27.1 (Spring 2003) The Troubled Taiga

Awas Tingni Community Sues Nicaragua Government over Noncompliance

The Mayangna (Sumo) Indigenous Community of Awas Tingni filed suit in a Nicaraguan appeals court in January to require the Nicaraguan government to enforce an international ruling that protects indigenous people’s land and resource rights.In August 2001, the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Court of Human Rights found international human rights violations in the Nicaraguan government’s treatment of the Awas Tingni community’s ancestral land and resources (see Cultural Survival Quarterly 25:4 and 26:4).

Hope for the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil

Brazil’s Indians have been mistreated for as long as anybody can remember. At the same time, dedicated defenders have devoted their lives to the Indian cause. The most famous of these was General Candido Mariano Rondon who became famous for leading expeditions through "Indian Country" and making friends with the Indians as he went.

A Conditional Coexistence:Yezidi in Armenia

In August 2001 the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held a conference in Armenia on the practical implementation of the European Convention on the Protection of National Minorities. A series of recommendations was issued, including one to amend the Armenian constitution to make it correspond with the terms and conditions of the European convention and other international norms regarding the involvement of minorities in state institutions. The impact was negligible. In the Republic of Armenia’s 2002 periodic report to the U.N.

Ecuador Elections put Indigenous at the Top, on the Ground

An historical event took place on January 15, 2003, barely noted by speculative international observers. As Lucio Gutierrez took the oath of office as president of Ecuador, and later repeated his campaign promises to eliminate Ecuador's infamous corruption and alleviate its extraordinary rural poverty, international press services focused on the guests at the inauguration ceremony, particularly Cuba's Fidel Castro, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Aiding and Empowering Reindeer Herders:Totem Peoples' Preservation Project

The Totem Peoples' Preservation Project is dedicated to aiding the sustainability of traditionally nomadic reindeer, yak, camel, and other livestock herding, hunting, and gathering peoples in eastern Siberia and Mongolia. Since its inception in 1999, the Totem Project has improved reindeer husbandry and veterinary support for the Dukha of northern Mongolia as well as the Tozhu of the Tyva Republic of Russia.

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