divide their loyalties. That is why non- high levels of commitment and risk. Few Papuans are violent discipline is so important. The Papuan freedom willing to risk their lives joining an armed struggle that movement needs to encourage ordinary Indonesians to has little prospect of success. question what their government is doing. It also needs to carry out actions that encourage and enable more According to the Indonesian military nonviolent resis- support from domestic and international third parties. tance is “much more dangerous” because they have “reached the outside world” with their ‘obsession’ with If the Indonesian state continues to use violent repres- ‘merdeka’ (the independence/ freedom struggle) and sion against Papuans, which it is doing at the moment persist in “propagating the issue of severe human rights and is likely to continue to do, the Papuan freedom violations in Papua,’ i.e. ‘murders and abductions that movement needs to be prepared. The evidence from are done by the security forces.” studies of liberation movements around the world, including from places where repression is more severe Stopping Papuans who are organizing to win freedom is than in West Papua, shows that repression can backfire. easier if the movement uses violence or if the Indone- The most important thing that helps make repression sian government can convince outsiders that Papuans backfire is that repression becomes visible to outside are engaged in armed struggle. If Papuans respond – or audience and gets interpreted as an injustice in ways are seen to be responding – with violent action the In- that promote moral outrage. Solidarity activists, work- donesian government will be able to frame their actions ing in cooperation with Papuan activists, have a big role as terrorism and threats to national sovereignty. This to play with this. Inviting outsiders like PBI, diplomats, allows the Indonesian government to justify their use of journalists and others to witness and report on both violence against the movement. Action that physically state violence and nonviolent resistance can also help. harms others or threatens other people reduces support from third parties. Even if third parties are sympathetic There are a range of other things movements can do. to the goals of the movement the majority of people Tactically they can emphasise actions that are low risk will question the legitimacy of using violence who tend and high participation. Movements can also build de- to view armed movements as extremists. Innocent vil- centralized network structures coordinated by a shared lagers from the rural areas are particularly vulnerable to vision, shared goal and a shared strategy. These kinds of disproportionate violent retaliation by the security forc- structures are more resilient than hierarchical structures es because few journalists, church workers and human because they encourage collective leadership, support rights groups are present and able to hold the security tactical innovation and help protect more visible leaders forces accountable through human rights reportage. who may be targeted by the state.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

People inside and outside West Papua need to raise these to ever expanding audiences who can mobilise on the political and economic costs of the Indonesian behalf of the Papuans. government not negotiating with the Papuan freedom movement. Make no mistake – we need militancy, but I think solidarity activists, including Western activists, militancy of a determined, disciplined nonviolent kind. need to be more active not less. My own view is that Papuans are already acting in this way. We need more the job of international solidarity activists is to work outsiders to get behind them. One of the reasons the in collaboration with Papuans to raise the political Indonesian government has not engaged in dialogue is and economic costs of the Indonesian government’s because it is not worth them investing political capital occupation. And because the Indonesian government in doing so. In other words the conflict in West Papua depends on support of ordinary Indonesians, foreign has not become enough of a problem for them, both governments and transnational capital as well as West domestically and internationally. The conflict has to Papuans to maintain the occupation we need a stronger 77 become more costly economically for transnational movement that wages nonviolent conflict inside West capital in West Papua. Papuan activists and the soli- Papua, inside Indonesia and in the societies of the Indo- darity movement need to use nonviolent methods to nesian government’s international allies. When it comes compel the Indonesian and foreign governments, and to West Papua, people inside and out need to generate transnational capital to sit at the table in ways that take more conflict, not less. We then need to find nonviolent control of how the struggle is portrayed. We need to ways to resolve that conflict that support justice and understand that the role of repression is to stop Pap- peace. That does not equate with supporting or being uans demanding freedom and rights. We need to find involved with political violence. ways to continue to support Papuans who live with the tension between the risk of making change and keeping What kind of international solidarity for West Papua? safe. But we also need to be realistic; there is no path in So what kind of international solidarity is needed for life that does not involve suffering. That is particularly West Papua? I think those of us in Western countries true for those committed to struggling for liberation in that have been ‘armed’ with wealth and opportunity the midst of the Indonesian government’s occupation need to use our privilege ethically. Elites in countries of West Papua. To a much lesser extent that is true for like the Netherlands, the U.S and Australia created the solidarity activists. We need more people like Pelcher problem in West Papua. These countries continue to who travel inside Papua, get close to Papuan activists benefit politically and economically from the situation. struggling for freedom, and provide practical support That creates a moral imperative for Australians, Dutch, and moral solidarity to unarmed resistance at some risk German’s, English, Irish, Scots, U.S citizens and others to to themselves. act in solidarity with the Papuans. We need to care just as much about decolonization and liberation as Pap- Waging the struggle in three domains uans do. It is foreign governments that help supply the Indone- sian military and police with arms. It is the Australian I want to suggest seven things international Western and U.S governments that train and arm Detachment solidarity activists can do. 88, the counter intelligence police force that has no qualms about using extra-judicial killing as a form of Firstly, we need to be committed to supporting the conflict management. It is unchecked transnational struggle through nonviolent means, not just for moral companies that are fueling conflict in West Papua. reasons, but primarily because nonviolent resistance is more effective. It allows more people to participate in In situations where one’s own government supports the the struggle, it is more likely to win over uncommitted Indonesian’s government’s occupation of West Papua third parties and it is more likely to blunt the political the role of solidarity activists is fourfold: first, to nonvio- effectiveness of the Indonesian government’s use of lently resist our own government’s support of Indone- violence to repress the movement. sian state violence; second, to find ways to support nonviolent resistance in West Papua; third, to make both Secondly, we need more people like Pelcher who visit the human rights violations by the Indonesian state and West Papua. West Papua is isolated internationally. the nonviolent resistance by the Papuans more visible Personal face to face relationships help deepen people’s and more audible; and fourth, to communicate both commitment to accompanying Papuans in their struggle

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY for peace and justice, sensitize them to the issues and interests, both in Indonesia and in the offices of govern- provide the means for getting information out. Quan- ments and boardrooms of transnational corporations. titatively more ties between Papuans and sources of We need new memes that recast the story. The struggle outside support and qualitatively stronger relationships in West Papua is a nonviolent anti-occupation struggle between Papuans, Indonesians and outsiders that are for justice, human rights and democracy. West Papua is orientated towards respectfully assisting Papuan goals Indonesia’s Palestine. help maximize the likelihood that Papuans will realize their desire for freedom. West Papua needs more friends and more solidarity from the West, not less. We especially need to continue Thirdly, and related to the second point, we need more with the solidarity when the Indonesian government people who learn Indonesian. While many Papuan uses ruthless repression in an attempt to silence the activists are doing their bit to break down West Papua’s Papuan movement for freedom. isolation by learning English we also need more people 78 who take the time to learn Indonesian and make long- I want to leave the last word on solidarity to KNPB term commitments to the struggle. Again Pelcher is an chair, Viktor Yeimo. Recently arrested for leading a inspiration in this regard. nonviolent action in West Papua, Yeimo issued a clear invitation to solidarity. Paraphrasing Ché Guevara Yeimo Fourthly, if and when we are invited by Papuans to do wrote: “when your heart trembles at oppression you are so, we can provide technical support to assist nonviolent a friend of ours”. struggle. Building a strong and secure communications network and increasing strategic capacity is particularly In the spirit of Yeimo’s request may Papuans find that critical. the numbers and commitment of their friends growing daily. Fifthly, we need to target the Indonesian government’s external sources of power located in our own countries References of origin. We need more U.S’ers to target the way their [1] This includes religious leaders, traditional leaders, government and the way Freeport exports terror and women, students, academics, NGO activists, human rights exploits West Papua. We need others to target other defenders as well as members of resistance groups. corporations like BP, Rio-Tinto and logging companies Notable exceptions like Franzalbert Joku and Nick Mes- who exploit West Papuan resources and foster economic sett, who actively support the Indonesian government’s and environmental injustice. We need more citizens to position, notwithstanding. challenge and disrupt their own government’s willingness to arm and train the Indonesian military and police. Sixthly, and lastly, we need to build relationships with and collaborate with progressive Indonesian activists and support and work with Papuan activists to do the same. Indonesia will never be a free and equitable society while West Papuans are denied their right to decide their future; while they live in poverty, while their resources are plundered, while foreign journalists are locked out, while political prisoners continue to languish in jail, while the Indonesian security forces continue to use torture with impunity, and while Pap- uans are denied the right to free speech.

Seventh, Pelcher makes the point powerfully that we all – Papuans, Indonesians and international allies – need to find ways to recast the story that the struggle in Papua is violent and foreign led and that solidarity with West Papua is anti-Indonesian and imperialist. That story is false. It serves vested corporate and military

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE THE END OF 79 HUMAN SAFARIS? John Ahni Schertow

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

n January 2013, India’s Supreme Court finally banned tourists from traveling along the Anda- man Nicobar Trunk Road, a controversial highway that was used for more a decade to conduct dehumanizing “human safaris” on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands IUnion Territory of India.

The welcomed decision arrives THE END OF almost exactly one year after Gethin Chamberlin, a reporter working for 80 the Observer, released a disturbing video that shows a group of Jarawa women and children being forced to dance for tourists. In the video, a police constable can be heard ordering the group of Jarawa, „Come on, do it. Dance for me. Dance now”. The Jarawa are also told that they can get more food from oncoming tourists. HUMAN SAFARIS? Soon after the video was made public, Chamberlain released an equally disturbing audio recording in which he, posing as a tourist, innocently asks a tour operator how much it would cost to go see the Jarawa. Unaware that he was being recorded, the tour operator replies, “For the trip, uh, vehicle and… all like 25 to 30,000 like that. Because the policeman take 10 to 15 like that. And vehicle and some gift to the tribals also.. like fruits, biscuits…”

The public’s reaction to both record- ings left the government with no choice but to act. As an initial response, Chidambaram Palaniappan, the Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India, ordered the arrest of the videographer and the tour operator. Union Tribal Affairs Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo also assured that he would look into the demand for the closure of the Andaman Trunk Road. At first there was no mention of the

Photo http://www.bonrix.net

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

police officer; however, in Febru- interim ban in March 2013, allowing ary 2012, one constable Silvarious Gethin Chamberlin returned to the the road to be fully re-opened. Tour Kindo was arrested and interrogated Andaman Islands in August 2012 operators who had been unable to after being identified by the Jarawa to see where the situation was at. use the road were reportedly ready- in the film. In a new report for the Observer, ing their vehicles within days of the he indicated that as many as 250 decision, gearing up to resume the Four months later, the Supreme vehicles were still passing through profitable ‘human safaris’. This total Court renewed a 2007 order for the the reserve each day. The Indian u-turn was accompanied by equally Andaman government to prohibit all commercial broadcasting television distressing news that Supreme commercial and tourism activities NDTV also broadcast a documen- Court reportedly asked the island’s within a 5-kilometer Buffer Zone tary, filmed in September 2012, authorities if they wanted to keep surrounding the Jarawa’s reserve. showing the tourists on their way the Jarawa isolated or assimilate 81 to the famous limestone cave. The them into the mainstream. The court stated at the time, film contains interviews in which tourists freely admit that their real Any such decision to ‘mainstream’ “…henceforth no commercial and interest was not the cave but the the Jarawa would, at present, violate tourism related activities shall be car- chance to catch a glimpse of the the government’s official Jarawa ried out by the administration or any Jarawa. policy, which states that: “No at- private individual in violation of the tempts to bring them (the Jarawa) prohibition contained in notification In response to this and other ex- to the mainstream against their dated 30.10.2007 and order dated ploitation of the Jarawa Peoples, conscious will…will be made.” 6.11.2007. It shall be the duty of the last week, the Supreme Court took Principal Secretary (Tribal Welfare) things one step further by formally and other officers of the Administra- banning all tourists from using the tion of Andaman and Nicobar to highway–without exception. ensure total compliance of the prohibition contained in notification dated “This new interim order is positive,” 30.10.2007 and this order. Any breach said Stephen Corry, the Director of of this order will entail punishment Survival International. However, under the Contempt of Courts Act, Corry continues, “it will be meaning- 1971.” less if the Supreme Court allows the Andaman authorities once again to The Court also ordered the closure ride roughshod over its ruling. It’s of two major tourist attractions vital that the order is upheld and on the island, both of which are the human safaris end – the Jarawa located inside the buffer zone: themselves must decide if, when, the limestone caves and the mud and where outsiders traverse their volcano on Baratang Island. In order land.” to reach either site, tourists must either travel by helicopter or they Sadly, the Andaman government is must travel the length of the Great continuing to defy the court. After Andaman Trunk Road. The latter the tourism ban, the regional gov- course takes the tourists directly ernment announced that it would through the Jarawa’s reserve. implement a lesser version of the That could have been the end of Buffer Zone in order to keep the the story; however, the Andaman limestone caves and mud volcano government ultimately decided to open to the public. disobey the court ruling and allow the tourist attractions to remain August 2013: As Hannibal Rhoades open, allowing the infamous human would later report at Intercontinental safaris to continue. Cry , the Supreme Court reversed its

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE OLOMBIA and C FARC 82 Indigenous Peoples Still Plagued by Violence Amidst Reconciliatory Talks Vera Belazelkoska

Jan. 17, 2013 - A lot is riding on indigenous people were displaced has been reached: “I’ve told them the ongoing peace talks between forcefully, 78 were killed and 47 there will be no cease-fire and we the Colombian National Govern- received death threats. will stop any military operation ment and the Revolutionary Armed when we reach a final agreement,” Forces of Colombia–People’s Army The peace negotiations have been said Santos. “And if I see that (FARC–EP). Delegates from both designed to focus on issues be- there’s no progress, that they are parties exclaim that “the talks aim yond the end of the armed conflict, simply trying to buy time, I will for real peace, which Colombia such as land reform, protection of stand up and continue business needs and deserves.” citizens’ right to exercise political as usual. And that’s why there’s opposition, drug trafficking, and no cease-fire, no decrease in our While there isn’t a Colombian the rights of the victims of the military operations, and my gov- that has not been affected by this conflict. The talks reconvened on ernment agenda will continue as it five-decade-long internal conflict, Jan. 14th in Havana, Cuba. was until then.” the indigenous communities have been hurt most severely. They However, in the meantime, clashes On the other hand, the FARC continue living in fear of assas- between the rebels and Colombian called for a unilateral two-month sinations, forced displacements, forces continue, with thousands of ceasefire on Nov. 20 in honor of unjustified arrests, and encounters indigenous people caught in the the peace talks and the holidays. with explosives and abandoned, crossfire. Before the talks began, However, FARC Commander Ivan yet still active, minefields, all President Juan Manuel Santos Marquez does not see the ceasefire while their political liberties are rejected rebel calls for a ceasefire, as an indication of peace: “Peace highly restricted. In the first nine saying military operations would does not mean that arms go quiet, months of 2012 alone, 11,000 continue until a final agreement that we no longer use our arms

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

but it means transforming the Nariño, and La Guajira, and com- of about 1,980 indigenous people state structures – the economical, prise a total of 90 distinct indige- just between 1998 and 2008. financial and military structures.” nous populations. According to the Marquez expects land reform to be Colombia’s Constitutional Court, at Under Colombian and interna- the main priority of the talks. least 27 of those populations are tional law, members of indigenous at risk of disappearing as a result populations are entitled to spe- While both parties approach the of the armed conflict. The ONIC cial protections by the state from negotiation table with different reports that 18 of them are already forced displacement. However, the priorities, fighting in the highlands at acute risk of extinction. government has done very little of Colombia continues to ravage to protect the indigenous, and are indigenous villages. The National At the onset of the FARC move- also reportedly responsible for Indigenous Organization of Colom- ment, many Indigenous Peoples countless atrocities of its own: “In 83 bia (ONIC) reported that there has saw them as an alternative to the last 10 years, the Colombian been an increase in confrontations the traditional elite state actors: army has been responsible for between the armed groups on in- “At the beginning, the guerrillas over 3,000 extrajudicial killings, digenous territories since the start were helping the indigenous in numerous forced displacements of the reconciliatory talks. their fight against the landown- and forced disappearances,” re- ers,” states Father Ezio Roattino, ported Alessandro Rampietti for Al Ignoring the communities’ pleas a missionary who has worked in Jazeera. The government argues for the respect of their physical Cauca for over three decades. “But that it solely aims at guerrilla and cultural integrity and au- things have changed dramatically.” fighters; however, it periodically tonomy, the government and FARC The Indigenous became the most accuses innocent civilians of co- continue to impose their agenda vulnerable victims due to their operating with the guerrillas and on the indigenous communities, communities’ strategic location stages attacks and raids on whole regardless of the fact that Colom- for the drug cartels the FARC has villages. bia signed the UN Declaration on depended on to finance their mili- the Rights of Indigenous Peoples tary needs. Big plots of land were The indigenous communities of (UNDRIP) in April 2009. The dec- turned into minefields to protect western Colombia are most af- laration upholds the Indigenous drug trafficking activities, thus fected by the conflict; the Nasa Peoples’ right to their land and to endangering and displacing entire people from the Cauca Department protection by the state. villages. in southwest Colombia and the Embera Chami from the Risalarda As with the rest of Latin America, According to the UNHCR, Colombia and Choco Departments in the the Spanish colonizers and Co- has one of the highest numbers of western central region are among lombia’s subsequent rulers have internally displaced people (IDP’s) the numerous indigenous reserva- exploited the indigenous popula- in the world. There are about 3 tions in the northwest highlands. tion in the country for centuries. million registered IDP’s in Colom- The indigenous peoples have bia, of which an estimated 41,000 Most recently, on Nov. 17, 2012, seen their lands expropriated are indigenous. However, indig- the national army came down on to wealthy landlords and armed enous displacement often goes the community of Kwe’s Kiwe in La groups, and have been relocated unregistered due to the remote- Gallera, terrorizing the households higher into the mountains where ness of indigenous territory, lack of civilians and causing the death the farming conditions are quite of access to public services, and of Maria Eugenia Diego Rivera, a unfavorable. cultural barriers. 20-year-old Nasa woman.

Today, the indigenous people of If not displaced, Indigenous men, In December, 127 Embera Chami Colombia constitute 3.4 percent women, and children are some- people were returned home after of the population, or 1 million in times recruited to join the FARC’s having taken refuge in Bogota for a country of 43 million people. Of activities and oftentimes assas- the past 10 years. While portions them, 80 percent are situated in sinated if they show resistance. of their land were finally returned, the Andean departments of Cauca, The ONIC reported the murders the ONIC reported concerns of

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE their safety, as well as the lack edo. The Awa people have seen Cauca region. of infrastructure and resources in many of their leaders fall into the their homeland to support their hands of paramilitary rebels. Local Long-lasting peace may be far return. leaders state that such attacks from reach due to the two main ac- demoralize the organizational and tors’ divergent priorities. While the Doubts about resettlement strate- communitarian spirit of the Awás Colombian government prioritizes gies for the Embera is are justi- and ask for such violence to end demilitarization of all paramilitary fied, especially since threats, immediately, stating: “We have forces, the FARC seeks immedi- intimidations and displacements nothing to do with the internal ate land reform and systematic continue. Local officials state that conflict in Colombia.” changes. The FARC’s Ivan Marquez in the first week of December, 400 sees agricultural reorganization Embera people were forced to flee Indigenous political leaders who as the central landmark for peace, their homes and take refuge in aid the indigenous communities and calls for popular participation 84 the town of Tado, where security in urban areas have also been tar- in the creation of an integrated and resources for the displaced geted for their activism in recent agricultural development and are minimal. Fifteen people are months. In the last few weeks, two the termination of the latifundia reported to have been killed dur- central indigenous leaders were system, which concentrates large ing the confrontations by the FARC brutally assassina-ted. Ismael expanses of land in the hands of a and the National Liberation Army Hurtado, known for his participa- few owners. (ELN), the second largest guerrilla tion in the council of Chikarigua, force in Colombia. was gunned down in Medellín. The added complexity of identify- Reinaldo Domico, a leader of the ing who the real aggressors are Some of the most frequently Embera indigenous communities also intensifies the conflict and targeted victims of the conflict are in Deveiba, was killed in front of makes reconciliation appear even indigenous leaders who speak out his whole family during their New further off. The FARC make up just against atrocities committed by Years Eve celebration by an assas- one of many armed groups that the FARC and the national gov- sin described as “non-indigenous.” contribute to the violence in Co- ernment, and stand for solidarity According to the Indigenous lombia. If the FARC does lay down and respect of their traditionally Organization of Antioquía (OIA), its arms, the government will still owned lands. Domico had previously received have to deal with other rebel, threats from a neo-paramilitary paramilitary and drug-trafficking In northern Sierra Nevada de Santa group known as the Urabeños. groups. Marta, the leader of the Arhuaco Only too often do indigenous lead- people, Rogelio Mejia Izquierda, ers become victims of paramilitary However, progress has been seen survived an assassination attempt groups, who see their leadership as on some fronts, especially when on Nov. 8. The car he was riding in a threat to their hold on power in it comes to including civil society was shot at more than 40 times; both rural and urban communities. in the talks. Colombia’s Congress, yet he miraculously survived the with the help of the UN, held the attack. This assassination attempt On December 10th, the Interna- first public forum on Nov. 4 in the brought about the remembrance of tional Day of Human Rights, the southwest city of Pasto, Nariño de- the murders of three Arhuaco lead- ONIC published a statement that partment. However, local organiza- ers two decades ago by Colombian the assassinations of indigenous tions have demanded to be further soldiers who have, to this day, leaders directly impact the com- engaged in the process. gone unpunished. munities’ organization, and thus weaken their capacity to protect Regional roundtable meetings On Dec. 12, Jesus Dalmiro López themselves from the country’s were also designed to “Guaran- Moreano, an elected governor from internal conflicts. The Ministry of tee the extensive participation of the Association of Town Halls of Human Rights states that between different regional social sectors, the Awá Indigenous Groups of January and November of 2012, including organizations of farm- Putumayo, was murdered brutally 19 indigenous leaders were killed, ers, indigenous peoples, Afro-Co- in the municipality of Puerto Caid- seven of whom were Nasa from the lombians, women, union workers,

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

students, human rights defenders, destruction of their cultural and youth, environmentalists, LGBTQ territorial autonomy. communities, peace initiatives, churches, guilds, businesses, academics, social researchers and victims of the conflict.” The meetings have been held throughout the country and have addressed agrar- ian reforms and political participation. They are anticipating continued discussions related to victims, which will directly influence the 85 Indigenous Peoples’ involvement in the peace talks.

Being the primary victims of this 50-year conflict, the Nasa, Awa and other Indigenous Peoples want to be a part of the reconciliatory talks. On Nov. 22, the ONIC and the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) outlined the “Indigenous and Popular Peace Proposal,” demanding that it be taken into account during the peace talks. The proposal empha- sizes issues of territorial and traditional autonomy, and the opening of talks to popular participation. However, the indigenous com- our munities’ involvement is yet to be determined.

Marcelo Pollack, Colombia researcher at Amnesty International, stated: “Respect for human rights autonomy must be at the top of the agenda in the forthcoming peace talks between the government and the FARC. Without a clear commitment from all the parties to the conflict to end sexual violence and other human rights abuses there can be no lasting and stable peace in Colombia.” While all parties hope for a long-lasting resolution to the conflict, there is no group that awaits peace more anxiously than the indigenous communities, which continue to live in fear of assassinations, displacements, and

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Photo by Jen Wilton

Jen Wilton our The Triqui Peoples continue their struggle for autonomy and security on their autonomy land in Oaxaca Jan. 28, 2013 - The Triqui people terview in which he said there is no of San Juan Copala have reclaimed reason for the Triqui encampment their position in front of the Govern- to continue in the doorway to the ment Palace in Oaxaca City after Government Palace, asserting that being forcibly evicted by state and the state government had taken municipal police just one month the necessary steps to address the ago. The plantón (protest camp) was protesters’ demands. Cué maintains cleared, for the second time since that authorities have complied with 2011, to make way for the many the precautionary measures out- tourists that descend on Oaxaca lined by the Inter-American Com- over the Christmas period. mission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2010, in which the IACHR asked the Shortly before the eviction, state Mexican government to guarantee governor Gabino Cué gave an in- the safety of the 135 people dis-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

placed from San Juan Copala by where the Triqui formerly re- paramilitary violence. In the year sided, the plantón this time sits proceeding IACHR’s declaration, in the open square. The camp there were 25 documented cases seems to be mostly made up of of people killed in San Juan Co- women and children and there is pala and 17 of injuries sustained little respite from the elements during the conflict. beyond tarps strung up overhead. State police have been stationed in front of the Government Ivette Martínez Najera, a resi- Palace since the eviction in De- dent at the camp, related how cember, barring the return of the the paramilitary violence in the Triqui plantón with barricades. towns of San Juan Copala and The Triqui re-established a new San Miguel Copala had forced encampment one block south- residents to relocate to the city west of the former site, living of Oaxaca. Ivette explained that in cramped conditions as they one of the options the govern- blocked traffic on a through- ment offered was relocation to a road. There, the protesters town an hour outside of Oaxaca, posted information around the which was not considered an new camp, denouncing the inac- acceptable alternative by the tion of state governor Gabino displaced residents of the camp. Cué and also claiming that one woman had gone into labor The people living at the plantón prematurely following the forced do not consider that the au- eviction. The baby, named Jesús thorities have fulfilled their Hernández, passed away just obligations and so they continue four days after he was born. asking the state government to Photos by Jen Wilton provide them with safe passage On Jan. 21, the Triqui plantón home. They are asking for help returned to the front of the to put an end to the ongoing Government Palace in the main climate of fear and the violence square of Oaxaca. As state police that has marred their region, are still barricading the covered including the all-too-frequent porch of the government palace, threats, injuries and loss of life.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

The ongoing conflict in the for the Triqui region had been Triqui territory has primarily drawn up in conjunction with the involved two rival paramilitary federal government and that it groups – MULT (the Move- would be implemented by work- ment of Triqui Unification and ing with local authorities – a Struggle) and Ubisort (the Union move that is likely to be contro- of Social Welfare of the Triqui versial for the Triqui, who do not Region). Contrary to what their recognize the legitimacy of the names suggest, these groups current municipal council. The have violently sought to control governor also stated that the the natural resources in the area Triqui protest camp had been and they also have connections ‘infiltrated’ by a group trying to to the PRI – the conservative reap personal benefits from the 88 political party that ruled Mexico situation, further complicating for 71 years under a regime of negotiation processes. In the corruption and repression. past few years there have been many claims and counter-claims San Juan Copala declared its from people on different sides independence from the fed- of the conflict, making it difficult eral government in 2007. Many to decipher the true course of indigenous communities in events. Oaxaca have claimed their autonomy from the state under While the situation is extremely the system of usos y costumbres complex, what we do know is (traditions and customs), opting that living conditions at the to utilize traditional forms of camp are inadequate for those self-governance and decision- stationed there for long periods making rather than participate in of time. There are a number national politics. In reality, little of small children living at the is decided democratically at the Triqui plantón and for some of local level in San Juan Copala. them it is all they know – they chase each other and play games Ivette explained that at present in the large pedestrian area that MULT claims to have control of has once again become their the municipal council and they backyard. have been sending out mislead- ing photos of the council in ses- They live amongst a barrage of sion, with their flag prominently information that informs pass- displayed in the municipal ersby of the desperate situation Photo by Jen Wilton building. In San Juan Copala, the facing the Triqui, including a transition to autonomy has not poster with graphic photos docu- had much of a chance to take menting the injuries (sometimes root; few could argue that those fatal) that people have suf- in power have the interests of fered as a result of the ongoing the people at heart. As Ivette violence in the Triqui region. said of her hometown, for those The young people at the camp who have other options, there is live with daily reminders of the little choice but to leave. bloody conflict that prevents them from returning home, a In December, the state governor burden that lies well beyond said that a development plan their years.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Redeveloping the Millennium 89 Robin Llewellyn

Mar. 21, 2013 - Colombia’s indigenous organizations re- 2) indigenous self-government; vealed five new “millennium development goals” (MDGs), 3) the self-development of indigenous communities on presenting the world’s first national framework for real- the basis of equilibrium and harmony; izing indigenous rights in response to the Millennium Declaration. The move challenges the country’s authori- 4) free, prior and informed consent as a condition for ties to record their progress in meeting the new targets, developments on indigenous land; and with indicators for the realization of each goal published in a report funded by the United Nations Development 5) the “institutional redesign” of the state in its relations Program (UNDP). with indigenous peoples.

The original eight MDGs, criticized by indigenous Colom- Colombian Deputy Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez bian organizations for ignoring ethnic and social groups, de Soto welcomed the launch of the project’s 200-page were integrated into the national development program report, Another Vision, Indigenous Peoples and the Mil- in 2005. The National Indigenous Organization of Colom- lennium Development Goals, stating: “The Government bia, the Indigenous Confederation of Tayrona, the Organi- has made a major effort to put ourselves in the place of zation of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon, another,” and adding: “This document confirms that we together with traditional indigenous authorities, cooper- cannot move forward if we do not understand.” ated to produce the additions. Indigenous lawyer Asdrúbal Plaza, one of the two co- Their indigenous goals seek the achievement of: authors of the report, questions the government’s commitment to indigenous rights, however: “The Environment 1) the protection of indigenous territory; Ministry continues to grant mining licenses to indigenous land without consultations,” he said, adding that the state

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

“wants to continually interfere in our territories and our will depend on the government’s acceptance that “the resources.” environmental authority in our territories is the relevant indigenous authority.” While a number of recent court judgments in the country have ruled in favor of indigenous peoples in their dis- He sees the five indigenous goals as central to this putes with mining, energy, and infrastructure companies, negotiation between the parties: without achieving the the International Labor Organization consistently criti- first goal of the protection of indigenous territory, “we cizes Colombia for not protecting indigenous rights or indigenous people will have nothing,” Plaza warns. He applying the ILO Convention it signed on the Rights of then points to the second goal of achieving indigenous Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. The country’s indigenous self-government, adding that “if the government doesn’t territories are under pressure as Columbia’s booming respect our decisions, we can’t advance.” economy increases the thirst for their resources. Secretary General Juvenal Gonzalez Arrieta of the National Indige- While the report has grown out of the difficult relation- 90 nous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) was recently asked ship between indigenous peoples and the Colombian by Colombian daily El Nuevo Siglo whether delays caused government, it has also drawn on the engagement with to the activities of multinationals on indigenous land by the original MDGs by the United Nations Permanent Fo- recent court rulings ordering consultations with local rum on Indigenous Issues. The report’s supporters plan to people meant that indigenous groups were opposed to send the report to indigenous rights organizations around the country’s development. He responded that 30 percent the world, saying it will help reframe development of Colombia is indigenous territory, containing 52 percent debates in the runup to the 2015 date for the realization of the country’s natural resources “We don’t just protect of the original MDGs. Plaza is proud of the “pioneering” the natural resources for indigenous people but for soci- nature of the project, but cautions that for indigenous de- ety and humanity,” he said. velopment in Colombia, “if the state doesn’t change, and if it doesn’t learn to respect indigenous authorities, then The indigenous goals are overall targets, subdivided to nothing is possible.” provide specific objectives. The third goal, of achieving self-development on the basis of equilibrium and harmo- This article was originally published at Le Monde diploma- ny, for example, covers subcategories such as indigenous tique. women’s rights, education, indigenous and intercultural health services, and harmony between mankind and nature. The education sub-theme includes the specific indicator of the number of teachers in a given territory who are teaching through indigenous languages. The harmony with nature sub-theme includes the indicator of the number of hectares of indigenous land replanted with native species.

Such values in a development program might be seen to contrast with the investment-oriented, export agriculture and mining-focused model of the current Santos government. Does the author Asdrúbal Plaza see any grounds for shared development objectives? “It will be difficult but not impossible,” he says. “In our territories we have our own economies, and our own idea of development, which corresponds to our own worldview. For us, we envision the ongoing cultural, physical and spiritual development of ourselves as indigenous peoples. This contrasts with the government’s ethos of development, which is based on consumerism.”

He argues that a shared understanding of development

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE ANTI-INDIAN hate campaign 91

Jay Taber

In April, May and June 2013, regional sovereignty. CERA vice chair Butch a far-right Christian organization. conferences were held throughout the Cranford of Plymouth, Calif., and Using Indians who oppose tribal US to launch a campaign against Indi- CERA board member Elaine Willman sovereignty as speakers is a key an tribes. The sponsor of the regional from Hobart, Wisc., were featured strategy of CERA, giving them cover conferences, Citizens Equal Rights speakers. from accusations of being white Alliance, is the foremost anti-Indian supremacist. As Brendale admits in organization in the country. Another speaker at the April 6 a video where he was discussing conference in Bellingham, Philip his participation in the fight against Brendale, who identifies himself as the Nisqually Tribe, his mission is to ANTI-INDIAN CONFERENCE a member of the Cowlitz Tribe, was “take down federal Indian policy.” While the April 6, 2013 conference also prominent — along with the on federal Indian policy issues held Tea Party — in opposing the Yurok Lana Marcussen, CERA legal in Bellingham, Wash., sounded Tribe in the Northern California counsel, asserts that destroying innocuous, the fact that it was spon- Klamath River Basin water dispute, tribal sovereignty is a civil rights sored by Citizens Equal Rights Alli- as was Elaine Willman. He has struggle to free the Indians. She ance signaled the start of another considerable experience fighting is a states’ rights, anti-sovereignty anti-Indian hate campaign. While tribal sovereignty, as evidenced advocate active in fighting tribes in CERA hate campaigns focus on dif- by his U.S. Supreme Court case California. ferent issues in different regions, against the Yakama Indian Nation. what they have in common is a Interviewed by Tea Party activist The local organizers for the anti- mission to destroy American Indian Kris Halterman on the same live Indian conference were CERA governance, culture and society. KGMI radio podcast with Willman, board member Tom Williams of Brendale said tribal fishing rights Lynden, Wash., and Skip Richards, As the registration form states, should be eliminated, along with a Bellingham consultant with a the conference was for learning other treaty rights. twenty-year history of anti-Indian about how to fight American Indian organizing as both a Wise Use fee to trust, casino gambling, Brendale’s wife is a lobbyist and Movement property-rights advocate water rights, land acquisitions and media expert with Eagle Forum, and a collaborator with Christian

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

” “"Tribalism is socialism [and] has no place in our country!"

Patriot militias. His photo on his the Lummi Indian Reservation — cerns about water and air pollution. LinkedIn page is from a militia urged U.S. Senator Slade Gorton to Caught on film were movement pro- recruiting meeting he hosted at the “drastically cut Lummi funding” on vocateurs Chuck Cushman and Skip Laurel Grange in October 1994. behalf of her and other white fee Richards, as well as movement pro- landowners. The Fee Land Owners pagandist Ron Arnold — all based Skip Richards got his start as a Association (FLOA), in which Mrs. in Washington State — and interest- merchant of fear in the early 1990s Dawson was active, had been ingly, David Macintosh, White House when he was a paid field agent at odds with the tribe over the staff representing President Bush provocateur of the Building Industry sovereignty of the Lummi Nation at a national Wise Use gathering. Association, which had teamed up to manage water resources within On behalf of President George H.W. 92 with the Washington Association of its own jurisdiction. To the white Bush, Macintosh congratulated them Realtors to undermine Washington developers, this interfered with their for the role they were playing in State’s Growth Management Act. ability to make easy money at the shaping US policy. As Mr. Macintosh From 1992 to 1996, the industry expense of the tribe. Had Dawson put it, “This is an important move- funded and organized field agent succeeded in her vindictiveness, ment—one that reflects the Ameri- provocateurs who went on a drastic cuts to Lummi funding could can people’s desire to have sensible rampage inciting vigilantism have imperiled such services as government.” Part of the footage of against Native Americans and Head Start for their kids, as well as the 60 Minutes segment Clean Wa- environmentalists in 14 counties, elder care programs. ter, Clean Air was shot in Whatcom culminating in the arrest and County, Wash., where the April 6, conviction of eight individuals on Noticeably absent from Wise Use, 2013 anti-Indian conference orga- federal firearms and explosives CERA and Tea Party propaganda nized by Skip Richards was held. charges. is the notion that treaty rights are indeed property rights. While they In the Pacific Northwest, the threats Sometimes the spear-carriers, are collective rather than individual in the early 1990s were coming those who believe the hoax and rights, the land, water, fish and from folks stirred up by the real get excited enough to threaten environment that support Northwest estate development industry against opponents, are looking for a American Indian culture and society environmental protection and Indian windfall economic opportunity. But are very much their property. treaties. In the Fall of 1994, the the only ones who usually profit As the supreme law of the land, Committee for Environmental Justice from these hate campaigns are the along with the U.S. Constitution, (a militia front group) was hosted social movement entrepreneurs Indian treaties explicitly delineate by Building Industry Association and their industry backers. What tribal properties that cannot be contract field agent Skip Richards you’ll often see in their aftermath damaged. When industrial and other at the Laurel Grange. Days after the is a rightward or criminal shift in development projects impair treaty- Laurel Grange militia revival, there public policy rules and regulations guaranteed tribal property, the was a cross-burning and shotgun as a result of the consolidation or federal government is obligated to attack at a nearby migrant workers’ seizure of political power. In a July intervene on their behalf. camp. 1996 High Country News interview, Skip Richards stated the two things This situation played out on he needed to know in politics were ANTI-INDIAN HISTORY numerous Indian reservations “who to threaten and who to bribe.” On September 20, 1992, CBS 60 throughout the state, especially Minutes aired a segment on the vio- those with waterfront. Puget Sound The other local anti-Indian activist lence of the industry-backed Wise was notorious for battles between on the event billing was Marlene Use Movement, focusing on the tribes and developers. United Dawson. In January 1995, as a threats, intimidation, and assaults Property Owners of Washington Whatcom County Council member, against parents and community (UPOW), which later became One Marlene — wife of a realtor on groups in the US who raised con- Nation United (ONU), was the

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

umbrella lobbying and litigation Jeff Kent, led Fee Land Owners who mobilize ruffians to carry the organization for the whites. Former Association representatives Jeff banner for industry — generate U.S. Representative Jack Metcalf McKay and Linnea Smith in an hour- violence toward Indians and from Langley on Whidbey Island long diatribe against the Lummis. environmentalists from coast to served on UPOW’s board. Former When Sen. Gorton stepped up his coast. According to former Western Sen. Slade Gorton had made a attack against Native sovereignty, States Center researcher Jonn name for himself in the 1970s as Washington Environmental Council Lunsford, crimes including “animal the Washington State Attorney and the Washington Association mutilation, property damage, death General who led the fight to deprive of Churches joined the Lummis in threats, arson, assault and battery, Washington Indian tribes of their condemning this unconscionable bombings, and attempted murder” fishing rights guaranteed under the act. follow in their wake. In May 1988, 1855 Treaty of Point Elliot. Cushman was the featured speaker 93 In November 1995, Citizens for at Protect America’s Rights and After an armed standoff on the Liberty sponsored a talk by Ron Resources’ national convention in reservation between Lummi Police Arnold, the hate-mongering Wise Wisconsin, held to oppose honoring and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Use propagandist from the Center Indian treaties. Shortly after his Deputies at the site of a Lummi for the Defense of Free Enterprise 1988 appearance, Indian fishermen Nation well, anti-Indian organizers in Bellevue. Arnold, merchant of there were assaulted and shot at by stepped up their activities. Several fear and Alan Gottlieb’s partner, is sports fishermen. Indian youth were harassed and a not-so-subtle master of violent assaulted in the nearby Ferndale rhetoric, who covers himself by School District, and placard-carrying claiming his calls to “kill the WISE USE MILITIAS contingents from FLOA, stirred bastards” (environmentalists) are On Nov. 11, 1995 (Veterans Day), up by Skip Richards’ and his new metaphorical. In December 1991, a group calling itself the Washing- partner Kris Heintz’ propaganda Arnold had met with Building ton State Militia met at the Rome equating property rights with civil Industry Association officials Art Grange just outside Bellingham. As rights, became regulars at Whatcom Castle and Jim Klauser to discuss it turns out, they had already sched- County Council meetings. formation of the Washington uled John Trochman to come speak Property Rights Network, in order to in the near future at the Lakeway In May 1995, Ben Hinckle, who’d fund and organize a fake rebellion. Inn in Bellingham. At the time, John opened for Chuck Cushman at a Trochman was the leader of the Wise Use Rome Grange revival, Shortly after, in May 1992, Castle, Militia of Montana, a heavily armed hosted an open-to-the-public Richards and real estate developer outfit that wasn’t above robbing Citizens for Liberty meeting at Bill Geyer incorporated CLUE — banks, storming county jails to bust Squalicum Harbor Center. Citizens a property rights group — that out their buddies, and engaging in for Liberty — an amalgam of promptly paid Chuck Cushman shoot-outs with state police when adherents of the John Birch Society, $1,000 to incite heckler-filled pulled over for traffic infractions. Liberty Lobby, and other racist crowds to storm Whatcom County organizations — was waxing as a Council meetings. In June, the After intervention by church and militia recruiting group, drawing Whatcom County Republican human rights leaders in Bellingham interest from less stable members Central Committee endorsed their and Seattle, the management of the of Fee Land Owners Association efforts, and a year later Castle and Bellingham Lakeway Inn cancelled and other property-rights fanatics. Geyer started Keystone Forum the Trochman reservation, forcing The new political climate boastfully Political Action Committee, which the militia recruiters to relocate created by the Building Industry captured seven out of eight local their event to Mt. Vernon, thirty Association,had clearly signaled council positions in elections that miles south. With this advance it was time for these dormant November. In March 1994, Chuck warning, human rights activists in Minutemen to prepare for action. Cushman returned to help with the Skagit County merged with those militia recruiting drive. from Whatcom County in protest on In September 1995, Bellingham’s Movement entrepreneurs Arnold the day of the big event. KGMI radio talk-show host, and Cushman — national players

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Eric Ward of the Northwest Coalition in 14 counties) — Building Industry United States, these two reports are Against Malicious Harassment — a Association executive Art Castle — valuable resources for those just regional human rights organizer relocated to the Kitsap Peninsula. encountering this longstanding form — was terrified with “the idea of racism. of militias being able to utilize On Jan. 15, 1997, the trial of eight the electoral force of Wise Use Washington State Militia members As Ken Toole observed, the anti- groups” to legitimize racist policies began in federal court in Seattle. Indian movement is racist at its core regionally and nationally. In One of their secretly recorded because of its clearly articulated Whatcom, Snohomish, and Chelan conversations, introduced as goals. The movement in America, he Counties, this epidemic was in full evidence, included a discussion says, is as old as the arrival of the swing. about a route through the heavily first Europeans. While the modern wooded Whatcom Falls Park to anti-Indian movement advocates the July 1996 brought several surprises the rear of the home of Whatcom continued elimination of Indian peo- 94 to Whatcom County, not the least Human Rights Task Force Chair ple, he says, “in this last iteration, of which was a press conference Damani Johnson. Some of the the elimination is not by the murder by the U.S. Department of Justice, defendants were set free due to a of individuals, but by the termina- announcing the bust of eight juror’s inability to follow the judge’s tion of their structures of self-gover- local individuals for involvement instructions; others went to prison nance, the taking of their resources, in bomb-making and illegal for four years. Bellingham Herald and by defining them as part of ‘the modification of firearms into fully crime reporter, Cathy Logg — who rest of the country’ through forced automatic weapons—machine guns. courageously covered the arrests assimilation.” and had her home and computer In August 1996, after four and broken into — eventually moved a half years of coverup by the away from Whatcom County. ANTI-INDIAN POWER Bellingham Herald, the Wise Use/ In an excerpt from Drumming Up militia connection was finally Resentment, Ken Toole examines the revealed in the Portland Oregonian. ANTI-INDIAN MOVEMENT organizational infrastructure of the This was soon followed by an article In 1996, when Washington State anti-Indian movement: in the Anacortes American, the first Senate candidate Skip Richards was coverage by a paper inside the exposed in the Anacortes American Over the last thirty years, tribal gov- Washington State legislative district as an anti-Indian militia organizer, ernments have become more sophis- Skip Richards hoped to represent. I met Ken Toole of the Montana ticated about asserting themselves Human Rights Network. At a confer- through treaty rights. This evolution In October, trailing distantly in ence earlier that year, I met Rudolph has often created controversy. Those the polls, candidate Richards Ryser of the Center for World Indig- who have opposed tribes, fearing chose to play the race card in the enous Studies. Between the two of Indian governance, have coalesced general election, insinuating in his them, my education on anti-Indian themselves into the anti-Indian campaign literature that the Indians racism took off. movement. Groups like the Interstate (presumably through guarding their Congress for Equal Rights and Re- treaty rights) were undermining all In 2000, while I was preparing for sponsibilities (ICERR), Totally Equal that the white people had struggled graduate school in San Francisco, Americans (TEA), and the Citizens to build in Whatcom County. His the Montana Human Rights Network Equal Rights Alliance (CERA) have associate Bill Geyer’s County published its groundbreaking report, served as national umbrella organiza- Executive campaign also flopped, Drumming Up Resentment. This re- tions for groups that have grown out in spite of the Herald’s refusal to port, along with Rudolph C. Ryser’s of local and state controversies. These connect him to Wise Use. The third Anti-Indian Movement on the Tribal national groups have focused on fed- member of the local trio who’d Frontier, provides scholars and activ- eral policy by lobbying in Congress initiated the faux property-rights ists with essential knowledge on the and litigating in the federal courts. rebellion (as well as a key figure topic. As the anti-Indian movement However, the power and effectiveness in the Washington Property Rights now launches a national offensive of these national groups is linked to Network that subverted elections to terminate Indian tribes in the the local anti-Indian groups.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

In addition to “vertical integration” strategically stoked anti-Indian colluding to take down Washington from local to state to national orga- resentment is perhaps instructive. state, and that the CERA conference nizations, the anti-Indian movement in one week’s time would teach also developed “horizontal integra- Looking at the sequence of the citizens “how to take on tribal tion,” or ally relationships with groups Wealth Wake Up show on KGMI, governments.” and activists in other political and leading up to the April 6 CERA social movements. The anti-Indian anti-Indian conference, you can movement is allied with the anti- see that on March 23, show host ANTI-INDIAN MESSAGING environmental “wise use movement.” Dick Donohue had on Craig Cole, Hate campaigns like the one There is extensive cooperation be- the mouthpiece for Gateway Pacific launched at the April 6 anti-Indian tween anti-Indian groups like CERA Terminal, promoting the hope for conference are highly scripted pub- and wise use groups like the Alliance economic salvation posed by the lic dramas, well thought out and 95 for America. Loose affiliation between proposed coal export terminal planned in advance. Not only are anti-Indian groups and the Religious (opposed by Lummi Indian Nation). logistics for the four regional CERA Right is also evident primarily in the Next, on March 30, Donohue conferences in Massachusetts, New electoral arena and state legislature. interviewed CERA board member York, Northern California and Wash- Finally, despite their best efforts, anti- Tom Williams, who promoted the ington aimed at pressuring Congress Indian activists often stumble into the untrue idea that Indians have to terminate Indian treaties and overt white supremacist movement. It citizenship privileges without abolish Indian reservations, but is not a surprising stumble since both paying taxes. On April 6, live at the CERA’s messaging is also fine-tuned movements have racist ideas at the conference, Donohue and Tea Party and disseminated via hate talk radio core. activist Kris Halterman interviewed and other media in order to alter CERA board member Elaine Willman, the state and local political climate. who characterized tribes as casino That way, anti-Indian organizers can ANTI-INDIAN STRATEGY bullies using their financial muscle be sure media consumers and po- In the conclusion of Drumming Up to take half the water. (See Cascadia tential anti-Indian activists are well Resentment, Ken Toole remarked Weekly for background on this.) indoctrinated in anti-Indian propa- that the public education system is ganda, which in turn can be used in doing a woefully inadequate job of On the Radio Real Estate show at electoral campaigns. providing information to students KGMI on March 23, host Mike Kent on Indian issues. The result, he says, also interviewed Craig Cole, who By conducting trainings and is that citizens are increasingly ig- promoted the idea that supporting workshops where anti-Indian norant about treaty rights and tribal Gateway Pacific Terminal was a messaging is drilled into sovereignty. This, he warns, makes patriotic duty to save the American participants before and after them far more vulnerable to the economy. While Cole did not say major media events, pre-existing politics of resentment offered up by it, the implication is that Lummi prejudices against Indians can the anti-Indian movement. Indian Nation opposition to GPT then be exploited and nurtured thus makes them unpatriotic, or un- as new recruits become involved Capitalizing on that ignorance, American. in hate campaigns. By staying right-wing media is able to help on the messaging developed in hate campaign organizers mobilize On the Nov. 3, 2012 episode of the these trainings, local media and that resentment into the electoral KGMI show Saturday Morning Live, concerned citizens are disarmed arena, riding on fear and anger hosted by Tea Party activist Kris and cornered into discussing Indian stoked by ideologues and pundits Halterman, CERA board member policy on anti-Indian terms. into seething “white rage.” With Elaine Willman was interviewed by When employed effectively, most of industry funding and movement phone from Wisconsin, stating that the public is thus led into debating organizing, that racist rage “tribalism is socialism, and has no public policy without questioning becomes an effective, albeit lethal, place in our country.” On March 30, the anti-Indian claims embedded anti-Indian pathogen. Given this Halterman had Willman back on her in their messaging. Since the anti- scenario, the following outline of show to promote the idea that the Indian movement relies on distorted how one right-wing radio station state, feds, and tribes are secretly interpretations and inaccurate

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE information repeated ad infinitum, their own. self-determination. This difference is this means hate campaigns have the confusing and gives the anti-Indian advantage of mobilizing resentment movement an advantage in the rhe- around false, inflammatory and CIVIL RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS torical arena. largely unchallenged information. In 2000, when the Montana Human Because anti-Indian activists are Rights Network published its report Taken at face value, the anti-Indian trained in messaging and their Drumming Up Resentment, the United movement is a systematic effort to opponents are not, anti-Indian Nations General Assembly was still deny legally established rights to a activists act intelligently while seven years away from passing its group of people who are identified on their opponents react emotionally. Declaration on the Rights of Indig- the basis of their shared culture, histo- Intelligence wins over emotion enous Peoples, which, in essence, ry, religion and tradition. That makes every time. extended the international human it racist by definition. rights regime to include indigenous 96 Playing to people’s fears over peoples. As such, many Americans property, water and taxation, anti- were still struggling with the con- ANTI-INDIAN SITUATION Indian entrepreneurs are able to ceptual difference between civil Regarding the April 6 anti-Indian turn that fear into hate. Once the rights and human rights. conference and the Tea Party/CERA furor is sufficiently stoked through hate campaign, the anti-Indian his- anti-Indian revivals, that hate can be With the benefit of hindsight, we tory of the organizers is useful, but mobilized into exacting revenge. It’s now know the difference. Never- needs to be updated. An analysis of a tried-and-true formula. theless, the insight of the MHRN the funding and organizing structure report’s author Ken Toole remains of the campaign needs to be con- Our collective wellbeing thus essential to the indigenous peoples’ ducted. Information and intelligence depends on systematic prophylaxis struggle today. In fact, as the anti- has to be gathered. exercised by Civil Society. Part of Indian movement in the United that prophylaxis consists of studying States launches a national offensive That said, there are some things we anti-democratic movements and to terminate Indian tribes, Toole’s do know. By their own admission, countering the psychological analysis is fundamental to our un- CERA held their regional anti- warfare deployed by hate campaigns derstanding of the current conflict: Indian conference in Bellingham, of such notorious phenomena as Wash., because Washington is a the anti-Indian movement. While The context in which most people key battleground state over tribal many in the movement are mistaken place words like racism, prejudice, sovereignty. As founder of the six- or misinformed, the malice of the and discrimination is the civil rights campus Northwest Indian College, movement is the message we need movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In the Lummi Indian Nation is a key to talk about. Debating the anti- that context, an oppressed minority, player. Indian talking points is pointless African Americans, sought inclusion, a when their behavior is the issue. piece of the pie, equal opportunity and Lummi opposition to the proposed We can never solve public policy integration. Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) proj- problems when we don’t first ect of Goldman Sachs and Peabody circumscribe organized political The struggle for civil rights in Indian Coal Company, on lands formerly violence. country is different. It rests more on part of their reservation, makes the sovereignty and autonomy than on Lummis a prime target. The fact that When our opponents are com- inclusion and integration. The legal conflict over Nooksack River Basin mitted to terminating indigenous framework created by the civil rights water allocation is a factor in the self-determination, that has to be activists of the 1950s and 1960s feasibility of the water-intensive the message we promote. When sought to secure equal treatment GPT coal terminal application, we begin to examine the racial and within existing institutions and law. means tribal sovereignty is a key ob- religious prejudice underlying their Indian rights activists, by and large, jective for these Wall Street heavies hate campaign, all the other issues seek recognition of their right to to undermine. become secondary. Until we do, the develop their own law. Basically, only messaging people will hear is they seek recognition of a right to Mobilizing far-right Christian anti-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Indian activists as spear-carriers dares to question their integrity. When developing research budgets, only makes sense. When you add in In short, they are domestic it might help to point out that in- the AFL-CIO patsies supporting Wall terrorists. The only problem is that vestigative research in social con- Street for the couple hundred GPT law enforcement often only acts flict is not a one-off; it is a continu- jobs, you’ve got a ready-made hate once there’s a corpse. ous flow of information generated campaign with labor muscle. before, during, and after netwar. This flow can begin with a briefing Add to this the fact that there are no BATTLING BIGOTRY based on experience, proceed to an organized and functioning human As tribes across the US gear up estimate of the current situation (af- rights organizations in the area, the to do battle with the anti-Indian ter scoping it out), continue with a Wall Street/Christian Right coali- movement, communications will full report once researchers hit criti- tion has an open field ahead. The comprise the front line of defense. cal mass on essential information, 97 only thing that might stop them Understanding how this war of ideas and then generate periodic updates is intervention by Governor Jay can be fought effectively will make through monitoring media, events, Inslee. Since his office is targeted the difference between winning and communications and activities of for swarming by anti-Indian activ- losing. the opposition. ists seeking to pressure him to end state accords with Indian tribes, he One of the most common mistakes The format of presenting essential will unavoidably be involved in this of communications in conflict is to understandings in short video seg- troubling development. How he respond to attacks in a defensive ments is an effective way of engag- responds depends in part on what manner, which violates the core ing the public online. Tribal govern- Civil Society does. If groups like principle of not repeating the talk- ments might want to consider pro- Washington Association of Churches ing points of your enemy. Repeti- ducing something — in advance of and League of Women Voters have tion imprints itself on the public announcing initiatives — in order to one thing they ought to do over the mind, and is in turn repeated by guide subsequent public discourse. next year, it is this. media. Developing the essential understandings you wish to convey, Wise Use entrepreneurs will prob- and sticking to them, is an effective ably offer their fundraising and ANTI-INDIAN CHRISTIANS strategy; responding to attacks al- organizing services to the anti- Something to keep in mind with ex- lows your enemy to set the terms of Indian organizers. They have a lot posing the CERA hate campaign and discussion. of experience at raising money and its national offensive to terminate mobilizing bigotry, and appear to be tribal sovereignty is that while the Another core principle is not to looking for a new political opportu- fuel might come from the energy provide a platform for your enemy. nity to use their skills. They should industry, and the organizing will Some PR people think it is a dem- not be underestimated. likely come from the building and onstration of fairness to invite your real estate industries, the foot sol- enemy to debates and discussions. diers in the Tea Party come from the What they should be doing is find- TEA PARTY TERRORISTS Christian Far-Right. Like all religious ing ways to discredit their enemy The first online report of the CERA/ fanatics, these are highly motivated, and subvert their operations against Tea Party hate campaign was on unreasonable adversaries. They will them. I can analyze almost any PR April 6, the day of the anti-Indian stop at nothing to have their way or release and find violations of these conference. That report at Get What- disrupt the lawful and orderly public principles; PR people study mass com Planning, a blog by Western process. communication, but not netwar. Washington University professor Tribal governments will be em- and environmental lawyer Jean Me- They will swarm public meetings, broiled in psychological warfare, lious, notes the active involvement attempting to intimidate public and the principles of psywar are of the Tea Party and right-wing officials and their political rarely understood by public rela- KGMI radio in promoting the event opponents. They will threaten tions staff. This is a separate func- to attack the treaty rights of the editors and publishers. They will tion from investigative research, but Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe. maliciously harass anyone who a related one.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

In Melious’ April 28 report on right- corruption led to the corrosion of some government agency. Were it wing misbehavior at the county governance. While the reign of only so. planning commission, she expresses terror that Wise Use operatives her horror at the hyperbole used like Skip Richards, anti-Indian by a property rights attorney– ideologues like Elaine Willman, and advocating for official lawlessness Tea Party activists like KGMI radio in the form of nullification. host Kris Halterman promote might Nullification is a states’ rights not play out the same this time theory, used to oppose the federal around, it nevertheless portends a Civil Rights Act, which has roots in further corrosion of community, and the states of the Confederacy. In for the Lummi Nation, a looming this instance, it is being advised by threat to the safety of the members Wise Use attorney Jack Swanson of their tribe. 98 as a tactic to oppose Washington State’s Growth Management Act, but As I noted in my memoir, when Eric nullification is also a recent topic of Ward at Northwest Coalition Against discussion among the GOP Liberty Malicious Harassment in 1996 Assembly in Washington state, stated he was terrified with the idea where Constitutionalists affiliated of militias being able to utilize the with the Christian Patriot Movement electoral force of Wise Use groups merge with Ron Paul devotees to to legitimize racist based policies promote white supremacy and anti- regionally and nationally, he wasn’t Indian activism. The Republican referring to some vague threat. Liberty Caucus of Washington is He was talking about a reality on chaired by Sandi Brendale. the ground. As the Tea Party and Wise Use hate entrepreneurs try The only daily newspaper in to capitalize on fear over water Whatcom County, the Bellingham rights and economic anxiety today, Herald, covered up the right-wing Wise Use ideology and anti-Indian crimes in the 1990s, thus providing rhetoric today again threaten to no accurate institutional memory throw the region into turmoil. as community safeguard. While reporting on the 1996 arrests A community’s incapacity to deal of Christian Patriots by the U.S. with social phenomena like hate Department of Justice, the Herald campaigns creates a popular never exposed the ringleaders psychosis where such aberrations behind the climate of fear that led as the Tea Party, Citizens Equal to mobilizing resentment in the Rights Alliance and Christian Patriot form of militias. Having provided Militias are rationalized as normal, cover for real estate and building which, unfortunately, becomes a industry officials, the Herald laid self-fulfilling interpretation. To the groundwork for the 1990s coup break out of this popular psychosis, and the subsequent consolidation citizens of Whatcom County and of political power the Tea Party Washington state need a more and white supremacists — with the realistic analysis of the situation. organizing assistance of CERA — now hope to build on. When most people read news like this, they assume that someone else In my 2003 book Blind Spots, I in their community will take care described how the combination of the problem. Law enforcement, of media collusion and corporate human rights groups, churches,

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE QUEBEC GOVERNMENT CONCEDES TO BARRIERE LAKE ALgonquins 99

John Ahni Schertow

he Algonquins of Barriere Lake routinely confronted with the heavy sued permits to Resolute Forest Prod- gained an unexpected victory hand of Quebec’s police forces. ucts without consulting or seeking in their decades-long struggle the free, prior and informed consent Tto secure their land rights and Now it appears the Quebec govern- of Barriere Lake. protect areas of cultural, spiritual and ment is starting to change its tune; biological importance. though it’s perhaps still too early to After the First Nation’s initial re- be giving them any kind of standing sponse, a number of protests and In Jul. 2012, after carrying out a series ovation. After all, the government was other actions were carried out, includ- of successful actions against Resolute in the wrong and they knew it. Even ing several successful stoppages of Forest Products, the Quebec govern- without the Trilateral agreement, the the company’s operations, a letter ment and forestry company agreed Province had a constitutional obliga- writing campaign, and a poignant to respect a key portion of the 1991 tion to work with First Nations in any demonstration outside the offices of Trilateral agreement, a landmark sus- decision that could affect them – and Resolute Forest Products and Premier tainable development, conservation, it does not get to choose when and Jean Charest in Montreal. and resource co-management plan for under what circumstances it will do some 10,000 square kilometers of the so. Media coverage of the situation was Algonquin’s traditional territory. also quite strong throughout the That’s the whole reason Barriere Lake month–a welcomed shift from the Both Canada and Quebec have started speaking out in early July. media black hole that Barriere Lake continuously refused to adhere to Resolute Forest Products, the logging has been routinely trapped in for the agreement, which they co-signed company formerly known as Abitibi- past few years. with Barriere Lake 21 years ago. The Bowater Inc., had begun an illegal Algonquin community, in turn, has logging operation near Poigan Bay, All of this came to a head with the continuously protested and de- Quebec, in an area that holds sacred Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources manded that both governments honor sites and an important moose habitat. agreeing to sit down with community their word. Those protests have been The Ministry of Natural Resources is- representatives for negotiations.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

100

Photo by ilkerender The outcome of those negotia- say the least, but the journey is far tions was “a precarious but impor- from over. Barriere Lake Solidarity tant step in the community’s long goes on to say, “Barriere Lake needs struggle to pressure the Quebec and its supporters to remain vigilant to because it sets precedents in giving Canadian governments to honour ensure Resolute Forest Products re- Indigenous peoples control over their landmark Trilateral Agree- spects the ‘measures to harmonize.’” developments on their territories.” ment, says Barriere Lake Solidarity. Both the Quebec government and “Even more importantly, we need to It’s safe to say that Canada takes the forestry company agreed to continue building pressure on the the same moral low ground. Indeed, comply with the Trilateral Agree- Quebec and Canadian governments it would much rather turn First Na- ment’s “measures to harmonize”. to finally implement the Trilateral tions into specialized work farms for and Bilateral Agreements. The Cha- mining, logging and other indus- In these measures, it is understood rest government has been so brazen tries. Sufficed to say, Barriere Lake that logging companies who wish in its disregard for the law and its is far from alone in their struggle to operate on Barriere Lake’s land contempt for Barriere Lake that it for permanence. must not compromise the way that has refused to honour the binding the Algonquins use the land. In outcomes of negotiations conduct- other words, “logging is not allowed ed by two former Liberal Cabinet to happen where the community Ministers! In 2006, a negotiator has hunting cabins, in areas of for the Quebec, John Ciaccia, and a moose and bear habitat, sacred ar- negotiator for Barriere Lake, Clifford eas, medicinal sites and many other Lincoln, issued the recommenda- areas of concern to the community,” tion that the agreement be imple- adds Barriere Lake Solidarity. mented,” Barriere Lake Solidarity continues. “Quebec does not want It’s an important step forward to to implement this agreement

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH

occupy 101 enbridge tand on red lake sovereign land taking a s Robert Desjarlait

o the southwest of the Red several areas remained unsold and land site. Accompanied by several Red Lake Anishinaabe Na- were returned to Red Lake, including Lake Band members, Native and non- tion, lie desolate, wooded eight acres located outside the town of Native supporters, Cobenais occupied lands that were opened for Leonard, Minn. the Enbridge pipelines that were Tsettlement and homesteading under considered to be illegally on Red Lake the Treaty and Agreement of 1889. In 1949, the Lakehead Pipe Line Com- ceded land. Those woods have recently become pany built an underground pipeline on the scene of a standoff between the ceded land outside Leonard. Lake- Cobenais’ action wasn’t spontaneous. Anishinaabe activists and Enbridge head was the U.S. base of operations In the months preceding the occupa- Pipeline Co. as activists seek to force for Canada’s Interprovincial Pipe Line tion, he set up informational meetings the removal of pipelines they see as Co. (IPL – owned by Exxon predeces- in Red Lake, Bemidji, Fond du Lac, and a threat to the land’s integrity. sor Standard Oil of New Jersey). Other Minneapolis to discuss environmental Lakehead pipelines followed in 1958, issues associated with Tar Sands and, in It all began in 1945, when Oscar Chap- 1962, and 1972. In 1998, IPL changed particular, Enbridge pipelines on Min- man, then-U.S. Assistant Secretary of its name to Enbridge Inc., a name that nesota Anishinaabe homelands. the Interior, signed an Order of Restora- combined “energy” and “bridge.” tion that restored unsold ceded lands In regard to Red Lake, Cobenais’ En- of the Agreements of 1889 and 1904 On Feb. 28, 2013, Marty Cobenais, a Red bridge Expansion Fact Sheet pointed to the Red Lake Band. Although most Lake member and a Tar Sands orga- out that “the Red Lake Nation has not of the southwestern ceded land was nizer for the Indigenous Environmental signed any easements or agreements sold during the 1889 land rush, Network, entered the Red Lake ceded with Enbridge, the company trespassed

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

and illegally constructed and main- brook, Minn., located near the Leonard starting the proposed pipelines on the tained pipelines on Red Lake ceded ceded land site, is a hub for Enbridge’s Leech Lake Reservation. The lawsuit lands. pipeline operations. Enbridge is in the contended that the pipeline process of seeking approval to increase would result “In 2011, this issue was brought to its DilBit capacity to 800,000 barrels light and the Red Lake Tribal Council… per day. has considered several options, including signing an easement with a mutually agreed upon pay-

in irreparable 102 risks to Leech Lake Band’s water En- and land base. The group also filed two bridge’s Southern petitions to the Leech Lake Reservation Lights pipeline runs alongside the Business Committee (RBC). The RBC is ment, Alberta Clipper. The Southern Lights the governing body of the Leech Lake charging Enbridge with pipeline reverses the flow and pumps Band. The first petition asked that the trespassing, injunctions stopping the gasoline-like liquids called diluents. Leech Lake RBC rescind the resolution and on red laflow ofke the oil in the pipelines,s andovereign re- Southern Lights pumps 180,000 bar- ratifying thel agreementa ndwith Enbridge. t moval of the pipelines from the ceded rels The second petition requested that land altogether. per day and runs from Chicago to Ed- the agreement be put to a referendum monton. Minnesota Anishinaabe grass- vote. aking a s “Red Lake, Leech Lake, and Fond du roots opposition to Enbridge began in t Lac land and waters are or will be 2009 with Enbridge’s construction of In September 2009, the RBC rejected impacted by the pipelines and there- its Alberta Clipper pipeline through the the petitions. In February 2010, Leech fore the tribes should have significant Leech Lake and Fond du Lac Anishi- Lake Judge, B.J. Jones, dismissed In Zha input regarding the proposed expan- naabe reservations. The Leech Lake Wen Dun Aki’s lawsuit, citing that the sions [of barrels per day]. They have the and Fond du Lac tribal governments petitioners did not have a Minnesota power to pass resolutions opposing the accepted payment from Enbridge Chippewa Tribe (MCT) Constitutional increase and submit these resolutions Pipeline for easement through their right to subject the RBC administrative to the Minnesota Public Utilities Com- reservations. According to sources, resolution to a referendum because mission, Department of State, and the Fond du Lac settled for $17 million and there were no policies or procedures Department of Interior.” Leech Lake for $10 million. in the MCT Constitution that outlined how the referendum petition was sup- In Zha Wen Dun Aki In reaction to Leech Lake’s tribal posed to work. The MCT is comprised of In 2008, Enbridge announced its Alber- resolution for easement, Leech Lake six tribal governments that include the ta Clipper pipeline (Line 67) expansion activists formed In Zha Wen Dun Aki following northern Minnesota reserva- to connect with its point of origin at (Loving the Earth). The goal of In Zha tions: Leech Lake, Bois Forte, Mille Lacs, Hardisty, Alberta. In 2009, construction Wen Dun Aki was “to bring attention White Earth, Grand Portage, and Fond began with four spreads, or sections – to tribal sovereignty and indigenous du Lac. All of these reservations are Neche, N.D. to Viking, Minn.; Viking to rights to the land, as well as to the currently required to follow the con- Clearbrook, Minn.; Clearbrook to Deer environmental and health impacts stitution and bylaws of the Minnesota River, Minn.; Deer River to Superior, caused by inevitable accidental spills Chippewa Tribe. Wisc. along the route.” Energy Bridge of Destruction The 326-mile-long pipeline was In July 2009, In Zha Wen Dun Aki filed The environmental concerns of An- completed in 2010 and carries 440,000 a civil lawsuit in Leech Lake Tribal ishinaabe activists regarding Enbridge barrels per day of DilBit (Diluted Bitu- Court, seeking a temporary restraining were not unfounded. Enbridge oil men) from Alberta Tar Sands. Clear- order against Enbridge Energy from spills affected, and continue to affect,

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

the homelands and ceded lands of the wetland area located on the Leech lands since then. This peaceful protest Anishinaabe. According to Enbridge Lake reservation. is against Enbridge Energy. We are company data collected by the Polaris going to occupy the land starting at Institute, a Canadian think tank, En- July 2010: A cracked and corroded 10:30 this morning. We plan to camp bridge pipelines have spilled 804 times pipeline in Michigan ruptured, on this land until the pipelines cease since 1999 and leaked 6.8 million gal- sending more than 843,000 gal- to pump oil through them.” lons of oil. In Minnesota, there were 57 lons of crude oil into the Kalamazoo Enbridge spills from 2000 to 2009 with River, a major state waterway that It was a clear, cold morning when $36 million in property damage. flows into Lake Michigan. The spill they reached the desolate, snow- stretched for some 35 miles, foul- covered site outside Leonard, Minn. A partial record of spills include: ing waterways and wetlands. About The small town of Leonard, with 320 people reported symptoms from a population of 41, is an Enbridge 103 January 2001: A seam failure on a crude oil exposure. town. Most town residents work for pipeline near Enbridge’s Hardisty Enbridge. Terminal in Alberta spilled more March 2012: A vehicle collision than 1 million gallons of oil. resulted in a leak of Enbridge’s High overhead, a migizi (bald Line14/64 at New Lenox, Ill. Line eagle) flew to greet them. One of July 2002: An Enbridge subsurface 14/64 carries crude oil from Supe- the concerns of the group was the pipe at Cohasset, Minn., ruptured rior, Wisc. to Griffith, Ind. The Illinois possibility of arrest for trespassing. and released 250,000 gallons of Emergency Management Agency Under Red Lake tribal code, Native crude oil into the environment. The estimated between 2,500 gallons and non-Native supporters could be Executive Summary by Natural Re- to 20,000 gallons leaked from the removed at any time. Red Lake mem- source Trustees stated: “The Trustees pipeline before the valves were shut bers could only be removed through have determined that the Incident off. order of the tribal chairman. No caused long-term injuries to wetland one knew how the Red Lake Tribal vegetation and wildlife habitats. It July 2012: An Enbridge pipeline Council would react in regard to the has also been determined that the spilled 50,000 gallons of crude oil in group occupying the ceded land site. Incident caused injury to air resourc- Adams County, Wisc. es.” Leech Lake land was affected by According to Cobenais, Red Lake the spill. Nizhawendaamin Inaakiminaan Chairman Floyd “Buck” Jourdain On Feb. 21, Marty Cobenais held a called him the night before the oc- January 2003: About 189,000 gal- meeting with Red Lake members of cupation and told Cobenais that he lons of crude oil spilled into the Nizhawendaamin Inaakiminaan (We had received a letter from Enbridge Nemadji River from the Enbridge En- Love Our Land), Native, and non- that requested occupiers be arrested ergy Terminal in Superior, Wisc. Native supporters at the Bemidji if they drove over the pipelines or January 2007: An Enbridge pipe- Eagles Club and they decided to had a fire over the pipelines. Jour- line in Wisconsin spilled more make their move and occupy the dain indicated he would abide by than 50,000 gallons of crude oil in ceded land site at Leonard. On the the letter. Clark County. The following month 27th, Cobenais issued a list of camp another Enbridge spill in Wisconsin rules: 1.) No drugs; 2.) No alcohol; 3.) When a helicopter approached the released 176,000 gallons of crude Be peaceful; 4.) Be law abiding; 5.) site, some thought arrests were im- oil in Rusk County. Be respectful. minent. However, the helicopter was piloted by an Enbridge employee. He November 2007: Two workers were On the morning of the 28th, Cobe- landed the ‘copter and met with the killed in an explosion that occurred nais sent out a message: group. He apologized for not having at an Enbridge pipeline in Clear- asemaa (tobacco) and offered coffee brook, Minn. “Today is the day. Enbridge Energy instead. He said he was from Canada has been on the Red Lake Reservation and supported the struggles of First April 2010: At Deer River, Minn., since 1949. There has never been an Nations there. 250 gallons of crude oil leaked out easement for this land, so Enbridge from an Enbridge pipeline of into a has been trespassing on our ceded Shortly after, Donald May, Red Lake

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ESSAY

District Representative, arrived, ac- Both Jourdain and Cobenais point tance of solidarity – the support and companied by two Red Lake Tribal out that Enbridge never applied for encouragement for the Enbridge Police officers. May stated that the nor received approval for an ease- Encampment from Idle No More, tribal council was aware of the ment at the ceded site at Leonard. Occupy and Tar Sands groups across pipelines and that they were on Red Enbridge has yet to produce docu- Turtle Island. Lake land illegally, and the coun- ments to prove an easement. cil wanted them removed. He said Cobenais has emphasized that the “It’s a human being thing,” he said. efforts to remove them would take Enbridge Encampment is not a time and needed to go through the blockade. He said the focus of the Notes legal process. encampment is to draw attention Sources used in this article: Huffing- to the fact that Enbridge is illegally ton Post, Indigenous Environmental Chairman Jourdain also emphasized on sovereign Red Lake land, and to Network, Bemidji Pioneer, Crocodyl. the tribe’s position following his encourage a dialogue between En- org, Indigenouspeoplesissues.com, 104 State of the Band address in Min- bridge and the Red Lake Tribal Coun- fws.gov., National Wildlife Founda- neapolis on March 2. According to an cil to resolve the issue of removal of tion, National Indian Justice Center. anonymous source who spoke with the pipelines. Jourdain after the address, Jourdain said the tribe had been working on Originally, the goal of the encamp- the pipeline issue for two years and ment was to hold the ground for 72 they explicitly told Enbridge to re- hours. It was believed that Enbridge move the pipelines in August 2012. would shut down the oil flow after Enbridge never responded so now 72 hours as a safety regulation. the tribe was in court. After the time period passed, the oil continued to flow. Cobenais said In an Bemidji Pioneer newspaper Enbridge chose not to initiate the article, Jourdain reemphasized the 72-hour regulation. tribal council’s position. He added Since its inception, the Enbridge that the protest was not sanctioned Encampment has grown. In addition by Red Lake Nation. to firewood, supporters have brought gifts of manoomin (wild rice), In the same article, Enbridge re- ogaawag (walleye) waawaashkeshi- sponded that they had no objections wi-wiiyaas (venison), and other to the protest. Regarding the issue of essential foodstuffs. A nisawa`igan easements, Enbridge spokesperson (tipi), gischitwaa-ishkode (sacred Becky Haas said: “Enbridge went fire), and maskhkiki-mitig (medicine through the proper channels to pole) have been erected over the acquire easements, permit, construct pipelines. and operate the pipelines on this parcel of land, the first of which was Cobenais said: “Spirits are high, and constructed in 1949.” we are strong. This oil must stop flowing and these pipes must be As defined, an easement is a legal removed.” interest in real property authorizing a person to use the land or property “I ask that all the people that are of another for a particular purpose; commenting about the occupation landowners are paid a fair price for on the Red Lake Nation land that we the easement and can continue to all remember that Enbridge Energy use the land for most other purpos- is the enemy. The Red Lake Tribal es, although some restrictions may Council supports us,” he said. be included in the agreement. Cobenais also expressed the impor-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Growing

105 frustration in Kaokoland Rebecca Sommer, Earth Peoples

1,000 Himba and Mar. 26, 2013 - Around a thou- weakened goats, sheep and sand Himba and Zemba peo- cattle, upon which the Himba Zemba protest ple came from all directions and Zemba depend for their to send a desperate message very survival. against dam and to the Namibian government: They had enough. The drought has already human rights caused enormous damage The two Indigenous semi- for the self-sufficient semi- violations nomadic tribes, from the nomads. With nearly no rain semi-desert northern region they weren’t able to farm, so of Namibia, came from miles they have no maize or other around and from remote nutritional crops. areas of their traditional territories, the Zemba from The indigenous peoples have Ruacana, the Himba from already called on the govern- Kaokoland, despite prevail- ment to subsidize fodder for ing drought conditions due their livestock, and to look to climate change, and their into improving the distribu- increasingly frantic search for tion of drought relief food. grazing and water for their The community made formal livestock. They converged requests to the chairperson outside their regional capital, of the Kunene Regional Opuwo, for a well-organized Council’s Management Com- and peaceful protest march. mittee, Dudu Murorua, at Opuwo. Police in front of 1000 protesting Himba and Zemba men and women Each Himba and Zemba com- Photo by Earth Peoples munity sent all the members But as much as they fear for they could spare, while those their livestock and impending staying behind tended to hunger and thirst, they are the needs of their drought- also hungry and thirsty for

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Indigenous Himba and Zemba Protest (March 25, 2013) Photo by Earth Peoples

governor finally arrived, as can be seen on the photograph. A flimsy yellow security tape formed a visual barrier between the governmental authority and the indigenous peoples of the country that are seeking a dialogue and answers to their pressing human rights grievances that they feel have not been 106 addressed.

To the surprise of the Himba and Zemba, governor Joshua Hoebeb read with a stiff voice a prepared speech, and instead of looking at the indigenous leaders in front of Anaya acknowledged in his state- him, his eyes were locked on paper. something else: their human rights. ment the human rights violations They want to see changes, and they that the Himba people are facing. Instead of having a dialogue with want to be heard by SWAPO (South the people, which was what they West Africa People’s Organization), Yesterday, when the protesting in- had envisioned, he chose to under- Namibia’s governing party since the digenous tribes arrived near Opuwo, line the fact that there is the gov- country’s independence in 1990. a Namibian police car blocked ernment on one side of the security the road in front of the marching barrier, flimsy as it was, and the The Himba and Zemba protest masses but the Himba and Zemba people on the other side of it. is about their continuous human just passed the police car calmly rights grievances, which made and peacefully. headlines in Namibia and the world after being published for the first Once in the center of Opuwo, time in form of three declarations usually quite empty with noth- signed by all the traditional Himba ing much happening there, the and Zemba chiefs at the beginning streets were flooded by hun- of last year. dreds and hundreds of singing and dancing people, walking On behalf of the Himba and Zemba, towards the place where they the international human rights were going to meet the gov- group Earth Peoples submitted both ernor of the Kunene Region, declarations to the United Nations Joshua Hoebeb. A Dec. 5, 2012, system. Months later, James Anaya, letter from the Himba and the United Nations Special Rap- Zemba addressed to the gover- porteur on the Rights of Indigenous nor remained unanswered up to Peoples, visited the Himba and the date of the protest. Zemba and met them in Opuwo, Governor of the Kunene Region where the Himba read their declara- Finally, a security tape was placed, Joshua Hoebeb at Himba Zemba tion and handed him another copy, blocking the agreed meeting area. protest Photo by Earth Peoples this time in person. It was a stark contrast, when the

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

empty words, as if they are not in- to be forced, nor to be convinced, But the Himba and Zemba waited telligent enough to understand that united they say said “no” to the patiently for him to finish read- they meant nothing. He explained dam, and that the government ing from his paper, because they that they had come to hand over should respect that. wanted answers, and they wanted their complaints, as well as a letter to be heard. directed to the President, and that The senior headman continued that they want answers. A Himba pro- the Himba and Zemba didn’t believe In his speech, the governor ac- tester, holding a protest banner that that the government would allocate cused a white supporter of helping read “We Himba and Zemba are also more funds to address the shortage the Himba and Zemba with their humans,” stood next to him. of doctors. “The apartheid regime unreasonable requests, such as the left us with no doctors. But after 24 demand to stop any further plans to The headman reminded the gover- years the new government could 107 construct the Orokawe Dam in the nor that Kunene is not the original still not solve the problem,” he said. Baynes Mountains. He didn’t explain traditional territory of the Himba what kind of help he was refer- people, and those areas such as A female Himba protester said, “Do ring to. He also accused the Himba Outjo and Kamanjab would have they really think the Himba and and Zemba of being too emotional nothing to do with the Himba and Zemba are that stupid? How many about the entire issue, and mocked Zemba in the north; that Kaokoland of our problems were addressed? the protesters that their march is the land that they have been Did the government of Namibia, would bring no results, and in- inhabiting for centuries, and that or any official, including you (the formed them that there will be a they have the right to decide if they governor), come to consult with us? referendum and that the 88,000 in- want such a large destructive dam No.” habitants of the Kunene region will project, or the privatization and decide on the dam. He explained to fencing off of their land, that would The Himba and Zemba handed the the Himba and Zemba that the colo- negatively affect them. governor a second letter addressed nizers are the reason for the lack of to the President, signed by the adequate doctors in the hospitals, He began to outline their repeated traditional Himba leaders, and left, and that the Namibian government reasons why the Himba do not disappointed. would work hard to resolve that want the construction of the dam, matter, and that the people must which can be found in their numer- The governor promised that the be patient, it wouldn’t be as easy as ous letters written to governmental President would receive the letter they would think. He didn’t mention authorities, including the Governor, tomorrow. anything about the grievance of the as well as in the declarations. The leaders, that Ovatwa, a nomadic Himba and Zemba had previously The Himba and Zemba wrote an Himba group of hunters and gather- held a meeting with solar experts, additional letter to the Head Office ers, are being held by the Namibian who gave them an overall view of Ombudsman John Robert Walters, Government in a camp like prison- about the possibilities of green, which they will deliver tomorrow to ers against their will, in the area alternative energy that would not the regional office in Oshakati. of Himba chief Kapika. Or why the block the Kunene River, and would government of Namibia is refusing not have the negative impacts on They also forwarded copies of the to recognize their rights to cultur- the environment or flood the Himba original signed letters to the inter- ally appropriate education. ancestors’ graves or force the indig- national human rights group Earth enous peoples’ resettlement. But Peoples, with the request to submit After the governor’s speech, a young the governor, saying that they are them to the United Nations Office man read the indigenous peoples’ unreasonable, cut him short with of the High Commissioner for Hu- grievances, which were translated. the promise that he in person would man Rights as well as to UN Special A senior Himba headman had a few come out and speak with the chiefs Rapporteur James Anaya. They also words. He said that they are not and convince them about the dam. mailed copies to Earth Peoples part- stupid, that they did not come from ners Namrights, a Namibian human all directions of Kaoko to be treated The people met his comment with rights organization that will forward without respect and to listen to an uproar, saying that they are not the letters to the African Union.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Mount Taylor Faces ‘Permanent 108 & Severe’ Adverse Cultural Impacts

Klee Benally

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

April 24, 2013 - GALLUP, NM — The was merely “an attempt to prevent during the conduct of undertakings National Forest Service has issued a any uranium mining.” to achieve a “no wffect” [sic] finding Draft Environmental Impact State- in consultation with the SHPO (State ment for a uranium mine proposed “Either of the action alternatives Historic Preservation Office) and the on Mount Taylor, a sacred site in would have an adverse affect on this Advisory Council on Historic Pres- the Cibola National Forest, that will historic property because it would ervation.” (USFS, 1985:63) The DEIS violate the existing Forest Manage- alter the characteristics of the prop- states that “Standard No. 5 addresses ment Plan. erty that qualify it for inclusion in the instances where resource manage- NRHP (National Register of Historic ment conflicts occur. It gives a list of Instead of upholding current Places) in a manner that would dimin- conditions under which ‘preservation standards that protect historic and ish the property’s integrity of relation- of cultural resources in place will be cultural properties, the agency is ship, condition, and setting. These the preferred option.’” 109 planning to “deviate” from them to effects…would be permanent and allow the desecration of Mt. Taylor severe.” Page 352 The DEIS reveals that these condi- with a “Project-Specific Forest Plan tions include: Amendment.” “The spiritual well-being of the mountain, and the spiritual relationship “Where the cultural values derive The uranium mine is proposed by between the people and the Spiri- primarily from qualities other than Roca Honda Resources and threat- tual Beings of the mountain, would research potential, and where those ens Mount Taylor, which is located be impacted by the changes to the values are fully realized only when the near Grants, N.M., and is held holy ecosystem, and it is unknown if those cultural remains exist undisturbed in by many Indigenous Nations in the impacts can be repaired. It could result their original context(s) (e.g., associa- Southwest, including Dine’, Hopi, in a permanent impact.” Page 354 tion with significant historical persons Acoma, Laguna, and Zuni. or events, special ethnic or religious The Forest Service is considering values, or unique interpretive values). Roca Honda is a partnership of three proposed alternatives in the (USFS, 1985:63)” (DEIS, pages 354- Strathmore Minerals of Canada and DEIS. “Alternative One” is the “No 355) Sumitomo of Japan. The company’s Action Alternative,” which means no proposal is for one of the largest new uranium mine; “Alternative Two” ‘Programmatic Agree- proposed uranium mines in the is Roca Honda’s full development ment’ United States in over thirty years. proposal; and “Alternative Three” is a The Forest Service reveals no clear, Strathmore estimates that annual scaled down version of the planned meaningful mitigation measures to uranium production would be 2.6 mine. address cultural impacts. Instead, the million pounds a year. agency proposes a “programmatic Project-Specific Forest agreement” that would establish an The Draft Environmental Impact Plan Amendment ongoing working relationship with Statement states that uranium min- According to the DEIS, “…the Forest impacted Indigenous Nations in or- ing at Mount Taylor “…would result Service would approve a project- der to “avoid, minimize, and mitigate in the disruption, alteration, and specific forest plan amendment to adverse effects to historic properties, displacement of traditional cultural allow the Roca Honda project to and to address impacts to other cul- activities that are critical to the deviate from the forest plan stan- tural resources and practices. While continuity of cultural beliefs and dards of management with regard the adverse effects would remain, practices of these tribes.” to historic properties…The amend- the mitigation measures would ment would allow impacts to his- resolve these effects per 36 CFR Part Mount Taylor has been permanently toric properties resulting from this 800. However, the impact to cultural listed as a Traditional Cultural Prop- project, in accordance with normally resources overall and traditional erty. When Strathmore representa- applicable law…” cultural practices would remain tives were questioned about the TCP significant.” listing, Juan Velasquez, vice president The current Forest Service man- of government, environmental, & agement plan standards state that The only mitigation measures in the regulatory affairs, stated that the TCP historic properties “will be managed DEIS are stated as “examples that

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE could be considered,” including: dewatering would be done in the unit could well exceed 18–19 years.” being mined, the Westwater Canyon The DEIS prematurely addresses • Conducting data recovery excava- Member of the Morrison Formation. potential litigation issues by citing tions of archaeological sites; Over the life of the mine, an estimated precedence in the San Francisco * Conducting research on various 1,192 acre-feet [AF] of groundwater Peaks case: topics with regard to relevant would be pumped from the Gallup cultural resource issues; aquifer, 232 AF from the Dakota aqui- “The Religious Freedom Restoration * Implementing specific practices fer, and 79,037 AF from the Westwater Act is often cited as a protection for during construction and opera- aquifer.” (Page 353) religious and sacred sites. The act, tions activities to control erosion passed in 1993, states that govern- and changes to erosion patterns; “Traditional cultural practices would ment shall not substantially burden * Training of Roca Honda construc- be affected due to physical distur- a person’s exercise of religion, even tion, operations, and reclamation bance of the cultural and natural if the burden results from a rule of 110 personnel and contractors to resources in the project area during general applicability…The act limits recognize when archaeological construction, operation, and reclama- the Federal government’s ability to im- resources or human remains have tion. Impacts to practices would also pose a substantial burden on the free been discovered, to recognize occur from extraction of ore, dewater- exercise of religion. To substantially when inadvertent damage has ing, and the surface activities being burden the free exercise of religion, occurred to a resource, to halt conducted. These overall impacts there must be government coercion to ground-disturbing activities in the would be significant, and either action act contrary to religious beliefs under vicinity of the discovery, and to alternative would result in an adverse the threat of civil or criminal sanction, notify appropriate personnel; and effect to historic properties.” (Page or a condition on receipt of a govern- * Educating Roca Honda personnel 358) ment benefit on conduct that would and contractors on the impor- violate religious beliefs (Navajo Nation tance of cultural resources, the Elements of the v. USFS, 535 F.3d 1058, 9th Cir. 2008). laws and regulations protecting Roca Honda Resources Such conditions do not exist in this cultural resources, the need to Proposal project.” stay within defined work zones, * Roca Honda proposes a mine per- and the legal implications of mit area of 1,968 acres including According to the Forest Service, the vandalism and looting. 48 acres of haul roads, utility cor- Final Environmental Impact State- ridor and mine dewater discharge ment is anticipated to be released at ‘Dewatering’ pipeline corridor. the end of 2013. Page 354 of the DEIS reveals that “… * An estimated width of 20 feet was the operation of the mine and the assumed to be disturbed during dewatering associated with it would the placement of the pipeline result in depletion of the aquifers, over a distance of 28,919 feet transfer of water from one basin to (5.48 linear miles), another, and contamination of water. * The company proposes to mine These changes are seen to result in ore that is located at approxi- impacts to the water supply that the mately 1,650 to 2,650 feet below tribes depend on for religious and the ground surface. subsistence uses.” * RHR proposes to conduct mining operations for a period of ap- The DEIS further states: proximately 18–19 years.

“During construction of the Roca The DEIS states, “However, the ulti- Honda Mine, the shafts would pass mate mine life of the Roca Honda through two aquifers that contain Mine would depend on uranium sufficient groundwater to require some market conditions and potential degree of dewatering: the Gallup and identification of additional uranium Dakota sandstones. During operations, ore. Therefore, the ultimate mine life

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH A group of Makhadzi from Venda South Africa. Photo courtesy of the Gaia Foundation and the Mupo Foundation

111

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH VOICE OF THE

EARTH 112 The struggle to defend Mupo Hannibal Rhoades

“We have the responsibility to stop this Ecocide. We will not give up until we succeed.” Dzomo la Mupo

n Feb. 16 in Venda, South The VhaVenda people know this. world where all nations must look Africa, members of the Communities are now raising their to reduce their emissions and com- Indigenous VhaVenda voices in resistance to new mining bat climate change, yet there appear clans and a high profile that threatens their sacred natural to be no immediate plans to address Orepresentative of the Coal of Africa sites, livelihoods and the coherency this over-dependence. Eskom, South Limited (CoAL) mining company of their existence. Their struggle to Africa’s biggest electricity provider, drove out through vast stretches of be heard and for the recognition of has just announced government- the Venda territory, their destina- their rights to govern and protect backed plans to build two more tion a ‘public participation’ meeting their sacred natural sites and ter- plants, each with a life span of 50 concerning a new and controversial ritories has become emblematic of years. mine proposed for the region. the critical need for a new direction in South Africa--one that maintains South Africa’s commitment to coal Along the way, the impacts of the health and integrity of people for at least another two generations groundwater extraction from min- and Earth rather than reserving is environmentally catastrophic, but ing taking place many miles away compassion for industry. the growing national and interna- are obvious. The land is parched tional demand for coal has provided and cracked, plants are few and far Coal Rush ample economic motivation to between, and the streams where A recent Greenpeace report high- ignore this. water once flowed now run dry. This lighting the severity of South Af- landscape is a warning, a premoni- rica’s reliance on coal revealed that Coal is big business and South Af- tion of what much of Venda may 90 percent of the country’s electric- rica has a growing domestic popu- come to look like if more extraction ity is now produced using energy lation as well as strong links to an is permitted. from coal-fired power plants. international market hungry for its This is a shocking statistic in a subterranean resources. Naturally,

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

the usual suspects of foreign mining In the case of the Vele mine, these “Minerals and metals are the heart investment are knocking at, or have proactive parties endured a proof the Earth. They are the Earth, already walked through, the na- tracted court case, false dawns especially in our Zwifho, our sacred tion’s door. With their vast wealth, and numerous broken promises at sites.” they are considered welcome guests the hands of CoAL. While the goal by many and tout themselves as of halting operations entirely has The vitality of these Zwifho is key to harbingers of economic growth and not yet been achieved, they have the health of the whole ecosystem a solution to unemployment. been successful in demonstrating in terms of customary governance, the adverse impacts both projects spirituality and biodiversity. The One of the many foreign suppliers are likely to have on the integrity Makhadzi practice rituals to main- that have taken up the mantle of of local ecosystems and communi- tain the balance of Mupo at Zwifho, coal extraction in the ‘Rainbow Na- ties. This fundamentally calls into which often correspond with natural 113 tion’ is CoAL, an Australian-based question CoAL’s claims that it will features in the ecosystem that are coal mining company that has had “demonstrate active stewardship of vital for the health of the whole, a presence in the country for years. land and biodiversity” and “respect such as forests and water sources. With operations slowing down at peoples’ culture and heritage.” By respecting these sites as sacred two of its older mines, the company, the custodians play a vital ecologi- looking to consolidate its revenue Defending Mupo from the cal role, protecting the vital links streams, has recently developed mines between interdependent elements a significant interest in Limpopo Local communities have played a of the ecosystem. Province. highly significant role in restrict- ing CoAL’s freedoms so far. Resis- The VhaVenda are acutely aware Keen to exploit the area’s reserves tance has risen particularly strongly of the threat mining poses to their of ‘black gold,’ it has submitted two amongst the Indigenous VhaVenda Zwifho and territory having seen the applications for New Order Mining people, many of whom are actively impact it has had in nearby areas. Rights (NOMR) to the Department opposing CoAL’s Makhado mine in The Makhadzi have explicitly said of Mineral Resources to mine at two Venda. At the heart of their efforts that “(Zwifho) will die if minerals or locations in the region. However, to protect the land is the VhaVenda metals are removed. Their life force it has not been able to fully begin belief that minerals such as coal are will be drained. If we do this we will extraction. not inert ‘resources’ but living ele- kill Mupo, our Mother Earth.” ments of their territory; This extends CoAL is currently only able to mine not only horizontally across the land Recognizing the destruction to their in a restricted capacity at its Vele but also vertically to the constel- territories mining will cause, many colliery, which stands a mere 6 kilo- lations and deep into the Earth. All Makhadzi are now responding under meters away from the Mapungubwe the elements and members of this the banner of a group called Dzomo Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO territory are connected and vila Mupo (‘Mouth and Voice of the World Heritage Site and part of the tally important for the health of the Earth’), which exists to work for the Vhembe biosphere. Operations have whole community. protection of Mupo and networks of been blocked at the Makhado Proj- Zwifho. ect in Venda. Minerals in particular are revered in VhaVenda culture due to the role The group has already had some The development of activities at they play in maintaining the bal- success in holding those respon- both mines has stalled as they have ance in Zwifho (Sacred Natural Sites sible for previous environmental encountered significant challenges in the VhaVenda language) and damages, perpetrated by tourism in acquiring the necessary environ- Mupo–Mother Earth, the Universe, initiatives, to account. Yet the group mental licensing. This can be put all of creation that is not human faces a far greater challenge with down to both CoAL’s failures to made–rather than their profitability. the Makhado mining project. The meet legally required standards and According to the Makhadzi (‘rain- key to upholding the integrity of the pro-active efforts of civil society makers’), female spiritual custodians Mupo now lies in stopping large- groups and international allies. of Venda Sacred Natural Sites: scale mining from getting underway at all. Failure to do so could have

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE disastrous repercussions for the area may fall by 15 percent in the Makhado. It has also failed to pro- “heart of the Earth” and those who future, a huge drop for an already vide an adequate or completed Envi- depend on her. arid area. ronmental Management Plan (EMP) or Environment Impact Assessment Water Wars – Life versus For CoAL, proving that there is (EIA), yet the company is actively Profit enough water to run the mine pursuing an ongoing process to try Central to the concerns of local and demonstrating how the com- and secure these prerequisites to VhaVenda communities and civil pany will ensure local communities mining. society groups such as the Mupo retain reasonable access has been Foundation (South Africa), and a key obstacle to establishing the Despite these failings, fears abound international allies such as the Gaia Makhado mine from the start. The that CoAL may yet be granted per- Foundation (UK) and the African company’s own studies have found mission to start mining by the De- Biodiversity Network (ABN) is the that water resources in the area partment of Mineral Resources – the 114 effect the Makhado mine is likely would be significantly impacted by department that granted an NOMR to have on water supplies in Venda. the mine: despite the area’s low water status. Drastically altering water systems, the lifeblood of any ecosystem, “The most important cumulative Dzomo la Mupo are particularly will inevitably have a wide-ranging biodiversity impact of the proposed concerned, recognizing that water impact. coal mine is probably the poten- sources such as the Shashe, Nzhe- tial cumulative impacts of water lele and Mutamba rivers are already Another recent Greenpeace Africa abstraction … the mine will most being put under stress in their report asserts that coal mining is probably decrease the wilderness ancestral territory by commercial responsible for a “hidden water foot- tranquility of the relatively un- agriculture and tourism. print” in the country. The govern- spoiled environment… it could also ment’s failure thus far to adapt its potentially increase the pressure on Local communities depend on these energy strategies in light of this has the sensitive and endangered Mut- rivers that are vital for the cultural left the nation facing a ‘supply and amba River ecosystem and species.” continuity of VhaVenda life. They demand’ shortfall of 2.7 billion cubic have opposed CoAL being granted meters of water by 2030. It also Were the Makhado mine to be- a water use license and now, in an highlights the case of the Makhado come active, without having the attempt to protect their territory, mine in Venda as one that epito- reliable water source required, it Dzomo la Mupo and ten other local mizes the growing conflict between could exhaust the region’s supply of community groups are calling for securing water for life and acquiring groundwater within a few years. It their Zwifho and territories to be water for industry. is suggested the mine could guzzle recognized as No-Go Zones in terms a volume comparable to the proof development. According to Dzomo la Mupo digious 4.6 million liters of water member Mpatheleni Makaulule, “the required at Vele each day, though With the support of the Mupo and miners are taking water that our figures are not readily available. Gaia Foundations they are engaged community needs… taking our drink- in securing legal recognition of the ing water, water for our crops and Negotiations with commercial farm- networks of these sacred natural Nature’s water.” ers over using water drawn from the sites according to their customary Nzhelele Dam have not proffered a governance systems. It is hoped that With an average rainfall of only solution despite a memorandum of this will strengthen their ability to around 300 millimeters per year agreement signing over a large por- both resist mining and protect water in the proposed NOMR area for tion of this reserve. The Department sources and ecosystems. Makhado, the Venda ecosystem is of Water Affairs reports that there is particularly vulnerable to change, no unallocated water in the area. Recent Developments: ‘Public making the misappropriation of wa- Participation’ ter a particularly pressing issue. It is For these reasons CoAL has been In the latest chapter of the struggle estimated that due to global warm- unable so far to gain an Integrated to safeguard Mupo, members of ing alone, average rainfall in the Water Use License (IWUL) for Dzomo la Mupo took their struggle

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

to CoAL’s doorstep. could destroy ecosystems and communities. “When we look at the water we are Their voices arrived through a letter talking on behalf of the future gen- at CoAL’s AGM in London, the home Constantly labeling the villages erations,” said one Dzomo la Mupo of global mining finance, in Novem- represented by Dzomo la Mupo as member. “We have seen all the ber 2012 to deliver the following “indirectly affected” (they are not di- impacts or damage which remain message: rectly in the NOMR area), the repre- after mining has done its activities sentative made plain that CoAL was and gone away. If you were looking “We do not understand why visi- “not here to hear whether Dzomo and watching on our journey coming tors feel they can come into our la Mupo supports mining or not”, here you will see there are piles of ancestral land, destroy it totally in a explaining that if ‘directly affected’ mining left over and under the trees few decades then walk away… This communities consented “mining will they are not green, there are no 115 tragedy is not only our tragedy, it is happen anyway.” grasses.” a global tragedy… what are we going to tell the future generations if Stating that “if we (CoAL) don’t The representative’s responses to we keep quiet and allow the disaster come to you the law will be against Dzomo la Mupo’s questions and that will destroy all of life?” us”, he clearly indicated that CoAL concerns on this topic could be is merely interested in ticking the considered comical were it not for Clearly unable to ignore this direct boxes of consultation in a case the gravity of the situation. His only affront, CoAL sent a member of its in which the boundaries between offering was that technology can be board to liaise with Dzomo la Mupo consultation and consent have been used to find all kinds of alternatives earlier this year, with observers from significantly blurred. and that “they (CoAL) will get water the Mupo Foundation, Gaia Founda- from mist… there are good signs of tion and the ABN also in attendance. Though perturbed by this rhetoric, that alternative.” Dzomo la Mupo members nonethe- Dzomo la Mupo were determined to less used the meeting as a platform Having discussed that CoAL may seize this as an opportunity to say to put CoAL on the spot on a num- want to cut down forested areas NO to mining and voice specific con- ber of key issues. surrounding Zwifho, Dzomo la Mupo cerns, but remained wary that CoAL members immediately responded may seek to use it as an opportunity Water by pointing out a glaring contradic- to quell resistance. Unfortunately “Already we have less water in our tion in CoAL’s plan: Where, they these suspicions were quickly sub- boreholes and are seeing barren asked, does CoAL hope to find mist stantiated. land appearing because of a lack in abundance if it plans to cut down of water” one community member trees? We pick up the story of this meet- explained to the representative, ing after the long drive to the venue demonstrating why the issue of “We know that mist comes from through the struggling landscape water above all others renders the Sacred Sites and this mist makes had provided an atmospheric pre- idea that any local community is water…people looking for mist will lude to discussions. ‘indirectly affected’ absurd. not find it if the trees are no longer there!” After introductory discussions The Makhadzi added that “rain has CoAL’s representative quickly sought been coming but the water has Forests, especially those safeguard- to undermine the meeting’s impor- been black,” to force home the point ed in Zwifho, are a vital part of the tance and downplay the right of that the impacts of mining do not water cycle, providing the conditions communities to determine their own respect boundaries; that ‘indirectly for rainfall and helping mist and fog priorities, despite its recognition in, affected’ communities are already to form via evapotranspiration. For- for example, the ILO Convention feeling the impacts of water deple- est loss of the kind ‘development’ of 169 and African Charter for Hu- tion and pollution because of other the mine would bring would drasti- man and Peoples’ Rights. This right mining projects; and that new min- cally reduce the creation of rain, necessarily includes the right to ing would only make things worse mist or fog as well as potentially withhold consent of activities that for the future. drying any aquifers fed by fog drip.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

This would, of course, be ecologi- Mupo that: “if we are having de- This provided Dzomo la Mupo mem- cally and socially disastrous. velopment which you know is not bers with a sign that CoAL is worried allowed (by custom)… tell us and about the bad press it has accumu- Jobs we will give you money to perform lated–a fact they can take heart Job creation also emerged as a key those rituals. We will not (develop) from as a validation of their efforts topic of discussion, with Dzomo la before you do rituals.” He further so far to prevent the threat posed Mupo keen to contest the CoAL rep- intimated that, as was the case at by the Makhado project becoming a resentative’s claim that “the world Vele, it could be arranged for Zwifho reality. which we are living in is no longer to be moved to other areas to allow the world of planting or plowing for development. With the fate of the mine hanging in maize– it’s the time (of) minerals the balance, counterpoised by that under the ground which are man- Members of Dzomo la Mupo openly of Mupo, this kind hope is invaluable aged by the Government.” decried this attempt to get the to energize continued resistance. 116 group to legitimize the destruction CoAL has used the prospect of of Zwifho. Their message for the Now the relevant authorities and employment as an advocacy tool visitor was, as one Dzomo la Mupo other affected parties must play to push mining as a form of local member put it, “we are not children their part and place the interests of development in Venda, but Dzomo who can be bribed with sweets!” The life before those of industry. Not do- la Mupo delivered the message Zwifho are not expendable, what- ing so in Venda, in Limpopo and in that they “do not want jobs that ever the sum, because, “if Venda South Africa will mean ecocide, the damage Mupo.” They made clear people lose their Sacred Sites there irretrievable destruction of Indig- that they “don’t want jobs lasting will no longer be Venda people. The enous cultures, and the unnecessary fifteen years, but for thousands of stronghold of our life is Zwifho”. submission to a bleak national fu- years for future generations” and ture of water shortages and continu- that their focus is not on short term, Having heard CoAL’s attempts to ing pollution of the global climate. destructive gain but in maintaining address local and international the livelihoods that have sustained concerns, Dzomo la Mupo had one This article draws on discussions with them since time immemorial. As one overwhelming message for the Dzomo la Mupo and their meeting elder said during the meeting: “who company: with CoAL in February 2013. With will use the money (from the mine) thanks to Dzomo la Mupo, the Mupo if there is no one left on the land?” “We say NO to mining.” Foundation and the Gaia Foundation for their contributions. Sacred Natural Sites and Silver Linings Compensation Despite the far-from-transparent Perhaps sensing that his attempts to exchange of mutual concerns on quell resistance with rhetoric were CoAL’s behalf there were positives failing, CoAL’s representative tried to be taken from the meeting for to placate Dzomo la Mupo with nu- Dzomo la Mupo. merous promises of ‘compensation’ throughout the meeting. Chief amongst these was the CoAL representative’s insistence that Most strikingly, the delegate seemed Dzomo la Mupo members stop argu- to suggest that CoAL hopes to ad- ing publicly that coal mining leads equately compensate for the mine’s to destruction. He told the group destruction of Zwifho in monetary that he was ”consulting you (Dzomo terms. la Mupo) to stop that language because if it goes to the media it Referring to an occasion when CoAL exposes us (CoAL) very badly… I negotiated a price for a sacred site cannot argue on TV with a Venda to be blessed, allowing its removal, child.” by a clan member, he told Dzomo la

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Uranium Mining and Native 117 Resistance The Uranium Exploration and Mining Accountability Act Curtis Kline

few short decades after tion under the 1868 Fort Laramie nuclear physics professor from uranium mining began on Treaty with the United States. the University of Michigan, Dr. K. ANative American lands in the Kearfott, Ph. D., who studied the northern Great Plains, cancer rates There are also 1,200 abandoned situation in northwestern South began to skyrocket. Now those same uranium mines in the Navajo Dakota as well as the situation in communities have have some of the Nation, where cancer rates are Japan, has said, highest cancer rates in the United also significantly disproportion- States. ate. In fact, it is estimated that “The radiation levels in parts I 60 to 80 percent of all uranium visited with my students were The memory of that uranium in the United States is located on higher than those in the evacu- mining doesn’t only exist in the tribal land, and three fourths of ated zones around the Fukushima form of lung cancer, skin can- uranium mining worldwide is on nuclear disaster…” cer, bone cancer, leukemia and a Indigenous land. range of other health problems. The contamination from the In the northern Great Plains Defenders of the Black Hills, mines escapes into the air. It states of Wyoming, Montana and a group whose mission is to poisons grain that is fed to the Dakotas, there are 2,885 preserve, protect, restore, and cattle that provide milk and beef abandoned open pit uranium respect the area of the 1851 for the rest of the nation. The mines that continue to wreak and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties, abandoned uranium mines of the havoc on a once-pristine envi- is calling the health situation Cave Hills in northwestern South ronment. All of the abandoned in their own territory America’s Dakota empty into the Grand mines can be found on land that Chernobyl. River, which flows through the is supposed to be for the abso- Standing Rock Indian Reserva- lute use of the Great Sioux Na- It’s not far from the truth. A tion. Three villages are located

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

A few short decades after ura- Dakota as well as the situation in plants has been growing. Be- nium mining began on Native Japan, has said, ing sold as a safer, cleaner and American lands in the northern renewable energy, nuclear energy Great Plains, cancer rates began “The radiation levels in parts I is on the table as an option to to skyrocket. Now those same visited with my students were meet America’s desire for energy communities have some of the higher than those in the evacu- independence. highest cancer rates in the United ated zones around the Fukushima States. nuclear disaster…” However, as the Native communities suffering from the health The memory of that uranium min- The contamination from the impacts of these mines, who ing doesn’t only exist in the form mines escapes into the air. It have also lost access to sacred of lung cancer, skin cancer, bone poisons grain that is fed to cattle sites, hunting and fishing terri- cancer, leukemia and a range of that provide milk and beef for the tory, and land to grow crops, have 118 other health problems. In the rest of the nation. The abandoned witnessed, nuclear energy is just northern Great Plains states of uranium mines of the Cave Hills another extractive industry with Wyoming, Montana and the Da- in northwestern South Dakota serious adverse health and envi- kotas, there are 2,885 abandoned empty into the Grand River, which ronmental effects. open pit uranium mines that con- flows through the Standing Rock tinue to wreak havoc on a once- Indian Reservation. Three villages The proposed legislation can be pristine environment. All of the are located on the Grand River found at the website of Defend- abandoned mines can be found and their residents have used the ers of the Black Hills, along with on land that is supposed to be water for drinking and other do- a letter to Rep. Raul Grijalva from for the absolute use of the Great mestic purposes for generations. Arizona, urging him to sponsor Sioux Nation under the 1868 Fort The water runoff from the Slim the legislation. The Native Ameri- Laramie Treaty with the United Buttes abandoned uranium mines can communities who now have States. empty into the Morreau River, to suffer the effects of the poi- which flows through the Chey- sons these uranium mines emit There are also 1,200 abandoned enne River Indian Reservation. never consented to the mines uranium mines in the Navajo Both of these rivers empty into within the 1868 Fort Laramie Nation, where cancer rates are the Missouri River, which empties Treaty territory. also significantly disproportion- into the Mississippi. ate. In fact, it is estimated that 60 to 80 percent of all uranium Defending their lands, their food, in the United States is located on air and water, defending their tribal land, and three fourths of health and right to thrive as a uranium mining worldwide is on people, the Defenders of the Indigenous land. Black Hills have written legislation, The Uranium Exploration Defenders of the Black Hills, a and Mining Accountability Act, group whose mission is to pre- calling for study and remediation. serve, protect, restore, and respect This legislation proposes to place the area of the 1851 and 1868 a moratorium on any processing Fort Laramie Treaties, is calling or approval of new licenses for the health situation in their own uranium exploration or mining territory America’s Chernobyl. operations until all abandoned mines in the country have been It’s not far from the truth. A cleaned up. nuclear physics professor from the University of Michigan, Dr. K. In the last several years, interest Kearfott, Ph. D., who studied the in uranium mining in the United situation in northwestern South States for use at nuclear power

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE India opens the floodgates for the 119 Extinguishment of Indigenous Rights John Ahni Schertow

India’s central government has walked particular kind of economic develop- away from its position on the need ment; it will adversely impact commu- to obtain consent from Indigenous nities and the environment.” peoples and forest dwellers before handing their lands over to industry. Just four years ago, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) On Feb. 15, 2013, the central gov- made consent of affected communi- ernment announced that companies ties mandatory for all projects that rajkumar1220 by Photo proposing major “linear projects” such would destroy forests. The landmark as roads, railways, transmission lines, decision came in direct response to canal systems and pipelines do not the attempt by UK-based mining stating that: “The diversion of forest need to obtain consent from affected company Vedanta Resources Inc. to land on the proposed mining site of forest populations before clearing clear the lands of the Dongria Kondh the Lanjigarh bauxite mining lease their lands. The announcement, which Peoples in the Eastern Indian state of is violative of the fundamental rights stands in sharp contrast to provisions Orissa. Last week’s announcement ef- of the Dongria Kondh tribals as well in the Forest Rights Act, could now fectively revokes that mandatory rule. as the spirit of the Forest Rights Act, make way for hundreds of new indus- especially for the vulnerable tribal trial projects that would have never On the day of the announcement, the groups such as the Dongria Kondh, otherwise seen the light of day. MoEF took another troubling step and thus cannot be allowed for this away from Indigenous Rights, while reason alone. “This is serious breach of trust and a reiterating the inviolable nature of huge step back in ensuring the dignity those rights. “More than 7 square kilometers of the and survival of traditional forest- sacred undisturbed forests on top of dwelling people across the country,” In an affidavit that was filed in the Su- the mountain, where the proposed said Dr. Swati Shresth, from the preme Court in the ongoing case with mining lease area of the Lanjigarh Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology Vedanta, the MoEF reiterated that bauxite [mine] is located, has been and the Environment. “Forests are mining in the Dongria Kondh’s sacred protected for centuries by the Don- going to be cleared to make way for a Niyamgiri hills cannot be permitted, gria Kondh, …as sacred to their deity.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

120

[Destruction] of these sacred areas for Speaking on the broader issue of forestland is “unavoidable” where mining will undermine the custom- consent, the MoEF went on to say that rights of the forest dwellers are ary rights of the Dongria Kondhs to “No eviction of eligible forest dwell- recognized, their rights may be “cir- protect their sacred places of worship ers can take place till the process of cumscribed or extinguished using the and thereby amount to a violation recognition and vesting of individual eminent domain of the state”. of their fundamental right to man- and community forest rights under the This, too, is in sharp contrast to a age their own affairs in the matter Scheduled Tribes and Other Tradi- previous position that was taken by of religion and fundamental right to tional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of the government last December, when conserve their culture. It was also in Forest Rights) Act is complete.” it stated that forest dwellers like the direct violation of the specific provi- Dongria Kondh, who are protected sions of the Forest Rights Act.” However, the MoEF then did an about under the Forest Rights Act, cannot face. As reported by Down to Earth, be displaced except for making forest This was, of course, well received the Ministry stated that such con- areas inviolate for wildlife, an excep- by the Dongia Kondh, who continue sent is only required in cases where tion that has, up to now, been used to stand in steadfast opposition to “displacement of large numbers of frequently to protect dwindling tiger Vedanta’s mining interests on their people” is involved and which “affect populations–even when there were sacred land. the quality of life of the people”. viable alternatives. In cases where the diversion of such

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE White 121 Power on the Salish Sea the Wall Street/Tea Party Convergence Jay Taber

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

hen most people think of white power, they anti-Indian, anti-democratic initiatives by Wall Street, imagine men in white hoods burning crosses. organized labor and the Tea Party over the last few While few would think of men in pinstripes years, one might come to the conclusion that Lummi burning cigars, in reality that is where white Nation — the small Indian tribe that once owned the power resides. In Whatcom county, Washing- San Juan Islands — holds more cards than once thought. tonW state — the Northwest corner of the United States, Unless, of course, you are part of the inner circle strate- bordering the Salish Sea Where All Life Began — white gically designing a multi-year, multi-pronged offensive power is no longer expressed through cross-burnings; it to undermine environmental protection, tribal sover- is demonstrated by overt attacks on tribal sovereignty, eignty and a functioning democracy. combined with covert assaults on environmental protection, the Growth Management Act (GMA), and Indian In Fall 2012, Northwest Jobs Alliance (Wall Street/AFL- treaties. In the Wall Street/Tea Party convergence sup- CIO) began taking out newspaper ads extolling Gateway porting the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT) Pacific Terminal as a model expression of non-Indian 122 coal export facility at Cherry Point, white power has beliefs and values. The Northwest Jobs Alliance Nov. 22, emerged as a threat not only to endangered species like 2012 ad — published two months after the Lummi Na- the Orca whale and Chinook salmon, but as a threat to tion ceremony at Cherry Point — served as public rela- the continued existence of democratic functions of gov- tions advance work for their photo op petition presenta- ernance. While anti-democratic organizations like the tion at the Whatcom County Courthouse on Nov. 27. On California-based Pacific Legal Foundation presently play Nov. 29 at the Gateway Pacific Terminal scoping hearing an accessory role in the GPT fraud, they played a more held in Ferndale by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, prominent role in the Wise Use movement hate cam- the Northwest Jobs Alliance paid day laborers to wait all paign against GMA in Washington in the 1990s Reign day in line to hold speaking slots for supportive public of Terror. As noted at the Cascadia Weekly on April 16, officials, labor leaders and GPT consultants in order to 2013, the property rights groups Pacific Legal Founda- dominate the public testimony. tion provided counsel to in the 1990s have A History of Violence. Correcting the flawed speaker allotment system at subsequent public hearings to allow more diverse points As Goldman Sachs, Peabody Coal, Burlington Northern of view, the Corps of Engineers and Washington Depart- Santa Fe railroad, and Pacific International Terminals ment of Ecology also established an online website for (SSA Marine) combine to undermine democracy and public comment on the Gateway Pacific Terminal Envi- human rights on the shores of the Salish Sea, Americans ronmental Impact Study. In January 2013, the website from coast to coast had better sit up and take notice. was hacked and temporarily shut down. When it comes to white power, the Wall Street/Tea Party convergence signals a terrifying new world order. In a Jan. 17, 2013 letter to the editor of The Northern Light, Harold Roper of Birch Bay — a seaside resort Until recently, many locals in Whatcom county, Wash- community adjacent to the Boundary Pass shipping ington thought the orchestrated hype around siting lanes serving Cherry Point — noted that in December the largest coal shipping terminal in North America at 2011, the City of Ferndale had relinquished its claim to Cherry Point was a foregone conclusion. After all, how Nooksack River water in order for Public Utility District do you stop Wall Street and the AFL-CIO from stamped- #1 to use it in supplying Pacific International Termi- ing local and state authorities through Inflammatory nals with 1.9 billion gallons per year for their proposed Deceptions into supporting one of the largest and most Cherry Point operation. According to Mr. Roper, Ferndale fraudulent energy export schemes in our country’s his- residents now rely on inferior groundwater. In May of tory? One little Indian tribe with a burial ground and 2013, an informant to this author stated that Ferndale fishing treaty rights in the middle of the project doesn’t residents are complaining of bad tasting water and ris- amount to a hill of beans in that league. But as the New ing utility bills. York Times reported on Oct. 11, 2012, maybe 50 tribes in the form of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians As noted in an April 2013 article about Gateway Pacific do. Terminal at Whatcom Watch, the local small city mayors, at a roundtable sponsored by League of Women Vot- Judging by the seemingly disparate anti-environmental, ers, responded to accusations of improprieties in their

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

premature, formidable support for GPT stating it was im- noted that CERA was currently mounting a national material. According to the author, Sandra Robson, SSA’s offensive to terminate tribal sovereignty. On April 6, consultant Craig Cole had been so successful in stam- Donohue and Halterman interviewed Willman and Phil- peding local elected officials, chambers of commerce, lip Brendale live from the Anti-Indian Conference, who Port and Public Utility Commissions over the previous declared that the purpose of the regional gathering was three years, that the improprieties had already become to “Take these Tribes Down.” normalized. Commenting on a January 2011 Small City Caucus meeting where SSA and Cole came to speak, Sandi Brendale, chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus Robson observes that the mayors of Lynden, Everson, of Washington and wife of Phillip, made her bones as Nooksack and Sumas wrote letters of support for GPT a media activist for Eagle Forum, a Far-Right Christian in February 2011, before any facts about the proposal organization with a history of anti-Indian organizing. were made public–one year before the SSA GPT permit 123 application was even submitted. In the sights of the Wall Street heavies, Tea Party cra- zies and labor goons, of course, is Washington Governor In April 2011, says Robson, SSA consultant Craig Cole Jay Inslee and President Obama. While Inslee appears to — accompanied by labor leaders and the president of be fair-minded and less corruptible than his predecessor the Whatcom Chamber of Commerce — attempted to Christine Gregoire — and certainly less conflicted than bully the Blaine City Council into falling in line. While U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), whose husband the Blaine mayor had signed a letter of support in June works for SSA, or U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen (D- 2010, the council wanted to know what the adverse Wash.), whose main guest of honor at his April 10, 2012 impacts of GPT might be. Undermining their legitimate private re-election fundraiserwas Craig Cole — President concerns, the small city mayors had already sent a let- Obama owes his job to Goldman Sachs, which financed ter — co-signed by Northwest Central Labor Council, his rise to power. Whether he will use his office in sup- PUD #1, Craig Cole, former Bellingham mayor and Puget port of white power on the Salish Sea remains to be Sound Water Quality Authority member Tim Douglas, seen. What we do know is that the Wall Street/Tea Party and then Washington State Senator Dale Brandland — convergence bodes ill for our society as a whole. While to the Washington Public Lands Commissioner, Peter Tea Party Terrorists and labor thugs are merely the Goldmark, asking him to weaken protections for the spear carriers for Wall Street, they pose a serious threat Cherry Point Environmental Aquatic Reserve. to democracy. The sooner we deal them all a fatal blow the better. While three of America’s wealthiest corporations were busy manipulating local pawns like small city mayors and labor thugs through their project mouthpiece Craig Cole and Seattle PR firms like Edelman, professional anti-Indian hatemongers from the nationally prominent anti-Indian organization Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA) were busy Mobilizing Resentment against tribal governments and treaty rights. (See Anti-Indian hate campaign, pp. 83-90)

Simultaneous with KGMI’s stoking of “white rage” on Saturday Morning Live, KGMI radio host Dick Dono- hue on his Mar. 23, 2013 Wealth Wake Up interview of Gateway Pacific Terminal consultant Craig Cole — in a special two-hour promotion of the economic salvation embodied by the GPT proposal — joined Cole and Radio Real Estate host Mike Kent in suggesting opponents of GPT are unpatriotic, even un-American. On Mar. 30, 2013, Donohue interviewed CERA board member Tom Williams, who promoted the untrue idea that Indians have citizenship privileges without paying taxes, and

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED

Idle No More

& Indigenous 124 Nationhood Taiaiake Alfred

ur collective action in Idle No More has shown and long-running bureaucratic processes. that there is support among Canadians for a movement that embodies principled opposition The question in the minds of many people in the move- O to the destruction of the land and the exten- ment who are committed to more serious and trans- sion of social justice to Indigenous peoples. When we as formational goals is how do we revive the momentum Indigenous people have a political agenda that’s consis- driving us towards fundamental change that we had at tent with our Original Teachings – to have a respectful the start of the movement? I think that the only way to relationship with the land and the natural environment keep this movement going is for us to see our actions in and to have a respectful relationship among all of the Idle No More as part of a larger and long-standing com- nations that share this land – we have seen that this is a mitment to the restoration of Indigenous nationhood. powerful draw for many people in our own nations and in the broader society. We need to focus our activism on the root of the problem facing our people collectively: our collective dispos- But it is clear too that the movement has plateaued. session and misrepresentation as Indigenous peoples. Much of the passion, urgency and attention Idle No More Now is the time to put ourselves back on our lands generated is dissipating in the wake of Chief Theresa spiritually and physically and to shift our support away Spence’s fast and the “13 Point Declaration” supported from the Indian Act system and to start energizing the by Chief Spence, the Assembly of First Nations and restoration of our own governments. Our people and our the two Canadian opposition parties – which to many languages and our ceremonies should be saturating our people in the movement represents a cooptation of the homelands and territories. Our leaders should answer movement’s demands by the chiefs of the Assembly of to us not to the Minister of Indian Affairs or his minions. First Nations in support of their ongoing negotiations Our governments should be circles in which we all sit as

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH op-ed

equals and participate fully and where all of our voices re-establish our presence on our land and in doing so to are heard, not systems of hierarchy and exclusion le- educate Canadians about our continuing connections to gitimized and enforced by Canadian laws. Restoring our those places and how important they are to our continu- nationhood in this way is the fundamental struggle. Our ing existence as Indigenous peoples. focus should be on restoring our presence on the land and regenerating our true nationhood. These go hand in If we do this we can, once again, make the Assembly hand and one cannot be achieved without the other. of First Nations, the mainstream media, the opposition Idle No More has been a good and necessary thing. Like parties hear the true voice of Indigenous people in this thousands of others over the last couple of months, I am country and if we are strong and tenacious in demon- proud to have been a whole-hearted participant in edu- strating our commitment to these goals, we can force cating the wider public, making the connection between the federal government to take us seriously. our Native rights and the democratic rights of all citi- 125 zens, and arguing for the protection of the environment Now is the time to transgress, reoccupy, rise… as Original under the Idle No More banner. But the limits to Idle No Peoples. More are clear, and many people are beginning to realize that the kind of movement we have been conducting under the banner of Idle No More is not sufficient in itself to decolonize this country or even to make meaningful change in the lives of people.

Those of us in the movement need to ask ourselves this hard question: what have we accomplished through Idle No More? There’s been politicization of some Native people. There’s been some media attention. There have been rallies and demonstrations. Great art and music has been produced. These are all good. But in terms of meaningful change in the lives of people and the struggle for justice, things are no different now than when this whole thing started. The federal government has not responded or felt the need to address in any way the challenge we’ve presented so far. We are in danger of becoming institutionalized and predictable as a movement, or worse, becoming kind of a giant Facebook rant that like all Facebook rants is a closed circle easily ignored which has no real relation to things actually happening in people’s lives. What this means if we are committed to making change and achieving justice for our people is that we need to alter our strategies and tactics to present more of a serious challenge on the ground to force the federal government to engagement our movement and to respond to us in a serious way.

I believe that what our movement needs is a mobilization of people on the basis of Indigenous Nationhood, led by traditional chiefs and clan mothers, medicine people, elders and youth, to start acting on our inherent rights on the land and to demand respect for our traditional governments. In practical terms, we need to go beyond demonstrations and rallies in malls and legislatures and on public streets and start to reoccupy Indigenous sacred, ceremonial and cultural use sites to

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 126

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE ’’ 127 AAOLEOLE gmgmoo ThTeh estr struggleuggle t oto r ercelaimclaim ppaarraaddisisee

ImaniImani Altemus-Williams Altemus-Williams

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

t 9 am on an overcast has propelled one of the largest Hawaii, Monsanto and other biotech morning in paradise, movement mobilizations in Hawaii corporations have sprayed over 70 hundreds of protesters in decades. Similar to the environ- different chemicals during field tests A gathered in traditional mental and land sovereignty proof genetically engineered crops, Hawaiian chant and prayer. Upon tests in Canada and the continental more chemical testing than in any hearing the sound of the conch shell, United States, the movement is other place in the world. Human known here as Pū, the protesters influenced by indigenous culture. studies have not been conducted followed a group of women towards on GMO foods, but animal experi- Monsanto’s grounds. “All of the resources that our kapuna ments show that genetically modi- [elders] gave to us, we need to take fied foods lead to pre-cancerous “A’ole GMO,” cried the mothers as care of now for the next generation,” cell growth, infertility, and severe they marched alongside Monsanto’s said Walter Ritte, a Hawaii activist, damage to the kidneys, liver and cornfields, located only feet from speaking in part in the Hawaiian large intestines. Additionally, the 128 their homes on Molokai, one of the indigenous language. health risks of chemical herbicides smallest of Hawaii’s main islands. In sprayed onto GMO crops cause a tiny, tropical corner of the Pacific “That is our kuleana [responsibility]. hormone disruption, cancer, neuro- that has warded off tourism and That is everybody’s kuleana.” logical disorders and birth defects. development, Monsanto’s fields are In Hawaii, some open-field testing one of only a few corporate entities In Hawaiian indigenous culture, sites are near homes and schools. that separates the bare terrain of the very idea of GMOs is effectively Prematurity, adult on-set diabetes the mountains and oceans. sacrilegious. and cancer rates have significantly increased in Hawaii in the last ten This spirited march was the last of a “For Hawaii’s indigenous peoples, years. Many residents fear chemical series of protests on the five Hawai- the concepts underlying genetic ma- drift is poisoning them. ian islands that Monsanto and other nipulation of life forms are offensive biotech companies have turned into and contrary to the cultural values Monsanto’s agricultural proce- the world’s ground zero for chemical of aloha ‘āina [love for the land],” dures also enable the practice of testing and food engineering. Ha- wrote Mililani B. Trask, a native monocropping, which contributes waii is currently at the epicenter of Hawaiian attorney. to environmental degradation, the debate over genetically modified especially on an island like Hawaii. organisms, generally shortened to Deadly practices Monocropping is an agricultural GMOs. Because Hawaii is geographi- Monsanto has a long history of practice where one crop is repeat- The struggle to reclaim cally isolated from the broader making chemicals that bring about edly planted in the same spot, a public, it is an ideal location for con- devastation. The company par- system that strips the soil of its ducting chemical experiments. The ticipated in the Manhattan Project nutrients and drives farmers to use island chain’s climate and abundant to help produce the atomic bomb a herbicide called Roundup, which is natural resources have lured five of during World War II. It developed linked to infertility. Farmers are also the world’s largest biotech chemical the herbicide “Agent Orange” used forced to use pesticides and fertil- corporations: Monsanto, Syngenta, by U.S. military forces during the izers that cause climate change and Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Pioneer Vietnam War, which caused an esti- reef damage, and that decrease the and BASF. In the past 20 years, these mated half-million birth deformities. biodiversity of Hawaii. chemical companies have performed Most recently, Monsanto has driven paradise over 5,000 open-field-test experi- thousands of farmers in India to take Food sovereignty as ments of pesticide-resistant crops their own lives, often by drinking resistance on an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 chemical insecticide, after the high At the first of the series of marches acres of Hawaiian land without any cost of the company’s seeds forced against GMOs, organizers planted disclosure, making the place and them into unpayable debt. coconut trees in Haleiwa, a com- its people a guinea pig for biotech munity on the north shore of Oahu Imani Altemus-Williams engineering. The impacts of chemical testing and Island. In the movement, protesting GMOs are immediate — and, in the and acting as caretakers of the land The presence of these corporations long-term, could prove deadly. In are no longer viewed as separate ac-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

tions, particularly in a region where clude sufficient land for residence a U.S. Marine’s armed coup d’etat of Monsanto is leasing more than and cultivation, freshwater sources, the Hawaiian Kingdom government. 1,000 acres of prime agricultural shoreline and open ocean access,” soil. explained Carol Silva, an historian Five years later, the U.S. apprehend- and Hawaiian language professor. ed the islands for strategic military During the march, people chanted use during the Spanish-American and held signs declaring, “Aloha Inspired by the Ahupua’a model, the War despite local resistance. Even ‘āina: De-occupy Hawaii.” food sovereignty movement is build- then-President Grover Cleveland ing an organic local system that called the overthrow a “substantial The phrase Aloha ‘āina is regularly fosters the connections between wrong” and vowed to restore the seen and heard at anti-GMO pro- communities and their food — a way Hawaiian kingdom. But the econom- tests. Today the words are defined of resisting GMOs while simultane- ic interests overpowered the politi- 129 as “love of the land,” but the phrase ously creating alternatives. cal will, and Hawaii remained a U.S. has also signified “love for the colony for the following 60 years. country.” Historically, it was com- Colonial history monly used by individuals and The decline of the Ahupua’a system The annexation of Hawaii prof- groups fighting for the restoration didn’t only set Hawaii on the path ited five sugarcane-manufacturing of the independent Hawaiian nation, away from food sovereignty; it also companies commonly referred to as and it is now frequently deployed destroyed the political indepen- the Big Five: Alexander & Baldwin, at anti-GMO protests when people dence of the now-U.S. state. And in- Amfac (American Factors), Castle & speak of Hawaiian sovereignty and deed, when protesters chant “Aloha Cooke, C. Brewer, and Theo H. Da- independence. ‘āina” at anti-GMO marches, they are vies. Most of the founders of these alluding to the fact that this fight companies were missionaries who After the protest, marchers gathered isn’t only over competing visions were actively involved in lobbying in Haleiwa Beach Park, where they of land use and food creation. It’s for the annexation of the Hawaiian performed speeches, music, spo- also a battle for the islands’ political islands in 1898. After the takeover, ken-word poetry and dance while sovereignty. the Big Five manipulated great po- sharing free locally grown food. The litical power and influence in what strategy of connecting with the land Historically, foreign corporate inter- was then considered the “Territory was also a feature of the subsequent ests have repeatedly taken control of Hawaii,” gaining unparalleled protest on the Big Island, where of Hawaii — and have exploited and control of banking, shipping and people planted taro before the mistreated the land and its people importing on the island chain. The march, and also at the state capitol in the process. companies only sponsored white rally, where hundreds participated republicans in government, creat- in the traditional process of pound- “It’s a systemic problem and the ing an oligarchy that threatened the ing taro to make poi, a Polynesian GMO issue just happens to be at labor force if it voted against their staple food. the forefront of public debate at the interests. The companies’ environ- moment,” said Keoni Lee of ‘Ōiwi mental practices, meanwhile, caused The import economy is a new reality TV. “‘Āina” [land] equals that which air and water pollution and altered for Hawaii, one directly tied to the provides. Provides for who?” the biodiversity of the land. imposition of modern food practices on the island. Ancient Hawaii oper- The presence of Monsanto and the The current presence of the five- ated within the Ahupua’a system, other chemical corporations is eerily biotech chemical corporations in a communal model of distributing reminiscent of the business inter- Hawaii mirrors the political and eco- land and work, which allowed the ests that led to the overthrow of the nomic colonialism of the Big Five in islands to be entirely self-sufficient. Hawaiian Kingdom. Throughout the the early 20th century — particularly 19th century, the Hawaiian Kingdom because Monsanto has become the “Private land ownership was un- was recognized as an independent largest employer on Molokai. known, and public, common use of nation. That reality changed in 1893, the ahupua’a resources demanded when a group of American business- “There is no difference between the that boundaries be drawn to in- men and sugar planters orchestrated “Big Five” that actually ruled Hawaii

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE in the past,” said Walter Ritte. “Now young local activist and founder of it’s another “Big Five,” and they’re all a traditional poi business. “Here we Anti-GMO activists are hoping for chemical companies. So it’s almost can educate a million people, and further successes in stopping genet- like this is the same thing. It’s like Monsanto is out.” ic food engineering. In the current déjàvu.” legislative session, there are about a Others are using art to educate the dozen proposed bills pushing GMO Rising up public, such as Hawaiian rapper regulation, labeling and a ban on all At the opening of this year’s legisla- Hood Prince, who rails against Mon- imported GMO produce. These fights tive session on January 16, hundreds santo in his song “Say No to GMO.” over mandating GMO labeling and of farmers, students and residents This movement is also educating the regulation in Hawaii may seem like marched to the state capitol for a community through teach-ins and a remote issue, but what happens on rally titled “Idle No More: We the the free distribution of the newly re- these isolated islands is pivotal for People.” There, agricultural special- leased book Facing Hawaii’s Future: land sovereignty movements across 130 ist and food sovereignty activist Essential Information about GMOs. the globe. Vandana Shiva, who traveled from India to Hawaii for the event, ad- Hawaii has already succeeded in “These five major chemical compa- dressed the crowd. protecting its traditional food from nies chose us to be their center,” genetic engineering. Similar to the said Ritte. “So whatever we do is “I see Hawaii not as a place where I way the Big Five controlled varying going to impact everybody in the come and people say, ‘Monsanto is sectors of society, the biotech en- world.” the biggest employer,’ but people gineering companies are financially say, ‘this land, its biodiversity, our linked to the local government, cultural heritage is our biggest em- schools and university. Monsanto ployer,’” she said. partially funds the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human As she alluded to, a major obstacle Resources at the University of Ha- facing the anti-GMO movement is waii. The university and the Hawaii the perception that the chemical Agriculture Research Center began corporations provide jobs that other- the process of genetically engineer- wise might not exist — an economic ing taro in 2003 after the university specter that the sugarcane compa- patented three of its varieties. Once nies also wielded to their advantage. this information became widely Anti-GMO organizers are aware of known, it incited uproar of objection how entrenched this power is. from the Hawaiian community. Taro holds spiritual significance in the “The things that we’re standing up islands’ indigenous culture, in which against are really at the core of capi- it is honored as the first Hawaiian talism,” proclaimed Hawaiian rights ancestor in the creation story. activist Andre Perez at the rally. “It felt like we were being violated Given the enormity of the enemy, by the scientific community,” wrote anti-GMO activists are attacking Ritte in Facing Hawaii’s Future. “For the issue from a variety of fronts, the Hawaiian community, taro is not including organizing mass educa- just a plant. It’s a family member. tion, advocating for non-GMO food It’s our common ancestor ‘Haloa sovereignty and pushing for legisla- …. They weren’t satisfied with just tive protections. Organizers see edu- taking our land; now they wanted to cation, in particular, as the critical take our mana, our spirit too.” element to win this battle. “Hawaii has the cheapest form of The public outcry eventually drove democracy,” said Daniel Anthony, a the university to drop its patents.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE U.N Committee Raises Concerns Over Impacts 131 of US/Mexico Wall on Border Tribes John Ahni Schertow

Mar. 20, 2013 - The U.N. Commit- began enacting legislation al- “Subsequently, the border wall tee on the Elimination of Racial lowing the Government to build has allegedly been built on sensi- Discrimination (CERD) issued an a wall along the border between tive environmental areas and Early Warning and Urgent Ac- the United States of America and lands inhabited by indigenous tion letter to the United States Mexico, with the purported aim communities, without sufficient government over the discrimina- of preventing the entrance of and effective prior consultation tory impacts of the construction alleged terrorists, undocumented with the affected population, and of the US/Mexico border wall immigrants, and drug traffickers. apparently continues to damage on the Kickapoo, the Ysleta del Pursuant to the adoption of the the land, the ecosystem, and the Sur Pueblo (Tigua) and the Lipan REAL ID Act and the Secure Fence cultural and traditional way of Apache (Ndé) indigenous commu- Act in 2005 and 2006 respective- life of indigenous communities. nities in Texas. ly, the Department of Homeland It has also been reported that Security has reportedly waived 36 while the wall has been built on Responding to a petition that was Federal and State laws to proceed the lands of indigenous peoples, prepared by students at the Hu- with the construction of the wall, it has skipped border areas with man Rights Clinic in collaboration including the National Environ- lucrative properties owned by with Dr. Margo Tamez, in coor- mental Policy Act, the Endangered business, such as the River Bend dination with the Lipan Apache Species Act, the Native American Golf Resort. Women Defense (LAW) and mem- Graves Protection and Reparation bers of the Lipan Apache Band, Act, the American Indian Free- “The Committee expresses its the UNCERD commented: dom Act, and the Administrative concern regarding the potentially Procedure Act. discriminatory impact that the “The United States Congress construction of the border wall

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

might have on the Kickapoo, Ysleta envisaged to consult with and con- sponses to the issues raised by the del Sur Pueblo and Lipan Apache sider the requests of the affected Committee in its Decision 1 (68) indigenous communities, including communities”, “information on any of 11 April 2006 [...] in particular their access to tribal lands located compensation provided to affected those identified in paragraph 7 of north and south of the border and communities to date, and any the decision.” Those issues are as to resources required for tradition- measures envisaged to reverse the follows: al ceremonies. negative impact of the construction of the border wall.” 1) Legislative efforts to priva- “In particular, the Committee is tize Western Shoshone ancestral concerned by the situation of the In addition to the concerns about lands for transfer to multinational Lipan Apache, a tribe which report- the border wall, the UNCERD extractive industries and energy edly remains Federally unrecog- requested additional information developers; 132 nized, given the information re- and updates on two previous cases ceived that the construction of the that were examined under the 2) Destructive activities that are wall through its land has allegedly early warning and urgent action conducted and/or planned on damaged ancestral burial sites, procedure, namely the impact of areas of spiritual and cultural sig- reduced the tribe’s access to elders the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort nificance to the Western Shoshone and other knowledge keepers, led Project on the San Francisco Peaks peoples, including three federal to severe decline in biodiversity, and the situation of the Western efforts to open a nuclear waste and may lead to the disappearance Shoshone. repository at Yucca Mountain, of the tribal identity altogether as the alleged use of explosives and the community may be forced to Concerning the Arizona Snowbowl, open pit gold mining activities on leave the land. the Committee requested “infor- Mount Tenabo and Horse Canyon, mation on any further measures and the alleged issuance of geo- “Moreover, the Committee is envisaged to engage with the thermal energy leases at, or near, concerned that, based on the infor- operator of the Arizona Snowbowl hot springs; mation before it, the border wall Ski area to encourage the use has been constructed without the of sources other than reclaimed 3) Resumption of underground free, prior and informed consent of wastewater to produce artificial nuclear testing on Western Sho- the affected communities, and that snow; and information on the shone ancestral lands; no effective judicial remedies or outcomes of the appeal submitted compensation have been provided to the Ninth Circuit.” 4) Conducting and/or planning of to date. With regard to the latter, all such activities without consul- it has been reported that the Gov- The Committee also observed tation and despite protests of the ernment’s use of eminent domain that the government has failed Western Shoshone peoples; and powers cannot be effectively chal- to provide additional information lenged in court, and that courts in its periodic report since Nov. 5) Difficulties encountered by have not allowed claims to be 20, 2011. There have been sev- Western Shoshone peoples in ap- brought regarding the potentially eral developments since then, as propriately challenging all such discriminatory impact of the wall.” documented at ProtectThePeaks. actions before national courts and org and IndigenousAction.org. in obtaining adjudication on the The UNCERD goes on to request a merits of their claims, due in par- formal detailed response regarding The followup concerning the ticular to domestic technicalities. the impact of the border wall on Western Shoshone was a little the rights of indigenous peoples, more comprehensive. The Com- “any recent or future measures mittee requested “substantive re-

Photo by Wonderlane

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Defending THE birThplace of the 133 Sun Tracy Barnett

In the latest phase of the struggle to defend Wirikuta, Wixarika leaders file an Injunction to halt a Canadian mining company’s illegal exploration drilling activities

Jul. 7, 2013 - Against a backdrop of Mexican government to intervene to heightened tensions in the region stop the current exploration that is and other worrisome developments, occurring in the region without the Wixarika leaders have filed an injunc- required permits, but they did not tion to stop the illegal drilling in receive a timely response, prompt- exploration for gold and silver in their ing them to file for the injunction ancestral sacred lands of Wirikuta. in a federal court. The drilling and These lands, held by the Wixarika or excavation is occurring on a wide and Huichol people of Mexico to be the destructive scale, the Council said, in birthplace of the sun, has been the the sacred desert where the Wixarika destination of their pilgrimages and or Huichol people have conducted ceremonies for thousands of years, as their pilgrimages since the beginning Wixarika pilgrims gather around a shrine well as the hunting grounds for their of their history. atop the Cerro Quemado, a mountain sacred hikuri, or peyote. at the heart of their sacred territory of Wirikuta and the Birthplace of the Sun, to “We reaffirm our opposition to the pray for protection and guidance. Since Mar. 1 of this year, the Wixarika mining concessions that various com- Photo by Tracy Barnett Regional Council for the Defense of panies intend to develop extractive Wirikuta has been petitioning the megaprojects within the sacred terri-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Beatiae sint periatemo que velesto

134

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 135

tory we have occupied for millennia, currently active in the region, has its A group of Wixarika women at the historic which is inhabited by our deities and local headquaters. The appointment mass pilgrimage Feb. 6-7, 2013. For the first time, pilgrims from all the Wixarika territo- in which we conduct our pilgrimages represents “an aggression against ries came together to pray about the pending to recreate the origin of the world,” the our people and the people of the threat by Canadian mining companies. Photo by Tracy Barnett Wixarika Regional Council wrote in region, given the scientific evidence, a Jun.25 declaration. “Today Wirikuta which makes any new mining projects is threatened by the greed for money prohibitive due to the extreme over- ing to gain financially by taking over and the remiss and illegal actions of exploitation of aquifers,” the Wixarika the livestock and lands of the local the Mexican state.” Regional Council wrote in a June 25 inhabitants, an assertion they claim bulletin. is entirely false and is generating a Also last week, Wixarika leaders dangerous atmosphere of hostility decried the appointment of Hector Moreno’s financial ties to First Majes- and harassment against the Huichol Moreno, current mayor of the town of tic Silver present a serious conflict of people. Additionally, some Wixarika Real de Catorce, as president of the interest for a body whose aim is to visiting the region have been threat- Board of Directors of the Wirikuta Eco- protect the ecology of the region, they ened that they will be denied access logical Reserve. Real de Catorce lies at argued. They further accused Moreno to the lands where they have traveled the entrance to Wirikuta and is where of generating animosity against the to pray, leave offerings, and ceremo- First Majestic Silver Corp., one of the Wixarika people, promoting rumors nially hunt their hikuri since time two Canadian mining companies that the indigenous group is aspir- immemorial. These pilgrimages to

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

tional legal jurisdictions, as well as where their ceremonial grounds on by our own regulatory systems.,” the the Pacific Coast of Nayarit are being Council wrote. “As we have previously privatized and commercialized for a denounced, in the region of Wirikuta tourism project. there is a disinformation campaign waged from the Municipal Presidency “We call on the federal government of Real de Catorce, which seems and in particular the President in aimed to create an atmosphere of his capacity as chief of the Mexican confrontation and harassment against State to monitor and not criminal- the traditional access our people have ize our ancient tradition,” wrote the exercised from time immemorial in Council, “and to instead monitor the the sacred desert of Wirikuta.” dangerous actions of the Municipal President of Catorce, who is inciting 136 The Council further denounced the local people against our people and government’s failure to consult with trying to limit our right to ancestral the Wixárika people in the ways in pilgrimage to the home of our ances- which they traditionally make their tors, upon which depends the funda- decisions, through their Community mental equilibrium of the world.” Assemblies. In a regional assembly convoked on Jun. 28 by the Wixarika Update: On Sept. 2, the Mexican Regional Council for the Defense of courts granted the requested suspen-

Wirikuta and the use of their sacred cactus are essential to their continued cultural survival – and indeed, to the continued equilibrium of the forces of nature on the planet, according to Wirikuta “Tamatsima Wahaa” and at- At the coming of the dawn, pilgrims were greeted with a sea of clouds their beliefs. tended by representatives from the spread like a protective blanket over far-flung and remote communities of the desert lowlands of Wirikuta. “We reject the continued tolerance Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlán, San Photo by Tracy Barnett of aggression against our indigenous Andres Cohamiata, San Sebastian people, threatening our traditions in Teponahuaxtlán and Tuxpan, Jalisco, sion, which prohibits any government the attempts to limit our consump- and Bancos de San Hipólito, Durango, agency from granting permits to tion of hikuri if we don’t agree to the and the Wixarika Union of Ceremo- conduct mining activities in the zone mining and agribusiness industries, nial Centers of Jalisco, Durango and until the legal issues are resolved. At as well as the threats that have been Nayarit, the group ratified the previ- press time, Wixarika leaders and their circulating that we will be refused the ous statements and further demand- allies in the Wirikuta Defense Front right to carry out our pilgrimages that ed that the government hold a bind- were in talks with the government we have conducted from time imme- ing consultation with the Wixarika and were hopeful that the matter can morial and that are now recognized community assemblies in the matter be resolved in an agreeable way. under many national and interna- of another key sacred site, Haramara,

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE ANOTHER

137 NAKBA John Ahni Schertow

International community finally takes notice of Israel’s plan for the Bedouin

Jul. 23, 2013 - The international official government-supported During the community finally taken notice village areas. Knesset reading, of the Israeli government’s plan some Arab to evict 40,000 Bedouin citizens “Like Prawer, the Begin Plan is ministers tore up copies of the from their ancestral land in the also based on an erroneous as- proposed bill to demonstrate Negev desert–and they’re not sumption that views the Bedouin their opposition. taking it lightly. as “squatters,” ignoring the fact that most of the villages have Since then, global opposition On June 24, the Israeli Knesset been in existence in their cur- to both the Begin Plan and the (legislature) held its first read- rent location since before the new bill has grown exponen- ing for the controversial “Bill establishment of the State of Is- tially, with dozens of organiza- on the Arrangement of Bedouin rael,” comments the Association tions speaking out against the Settlement in the Negev,” a piece of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). legislative assault, from the of legislation that outlines the “Other villages were established Palestinian Solidarity Campaign framework for implementing the by coercive transfer during the to The Euro-Mediterranean Hu- equally controversial Prawer- period of martial law. Like its man Rights Network (EMHRN) in Begin plan. precursor, the current plan also Brussels to Independent Jewish seeks to restrict the Bedouin to Voices Canada. Mirroring the original Prawer a specific area and to forcibly Plan, the Prawer-Begin plan aims apply this policy.” Jewish Voice for Peace organized to solve the so-called “Bedouin an online campaign urging Israe- problem” in the Negev desert Despite the Begin Plan’s clear li Ambassador Michael Oren to by stripping the Bedouin popu- violation of the Bedouin’s basic use his “influence to warn Knes- lation of their historical land rights, the proposed bill passed set members from taking further rights and their property rights, its first reading by a majority of steps forward, while there is still and forcibly relocating them to 43 to 40. time to avoid this human rights

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE

Photo by Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

138

catastrophe.” Since doing so, more It is hoped, however, that the tizens of the state and the state than 15,000 emails have been State will take things even fur- institutions – as well as Israeli sent to Ambassador Oren. ther by formally recognizing the society on the whole. basic rights of all Bedouin men, The UK Parliament spoke out in women and children. “In addition, the unique agricul- support of the Bedouin as well, tural nature of the villages must along with Jordan’s House of Rep- As recommended by the Associa- be taken into account, along with resentatives, which described the tion of Civil Rights in Israel, “the the Bedouin’s patterns for settle- Prawer-Begin Plan as “another state should be making a con- ment, land ownership and family Nakba [catastrophe]”. certed effort to settle the land and social customs.” claims and recognize the Bedou- It was also announced that an of- in’s historic rights to their lands”, That’s all the Bedouin want. ficial complaint against the Plan rather than trying to advance has been sent to UN Secretary such a problematic bill. General Ban Ki-moon by Palestin- ian authorities. “Instead of unilaterally imposing an arrangement, the community’s With most of this taking place needs must be fully taken into over the last few days, opposi- account so as to ensure that their tion to the proposed legislation rights to property and equality is expected to continue growing are fully protected, and in order until the State of Israel abandons to ensure an appropriate and just the legislative plan. relationship between the Arab ci

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED

139 Photo by H Dragon by Photo Tree of Peace? Oil Palm Expansion Is Tearing Apart Indigenous Peoples’ Lives Artiso Mandawa

The Philippine Government has to an unprecedented level. the destruction of these historical and depicted oil palm as the “tree of According to the indigenous federa- natural landmarks as an obliteration peace”, of “economic growth” and tion Kalumbay in Northern Mindanao of their history and collective memo- overall as the best environmentally alone, 20,000 hectares of agricultural ries of the past. friendly option for eradicating rural land are being targeted for conver- In May 2012, peasant and social activ- poverty while reducing dependence sion to oil palm, and in Palawan (a ists from KMP-Northern Mindanao Re- on imported edible oils. It also claims UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve), gion (KMP-NMR), The Apu Palamgu- that only “idle” and “underdeveloped” the ALDAW Indigenous Network wan Cultural Education Center (APC), land should be converted into oil says that another 20,000 hectares or Kalumbay, Sentro Kitanglad, Rural palm plantations. However, according more have been set aside for oil palm Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) to the impacted indigenous communi- development. and the Pesticide Network Asia Pacific ties, oil palm expansion is bringing (PAN AP) conducted an International havoc to their lives by destroying The areas being threatened by Fact Finding Mission on the effects of their farmlands, hunting grounds and aggressive oil palm development massive appropriation and conversion forest products, polluting their water include burial, sacred and worship of farmlands to palm oil plantations sources and thus impoverishing them sites. The local inhabitants perceive in this region. On that occasion severe

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED cases of human rights violations blatant contradiction with the rules ensuring environmental protection, were documented, including strafing, and regulations contained in the such as the Department of Environ- illegal arrests, and holding farmers at Strategic Environ ment and Natural Resources and the gunpoint while personnel of A. Brown mental Plan (Republic Act 7611). Palawan Council for Sustainable De- Company, Inc. destroyed their crops. velopment. Environmental clearances The mission also established that Few places in Southeast Asia can are being issued without strictly many palm oil plantation work- match the distinction of Palawan, following the necessary bureaucratic ers have been victims of pesticide in the Philippines. This is home to procedures. A similar situation applies poisoning and that, in the impacted seven protected areas, a declared to oil palm development in Mind- areas, there has been an increase in “Game Refuge and Bird Sanctuary” anao. the incidence of skin diseases and since 1967 and a “Mangrove Reserve” other illnesses, while water sources since 1981. UNESCO declared the Oil palm projects have never received have been contaminated. As of now, whole province a ‘Man and Biosphere the Free Prior and Informed Consent 140 displaced indigenous peoples, like Reserve’ in 1990. And yet, in blatant of our indigenous communities and those of Bagocboc Village, live on the violation of existing environmental we are now filing several notarized fringes of oil palm plantations, unable laws and regulations, old and second- affidavits to condemn this. to farm and feed their families. ary forest (e.g. in Quezon Municipal- ity) has been illegally cleared to make Finally, contrary to the government The recent escalation of violence space for oil palm plantations. promises of increasing rural employ- towards the opponents of oil palm ment, job opportunities in oil palm plantations led, on Oct. 3, 2012, to In Palawan, the bulk of oil palm op- plantations are meager and working the extra-judicial killing of Gilbert erations are being carried out by the conditions are exploitative, with daily Paborada, the chairperson of the in- Palawan Palm & Vegetable Oil Mills payments below the Philippines’ digenous organization “Pangalasag.” Inc. and its sister company Agumil minimum wage. Oil palm expansion He is said to be the fourth member of Philippines Inc. Both companies have on indigenous land both in Palawan the indigenous federation Kalumbay been established through joint ven- and Mindanao should be stopped who has become a victim of extraju- tures between Filipino, Singaporean with haste, before its adverse socio- dicial killings in Northern Mindanao and Malaysian investors. A construc- ecological impact becomes irrevers- under the President Benigno Aquino tion company, Cavite Ideal Interna- ible. III administration. tional Construction and Development Corporation (CAVDEAL), and private Also in Palawan (see previous individuals (Mr. Cho) have now also coverage by IC) between 2009 and turned into land grabbers and are 2013, the ALDAW indigenous net- pushing their business into the ter- work–through video and participa- ritories of the local Palawan tribes. tory geographic information systems methodologies–documented the Additional concerns have been raised detrimental socioeconomic impact of by ALDAW over the construction of oil palm development. For instance, the palm oil mill in Maasin, Munici- indigenous community members pality of Brooke’s Point. For a ton claim that “new” insect pests have spread from the neighboring oil palm plantations to their farmlands, of oil processed, about 2.5 tons of destroying thousands of coconut effluents will be discharged into the palms. As a result, people’s income pristine Maasin River, with a high from the sale of ‘copra’ (coconut dried risk of contamination for the coastal endosperm) has dropped at least 50 environment and its coral reefs. per cent. There is also evidence of oil Overall land conversion by oil palm palms being planted on a large scale companies is happening with little in “restricted”, “controlled use areas” monitoring on the part of those and “traditional use areas”. This is in government agencies charged with

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE Maya 141 Qeqchi v. Hudbay Ontario Court rules that HudBay Minerals can be tried in Canada for crimes against the Maya Qeqchi in Guatemala

John Ahni Schertow

Jul 23, 2013 - Ontario Superior Court Klippensteins, Barristers & Solicitors, justices that were carried out by em- Justice Carole Brown has ruled that said in a statement, “As a result of ployees of the Fenix Mining Project, three separate lawsuits against the this ruling, Canadian mining corpo- a nickel mine that was acquired by Canadian mining company Hud- rations can no longer hide behind HudBay Minerals after the company Bay Minerals can proceed to trial their legal corporate structure to purchased Skye Resources in 2008. even though the plaintiffs are from abdicate responsibility for human another country. The unprecedented rights abuses that take place at In January 2007, Skye Resources ruling brings the Maya Qeqchi foreign mines under their control (subsequently renamed HMI Nickel) Peoples one step closer to the at various locations throughout the requested the eviction of five Maya justice they have sought for the past world.” Qeqchi communities from their 6 years. ancestral lands. The Maya Qeqchi turned to Canada’s Murray Klippenstein, of Toronto’s court system over three separate in- At the time, the Fenix project was

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH ARTICLE subject to land claims by the local at close range by the head of the “This judgment should be a wake-up communities from El Estor, Izabal, security personnel the very same call for Canadian mining companies,” Guatemala, who maintained that the day that Adolfo was murdered. As a added Cory Wanless, co-counsel for Guatemalan government breached result of the injuries that he sus- the Mayas along with Mr. Klippen- international law by approving the tained, German Chub was paralyzed stein. “It is the first time that a Cana- mining concession without carrying and lost the use of his right lung. dian court has ruled that a claim can out prior consultations. be made against a Canadian parent “There will now be a trial regarding corporation for negligently failing to “With the force of the army and the abuses that were committed in prevent human rights abuses at its police”, observes the advocacy group, Guatemala, and this trial will be in foreign mining project. We fully ex- Rights Action, “company workers took a courtroom in Canada, a few blocks pect that more claims like this one chainsaws and torches to people’s from Hudbay’s headquarters, exactly will be brought against Canadian homes, while women and children where it belongs,” said Mr. Klippen- mining companies until these kinds 142 stood by. The mining company stein, who’s representing all 13 Maya of abuses stop.” claimed that they maintained ‘a Qeqchi. “We would never tolerate peaceful atmosphere during this these abuses in Canada, and Cana- action.’” dian companies should not be able to take advantage of broken-down As if it wasn’t enough to displace or extremely weak legal systems the Maya Qeqchi families, on Jan. 17, in other countries to get away with 2007, 11 women from the commu- them there.” nity of Lote Ocho were gang raped by the police, military and security “Today is a great day for me and all personnel. others who brought this lawsuit,” said Angelica Choc. “It means every- In their lawsuit against Hudbay, thing to us that we can now stand the women are seeking $1 million up to Hudbay in Canadian courts to each in compensation for the pain seek justice for what hap- and suffering they’ve endured, in pened to us.” addition to another $4 million in punitive damages because of the “extreme and heinous nature of the attacks against them.”

The second lawsuit against Hudbay is led by Angelica Choc, the widow of Adolfo Ich Chaman. A respected community leader, a school teacher and father, Adolfo was brutally murdered by the company’s mine security. Their son, José, who witnessed the killing, says the security guards hacked at Adolfo with a machete before shooting him in the head. Adolfo was trying to help restore calm in the region after hearing gunshots from the direction of the company’s buildings.

A third lawsuit was filed for German Chub, a young father who was shot

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Contested Indigeneities,

143 Contested Land

An Amazigh Perspective on the Western Sahara

Nuunja Kahina PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED

he Western Sahara has long been a point of has been brutally repressive to Imazighen across North virulent contention in North Africa. Colonized Africa. The SADR constitution recognizes the Saharawis by Spain until 1975, narratives of the history as “Arab, African, and Muslim” without a single mention Contested of the region differ dramatically based on of the Amazigh people or the Indigenous language, political views. Is Morocco ‘illegally occupy- Tamazight. The constitution only recognizes Islam as ing’ the territory or has it ‘always been’ a part the “religion of the state and source of law” and names T of Morocco? Did Moroccan King Hassan II’s Arabic as the official national language. This is no dif- Green March ‘invade’ and impose a new colonialism or ferent from any other oppressive Arab nationalist state Indigeneities, ‘liberate’ the region from Spanish colonialism? Simply in North Africa which refuses to recognize the Amazigh mentioning the Western Sahara to a Moroccan is likely people as an Indigenous nation, much less with any to start a fiery argument – a decades-long argument form of sovereignty. that still remains unresolved. It is clear that Imazighen cannot accept any so-called 144 Contested I approach this issue as an Amazigh, not as a Moroc- ‘Arab’ state in Tamazgha and must strongly oppose can. I have no loyalty to the Moroccan state nor to the the Polisario Front and the SADR. The establishment Western Sahara. My stance comes from an Indigenous of yet another Arab nationalist state in Tamazgha can North African perspective, and it is certainly not the only bring more harm and repression to the region. only one. I have heard a whole range of political ideas If the SADR government gains more power, there can Land and arguments from other Imazighen on the Western be no question that they would enact – or continue Sahara. However, it is fundamentally crucial to have – the same brutal policies of Arabization as in other Indigenous North Africans engaged in dialogue about ‘Arab’ North African countries, aimed at destroying the this issue so as to assert Amazigh rights and sovereign- Amazigh culture and language. The Polisario’s leader- ty over our own land. ship has, just like Morocco, rejected their own people’s history by attempting to create a Saharawi Arab Demo- The Saharawi inhabitants of the Western Sahara are cratic Republic. commonly said, at least in pro-Saharawi nationalist discourse, to be an “indigenous” or “native” population. Other Imazighen have echoed this perspective, that This point was crucial in the decision by the Interna- fundamentally we cannot allow or support any Arab tional Court of Justice stating that at the time of Span- nationalist government in North Africa, which automat- ish colonization, the Western Sahara was not a terra ically necessitates opposing the SADR. The President of nullius (land belonging to no one). The assumption the Amazigh World Congress (CMA), Fathi N Khlifa, re- that Saharawi people are the Indigenous people of the cently exemplified this perspective, saying “There is no Western Sahara lies in (at least partial) contradiction Amazigh in North Africa who accepts the establishment to the fact that the region is part of Tamazgha, the his- of an independent Saharawi Arab entity in our region.” toric land of the Indigenous Amazigh people. At the same time, there can be no denying that the While I do believe that Saharawi people are the de- Moroccan state has committed human rights abuses in scendants of Imazighen, Saharawi nationalism has long a process of illegal colonization of the Western Sahara been rooted in oppressive forms of Arab nationalism. which oppresses all Western Saharan people, whether The equivocation of Saharawi and Arab nationalisms or not they identify as Amazigh. We cannot stand on has provided a framework for Western Saharan re- the side of the Moroccan government, a government sistance to Moroccan domination and has also given which has also oppressed us as Indigenous people. It Algeria a basis for supporting the Saharawi nationalist surprises me to find other Imazighen who will defend organization, the Polisario Front. Morocco once the Western Sahara is brought up, despite that they have experienced first-hand the vio- The Polisario Front’s self-declared state, the Saharawi lence enacted by the Moroccan state as a supposedly Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), is a government- ‘backwards’ people to be educated in the name of Islam in-exile and a full member of the African Union, with and pan-Arabism. active foreign relations and even SADR embassies in 18 countries, mostly in Africa. The SADR, however, is I have seen Amazigh identity used and manipulated Nuunja Kahina based on a similar pan-Arabist ideology to that which by Moroccan nationalists in order to pit us against PEOPLE LAND TRUTH OP-ED

Saharawi people over the Western Sahara issue. Arab- As Imazighen, our identities and allegiances cannot be identified Moroccans who have never advocated on tied up with the forces that oppress us. Independent of behalf of Amazigh people wish to use our opposition the disputes between Arab nationalist governments of to the SADR in order to defend Morocco’s occupa- Morocco, Algeria, and the SADR, we must call for free- tion of the territory. We cannot fall into this trap: as dom, justice, and sovereignty for Amazigh people in all Imazighen our perspective must remain independent parts of North Africa – including the Western Sahara. of both Moroccan and Saharawi nationalisms, both of which are rooted in pan-Arabism and are oppressive to Imazighen. Moroccan nationalists are not in support of Amazigh rights and are instead only wishing to use our own resistance struggle to further infringe on the human rights of Saharawi people. 145 As an Amazigh I oppose all forms of colonialism and Indigenous repression in Tamazgha, whether perpetrated by the Moroccan state or the Polisario Front/ SADR government. Neither will bring liberation to Imazighen, including those Imazighen who live in the Western Sahara. Certainly, we will not support a so- called “Arab Democratic Republic” on Amazigh land, but that does not imply supporting the Moroccan state which also identifies itself as a part of the “Great Arab Maghreb.”

Amidst a complicated international conflict, Imazighen should not show allegiance to any particular nation- state and instead put forth an alternative vision for the future of North African, Amazigh lands. While we are not fighting for a united country of ‘Tamazgha’ across all of North Africa, we can put into practice Indigenous solidarity by working together with other Amazigh people across all of the imposed borders of North African states. We must also free Western Saharan nationalist struggle from pan-Arabist ideology in order to create a new meaning of Saharawi identity that is not linked to the foreign, imposed concept of Arab identity. Only by de-linking Saharawi and Arab identities can Western Saharan people recognize and value their In- digenous Amazigh heritage.

A self-governing state in the Western Sahara cannot be based on the oppression of the region’s Indigenous people, so when we talk about ‘self-determination’ and the possibility of a referendum in the Western Sahara, we must question: self-determination for who and on whose terms? For a select group of Arab-identified, Arabic-speaking Saharawis or for the Amazigh inhabitants of the territory? In the discourse of the Western Sahara vs. Morocco conflict, certain voices are silenced: those Imazighen who, whether they live in ‘Morocco’ or the ‘Western Sahara,’ face oppression from all sides.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL Implementing

Indigenous 146 Human Rights Jay Taber

First and foremost of the obstacles to implementing the since the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous rights of indigenous peoples has been the refusal of the Peoples was passed by the UN General Assembly in UN to recognize indigenous nations as political enti- 2007, this call for the full participation of indigenous ties worthy of participation in UN decision-making. If peoples and indigenous governments in implementing the governing authorities of indigenous nations remain the Declaration is long overdue. As governing authori- excluded from UN diplomatic processes, indigenous ties, the Indian nations made it clear that this action peoples will remain marginalized from discussions on must be taken in order to stem the increasing worldwide world issues. violations of indigenous rights and violence inflicted on indigenous communities as a result of competition for Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous natural resources in indigenous territories. Issues in May 2013, 72 Indian nations in the United States jointly proposed action be taken to give indig- As the delegates speaking to the Permanent Forum enous peoples — especially indigenous constitutional noted, “Sadly, we cannot yet say that the Declaration and customary governments — a dignified and appropri- has reduced the attempts to destroy indigenous cul- ate status for participating regularly in UN activities. As tures and societies, or the taking of indigenous home- a problem that has already been studied and examined lands and resources, or the economic marginalization within the UN system, they noted, “it is time to take of indigenous peoples. Without effective implement- action at last so that indigenous peoples do not have ing measures and without international monitoring of to call themselves NGOs or depend upon ad hoc resolu- indigenous peoples’ rights, the purposes of the Decla- tions to be able to participate in UN meetings, process- ration cannot be achieved.” In proposing action to be es, and events.” taken at the 2014 UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, these Indian nation representatives observed Given the persistent marginalization of indigenous that indigenous parliaments, assemblies and councils governing authorities by the UN and its member states are not NGOs, and recommended the UN World Confer-

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL

their own governments. of international human rights law, but that isn’t on the Secretary of State’s mind when issuing the annual Democratizing the international community, however, report demonizing America’s enemies and whitewashing cannot be limited to the international institutions cre- America’s pals. ated by modern states. As indigenous nations assert their human rights of self-determination and self-gov- Knowing American media will uncritically leap on any ernance, new institutions are required. Something my State Department press release condemning suppos- colleague Rudolph C. Ryser addresses in his 2012 book, edly rogue or miscreant states, the U.S. Government has Indigenous Nations and Modern States. little fear of exposure for such vast hypocrisy. Having been long reined in and embedded, the domestic Fourth Initially, the U.S. Government countermanded efforts Estate will not even bother to examine these reports for by the fledgling United Nations to establish a human accuracy. With PR firms in tow, the State Department 147 rights regime at all. Later, it found it could be a tool to can outsource propaganda to suit the occasion, confi- attack their foes from a position of moral superiority it dent it will be on the front page of the New York Times assumed as the victor in the recently ended world war. or on CNN tomorrow. Even as the US adopted a global agenda to undermine national sovereignty during the Cold War, it dressed its While a few independent monitors of human rights foreign policy in the cloak of human rights for domestic situations publish online, the big international NGOs are consumption. often corrupted by the power and prestige of rubbing elbows with state and corporate underlings, and have While much was made of the United Nations decision recently become more compliant with the US hege- to establish a Human Rights Council in 2006, those monic project. Given this scenario, we need to look at who’ve witnessed the evolution of this institution are some of the facts associated with US aggression toward well aware that the UN was designed by (and functions international human rights law since its outset. to serve) the interests of modern states and their sup- plicants, not the Indigenous nations they rule. Looking In 2007, when the UN General Assembly adopted the at Israel — a state created by the UN — and its ongoing Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the human rights abuses toward the indigenous peoples of US was one of four countries in the world that opposed Palestine, we can see how the UN has actually been an it. Along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the obstacle to peaceful political development. By acceding US had to be embarrassed into even a half-hearted, to American demands for crippling economic sanctions duplicitous endorsement years later. As with other against Palestine, the UN has undermined their ability aspects of international human rights law, the US has to manage their own affairs, in turn creating the des- been a hindrance rather than a leader. As it continues to peration and humanitarian crisis to which cynical NGOs attack guarantors of Indigenous human rights like the often cater. plurinational state of Bolivia, it is up to unembedded journalists and activists to see that US hypocrisy is not Not mincing words, Dr.Ryser — Chair of the Center for rewarded. World Indigenous Studies – stated, “The UN Human Rights Council stands as one of the significant obstacles While the US and the UN leave a lot to desire in their to dynamic political development in the Fourth World. performance on human rights compliance, they remain Many individuals and the peoples they represent in the integral to the international human rights regime. If we Fourth World have come to believe that the UN Human are ever to see human rights observed in practice rather Rights Council will relieve their pain from the violence than on paper, we will first have to bring them to heel. of colonialism. It cannot, and it will not.” Given the U.S. influence as a permanent UN Security The misuse of the concept of human rights by the U.S. Council member, it is fanciful to think the UN will ever State Department to further U.S. Government interests is be able to deliver on full human rights implementa- pretty blatant: tyrants who side with the Pentagon and tion for indigenous nations. That can only happen in Wall Street are OK; everyone else is bad. Of course, if a neutral setting, where the diplomatic missions of we examine the record of the United States itself, there indigenous nations and modern states come together on would be few contenders for worst perpetrator of abuse an equal footing to resolve grievances and to negotiate

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH EDITORIAL

Since the UN General Assembly declaration in 2007, the in May, indigenous governments must have a dignified UN bureaucracy — in order to provide cover for REDD and appropriate status at the UN in order to end viola- carbon-market trading by transnational corporations tion of indigenous rights by its member states. Until and investment banks — has actively excluded indig- indigenous nations are fully participating members of enous nations delegates from participating in climate the UN, violations and violence inflicted on indigenous change talks. In Poznan, Copenhagen and Cancun, the communities will likely continue to increase. UN repeatedly found new ways to silence indigenous peoples. As such, dispelling the notion of the UN as an As indigenous nations and modern states seek a path honest broker is critical to understanding the need for to establishing constructive solutions to long festering new institutions that aren’t controlled by states and conflicts, national and international institutions will markets. Otherwise, as Dr. Ryser stated, “The UN prom- need to be invented and reinvented. With the UN World ises to permanently lock these nations into a cage of Conference on Indigenous Peoples scheduled for Sep- political subjugation.” tember 2014, it is perhaps not too soon to begin. 148

While consultations between indigenous nations and As human inventions of political organization, modern modern states worldwide — mostly over resource ex- states have served some purposes well, others not so. traction and development proposals — are in the news, The bottom line in critiquing this institution from a so- little has been said about conditions for consultations. cial point of view, of course, is does it meet our needs? Since states and corporations are seeking to lend the If not, then what new and additional forms of organiza- appearance of meeting the free, prior and informed tion might? consent standard set by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it might seem reasonable These and other critical questions are now being asked that indigenous nations place conditions on how these by activists and scholars alike. Since the answers are consultations are conducted. apparently not coming from within the modern state apparatus, where might we find them? In Peru, indigenous peoples recently withdrew from a consultation until the state addressed longstanding One place that is being investigated is within traditional items of neglect, the logic being that if the state cannot governing systems of indigenous nations. As the parent resolve existing grievances over health, education and political structures that spawned modern states, they the environment, then why should indigenous nations have both a greater perspective and depth of experience meet to discuss allowing corporations additional access dealing with meeting human needs. As we venture into to resources in their territories. One of the indigenous the 21st Century increasingly adrift from our democratic proposals in Peru is to establish state institutions de- moorings, perhaps we would benefit from taking stock signed to interact inclusively with indigenous nations, of how we arrived at this impasse, and from reassess- so that grievances and proposals can be discussed and ing the utility of modern states and the international resolved. institutions they in turn created.

In the follow-up to the June 2013 international confer- Suffice to say that human development and internation- ence of indigenous nations in Alta, Norway, Quinault al relations haven’t come to an end; nor is the United Indian Nation president Fawn Sharp called for a similar Nations, as an institution, the be all and end all when it protocol at the UN, in which indigenous nations would comes to global organizations. We can create additional have a seat at the table. As Sharp noted, “Indigenous ones as we see fit. nations and each U.N. member now have clearly focused issues on which to base government-to-government As we work to create a democratized international negotiations. These negotiations can help eliminate community, using our imaginations intelligently and violence against indigenous nations caused by rampant constructively will create new opportunities for peace- development which pollute lands and waters and force ful and more effective means of solving problems and Indigenous Peoples out of their territories.” resolving conflict. Coupled with our growing awareness of how we are governed and the need for change, all As Quinault and 71 other American Indian nations pro- that is left is our resolve and commitment to making it posed at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues happen.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH 149 It begins with respect

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH Photo by Tim Russo / ImagenArte

It begins 150 with respect

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW the meaning of living well for the Tseltal 151 & Tsotsil Mayans of Chiapas By Jeff Conant

A dialogue with Pedro Hernández Luna and Miguel San- years ago, now in Chiapas a generation of autocthonous chez Alvarez concerning el lekil kuxlejal, June 29, 2013 scholars is bringing to light – theorizing, they would say – the local understanding of buen vivir: a concept Throughout the Americas and the world, the name articulated in Tseltal and Tsotsil as el lek’il kuxlejal. of Chiapas, Mexico, has become synonymous with struggles for indigenous resistance. From the First I first encountered el lekil kuxlejal in 2009 in a book by Indigenous Congress held in San Cristóbal de las Casas scholar Antonio Paoli called Education, Autonomy, and in 1974 to the 1994 uprising in which the Zapatista lekil kuxlejal. Paoli resists a simple definition of lekil Army of National Liberation launched a struggle for land kuxlejal in favor of giving its socio-linguistic context and liberty that would change the political geography amidst related concepts such as k’inal, (meaning of Mexico and shake loose historical memory across the environment, including both ecosystem and mind) and continent and around the world, to the 2001 March for the broader slamalil k’inal, a tranquility of mind on Indigenous Dignity in which thousands descended on which the state of lekil kuxlejal depends. “lekil kuxlejal, Mexico City to demand that the congress of the nation or buen vivir,” Paoli writes, “is not a utopia, because it amend the constitution to include a Law of Indigenous is not a non-existent dream. No, lekil kuxlejal has been Rights and Culture, Chiapas has been at the vibrant degraded but not extinguished, and it is possible to heart of the construction of new forms of indigenous recover it.” struggle and territorial autonomy. Through reading, I’ve come to understand lekil kuxlejal One set of beliefs, generally translated as el buen vivir, as a kind of ethical compass and motivating force in or living well, is at the heart of indigenous resistance. Tseltal and Tsotsil life; the root of agreements in the A similar concept, the Quechua notion of sumak causay, family and the community, in the practices of agriculture gained a certain recognition among climate justice and governance, of medicine and stewardship. activists following the Cochabamba People’s Summit Eager to learn more, I sought out two Chiapaneco on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth scholars – two of what seems to be a generation of convened by President Evo Morales of Bolivia in 2009. Mayan intellectuals turning the lens of scholarship As sumak causay was brought to the awareness of the on their own cultural knowledge and practice. Pedro non-indigenous by Andean social movements a few Hernández Luna (Tseltal Maya) and Miguel Sanchez

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW

Alvarez (Tsotsil Maya) are scholars associated with the Mexico there is a vision of development seen from the Intercultural University of Chiapas (UNICH), an institute dominant culture, but we see a vision of development of research and higher education devoted to scholarship based in the language, the earth, the culture, the sacred that fosters and strengthens indigenous cultural places. Since the colonial period, they’ve imposed knowledge and identity. I sat down with them in a café Christian evangelism. We weren’t even people, we in San Cristóbal de las Casas to talk about lek’il kuxlejal. were animals – we didn’t even have a soul according to the Spaniards. This doesn’t just bring ethnocide, but Jeff Conant: Do you see el lek’il kuxlejal as an alternative linguicide, epistemicide [the killing of ways of thought], to Western notions of development? cosmocide [the killing of entire worlds]. It brings an ongoing destruction. Pedro Hernández: The proposal of lek’il kuxlejal is not another model of development, but it’s how we Despite this, our ancestors have always continued see our own development. The Zapatistas have put building this vision in a way that is simple, humble – as 152 it in practice, and for the government, for outsiders, E.F. Schumacher said, small is beautiful. Because the it appears contradictory – how are these indigenous human being is small, human production should be people going to have development if they don’t accept small. The most humble way, then, is the life of buen government programs, schools, television? But unless vivir, lek’il kuxlejal. It doesn’t seek wealth or domination, you’ve lived through hunger, you’re not going to find it but peace. easy to understand these other ways of seeing, and of constructing the world. The other system is one of domination, pillage, destruction, violence. The UN claims to uphold policies This is an unreachable hope that goes beyond the of equality, justice, the patrimony of humanity, but desire for material goods. There needs to be much it is violating its own policies, violating the rights of greater understanding of the perspectives of indigenous peoples, leaving aside the rights of peoples even as it peoples, and even many non-indigenous peoples who says it is protecting them. share this commitment to a different way. Returning back to the milpa, to the mazorca – we Miguel Sanchez: In Mexico, in Latin America, in the see that amidst this political approach in Mexico, world, there are two models of development broadly copied from Europe, from the U.S., people continue speaking. There are many of course, but for clarity, let’s maintaining their own forms of use and management say there are two – they are the globalized system, the of their territories. They continue maintaining the system that dominates, that is hegemonic for many forests, the soils, the language. The corn and beans are people in the world. In Mexico specifically, all of the being multiplied still, but with a great threat that the policies—education, health, environment—who defines acculturation is penetrating very strongly, and it puts at them? The United Nations. The UN defines lines of risk the permanence of our cosmovisions, our practices, development, but for us as indigenous peoples the our knowledge. concept of development doesn’t exist. In Tseltal, in Tsotsil, development doesn’t exist. The concept comes So, here there’s a grave problem. Fortunately, speaking from natural sciences and was adopted by Harry Truman from the social sciences, we have a base to work – that development is growth, accumulation, opulence. from: the great work is where to go from here, how But from our viewpoint, nature is not just the mazorca, do we advance the notion of buen vivir, living well. the ear of corn that is the product, but the entire milpa It begins with respect, with no aggression, with the [the Mayan cornfield] and the milpa doesn’t grow understanding that we are part of the universe, that we without the social base, without the Mother Earth. are children of the earth. This is the beginning of el lek’il kuxlejal. There is corn in different colors – white, blue, red, yellow. And there are still more different colors if JC: In your vision, what are the perverse effects of the we mix these – they are so diverse, just like us. This neoliberal model of conservation? imposition of a political economy defined by the UN and the dominant nations brings a grave problem – the Pedro Hernández: When we talk about conservation, loss of knowledge of our ways of life. In the case of there is a wide gap between Western and indigenous

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW

understandings. In Tsotsil and Tseltal, the word Miguel Sanchez: Ch’ul os’il balamil means respect for “conservation” doesn’t exist. We could look for the earth. It’s a philosophical principle if we want to equivalents, but that would be the wrong approach; see it that way. Ix ta’muk is to take ourselves at our instead we need to value our own traditional most grand, to dignify the universe, to dignify the understandings. earth, to dignify life. The iloletik, the traditional prayer- makers and midwives, still maintain this vision and they First, conservation why, and for what? The Natural continue venerating the earth, the mountains, the home. Protected Areas implemented by the Mexican government bring about a huge separation between Among the principles of buen vivir are common work; nature and society, whereas, from the point of view comun pas’kin, community celebration; comun chapanel, of indigenous peoples, we see ourselves as part of collective governance, the way communities work things nature. We have our own community reserves, with their out collectively in assemblies. 153 classifications, and we have what in conservation they would call nucleus areas, but we don’t prohibit anyone But we can also recognize the decomposition of these from taking plants, from using wood, from gathering ways. Now, we can’t find a pure expression of lek’il mushrooms, because this is all part of the life of the kuxlejal that hasn’t been changed by these international community. There are many communities that have institutions, but its still present. It’s there in the fallen into the neoliberal model, that have learned to celebration of sacred places. In Huixtan we’ve identified look at a mountain and see dollar signs. But there are more than 220 sacred places that have prehispanic, still many who have not. There’s a great wealth among colonial, and contemporary antecedents. our ancestors who see nature as an extension of the community, and the community as part of nature. Another principle of buen vivir is education in the family and the community that transmits knowledge For example, the iloles or curanderos, and the midwives, in a way that is much more powerful than state- who pray on behalf of life, who pray for health, who sponsored education. The problem is that this has been evoke the gods. Our fathers go to the milpa to pray, and marginalized. How to do you produce a chicken, or a this keeps the milpa alive and keeps the form of prayer turkey, for example? This is a teaching you don’t learn alive as well. in school. All of this knowledge – how do you cultivate corn? Children now aren’t learning this. So this is an JC: In the Western model of conservation, the idea is to important part of buen vivir. set aside natural places where nobody can go, or where people can go but can’t make any use of the plants and How do international policies affect this? For example, animals there. In your communities, are there places like they decree these biosphere reserves in Mexico, but this, maybe sacred places, where no one should go? the people don’t know their importance, the wealth of plants, of animals – they’re isolated. They say it’s Pedro Hernández: Independent of the idea of dangerous for the Indians to enter there because they’re conservation, for many communities there are sacred going to take an axe and cut it all down. But, if there places, and it’s important to maintain the significance of were common work, a more harmonious relationship these places. In the occidental vision, I pay you so you’ll between people and the land, we wouldn’t have this protect this place, but don’t touch anything in the forest. problem. On television they are announcing that But it’s precisely due to the intervention of humans children should go to the jungle to draw pictures in the forest that we find the richest biodiversity in because it’s very pretty, but they keep out our indigenous territories. communities because we might destroy it.

Part of our informal education is that the sacred places This doesn’t mean I’m against the Reserves. The are the places we visit most – it’s not that you don’t problem is the policy of exclusion. They have protected go, but that you have to know how to go, and how to areas, but they’re not even helping to educate the present yourself. You have to ask permission for certain children about these areas; they’ve broken the activities. If you don’t know how to ask, you have to ask cosmovision. These are the great challenges, the great in the way you know. threats to el buen vivir.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW

But buen vivir is not just for us the indigenous peoples, we’ve always resisted, we’ve always been conscious of the Mayas, the Zoques, Quichuas, Aymaras. It has to the crisis we’re living through. I think right now, in the serve global society. We have to achieve a synthesis crisis of civilization, that they hear us, that they listen because the capitalist system has to end. We may not to us, that we’re present. We’re in a moment of a lot of see it, but our great, great grandchildren will. They’re movement for these reasons. going to live this collapse. Our ancestors saw that this moment would be a We see it like this: we can destroy all the wealth of the moment of transformation. There is a waking up, but earth, but we’ll destroy ourselves, like the dinosaurs. we haven’t connected much, we haven’t built a greater Now we’re going to use up all the petroleum, and then unity, due to national borders. The entire Maya nation what? So, here, I think its not that we’re so important, should be connected to brothers in Canada, in the it’s that if we’re extinguished by el cho’pol kux’lejal – South, among ourselves. There is a subterranean river bad living – we lose. How do we ensure that this ear of that is connecting us, that has always connected us, 154 corn can continue to grow with all of these colors? by way of our rejection of certain programs, by way of resisting. Our Mayan ancestors were able to adapt. They didn’t just disappear, they dispersed into small pueblos, We see this in GMOs, in biofuels, in African palm and here we are. We are very adaptable. Hopefully in plantations. We’ve always resisted, and we get together some moment, the big wealthy people can separate and we plant the milpa as our way of resisting. themselves from their wealth. They need to stop using Communal forms of organizing, sharing knowledge, so much oil, food, water, metals, energy, everything. sharing seeds, sharing the different varieties of Their opulence is our destruction. chickens, of turkeys, all of this has to do with buen vivir. But it gets constantly weakened by the question of JC: When you say there’s a crisis now, do you mean capital. just now as in the contemporary moment, or are you referring to the crisis of the past 500 years? JC: Can you have buen vivir in the cities?

Miguel Sanchez: Yes, there has always been a crisis. Miguel Sanchez: If the people open up to it, I think so. But it’s accelerated due to the extractive model of If they realize that we can’t be dependent on Walmart, development. Since the industrial revolution, how many on Sam’s. It’s important to have commerce, but it needs cultures have been destroyed? Fromm the 1950’s until to be balanced. I’d say that el lekil kuxlejal means a now in Chiapas, not just the Catholic Church but the simple life, it means no accumulation or excessive Protestant Church too has atomized the communities. consumption. So in fact it should begin in the cities.

We have a lot of work to do to keep denouncing, to JC: What is the role of lekil kuxlejal in intercultural keep protesting. This is the importance of the role that education? we play, the professors. There’s still a lot of fear of the indigenous question – that the indigenous ‘wakes up’. Pedro Hernández: They use the term ‘informal Well, look, we’ve always been awake. We’ve never been education,’ but it’s poorly named. It’s formal in that it without historical consciousness, we’re always aware forms us – this child knows how to plant the milpa, this of what we’re living through. Those without historical child knows how to make posole, this child knows how memory are the wealthy. to hunt. That’s true formation.

JC: What does the current moment of indigenous They can put these words in the Constitution, that peoples’ uprising have to do with lek’il kuxlejal? we have a right to culturally appropriate education, but as long as there’s not a just distribution of what Miguel Sanchez: The truth is, the indigenous uprising this country produces, the whole thing remains empty has never stopped. The politicians now just know rhetoric. more quickly because of the communications media. In this way, we’re seeing a resurgence of the indigenous Miguel Sanchez: We have been formed by an occidental movement, but at the same time, its always present – education system, we’ve been contaminated by it

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW

you could say, but over time, we’ve come to reclaim Egyptians, of the Arabs, but not the Maya. But 1000 the epistemology of our mothers. We can do this by years ago, the Mayans had a very sophisticated science, way of the rural path, the campesino path, but also mathematics, astronomy, medicine, agriculture. by way of the academic path. We have to eliminate the bias against becoming academics, just as we So it’s important that we develop an understanding of have to eliminate the bias against being rural people, our own science and of our philosophy, and at the same agricultural people. time to take a stance that is critical, even rebellious, toward Western science. Pedro Hernández: Little by little we go decolonizing, recognizing agricultural knowledge, forest management, The Popul Vuh says the world began in dust and systems of justice, of education, of governance, we silence, and that’s what Western science has come to need to recover these great bodies of knowledge in understand, and it’s good to see these confluences. But, 155 the question of the relation people have with the look at our hands, we have ten fingers, and each one environment, the family, the community. How does a is a different road we can walk down. When we talk community organize itself to do communal work, to about the development of seeds, the domestication of sanction those who don’t do their part, to avoid abuse of turkeys, of chayote, of yucca, this is science, these are resources? When they take up their cargo [the traditional technologies, and these are roads the Maya have gone form of individual service to the community], its not down. because they’re avoiding sanctions, but because they are doing what the community requires of them. I’ll say it again: our ancestors were great mathematicians. My father, when he would wake up We also can’t fall into an idealization of indigenous before dawn, he could look at the sky and know exactly communities. Buen vivir isn’t free of conflict – in our what time it was. Isn’t that science? Now, I don’t have assemblies we have conflicts, but the community that ability. I feel a great sadness in my heart that we’ve assembly has a tremendous capacity to come to an lost too much. There are things we’ll never recover. agreement through the conflict. The community exists because of the tensions—the process of working through El buen vivir isn’t a discourse, it’s a way of life, and that’s conflict is the practice of producing and reproducing the hard part, it’s how to make a life. We can do this the community. We have understand this—to talk about with a certain amount of technology, but as Schumacher buen vivir, we have to begin with decolonization of said, small is beautiful. We need to practice pijil winik, knowledge, of our own perspectives. the management of time; we need to control the machines, not be controlled by them. JC: It seems to me it must be a great challenge to apply academic frameworks to your own cultures, and to Where el buen vivir has been forgotten, technology fills bring to light indigenous forms of knowing through a the void. I’m not against the use of high technologies, fundamentally western form of constructing knowledge. but against their abuse, and the monopoly of them. An example is agrochemicals and transgenics – these are Miguel Sanchez: lekil kuxlejal is a concept that has a perverse technologies because they’re about controlling philosophical base, and has always existed in practice, the entire agricultural base. but now we’re doing the academic work of theorizing it. It’s a great shame that when we bring these ideas Pedro Hernández: Buen vivir is not just ‘harmony with forth, we’re told that we need to cite Badiou, Marx, nature’, this romantic vision of indigenous peoples. I Hegel, Aristotle, that otherwise it’s invalid. We have to think we can use this romanticism, but really this is a decolonize all of this – and to remember that these political project. Shamanism and all of that, this is a ideas already have form, already have life. part, but just one part. Every pueblo in Mexico has its For us, its important to know the history of humanity, to own version of buen vivir, and the challenge is to see know Socrates and the Greeks and the Western canon, how to come to agreements so that we can transform but to know it in a way that’s engaged with a diversity these into policies. But it’s for the present also, it’s in of thinking. When I speak of indigenous science, the practice – I always say that the best school we have indigenous technology, no one knows these terms. is in the milpa, and the richest library we have is in our Science makes us think of Asia, of Europe, of the ancient grandparents.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH INTERVIEW

Bios Miguel Sánchez Álvarez, Pedro Hernandez Luna, Jeff Conant

Tsotsil Maya social anthropologist Miguel Sánchez Álvarez of Huixtan, Chiapas, is a Professor at the Intercultural University of Chiapas. His books include Jok’osik una comunidad tsotsil en transición, 1997; Los tzotziles-tzeltales y su relación con la fauna silvestre, 2000; Sistemas y tecnología de producción agrícola en Huixtán, Chiapas, 2006; Territorio y culturas en Huixtán, Chiapas, 2012, as well as numerous manuals and glossaries in Tsotsil, Tseltal, Ch’ol, Tojol-ab’al and Zoque. 156

Pedro Hernàndez Luna, Tseltal Maya from the ejido Jerusalèn, Las Margaritas, Chiapas, holds a degree in Sustainable Development from the Intercultural University of Chiapas and a degree in Rural Development from the Autonomous Metropolitan University, Xochimilco.He has published studies in numerous books on indigenous science and knowledge, self-determination, lekil kuxlejal, interculturality, and indigenous and community rights.

Jeff Conantis a U.S.-based writer, journalist and educator whose books include A Poetics of Resistance: The Revolutionary Public Relations of the Zapatista Insurgency; A Community Guide to Environmental Health, and a translation, Wind in the Blood: Mayan Healing and Chinese Medicine. As an environmental human rights advocate he currently heads the International Forests program for Friends of the Earth-US.

PEOPLE LAND TRUTH PEOPLE LAND TRUTH w www.intercontinentalcry.org e [email protected] t @indigenous_news @intentlcry f fb.com/Intercontinental.Cry