by Sunnie Redhouse
Daily Lobo
Native American Studies at UNM recognized issues facing indigenous people throughout the world Friday.
"It was a chance to bring in indigenous people to share issues such as the struggle for land, education and the struggle against globalization," said Gregory Cajete, director of Native American Studies. "This is a rise of indigenous consciousness."
The talk was part of a three-day event that took place on campus.
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The last event, Peacemaking in a World of Conflict, summed up key topics in previous panels and discussed resolutions that would eventually be presented to the United Nations.
David Lujan, director of American Friends Service Committee-New Mexico, said the symposium is an opportunity for indigenous people to share issues facing their communities.
"It's a time to look forward to the next decade of indigenous people," he said. "We wanted to stress the importance of relations to each other and creating relationships with each other."
No students attended the symposium, but participants came from all over the world, including Colombia, Peru, Panama, Hawaii, Alaska, South America and Central America.
Issues concerning many indigenous people in the United States included rights to land and water. Shannon Rivers, of the Akimel O'otham people from Arizona, said the issues discussed are essential to the declaration presented to the United Nations.
The U.N. General Assembly declared Jan. 1 the beginning of the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples. The focus of the declaration is to strengthen international cooperation for solving problems indigenous people have within their communities, according to a U.N. General Assembly report.
Problems and possible solutions were made by participants and panelists at the symposium. They will be compiled and presented to the United Nations. A specific date was not given for the presentation.
The document will be forwarded to participants in the symposium, communities affected and other national governments and international institutions.
"One of the biggest issues we have is with our land rights and our water rights," Rivers said. "Now that we know we have these issues in our communities, we have to take it to an international and national level."
With the help of translators, many panelists who spoke only Spanish were able to share issues about their communities.
One visitor included Mino Eusebio Castro of Peru.
He said communication with peers and the government is an important aspect in getting indigenous people's concerns heard.
"We have to be able to communicate equal to equal," he said. "We shouldn't have to ask for the right of the earth. It is ours. We inherited it."
Eusebio Castro spoke about the difference in governments he called horizontal government and vertical government. The horizontal government, he said, is one that includes civilians in its talks. The vertical government excludes and alienates civilians.
"We still have a lot of work to do," he said. "We are visualizing what the future will look like. Our spirituality is where our culture comes from and where we get the strength to move on."
Cajete gave credit to the American Friends Service Committee and other organizations in putting together the event.
