World Indigenous Day brings together PH and First Nations communities

World Indigenous Day brings together PH and First Nations communities

VANCOUVER, BC. –The World Indigenous Day Celebration is described by its organizers as “a rally that turned into an event.` Focused on bringing indigenous people together in their struggles to network, to reclaim indigenous pride and brotherhood; to celebrate indigenous survival, their beautiful cultures and to be as one, the event brought together several First Nations and other indigenous communities within the Lower Mainland into the day-long celebration at the Roundhouse Community Centre.  

In the outside space of the Centre, performers from various First Nations sang, drummed and danced, and engaged the children and adults to join them in the dancing. The performers included Maddie McCallum who did her Metis Jigging; the Eastern Sky Ambassadors who did the Smoke dance, a dance usually seen in powwow and indoor gatherings; Rueben George of the Tsleil-waututh First Nation – (Salish); Cree drummer and singer Steven Kakinoosit; and traditional Salish singer Gord August. Filipino performers JR Guerrero of the Canada-Philippines Solidarity Group and Babette Santos of the Kathara Dance Theatre Collective highlighted the issues of indigenous tribes in Mindanao in their cultural performances.

After the cultural numbers, the program shifted inside to listen to speakers that included Jeffery Armstrong of Eastern Wisdom, Alnoor Gova from the Muslim Community, Tom McCallum from the Metis Nation, Dan Delorme from Saskatchewan and Dr. Constancio Claver from the Igorot tribe in the Philippines who represented the Cordillera People’s Alliance, a multi-sectoral formation of 156 indigenous grassroots organizations in the Cordillera Mountain Region. Here is the speech of Dr. Claver on the common ties of indigenous peoples:

I come from a country where indigenous peoples are oppressed in so many ways. I come from a country where the State hurls the full force of its armed might against indigenous peoples protesting against the entry of foreign extractive companies. However, from what I have been hearing, this is essentially the same situation obtaining in other countries. What is happening to us is the same as what is happening to indigenous peoples around the world in various degrees.

I would like to pose some questions then. Why are we being trampled upon? Why are all the indigenous peoples all over the world under attack from both State and corporate forces? The answer is simple—because we happen to be sitting on land and natural resources that they would like to lay their greedy hands on. 

But why is it that in an age of supposed enlightenment and awareness of human rights are the attacks on our people becoming widespread and intensifying? Again, the answer is clear – they see us as small and separate cultural enclaves that they can either exterminate or push aside. Our common history of colonization and continued discrimination has marginalized our people to the point that we have been considered powerless fringe populations.

This has to change. We cannot remain fragmented. The face of the enemy is the same whether you are in the Americas, in Asia, or in Africa. The Canadian mine company you face here is the same company we face in the Philippines, for example. In this age of globalization and monopoly capitalism, the exploiters have actually consolidated themselves.

There is a need for the distinct indigenous peoples of the world to also unite. We have to unite to protect our land our resources, our culture, and our people. Though there are barriers such as language, distance, capacity and will –we somehow have to overcome all these. We have started this through our years of collaboration that culminated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Through further dialogues and discussions, we should be able to come up with more organized actions. Let us continue to learn from each other and gain strength from each other. As indigenous peoples of the world, we have to stand together, struggle together, and fight together.

The alternative, I fear, is our slow death as distinct peoples.”

Visiting Philippine Congressman of the Bayan Muna (Nation First) Partylist (on his stop over to Quebec) joined the tail end of the celebration to meet with First Nations community activist Kat Norris and Dr. Chandu Claver.

(PRESS RELEASE)