Felicia Huarsaya is one of many Indigenous artisans whose crafts were sold at the Cultural Survival Bazaars this year. She comes from a small community in the Peruvian province of Azangaro about 15,815 feet above sea level near Lake Titicaca.
Felicia Huarsaya is one of many Indigenous artisans whose crafts were sold at the Cultural Survival Bazaars this year. She comes from a small community in the Peruvian province of Azangaro about 15,815 feet above sea level near Lake Titicaca.
On September 6, 2011, Peru’s President Ollanta Humala signed a historic law guaranteeing Indigenous Peoples the right to prior consultation about any mining, logging, or petroleum projects affecting them and their territories.
President Humala said he wanted Indigenous People to be treated like citizens who must be consulted where their interests are involved.
The Peruvian Congress has unanimously adopted a historic bill recognizing Indigenous Peoples' rights to prior consultation. The law, which was passed August 23, is based on the International Labour Organization Convention 169 and requires companies to consult with Indigenous communities before undertaking any type of development project such as building mines or drilling for oil. The law is a radical change from the laissez-faire policies of the previous administration, which led to protests and police violence.
On July 5, 2011, the Peruvian Congress officially recognized Indigenous languages by passing Law 29735, the Law for the Use, Preservation, Development, Revitalization, and Use of Indigenous Languages, proposed by Congresswoman Maria Sumire. Part of implementing international and domestic human rights law such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the individual and collective right to speak one's native language.
Police and army officials have been sentenced by the Peruvian court for deaths and violence carried out in Bagua, Peru, against Indigenous protesters.
A year and a half following the deaths of at least thirty three indigenous and non-indigenous civilians and police near the town of Bagua, Peru, anthropologist Frederica Barclay suggest that the Peruvian government has failed to implement any significant changes toward greater consultation with indigenous peoples whose territories are being affected by sprawling logging, oil, hydroelectric and mining concessions in the Peruvian Amazon.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
