DOCUMENT: INDLND.TXT W O R L D C O U N C I L O F I N D I G E N O U S P E O P L E S INDIGENOUS PHILOSOPHY AND LAND Presented To International NGO Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Land September 1981 Prepared by World Council of Indigenous Peoples This ˙paper ˙has ˙been prepared based ˙on ˙the policies ˙of the World Council ˙of ˙Indigenous Peoples' ˙and the documentation that was ˙made available by member nations and distributed at the ˙workshops on Ideology & Philosophy ˙which held ˙in ˙conjunction ˙with ˙the ˙WCIP ˙˙Third General Assembly, April, 1981. Researched and Prepared by Debra M. Hoggan Edited by Marie Smallface Marule INDIGENOUS PHILOSOPHY AND LAND For ˙Indigenous ˙Peoples ˙the ˙subject ˙of ˙land ˙cannot ˙be discussed ˙without ˙first ˙achieving ˙an ˙understanding ˙of ˙its' traditional ˙and cultural significance. ˙"Indigenous ˙philosophy and ˙Land" ˙implies more than a linguistic or semantic ˙analysis. It ˙goes ˙to the very heart of ˙traditional ˙indigenous ˙cultural values. ˙Land is related to all aspects of our lives. Therefore the ˙World Council of Indigenous Peoples' ˙(WCIP), ˙on behalf ˙of Indigenous ˙organizations located in twenty-six nation-states ˙in five ˙regions of the world, ˙representing in excess of 60,000,000 people, ˙˙is ˙proud ˙to have been invited to appear ˙before ˙this commission to provide an indigenous analytical view of Indigenous philosophy and its unique relationship to the land. To Indigenous Peoples the Land is Sacred ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To ˙Indigenous Peoples of all parts of the world the land is sacred. The earth provides the sustenance of all life. The land must be respected, carefully used, and meticulously restored. The concept ˙˙of ˙land ˙being ˙sacred ˙is ˙the ˙basis ˙of ˙indigenous religions. Indigenous Peoples have a cultural heritage and spirituality of ˙thousands of years duration. ˙Basic to this spirituality ˙is the respect of all things in our world. We are taught right from the ˙day ˙that ˙we ˙learn ˙to walk ˙to ˙respect ˙nature ˙and ˙its relationship to all elements of our universe. ˙Our knowledge ˙of our environment, ˙our universe, is extensive. ˙Our understanding of ˙it is even greater. ˙We do not separate ourselves ˙from ˙the land. We do not seek to destroy that which we do not understand. We ˙do not seek to conquer all things, ˙but rather, ˙we ˙seek ˙to understand, ˙˙appreciate, ˙respect and accept. ˙The WCIP ˙firmly believes ˙˙these ˙˙are ˙the ˙fundamental ˙basics ˙of ˙˙Indigenous philosophy. The ˙Australian Aborigines have described ˙the ˙relationship between their religion and the land in this way; ˙"The land...is a ˙vibrant spiritual landscape. ˙It is peopled in spirit form by the ancestors who originated in the Dreaming, the creative period of ˙time ˙immemorial. ˙˙The ˙ancestors ˙travelled ˙the ˙country, engaging ˙in ˙adventures which created the People, ˙˙the ˙natural features ˙of the land and established the code of life, ˙which we today call "the Dreaming" or "the Law". ˙The Law has been passed on ˙˙through ˙˙countless ˙generations ˙of ˙People ˙˙through ˙˙the remembrance and celebration of the sites which were the scenes of the ˙ancestral ˙exploits. ˙Song, ˙dance, ˙body, ˙rock ˙and ˙sand painting, ˙˙special ˙languages and the oral explanations ˙of ˙the myths encoded in these essentially religious art forms have ˙been the media of the Law to the present day." To Indigenous People, the Land and the People are Inseparable ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just as Indigenous Nations do not separate religion from the gathering of food for the winter months, ˙or from the name-giving ceremonies ˙that ˙are common in almost every Nation or ˙from ˙our sophisticated management of renewable resources, the land and the people ˙cannot ˙be separated. ˙We cannot talk about one ˙without referring to the other. This ˙is ˙illustrated in the following statement ˙which ˙was made to the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, ˙September, ˙1975, by one of the witnesses; "The ˙love ˙of the Dene for the land is ˙in ˙their tone of voice, ˙a touch, the care for plants, ˙the life of the people, ˙and their knowledge that life as ˙a ˙people stems directly from the land. ˙˙The land ˙is ˙seen as mother because she ˙gives ˙life, because she is the provider, ˙the protector, ˙˙the comforter. ˙She is constant, in a changing world, yet ˙changing in regular cycles. ˙She is a story- teller, a listener, a traveller, yet she is still, and when she suffers we all suffer with her; ˙˙and very ˙often in many parts of the ˙world, ˙˙whether they ˙believe ˙this or not, ˙˙many ˙people ˙suffer because ˙they have abused their land. ˙She ˙is ˙a teacher, ˙˙a ˙teacher who punishes swiftly when we err, ˙˙yet ˙a benefactress who blesses ˙abundantly when we live with integrity, respect her, and love the life she gives. ˙We cannot stand on her ˙with integrity ˙and respect and claim to love the ˙life she gives and allow her to be ravaged." We can further illustrate the closeness of the people to the land by examining the present situation of the Mapuche Indians of Chile. Today there are approximately one million Mapuches living in Chile. ˙In a country of nearly 11 million, ˙they represent up to 10% ˙of the total population. While there are a number of Indian tribes ˙in ˙Chile - including Quechuas and Aymaras; ˙˙Pascuences; Alaculufes; Yaghan; Ona; and Mapuche or Araucanian - the Mapuches are clearly the majority. ˙However, ˙their future as a people is seriously threatened. On March 22nd, 1979 the military junta under General Augusto Pinochet ˙issued Decree Law 2568 ˙to replace Indian Law, ˙˙number 17.729. ˙˙Pinochet's new law specifically outlines major changes to the Chilean state's policies and objectives directly affecting the country's indigenous minorities. ˙One section of the new law which is of major concern to the Mapuches is the conditions under which ˙the division of the land may occur. ˙Under the ˙new ˙law, only one "occupant" need request a division of the land, and even if all the others on the reserve do not consent to this ˙division there is no appeal procedure. This ˙new law is a deliberate act of genocide to an ˙already impoverished ˙and weakened people. ˙For years the Mapuches ˙have experienced harsh overt discrimination and have seen their ˙lands illegally ˙seized. ˙Chilean governments have ˙rarely ˙recognized their ˙right to a distinct and separate culture. ˙˙The ˙Mapuches predict that if the new law proceeds as it is now planned it will only ˙be ˙a ˙short ˙period of time ˙before ˙they ˙are ˙culturally extinct. In ˙1979 ˙a ˙fact-finding mission was sent to Chile ˙by ˙the Inter-Church ˙˙Committee ˙on ˙Human ˙Rights ˙in ˙Latin ˙˙America, generally ˙to ˙study the effects of the new Indian Law ˙upon ˙the Mapuche Indians and to find out more about the law itself. ˙This visit by the four-member delegation enabled them to see the great stress of poverty under which so many live; ˙their aspirations to retain ˙their ˙Mapuche identity, ˙and the extent to ˙which ˙their identity as a people is their relationship to the land. The ˙word ˙"Mapuche" ˙˙means "people of ˙the ˙earth". ˙˙The Mapuches' ˙culture, customs, ˙religion, ˙social organizations and folklore ˙are based so closely on this belonging to the land that without the land, there could be no Mapuche people. We ˙refer ˙now ˙to an outstanding account ˙which ˙Gerald ˙D. Berreman uses in his paper titled "Himachal: Science, ˙People and 'Progress'" ˙that shows how deep the Indigenous feelings are ˙for the land. ˙We take you now to the Himalayan mountain peoples ˙of India ˙who ˙have ˙taken matters into their own hands ˙to ˙protect their forests and homelands against destruction. ˙In response to the ˙destructive effects of wholesale exploitation of their lands the ˙Indigenous ˙peoples ˙of this region, ˙˙alerted ˙by ˙watchful villagers, placed themselves between the contractor's workmen and the ˙trees - in some instances literally hugging or ˙clinging ˙to the ˙trees to prevent the axemen from felling or even approaching them. "'The forest is like our mother's home, we will protect it at ˙the ˙cost of our lives,' ˙sang the (Bhotiya) ˙women ˙of ˙Reni village, and the contractors left empty-handed." We ˙have provided you with the above examples to ˙illustrate that ˙the ˙basis to Indigenous philosophy is the belief that ˙the land ˙and the people are one. ˙What better way to summarize this section ˙than ˙this quote by the former leader of ˙WCIP, ˙˙George Manuel, who writes in his book titled "Fourth World": "When I met with the Maori people, ˙if I had said, 'Our culture is every inch of our land', the mean- ing would have been obvious to them. ˙Wherever ˙I travelled in the Aboriginal World, ˙there has been a common attachment to the land. This ˙is ˙not ˙the land that ˙can ˙be ˙speculated, bought, ˙˙sold, ˙mortgaged, ˙claimed by one state, surrendered ˙or ˙counter-claimed by a ˙king ˙whose grace ˙and favour men must make their fortunes ˙on this earth. The ˙land from which our culture springs ˙is ˙like the water and the air, ˙one and indivisible. ˙The land is our Mother Earth. The animals who grow on that ˙land are our spiritual brothers. ˙We are ˙a part ˙of ˙that ˙Creation ˙that ˙the ˙Mother ˙Earth brought forth. ˙More complicated, ˙more sophisti- cated ˙than the other creatures, ˙but no nearer to the Creator who infused us with life." The Land Is Our Culture ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before the coming of the Europeans, we lived as one with the waters ˙and ˙the land from which even our songs and ˙dances ˙come from, ˙˙from which our entire cultures emerged and to which we'll return. The land provided us with our own systems of government, our ˙own way of educating our children, ˙our own way of ˙managing its' ˙˙resources and our own way of showing appreciation for ˙her bountiful riches. FOOD GATHERING - Our agricultural technology and our distribution system ˙of ˙food ˙within ˙Indigenous ˙communities ˙were ˙such ˙an integral ˙part of our traditional cultural values that they ˙were the ˙source ˙of Indigenous self-reliance and ˙strength ˙for ˙many centuries. ˙˙No ˙people have been entirely free of scourge, ˙˙or famine, but Indigenous societies were free of protein deficiency. Because ˙of ˙our ˙extensive knowledge of ˙the ˙land, ˙˙Indigenous Nations ˙have ˙given ˙more ˙to food ˙technology ˙than ˙they ˙have received from it in recent years. LANGUAGE ˙- Indigenous philosophy includes the basic belief ˙that for ˙a culture, ˙or a people, ˙to survive, ˙its language must ˙be sturdy and alive, and from this stems the common struggle amongst Indigenous Peoples to maintain and restore their languages. The kinship terminology of Indigenous Peoples is intricately based ˙on their relationship to the land. ˙In a paper which ˙was presented ˙by ˙the ˙Australian Aborigines at ˙our ˙Third ˙General Assembly, ˙held recently in Australia, ˙it estimates that ˙before the white invasion, ˙there were 300,000 Australian Aborigines who spoke ˙500 ˙˙languages. ˙˙Today there ˙are ˙upwards ˙of ˙160,000 Aboriginal people surviving, ˙speaking only 200 languages. ˙This great ˙language ˙diversity is the manifestation of ˙each ˙group's identification with land and thus an expression of its difference from ˙another group whose own lands represents different ˙travels and adventures of the ancestors. EDUCATION - The land is the basis of our peoples education. From time ˙immemorial ˙Indigenous ˙people never ˙had ˙anything ˙called 'school', ˙˙each day itself was a page, ˙each event was a lesson. Each ˙day of one's life revealed a story, ˙each day was a part of the learning process of life. The things our people learned were in relation to living in harmony with our mother, the earth. Our history ˙lessons ˙were in the form of stories spoken in ˙our ˙own languages. Our grandparents were our teachers. Our grandfathers were experts in political science, ˙philosophy, ˙psychology, ˙law and ˙mathematics. ˙˙They ˙governed ˙their ˙Nations ˙fairly ˙˙and administered vast territories where no one robbed, ˙exploited, no one lied, no one was lazy, everyone worked, ˙no one begged and no one died of hunger. The ˙land ˙is the basis of our culture and the basis of ˙our existence. ˙˙The ˙land is not ours to sell, ˙it is only ours ˙to honour, ˙˙respect and protect for our children and our children's children. ˙And they say only through protecting our land and our children, ˙can we again hope for complete self-respect and ˙peace of mind. As expressed by one Bellonese in Torben Monberg's paper titled "The Reaction of People of Bellona Island Towards a Mining Project"; "Land in Western society is just a commodity to sell in the market. But we (the people of Bellona Island) ˙have a lot of feelings for our land. ˙For people to want to live on their ˙own land ˙does not mean that his land is better than somebody else's; but his ancestors, his grandfathers and his everything is in that land. ˙˙Therefore he is attached to it in his feelings, ˙in ˙his existence, ˙to his land; ˙and as I have said: ˙This is the ˙whole basis ˙of our existence...there is a difference between cash ˙and land. ˙Cash is exhaustible - I can be very generous with my land because the land is always going to be there. He (somebody else) can make his garden there, ˙and after him some other people, or I can work it myself. But there is a limit to your generosity with cash..." Indigenous Philosophy and Land - Summary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We ˙have just adjourned our Third General ˙Assembly ˙whereby between ˙400-500 ˙representatives of Fourth World ˙Nations ˙heard different points of view in relation to Indigenous philosophy and land. ˙˙It ˙has been defined by the ˙delegates ˙of; ˙˙Argentina, Australia, ˙Bolivia, ˙Canada, ˙Chile, ˙Colombia, ˙Costa Rica, ˙El Salvador, ˙Finland, ˙Guatemala, Greenland, Honduras, Mexico, ˙New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Sweden, USA, ˙Venezuela and numerous other countries, ˙that "...we, as Indigenous Peoples are ˙groups of people originating from a place, ˙sharing a common past, ˙˙present ˙and ˙future, ˙and who ˙are ˙conscious ˙of ˙being Indigenous, ˙˙Aboriginal ˙or ˙Indian Peoples; ˙we ˙have ˙our ˙own economy, ˙˙speak the language of our ancestors or conserve ˙their values and cultural birthright; ˙we have our vision of the cosmos and ˙are ˙recognized, ˙˙either civilly or ˙politically ˙as ˙being Indigenous ˙by ˙members ˙of our own group ˙and ˙other ˙Indigenous Peoples, and also, by foreigners. ˙On the basis of this premise, we ˙can ˙state ˙that ˙from a philosophic ˙point ˙of ˙view, ˙˙each Indigenous ˙Nation ˙has its own vision of the ˙world. ˙˙However, their ˙own visions of the cosmos is always in harmony with nature and ˙gives a rational answer to the problem of our ˙existence ˙as mortals. ˙˙From ˙this ˙derives ˙the reality ˙that, ˙˙insofar ˙as different peoples exist, ˙there are also different visions of the cosmos. ˙Nevertheless, there are common denominators such as our respect for the sun, the earth, the moon and the stars, etc., ˙in the different cosmic visions of Indigenous, ˙Indian or Aboriginal Peoples. These have survived in spite of the interference of the religions and politics of the dominant groups, descendants of the conquerors or usurpers of the rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the universe." With ˙˙this ˙the ˙Third ˙General ˙Assembly ˙appeals ˙to ˙the International ˙˙community ˙˙to ˙adopt ˙a ˙˙resolution ˙˙regarding Indigenous ˙Peoples which has as its' ˙aims and objectives, ˙˙the following points; a) The ˙right of Indigenous Peoples ˙to ˙carry ˙on within ˙˙their ˙˙areas ˙of ˙settlement, ˙˙˙their traditional economic structure, ˙way of life and culture. ˙˙Their land, ˙land rights and natural resources should not be taken away from them. This ˙should ˙in ˙no way affect their ˙right ˙to participate ˙freely ˙on an equal ˙basis ˙in ˙the economic, ˙˙social and political development ˙of the country. b) The ˙right ˙to express ˙freely ˙their ˙ethnic, cultural and other special characteristics. c) To promote, ˙recognize and respect our rights, as ˙Indigenous Peoples, ˙to ˙self-determination. Our ˙right to manage and retain sufficient lands to maintain Indigenous traditional forms of life is ˙the ˙fundamental element in order for us ˙to survive as Indigenous Nations. The ˙above points, ˙in either one resolution or a series ˙of resolutions ˙would ˙support our right for the application of ˙all existing ˙United Nations Resolutions which relate ˙to ˙Indigenous Peoples. ˙˙One ˙such example is the ˙International ˙Covenant ˙on Economic, ˙˙Social ˙and ˙Cultural ˙Rights, ˙˙which ˙provides ˙for Indigenous ˙Nations ˙in Article 1, ˙Part 1, ˙the right ˙of ˙self- determination;- 1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By ˙virtue ˙of that right they ˙freely ˙determine their ˙political status and freely ˙pursue ˙their economic, social and cultural development. 2. All peoples may, ˙for their own ends, ˙˙freely dispose ˙of ˙their natural wealth ˙and ˙resources without prejudice to any obligations arising ˙out of ˙international economic ˙co-operation, ˙˙based upon ˙the ˙principle ˙of ˙mutual ˙benefit, ˙˙˙and international ˙law. ˙In no case may a people ˙be deprived of its own means of subsistence. 3. The ˙States Parties to ˙the ˙present ˙covenant, including ˙those ˙having responsibility ˙for ˙the administration ˙of ˙Non-Self-Governing and ˙Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of the right ˙of self-determination, ˙and shall ˙respect that right, ˙in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. CONCLUSION ~~~~~~~~~~ The most valuable tool that we have as Indigenous Peoples is our ˙determination ˙to ˙survive ˙as ˙a ˙people, ˙˙culturally ˙and socially - to maintain our groups' life as a community, a ˙tribe, a nation, or a confederation of nations. ˙This determination has sustained Indigenous Peoples and, at the same time, been the most valuable weapon in our ˙struggle ˙of the past four centuries with the occidental concept of land. The spirituality of Indigenous Peoples societies has existed over thousands of years. Basic to spirituality is the respect of all things in our world. ˙We did not go out and pick leaves just because we needed tea, nor cut down a tree just for firewood. We first ˙gave ˙tribute ˙and thanks to their ˙beings. ˙˙Our ˙people respect ˙nature ˙and ˙its relationship to ˙all ˙elements ˙of ˙our universe. ˙Our relationship with our environment is, ˙obviously, our whole life. These ˙rituals have been a means by which we maintained ˙our philosophy, ˙˙values ˙and spirituality. ˙Reinforcement ˙of ˙such practices ˙will ˙be ˙the means by which Indigenous ˙Nations ˙will grow. Practicing our religions, our dances and songs, reinforces our ˙determination to re-strengthen our Nations The values, ˙˙the beliefs ˙and philosophies that have sustained us, ˙as ˙Indigenous Peoples, ˙˙are ˙now ˙necessary to sustain the world ˙today. ˙˙To survive ˙as ˙a people we must resist ˙occidental ˙philosophy ˙and ideology. The fact that we are before this Commission today, ˙˙talking of ˙these matters and sharing with you our philosophy of life and land, proves our determination, as Indigenous Nations, ˙to retain our ˙rights ˙- ˙to determine our own ˙future, ˙˙to ˙again ˙govern ourselves, ˙to protect our lands, resources and institutions (the vital ˙bases ˙for ˙our ˙future ˙and ˙our ˙survival), ˙˙to ˙˙fight dominations, ˙˙to ˙seek ˙freedom ˙from ˙imperialism, ˙˙and ˙˙most importantly, to rely upon ourselves to feed ourselves, to control all that happens to our people, lands, resources and environment, to practice our religions, ˙maintain our spirituality and educate ourselves ˙in the ways that guarantee our survival as nations ˙of people. As our closing statement on this topic we refer to a ˙report given ˙at ˙a Conference in June, ˙1978 ˙by the World ˙Council ˙of Churches ˙in ˙which they have summarized the unique ˙relationship between Indigenous people and their land in the following way; "To ˙the ˙majority ˙of ˙people ˙in ˙the ˙dominant societies, land is usually viewed as a commodity, to ˙be ˙bought and sold for profit, ˙˙fenced ˙in, paved over, dug up. Private ownership of land is a ˙cornerstone of industrial society. ˙Land is a means to an end, ˙a ˙thing to be exploited. ˙Too often we assume that its resources are limitless, placed ˙˙˙at ˙˙˙our ˙˙˙disposal ˙˙˙for ˙˙˙greater growth...Contrast ˙the ˙view of land held by ˙the industrial ˙societies ˙with ˙that ˙of ˙Indigenous Peoples. The land is the unifying force in their lives - social, ˙political, spiritual, ˙cultural, economic - and to separate the people from ˙their land is to deny their peoplehood." * * * * * * * * * * * * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: -= 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 İ 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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