Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
Special to ICT
Around the world: The Maasai people are asking the United Nations to help stop government evictions, an artist in Canada is working on projects to rebuild Indigenous language, an ancient irrigation technique could fight climate change in Sri Lanka, and Indigenous writers excel in Australian book awards
TANZANIA: Indigenous Maasai request UN human rights intervention
The Indigenous Maasai in Tanzania are seeking intervention from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to stop what they say is a violent campaign to remove them from their lands to make way for conservation and hunting reserves, Mongabay reported on April 21.
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY.
The Maasai are expected to ask the UN forum this week to pressure the Tanzanian government to stop taking their cattle, to withdraw security forces and to create a commission to examine contested lands and dispossessed individuals. They also want the government to allow unrestricted visits by international human rights observers, Mongabay reported.
This story was published as part of the Global Indigenous Affairs Desk, an Indigenous-led collaboration among Grist, High Country News, ICT, Mongabay, and Native News Online.
“We, the Maasai people of Loliondo and Ngorongoro in Tanzania, are fighting against the Tanzanian government and wildlife trophy hunters who are threatening our livelihood, culture, ancestral wisdom, legacy, and basic human rights,” said Edward Porokwa, executive director of the Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organization’s Forum, said. “There is no justification for this crisis created by the government.”
The Maasai land conflict in Tanzania revolves around Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Loliondo. Ngorongoro, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular safari destination for viewing elephants, lions, leopards, buffalo, and rhinoceros, has been home to around 80,000 Indigenous Maasai who have faced government efforts to evict them from their land for several years.
At the Permanent Forum, Porokwa stated that the government has shut down four nursery schools, nine water sources, and six mobile health clinics since June 2022. The government claims the Maasai are leaving voluntarily for resettlement sites, while the Maasai delegates assert that they are being coerced to leave.
“It is a forceful relocation by ensuring that people don’t get the basics,” Porokwa said. “They are there to die.”
UN experts expressed concern in June 2022 over forced evictions, but the Maasai say the government hasn’t altered its strategy.
CANADA: Artist says language ‘key to nationhood’
Two Indigenous artists from Canada have joined hands to form the Ornaman Collective, a land-based art project aimed at imparting traditional knowledge and language to young people, APTN News reported on April 18.
Artist Isaac Murdoch, Serpent River First Nation, whose popular works have been displayed around the world, is working with Métis artist Christi Belcourt to build a camp, Nimkii Aazhibikong, to share language and traditional knowledge.
Murdoch said the camp is “a place where youth and elders come to connect to the land, each other, and to pass down the language and traditional knowledge to the next generations.”
It is the place Murdoch now considers home. He views it as a place to engage in cultural traditions, rediscover identity, revitalize the Ojibwa language and reclaim lost knowledge, and he hopes to see similar camps spread throughout Turtle Island, APTN News reported.
Murdoch said language is at the cornerstone of his pursuits.
“My grandparents were very fluent in the language and they were such a big impact on my life, and they always said that whatever you do, include language in it,” Murdoch said, according to APTN News.
“Language is the foundation of our nationhood,” he said. “It’s who we are. It carries so much ecological knowledge.
SRI LANKA: Using ancient irrigation tanks to fight climate change
As part of a strategy to adapt to climate change, Sri Lankan officials are hoping to restore an ancient irrigation technique known as tank cascade systems to address predicted water shortages in the nation’s arid dry zone, Mongabay reported on April 22.
Sri Lanka is among the top 10 countries on the climate risk index, according to Mongabay.
The tank cascade system used in ancient villages is a series of interconnected tanks that share water from top to bottom to irrigate paddy fields. Each component serves a specific purpose and can be explained by modern science despite being designed centuries ago.
“Restoring the tank cascade system has a wider implication from the point of view of climate change as the system has proved its resilience to extreme weather events,” said P.B. Dharmasena, former research officer at the Department of Agriculture and a specialist in soil and water management, according to Mongabay.
The cascaded tank-village system in Sri Lanka helps to manage water efficiently, absorb natural disaster shocks such as floods, and reduce water loss through absorption. Water flows from one tank to another through a network of tanks and streams.
Restoration of the tank systems has become a priority within the National Climate Adaptation Strategy and is listed in the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions to the UN climate convention. Dharmasena is optimistic that the ancient systems will finally receive recognition.
Authorities have sought guidance from C.M. Madduma Bandara, emeritus professor of the University of Peradeniya, who first described the systems through his 1985 research.
AUSTRALIA: Indigenous writers excel in 2023 Book Awards.
Five books by Indigenous authors have been shortlisted for the 2023 Australian Book Industry Awards in what industry officials say is a renewed interest in genuine Indigenous stories, National Indigenous Times reported on April 21.
The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Sydney on May 25.
“In recent years I think there’s been a desire to understand Indigenous Australia better and I think publishing has been at the forefront of making those stories available,” said Dan Ruffino, chief executive of Simon & Schuster Australia.
“The success is really brought by Australians wanting to know about their past — different versions to what we were probably taught at schools,” he said.
The Indigenous books named to the shortlist this year are:
—“My Dream Time.” by Ash Barty, HarperCollins Publishers
—“The Boy from Boomerang Crescent,” by Eddie Betts, Simon & Schuster Australia
—“Guardians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 1,” by Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard, Allen & Unwin, Albert Street Books
—“Ceremony: Welcome to our Country,” by Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing, illustrated by David Hardy, Allen & Unwin
—“First Nations Food Companion,” by Damien Courtyard and Rebecca Sullivan, Murdoch Books
My final thoughts
My final thoughts are in Tanzania where the Indigenous Maasai people have been struggling for years to hold on to their ancestral lands and where they rely on pastoralism for their livelihood. They say that the government has been using conservation and hunting reserves as a pretext to force them out of their homes and traditional grazing lands, causing immense harm to their way of life. This campaign has resulted in a range of negative consequences for the Maasai people, including the loss of access to essential resources such as water, and grazing lands.
To address the Maasai people’s issues, there is a need for a concerted effort by the Tanzanian government, international organizations, and Indigenous rights advocates to come together in a civilized manner and address and look for a solution.
It is also crucial to acknowledge and respect the Maasai’s cultural heritage and the role they play in maintaining the biodiversity and ecological balance of the region. Ultimately, the key to resolving these issues is to involve the Maasai themselves in the decision-making process and to recognize their right to self-determination and cultural autonomy.
Global Indigenous is a weekly news roundup published every Wednesday by ICT (formerly Indian Country Today) with some of the key stories about Indigenous peoples around the world.
Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT’s free newsletter.