Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
Special to ICT
Around the World: Brazil issues apology to Indigenous communities, a six decades-long promise in Manitoba First Nation is fulfilled, Australian University offers cultural allowance, and mushrooms in New Zealand are tested for addiction treatment potential.
BRAZIL: Indigenous people get apology
Brazil has issued its first-ever apology for the torture and persecution of Indigenous people during the military dictatorship, including the incarceration of victims in an infamous detention center known as an “Indigenous concentration camp,” the Guardian reported on April 3.
The apology was issued Tuesday by an amnesty commission affiliated with the Ministry of Human Rights that was tasked with investigating the atrocities committed during the regime of 1964-85.
The commission’s president, law professor Eneá de Stutz e Almeida, knelt before Indigenous leader Djanira Krenak as she expressed regret for the violence inflicted upon the Krenak people.
“In the name of the Brazilian state, I want to say sorry for all the suffering your people were put through,” said Almeida, referring to the apology as the first of its kind in over 500 years since Portuguese explorers reached what is now Brazil in 1500, according to the Guardian.
“In truth, I’m not saying sorry [only] for what happened during the dictatorship. I’m saying sorry for the persecution your people – as well as all other native people – have suffered over the last 524 years because of the non-Indigenous invasion of this land, which belongs to you,” Almeida stated during a hearing in the capital, Brasília.
Despite the broad scope of the declaration, Tuesday’s apologies are focused on two specific cases: one involving the Krenak people from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais and the other involving the Guarani-Kaiowá from Mato Grosso do Sul, near Brazil’s western border with Bolivia and Paraguay. Indigenous leaders and historians assert that both groups were forcibly removed from their lands and subjected to brutality by the dictatorship, which took power following a coup 60 years ago this week.
The Krenak have spent decades demanding justice for the abuses committed against their people during a racist “re-education” campaign, which writer and activist Ailton Krenak described as an attempt to “rehabilitate” Indigenous people deemed “unfit for Brazilian life.”
The apology comes at a profoundly symbolic moment for the victims of the dictatorship, during which thousands of individuals were tortured or killed. April 7 marked the 60th anniversary of the coup, and relatives of the deceased expressed anger at President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s controversial decision to block official remembrance events – reportedly to avoid upsetting powerful military figures.
Krenak stated he did not wish to judge Lula’s decision but emphasized the importance of remembrance.
“Dictatorship is a putrid thing. There are those who think dictatorship is about [good] governance. In fact, it’s about slaughter,” remarked the writer, who recently became the first Indigenous person to join the Brazilian Academy of Letters, according to the Guardian.
CANADA: First Nations gets airport
The decades-long struggle for a new airport in a remote Manitoba First Nation has come to an end, CBC News reported on April 3.
The province’s 2024 budget includes a commitment to construct a new airport on Wasagamack First Nation, marking the conclusion of approximately six decades of community advocacy, according to Chief Walter Harper. “Everybody is excited – even I was excited. Even today I’m very, very excited, because going back to 60-plus years, we were the most isolated,” Harper expressed on April 3, a day following the tabling of the first provincial budget by Premier Wab Kinew’s NDP government, according to the Guardian.
Harper and fellow band members were invited to the legislative building on Tuesday for the announcement. Although the budget does not specify the province’s intended expenditure on the airport, “Wasagamack airport and northern airport, strategy development” is listed as a bullet point under “major capital investments.” However, Harper anticipates an announcement at the airport’s site in early May, estimating the total cost of the airport and connecting road to be around $70 million.
Situated approximately 292 miles northeast of Winnipeg, the First Nation, with a population of about 2,000, can only be accessed by boat or helicopter. Last year, ahead of the 25th anniversary of a tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of a pilot and two beloved elders – Harper’s mother, Bernadette, and her friend – the community renewed its call for an airport. “This is kind of emotional to me because … I was thinking about my mom and her best friend. And I’m saying to myself, ‘Look, I did it,’” Harper reflected, according to the Guardian. “This is what the community needed.”
AUSTRALIA: University offers cultural allowance
Western Australia’s Murdoch University is the first to establish a cultural workload allowance among Australian tertiary institutions, National Indigenous Times reported on April 5.
The new allowance provides up to $8,944 per year to First Nations employees at Murdoch who contribute cultural knowledge and perspectives beyond their role’s scope.
Murdoch University’s Pro Vice Chancellor First Nations, Chanelle van den Berg, expressed pride in Murdoch’s achievement. “Our First Nations staff are often sought out for cultural guidance and consultation in the course of their work, so it’s only fair that they get recognized and compensated for the important contribution they make,” said the Noongar woman.
Murdoch acknowledges that cultural load, the additional work borne by First Nations people in the workplace, often remains unseen. First Nations employees are frequently asked to provide cultural education and guidance to non-Indigenous colleagues.
Professor Andrew Deeks, Murdoch University vice chancellor, emphasized the importance of the new allowance as recognition of the critical role First Nations staff play in the Murdoch community. “This new allowance simply seeks to formalize that recognition and set a precedent for how cultural load is considered within the workplace, especially in settings where there are few First Nations employees,” Professor Deeks stated, according to National Indigenous Times.
Murdoch employees who undertake First Nations-related work not required by their role can apply for the allowance to the pro vice chancellor First Nations.
“Our aim is to become the university of first choice for First Nations peoples, and a leader in embracing, promoting and benefiting from Indigenous knowledges and cultural inclusivity,” said Dr. van den Berg, according to National Indigenous Times.
NEW ZEALAND: A new addiction treatment?
Te Tai Rawhiti biopharmaceutical company Rua Bioscience has achieved success in cultivating Tapu mushrooms for medicinal research, particularly in exploring their properties for addiction treatment, Te Ao Maori News reported on April 5.
In New Zealand, Tapu mushrooms are a fascinating group of fungi that carry cultural significance and are considered sacred.
The iwi-backed company holds a license to cultivate the indigenous Psilocybe Weraroa, which contains Psilocybin, classified as an illegal Class A substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Jody Toroa from Rangiwaho Marae, located south of Gisborne, expresses that the marae will collaborate with the company for clinical trials scheduled to commence in June. “The whole journey of this has gathered momentum. There’s a lot of science institutes, there are a lot of our whanau who are already working with whanau in our own communities using the taonga as a way to give direction and focus to their own healing journeys,” Toroa shares.
My final thoughts
My final thoughts are in Brazil where an apology issued by Brazil for the persecution and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples during the military dictatorship is undoubtedly a commendable and an honorable gesture.
It reflects a willingness to confront the dark chapters of history, acknowledge past wrongs, and take steps toward reconciliation and healing. Such actions are crucial for fostering social cohesion, promoting justice, and upholding human rights principles.
However, it is essential to acknowledge the delay in issuing this apology. Centuries have passed since the injustices were perpetrated, and many victims have suffered without recognition or redress for far too long. The prolonged delay in acknowledging these atrocities only compounds the pain and injustice experienced by Indigenous communities.
In this light, other nations should take note of Brazil’s example and consider similar gestures of apology and reconciliation for historical injustices inflicted upon marginalized and oppressed groups within their borders.
Issuing apologies for historical injustices is not only a matter of moral duty but also a practical step toward building a more just, inclusive and peaceful society. It is incumbent upon nations to confront their pasts honestly, acknowledge the wrongs committed, and take meaningful steps toward reconciliation and justice.
