New Internationalist APRIL Issue 410 Indigenous Peoples

Contents

From this month’s editor

‘Are you indigenous?’ Joséé Bailaba, a representative of Bolivia’s Chiquitano people, asked me. A simple question to which the simple answer was ‘no’. My attempts at a more ‘thoughtful’ one soon led me into a thicket of ‘it depends on what you mean by’, ‘I suppose, if I went back far enough’, ‘in terms of identity’ and so on... It concluded with a self-definition, the concise version of which is ‘de-racinated mongrel’. By which time Joséé had visibly, and reasonably, lost interest. What exactly is meant by ‘indigenous people’ is contentious and ambiguous. The term probably persists because it is the most universal and least objectionable of various options. The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IGWIA) starts its own very long definition with the following: ‘Indigenous peoples are the disadvantaged

descendants of those people who inhabited a territory prior to the formation of the state.’ Often their cultures and ways of life are perceived as inferior by the dominant society. Insisting on the right to self-determination is indigenous peoples’ way of overcoming not only discrimination but threats to their very survival. Self-identification is key, however: it’s up to indigenous people to say who they are and not for others to define them. So Joséé Bailaba’s question really was a simple one – that deserved a simple answer.

Vanessa Baird for the New Internationalist Co-operative vanessab@newint.org

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4 I will return... and I will be millions Are things beginning to look up for the world’s indigenous peoples? Vanessa Baird begins a series of three reports from Bolivia, where the signs look most hopeful – and most precarious.

8 the colour of dreams Aboriginal art from Christine Christopherson and Bronwyn Bancroft.

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9 Questing the ayllu The journey continues into Bolivia’s mining and peasant heartland. Some surprises are in store. 12 Plenty to shout about ...if you’re indigenous. THE FACTS.

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14 Journey to the half moon The battle lines

are drawn in Santa Cruz – where resistance to Bolivia’s indigenous President, Evo Morales, is most ferocious.

18 Arise! Tales from the indigenous fight-back around the world.

20 Contacts and resources

21 sPeCIAL FeAtURe the people vs starbucks Starbucks has become an icon of globalization – and a target for protesters. It claims to strike a balance between ‘profitability’ and ‘a love of benevolence’. Rowenna Davis finds out if farmers, consumers and workers agree.

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Regular Features

2 Letters Wrong to boycott Lonely Planet; ferries, flying and stopping war; why torture didn’t work for the Gestapo; Christians persecuting gays. PLUS: Maria Golia is forced to rue the march of ‘progress’ in her Letter from Cairo.

25 Currents Dominica joins the Cháávez camp; pitiful UN performance in Kosovo; clampdown on activists in New Zealand/Aotearoa. PLUS: Wordpower & Seriously

28 Big Bad World Polyp on the origins of wealth and poverty. PLUS: NI Prize Crossword

29 Making Waves Vandana Shiva, Indian environmentalist extraordinaire, on her new movement challenging supermarkets.

30 Mixed Media Includes music from Turks both at home and in Germany; a film and a novel from South Africa; and African Psycho, set in Congo-Brazzaville.

32 Southern Exposure Three photos from an Asian photography competition run by the UN – including the winning shot of a disabled fisher in Vietnam, by Nguyen Hung.

34 Essay: The triumph of triviality Our culture’s tolerance for seriousness has never been lower, argues John F Schumaker.

36 Country Profile: Lebanon

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Front cover: Ivan Alvarado/ Reuters. Magazine design: Andrew Kokotka. All monetary values are expressed in US dollars unless otherwise noted.