Aboriginal Rights
- Tsila and Diamond Mining
- Aboriginal Artist's Statement
- Corsican Native Culture
- Kazakhstan Indigenous People
- Native Prussians
- Indigenous Film Reviews
- Biblical Colonisation
- Natives of Cyprus
- Sentinelese Islander Warriors
- Indigenous Assyrians
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
The natives of Gope in the Central Kalahari are told diamonds from their land are not conflict diamonds. But is forced removal to concentration camps not conflict?
The Kimberly Process guarantees that diamonds from Tsila (Bushmen) homelands are not "conflict diamonds," meaning diamonds that are associated with civil wars and conflict. However, this leaves out the criteria of human rights abuses and contravention of international law regarding the consultation of traditional landowners by mining companies. The Bushmen have been evicted illegally and forcibly from their land to make room for this mining activity. By any definition, this could be described as "conflict."
The government and mining companies have backpedalled on this issue in recent years, claiming that the Bushmen were removed for their welfare, not because of mining interests. This contradicts what they initially told the Tsila when they were evicted in 1985, when the Bushmen were told explicitly that they were being moved to sedentary settlements because of the diamond deposit.
These "relocation camps" are referred to by the Tsila as "places of death." De Beers backed their removal to these concentration camps with bogus research claiming that Gope has only recently been inhabited by Bushmen, and that they have no ancestral claim to the territory. Read more on this.
The government and mining companies have backpedalled on this issue in recent years, claiming that the Bushmen were removed for their welfare, not because of mining interests. This contradicts what they initially told the Tsila when they were evicted in 1985, when the Bushmen were told explicitly that they were being moved to sedentary settlements because of the diamond deposit.
These "relocation camps" are referred to by the Tsila as "places of death." De Beers backed their removal to these concentration camps with bogus research claiming that Gope has only recently been inhabited by Bushmen, and that they have no ancestral claim to the territory. Read more on this.
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
Australian Indigenous artist Brenda L. Croft writes about the challenges of native identity for fair-skinned Aborigines. Her sentiments echo my own.
"I am fair, I am aware that I am not what people are looking for when they want something black, something real, something authentic, something truly Aboriginal, but I am here. I am aware that as I look through magazines they are not of me, for me. The models white and pure, or black and foreign, and/or exotic, not from here not of me. I turn on the television and the advertisements make me feel that I have travelled to some other country, I am not at home. I see reports of our people and we are down again, so far down it is hard to see daylight. When observed, when exposed, we are mere microbes, lucky for some space, alien to white Australians, unknown quantities. Sad, sorry, other peripheral, not their problem. I travelled overseas and was amazed at how I became the exotic, the foreign, the other. Displacement, the other side. By placing myself behind the camera I am taking control of my self image and images of ourselves. I cannot, do not, take sole responsibility but challenge and attempt to reverse the expected. My mother marrying my father, white dress, black suit, the negative makes me laugh, the story makes my cry. Reverse roles. Look at me/us and do not see through me/us. Acknowledge me/us. I am right beside you."
July 1998
July 1998
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
Corsica is losing its indigenous population fast, to the lure of a mainland urban lifestyle. Economy and culture are weakening also, as both are constructed for tourism.
Erosion of tribal culture in Corsica began with loss of language in the 1950s and 1960s, when school children were forbidden to speak Corsican, of which there are several different dialects on the island. Today the language paradoxically has a high status, and is used by the elite of the island to exclude poorer natives and migrants - kind of a secret password language for the upper echelons of Corsican society. However, these few Corsican words always exist within a colonial context - playing second fiddle to the French language of the island's invaders.
Corsica's cultural renaissance seems to consist mostly of exotic and colonial-friendly symbols of native "culture", with native icons being romanticised in much the same way as the didgeridoo in Australia. Corsica's leading families use language and culture in this way to foster a dominant tribal elite, designed simultaneously to exclude peripheral classes and minorities, and to stir nationalistic pride in the hope of attracting home prodigal sons and daughters who have enjoyed financial success on the mainland. Read more here about how this situation has led to racism on the island.
Corsica's cultural renaissance seems to consist mostly of exotic and colonial-friendly symbols of native "culture", with native icons being romanticised in much the same way as the didgeridoo in Australia. Corsica's leading families use language and culture in this way to foster a dominant tribal elite, designed simultaneously to exclude peripheral classes and minorities, and to stir nationalistic pride in the hope of attracting home prodigal sons and daughters who have enjoyed financial success on the mainland. Read more here about how this situation has led to racism on the island.
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
Borat is funny, but the plight of Kazakh people is no laughing matter. After Stalin killed half of them, nuclear testing sealed the fate of the rest.
The nomadic Kazakhs of Russia have been colonised by Slavs, Cossacks, Stalinists, and Soviets. Result - famine, fallout, and an average age of 31.
Kazakh means nomad. There are three main Kazakh zhuz (hordes), each composed of a number of clans descended from common ancestors.
In the 19th century population density in Kazakhstan was 1 person per sq km. By the end of that century their land had been colonised by Slavic and Cossack invaders. The Kazakh population had always existed in a delicate balance with what the land could provide, so great famines followed the invasion.
At that time there were about three and a half million Kazakhs. As late as 1926 three quarters of all Kazakhs were still living a traditional lifestyle, dependent on livestock and seasonal agriculture. In the late 1920s, Stalin ordered the nomads to settle, in a bid to “intensify agricultural production”. This crass stupidity led to the deaths of 90 percent of Kazakh livestock. The ensuing famine resulted in the loss of 40 percent of the Kazakh population. The “settling” of these Indigenous people was nothing short of genocide. Read more.
Kazakh means nomad. There are three main Kazakh zhuz (hordes), each composed of a number of clans descended from common ancestors.
In the 19th century population density in Kazakhstan was 1 person per sq km. By the end of that century their land had been colonised by Slavic and Cossack invaders. The Kazakh population had always existed in a delicate balance with what the land could provide, so great famines followed the invasion.
At that time there were about three and a half million Kazakhs. As late as 1926 three quarters of all Kazakhs were still living a traditional lifestyle, dependent on livestock and seasonal agriculture. In the late 1920s, Stalin ordered the nomads to settle, in a bid to “intensify agricultural production”. This crass stupidity led to the deaths of 90 percent of Kazakh livestock. The ensuing famine resulted in the loss of 40 percent of the Kazakh population. The “settling” of these Indigenous people was nothing short of genocide. Read more.
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
The Prusi indigenous people of former Prussia, thought to be extinct since the Crusades, are making a comeback. Young European pagans are reclaiming tribal identities.
The Prusi inhabited the area of Europe known today as former Prussia long before the arrival of the Russians, Latvians, Germans and Poles who now inhabit their territory. As Balts, the Prusi were closely related to Latvians and Lithuanians. "Letts", another name for the Prusi people, shows this link. The place called Danzig is still named for the pagan 'Dancing' that took place there during ceremonies related to hunting and fishing activities.
Habitation in the area of former Prussia dates back to 9000 B.C. and significant pagan burial sites have been found in the area. It is thought that hemp fields there might have been part of a major textile industry, with fabric traded along with baltic amber as far afield as China.
After World War II, Eastern Prussia was partitioned between Poland in the south and the Soviet Union in the north, leaving about 400,000 indigenous people in the South and an unknown number in the north. But the Prusi were first colonised by the Prussian state seven centuries before.
In the 13th century a Holy War was declared upon the indigenous pagans of the area by the Catholic Church, whose Teutonic Knights ethnically cleansed the Prusi and took their land. The main justification for this was the desire to wipe "paganism" from the face of the earth, a major goal of the Christian crusades (after loot, rape and land theft of course). As with most first nations the world over, the indigenous community remained within the new state, clinging to the shreds of culture and identity that remained following the genocidal invasion. They are still there today. Read more here.
Habitation in the area of former Prussia dates back to 9000 B.C. and significant pagan burial sites have been found in the area. It is thought that hemp fields there might have been part of a major textile industry, with fabric traded along with baltic amber as far afield as China.
After World War II, Eastern Prussia was partitioned between Poland in the south and the Soviet Union in the north, leaving about 400,000 indigenous people in the South and an unknown number in the north. But the Prusi were first colonised by the Prussian state seven centuries before.
In the 13th century a Holy War was declared upon the indigenous pagans of the area by the Catholic Church, whose Teutonic Knights ethnically cleansed the Prusi and took their land. The main justification for this was the desire to wipe "paganism" from the face of the earth, a major goal of the Christian crusades (after loot, rape and land theft of course). As with most first nations the world over, the indigenous community remained within the new state, clinging to the shreds of culture and identity that remained following the genocidal invasion. They are still there today. Read more here.
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
A look at three films from an native viewpoint. Some movie reviews with a twist...
Well, the title of this blog is misleading. You might be expecting to read reviews about Indigenous films. No, no, no, these are Indigenous reviews of non-Indigenous films.
That sounds unusual, doesn't it? Doesn't quite sit right. That's because the colonial experience to date has involved people speaking about and for Aboriginal people, the work of Indigenous artists critiqued according to dominant culture standards in order to allow honorary inclusion status, or to exclude as "Other".
So, what we're doing here is turning that magnifying glass around, pointing it back. Rather than being examined and judged, we are doing the evaluating.
Why am I doing this today? Well, I just found out I was the object of a research study a couple of years ago without actually being informed that a study was taking place. It was shocking to read about myself in a study I never knew I was part of. Apart from the massive human rights violations involving human subject research and informed consent issues, I'm mostly feeling bad because of that paranoid feeling of never knowing when that magnifying glass is pointing at me.
So I'm writing this blog to make myself feel better, make myself feel like I have some sort of control over that cultural magnifying glass. So here are the film reviews - my way of looking back at those who are looking at me...
That sounds unusual, doesn't it? Doesn't quite sit right. That's because the colonial experience to date has involved people speaking about and for Aboriginal people, the work of Indigenous artists critiqued according to dominant culture standards in order to allow honorary inclusion status, or to exclude as "Other".
So, what we're doing here is turning that magnifying glass around, pointing it back. Rather than being examined and judged, we are doing the evaluating.
Why am I doing this today? Well, I just found out I was the object of a research study a couple of years ago without actually being informed that a study was taking place. It was shocking to read about myself in a study I never knew I was part of. Apart from the massive human rights violations involving human subject research and informed consent issues, I'm mostly feeling bad because of that paranoid feeling of never knowing when that magnifying glass is pointing at me.
So I'm writing this blog to make myself feel better, make myself feel like I have some sort of control over that cultural magnifying glass. So here are the film reviews - my way of looking back at those who are looking at me...
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
It is easy to draw parallels between this bible excerpt and the behaviour of Christian colonists in the age of discovery.
Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.
When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, "What do you report?"
They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land.
"When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth."
Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out.
When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, "What do you report?"
They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land.
"When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth."
Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out.
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
The Aborigines of Cyprus have been invaded by dozens of colonising nations throughout their history. Now Turkey occupies over a third of their land illegally.
British invasion of Cyprus began when King Richard I of England captured the island in 1191 in the crusades, looting and massacring. The following year Cyprus was "purchased" by a Frenchman. Three hundred years later it was taken over by the Republic of Venice, and then by the Ottoman Empire the following century. The Turkish colonial minority remained, even after Britain annexed the island yet again in 1913.
A Cypriot resistance movement called EOKA fought the British and won their independence at last in 1960. But fourteen years later the Turks invaded again and gained control of 37% of the island through air strikes. In that invasion 160000 Cypriots were ethnically cleansed.
New wave Turkish invaders formed a separate state in the north, despite the fact that the UN declared the action illegal and demanded the withdrawal of Turkish troops. The illegal colony, founded on genocide, has failed to prosper, and depends on the mother country for aid. It also survives by selling Cypriot land illegally to private buyers from around the world.
The invaders claim indigenousness from the time of the Ottoman invasions in the 1500's, even though they are in fact the product of a new wave of invasion direct from modern Turkey. More Here.
A Cypriot resistance movement called EOKA fought the British and won their independence at last in 1960. But fourteen years later the Turks invaded again and gained control of 37% of the island through air strikes. In that invasion 160000 Cypriots were ethnically cleansed.
New wave Turkish invaders formed a separate state in the north, despite the fact that the UN declared the action illegal and demanded the withdrawal of Turkish troops. The illegal colony, founded on genocide, has failed to prosper, and depends on the mother country for aid. It also survives by selling Cypriot land illegally to private buyers from around the world.
The invaders claim indigenousness from the time of the Ottoman invasions in the 1500's, even though they are in fact the product of a new wave of invasion direct from modern Turkey. More Here.
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
The Andaman tribe of Sentinel Island have never been invaded, and continue to avoid contact with outsiders. They also defend their shores to keep it that way.
On North Sentinel Island, the Sentinelese people are still holding out against colonisation. Any outsiders who approach the island are attacked, and this includes aircraft, which are fired upon with arrows. They are seagoing people, using outrigger canoes for fishing and travel.
However, they have avoided all outside contact and thus have managed to avoid the ravages of western diseases. However, with increasing pressure from poachers it is uncertain how long this can be avoided. Recently two poachers breached the island, but were killed immediately.
The Sentinelese are an inspiration - heroes not only of the Andamanese Islands, but of the entire Indigenous world. They even seem to be heroes to the mainstream. Recent photographs in the media of the warriors firing upon a helicopter were meant to elicit pity for the Sentinelese, "left behind" by the modern world. The articles backfired.
Responses from non-indigenous readers indicated more envy than pity. One reader, claiming to be sick of civilisation with nothing but work and bills and sex and worry, said, "I wish I was on the beach with my bow and arrow." Read more here.
However, they have avoided all outside contact and thus have managed to avoid the ravages of western diseases. However, with increasing pressure from poachers it is uncertain how long this can be avoided. Recently two poachers breached the island, but were killed immediately.
The Sentinelese are an inspiration - heroes not only of the Andamanese Islands, but of the entire Indigenous world. They even seem to be heroes to the mainstream. Recent photographs in the media of the warriors firing upon a helicopter were meant to elicit pity for the Sentinelese, "left behind" by the modern world. The articles backfired.
Responses from non-indigenous readers indicated more envy than pity. One reader, claiming to be sick of civilisation with nothing but work and bills and sex and worry, said, "I wish I was on the beach with my bow and arrow." Read more here.
Posted by
Tyson Yunkaporta
Assyrian aboriginal peoples from what is now known as Iraq and Turkey retain their indigenous language and customs, but struggle for autonomy and nationhood.
Assyrian indigenous people have petitioned international organizations and governments numerous times over the last century, and have continually been denied sovereignty.
They have retained customary links to land, language and culture, despite horrific genocide and dispossession that has removed half of their population in recent history. The homeless nation of Assyria has its own flag.
Since 2005, a few international governments (surprisingly including Australia) have been speaking out in favour of Assyrian autonomy. However, Assyrian indigenous land rights and autonomy are still far from being reality.
Some Kurdish indigenous peoples have actually been granted native title on Assyrian traditional lands. Read more here.
They have retained customary links to land, language and culture, despite horrific genocide and dispossession that has removed half of their population in recent history. The homeless nation of Assyria has its own flag.
Since 2005, a few international governments (surprisingly including Australia) have been speaking out in favour of Assyrian autonomy. However, Assyrian indigenous land rights and autonomy are still far from being reality.
Some Kurdish indigenous peoples have actually been granted native title on Assyrian traditional lands. Read more here.
Pages 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21