How do the indigenous people present in Quebec City and elsewhere in the Americas forge opposition to economic globalization? Based on testimonies from indigenous activists at the Americana Indigenismo forum at the People's Summit, this piece analyses how they are voicing the effects of globalization- the frustration, pain, exhaustion, disengagement, fear and rage accompanying displacement, thievery, violence and elimination. It also examines how indigenous peoples are becoming a formidable political force, working on many levels nationally and internationally to create the lasting conditions for control over their collective destiny.

Indigenous Resistance to the New Colonialism
Ajay Gandhi

Blanca Chancoso, an indigenous woman from Ecuador, is speaking at the Americana Indigenismo forum, part of the second People's Summit in Quebec City. She begins by emphasizing that the "resistance of indigenous peoples in the Americas" to neo-liberal economic policies- including free trade- "is nothing new". As Blanca makes clear, the violent effects of global capitalism did not begin recently; they have roots in the historical projects of colonialism and imperialism, of which the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA)- to be discussed from April 20-22 by 34 heads of state from the western hemisphere- is only the latest example.

The main effects of neo-liberal globalization are well known. Multinational corporations able to take advantage of weaker labour markets, diminished tariff barriers, simplified regulatory conditions, and easier access to resources to quickly manipulate economic conditions for profit. But to access the rich oil, gas, mineral and timber resources located in traditional indigenous territory throughout the Americas, corporations and governments need to find ways to control communities who have lived, managed and owned their land for thousands of years.

One common tactic is to adopt the stance of benevolent imperialism: construct an entirely racist, indefensible philosophy such as terra nullius, along with stereotypes of indigenous people as primitive and backward. By doing this, indigenous peoples become unable to manage their resources or conceive of property. Then, elites with their "rational" languages and scientific methods are able to sell and use lands that do not belong to them. Chief Arthur Manuel, of the Neskolith band in the southern interior of British Columbia, says at the forum that their current problems with forestry companies depleting traditionally owned resources stem from colonial "doctrines of discovery". These "said we indigenous peoples had no property interests" which then accrued to Europeans; as Arthur notes, this racist idea "is the essence of usurping and violating the rights of indigenous peoples" today. By way of example, Arthur explains the Canadian federal government's Compensation Claims Policy, whose "primary aim is to extinguish claims to territory". Arthur notes that not only is this a "fundamental violation of our human rights" it is also absurd and impossible: "no one has the rights and authority to extinguish our relationship to the land".

As these tactics are increasingly being contested, governments continue to implement "development" to dominate indigenous peoples: for example, uproot a self-sufficient indigenous community so that their territory can be permanently flooded by a hydroelectric dam, and move them far away to "model villages" where they lose their livelihoods, and their culture disintegrates. The illusion that states act in their citizen's interest through "development" faded long ago for indigenous peoples. As Kimy Pecmico, an Embera-Katera indigenous man from Columbia says to the large crowd at the Indigenismo forum: "You shouldn't consult with governments but with people who are promoting biodiversity and protecting the land".

As a last resort, for those indigenous communities who might actually want to dictate the terms of engagement with outsiders and the development of resources, American states have used political and military "pacification": forcibly remove aboriginal children from their heathen forebears to "civilize" them and thus destroy any remnants of indigenous culture; impose political and scientific frameworks that find clever ways to ignore, deny, and conceal the illegitimate dominance of indigenous peoples; and lastly, intervene militarily to remove indigenous peoples from their land and threaten, shoot, and butcher them out of existence.

Blanca repeats that these Euro-American processes define not only the contemporary situation, but also the entire history of relations with indigenous peoples in the Americas. To which indigenous peoples have waged site-specific struggles against corporations and governments. Still, Blanca says that "in spite of our long struggle, I can tell you that we have not managed to overcome our exclusion. This struggle continues to be made alone. Today the same policies continue to be perpetrated, all achieving the same consequences for our people." Ivan Ignacio, a Bolivian indigenous activist, echoes the frustration in these comments when tracing out indigenous history from colonialism to globalization: "We want to be subjects of our destiny. Others always speak for us, turn us into folkloric objects, but we demand the right to speak". Talking specifically about the indigenous fears of free trade policies, Ivan says, "We don't know what FTAA means. But we know that when the government is doing something behind our backs it will be bad for us. We know that the FTAA will lead to our deaths. We know that our democracies are corrupt and full of lies, that this industry of democracy produces lies and is manipulated by corporations, while be are left outside the discussion".

How then, do the indigenous people present in Quebec City and elsewhere in the Americas forge opposition to economic globalization? Earlier in the day, three indigenous people from Mexico speak at a People's Summit press conference, providing a clue. They talk about emerging forms of indigenous mobilization and resistance in Mexico that contest the prevailing economic condition. Juan Chavez, Maria de Jesus Patrico and Rogelio Mercado are members of the recently formed National Indigenous Congress (NIC) in Mexico. Maria says that the first NIC conference was in 1996, the same year that the Zapatistas began their now famous uprising in Chiapas, and the 3rd meeting (where most of the 56 indigenous groups in Mexico were present) was in March. This coincided with the Zapatista caravan to Mexico City to press the government enshrinement of constitutional rights for Mexican indigenous peoples. Maria notes that the "NIC is a space where we meet to exchange ideas, where indigenous peoples are present- though still excluded from other political forums, and where we meet indigenous peoples from other countries". Juan Chavez reads an open letter from the NIC to the Mexican parliament, which "demands the (indigenous) right to exist and develop be constitutionally recognized". He says this demand is based on indigenous peoples' "inalienable right to self-determination" and autonomy, based on their traditionally held territory and resources.

The active mobilization of indigenous groups nationally, who lobby, protest, and attempt to put their collective political resources to work for the betterment of all indigenous people is furthered in the example of Rodney Bobiwash, an Odjibway aboriginal activist. Rodney, who is also an official at the Centre for World Indigenous Studies in Toronto typifies the cross-border networking of indigenous peoples in Quebec City and elsewhere. Speaking after the Americana Indigenismo forum, Rodney notes that he constantly communicates with indigenous groups throughout the Americas, and lobbies at the Organization for American States (OAS) and World Bank. With other indigenous groups from across the globe, he attempts to find common ground on problems, and platforms upon which to articulate resistance to policies and programs furthering their political marginalization, economic impoverishment and cultural annihilation. In the OAS and World Bank, Rodney pushes for indigenous rights and concerns to be the highest priority in new financial and development policies. Indigenous groups can then use these national and international forums, and institutional channels as levers upon which to maintain control over their own economic and political lives when negotiating with local governments and corporations.

Clearly, indigenous peoples such as those in Quebec City opposing the FTAA and other neo-liberal economic policies are voicing the effects of globalization to them- the frustration, pain, exhaustion, disengagement, fear and rage accompanying displacement, thievery, violence and elimination. As Ivan notes, current economic policies are "the second colonialism". If so, on the second time around, indigenous peoples are becoming a formidable force, working on many levels nationally and internationally to create the lasting conditions for control over their collective destiny.

Ajay Gandhi
a_ga...@hotmail.com