Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas are still struggling to be heard, reports Veronica Balderas- Iglesias From 19 to 23 July, over 1,000 representatives of indigenous peoples and communities from all over the world joined government delegates, non-governmental organisations and United Nations agencies in Geneva for the 22nd session of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP). The main discussion was entitled "Indigenous peoples and conflict resolution". Participants looked at the root causes of conflict between indigenous peoples on the one hand, and states and non-indigenous groups on the other, and exchanged views on the validity of land titles and ownership. Another issue under discussion was the dishonouring of treaties signed between indigenous peoples and governments. In 1982 indigenous representatives participated for the first time in the UN. They demanded full respect for cultural specificities and for their right to self-determination. So far, little has been achieved. One of the main problems facing native communities in the Americas, as Iñigo Arbiol Oñate of UNESCO's Regional Bureau for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean told Al- Ahram Weekly, is that "the UN has not adopted a specific definition for indigenous peoples. However there are other international definitions that highlight the native groups' unique characteristics." The World Bank considers indigenous peoples to be those groups who have a strong attachment to their ancestral territories, traditional political, social and economic institutions and systems and indigenous languages. According to International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates 142.5 million indigenous people live in Latin America. Ninety per cent live in Bolivia, Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru. And although the communities are concentrated in those states, the entire continent is rich in biodiversity, and to preserve their pristine lands, the native peoples have often raised their voices against the threat that globalisation and the launch of mega-projects represent. Mining in Ecuador, for example, has received a strong boost in the last three years, to the point that more than 20 percent of Ecuadorian territory has been given in concessions to diverse international mining companies. This has provoked numerous clashes between indigenous communities and miners. The town of Pichincha -- located only two hours from Ecuador's capital -- is part of one of the country's 25 zones richest in biodiversity. It is also a zone of agricultural and dairy livestock production, and has great potential for tourism. It contains pre-Colombian ruins, recognised by the National Institute of Cultural Patrimony and the Fund of Salvation of Cultural Patrimony (FONSAL), an organisation that has also demanded a halt to mining activities in the area. At the start of July, the miners announced their decision to temporarily suspend their activities in order to take part in a peace dialogue mediated by the authorities. The talks were unsuccessful because the indigenous community is not willing to negotiate its decision. Similarly, the over-exploitation of natural resources is seen as destructive in the Amazon basin that contains the world's largest tropical rainforest. According to the environmental organisation Amazon Watch, deforestation is fuelled by globalisation and the large-scale development projects it entails, such as the construction of new roads, power lines, oil and gas pipelines and dams and massive timbering operations. While globalisation has improved communications and networking among indigenous communities and led to a sense of belonging in a global society, it also gives way to neo-colonial exploitation. There are concerns that it might cause the unfair assimilation of indigenous peoples into dominant societies. Racism has also affected the lives of the Latin American indigenous peoples. In many cases the offenders are their own white countrymen and women. During this year's Miss Universe Pageant in Quito, Ecuador, Gabriela Oviedo was called a racist and her resignation as Miss Bolivia was even called for by some critics. Before the final competition she was asked in an interview what she thought was the gravest misconception about her country. Her answer was: "Um... unfortunately... La Paz's is the only image that we project" and that there are "poor people and very short people and Indian people ... I'm from the other side of the country, the east side and it's not cold, it's very hot and we are tall and we are white people and we know English." Actually Bolivia's population is 55 per cent Indian, 30 per cent mestizo (mixed) and 15 per cent white. Even Bolivian Vice-Minister of Culture Maria Alvarez Plata called Oviedo's statements "lamentable" and declared that "no person who represents us has the right to have such a racist outlook." For native peoples, not having indigenous representatives in beauty contests is not as problematic as being excluded altogether from gaining membership -- and even observation status -- in regional and international bodies. Despite the official recognition of indigenous peoples in national legislation and constitutional law, in countries such as Ecuador and Suriname their rights are not by any means granted. For now, most problematic of all, of course, is the fact that the majority of Latin American indigenous peoples continue to live in poverty or extreme poverty. In 1994, at the start of UN Decade for Indigenous Peoples, the World Bank published a study entitled Indigenous People and Poverty in Latin America: An Empirical Analysis. It documented that in Bolivia, while more than half of the total population is poor, over three- quarters of the monolingual indigenous population is poor. In Guatemala, while 38 per cent of all households are poor, 87 percent of indigenous households are poor and lack access to drinkable water, sanitation and electricity. In Mexico, municipalities where less than 10 per cent of the population is indigenous have a poverty rate of 18 percent; municipalities where more than 70 per cent of the population is indigenous have a poverty rate of over 80 percent. Therefore, the solutions to the problems faced by indigenous populations must first and foremost be sought by viewing their plight within an economic context. "To fight against poverty we must delegate more power to the poor. We must support the initiatives to promote their development with health, education and stable jobs. The participation of all sectors of society is expected," said Raquel Poitevien, Venezuela's representative to this year's WGIP. Last but not least, indigenous peoples have underlined the importance of education and access to professional training for their children. The school curricula, they say, should contain adequate information on the history, culture and tradition of the native peoples of each region. Indigenous languages that were moribund -- by virtue of no longer being learnt by children -- 20 years ago may be extinct today. Leaders argue that teaching in the native languages needs to be promoted. Most of the indigenous languages in Latin America are spoken by fewer than 5,000 people. Tehuelche -- once the principal language in Patagonia -- is now nearly extinct and Oluteco -- an indigenous language of Veracruz, Mexico -- is only spoken by about a dozen elderly people. The World Bank is updating its documentation on the situation of indigenous peoples in Latin America to coincide with the end of the UN Decade for Indigenous Peoples. Nevertheless, statisticians say that indigenous areas are often under-surveyed due to civil conflict and geographic isolation. Meanwhile on 9 August the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples will be celebrated. It will provide a new opportunity for indigenous representatives to promote the idea that if only states were to globalise peace, human rights, and respect for diversity and the environment, globalisation would be beneficial for all. Their call, though poorly represented, is a powerful one.
