International Day for Indigenous People on Thursday:

Empowering indigenous voices through the media

By Pramod DE SILVA

They were the First People. They had usually been in a certain region for centuries, or even thousands of years, before the ‘Others’ arrived. However, all over the world, the ‘Others’ trampled on their rights, their lands and even their very lives. And some of them do face extinction in just a few decades, if not years. This is the story of the world’s 350 million indigenous people.

The plight of indigenous people has received worldwide attention. Here in Sri Lanka, we are familiar with the tribulations of our own ‘Wanniyela Aththo’, who are struggling to maintain their identity and traditional way of life amidst a rapidly developing, commercialised society. It is vital to look at their problems and strive to preserve their values, languages and traditions. Once an indigenous community becomes extinct, humanity as a whole loses a part of its soul.

It is with this aim in mind that the United Nations proclaimed the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People to be celebrated on August 9 every year. It was first proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1995 – 2004). In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade, from 2005 – 2015, with the theme ‘A Decade for Action and Dignity’.

Political agenda

Since the event is marked according to a defined theme every year, the focus of this year’s International Day is ‘Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices’. The theme aims at highlighting the importance of indigenous media in challenging stereotypes, forging indigenous peoples’ identities, communicating with the outside world, and influencing the social and political agenda.

This is a timely theme, since mainstream media rarely highlight stories about indigenous people. Only a very few indigenous communities have access to the media or have media facilities of their own. Thus, it is important to find a way in which their voices can be heard by the global community. This is where online media and social media can really play a major role.

The Wanniyela Aththo of Sri Lanka

An Amazon tribe member

In fact, this is highlighted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message for this year’s Indigenous People’s Day. He says: “In the five years since the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, communities and individuals have been taking advantage of the reach of traditional and new media to tell their story and make their voices heard.

“From community radio and television to feature films and documentaries, from video art and newspapers to the internet and social media, indigenous peoples are using these powerful tools to challenge mainstream narratives, bring human rights violations to international attention and forge global solidarity. They are also developing their own media to reflect indigenous values and fight against myths and misconceptions.”

As the Secretary -General points out, they are recounting stories of how they are combating centuries of injustice and discrimination, and advocating for the resources and rights that will preserve their cultures, languages, spirituality and traditions. They also offer an alternative perspective on development models that exclude the indigenous communities.

The mainstream media (print, radio and television) too must join in to make this a successful endeavour.

Interactive dialogue

The main event of the Indigenous People’s Day will be held on August 9 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The highlight will be an interactive dialogue entitled ‘Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices’. United Nations TV is also planning to screen a selection of videos by indigenous media or about indigenous peoples on Channel 150, the UN cable channel. These videos will also be available online later.

These activities follow a forum held in May this year at the UN on the theme ‘The Doctrine of Discovery: Its enduring impact on indigenous peoples and the right to redress for past conquests (Articles 28 and 37 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)’.

The UN issued this Declaration to protect the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and natural resources. Although there are various definitions of the term, the following is generally accepted as the UN version:

Challenging issues

“Indigenous populations are composed of the existing descendants of the peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country wholly or partially at the time when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived there from other parts of the world, overcame them, by conquest, settlement or other means, reduced them to a non-dominant or colonial condition; who today live more in conformity with their particular social, economic and cultural customs and traditions than with the institutions of the country of which they now form part, under a state structure which incorporates mainly national, social and cultural characteristics of other segments of the population which are predominant.”

From the Inuits in Canada to the Aborigines in Australia, indigenous communities face challenging times and issues. Many indigenous peoples are being pushed out of their territories as industries, settlements and roads encroach on their traditional lands and in some cases, hunting grounds. Many governments almost force indigenous communities to ‘integrate’ with the rest of the society, which essentially means giving up on their traditional way of life.

There is also defection from within – some of the younger indigenous persons opt for integration. This can, over the years, have a detrimental effect on the community concerned, with men and women of child-bearing age leaving in search of a more modern lifestyle.

There still are a few ‘uncontacted’ tribes around the world, especially in dense jungles. Although various attempts are made to ‘contact’ these tribes, the greatest danger is that they can be wiped out even if they get a flu attack. They have no immunity to many diseases which we take for granted and should they come into contact with an infected person from the so-called ‘civilised world’ they could be in great danger. At the same time, we need to study their lifestyles and customs. Thus, it is a tightrope walk.

Contacted or uncontacted, many indigenous communities face extinction, which, of course, means that their languages would be lost forever. Some languages are spoken by just two or three people.

They will also take to the grave a vast treasure trove of knowledge about everything from native cures to native art. This is the common heritage of mankind. As this year’s theme suggests, the media will have to play a greater role to keep their hopes alive.