LOKONO-ARAWAK FROM PAKURI TERRITORY IN GUYANA GOING TO THE OLYMPICS ON THE GUYANA JUDO TEAM!

15th June 2012

Raul Lall (aka Chris) can be seen in this pic third from left! This is the first time in history as far as anyone has been able to determine - that a member of the Lokono-Arawak Tribal Nation has become an Olympic athlete!

Raul Lall ( aka Chris ) is a proud Member of both the House of Water Judo & Rising Sun Judo Clubs in Guyana; South America. He was born on 27th July 1994.

He has represented Guyana in several International competitions:

* Barbados Independence International Judo Tournament - in December 2010 - where he captured the Gold medal for the Under 60kgs category.

* Dominican Republic Senior Caribbean championship in March, 2011- where he won the Bronze medal in the Under 66kgs category.

* Panama City at the Caribbean/Latin American Judo Championship in March 2012 - where he won the Silver medal in the Under 60kgs category.

So far he is the only Judoka from Guyana to make it to the Olympics - and his event will be the under 73kgs category.

May Awa Adaiahuli (the Great Holy Spirit) take you to London and bring you back to us safely, and as you compete in your events - be secure in the knowledge that the support and love of the ENTIRE Lokono-Arawak Tribal Nation - and indeed all of Guyana  is with you!

RAPANUI (aka EASTER ISLAND) - THE COUNTRY STOLEN BY CHILE

Thursday, May 21, 2009

I was fortunate in my second year course of Tribal Link (Project Access Global Capacity building for
Indigenous Peoples) May 2009 training in New York City - to meet Erity Teave, she is a member of
the Rapanui Parliament, and she descends from a long and distinguished line of freedom fighters of the
Rapanui People.

Erity is soft spoken and has a big heart, the minute you meet her you get a soothing sense of calm...a
gut feeling that if all the people in positions of power across the Earth were just like her - there would
be true equity, peace and justice in the world. I was excited to finally sit down and have an in-depth
conversation with Erity, for I had only read about the Rapanui in the pages of National Geographic
Magazines in my teen years, two decades ago. Erity calmly began to tell me the sad history of Rapanui,
one that mirrors my own Arawak People's sorrowful experiences after first welcoming strangers from
across the sea into our lands with open arms of friendship...only to have our world destroyed and
freedom banished in return.

Rapanui is 64 square miles in area, and is 3,800 km to the east of Tahiti, and 2,300 km to the west of
Chile, for 2000 years the Rapanui have lived on their island, all alone in the middle of the South Pacific
Ocean. Then on September 9th 1888 the Chilean Navy under Captain Toro, acting on the advice of the
Catholic Bishop of Tahiti, was sent to Rapanui to annex the island; Upon arrival the Chileans recorded
that the Rapanui gave them a friendly reception.

In 1889 the Chileans tricked the Rapanui King Arike Atamu to attend a meeting in Chile with the
President of that country, once the King reached Valparaiso in Chile - they poisoned him. A fraudulent
document (Civil Decree 590) was drawn up with the bogus signature of the King who did not know
either to read or write the alphabet - which surprisingly is still used by Chile to justify their illegal
annexation - and in this document the page is divided into two halves, to the left is a Spanish translation
of the Rapanui Kings words which read in English "We Rapanui welcome you as friends, we allow you
to stay on our land and trade with us as friends"...and on the Chilean government right half (which was
NOT translated to the King) it reads "We Rapanui agree to cede our island without reservation to the
state of Chile."

In an attempt to stress the point that their murdered King would have said no such thing - when
informed after the fact by the Chilean Navy - the astonished Rapanui tried to illustrate their point by
picking up a handful of soil and keeping it it their clenched fist - and up-rooting some grass and on
presenting it to the Chilean Navy told them - "as a friend you may use what the land produces for your
horses, sheep and cows, but the land will always belong to the Rapanui".

The William Balfour Company of England then 'legally' leased the entire island of Rapanui (including
the Rapanui people) for the rearing of 250,000 sheep - and rounded up the 'illegally squatting' Rapanui
and forcibly re-settled them in one small area of the island called Hangaroa, you might call it a forerunner
of the Nazi concentration camps or Soviet era Gulags, for if they attempted to leave the zone of
imprisonment the Rapanui were shot dead by Chilean Navy sailors; whether men, women or children -
no mercy was granted. Torture, rapes and all manner of evil including slave labor, were inflicted upon
the Rapanui in the Hangaroa camp; situated right next to the Chilean Governor's residence on the
island.

In 1914 the Rapanui revolted and the Chilean Navy burned every Rapanui house and captured 36
Rapanui leaders - later releasing 35 of them, the principal leader was taken back to Chile in chains and
never saw his homeland or family again, dying - like the Great Apache Chief Geronimo of America - in
the custody of his oppressors; That great Rapanui martyr was Erity Teave's Great grandfather. His son,
Erity's grandfather continued the struggle, and succeeded in winning fishing rights back for the
Rapanui People. In 1954 the ignoble lease of Rapanui island to the William Balfour Company of
England expired, and then the Chilean Navy became the government appointed administrator of the
island.

In 1964 the island had a Rapanui Mayor called Alfonso Rapu, and at this time Erity's father Juan
Chavez Teave was a young man who sought the only employment available which was in the Chilean
Navy, a telegraph came in while he was on duty - saying that a naval ship was on it's way to Rapanui
with orders to arrest the Mayor whom they deemed to be an opponent of the State of Chile. Erity's
father - like a loyal patriot to his people - secretly warned the Mayor and informed a then visiting
Canadian team of scientists (RAPAIMUN) of the plot - and they then provided a kind of insurance
policy of potentially informing the wider world should any harm come to the Mayor; thus these acts
saved the Mayor's life. Once the Canadian scientist departed the Rapanui had to lay low until the new
President Eduardo Frei was democratically elected in Chile, this President created a law which offered
some protection to the island, but still fell short of what could have been done by his administration.

In 1968 Juan Chavez Teave organized the first re-constituted Rapanui traditional Agricultural
collective.
In 1970 Leftist President Salvador Allende (1970-1973) was democratically elected in Chile, and was
generally good to the Rapanui, but still did not right crucial historic wrongs.
In 1973 the infamous General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende in a CIA backed coup and seized
power for himself.
In 1976 Erity's father Juan Chavez Teave, retired from the Chilean Navy and sued the state of Chile -
because the Chilean Air Force had illegally taken his father's land to build an Antenna, he won his case
in a surprising and rare instance of justice for indigenous people in the Supreme Court of Chile. Juan
Chavez Teave sued the state of Chile again in the 1980's to get the entire island back for the Rapanui
People - but the state responded instead by enacting laws which provided 15 hectares of land to each
Rapanui family (ie parents with children). Neo-Colonial States such as Chile still do not seem to
comprehend that it is NOT good enough for a thief to steal your entire house and then expect to be
congratulated when he tells you that you can have back your toilet. This Act does NOT return the
island to the collective ownership of the rightful landlords - who are the Rapanui People, and is merely
a more cunning form of re-colonization.

Erity's father was granted an audience with the then brutal Military dictator cum President of Chile
General Pinochet - who had recently outlawed the speaking of the Rapanui language on the island, and
it is Juan Chavez Teave who has gone down in history as being one of the bravest men to ever stand
before the tyrant and tell him to his face "There will never be born a man who can forbid me from
speaking my own language". The law was later rescinded.

In 1996 UNESCO declared Rapanui to be a patrimony of the World and of Humanity.
In 2001 The Rapanui Parliament, of which Erity Teave is a member, was formed. This noble and
democratic body will become the Government of Rapanui once their Sovereignty is restored in
accordance with International Human Rights Laws and Conventions concerning colonized indigenous
peoples.

In 2006 Michelle Bachelet was democratically elected as the current President of the Republic of Chile.
It is the sincere hope of the 3,000 Rapanui alive today that Her Excellency President Bachelet will
prove to be the ONE Chilean politician with the vision, moral fibre and strength of character to use her
position of power and influence to accept and correct the heinous historical injustice inflicted on the
Sovereign people of Rapanui; and herself be honorably recorded by history as being a shinning
example to all countries worldwide - who seek to shed their backward colonialist ways, and join the
enlightened progressive states of the Earth who stand for all that is just, moral, and right to do...in the
treatment of our fellow men.

President Bachelet - let the Rapanui People be free!

INDIA'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

At Tuesday morning's session at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues the Asia
Caucus exposed the atrocities committed by the Indo-Aryan government of the state of India - against
the Mongoloid peoples who's lands in the North-East of that country it illegally occupies, by means of
it's brutal military apparatus.

For a country set upon the road to Independence by the great pacifist Mahatma Ghandi - the State of
India has seemingly gone to great lengths to bring dishonor on his memory and nullify his noble life's
work by bullying weak opponents into submission like a schoolyard tout. India with 10 times the
population of Pakistan has fought 3 wars with this Muslim neighbor and only achieved 3 stalemates,
China invaded India decades ago and annexed 5% of the country with Indian forces powerless to do
anything about it, and as one famous retired Indian General turned author once wrote "India has never
won a real war"...perhaps this frustration at having 'one of the largest military's in Asia' yet STILL being
considered a feeble adversary by other regional powers has somehow compelled the Indians - like
juvenile delinquents - to take out their frustrations on opponents thousands of times weaker than
themselves...this might be the only way they deem that they can win an outright victory.

I wonder if any of my Indo-Aryan friends or in-laws know what their government has been up to, and
isn't it ironic that India tirelessly promotes a shockingly dishonest public image of itself throughout the
world as 'The greatest bastion of Democracy in Asia', and many in the western world have allowed
themselves to be deceived; more disturbingly - some states know the truth yet go along with the charade
so that their 'begging bowl' can be filled with Indian diplomatic relations, trade, grants, loans, and offers
of 'technical assistance and co-operation'. The State of India does not like the world to know that since
1826 Manipur WAS a sovereign state recognized by Great Britain and Burma in the 'Treaty of
Yandaboo', and again in 1947 (3 years BEFORE India had it's own Constitution!) the Manipur
Constitutional Act was passed into law - this was the FIRST Constitution of an Independent country in
all of south Asia, in the Manipur Constitution the Manipuri King was a Constitutional Monarch and the
Constituent Assembly Parliament was the government; only joint decisions by the King and Constituent
Assembly were legally valid. In 1949 on October 15th - Indian armed forces invaded Manipur, they
forced the Manipuri King alone at gunpoint to sign a 'Manipur Merger Agreement' with India (at a time
when India itself did not even have a constitution of it's own!) - and this legally worthless (NEVER cosigned
as is legally required by the constituent Assembly of Manipur) piece of paper is to this day what
the state of India uses to justify the past 60 years of it's immoral and tyrannical reign over Manipur -
which they deem as merely 'a troubled region of India'.

Retired Legal experts from the World Court in the Hague all concur that the De-facto Indian annexation
of Manipur was an international war crime, and further assert that the Indian constitution of 1950
CANNOT supersede the preexisting Manipur constitution of 1947.

But the Manipuris have never stopped resisting the Indian war machine, and the brave freedom fighters
of the People's Liberation Army, the Manipur People's Army and several others - continue to put up a
spirited defense of their Manipur motherland against the Indian foreign invaders. The Indian security
Forces have recently acquired un-manned aerial reconnaissance vehicles from the State of Israel, and
these are being used in conjunction with the so-called 'Peaceful Indian Satellite Program' - to spy on
Manipur 24 hours a day in all weather conditions; and rendering detailed photographs with a resolution
of up to one metre above ground level - even through cloud cover! Manipur still has extensive forested
mountains and valleys however, and these are still safe areas for the guerrillas.

There was a time up to very recently, when Manipuris were not permitted to have mobile phones, but
this official policy was ended when the Indian Security Forces realized that they could use their
officially peaceful space program to intercept and track the freedom fighters mobile phone signals and
assassinate them as the opportunity presented itself. It is no wonder then that mobile phones are quite
legal now - and are actively encouraged with a very exceptional; network of cell towers blanketing much
of Manipur...graciously provided by the magnanimous State of India. The united Nations special
rapporteur on Human Rights visited India with the objective of going to Manipur to investigate
persistent reports of human rights abuses, but he was not allowed to enter Manipur - the excuse told him
by the Government of India was that his 'safety could not be guaranteed'.

Concerned readers should note that on the other side of the over-extended state of India, just off the
South West Coast of the sub-continent - are the Andaman Islands. These islands are the ancient lands
and territories of the indigenous Negroid peoples still clinging to survival there, and the Andaman
islanders ALSO view the same Indo-Aryan dominant ethnic group from India as being the foreigners
who invaded and colonized THEIR traditional lands and who are responsible for the destruction of their
cultures; and to the gradual extinction of them as distinct indigenous peoples.

I was sickened to watch (outside of the UN) smuggled footage of clearly uniformed Indo-Aryan Indian
Security Forces in Manipur and Nagaland committing atrocities on unarmed indigenous Mongoloid
civilian men, women and children. So let the truth be known, the State of India is just another deceptive
Neo-colonial aggressor - and a deadly infectious plague in the lives of South Asia's indigenous Peoples,
like so many other ignoble regimes in the world. Like many others, including in my home region of the
Caribbean and Latin America, it is a state who's dominant ethnic group embarked on the road to their
own liberation as freedom fighters themselves against European Colonial oppressors - only to put on
their departed former masters attire and worldview, and in turn re-colonized indigenous peoples within
their own inherited artificial political boundaries.

I leave you with my own humble words or warning:
"NO ethnic group has a legal or moral right to leave their own indigenous lands and territories
and colonize the lands and territories of ANY other indigenous ethnic group....and once this great
injustice has been committed and unrepentantly maintained on your fellow man - you have sown
the seeds of your own future destruction....for so end all tyrants."

BATWA People of Uganda - and the repercussions of reckless conservation

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

"The world has either failed to understand or the world is not informed about our suffering". That is a
direct quote from my Batwa brother from Uganda, we met in Alaska at the first Global Indigenous
Conference on Climate Change that we attended, I had heard him speak passionately about his people,
and later invited him to join the Pan-Tribal Confederacy - which he accepted.

The Batwa were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the forests of Uganda in 1991 by the
then government of Uganda, all in the name of foreign conceptualized 'National parks for the Gorillas';
so the Gorillas were protected and the Batwa were evicted. The Government had no contingency plan
for the Batwa, they had to find a way to survive in an alien urban environment, fighting for crumbs as
the landless and the homeless.

Before their world was destroyed the Batwa were hunter-gatherers, and they used to depend on the
forest for survival - including medicinal herbs. since the eviction the Batwa have became beggars,
scattered and marginalized, frequently discriminated against, they cannot socially interact with others.
Health care is often denied to them, education is limited to non-existent, and the Batwa rarely get an
honest wage for their labor in comparison to other Ugandans.

Deplorable housing, poor sanitation, low self-confidence, no representation in Ugandan society,
insufficient food, and no rights in any areas including Judicially. It is no wonder then that the few
Batwa Children who DO become enrolled in school drop out at an early age due to all the above
mitigating factors, and Batwa girls tend to get married at an unnecessarily young age; generally at the
onset of puberty in many instances. Lack of clothing also contributes to the discrimination they face in
the urban context. To make matters worse - due to their severe poverty non-Batwa peoples use this
state of desperation to employ Batwa workers and pay them less than anyone else; or simply give them
a little food for their hard work. It has reached the sad state today - that Batwa have resorted to dancing
and begging in the cities and towns to be able to obtain sustenance.

Perhaps, the members of the esteemed boards of directors of the many noble conservation organizations
of the world - should give a thought to the human tragedies that may result from their well intentioned,
but clearly inadequately enacted (in this case) projects in areas with indigenous populations. Alas, it is
too late to erase the grief the Batwa have endured in the haste to protect the Gorillas at all costs, we can
only hope now that his Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, will use his tremendous power
and influence, to right this terrible wrong inflicted on the Batwa, and show the world that the new
progressive government of Uganda under his able leadership - is fully compliant with the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the International Convention on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination; and CAN give hope, dignity and justice back to the Indigenous
Batwa People of Uganda.

My Controversial Report on the 3rd Indigenous Leaders Summit of the Americas held in Panama Central America April 14-15th 2009

The 1st Indigenous Leaders Summit of the Americas was held in 2001 in Ottawa, Canada, North
America, the second was in 2005 in Buenos Aires, Argentina; South America, and the 3rd was just
concluded on April 15th 2009 in Panama City, Panama; Central America
.
Controversy tends to follow anything that seeks to advance the long denied rights of the Indigenous
Peoples of the Americas - a Hemisphere that with the sole exception of Bolivia (which FINALLY has
an Indigenous President and government) - STILL suffers to varying degrees under Colonialism &
Neo-Colonialism - 517 years AFTER the arrival of Columbus and the ensuing Genocide, Ethnocide and
Ecocide he (and subsequent Euro-centric plunderers) unleashed in the 'New World'.

At the opening ceremony held in a conference room at the Hotel Riande Continental in Panama City on
April 14th 2009 the opening prayer was said by a respected elder of the local Kuna Tribal Nation.
The influential leader Mrs. Beverly Jacobs of the Native Womens' Association of Canada, was the first
speaker to address the 100+ Indigenous Leaders from North, South, Central America and the Caribbean
gathered.

This was followed by a video address by his Excellency Jose Miguel Insulza - Secretary General of the
Organization of American States (OAS), and this was presented on his behalf by her Excellency
Abigail Castro de Perez - Ambassador and representative of the OAS in Panama.

The Third speaker was her Excellency Patricia Lagan-Torrel - Ambassador of Canada to the the
Republic of Panama; the governments of Canada, the USA, and Spain provided funds to make the 3rd
ILSA possible and the OAS provided logistical support in no small part by tireless workers such as Mr.
Luis Toro and Ms. Jessica Grebeldinger - both great friends to the cause of Indigenous rights.

Fourth to speak was the well known indigenous Lawyer Hector Huertas of the Kuna Tribal Nation of
Panama, and one of the key points he raised was the fact that "Everyone must realize that the United
Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a 'minimum standard' - not a be-all and end-all
for the inherent and undeniable rights of Indigenous Peoples of the world; so the American
declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (still being created) CANNOT fall below the rights
enshrined in the UN declaration - which is global in scope".
* Readers should note that the UN declaration being referred to was passed by a vote of support of
every UN member state EXCEPT the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia - but soon thereafter
the Australian government changed and the new administration quickly adopted the Declaration
leaving 3 isolated 'Democratic hypocrisies' still in opposition.

Fifth and last to speak was the veteran respected Grand Chief Edward John - political executive of the First
Nations Assembly (of Canada) Task Group, and he provided a wealth of information to the appreciative
audience gathered, but his most memorable statement - and one that reverberated around the room to
enthusiastic support was when he thundered: "This 'Human Prosperity' theme of the OAS Heads of State
Summit to follow us immediately in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago CANNOT be implemented for the
benefit of the non-indigenous citizens of the OAS states at the expense of OUR Indigenous peoples - because for far too long that is EXACTLY what has been happening!".
The Grand chief went on to state "We have taken 40 cases against the government of Canada to the
Supreme Court of Canada and we have won ALL of them, yet the government of Canada still refuses
to comply with the rulings of their own Supreme Court!"

As I sat in the audience, as a Barbadian by birth of Guyanese Lokono-Arawak descent, and cognizant
of the fact that I was part of the planning committee for this 3rd indigenous Leaders Summit of the
Americas and head of the communications sub-committee (my tenure expired as of 6.30pm on April
15th 2009 when the Summit officially ended), I was saddened to hear that the Governments of
Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil - were still frustrating the efforts of the Indigenous Caucus in
the draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People's process, when I had attended the
last OAS session in Washington DC a few months ago the USA and Canada had dropped out of the
process entirely - which is an act guaranteed to sabotage any progress we hope to make on that front
due to the 'Consensus' requirement within the OAS.

The undemocratic 'Consensus' is the De-facto modus operandi among OAS states, this 'consensus'
system requires that every state must be in complete agreement with EVERYTHING being proposed to
be adopted by the OAS - otherwise it is ultimately rejected.
This might sound almost noble in theory to those who do not have to face 'semantic skulduggery' - for
time and time again we see certain states using the most petty and ridiculous arguments such as the
placement of a comma or hyphen etc. to say "We do not agree with the placement of the comma in that
sentence so we cannot support the text being proposed." Thereby ensuring that our efforts are frustrated
by ever more delays and 'consensus' cannot be reached so the indigenous rights we are fighting so hard
for are denied once again.
To further expose the 'consensus' deception - it would be akin to not allowing any American
presidential candidate to win office unless 100% of all votes cast were for a particular candidate....I ask
you - is that what you call democracy? Is is truly absurd for the countries who traverse the globe
meddling in other countries internal affairs in the name of 'Championing democracy' to be the SAME
countries who do their utmost to ensure that a majority vote democratic process is NOT allowed to
exist within the OAS system.

In truth and in fact the 'Consensus' system being forced by the powerful in the OAS - was devised
specifically to ensure that the Neo-Colonial States of the Americas (not their willing or unwilling
citizenry) are ALWAYS in a position to dictate their self-serving agendas to those they consider to be
their 'subjects'.
With the exception of Guyana, the Caribbean States disrespectful lack of interest and attendance at the
vast majority of OAS sessions concerning Indigenous Peoples of our Hemisphere is another disturbing
factor in our quest to eventually see the American Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples
officially and legally come into existence, for we foresee a worrying scenario whereby the Caribbean
States (who in large part are dependent in one way or another on the USA and Canada) being strong-armed
into voting AGAINST our declaration by using the argument that "They are not sufficiently
informed to make a decision in support of the Declaration"....if the Caribbean states would wake up and
show some interest and make the same effort as ALL the Latin American States have been for many
years - they would know enough to make an informed decision - of course this would require
Caribbean governments to ACTUALLY care about Indigenous Peoples, a falsehood they are fond of
publicly stating - but in my opinion - based on their actions is not yet the case in reality.

Take a critical look at the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as but one example, they are holding the
5th Summit of the Americas - yet the government of Trinidad and Tobago STILL refuses to officially
grant their Indigenous 'Carib' People (the only ones they 'officially' recognize) even 1 square foot of land titled to them - and this is land that in reality - and according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which the Government of Trinidad and Tobago voted to approve - has belonged to the Carib (and other indigenous Trinidadian) people BEFORE any of the Colonial era ethnic groups who all came subsequently and usurped the traditional territories of the Carib People (same can be said of the Red Caribs of Sandy Bay in St. Vincent).

Take a glance at Suriname - who's constitution does NOT even recognize the existence of the 20,000+
Indigenous Amerindians in that country! Do you think any Caribbean head of State has ever raised this
glaring injustice being perpetrated by the government of Suriname on it's native peoples in violation of
International Laws and Human Rights Conventions? Not a word from any of them, their CARICOM
heads of state cocktail party get-together's is of far more importance obviously.Verily, we take
hypocrisy to unprecedented levels in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
In the 90+ paragraphs of the OAS 5th Heads of State Summit Declaration only TWO have passing
references (not even entire paragraphs)to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, one about Education,
and the other about Health...what does this tell you about the 'equitable treatment' these two-faced
politicians claim to want for their 'indigenous brothers and sisters'?.
The Indigenous Caucus of the Americas is only being permitted one brief address to the OAS Heads of
State - then like dutiful servants we must leave the room, not even being permitted to sit as official
observers as we were granted in previous OAS Summits.

Our ONLY hope now is that full blooded Amerindian President Evo Morales of Bolivia or President
Hugo Chavez of Venezuela - who is of mixed Amerindian descent, will use their time at the podium to
remind the world that we Indigenous STILL exist, that the conquest of the Americas has NOT yet
ended, and neither has our resistance to it!

There is a glimmer of hope for the future - because in the legal apparatus of the OAS a simple majority
democratic vote CAN be held to pass a document such as the Draft American Declaration on the rights
of Indigenous Peoples - IF 'weaker' countries are willing to stand-up to the high and mighty in our
Hemisphere and make that Clarion call for such a vote.

It was not always this way, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda gave up it's seat to the Indigenous
Caucus many years ago and very early in the process - an act which allowed us to have a seat at the
table and raise our issues, and the Government of Dominica's UN Ambassador Gregoire tirelessly made
the rounds in the UN general assembly to champion Indigenous Rights and garner support for the UN
Declaration which was eventually passed!

We shall see which of our leaders today actually has some courage and sense of justice.

SUCRE, BOLIVIA - LAST BASTION OF THE CONQUISTADORES

Date: Friday, May 22, 2009

I had intended to write about my roommate Esteban Urquizu Cuellar of Bolivia tonight, some kind of
insightful look into his soul, but Esteban speaks very little English, and my Spanish is quite rusty.
I know he came here to the United Nations Permanent Forum thanks to Tribal Link as I have, but not
too much else about the man, nevertheless I heard him talk at length (albeit in Spanish) about the plight
of Indigenous Bolivians in Sucre Province, the only part of Bolivia that cringed at the thought of an
'Indian' becoming the President when Evo Morales Ayma won office.

In the west - the media (mostly American) leads viewers - especially those who have never traveled to
Bolivia - to believe that what is going on in Sucre Province is nothing more than a 'Socialist Coca
promoting President trying to usurp the rights of the decent hardworking Spaniard descendant business
community there'.

For clarity I will refer to the Oligarchy and Plantocracy in Bolivia as being 'Ethnic Spaniards', let's call
a spade a spade, they maintain homes and bank accounts back in the 'old country' (ie Spain) and are
quite proud of their Conquistador ancestors, lastly they still look every bit the Spaniard biologically
speaking, and as I am fond of saying "If I take an Indian Elephant to England and it gives birth - does
the offspring then become an English Elephant?" The answer is no - it does not, it becomes merely an
Indian Elephant that was born in England. A word to the wise is good enough.

Ladies and gentlemen, no better a deception could have been engineered by the CIA themselves! I
have been to Bolivia twice, I have traveled around the country, and I was the ONLY person from the
Caribbean region invited to be in the audience at the Presidential Palace when President Morales
Nationalized the Natural Gas Companies in Bolivia in 2007; in any fair-minded person's opinion it was
quite justified, it is obscene for a company to extract the natural resources of a poor country and pay the
host nation mere cents on every dollar they earn in the process.

Concerning Coca, I chewed Coca leaves and trust me - there is nothing more 'sinister' gained from it
than the abation of hunger pangs, it saved me some money as I did not need to eat as often, also I was
one of the few members of the OAS Indigenous Caucus invited to Bolivia who did NOT suffer altitude
sickness during my stay over 9,000 feet above sea level there....I attribute this to the Coca leaves I
chewed daily.

Coca leaves are NOT the same thing as 'Cocaine', only in the mind of an idiot is this the case, Coca
leaves are merely an ingredient like many other harmless ingredients that can be artificially combined
with others to make deadly substances; or popular drinks - did you know several tons of Coca leaves
are exported from Bolivia to make Coca-Cola each year? I thought not. Can't be bringing disrepute to
an American tradition now can we, save the smear campaign for those whom we can't get to join our
'New World Order puppet show'(Like Evo Morales).

I don't recall any Western Media reporting on the fact that the proud Spaniard descendant governor of
Sucre owns 90% of the land in his province? Then again, that might remind people of the inherited
unjust privileges of the Conquistador's progeny who still leech out a living from the backs of
indigenous Bolivians on the lands their Spaniard descendants stole in the first place 5 centuries ago! I
fear too that if the fact that ALL privately owned TV stations in Bolivia are owned by ethnic Spaniards
became a publicly know fact in the West ...one might realize that perhaps that is why all the news
reports emanating from those same stations give a decidedly distorted view of the reality on the ground
- portraying the 'savage natives' against the 'innocent ruling class'...now where have I heard that script
before?

In summation, I daresay the 60 minutes of video footage in my possession which very vividly shows
the true nature of the rabidly racist ethnic Spaniards in Sucre Province Bolivia, scene after scene of
Indigenous men, women and children - this includes the very old and very young - being spat upon,
racially insulted ('Dirty Indian Dog' and the like), kicked, whipped, beaten with planks of wood,
punched, slapped in the face etc, while the flag of the red Cross of good old Spain flies nobly overhead
as the rainbow flag of the Indigenous Andeans is publicly burned to wild chants of "Kill Evo!",
"Stinking Indians!" etc are chanted by those whom I think bear out my justifications for referring to
them as Ethnic Spaniards -for they most certainly are NOT genuine Bolivians. The saddest aspect of
the footage I just watched was that it was not only male ethnic Spaniards doing these heinous acts to
battered and bloody Indigenous civilians, their wives and children were right there alongside them
partaking with gusto, verily I last saw such racist hatred in the eyes of European descendant mobs in
American Civil Rights era footage my old headmaster showed us at Secondary School history class in
Barbados when I was but a lad myself.

I can assure you of this much, had it been little white faces bloodied and sobbing kicked around like
rag-dolls in the streets of Sucre Bolivia - instead of the brown and red Indigenous children's faces I just
saw - the Western World would be OUTRAGED and the coverage and media attention would blanket the airwaves!

PARAKUYO of Tanzania Cry Out for Justice

Sunday, May 24, 2009 7:48 AM

The Parakuyo (aka Baraguyu) are a small tribe of pastoralists in Tanzania numbering about 3,000
souls. They live in five provinces of Tanzania, and I am disheartened to report - they are being
victimized by a larger neighboring Indigenous tribe in their country with the support of a few heartless
politicians operating in a covert manner unknown to the honorable President of Tanzania.

The much larger tribe are farmers, and are being encouraged by certain politicians to illegally
appropriate the Parakuyo's traditional lands. Parakuyo women have been raped, and their men have
been murdered, when the Parakuyo communities affected by hostile acts perpetrated by the larger
encroaching tribe call on the authorities to intervene - the police arrive in lorries and confiscate ALL
the Parakuyo livestock instead - accusing the Parakuyo of 'inciting the trouble'. This unjust 'modus
operandi' leaves the Parakuyu devoid of animals - which are the traditional source of wealth and status
in their society and they then become destitute. Parakuyo families are actually starving to death in some
instances as a result of being reduced to poverty by these tactics.

Another stumbling block the Parakuyo face, is one similar to the Ogiek in neighboring Kenya, namely - the fact that no community members are government officials - and neither do they have any close contacts or alliances with any politicians - who tend to see the larger ethnic groups as being more useful (more votes) to support. Few Parakuyo have received a 'formal' education, and even then - it tends to be at the primary level only, rarely beyond.

Cognizant of the fact that the Parakuyo situation is in direct violation of the United Nations Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination, and in my capacity as the leader of the Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal
Nations - which has welcomed the Parakuyo Tribe into our arms, hearts and minds, I am therefore
requesting - via the international media - that his Excellency President Mhe. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete,
urgently intervene in this shameful situation in his country and ensure that these gross violations of the
human rights of the Parakuyo Indigenous People are halted, and the following actions are subsequently
undertaken:
(a) That the Parakuyo are officially recognized as the 129th indigenous tribe of Tanzania.
(b) That the Parakuyo are granted official and non-revocable communal land titles by the government
of Tanzania.

THE OGIEK - the ghost tribe of Kenya

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I arrived in New York City on Monday night of May 11th 2009 from my Caribbean island home of
Barbados, I came here to finish my second year of the Project Access Global Capacity building for
Indigenous Peoples - under the kind sponsorship of the Tribal Link Foundation. One of the guiding
principles reinforced in me by our tutors during the course - was empathy and solidarity with fellow
indigenous brothers and sisters from around the world; and the conviction that we CAN each make a
difference in our own small way...even if merely by the act of informing the non-indigenous majority -
and appealing - solely in my own name - to the many kindhearted souls among them.

I was very fortunate to meet and befriend a mild-mannered, soft spoken gentleman from the Ogiek
People in Kenya, actually he is one of the 3 fellow indigenous roommates for the duration of my stay; I
honestly feel that this heroic yet humble man has never uttered a deceitful word in his entire life. The
Government of Kenya officially recognizes 42 tribes in their country, but the Ogiek (number 43) are
not counted, some politicians there will tell you very matter-of-factually "The Ogiek do not exist" ...but I
am fairly certain that the man whom I have come to know and hold dear to my heart is NOT a figment
of my imagination, nor a specter or phantom. The Ogiek are 20,000 in number in Kenya, with a further
10,000 in neighboring Tanzania, historically they never lived in fixed villages, never farmed, and never
attended school; even today - very few progress beyond the primary level of education...they simply
cannot afford it - for they are hunter-gatherers with only a dwindling forest to provide their every need.

Most tribes in Kenya have at least one tribal member who is either a member of Parliament or Government
official - or is in close contact with one or the other, except the Ogiek - who have no voice beyond the nongovernmental (NGO) level to raise their issues; as one would expect...this has left the Ogiek quite marginalized in Kenyan society. Until the year of Kenyan Independence in 1963, the Ogiek were contentedly hunting, fishing and gathering wild honey in their traditional territory which is the Mau Forest, an area that stretched from the west treeline of the Mau escarpment - to the East treeline below Mount Kenya. Older maps had the swahili name for the Ogiek which is 'Ndorrobo' (which insultingly means 'the people who have nothing')clearly printed in their Mau Forest traditional lands, however newer maps have the name removed and instead the name of another considerably larger encroaching tribe is shown instead.
Ogiek at Supreme Court of Kenya Encouraged by unscrupulous politicians who dole out titles to what is rightfully Ogiek lands in exchange for votes - the new 'landlords' (who are farmers and pastoralists) are systematically clearing the Mau Forest to create crop fields and pastures for their cattle; this is driving the game away and causing the Ogiek to retreat ever deeper into a dwindling green homeland. What is worse, these powerful new settlers have very bluntly told the Ogiek "you are poor, you are few in number, you have
no education, you have no land titles, you have nothing, and if you try to stop us from clearing the
forest we will exterminate you in just one day".

I wish to add my voice to those reminding the government of Kenya that these actions by some public
officials to the detriment of the Ogiek People's inherent and undeniable Rights are in actual fact a gross
violation of the the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International
Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - as well as a myriad of International Human
rights Conventions concerning Indigenous Peoples; and we urge the Kenyan Government to rectify this
situation by implementing Article 81 section 2 (e) of "The Proposed New Constitution of Kenya" under
the heading for community Lands to be granted official recognition - which reads as follows: "ancestral
lands traditionally occupied by hunter-gatherer communities".

The Ogiek have inhabited these forests since time immemorial - and they only want to be able to
continue to live in peace and harmony with nature in the only home on God's green Earth that they
have ever known.

THE WAORANI - Fierce defenders of the Ecuadorian Amazon

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I first met Manuella Omari Ima Omene of the much feared Waorani Tribal Nation of the Ecuadorian
Amazon in 2008, we were together for what was the first year of the training course sponsored by
Tribal Link and Project Access (Global Capacity Building for Indigenous Peoples), a year later we are
together again for the second year of training and our second attendance at the United Nations
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples - May 18-29th 2009 at the United Nations headquarters in
New York City; USA.

The Waorani People number about 2,500 persons and inhabit a traditional territory of 700,000 hectares
spread over 3 Amazonian provinces in the Republic of Ecuador, I decided on this trip to take the time
to learn more about her as a person, without the invaluable translation skills of my Andean Ecuadorean
brother Johnson Cerda - my interview would not have been possible; my lack of fluency in Spanish
(like my father) never ceases to dismay me.
Now that I know more about Manuella, I'm impressed beyond my wildest expectations, the old adage
'never judge a book by it's cover' was written specifically for people like her I believe, she is very soft-spoken, and under 5 feet tall (like my own Arawak wife), but Manuella is the closest to the female
Amazon warrior of Greek mythology that I have ever had the honor of befriending.

She is the daughter of ailing hereditary Chief Cogue of the Waorani, so in western terms that makes her
a princess of her tribe; even though the word 'princess' or 'prince' does not exist in any Amazonian
Indian language that I am aware of - we are simply known as the son or daughter of the (Hereditary)
Chief, but among our respective peoples we have a good measure of respect and influence among
traditionalists (note I said 'Traditionalists'). The still much feared War Chiefs Kemperi and Babeh who
were active in former years are her uncles, and these two great warriors are famous in Ecuador for the
amount of intruders into Waorani territory that the two of them have personally killed. Manuella
casually explained the reasons for the killings to me thusly:
"In our traditional law anyone who enters our territory to destroy it must be killed". Manuella herself
personally met with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correia in 2008 and told him "Mr. President, If you
send oil workers into Waorani Territory my people will kill all of them, and then who will be
responsible for that situation? The Waorani? or you? President Correia replied to her "Well I certainly
don't want anyone to go there and get killed". The proposed oil exploration incursion by Petro Ecuador
deeper into Waorani territory was shelved. Did I mention that not even the Ecuadorian Police and
Military risk patrolling in the Waorani territory?

The diminutive Manuella also stopped the Brazilian Oil Giant Petro-Bras from doing any exploration
into her people's territory, this was not a fight spearheaded by the men, believe it or not it was the
Waorani Women's group led by Manuella who met with the President and warned him of the
consequences of his intended actions - and who stood up to a corporate behemoth and achieved these
peaceful victories! As a man I felt quite embarrassed to hear that the uphill struggle is one being
tenaciously fought without pause by the women in the Waorani tribe, and Manuella agreed that it
should not be this way, but in the absence of their men shouldering their responsibility - these
determined women are capably filling the void. I am sure the men will be only too willing to spear or
rain arrows on any intruders into their territory, but it is the women who have taken the fight into a
more palatable (albeit frustrating at times) arena of passive resistance.

Very few Waorani want to have anything to do with the outside world if truth be known, Manuella for
example is the only Waorani with an e-mail address, and it takes her 7 days to travel one-way from her
jungle home to the nearest town of Puyo to check her e-mail. Most of the Waorani live in about 32
small villages of under 100 persons each, and all of those settlements in the center of their territory
desire to remain un-contacted, caring not to fall into the trap of a slow cultural death that generally
comes with 'assimilation' and 'westernization' (often dishonestly peddled as 'progress' and 'development' by it's cunning salesmen). Manuella would doubtless prefer the simple joy of traditional life and ignore the rest of the world, were it not for the constant encroachment by foreigners - who wait like greedy barbarians at their proverbial forested 'gates' with covetous eyes on the pristine forests and sub-surface mineral wealth of the Waorani homeland.

Manuella will hold a workshop in every village of her people when she returns home, and share
everything she has learned with them, encouraging them to learn all that she has - with a view to
joining her in defense of their people. Manuella wishes to help her people my developing a cottage
industry for their unique handcrafts, and these beautiful items are available for perusal at
www.mujeres.org - this is to help the Waorani women's group self-finance their just cause; and is
undertaken out of the groups office in the town of Puyo....I guess you could call it the 'Tribal Office of
the Waorani'.

The Waorani's immediate needs - ones which are easily accommodated by kindhearted donors - if they
can be located, are to obtain at least 1 computer for the tribe, Manuella knows how to use the
technology and is eager to teach others so it can be used as a tool in their struggle, and the only other
item requested is a radio set - so that communication between the sole Waorani office in Puyo and the
villages in the Waorani territory will not require a 7 day journey merely to transfer news...and this will
become obsolete in this 21st century - as it should be!

It has been my great honor to befriend Manuella, to write these few words about her, and to welcome
the Waorani people into the worldwide Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal Nations.

KARAIRA, TRIBAL LINK'S TAINO GRANDMOTHER

 Friday, May 29, 2009

I first met Grandmother Karaira (aka 'Millie') in 2008 during my first year of Tribal Link Foundation’s “Project Access Global Capacity Building Training for Indigenous Peoples” in New York. She is fiercely proud of her Boriken Taino heritage; and for those who don't know - she'll remind you that Boriken
is the true name of the island the Spanish Conquistadors later called 'Puerto Rico' (Rich Port).

I remember how Grandmother Karaira used to bring food for me each day ‘Just to make sure I had something to eat', and this was entirely out of the kindness of her heart and of her own volition.
Concerning the entire group of Tribal Link trainees (both 'freshmen' and 'alumni') – Karaira always has grandmotherly advice and words of wisdom for everyone. She often sat in the background and listened, waiting for the spirit of the ancestors to move her to single out anyone she senses is in dire need of prayer or counsel. On my last night in New York I was in a bit of mental anguish over a lingering issue I was trying to find a way to cope with, grandmother Karaira called me over and said privately to me: "I feel I need to talk to you about something, you can tell me if I am wrong, but I sense that...".
She went on to very precisely give the direction I was looking for - to the specific issue I was pondering.
If I had let slip even a hint or single word at any time during my almost 3 weeks in New York about
this private matter it would have been easy for someone to make an educated guess, but I never said a
word even remotely concerning this topic; so Karaira was genuinely in tuned on a spiritual level to
obtain the insight she did.
This however, was by no means the first time, last year during a ceremony she gave me a blue Parrot
feather, I had been told in a dream over 20 years ago (when I was still a teenager) by a voice that said
"Now you know how to reach me - when you pray, use the feathers".
I had accumulated over the years the other feathers that I traditionally required, and the Blue Parrot
feather was the last one I needed. I never told anyone about that dream yet she knew I needed that
specific gift.
Among Indigenous Peoples these are normal occurrences, but to many non-indigenous - these are
considered to be quite remarkable.

The Taino and Lokono Arawaks are closer blood relations than almost any other two indigenous tribes
in the Western Hemisphere, and this historic bond of kinship was fractured by the consequences of the
arrival of uncivilized Iberians into our lands over five centuries ago; in modern times my own Bariria
Korobahado Lokono (Eagle Clan Arawaks) have cemented an alliance with the United Confederation
of Taíno People (UCTP) - to which Grandmother Karaira is a representative officer.
The UCTP was founded by Tainos from Boriken, Kiskeya, and Cuba but it has been Boricuas who have
been spearheading the Taino revival in the Greater Antilles and beyond. It is a mammoth effort with the
UCTP taking a principle role internationally. I am honored to be a fellow Council member.
Likewise, well-known UCTP supporter and Taino artist Aguilar Marrero was granted a life seat on the
Eagle Clan Tribal Council. UCTP President Roberto Mukaro Borrero remains the first and ONLY
official adviser to the multiracial and worldwide Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal
Nations, which was founded by the Eagle Clan Arawaks.
Before I conclude I just want readers to know that with the strokes of their pens - former Spanish
colonial governors in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba re-classified 'Indios' as 'Mestizos'
or "Mulattos’ - an act which instantly had the effect of Taino people officially ‘disappearing' from the
population census records of those islands. So do not succumb to the erroneous and widely held belief
that 'the Tainos are extinct'.

Cuba recently revised their official inherited false colonial era curriculum to now admit to the
continued existence of Taino people in Eastern Cuba - who have kept many aspects of their traditional
culture intact, and the recent official DNA tests conducted in Puerto Rico conclusively proves the
continued biological existence of Tainos there. That is just in case anyone failed to notice the very
highly visible modern day Taino cultural activities that have been increasing publicized.
Still there are people in western societies who are so ignorant that they utter nonsense such as "You
guys do not wear loincloths, paint and feathers anymore – so you are not really Arawaks" - to which I
often respond by asking them: "Do YOU still wear the attire your ancestors wore 500 years ago?".
Actually I do still own and wear loincloths, paint my body etc. - but on ceremonial or cultural occasions when I am among my own people and on our own lands as an outward expression of inward cultural pride.
I do not however do so in an urban context outside of my home or specific cultural gathering among the imposed and dominant foreign culture there. The old saying "when in Rome do as the Romans" does have some merit I think. In the end, we all know who we are and it matters not the depth of ignorance exhibited by others.

WINDOWS TO THE SOUL OF THE CORDILLERA

Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Indigenous peoples of the Philippines have a proud but sad history, this is a recurring theme for
indigenous peoples the world often unfortunately; but I have not met another who could tell the tale
like Jennifer Awingan.

Jennifer was one of my Tribal Link colleagues for our May 2009 Project Access Global capacity
building for Indigenous peoples training course. I met her husband Ronald last year when I myself was
a 'freshman' on the course, Ronald had a terrific sense of humor, and was very focused on issues near
and dear to his indigenous brethren in the Cordillera in the Philippines; but Ronald never went into any
detail about his own family.

The night before I left I made a comment/personal observation to my roommate Jitten from Manipur,
and it was as follows: "There is something about Jennifer's eyes, it is as though you can peer into her
soul just by looking into her eyes, I see now why Ronald married her, I think any man who makes eye
contact with her for any length of time would fall in love with her". But what is even more attractive in
my mind is her dedication to her own - and every other Indigenous Tribal Nation in the Philippines, her
eyes are merely a conduit to an unforgettable 'download' of information; at times you can see her eyes
well up with tears as she talks about the myriad of problems they face in their daily lives back home.
Just recently, one of Jennifer's male colleagues in their organization was abducted by agents of the state
and has not been seen since, he was not the first person to do so; and it is unlikely that he will be the
last.

Jennifer herself is constantly followed and harassed by persons under the employ of the Philippines
security forces; and naturally has fears about the safety of their four children. She could easily do as
many others have done, and close her heart to the suffering of her people and try to lead a 'normal life',
a life characterized by the cowardice of 'self-interest' - where one pretends not to notice the misery of
others and by your own silence - contributes to furthering the injustices inflicted on others. Someone
has to draw the line, say enough is enough and we will NOT sit idly by and tolerate this evil in our
midst any longer! Jennifer Awingan is one of those proud, few, true patriot - loyal sons and daughters
of the people; who decided long ago to make that brave stand.

Historically, the Spanish colonizers of the Philippines were never able to conquer the Indigenous tribes
of the Cordillera, and only managed to subdue the coastal and lowland inhabitants; this fact did not
surprise me for being an avid student of Guerrilla warfare tactics myself - I knew that indigenous
fighters waging a campaign from their own mountainous terrain are seldom if ever defeated.
It was not until the American colonization of post World War II, with the subtle use of Western
Education (I prefer to call it 'brainwashing') and Christian Missionaries - that the indigenous cultures of
the Cordillera in the Philippines were destructively penetrated by alien concepts and philosophies.
The discrimination indigenous peoples of the Cordillera face in the Cities is a bit less widespread than
years ago, but they still encounter people in the urban areas who are shocked to discover that the people
of the Cordillera do NOT have tails! This silly view was formerly a widely held belief among the
urbanized population in that country. But this is the LEAST of their woes.
For example, people in the Cordillera set off today (as they did yesterday) to work their crop fields,
only to discover that a landowner from the cities has turned up with a deed to the indigenous lands they
have owned and occupied for millennia and tells them to "get off his property or he will have them
arrested".
The Philippine Presidential Decree 705 says all land above 18 degrees in slope belongs to the State, is
an outdated relic of colonialism and discrimination, and in it is a stipulation that all lands above a
certain amount of meters above sea level 'belong exclusively to the State'; this in effect ensures that the
indigenous peoples of the Cordillera (which means 'mountains' in case you did not know) can have NO
land rights whatsoever - this official piece of 'toilet paper' is completely at odds with EVERY United
Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples - as well as every International Law and
Convention against racial discrimination known to man.
Yet the Philippines, like the State of India, portrays itself as a 'great example of Democracy in action in
south east Asia'.
Even that is minor when compared to the unlawful imprisonment, abductions and subsequent
disappearances, not to mention extra-Judicial killings by Police and Army personnel that continue
without respite to this day. Just as is done in India, the agents of the state need only plant 1 round of
ammunition and include that in their official account to explain why the deceased 'militant' person was
shot dead by them; no inquiry will follow.

Jennifer Awingan is a tireless worker for the Cordillera Peoples' Alliance, Cordillera Youth Center; and
the Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MINISTRIES OF EDUCATION IN ALL CARICOM MEMBER STATES

Thursday 28th May 2009.

Dear Caribbean School Teachers,

I write to you on the matter of my primary and secondary school age children's uncomfortable position
of being perpetually scholastically misinformed - (and penalized when they state the truth to non-
Arawak educators!)- in regard to their OWN Arawak people; for my children are registered members
of the Lokono-Arawak tribe of Pakuri territory in Guyana where they were born.

I had met several years ago with the then Minister of Education in Barbados the Rt. Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, concerning the perpetuation of centuries old European misconceptions and outright fallacies about the Lokono, Taino and Kalinago Peoples in the Caribbean; and I am also aware that you are all collectively bound to follow the guidelines of erroneous resource materials still officially provided by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC). This dogma however, is the epitome of colonial era mentality Academic arrogance and prejudice - for non-Arawak and non-Kalinago 'educators' to even presume
to tell Arawak (real name Lokono), Taino and 'Carib' (real name Kalinago) children that what they KNOW to be true of their own people is somehow 'incorrect' - and only the questionable accounts of biased and/or
ignorant fifteenth and sixteenth century European colonists in the Caribbean are to be accepted as the
Gospel truth.

For example, my children's answers are marked as 'wrong' when they say that Arawaks do NOT
worship 'Zemis' - and go on to explain that there is no letter 'Z' sound in spoken Arawak (I have a
dictionary of the Arawak language, and their maternal grandparents are fluent speakers of Arawak),
furthermore the item is actually called a 'Semi' (which means holy object, a 'Semechi'is a holy man in
the Lokono-Arawak tribe); my children ought to know because their uncle still makes Semis and I have
personally owned one for many years.

A Semi is akin to the incense dispenser of the Anglican and Catholic Churches...it is merely part of the
religious worship...you would not say that Anglicans and Catholics 'worship' the incense dispenser
would you? Of course not, it would be a lie and an insult to members of those Christian denominations
were you to say so...and therein my claim about a lingering bias and prejudice against the regions first
inhabitants is illustrated perfectly.

My Children's maternal grandfather is the top producer in the tribe of Bows and Arrows, and the
tradition was passed down to him from untold generations of his ancestors, yet my children's answers
are marked as 'wrong' when they say that Arawaks made these items, apparently the history book
version is more 'accurate' than the reality they KNOW to be true.
My children are even told that 'The Arawaks did not worship God', strange then that we have a word
'Adaiahuli' which means 'Great Holy Spirit/Creator' in our language - and we pray to him often. But by far the worst example of prejudicial bias and/or ignorance (maybe a combination of all three) is when they hear
their so called 'teachers' make a statement like 'Columbus was good to the Arawaks', only someone
truly ignorant of history could say such a thing.

Columbus's first notation about Arawaks in his journal was - and I quote "They are very trusting, pleasant and loving and are more Christ-like than ourselves; AND THEY WILL MAKE EXCELLENT SLAVES", this man is still considered to be a hated VILLAIN to ALL indigenous tribes of the Western Hemisphere and 'Cristobal Colon (his Spanish Name) /Christofero Colombo (his real Italian name) - was the FIRST perpetrator of GENOCIDE in the Americas - one that led to the enslavement and extermination of millions of Arawak People in the Greater Antilles in a span of just a few years.

Caribbean Educators! Kindly take the opinions of those you are still insulting into account, when you
perpetuate the vestigial racist colonial agenda you teach to young impressionable minds entrusted to
your tutelage.

All for your information and guidance

West Indian connection for the Great North American Amerindian Chief Powhattan of Virginia

Monday, December 7, 2009

In lieu of the recent (and welcomed) attention being paid in the local media on Amerindians and 'prehistoric'
Barbados - I thought readers might also be interested in Amerindians and 'Historic' Barbados.
Please permit me these few lines to highlight a very interesting possibility - namely that the Great American Indian chief Powhattan (real name Wahunsonakok) may have been of West Indian origin - as the sixteenth century Spanish account alludes to in the text excerpt below. Internet searches of several records
including US Military historical archives - state that his son Metacomet's (aka King Phillip) nine year old son and wife Nanuskooke were shipped to Barbados after his death and sold to local white planters for one pound sterling each, our local Artist Mrs. Gunni Johnson created a stunning masterpiece several years
ago highlighting this virtually unknown fact of Barbadian history.

By 1667 Barbados had the unsavory reputation as being a principal hub for the Amerindian slave trade
in North American and South American captives; even fewer know the famous 'Salem witch trials' of
American history - have a Barbadian origin (Plantocrat Samuel Parris and his Guyanese Lokono-
Arawak captive Tituba) - but more about that later.

Way-back in 1652 - The German Heinrich Von Uchteritz who was living in Barbados recorded that
"Most Barbadian born whites were half-breed Amerindians of sallow complexion". In 1657 Richard
Ligon (who had lived in Barbados in 1647) stated that European men in the Barbados colony preferred
Amerindian women as wives and the practice was widespread on the island.
I would be interested in seeing DNA test results for Euro-Barbadians in light of the two aforementioned
observations and that of Quaker George Fox who visited Barbados in 1671 and recorded that most
white families in Barbados had Amerindian wives/mothers.

On official records we know for a fact that Lokono-Arawaks (from present day Guyana), Kalinago-
Caribs (from the Lesser Antilles), Pequot, Susquehannock, Westo, Stono, Kusso, Sowee, Apalachee,
Wampanoag, Yamasee and Ute (all from the present day United States of America) - WERE sold to the
plantocracy in Barbados between 1637 and 1709

I have a strong feeling that many Barbadians have Amerindian DNA and are not aware of it.
Readers should note that 'Amerindian' is merely an abbreviation for the two words 'American Indian'
used to describe the Indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere (except the Arctic), many a West
Indian mistakenly believes that 'Amerindian' is a term used to refer to indigenous people in Guyana
only; another point to note - 'East Indians' and 'Amerindians' are two entirely different peoples that are
in no way related to each other.

Yours sincerely,
Damon Gerard Corrie

An Outline History of the Chickahominy Republicand Nation — 1570 - 1908 "1570: The Spaniards attempted to gain a foothold in Virginia, within the territory of the Tsen-Akamak (the Long House or Powhatan Confederation). The Native Americans soon realized what the Spaniards were trying to do and all of the invaders were destroyed. It is possible that West Indian natives came with the Spaniards as servants and that these persons may have joined the Powhatans. [In later years it was said that both Wahunsonakok or Powhatan and Opechankanoh were of West Indian origin]."

NEWS OF EFFORTS TO CREATE FIRST MULTI-RACIAL DE-MILITARIZED SOVEREIGN INDIGENOUS STATE REVEALED BY PAN-TRIBAL CONFEDERACY PRESIDENT

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Founder/President of the Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal Nations Damon Gerard Corrie
revealed a New Year's bombshell on January 9th 2010, he hopes to be the one to achieve a long held
dream of many traditionalist Indigenous peoples - to finally achieve a De-Militarized Sovereign State of their own - and to take their rightful seat at the table of humanity in the United Nations. The
precise geographic location is not being revealed as yet - as Damon wants to give 'certain Governments' time to get used to the idea and to come on board in the spirit of peace and friendship which will be to
the benefit of all, rather than violent opposition - which he promises will be to the detriment of all. In Corrie's own words "We are moving forward to realize this dream with a determination that should not be
underestimated, how we ultimately succeed in achieving this in reality entirely depends on the reactions
of certain states and how we will respond to them in kind".
It is Damon's somewhat Utopian vision for this would be UN protectorate pacifist state to become 'a friend of all - and Satellite of none' (a statement made famous by a former Prime Minister of Barbados Errol Walton Barrow), peacefully co-existing and conducting equitable commercial trade with neighboring Republics, with (among other things) no taxation on individual incomes, a comprehensive free Indigenous oriented health and education infrastructure and indigenous model communal living where all decisions are made by the consensus vote of community members and not by the arbitrary dictates of a select few; he also wants it to be multi-racial, with Indigenous peoples and like-minded non-Indigenous supporters of all ethnicities and from all corners of the Globe being welcomed to emigrate and settle in this new democratic Indigenous Republic - in numbers that can be supported by environmentally sustainable Permaculture farming techniques. He maintains that this idea can be replicated in all continents of the world if political good-will exists.

Background information on Damon:
Damon is the fourth born of the fourth generation maternally descended from Chief Flying Harpy Eagle
(Amorotahe Haubaria) of the Eagle Clan Arawaks (Bariria Korobahado Lokono) of the country of
Guyana in North-East South America.
* The numbers 4 and 9 are sacred numbers to his people.
Although being born in exile in the Caribbean island state of Barbados on 12 November 1973 - due to his
great-grandmother Princess Marian's (the last surviving child of their former Upper Demerara River
Chiefdom's ruling family) emigration to Barbados in 1925, in 1992 at the age of 19 Damon married back
into the general population of the tribe - who mostly reside today on Pakuri Arawak Territory on the
upper Mahaica River in Guyana. Pakuri is a 2,000 person titled semi-autonomous territory of 240 square
miles.
Damon's wife Shirling was 17 years old when the couple wed in 1992, and Shirling is herself a ninth
generation descendant of Spirit Macaw (Koyaha Maka) the last Holy Man (Semechi) of the Eagle Clan's
former Upper Demerara River chiefdom - who's 3 sons were Christianized and given the surname
'Simon'; before they emigrated to Pakuri and gave rise to the biggest family there today (over 50% of the
population). Damon was informed after the fact - by the Elder Eagle Clan Faithkeeper David Arnold De-
Wever (himself a grandson and descendant heir of Chief Flying Harpy Eagle) - that by marrying Shirling
and having his children born among the people - he had inherited the now ceremonial Hereditary
Chieftaincy of the Eagle Clan based on Chief Flying Harpy Eagles dying words to his sole surviving child
(who was the mother of David & great-grandmother of Damon).
The couple had 5 children together - 4 of whom are still alive today: Son Hatuey (16), son Tecumseh
(13), daughter Sabantho (11), and daughter Laliwa (3); and the couple recently celebrated 17 years of
marriage on December 11th 2009.
Since 1992 Damon has lived among his people on Pakuri Territory in Guyana, and has represented them
internationally at the United Nations (UN) - where he registered the Eagle Clan Arawaks as observers and
is himself a registered participant of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
(UNPFII), and at the Organization of American States (OAS) - where he is a member of the Indigenous
Caucus of the Americas.
Damon has retained 'Special Advisor' status on International Affairs to consecutive elected National
Chiefs of Pakuri since 1992 but restricts his diplomatic efforts to the International stage where he has had
an ongoing outreach and collaboration with several Governments friendly to Indigenous causes.
* The Colonial British authorities outlawed the traditional Hereditary ruling systems of the Arawaks in
the 1800's - and post-Colonial Governments in Guyana still only legally recognize the authority of the
democratically elected Chiefs - who therefore are the only tribal authorities who can legally enter into
dealings with the post-colonial Guyana governments.
In 1996 Damon founded the non-profit Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal Nations - which still
remains to this day as the ONLY worldwide multiracial indigenous Confederacy, and offers among other
things: free web pages for member tribes and encourage site visitors who want to assist with direct
contact information, Damon also writes most of the news articles highlighting member tribes plight for
free as per their request - and sends these news stories to a network of Indigenous friendly local, regional
and international print and electronic media around the world; with hundreds of Damon's articles over the
years being easily found on bigger internet search engines such as Google.
Damon has retained Presidency of the Confederacy and still funds it's operational budget entirely out of
his own pocket.
Damon is also an autodidact Historian, Journalist, Author, and Eco-Tourism operator - who created First
Nations Vacations in 1999, this is an enterprise that was the first 100% indigenous owned, operated and
internet marketed Eco-tourism venture in the Americas. Through this venture Damon was able to create
the first Indigenous conceived and implemented wildlife protection act (aka The Nancy Lewis Cullity
Parrot Protection Act - named after a deceased Angelic American Parrot rescuer that had taken a tour
before becoming a personal friend and donor to the cause) when he convinced former elected Chief David
Simon to declare (on September 17th 2003) the 240 square mile Pakuri Territory as a Psittacine protected
zone, where the hunting and or capture of all Macaw or Parrot species is STILL forbidden, this move has
led to the recovery of these bird populations which previously had been in steady decline due to human
pressures.
* This model was later adopted by and adapted for other indigenous communities around the world.
Damon is spearheading the effort behind the scenes with sympathetic governments and allies to create an
Internationally recognized multiracial De-Militarized Sovereign Indigenous State in South America, and
to this end construction started in 2009 on the first 'Embassy of the Indigenous Republic' in the United
States of America; it's location and first appointed Ambassador will be officially declared simultaneously
with the Declaration of Independence of this Indigenous State, Mr. Corrie has also declared his intention
to run for the position of President of this future Republic in it's first democratically held elections.
Anyone interested in this history making noble cause can contact damoncorrie@yahoo.com

BELIZE GOVERNMENT USING FASCIST TACTICTS ON INDIGENOUS MAYANS – CONFEDERACY LEADER WARNS OF ROGUE ELEMENTS IN DEAN BARROW’S REGIME

I have been receiving disturbing information from my Mayan brothers & sisters in Belize for several
years now about rogue elements under the State’s employ operating with impunity there, the most
recent uncivilized treatment of respected Mayan leader Bartolo Teul (see report herein) has moved me
to inform the wider world of the 3rd world kleptocracy and haven for organized crime that this
CARICOM state has sadly now become.

To their long-term and ultimate detriment, the rogue elements in the Government of Belize fail to
realize that their indigenous Mayans live near the Guatemala border, where millions of Mayan kinsmen
who have learned very well how to wage Guerrilla warfare reside. Do rogue elements in the government
of Belize think they can bully the Mayans of Toledo and not face serious consequences? Perhaps they
feel that their key political backers Masonic Lodge memberships bestow an aura of invulnerability
upon the Babylonian system they are spreading like a cancer, or that England will rush to their aid
when they reap the bitter harvest of the seeds of civil war they are sowing so arrogantly – but I tell
them solemnly that no foreign power is going to send troops to help them persecute their own
indigenous people – should the unjust provocations of officialdom lead the Mayans to act upon the
immortal words enshrined in the preamble of Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states:
“Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be COMPELLED to have recourse, as a LAST RESORT, to
REBELLION AGAINST TYRANNY AND OPPRESSION, that human Rights should be protected by
the rule of law“.

If my Mayan brethren decide to undertake their God-given right to defend themselves – I will make it
my personal crusade to see that they receive the ‘training and tools‘ required to do so successfully; for I
have not come to bow before political miscreants and uniformed criminals; I have come to witness the
fulfillment of prophecies and ride forth with the sword in defense of the innocent.
To the rogue elements within the Government of Belize I unflinchingly say “YOU HAVE BEEN
WARNED!“

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY at the United Nations

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY at the United Nations,
One Barbadian's perspective
April 2010

Thanks to the American based Tribal Link Foundation founded and led by Ms. Pamela Kraft - I was
availed the opportunity to attend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for the 3rd
consecutive year; after my Tribal link training course (best ever in my opinion) was first completed.
But allow me to begin my rambling abbreviated Epiphany from the beginning:

On my American Airlines flight from Barbados to JFK New York a lady several rows ahead of me had
an epileptic fit, there was much screaming and lashing out etc, and there was some talk of diverting to
land elsewhere sooner - so that she could receive medical attention; later I realized that AA no-longer
accepts cash payments for any items offered on board and only accepts credit card payments - but
beyond these two nothing unseemly occurred for the duration of the flight.

Upon arrival at JFK I feared (as I always do these days) that my raggedy multiple entry US visa which
exists tenuously on added pages that are Scotch-taped into a ten year-old canceled passport - that I
staple onto my new valid one, would be rejected by the US Immigration Officer that I had to face....for
an older officer in Miami had told me once (out of perhaps 50 trips to the USA) in no uncertain terms
"If I see you come before me with a Visa looking like this again I'll refuse you entry" (and I was only
in-transit via Miami to Panama!).

Nevertheless, I faced a friendly US Immigration Officer (which is customary I have found) and I was
processed into the country, Customs officers were equally pleasant and I was soon at the Ground
Transportation Information desk to obtain a ticket for one of the shuttle vans that service JFK. While
awaiting my transport (it took 40 minutes but that is routine I was told) I had the time to talk to a lovely
English couple with two teen-aged children (a boy and a girl) who had just arrived on the same flight as
I had from Barbados - where they had spent a one week Holiday on the West Coast. I could not help
asking them if they found their trip expensive and if they were treated unpleasantly etc. The couple had
nothing but good things to say about Barbados, they did not find food expensive (only clothing - but
were not there to shop anyway) and said they had experienced no negative treatment by Barbadians,
they said they hoped to visit again next year for 2 weeks as they did not see much of the island this time
around.
At this point I (being cognizant of the 'Tourism is our business' mantra preached in Barbados) told them
"I conduct off-the beaten-track Eco-adventure tours in Barbados, not as a living - but more as a hobby;
so call me when you visit again and I'll give you guys a free day tour". The couple looked pleasantly
surprised and we soon parted ways as my transportation had just arrived.

Upon reaching my Hotel in downtown Manhattan, I checked in and headed straight to my shared room on the 12Th floor, I was overjoyed to be greeted by Mr. Jitten Yumnam - my Indigenous Manipuri brother from North-East India (illegally invaded and annexed just after WWII by the first Indian Prime Minister Mr.
Nehru - and still militarily occupied with ruthless barbarity to this day) soon after the British forces (which had recognized the ancient sovereignty of the Mongoloid kingdoms of this part of Asia) had departed.

Jitten looked thinner than when I met him for the first time in 2009, and the electric shock tortures and beatings he was subjected to for his 4 months of illegal incarceration in India for merely speaking
out against destructive policies of the Indian government in his country, has taken its toll on his health. On the bright side, he is still alive today - and it was in no small part to a chain of events that went like this:
Jitten read a statement at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 8Th Session in
2009 which revealed the truth about the deceptively perceived 'Greatest democracy in Asia' image that
India has perpetrated in the world (this caught the ire of Indian authorities), then I helped to spread the
awareness of the Indian false propaganda image being swallowed by gullible Caribbean governments
in my own part of the world via the BAJAN REPORTER BLOG-SITE, this too came to the attention
of Indian authorities and is being monitored by them to this day.
Upon Jittens return to India - it was not long before they used his vocal opposition to a very destructive
Mega-Dam project in his region to arrest him on the usual bogus charges they use of being an
'insurrectionist' or 'terrorist' etc, his days would have been numbered - just like ALL the other
thousands of arrested and disappeared/accidentally died in custody (code language for 'murdered by the
authorities') indigenous peoples of North-East India who dare to stand up and oppose the evils of the
bloodthirsty Indian war machine.

However, a Naga friend of both Jitten and myself was alerted by Jittens family of his illegal detention,
our Naga brother then alerted me, I then alerted the BAJAN REPORTER and Tribal Link Foundation
(who had sponsored both Jitten and myself to attend the UN in 2009), Tribal Link then alerted a key ally
in a senior position in the UN, our UN contact then alerted the Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon
himself, India was made aware that the highest levels of the UN were aware of Jittens case ...and it as
not long before the the orders from Delhi to release Mr. Yumnam were dispatched Jitten asked me the
same night I arrived and I quote:
"But who is the Bajan Reporter really - is it you? People all over Asia are reading about my case on the Bajan Reporter and asking me who is the person - and where is Barbados" I just laughed and said "No it is not me, it is a web news site of one of Barbados's most famous former TV news anchors Mr. Ian Bourne - who has become the greatest champion of Indigenous Issues in the Caribbean journalistic fraternity, I'll tell him that people all over Asia are reading his site, the Internet really is a powerful tool for justice when you think about it....but the main thing is that you are free and we are together here again".
Our Naga brother was also in the room, I will not mention his name for obvious reasons of his personal
safety, as was our younger brother Ghazali from the Alifaru people of the 999 Molukan islands - who
have been brutally oppressed for 60 years by the second worst (India is #1) Imperialistic military in
Asia - INDONESIA, in 2009 on my first sponsored trip to the UN for the Permanent Forum Ghazali's
mother Pelpina had read a statement similarly exposing hidden atrocities (in her people's case
committed by Indonesia) and in two days 2 men were sent to the UN by the Indonesian Armed Forces
to silence her, luckily Pelpina was not there when they arrived, for even though one cannot smuggle a
firearm passed the UN security checkpoints - who is to say that another death delivering device such as
a hypodermic needle containing a lethal concoction (for example) was not in their possession? There
are many ways to assassinate someone quietly or in a time delayed manner thereby making it appear to
be of 'natural causes' such as a heart attack.
They could have easily just followed her back to her hotel, many a crowded street in between the UN
and our hotel where one can 'accidentally' bump into someone and deliver a deadly 'prick' in a split
second. Pelpina was forced to flee New York and return Post-haste to Holland where she resides in
exile.
The same channels were alerted to this and the matter was a mini-controversy in 2009, but these are the
risk one fighting for the freedom of an oppressed people must face - more often than not; risk of death
and Human Rights work are practically synonymous in the Indigenous 'fourth world'.

We were later joined by our elder Indigenous brother Tafue from Tuvalu - I man we consider to be one
of the hardest working men on the Climate change issue facing the Pacific Island States today, Tafue
and I like to talk about matters of a more spiritual nature most of the time; and I enjoy our discourses.
On a personal note I was availed the opportunity to present Mrs. Elsa Stamatopoulou of the UN (a very
senior staffer and great friend and ally of Indigenous Peoples for over 20 years) with a copy of the Eagle Clan Arawak Dictionary that I compiled with the aid of my fluent speaking Arawak parents-in-law in 2000.
The rest I would like to write about here would not be permissible for the sheer space it would consume, but I think many of the main points have been adequately touched upon.

Eleanor Goroh, an Indigenous Artist from Sabah... 'the Land Below the Wind'

May 5, 2012

I met 30 year-old Eleanor Goroh of the Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia Organization, at the Tribal Link Project Access Global Capacity Building for Indigenous Peoples Training Course May 2012 in New York City, USA; the first observation anyone would naturally make - is that she is a petite indigenous lady with a studious look about her. I did not come merely to make superficial observations however...I had
the honor of returning to the Tribal Link family this year as a presenter and past alumni myself, having completed MY two year training course in 2009-2010; but this article is NOT about me - it is about Eleanor.... the indigenous artist from Sabah, 'The land below the wind'.

I will not delve into any comprehensive description of her country - in this day and age you can easily find those details on-line for yourself. Instead, I want to focus on things that you are unlikely to find anywhere; such as the present day reality in her country as seen through her eyes...even though I can only offer you a sliver of the information banquet Eleanor laid before me as I sat down and presumed that I would be
interviewing her....when in truth and in fact, I became a mere scribe as she opened up her heart and soul to me - and let the information flow from her lips.

In her own words:
"My people are called the Dusun, today we number about 500,000 persons. There are 32 ethno-linguistic
groups in Sabah - which has a total population of 3.2 million. Historically, the tribes who lived in the interior
were headhunters, but the coastal tribes were not; the coastal tribes also did not violate the territory of the
interior tribes - and only ventured into those areas to trade, and vice-versa.
In 1881 the British came to 'rent' Sabah from the Kingdom of Brunei, they then renamed our country as the
'British North Borneo Company', they built railroads, started commercial logging, rubber tapping (which is
still being conducted), Tobacco farming for the Rothman's Company (now known as British American
Tobacco/BAT), and they industrialized rice production for export. Prior to the British coming our people
only grew enough rice to feed ourselves, the idea of farming the land beyond satisfying our basic needs was
unheard of....and we had a more environmentally sustainable agricultural practice.
In 1900 the British Christian Missionaries came to our country, (most tribes are Christian now) then in 1941
the Japanese invaded and occupied our country until 1945. Since 1957 when the Federated States of
Malaysia came into existence, only one political party has ruled Malaysia - the United Malays National
Organization.
In the year 2000 the 'Multimedia Act' was passed by the Federal Government, all print media in Malaysia is
either government owned - or owned by the ruling party's supporters. No news about indigenous peoples or
any criticism of the government is allowed. The daily front pages of the newspapers only show cosmetic
solutions by the regime, like for example some poor person getting water piped directly into their homes for
the first time in 2012.
When an indigenous mother gives birth in our country she must state the child's name, religion and race - but
they only list 4 legal options within which to racially classify her baby, and these are 'Malay', 'Chinese',
'Indian' or 'Others', the Federal Government does not think it is important for our tribal nations to be
listed...to them we are merely 'others'.
My parents voluntarily assimilated in order to help 'build the new nation' in 1957, but all their generation
received in return was inequity, 95% of oil revenues from extraction in Sabah goes to the Federal
Government, with only 5% going to Sabah. Another injustice we received in return for faithfully supporting
the new Federation was seeing 'our' government flood our country with non-indigenous settlers...a process
that continues to this day and which has reduced us to becoming a statistical minority in our own lands. 40%
of the people in Sabah today are Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers who all mysteriously have
Malaysian ID cards, a political gift for voting for the ruling party of the Federal government. The rest of the
settlers are Malays, Chinese and Indians...none of whom are native to Sabah.
The Federal government is carrying out Hydroelectric dam projects that destroy our pristine environments.
After 25 years these dams are no longer viable, so then they become a big lake that senior party supporters
turn into huge tourist resorts.
Other problems we face are land grabs, the government leasing indigenous lands in Sabah to foreign
companies, and previously clear-cut lands being turned into Palm oil plantations...all of this is very bad for
the environment, because these Palms rob the soil of almost all of it's nutrients - leaving no way to raise any
other crops in that soil either concurrently or afterwards."
* NB - A United Nations report in 2010 said that Sabah is the poorest of the States that comprise Malaysia.

Eleanor went on to explain how her generation can be likened to a generation 'Z' (youth), with the 'Y'
(parents) and the 'X' (Elders) generations. Due to the voluntary assimilation of her parents generation who
focused all their energies on 'nation building'- and neglected to learn virtually all of their own parents'
traditional knowledge in the process...they could therefore transmit very little to the present young
generation. So Eleanor felt the pull deep inside her soul to become one of the leaders of the youth who
returned to the Elders in order to learn all that had almost been lost.
The Elders were surprised and overcome with joy to see their grandchildren come to them - begging to learn
all of the traditions that their parents had forsaken, and it is the present young generation of Indigenous
peoples of Sabah who are preserving and promoting their cultural identity with a pride that their own elders
never thought they would witness in their lifetimes.
Verily, few things warm the heart of an indigenous elder more than seeing their youth come to them of their
own volition - to quench their thirst for the ancient knowledge which they have protected all of their earthly
lives in order to bequeath to them.
Eleanor is an artist herself, and she created a coalition between the urban and rural indigenous artisans; but
even in her very livelihood she exhibits a keen sense of higher purpose which overrides any notion of
personal financial gain. She does not and will not sell a single one of her pieces to any store, only directly to
a buyer; and then ONLY if you agree to support the pro-traditionalist indigenous movement...which can be
as simple as signing a petition. Thankfully, their intricate and beautiful indigenous arts and crafts ARE
recognized and appreciated by the dominant Malay society....even though their Indigenous Rights as
enshrined in International Laws and Conventions are NOT.

In Eleanor's own words again:
"No land means no natural resources, no natural resources means no traditional arts and crafts, no traditional
arts and crafts means no traditional knowledge, and no traditional knowledge means no indigenous identity.
"Now is the time to put our indigenous arts and crafts back into the international spotlight, it would be good
if the non-indigenous peoples would stop violating our rights, but for that to happen - they would need to
have a heart first, and very few of them appear to possess such a thing.
They only seem to see the world from a consumerist point of view, so maybe if they see our arts and crafts
as being something created in an environmentally sustainable way....an 'environmentally safe commodity' so
to speak....because that is one way to see them from a non-indigenous perspective; then maybe they will buy
them and our people who are poor will benefit that way - by using our traditional crafts to finance our human
rights struggles.
We indigenous peoples have to STOP only saying that we are victims, and start saying more that we have
solutions to offer the world in this era of increased awareness of the Environment, solutions the non-indigenous of this world need to listen carefully to - and act immediately upon.
The non-indigenous have ignored us indigenous peoples and left us behind once before - and look where it
has led them!....right to the precipice - one step away from the complete destruction of the world's
environment.
They don't come in wooden ships with banners and flags anymore...now they come with multinationals,
corporate logos and promises of economic prosperity....but for whom?"

Madame Anna Namarat Enole Sina - truly 'One who has seen hot Sun'

 May 9, 2012

I first met Madame Anna Namarat Enole Sina of the 20,000 person Ogiek Tribal Nation of Kenya - at the Tribal Link Project Access Global Capacity Building for Indigenous Peoples Training Course, held May 2012 in New York City; USA. Anna founded the Natodua Jua Kali Women's Association in Kenya in September 2010, and the English translation of the first three words means 'One who has seen hot Sun'...a very apt description for anyone who works very hard and it applies to the difficult lives most indigenous
women lead - and it is for women such as these that the organization was formed. I think it is also an appropriate name for this article to use to describe Madame Anna, rest assured that by the time you have reached the end of this page you will know why; and will concur with me without hesitation.

Madame Anna did not have an easy life, as a child she was a victim of female genital mutilation; it may
seem shocking to be hit so hard so soon in this article by a personal revelation of what is perhaps one of the
most heinous of 'cultural practices' in the world...but it was freely admitted to me, and I prefer to provide you with an ugly reality so that you may decide to help this good woman to change it for the better....rather than write a fictional account that omits a gut-wrenching reality - in order not to assail your emotional senses.
Please, for the next few minutes; try to imagine yourself as a young Ogiek girl of 9-12 years old. How would
you feel if your mother, aunts, father and grandparents tell you that 'the time has come and you are now
ready to become a woman'...the thought of 'graduating' from playing carefree games with other children one
day - and satisfying the lust of a grown man the next day is terrifying enough...but that is not all. Your mum,
aunt, maybe granny as well ...will first hold you down and 'cut-off your bits' (as some 'sanitarily' describe
it)....usually with a piece of glass or razor - which may or may not be new or sterile.

It is terrible enough when one imagines the screams of these little girls who are forced to submit to this
trauma against their will...but what may be worse, is the fact that many other girls voluntarily submit to this
crime against the dignity of womankind - because they are convinced BY THEIR OWN FEMALE ELDERS that if they do not 'they will not become a real woman' or get a husband.
You see, in this society the girls who are circumcised wear a different attire to the not-yet circumcised girls,
and the men know that a girl is 'ready' to be taken as a wife when they see the change in attire. To make
matters worse, these poor girls do not even have a choice in who will take them to be his primary  or
'additional' wife! It could be a young man, or some geriatric one that acquires them - as though they were a
mere commodity. Don't think it can get any worse at this point ? Think again!

Let us put this into an abbreviated and sad perspective:
Robbed of a childhood, physically tortured and scarred for life by members of your own family, traded like a
commodity to a man you do not know or love, essentially raped and physically damaged before you have
even become a teenager, and beaten at will by your husband for the rest of your life without even the
possibility of ever enjoying physical intimacy if you are ever lucky enough to find your true love one day -
which is one of the most natural and beautiful things that two human beings can share in this life.
I am a father of two daughters myself, and I support most traditions; but circumcision, domestic abuse,
arranged marriages & under-aged marriages are NOT 'traditions' I can or would ever support. When a
traditional practice which is as morally reprehensible as female genital mutilation is being practiced - and
survivors like Anna are trying to stop it, I think the onus is on ALL of us to do everything we can to support
and help her; only a demented person would try to justify this crime under the guise of 'cultural practices'.
NO 'traditional practice' that causes such permanent damage to it's victims should ever be allowed to
continue into the 21st century.

This has been dubbed the 'information age', so let us support local heroes like Madame Anna in their work to inform the ill-informed of the world - so that millions of baby girls born this year and in the future will
NEVER have to suffer as millions of innocent girls have in the past and present.
Tribal link is one such compassionate entity that has stepped up to the plate (to use an American Baseball
expression) and IS actively supporting Anna's Natodua Jua Kali Women's Association, the grant they
provided in September 2010 allowed for a workshop to be held which educated 75 indigenous women.
The Women's Association does a lot more than work to eliminate female genital mutilation, they also teach
the women to learn craft-making skills which helps them to earn a supplementary income, educating
communities about HIV and AIDS - even to providing food to HIV positive mothers and taking their
children to school!

This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg however, for Madame Anna should get the Nobel Prize for
'Multitasking'! Madame Anna is ALSO:
Chair lady of the Women's Rights Body in the Narok South District in Kenya (a body supported and
recognized by the Government of Kenya), a leader in the Council of Elders of the Ogiek Tribal Nation of
Kenya (fighting for the government to recognize the land rights, better housing, access to water, access to
secondary and tertiary education), Head Treasurer of the district Hospital, Head of the board of the district
Secondary School, Treasurer of the District Board of Education, Government recognized Peacemaker and
Social Welfare activist in the District, Chair lady and National Treasurer of her Church (Covenant
International Church), and in her spare time (a miracle in itself that she even has such a thing!) she teaches
the youth in her tribe to sing traditional songs. Madame Anna used to compose, sing and dance traditional
Ogiek songs for Kenya's first President Jomo Kenyatta - and his successor President Daniel Arap Moi; just
for the record!

In Madame Anna's own words:
"I am happy to be here at the United Nations Permanent Forum, but I did not come to see tall buildings made of glass... I learned that we are not alone in this world, that there are other indigenous peoples just like us all over the world who are suffering. I found out from the Tribal Link training course that this United
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is the place where Indigenous People's have a real voice to
discus our issues with the best hope of finding solutions. I thank Pamela Kraft and Tribal Link for making it
possible for us to be here - and for giving us this Global Capacity training...we very much appreciate it; it
has opened up the world to our people. You know, my people have never met Pamela...only heard about her, but everyone knows her name and says she is a good woman for what she has done - and continues to do for us and so many others."