News and Links on Indigenous Rights and Anthropology
Indigenous Human Rights and Land Titling
DECEMBER 20th, 2009:
MATUNGBAK receives title to 48,743.136 hectares (120,446.912 acres) after a 30 year struggle and a 2 year intensive legal effort. These lands consist of a great portion of their historical land claim. CONGRADULATIONS Matungbak, the 4th Mayangna territory of the Bawihka clan.
Report from Field Activities - September, 2009
Greer (2009)
Report from Field Activities - Summer 2008 (May-August)
Report from Field Activities - Summer 2003, Winter 2004
6/12/08
Mayangna National Government Leaders
Welcome to all those following the MATUNGBAK indigenous land titling project. The Somer's family of Kaua'i made a generous donation covering approximately 8% of the project costs, which enabled us to get started in the first phase of our project with MATUNGBAK.
Within the territory of MATUNGBAK, members of the community Mukuswas (one of 9 communitities w/in the territory) are confronted with armed colonists threatening to sell lands upon which they have squatted. Attempts to gain assistance from the Municiple Mayors of Bonanza and Rosita, the police, and military have failed miserably thus far. Since this year is an election year, virtually all politicians are too afraid to take any kind of political stance on any controversial act. Additionally, the YATAMA-Sandinista representatives appear to be bent on controlling virtually all of the autonomous regions (the Atlantic half of the country - making up approximately 60% of Nicaragua) regardless of their autonomous and sovereign nature - reminding many of the Sandinista-Contra War era. It becomes obvious as to why, when one examines the rich characteristics of the rainforest, pine forest, and mining regions of these areas. However, with careful negotiations of international agencies like Alistar, and IBIS Dinamarca among others, a repeat of such history can be avoided.
For those of you interested in learning where this indigenous territory is located, go to google earth and look up the following towns: Siuna, Rosita, and Bonanza. MATUNGBAK, an area encompassing approximately 150,000 acres, is located between these three towns known as "las minas" or the mines, named for the abunant gold mining activities in the towns from North American, British, and Canadian colonial powers. MATUNGBAK is currently home to approximately 4,500 Mayangna indians, and an unfortunate compilation of 2,000 colonists. According to Nicaraguan laws 445 and 28, however, there exists a legal mechanism by which these colonists can be removed and resettled in non-indigenous areas. The United Nations Human Rights Commission has been helpful in this process with other indigenous territories of this region.
Please continue to check back with this website to follow our progress over the year, another update is soon to be attached. And, for those able to contribute to these projects, please write checks to "Alistar International" and mail them to: P.O. Box 932 Hanalei, Hi. 96714. Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Dr. Nan Greer
2/17/08
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2/17/08
Genetically Engineering the Sweet Stuff
by Dan Charles
1/29/08
Ethnographic Fieldschool in Guatemala - North Carolina State University Field methods in Sociology and Anthropology
12/19/07
Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation status, Wednesday, December19th, 2007 in Washington D.C. following the tribe's withdrawal on Monday from all previously signed treaties witht he United States Government.
This historic move occurs within three months of the monumentous United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Sept. 14, 2007)