Santa Maria Tlahuitolpepec, Oaxaca - At the foot of Cempoaltépetl, the sacred hill of the Mixe people, participants in the Second Continental Summit of Indigenous Communication of the Yala Abya ratified a position of resistance to to the "re-colonization" that, in the name of development, the West intends to make on the indigenous peoples,
"with mirrors of virtual wellness in order to steal from us the wealth that we safeguard in our ancestral territories."
MV Note: Yala Abya is the name given to the American Continent by the Kuna people of Panamá and Colombia before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the Europeans.In a statement on the occasion of the 521 years of the
"ill-named 'discovery of America', the rainbow is reborn and, despite the new strategy of systematic extermination, we continue to defend the land and territory, starting with restoration of self-government, autonomy and self-determination of our peoples."In these days of the peoples living side by side, we have set the course for the full exercise of the right to communicate independently, without any interference from governments, which on our continent sadly have bowed to the neoliberal extractive projects of the transnational corporations. We will use our resources for the defense of the territories, for the revitalization of our culture and as a pillar of a process towards autonomy, the statement added.
It states that for this purpose the indigenous peoples use their own communication tools and take advantage of them on behalf of their organizational processes, demanding respect for their position of resistance, not through arms but through thought, making the land productive in order to continue feeding the peoples who defend our collective rights and guiding generations to a dignified life.
They refuse the imposed celebration of Día de la Raza [Day of the Race].
MV Note: In Latin America 'Columbus Day' is marked as the birth of a new identity, la raza, derived from the meeting and fusion of the Americas' original peoples and the Spanish colonizers; Many indigenous peoples see it as the beginning of their resistance to colonization.In its stead, they announced their intent to celebrate October 12 as the Day of Indigenous Dignity. At this meeting, they take up again the banner of resistance as they head toward the Fifth Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples be held in November in the community of María Piendamó in Cauca, Colombia.
Participants also spoke in support of the national indigenous uprising that the peoples of Colombia begin tomorrow in protest of the repression and criminalization of their struggles in defense of their territory and against official persecution directed at indigenous leaders.
On the sixth day of the Summit, which ends this Sunday [October 13, 2013], a plenary session will be held in which will be read reports and conclusions of the six working groups, involving communicators from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Perú, El Salvador, Bolivia and México, and the other members of the Tlahuitoltepec community.
The first work group laid out the following regarding general principles of indigenous communication; specifically, the need to
"eliminate colonialism and patriarchal attitudes for the good life of the peoples; take into account that communication involves a relationship not only among humans but with Mother Earth; fight against acculturation by the hegemonic culture; preserve and disseminate the original languages and safeguard the peoples' natural resources."It was affirmed that the original peoples must demand access to the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as satellite spaces in order to possess their own server platforms, using free software; make a continental portal to strengthen the autonomy and the culture itself; create ethical business strategies to support indigenous media, but also demand that the State contribute to its financing and communicate with new technologies.
MV Note: The concept of the electromagnetic spectrum, as the entire range of electromagnetic energy that exists, is compatible with the Mesoamerican concept of ollin as the basic force of the cosmos.The second work group, focused on communication in the defense of common goods and original territories, indicated that the tri-dimensionality of the soil, subsoil and airspace must be incorporated, thus linking the land with the air and, therefore, with the electromagnetic spectrum.
It was also proposed to create a continental radio and television network of the indigenous peoples where the struggles that are taking place in each country in defense of their territories can be gathered together. Spanish original