Cultural Survival Quarterly contributing arts editor Phoebe Farris recently spoke with Tony Castanha, author of The Myth of Indigenous Caribbean Extinction: Continuity And Reclamation in Boriken (Puerto Rico) [Palgrave Macmillian, a division of St.Martin’s Press, New York, NY, 2011] about his recent work.
By Madeline McGill
Since it’s opening, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) has dedicated itself to the promotion of native identity and cultural understanding. Now celebrating the 10th anniversary of the D.C. museum, it is launching an ambitious exhibit this September that seeks to highlight the role of treaties between the United States and Native Nations.
The annual commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples was held on August 9, 2014 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The event highlighted the importance of implementing the rights of Indigenous peoples and marks the twentieth year of the global celebration.
"We must ensure the participation of indigenous peoples – women and men – in decision-making at all levels. This includes discussions on accelerating action towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and defining the post-2015 development agenda."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
2014 Theme: "Bridging the gap: implementing the rights of indigenous peoples"
The 2014 United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report, Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience, was just released on July 24, 2014. By identifying vulnerable communities and bolstering their ability to react to negative forces through collective action, governments stands to improve many of the human rights violations affecting Indigenous Peoples and marginalized groups around the world.
Daniel Pascual is a 42-year-old Quiche defender of Indigenous rights, a well known activist and the current president of the Comite de Unidad Campesina (CUC). Daniel Pascual recently appeared at the Constitutional Court of Guatemala to hear the complaint filed by the president of the Foundation Against Terrorism, Ricardo Méndez Ruiz, accusing him of libel, slander and defamation.
According to UN Special Rapporteur on Business and Human Rights John Ruggie, when extractive companies have problems with local communities surrounding their development, about 80% of time can be devoted to conflict resolution: not an effective time strategy. Companies can lose up to $20 million a week due to shut down costs as a result of social conflict.
Traditional Mayan authorities from Huehuetenango, Guatemala traveled to Spain in early July on a tour to raise awareness about the systematic human rights abuses experienced by their peoples at the hands of Spanish companies including Hydro Santa Cruz, a hydroelectric company operating in Santa Cruz Barillas, Guatemala. The Plurinational Government of the Q’anjob’al, Chuj, Akateka, and Popti’ and Mestizo peoples of Huehuetenango, including a representative of the community of Santa Cruz Barillas, and Santa Eulalia, visited Madrid and Barcelona on their tour.
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.
