CWIS Related questions

Q. I humbly write to request for information on how I can play a role or participate in your organization, Kenya, East Africa. Thanks.

A. There are a few roles that people can play in connection with the Center for World Indigenous Studies. You could participate as a Research or Program Intern while remaining in Kenya.  If you were interested in an internship I would invite you to submit an application online.  By way of the application we can determine in what ways CWIS can work with you to support your interests and ways in which your interests will support the mission of the Center. Your Internship would fall under one of our Programs:  Forum for Global Exchange, Education Department or the Center for Traditional Medicine. You could be a Research Associate by submitting your resume or a letter of interest explaining your research interests. Upon approval of your submissions we would mutually determine the nature of your research, publication of your findings and work to facilitate your contribution to addressing important concerns of indigenous peoples. Your work would be coordinated with the Forum for Global Exchange and the Fourth World Documentation Program.

In either one of these positions you will be eligible to directly participate in CWIS Education Department learning opportunities by enrolling in some of our online courses in either the fields of Traditional Healing Arts and Sciences or Fourth World Studies. Either way, I invite you consider establishing a relationship with the Center.

Q. I'm interested in getting more information about your internship...

A.  Thank you for your interest in the CWIS internship.  We offer internships only in Olympia, Washington that run from at least three months up to a year.  They are unpaid but you receive excellent experience working with us in a variety of projects.  Internships are tailored to your interests and we try to encourage growth for each intern. You can read more about it at http://www.cwis.org/olyintern.htm. If you are interested, fill out the online application and we will be in touch with you.

Q: How can get all your publications whenever they are produce? How can my organization be affiliated with cwis?

A: Thank you for your inquiry and interest in CWIS. All of our publications are available on our web page. Anytime we have a new publication, we will indicate it on our front page news at cwis.org. As for your second question, we do not have any formal affiliation program. We exchange links with other organizations and consult with each other for problem solving. Let me know what your organization is and we can go from there.

Q: My name is Preben. I am a Belgian student in Political Science - International Relations. Before I started these studies I studied Communications (Journalism). Because of a course called ´Problems and Facts of the Society´in which we also dealth with indigenous people, I wanted to know more about what´s going on in different countries and cultures throughout the world.

Therefore I decided to start studying Political Science - International Relations. Compared to other students or most of the students, you can clearly see the reason why I chose for these specific studies. I came on this website before, but lost the URL. Luckily I found it back now. That´s why I take contact immediately.

Is it possible to send me more information about the Center for World Indigenous Studies, its publications and events throughout the year (all over the world) by post? You will find all my contact information at the bottom of this mail.

Because I remember once we watched a documentary in the class room on an event with different indigenous communities somewhere in Norway. If you know this and other, similar events, I would like to know more about this as well. Thank you very much.

A: Thank you for your interest in the Center for World Indigenous Studies. In order to keep costs low, we provide all of our organizational information on our web page, www.cwis.org. Unfortunately, we do not have information to send via post. If you ever have any questions in particular regarding indigenous nations, please contact us again.

Indigenous people and territories

Q. I am a law student from Germany and I am writing a report about indigenous people or better I am trying to find out, if there is a international covenant which is saying that indigenous people become the owners of the territory they occupied, because of the special relations they have to the land and maybe due the long time, they occupied the land. Did the ICJ deal with problems like that before?

A. International law is sparse and often quiet on the question of territorial rights of indigenous peoples. Indeed, since international law is actually laws for the benefit and interests of States' governments it is unlikely that such international law will actually come into being.  The usual reference to "land rights" is actually couched in terms of State-determined regulation of indigenous peoples' occupation of land.  States' governments carefully avoid references to "territory" since to accept such a term would negate a State's own territorial claims.

So, to be clear, it is usually in domestic State law that you will find a possible reference to the right to land due to long-term occupation.  That right is controlled by the State and therefore has limited meaning to an indigenous population. Original, or inherent rights are often suggested yet the State will claim ultimate sovereignty.

This view, is of course contrary to the view held by many Fourth World nations (indigenous peoples).  The only place one might find the reference to territorial right is contained in the International Covenant on the Rights of Indigenous Nations that was initialed in Geneva in 1994.  It is a covenant between Fourth World nations and does not have States' government sanction.

Q. Dear Friends, I am Mike of Tanzania, I am very happy to request you if you have done any kind of study about Indigenous People and sovereignty in Tanzania or Africa. If so Can I have the copy and look what is look like. I am study Anthropology.
Thanking you in advance.

A. A good place to start is to enter your search words into our search bar on our web page, www.cwis.org. To get you started, take a look at the following two resources:
1. The Human Rights Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Africa. Mr. Parkipuny delivered these remarks before the Sixth Session of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Genéve, Switzerland on August 3, 1989, http://www.cwis.org/fwj/22/hra.htm. 2. International Law and Politics Toward a Right to Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples, http://www.cwis.org/fwdp/International/int.txt. I hope this helps and good luck with your research and feel free to email me if you have any additional questions.

Indigenous Peoples and the U.N.

Q: My name is Anna and I am senior at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I am majoring in International Affairs with a minor in Anthropology. I am currently working on the last semester of my senior honors thesis. Its title is "Indigenous People's Rights: Case Studies of Australia, Japan and the United States."

In my research I have come across your organization and its many contributions to Fourth World studies. I believe it is important to include the perspective of a body so knowledgeable about indigenous rights. I would like to get in touch with someone from your organization in order to obtain information to include in my thesis. Of particular interest to me would be your organization's outlook on the future of indigenous rights and the impact of the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

A: When looking at the issue of indigenous rights and the impact of the UN Declaration, you need to consider the geopolitics of a State (USA, Japan, Canada) versus a Nation (Navajo, Mapuche, Maori). The United Nations is a vehicle through which States communicate about various issues, one of which is how to deal with the issues of indigenous groups living within their boarders. In most cases, these indigenous group have not elected or even consented to being part of a State identity or system. From the State perspective, they would rather have indigenous groups folded into the state system and basically disappear thus giving the State access to all the land and natural resources. From my humble perspective, it's hard to imaging any indigenous group ever getting their rights 'granted' to them by any State through the United Nations system. Indigenous nations themselves need to stand up and assert their original sovereignty. Trying to do so through the United Nations is not going to work because the UN is set up for States, not Nations. I hope this helps give you an additional perspective.

To learn more about all of this, I suggest you read "Fourth World Nations in the Era of Globalization: An Introduction to Contemporary theorizing Posed
by Indigenous Nations" http://www.cwis.org/fwj/41/fworld.html  and BACKGROUND ON THE TERM "FOURTH WORLD"
http://www.cwis.org/fwdp/International/fourthw.txt.

Q: To whom it may concern,

Namibia had a draft resolution that was accepted and waiting to be passed for the rights of the Indigenous peoples, but recently Namibia convinced many other countries to allow the delaying of the passing of the draft resolution because certain clauses go against African sentiment. Now I am so completely confused about what to say on this topic. Can you PLEASE help me figure out where Namibia stands?

A: Your question is a complex one that requires a detailed answer. I can point you to some places where you can read more about this subject. You need to consider the geopolitics of a State (Namibia) versus a Nation (the indigenous groups that live within that state that have existed thousands of years before the existence of the state.) The United Nations is a vehicle through which States communicate about various issues, one of which is how to deal with the issues of indigenous groups living within their boarders. In most cases, these indigenous group have not elected or even consented to being part of a State identity or system. You need to rethink your perspective to include the fact that there really is no ONE voice on where Namibia stands regarding the protection of indigenous culture and land; it all depends who you talk to. From the State perspective, they would rather have indigenous groups folded into the state system and basically disappear thus giving the State access to all the land and natural resources. You also need to consider the role that corporations play in wanting access to natural resources. From my humble perspective, it's hard to imaging any indigenous group ever getting their rights 'granted' by any State through the United Nations system.

To learn more about all of this, I suggest you read "Fourth World Nations in the Era of Globalisation: An Introduction to Contemporary theorizing Posed by Indigenous Nations" http://www.cwis.org/fwj/41/fworld.html  and BACKGROUND ON THE TERM "FOURTH WORLD"
http://www.cwis.org/fwdp/International/fourthw.txt.

History related

Q. I am French and I'm doing a work on the North American Indians, particularly on the "genocide". It's good to have an interview of someone to demonstrate many points of view. I don't know if you are the good person, but I try ! My question is : Can we call the massacre of the North America Indians "Genocide" or not? And why?

A. The battles for control over control of the continent were many from 1620 to the present. It is important to understand that "North American Indians" are many different peoples (hundreds) and each distinct people came into contact with what appeared to be invading peoples from Europe and then from China, Africa, the islands and elsewhere.  Indeed, with many different invasions it is impossible to speak or write about a single genocide since there were many different genocides over a period of near 400 years. Europeans invaded into what is now Canada and New England in the 1600s and then into what is now Florida and then Texas and New Mexico in the early 1500s.  It wasn't until the late 1700s that Russians, English, and Spanish invaders arrived in the Pacific West.  Many Indian Nations were not experiencing contact with outside peoples until these later dates.  Indeed, while there several different invasions and entry points into the continent massacres did not actually take place in many places in the continent.  These violent confrontations actually periodically took place over the full 400 year period and to different Indian nations.

What actually had a powerfully devastating affect on many Indian Nations was the arrival of different diseases for which there were not cures by native doctors.  Some nations were destroyed by disease by as much as 90% of their populations. Sometimes disease arrived before the actual invasions by Europe peoples. (One person might actually contract a disease via insects flying off of European sailing ships, breeding with local insects like mosquitoes.) Indeed, often whole populations were killed by disease in advance of the arrival of European invaders.

One must give credit to disease as well as war between North American Indians and European invaders. Massacres, were often carried out by the American military especially in Lakota Country, what is now California and in sporadic instances in New Mexico, Arizona and Canadian forces in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Quebec.

You will want to place massacres in context of invasion, the spread of disease and war.  It is not a matter of just massacres taking place throughout all of North America.

I hope this helps.

Global issues

Q. In the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami we now see a process of evaluation - what must be done better in order to eliminate the hardships if a new natural disaster such as the Tsunami were to strike the world again. Earlier today I participated in the UN roundtable on what happened to older persons in the Tsunami, but I keep reflecting upon the lack of reporting on what happened to indigenous people, therefore I am currently doing a story on this. I am very interested in CWIS' point of view on this issue and hope that this is also of interest for you to share. The main questions of my interest are:

Q1.  How do you consider that international community has followed up on the lives of indigenous people in the aftermath of Tsunami?

A1. Given that indigenous peoples throughout the region (Sumatra, India, Sri Lanka, Somalia, etc) it is noteworthy that virtually disaster responses were dependent on state governments.  Virtually all of the States’ governments were in conflict or turmoil in connection with one or more indigenous nations.  The consequence was and is that many states’ failed to effectively respond to indigenous peoples’ needs for recovery.  The international community is wholly unprepared to address the needs of indigenous peoples at the ground level. Witness the response of the international community in Kashmere and northern Pakistan.  International institutions are gauged to respond to “state concerns” and the “internal matters” are left to the state.  Most States are unprepared or unwilling to deal with indigenous peoples’ needs. The direct response to your question is that the international community has fundamentally failed to effectively respond to indigenous peoples’ needs in circumstances of natural disaster. The international community must address “smallness” as a major factor that defines the international response. Smallness has to do with community size, area, and of course culture as well.   

Q2.  Has enough support been given to help indigenous people get back to ordinary life?

A2. As you may know, some indigenous populations were better prepared for the Tsunami than metropolitan populations.  They have information from culture as well as animals and other experiences to inform the in advance of the disaster.  Other populations were not so successful or well prepared and were swept away.  The international community made a big thing out of a “big response” monetarily and in terms of some material support. On the ground assistance and responses organized to the scale of community were not forthcoming in many instances.

Q3.  How has the environmental awareness and ecological knowledge that many indigenous people possess been valued by global community?

A3. The traditional knowledge held by indigenous communities was not understood before, during or after disaster.  There are so few ways for the metropolitan communities to absorb the practical and quite concrete knowledge of indigenous peoples.  We, of course, are quite aware of this since we have a considerable effort underway to remedy this problem.  

Q3a. How could this knowledge further be applied, what can be learnt?

A3a. At the root of every indigenous community is the relationship to the land. Metropolitan communities fail utterly to understand this point of view. Critical changes are necessary in the international community to recognize the fundamental human right to the land.

Q4. What role has indigenous people been given seen from a participatory aspect in the prevention and preparation of future possible natural disasters?

A4. Indigenous peoples have not consistently been asked to play a role on their terms in the discussion of prevention and preparation.

Q5.  What would you further want to see from global community on these issues?

Indigenous literature

Q. I'm interested in information you have on various global indigenous people's literatures and cultural production.  I teach American Indian studies and would like to broaden the focus.

A. Thank you for your interest in such discussions of indigenous people's literatures and cultural productions.  Our web page offers a lot of interesting articles relating to a multitude of topics within the indigenous perspective.  First, you can look at the books in our book store, http://www.cwis.org/store/index.htm and also read articles from our Fourth World Journal, http://www.cwis.org/fwj/index.htm.  Additionally, you can do a search on our front page for any topic and it will bring up relevant information.