DOCUMENT: INT_ECON.TXT THE NEW INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER: A PROMISE OR PERIL FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE WORLD PLENARY SESSION -- MARCH 30, 1979 NORTHWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EMERGING INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORDER March 29 - 31, 1979 Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. Copyright 1979 Center For World Indigenous Studies [Ed. Note: This article may be reproduced for electronic transfer and posting on computer bulletin boards in part or full, provided that no profit is made by such transfer and that full credit is given to the author, the Center For World Indigenous Studies and The Fourth World Documentation Project.] It may seem strange to many that in this day of high technology, industrialized national powers and complex world problems, that there remains in the world millions of peoples who live their daily lives in relatively simple surroundings in tribal societies. These tribes are located on all of the populated continents and in territories within, and often across, the recognized boundaries of political states like South Africa, Brazil, Greenland, Finland and the United States. Tribal groups like the Maori of New Zealand, Mapuche people in Chile and Yakima people in the United States are all indigenous to the territories they occupy. As peoples indigenous to their areas, these and all other tribal groups have come under the domination of the political states which have formed in the last three hundred years. Though indigenous peoples have always had distinct identities, the domination of their surroundings by industrial and developing states has tended to cloud their importance. The interests and needs of indigenous peoples have been overshadowed by political states arguing that tribal peoples within their boundaries are under their absolute domestic control. The assumption of absolute dominion over indigenous peoples by individual states has made it possible for tribal resources to be confiscated and otherwise appropriated at a pace wholly destructive of tribal societies. During the 1700's the industrial revolution launched the western world on a path of explosive growth. Political states experienced rapid expansion of populations and increased rates of raw material consumption. Expansion and increased consumption of resources was called "progress" and as each state continued to progress it was thought that human kind was the beneficiary. Yet it was the idea of progress that lead to an unprecedented assault on the world's indigenous peoples and their natural resources. In fewer than two hundred years since the beginning of the industrial revolution and the idea of "progress", the world has been totally changed. Self-sufficient indigenous cultures have disappeared and dramatic resource shortages and environmental disasters have "suddenly" materialized. Industrial powers continue to pursue their course of expansion and consumption, though raw materials and available territory are in short supply. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the major resources in the world that remain relatively unexploited are those on which tribal populations depend. Industrial states and developing states are now attempting to compete with indigenous populations for raw materials and territories that remain relatively untouched. Vast territories are occupied by indigenous peoples who continue to seek the means to preserve their environment and cultural ways. It is rapidly becoming apparent that rapid technological development by developed states and industrial development by the underdeveloped states place new pressures and demands on underdeveloped natural resources and indigenous populations. 1. Indigenous Peoples Seek Self-Determination and Co-Existence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Because many political states, both developed and underdeveloped, have committed continuing violence to indigenous peoples and their resources, the leaders of tribal populations from throughout the world have formed an international organization, The World Council of Indigenous Peoples, to gain international recognition of aboriginal rights and property and to halt destruction of tribal resources and culture. For the first time in human history, the peoples who count their histories in millenniums instead of years have taken a step to gain their rightful place as equals among human kind. The international community has only occasionally shown awareness of indigenous peoples and usually that awareness has taken a negative form. This point is best illustrated by a declaration of the General Act of the 1884-1885 Berlin Africa Conference, where it was agreed "to educate the natives and teach them to understand and appreciate the benefits of civilization." This idea was re-stated in Article 2 of the Brussels Act of 1892, which called on the colonial powers to raise African tribal peoples to civilization and "bring about the extinction of barbarous customs." The assertion of superiority among industrialized states, and the resulting practice of ethnocide in the interest of progress today would be considered to be contrary to the United Nations goal of peace and self-determination for all peoples. Yet the United Nations has played a significant role in the undoing of indigenous peoples. The 1919 League of Nations Covenant in Article 22 gives "advanced nations" responsibility for "peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world" and places tribal populations under the tutelage of political states as a "sacred trust of civilization." It is this "trust" that has proved to benefit the "protecting powers" because it gave them an internationally recognized right to exploit the resources of indigenous peoples. In the United States, Indian tribes have lived under the "trust protection" of the national government with the expressed responsibility "to preserve, protect and guarantee the rights and property of the tribal population." Despite this overriding obligation, the United States has been the most significant exploiter of tribal resources and land. Tribally owned timber, oil, coal, uranium and water have formed the basis for a significant part of the U.S. economy. The obligation to "preserve and protect" indigenous peoples and their resources world-wide has been observed only rarely. The practice for over two hundred years has been to squeeze indigenous populations into smaller and smaller areas while political states consume the raw materials on which tribal peoples have depended. The decline of tribal populations due to the catastrophic impact of political states is illustrated by the table below: TABLE 1. ~~~~~~~~ WORLD SURVEY OF TRIBAL DEPOPULATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------------------------------------ Pre-Contact Population Depopulation Population Low Point ------------------------------------------------------------------ North America (a) 9,800,000 490,000 9,310,000 Lowland South America (b) 9,000,000 450,000 8,550,000 Oceania Polynesia 1,100,000 180,000 920,000 Micronesia 200,000 83,000 117,000 Melanesia Fiji (a) (e) 300,000 85,000 215,000 New Caledonia (f) 100,000 27,000 73,000 Australia (g) 300,000 60,500 239,500 Africa Congo (h) 8,000,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Estimated Total Depopulation 27,860,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------ (a) (b) Dobyns, 1966:415 (c) (d) Keesing, 1941 (e) (f) Roberts, 1927 (g) Rowely, 1970:384 (h) Morel in Louis and Stengers, 1968:123. The primary depopulation of the French Conga is for the period of 1900- 1921 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: Bodley, John H. -- Victims of Progress, 1975, p. 39. For those indigenous peoples able to survive the industrial cataclysm, a life of dependency on political states has become the rule. Dependency has produced major inequities in the distribution of land. Tribal populations are crowded onto tiny "reserves", with the best lands being made available to non-tribal users. As the table below illustrates, even when the indigenous populations are in the majority they are given land areas of smaller proportion for their exclusive use. TABLE 2. ~~~~~~~~ AMOUNT OF LAND RESERVED FOR TRIBAL POPULATIONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------------------------------------ Native Population as Per- Native Population as cent of Total Population Percent of Total Area ------------------------------------------------------------------ Bechuanaland (a) 99%+ 38% Swaziland (a) 98% 48% New Guinea (b) 98% 97% S. Rhodesia (c) 95% 33% S.W. Africa (a) 87% 25% S. Africa (d) 80% 12% Canada (e) 3% 0.2% Chile (f) 2% 0.6% United States (g) 0.52% 3.97% ------------------------------------------------------------------ a. Cole (19:526) b. Mair (1970:5, 146) population figures for 1960; "reserve" land here is actually non-alienated land as of 1967-1968. c. Barber (1967:1,7) figures for 1960 d. Jabavu (1934:287) e. International Labour Office (1953:68, 332) population as of 1949, land figures 1951. f. International Labour Office (1953:40, 307) figures as of 1940. g. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1975 To prevent further "depopulation" of indigenous peoples and to halt the continuing destruction of natural resources, the World Council of Indigenous peoples enacted the following declaration (W.C.I.P. 1st General Assembly, Port Alberni, B.C., Canada, October 27-31, 1975). Article 5: Our land is our life. The history of oppression is the history of foreigners stealing our land. To ensure physical and cultural survival we declare: A. The concept of aboriginal title must be recognized as a binding principle of international law. B. Indigenous areas must be recognized as lands owned by the indigenous group and as areas under their political control. C. Indigenous ownership of land must, in all cases, include the ownership of sub-surface rights, water rights, foreshore and off-shore rights, air rights and rights to hunt, fish, trap, gather and harvest. D. Indigenous lands must be protected from sale to non- indigenous people, except with the free and full consent of the indigenous group. Any such sale must comply with international standards of consent and compensation and the entire process must be open to international supervision. During the 12th General Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (Kinshasa, Zaire, September, 1975) it was urged that all "governments maintain and encourage traditional methods of living and customs which enable communities, both rural and urban, to live in harmony with their environment." The World Council of Indigenous Peoples' 2nd General Assembly, meeting in Kiruna, Samiland, Sweden in August, 1977, adopted the IUCN recommendation, along with the following additional recommendations to governments worldwide: That educational systems be oriented to emphasize environmental and ecological principles and conservation objectives derived from local cultures and traditions, and that these principles and objectives be given wide publicity; That governments devise means by which indigenous peoples may bring their lands into conservation areas without relinquishing their ownership, use or tenure rights; That the governments of countries still inhabited by people belonging to separate indigenous cultures recognize the rights of these people to live on the lands they have traditionally occupied, and take account of their view points; The settled principle now announced before the world community is that indigenous peoples, (their lands and resources) must be allowed to take their place as separate and distinct peoples with the right to determine their own future. The right of self- determination must be applied to all peoples. 2. Developed and Developing States Cannot Order the World Economy Without the Participation of Indigenous Peoples ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ever increasing need of the industrial and developing states for resources and the increasing scarcity of raw materials is the principle cause of global inflation. The force of technological and industrial development are rapidly demonstrating the limits of progress as shortages of resources give rise to shortages in consumable goods. Developing countries, once colonies of the technological and industrial powers, have become the consumers of the future and seek to institute a second industrial revolution by ravaging tribal areas to which indigenous peoples have been moved. The last frontier on earth is now the last home and territories of indigenous peoples. For indigenous peoples throughout the world, the U.N. Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order could mean their ultimate and final destruction or their ultimate survival. The NIEO could mean world collapse or it could mean world survival under restrained policies of development. The failure of the NIEO is certain if the models of industrialization typified by the United States and Canada are used by the developing world. The culture of consumption and unrestrained progress has ravaged the world of its natural balance. Poverty has increased worldwide as fewer and fewer people consume a greater proportion of the world's raw materials. Because the indigenous populations tend to maintain low-energy societies which place limited demands on the environment, their territories have become the major areas of the world not developed. Raw materials, including timber, minerals and water, tend to be plentiful within indigenous areas, even though these areas were once thought to be unfit for habitation and generally useless. These indigenous areas are now looked upon with great interest by multi-national corporations, developing states and developed countries. When the governments now talk about developing new sources of raw materials, they are most often making plans for indigenous peoples and their resources. Indigenous peoples are fully aware of the fragility of their environments. Because their own lives are closely allied with the environment, any disruptive influence like the extraction of raw materials tends to threaten the existence of indigenous populations. A practical resolution of the conflicting interests of indigenous peoples and the political states can be achieved through non-violent exchanges. Indigenous populations must become a part of the global dialogue on the new international economic order, with guarantees for their protection and right of self- determination. Each state must be willing to recognize indigenous territories and the separate and distinct rights of tribal populations. 3. Indigenous Peoples' Proposals for a New International Economic Order ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As we examine the world wide relationship between political states (eager to "develop" raw materials and spread the industrial economic model) and indigenous peoples (eager to maintain cultures and ways of life which require limited growth and environmental balance) we recognize the potential of a new international economic order becoming a blueprint for the total destruction of indigenous peoples. We further recognize that humanity as a whole will suffer ultimate destruction unless rational principles of human and natural resource preservation are observed now. We suggest that the final destruction of indigenous peoples through economic and natural resource exploitation will eventually lead to the end of humankind. A new international economic order need not lead to such disastrous ends. With certain modifications world economic change can be an orderly and non-violent process which ensures self- determination and human survival. Indigenous peoples proposals for a new international economic order may strike the balance necessary to ensure rational global economic policies. a. Indigenous peoples must be recognized by the international community, national governments and tribal governments as having a separate and distinct political status in the global community and by virtue of this status, indigenous peoples must be recognized to have the right of self-determination in accordance with United Nations declarations. b. The World Council of Indigenous Peoples must be recognized as the official international organ representing the voice of indigenous peoples worldwide, and a formal governmental seat within the United Nations must be established to provide indigenous representation by appointment of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. c. i. The United Nations should, with the concurrence of affected indigenous peoples, declare internationally protected "autonomous indigenous areas" secured by aboriginal title and established to preserve and protect the right of self-determination for indigenous peoples, and protect natural resources from external exploitation and encroachment without the consent of local indigenous populations and international supervision. c. ii. The United Nations must establish an international organization which includes membership from the political states and indigenous peoples, for the purpose of reviewing grievances and claims proclaimed by indigenous peoples, and such an organization must be empowered to address the U.N. Security Council and U.N. General Assembly to promote redress of authenticated grievances. c. iii. The United Nations must establish an international organization which includes membership from the political states and indigenous peoples for the purpose of offering financial aid and technical assistance to indigenous peoples when they initiate a request, and such a financial and technical aid organization should be empowered to secure such financial commitments from other world organizations and political states as may be necessary to the needs of indigenous peoples. d. The United Nations must consider and adopt an international Declaration of the Protection of Indigenous Populations from exploitation, genocide and ethnocide, and authorize the use of United Nations peace-keeping forces to enforce the declaration. e. The United Nations and the World Council of Indigenous Peoples must sponsor an international conference to develop a Declaration on Aboriginal Title and Indigenous Self-Determination on Aboriginal Title and Indigenous Self-Determination, which guarantees indigenous rights to exclusive territory and the right to pursue their own cultural, linguistic, social, educational, political, religious and economic development without interference. 4. Impact of Indigenous Proposals on the Northwest United States ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Implementation of the indigenous proposals would have the effect of strengthening tribal economic influences in the Northwest regional economy and they would produce a more competitive and vigorous economy. Tribal participation in regional economic planning would be assured, adding a new dimension to resource management and resource use. Raw materials like timber, fish, and minerals from tribal reservations would tend to be developed on a sustained yield basis, instead of at radical high and low production rates. This will tend to ensure a stabilizing influence on the processing and manufacturing industries operating within the Northwest economy. Tribal resources would be developed with minimal environmental disruption, while steady production is maintained. Tribal economies (of which there are no less than 52 in the Northwest) will tend to emphasize local manpower and resource development of a self-sufficient nature and begin moving away from heavy dependence on federal financial aid. The tribal economies will become productive contributors to the Northwest economy, thereby increasing the general economic vitality. Both tribal economies and non-tribal economies will gain from co-existent economic development. Conclusions: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The indigenous proposals for a new world economic order make plain the need to let indigenous peoples decide for themselves when their way of life is extinct. Indigenous peoples have "endured the physical violence of wars, famine and disease. They survived." Indigenous peoples continue to honor life-giving principles which have sustained tribal societies for 10,000 years. These same principles may be essential to the survival of humankind. Recognition of indigenous peoples and an acceptance of limited growth which respects the limits of the environment, may slow progress, but ensure a future for humankind. For the world to continue its present path of consumption, unlimited natural resources will be essential. There is no resource that is truly unlimited. Balance between the needs of humankind and the productivity of nature is the essential value. Tribal societies have learned the lesson. Political states must learn the lesson or all peoples will perish. ******* This paper developed with the cooperation and support of the following individuals and organizations: World Council of Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) National Indian Lutheran Board (NILB) National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Satiacum Enterprises COSAMCO Ltd. Joe DeLaCruz, President, Quinault Nation Joan Ortez, Chairwoman, Steilacoom Tribe Russell Jim, Councilman, Yakima Nation William Yallup, Councilman, Yakima Nation George Manuel, WCIP Marie Maruley, WCIP Rosalee Tizya, WCIP Anne Pavel, Skokomish Tribe Mel Tonasket, Vice-Chairman, Colville Confederated Tribes and Vice-President, NCAI Calvin Peters, Chairman, Squaxin Island Tribe Bernie Whitebear, United Indians of All Tribes Foundation Writing and Research Staff: Rudolph C. Ryser, COSAMCO Ltd. Sue Sawicki, COSAMCO Ltd. Gary Morishima, Quinault Tribe Shirley Keith, Muckleshoot Tribe Randy Scott, Puget Sound Association of Cooperating Tribes (PACT) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: -= THE FOURTH WORLD DOCUMENTATION PROJECT =- :: :: A service provided by :: :: The Center For World Indigenous Studies :: :: www.cwis.org :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Originating at the Center for World Indigenous Studies, Olympia, Washington USA www.cwis.org © 1999 Center for World Indigenous Studies (All Rights Reserved. References up to 500 words must be referenced to the Center for World Indigenous Studies and/or the Author Copyright Policy Material appearing in the Fourth World Documentation Project Archive is accepted on the basis that the material is the original, unoccupied work of the author or authors. 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