Baguio City, Philippines - The Ganak da i-Licoy, Inc. initiated a dialogue with the other 11 indigenous groups of Paracelis, Mountain Province, Philippines to inform, come into a consensus and anticipate possible issues, if any, in their application for Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT). Held on March 18, 2023 in Casicallan, Poblacion, Paracelis, the dialogue was participated in by several indigenous groups including the Madukayan, Kadaclan, Balangao, and Gaddang people.

Rogelio Banggot, an i-Likoy elder said the event was historic. “Dakkel la unay nga punto ta maisurat daytoy aramiden tayo ti kapanunutan ti maysa ken amin nga tribo” (This [meeting] is significant and will be etched in the thoughts of all the tribes), he said.

Antonio Cayyog, a Ga’dang elder reading the proposed agreement of the indigenous groups of Paracelis with the Ganak da iLikoy concerning the latter’s CADT pursuance.

Juan Falinchao of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) discussed the stages of CADT application and committed to guide the i-Likoy to formulate an action plan. He iterated the importance of consultations with concerned bodies such as the local government unit and of undergoing the documentation process.

Addressing existing boundary conflicts is a precondition before the NCIP deliberates and releases a certificate for the recognition of an ancestral domain. It is a temporary agreement that strengthens the ties of cooperation, networking and alliance-building of a specific indigenous group with and among other indigenous peoples residing within a specific homeland.

A temporary agreement was read aloud by Antonio Cayyog, a Gaddang elder, as a result of the discussion. Copies of the agreement were disseminated after the reading for a subsequent signing. Both the representatives from Madukayan and Gaddang indicated no objection to the CADT application, thus,  i-Likoy leaders proposed fortifying the agreement with an “iyapuy” or the traditional sealing of an agreement or decision through a banquet.

As of writing, the i-Likoy are continuing the research, documentation and mapping of their territory which would be later sent to the NCIP. They are endeavoring to accomplish all other necessary documents to clinch their goal of receiving their CADT.

This initiative is being supported by Swedbio through Tebtebba.

Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba executive director and former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (first from the left), and Prof. Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco, founding chair of 170+ Talaytayan Multilingual Education Incorporated (first from the right), as they hand over certificates of appreciation to Dr. Gina O. Gonong, Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching (second from the left), and Mr. Ivan Anthony Henares of UNESCO.

“Ang usapin ng lenggwahe, partikular sa aming mga katutubo, ay isang napakahalagang aspeto. Ito ang nagbubuklod sa amin upang maipagpatuloy namin ang aming pamumuhay sa loob ng aming komunidad. Naisasaayos namin ang mga sigalot gamit ang sarili naming lenggwahe (The discussion about language, specifically for us as Indigenous peoples, is highly essential. Our indigenous language unites us, allowing us to continue our way of life. It enables us to fix different issues and conflicts within our community).”

Johnmart Salunday, Indigenous Peoples’ Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of Puerto Princesa, Palawan in the Philippines and President of Nagkakaisang mga Tribu ng Palawan (NATRIPAL), shared on the importance of their indigenous language during the 2023 Conference-Workshop on Indigenous Languages and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas in Iloilo City, Philippines on 21 to 23 February 2023 that was attended by over 300 participants including representatives from indigenous peoples’ organizations, political structures and communities, civil society organizations, the academe, and other relevant actors and stakeholders.

The three-day event was co-organized by UP Visayas, Tebtebba, Talaytayan Multilingual Education Inc, ABC+ Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines, Philippine Normal University, and Lyceum of the Philippines University with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International. The said gathering was an offshoot of the first one, entitled 2022 Philippine Conference on Indigenous Languages: A Response to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, that was held at UP Diliman in Quezon City, also in the Philippines, on 25 to 27 October 2022.

Read the full article at http://bit.ly/3T8F9Lc

Baguio City, Philippines, May 2023—Twenty-two emerging leaders of indigenous peoples in Africa participated in the African Regional Training on Indigenous Peoples’ Self-Determined and Sustainable Development last February 27 to March 2 in Arusha, Tanzania. The training aimed to strengthen the integrated and holistic approach to sustainable development of indigenous peoples in the different regions of Africa.

Anne Samante, Finance and Administrative Manager of MPIDO, emphasized in her opening statement that the issues of indigenous peoples in Africa are cross-cutting and development initiatives to address these are supposed to be “our” way of indigenous peoples. “We need development in our way, not imposed by the government,” she said.

The training served as a venue for the participants to discuss the prevailing global crises that are affecting their communities including poverty, climate change, biodiversity erosion, land grabbing, conflict and discrimination, among others. Esperance Binyuki Nyota, the executive director of Union pour l’Emancipation de la Femme Autochtone (UEFA) based in the Democratic Republic of Congo and one of the training facilitators, stressed that indigenous peoples must not be ignored considering their important roles in responding to these crises.

The human rights of indigenous peoples as embodied in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) were also comprehensively discussed. The participants surfaced the different human rights violations being experienced by indigenous peoples in Africa.

The participants highlighted the different challenges being confronted by indigenous women in Africa, their causes and consequences. They emphasized how indigenous women and indigenous children are affected by natural and man-made disasters,  on the drought in East Africa, armed conflict in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the displacement in Ngorongoro in Tanzania. 

This writer, the training coordinator of the Elatia Indigenous Peoples Training Institute, provided an overview of the General Recommendation No. 39 on the rights of indigenous women and girls of the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Adopted last October 2022, General Recommendation No. 39 is a guide to States parties on legislative, policy and other relevant measures to ensure the implementation of their obligations in relation to the rights of indigenous women and girls under the CEDAW.

“Young indigenous children cannot speak their mother tongue. If we lose language, we lose traditional knowledge,” Shamazi Maendeleo Edouard Dewar of Dignité Pygmée (DIPY) in the Democratic Republic of Congo stressed, emphasizing the parallel need to preserve indigenous knowledge and indigenous language.  Likewise, participants shared the different challenges they are facing in protecting their traditional knowledge.

The partners also highlighted the challenges and threats to their traditional livelihoods and stressed the significant differences between the prevailing dominant economic systems and the indigenous and local economic systems. In conclusion, Bouba Njobdi Amadou of Lelewal and one of the training facilitators pointed out that indigenous economies are intergenerational and are done in consideration of the seen and the unseen.

Furthermore, the participants shared their perspectives about what is ‘being happy’ to them or how they define wellbeing. “It means a good life, especially [for our] community. For pastoralists, it is more livestock, more healthy people with education,” said Edward Gafachu of PAICODEO and PINGO’s Forum in Tanzania. For Chia Onorine Nyabong of Lelewal, wellbeing meant being able “to create joy and peace to other people and the prevalence of self-control”.  

As part of the training, the participants visited the Maasai community in Terat village of Simanjiro district in the Arusha Region of Tanzania to enrich their understanding on the significant roles of traditional knowledge on natural resource management. 

Loorimpa Mazingira, a community-organized group at Terrat village, revived and conserved their dried-up river using their traditional knowledge and with the support of PINGO’s Forum, a non-government organization (NGO) based in Arusha. Now, Loorimpa River provides them water for cleaning and cooking and for drinking of their livestock, as well as ensures water supply for the next generations. 

The participants also visited the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights based at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Conservation Centre in Arusha. Personnel of the Court’s Registrar provided an overview of the mission of the Court, its jurisdiction, the Judges as well as of opportunities for engagement of indigenous peoples in the Court, among others. During the interactive discussion, the ELATIA partners were able to raise significant questions and concerns on the situation of indigenous peoples in Africa. 

The resource persons and participants of the event belong to ELATIA partner organizations in Africa. ELATIA is a global partnership of indigenous peoples’ organizations, networks and NGOS in 13 countries from Asia, Latin America and Africa that are spearheading self-determined and sustainable development of indigenous peoples.

Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO) based in Nairobi, Kenya organized the five-day training in close coordination with Tebtebba and the Elatia Indigenous Peoples Training Institute which are based in Baguio City, Philippines. #

Paracelis, Mountain Province, Philippines—Following a series of research and documentation conducted last year on Licoy historical accounts, indigenous knowledge systems and practices and demographic trends, the Ganak da i-Licoy is pushing forward plans for formal ethnic recognition and ancestral land delineation this 2023, possibly through the guidance of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and in collaboration with the local government unit (LGU) of Paracelis and other concern government agencies. This is to fulfill their long-before aspiration of getting recognized as a distinct ethnic community with its own ancestral territory.

Read full article: https://philippine.tebtebba.org/index.php/latest-news/ganak-da-ilicoy-to-push-for-ethnic-recognition-and-ancestral-land-delineation-seeks-ncip-guidance-and-assistance-from-the-paracelis-lgu