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Internet-Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften | 17. Nr. | Februar 2010 |
| Sektion 8.2. | Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Society: Transformations and Challenges Sektionsleiter | Section Chairs: Adam Fiser (University of Toronto, Canada) and Philipp Budka (University of Vienna, Austria) |
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Indigenous diplomacy of young professionals
Helga Lomosits (University of Vienna, Austria) [BIO]and
Wanda McCaslin (Saskatchewan Law Foundation Research, Saskatchewan, Canada) [BIO]
E-Mail: helga.lomosits@univie.ac.at and E-Mail: wanda.mccaslin@usask.ca
1. Introduction
In an essay published in the Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, Thinking Place: Animating the Indigenous Humanities in Education (2005) scholars M. Battiste, L. Bell, I. Findlay, L. Findlay and Sa’ke’j Henderson present issues of interdisciplinary dialogue to the conditions of contemporary intellectual thought in the pedagogy of education and scientific knowledge in University settings.
To understand the suppression of Indigenous humanities in universities and the media is to replay colonial encounters in a freshly critical key. This effort of thinking, un-thinking and rethinking has of course in so many places proven almost unthinkable. It has been a prohibited activity. It has also been taken as a sign of backwardness and deficiency to be ignored or ridiculed in social and educational encounters (2005, 11).
Views have focused on Eurocentric definitions of “knowledge”, “culture”, “clashes of civilizations”, branding Indigenous people as not human, and recently not peoples, depicted on the fringe of humanities. From those previous unthinkable facts, that have established colonial anthropology and social studies Indigenous peoples’ captured reality displayed a fascinating way of glorifying European society. In the post- or neo-colonial era of decolonization, the question of the fair and equitable treatment remains a vital but marginal regime of international diplomacy, political and legal discourse.
On the intersection of development and Indigenous diplomacy participation is critical to ensure as to the societal forces between the local and empowered community. The Young Professional International (YPI) program served to begin filling this need of expertise. A manifestation, a soft power of the human spirit and under the program eighty-eight young professionals experienced discourse with international agencies that affected Indigenous peoples and the tensions between fragmentation and consolidation in diplomatic practice. Engagements were not chosen on issues of representation of a rarified slice of elite diplomacy seen as a test of transition with regard to diplomatic machinery, but on animating new transformations of the powerless to an emerging global order. As conceptualized by Sa’ke’j Henderson, Research Director of the Native Law Centre of Canada (NLC) and a member of the Advisory Board to the Ministry of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Indigenous diplomacy is a practical approach of bridging the gap in the narrative over indigenous or aboriginal rights declared at the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights. Its overriding goal was to create a new form of public diplomacy, which became known as Indigenous diplomacy, rather than state based diplomacy trapped in problematic reinforcement.
The NLC, the implementing agency of the YPI, is an academic program in Aboriginal learning, research, publication and empowerment. Since its inception in 1975, it main purpose is to increase the number of Aboriginal people in the legal profession. It is well-known for excellence in legal research and has also developed the mode for Native Law Centers in Chile, Australia, and New Zealand. The NLC can best be described as a multi-faceted international, national and local institution, perhaps the first global institution of Aboriginal peoples. Dialogues and linkages were further strengthened by the YPI, a component of the Career Focus Program of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy and funded by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
2. Animating dialogues through lived experiences
Human Rights
YPI professionals have been actively involved in research and development of Human Rights for Indigenous peoples. Since 1977, some of the best Indigenous and non-Indigenous legal minds have been preparing the way for the acceptance of the Human Rights Covenants to Indigenous Peoples (Barsh 1986, 1996); (Falk 1988); (Wick Torres 1991); (Anaya 1996); (Battiste and Henderson 2000) (Wiessner 2000); (Lam 2000); (Behrendt 2003), and (Oguamanam 2004), and (Manuel and Schabus 2005).
Prof. Oguamanam noted, indigenous claims to be found on human rights, minority rights, racial discrimination, self-determination and confirmed the deeper integration of new global regime that challenges the legal obligations of states:
[ ] leading scholars agree that the indigenous question has moved from a mere normative status to the place of a “hardened norm”. Pursuant to this view, international legal developments on indigenous peoples are viewed as having attained the age of majority. Consequently, at the dawn of the 21st century, opinion is rife that there is an identifiable international legal regime on indigenous peoples. Indigenous claims are perceived as constituting a sui generis category of rights in international law. Such a regime encompasses the distinct mosaic range of issues through which the indigenous question has been addressed within the international legal framework. (2004, 348)
The drafting and debating the idea that Indigenous peoples were protected by the U.N. Human Right Conventions during the U.N. Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004) and the Second Decade (2005-2015) provided the backdrop to the experiences of the YPI. These ideas are involved in the proposed Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people accepted by the U.N. Human Rights Committee (2006), developing Organization of American States Inter American Commission on Human Rights, Working Group to prepare a Draft of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (1995-2007); Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous peoples, establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2001), the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, World Conference on Human Rights, and the Indigenous Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ratified by Indigenous Peoples and the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations (1993). In addition the International Labour Organization Convention No.169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (1989) provide a framework for advancing Indigenous people’s aspirations. Through their presence, activities, work and research, numerous projects have been assisted and papers generated that strive to ensure respectful dialogue with the global community on this sensitive issue (Battiste and Henderson 2000, 1-8, 171-93).
The YPI provided an opportunity for young professionals to participate in worthy Indigenous Human Rights endeavors in the European Union, USA, Australia, and Pacific states, New Zealand, El Salvador and Guatemala to name a few sites of struggle. Of the eighty-eight young professionals striving to enhance Indigenous diplomacy, twenty-three were placed in European positions of which thirteen were in France and nine in Vienna, Austria. Through these experiences, the young professionals have prepared and worked on issues such as the “International Human Rights in criminal justice” report for submission to the U. N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples; analyzing the links of multi-layered governance systems and its impact on Indigenous rights development, correlation of U. N. documents that best highlight the development of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and activities within the United Nations; examination of Working Group on Indigenous Populations, Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, attendance at Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples conferences, examination of traditional Indigenous justice approaches of community rights and conflict; the ongoing process of the Guatemala Indigenous identity and rights of the Indigenous Peoples; Inter-American Human Rights Commission work with focus on international human rights; New Zealand Human Rights Commission (Te Kahui Tika Tangata) study; and a review of the International Law mechanisms and remedies for protection of Indigenous Human Rights.
The opportunity to understand how Indigenous jurisprudence creates and informs human rights and diplomacy was observed by YPI professionals. They worked with the Pacific Judicial Education Program, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji as Legal Research Officers on Benchbook Projects. The first of its kind for the PJEP, the Benchbook Projects details the relevant laws, practices and procedures of the fifteen member countries that assist the magistrates with their judicial tasks. Published in the appropriate Indigenous language and English versions, customary law is a critical component of the development of each of the fifteen Benchbooks. One young professional stated: “No more is reading and interpreting legislation merely an exercise. Now magistrates and those who appear in front of them will be relying on interpretation of legislation that I assist in developing. It is a responsibility that I remind myself of constantly”. Other young professional endeavors included: development and correlation of Maori jurisprudence and justice with focus on the Maori Marae based community approaches; customary ownership and management rights to land, lake and river beds, banks and water stemming from ancillary claims not resolved through the tribal body Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu to represent the interest of whanau (family) and hapu (clans) undertaken in south island.
In Australia our young professionals have undertaken projects on justice and on projects such as “Treaty Making Differences: a comparative analysis between Canada and Australia Perceptions, Differences and Impacts of non-Treaty on reconciliation and social policy including Treaty 3 formation”; and the Ngunnawal Centre Projects of Aboriginal pedagogy and inter-connecting sections of human justice and Treaty justice clauses.
Participants working in Europe within the office Indigena on topics such as Indigenous Visual Anthropology, on advisory projects such as Grand Council of Cree’s European attendance and strategies in conferences and workshops, and the development of a Indigenous Cree response to the 2001 World Conference for the Elimination of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. As one young professional not only noted that the experiences provided a better understanding of internal and external narratives and differing methods in analysis, “it made me realize now more than ever that I do care about the issues and the experiences gave me a start and the push I was looking for in order to carry on with my studies on indigenous issues”.
Protecting Indigenous Knowledge
YPI professionals undertook assigned tasks that developed broader insights for meeting on new concepts of “knowledge”. Most were involved with epistemic issues, expanding the familiar political discourse of human rights and self-determination to include issues of dignity and integrity. With these goals in mind, not only communal models to foster - both the gifts of the individual young professional and organizations - were addressed, but also the complexity of heritage and cultural protection came under supervision and intensive study by the young professionals. The distinctions allow considering a constituency at large as to the focus on traditional Indigenous knowledge (IK) and the current implementations, which do not want to conform to the restrictive mainstream boxes of categorization. The term IK, also known as local knowledge, citizen knowledge, traditional knowledge, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), folk science, people’s knowledge, and women’s knowledge has provoked intense debates all too often based on negative stereotypes, misinformation, and misunderstandings. Instead, the partners of the young professionals designed a program that combined considerations of the ongoing scientific agenda of the Convention of Biological Diversity (1992) (CBD), especially articles 8(j) and 10(c). Through an inclusive approach, the YPI presented talents to balance the demand of academia and of action research. It created a slow shift towards the recognition for the value of Indigenous Knowledge, both its humanities and science, and the need for projects to protect the traditional ecological knowledge and practices of Indigenous peoples to intellectual property, plant biodiversity, and traditional medicine (WIPO 2002; Oguamanam 2006).
The sustained effort to create and implement the Principles and guidelines for the protection of the Heritage of Indigenous Peoples (1995) (Wiessner and Battiste 2000) in United Nations and related Agency settings such as U.N.E.S.C.O. were part of YPI. Shining examples of these efforts are the placement of young professionals from Siksika First Nation, Inuit Dogrib Rae First Nation, Métis from Treaty 6 area, Split Lake Cree First Nation, Coast Salish and Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation at the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. The placements focus was to support local community control over processes of ecological, cultural and social change. By strengthening ties between community members, customary rules and processes, the young people were assigned to U.N.E.S.C.O. – Links program. One participant was offered a position to continue his work in Paris for a few years after the end of the YPI project. He notes on the exposure of inter-disciplinarity, “Throughout I spoke with members of the Indigenous caucus and listened to their experiences and involvement within the area of Indigenous rights”.
Another young fluent Inuktitut speaker from Arviat in Nunavut was placed at Le Muséum national d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris. The assignment was to assist and develop a documentary film relating to Inuit traditional hunting knowledge, including transcriptions of Inuktitut. The young professional provided the much-needed Indigenous language skill set that was necessary for the success of the project. In addition to the intensive technical and linguistic skills he pointed out, “I learned many other things during my internship, on subjects such as French culture, about United Nations agencies, and Canada’s role in the world of diplomacy. [ ] The concept of cultural relativism – that reality is a social construction and thus knowledge is context-based – was very important in developing an interpretation of ethnographic documentaries. Nowadays, such films are no longer accepted as the truth, but an articulation of a point of view – not a window into reality. These experiences, while challenging, are very rewarding and positive”.
The assignments for YPI participants also linked specific placements within organizations and universities undertaking innovative research programs for instance, young professionals undertook research on TEK within the Native American Studies Programs at Harvard University as well legal case analysis on intellectual property rights at the Native American Academy as it pertains to Indigenous Traditional Knowledge. Others built upon and enhanced the development goals in concepts of Indigenous science formulated and negotiated within the U.N.E.SC.O. World Declaration of Science in the 21st Century’s and its Framework of Action and the Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of the Heritage of Indigenous People. The formal acknowledgment that empirical knowledge of the natural world is not the exclusive realm of modern Eurocentric science is at the centre of the Convention and recognizes that traditional societies, many of them indigenous, have fostered and refined systems of knowledge as part of the heritage of humanity.
Other professionals were involved with the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Science in Society Project, which included development and coordinating conferences such as the “Science and Culture” with the focus on exploring Indigenous and Scientific knowledge to enhance respect of diversity. In Australia, the young professions worked on the joint management of conservation estates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples with comparison of the NSW Aboriginal Lands Rights Act (1983).
Indigenous Humanities
In New Zealand, young professionals were entranced by the Maori language survival project included Marae (sacred meeting houses), dance and song activities as it related to education curriculum of a post-secondary University program. The young professionals’ affinity is captured in the words of a First Nation lawyer assigned to New Zealand: “I was also able to provide information on First Nation initiatives and development. For example, initiatives occurring at my own First Nation regarding education and early childhood development was shared, reviewed and researched to determine if it could benefit and be of use to Maori educators”. Other professionals were involved in College of Law Waikato biculturalism principles focus immersion program Te Tohu Paetahi at the School of Maori and Pacific Development for Maori language.
One young professional professed they decided to do an internship with the Native Law Centre:
I wanted to learn more about international Indigenous issues and specifically what successful initiatives other Indigenous groups were advancing. I understood the issues affecting Canadian First Nation people through my life and throughout my university career and I wanted to see what new initiatives or developments were occurring international that could work here by my own community. I gained invaluable skills and knowledge of Maori norms and cultural values, the ability to network with contacts in multinational settings, adaptability, mobility, patience, tolerance, respect for differences, the ability to communicate effectively, to seek the positive and the humor in any situation, and an enhanced understanding of my own Cree values and identity.
Related to the Indigenous Humanities, through the urging of Indigenous voices, the young professionals were involved with the resurgence of cultural heritage and profiles. The efforts involved testimonies include intense issues of actual preservation of material culture, intercultural dialogue, which is also influenced by IC-Technology. In this regard, young professionals have been engaged in U.N.E.S.C.O. International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People Symposium on Indigenous Identities: Oral, Written Expressions and New Technologies (May 2001). Accordingly, some young professionals preparation and organization of the International Circumpolar Women’ Conference with focus on northern women and common cultural threads; Maori women’s traditional birthing practices and comparative analysis to Saskatchewan policies; and an in-depth qualitative research project on the Aboriginal Reconciliation Movement in Australia and its key principals are mentioned. Some YPI assisted organizing conferences between the Grand Council of Cree and European organizations located in France, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, amongst them non-governmental and non-profit organizations such as AKIN, but also the Diplomatic Academy.
Building Dignity
The building of dignity is connected to diplomacy but is the performance or programmatic goal of understanding. One participant captured this challenge in stating:
I extend my sincerest gratitude to all who helped me. I developed new and enhanced skills including organizational and interpersonal skills sets that I expected to learn in an international experience, but I am surprised to also be learning more about myself as a young Inuit woman. The international project allowed me the opportunity to experience international travel while gaining valuable work experience in my area of education and interest that I would not otherwise had an opportunity to experience.
The experiences of the program and how the young professionals observed political practice in communal interaction in different countries has been intense and too vast to cited extensively. Furthermore, numerous presentations and lectures on a variety of subjects including considerations on ethical research practices, land use and management, traditional justice systems, etc. had been provided. Some YPI’s examined oil and gas development, exploration, environmental impact assessments, monitoring, and reclamation with a view to Aboriginal collective decision-making processes. They have researched Indigenous methods of conflict resolutions, attended international European gatherings of Indigenous Peoples with rights development agenda’s; explored federalism, multi-culturalism and its implementation in the Austrian federal state; as one participant revealed:
What I experienced and what I learned has been of immeasurable value to me. The work I did as a research assistant in Vienna laid the ground work for my career in the area of specific claims and alternative dispute resolution. Not only did I gain a solid foundation in international aspects of aboriginal law and alternative dispute resolution, I gained first hand experience living in a society where I barely spoke the language and where English was not commonly used or spoken. The exposure and immersion in a different society gave me a heightened awareness into cultural and language differences and the impact they have on how people deal with one another. I cannot describe what an advantage this experience has provided me in my current work, dealing with First Nation communities and Elders in an attempt to address historical claims and grievances.
Understanding Shared Capacities
The partnerships captured Indigenous diplomacy as the bridge to build dignity in a setting of shared capacities. International organizations, European, bi- and multilateral agencies frequently express that programs need to be carried out with full participation of the population concerned. While this stated principle requires organizations to deal directly with Indigenous people, many of the young professionals were frequently asked not only to be representatives of a given community, but to report and monitor actual social and political issues of the Indigenous peoples concerned. It is worthwhile to mention, that the Native Law Centre program has intensively evaluated the social facts of the individual young professional to ensure ongoing monitoring without direct interference into the final result. Nevertheless, each participant had been requested to report on the ongoing activities designed within the program. Each young professional shared some knowledge and experiences while receiving the benefit of expertise. Furthermore, it became evident, that the young professionals do not only observe strategies of representation to make a différance, but formally study intermediary organizations in an international forum. Some researched about networks carrying the regional and global dialogue in the United Nations Permanent Forum; some have focused on emerging community caucus or prioritized advocacy; some have carefully considered human rights themes within non-governmental, intergovernmental or non-profit organizations and have interrogated the nature of engagement and the methodology of European and Anglo-American agencies in indigenous issues. All of them have expanded and built understandings of shared capacities in the international forum.
3. Conclusion
The voices speak of the positive and powerful impact the experiences have provided in work and personal spheres. The stories and snapshots of both - the host organizations and young professionals - could fill many pages but the above provides insight that différance is not a negative to be frowned upon. This is, however, the only way to make meaningful and sustained change to intolerance, bias and displacement. And, this, however, has not been easy or simple as it is outside the mainstream expectations and understandings. The framework for change is present when we look for it although it remains to be implemented. Scholars, partners, young professionals – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – continue to focus for the enhancement of educational and scientific models and theories. As mentioned at the beginning of this piece, the thinking, unthinking, and rethinking of Indigenous humanities is a critical key in unlocking negative bias. Indigenous diplomacy development is to the benefit of all.
4. References
8.2. Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Society: Transformations and Challenges
Sektionsgruppen | Section Groups | Groupes de sections
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