PRESS CONFERENCE BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CAUCUS

Indigenous peoples, who were symbiotically and spiritually related to the lands they inhabited, were being displaced at alarming rates, Leonor Zalabata, Human Rights Commissioner of the Tairona Indigenous Federation of Colombia, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

Highlighting the progress of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, currently in its second week of meetings at the United Nations, the press conference, chaired by Elsa Stamatopoulou, Acting Chief of the Forum’s secretariat, also featured the following speakers:  Willie Littlechild, the Forum’s Rapporteur; and Noeli Pocaterra, Second Vice-President of Venezuela’s Parliament and member of the Indian National Council.

Ms. Zalabata stressed that the territories of indigenous people needed to  be respected.  Currently, in Colombia, one indigenous family was displaced every 10 minutes.  Such forced relocation led to poverty and the loss of indigenous culture.  She also highlighted the violence from which indigenous peoples suffered.  In the Santa Marta Mountains, an area traditionally inhabited by indigenous peoples, over 180 people had been killed because of civil unrest.  In addition to displacement and violence, transnational companies were exploiting indigenous peoples’ natural resources.

Mr. Littlechild, of Canada’s Cree people, spoke about the Sacred Staffs of the Peace and Dignity Journeys.  The staffs represented the constitution of the Confederation of the Eagle and the Condor, Indigenous Nations of North, Central, and South America, and had been carried by runners throughout the Americas before being presented to the Permanent Forum.  He said that, through the staffs, the spirituality of indigenous peoples had been brought into the United Nations. Stressing the need for indigenous people to have spiritual, as well as political and economic, rights, he felt encouraged by the dialogue that had taken place during this session of the Forum.

Speaking after Mr. Littlechild, Ms. Pocaterra said that her people, divided by the border between Colombia and Venezuela, had been struggling many years for fundamental rights.  Unfortunately, very little had been done to address the suffering of indigenous people.  In many places, tribes were still prohibited from using their own medicines, languages, and legal systems, and had been pressured to assimilate to national cultures.  Nevertheless, after a 20-year struggle, indigenous rights had finally been enshrined in the Venezuelan Constitution in 1999.  Additionally, for the first time in Venezuelan history, indigenous people were participating in the national and local governments to ensure that no one would speak for them.

Asked what had been accomplished during the Forum, Ms. Pocaterra expressed frustration that, within the United Nations, things progressed slowly.  She acknowledged, however, that it was an important step to have such a forum, in which indigenous peoples could exchange views and share experiences.  Ms. Zalabata added that having a forum showed that the United Nations system was beginning to recognize the diversity of the world.

Fielding a question about how indigenous rights in Venezuela related to resistance against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Ms. Pocaterra said that President Chavez had given indigenous people dignity.  In addition to listening to their problems and responding with helpful executive decrees, he identified himself as an indigenous person.

Asked about similarities between indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, Mr. Littlechild responded that, although different languages and cultural expressions existed, indigenous peoples were united by a common spirituality.  The sacred staffs represented that bond.

Responding to a question about how Colombian internal conflicts were affecting indigenous people in Colombia and Venezuela, Ms. Zalabata said that when the Colombian President called upon indigenous people to join the army, it only served to propagate violence and erase distinctions between militants and those who wanted no part in the conflict.  Her hope was that indigenous peoples would  be allowed in the future to live in peaceful, self-governed territories.  Ms. Pocaterra added that it was important for indigenous peoples to unite and stand up against violence in order to maintain their cultures.

* *** *