From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
Subject: Indigenous Nations Commission: Positions & Objectives
Date: 10 Oct 92 03:34:01 GMT
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Organization: PACH
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu

/** gen.nativenet: 358.0 **/
** Topic: Continental Commission papers **
** Written  4:32 pm  Oct  7, 1992 by saiic in cdp:gen.nativenet **
The following are two documents produced at the recent meeting of
the Continental Coordinating Commission  of Indigenous Nations and
Organizations .  The meeting took palce in Panama the last week of
September.  The first document  is a position paper regarding the
Quincentennial: it is very clearly and powerfully worded, and
needs to be disseminated widely.  The second document is the set
of objectives for and resolutions of the Coordinating Commission
agreed to   at the meeting.  As a result of the petition to the
U.N. produced at the last meeting of the Continental Commission in
New York,  representatives from the Coordinating Commision have
been invited to speak  on December 10th,  at the opening of the
United Nation's Year of Indigenous Peoples.

CONTINENTAL COORDINATING COMMISSION
OF INDIGENOUS NATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS

   Our position regarding the Quincentennial
    of the "Discovery of the Americas"

Even though we have previously stated our position in regards to
the commemoration of the Quincentennial  (Quito, 1990,  Panama
1991,  New York 1992), the Continental Coordinating Commission of
Indigenous Nations and Organizations, meeting in Panama from the
24th - 27th of September, 1992, ratifies that:

What happened in 1492 was not "the discovery of America" nor "the
encounter of two worlds".  What in fact took place was the
European invasion of the native peoples of this continent, known
to the Kuna people as Abya Yala.  As a consequence of the
invasion, we endured one of the largest massacres in the history
of humanity, the looting of our natural resources, the theft of
our territories, and the establishment of a colonial regime which
endures to this day.

Those instigating the commemoration of these violent deeds are the
governments of the developed countries, and the governments of
Latin-American countries.  The former are the ones who benefit
directly from our situation of poverty, while the latter benefit
from our dependency and our loss of sovereignty as well.  What the
governments are really seeking is to legitimate their history of
colonialism by depicting it as a romantic "encounter of two
cultures", and thus legitimate the neo-colonial present which, as
indigenous people, we still live in today.

We do not deny that the 12th of October is a historic event.
Indubitably, it has much significance from many perspectives - for
example, playing a key role in the evolution of geography, the
sciences, etc.  However, not all historic events are to be
celebrated.  As important as this date may have been, due to its
colonial character of bloody expansionism, it is much more immoral
than memorable.

Our response, then, is to assert the fact of our continued
existence as Indigenous people and communities, to continue our
struggle to attain our most basic rights, and to propose concrete
alternatives to help solve not only the problems that indigenous
people face, but to help solve the problems that the human
community as a whole is facing.  The world needs to know that
indigenous communities are present, that we continue to struggle
with dignity and courage, and that, just as before, we have much
to offer the world in terms of our experience and knowledge.

For us, the 12th of October is the beginning of a new historical
process, which is characterized by the search for alliances
between different communities, based on respect for diversity and
equal rights for all.

In conclusion, we support all of the different protests of the
Quincentennial celebrations which are taking place.    However, we
do not accept being manipulated for political ends, nor having our
Indigenous cause be used for objectives and interests which are
foreign to us.  Thus  we call on all indigenous communities,
social change organizations, Afro-American organizations, etc., to
participate en masse in the demonstrations planned for October.
We are convinced that unity in our actions will strengthen our
political unity.

signed by the members of the Continental Coordinating Commission,
                                            from North, South, and
                                            Central
America
                                                            September
                                                            27,
1992, Panama

for more information, you can contact:

Information Center for the Coordinating Commission c/o Asociacion
Kunas Unidos por Nabguana Apartado Postal 536 Panama 1, Panama

tel: (507) 63-88-79 or (507) 63-40-27 fax: (507) 69-35-14      or

Indigenous People's Alliance
 c/o Tonantzin Land Institute P. O. Box 40182
Albuquerque, NM 87196-0182 phone (505) 766-9930 fax      (505)
766-9931

Continental Coordinating Commission of Indigenous Nations and
Organizations

Document  of the 3rd Meeting of the Continental Coordinating
Commission of Indigenous Nations and Organizations

WE AGREE TO: ratify the accords reached in Panama, as well as the
creation of the Continental Coordinating Commission of Indigenous
Nations and Organizations.

OBJECTIVES:

1.  The Continental Coordinating Commission of Indigenous Nations
and Organizations will take charge of promoting and organizing a
2nd Indigenous Continental Encounter in Mexico, to ratify the
establishment of the Continental Coordinating Commission of
Indigenous Nations and Organizations.

2.  To further Continental Indigenous Unity, recognizing that we
share a common past and present, and that we have decided to work
together beyond 1992,
 respecting the particular situations and strategies that each
Indigenous Nation chooses to utilize in order to attain Liberation
and Self-Determination.

3.  To develop a continental communications network that will
directly involve the indigenous communities, in order to develop
closer contact among ourselves and publizice the critical
situation in which Native people live, as well as alternative
proposals  that search for solutions to our future.

4.  To promote a process of dialogue and consensus based on our
spiritual values, ways of life, and millenarian knowledge.

5.  To strengthen our common Alliance for the purpose of
rebuilding our Nations which were dispersed by colonization, and
in order to halt the destruction of our Mother the Earth and her
harmony.

6.  The Continental Coordinating Commission of Indigenous Nations
and Organizations needs to act concretely in solidarity with
Indigenous communities facing conflict, by pressuring governments
as well as national and international organizations to help find a
definitive solutions to the problems, in addition to making public
statements on a continental and intercontinental level.

7.  To be an Indigenous voice to express and make known the
existing Indigenous cultural diversity, both amongst our own
communities and to the public at large.

8.  To attain respect for the autonomy of Indigenous communities
and organizations, as well as for their forms of struggle,
actions, and demands.

ACTIONS:

1.  In order to attain these objectives it is neccesary to consult
and share proposals.  Therefore it is neccesary to hold workshops
and seminars  both regionally and nationally in order to analize
our political strategies.

2.  In order to gather together and systematize the consulting
process, the continent will be organized around regions:

a) United States: Indigenous Peoples Alliance (IPA)
     Canada: Continental Commission

b) Mexico:  Frente Independiente de Pueblos Indios (FIPI)
                  and the Union de Mujeres Yalaltecas.

c) Central America:  Kunas Unidos por Nabguana of Panama (KUNA)
      and the Consejo de Organizaciones Mayas de Guatemala (COMG)

d)  Andean Region:  Organizaciona Nacional Indigena de Colombia
        (ONIC) and Confederacion de Nacionalidades Indigenas del
        Ecuador (CONAIE)

e) Brazil and the Southern Cone: Continental Commission

3. The Commission will disseminate the demands and conclusions
reached at the meetings and workshops.

                                                  Panama, 27th of
                                                  September,
1992
** End of text from cdp:gen.nativenet **
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