Newcomb: A deadly clash of worldviews in Peru
By
Steven Newcomb
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| It did not matter at all, however, that those lands were already in the possession of the original, non-Christian Indian nations because the Indians were portrayed as less than human. |
Pope Alexander VI called for the “propagation of the Christian empire,” and for the “subjugation” of “barbarous nations.” As Amy Goodman has reported on “Democracy Now!,” Garcia said 40,000 indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest do not have the right to prevent Peru and multi-national corporations from coming onto and exploiting indigenous lands. To say otherwise, claimed Garcia, would be to take Peru into “irrationality and a backwards primitive state.” These terms are synonymous with the pope’s use of the word “barbarous.”
Pope Alexander VI declared “by the authority of Almighty God,” “we” do “give, grant, assign to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and Leon, forever, together with all their dominions, cities, camps, places, and villages, and all rights, jurisdictions, appurtenances, all islands and mainland found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered.”
There was only one “proviso” or limitation on the generous donation by the Holy See. None of the islands or main lands that the Spanish monarchs were authorized to seize could be “in the actual possession of any Christian king or prince.” It did not matter at all, however, that those lands were already in the possession of the original, non-Christian Indian nations because the Indians were portrayed as less than human. As recounted on “Democracy Now!,” there is an audio record of Peruvian police yelling in a dehumanizing manner, “Shoot the dogs in the head!” thereby referring to the Amazonian Indians as less than human.
Pope Alexander VI further declared: “we make, appoint, and depute you and your said heirs and successors lords of” the lands so “discovered,” and “to be discovered.” Clearly, Peru as a political state is an heir and successor to the Catholic monarchs of Aragon and Castile, and the Spanish Empire.
In keeping with the tradition of the Vatican documents, Peru is considered to have the modern equivalent of a medieval right of “lordship” (sovereignty) in the Amazon. This includes the right to exploit all of the mineral, hydrocarbons, timber, and so forth, in complete disregard of the land rights, human rights, health and well-being of the indigenous peoples who have been living in sacred relationship with the Amazon for thousands of years.
When Amazonian Indian leader Alberto Pizango said the ancestral territories of the Amazon Indians “were being handed over to multi-national companies” without Indian “consultation or consent,” he was pointing to a phenomenon that is more than five centuries old. It began with the pope handing non-Christian Indian lands over to the monarchs of Spain and Portugal, and to their heirs and successors.
| In the context of the colonization of the Americas, the Latin word for ‘government’ is ‘domination.’ |
According to the BBC, “Peru’s constitution makes the state the owner of the country’s mineral and hydrocarbon wealth, and any territory can be explored if it is deemed to be of national interest.” The Peruvian state, however, is maintaining a long tradition of exploiting Indian peoples that have been living in sacred relationship with their ancestral lands for thousands of years. Peru’s behavior is part and parcel of the present day divine right of the state and its multi-national corporate allies, traceable back to the pope’s pretensions and the Spanish Empire.
Steven Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape) is the co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, author of “Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery” (2008), and a columnist with Indian Country Today.
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Wednesday, Jun 24 at 10:52 AM spaceman wrote ...
the unity of eagle and condor has to be taken as real, solid, something to bank on. soon indians with eagles will talk about what the limits of unity are: is it possible to raise a voluntary army, enter peru, and aid our relatives? how far can unity take us, especially in the world courts who recognize indigenous societies, laws, precedents? just an opinion about condor & eagle. its not enough to just talk.
24877551 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Friday, Jun 19 at 6:16 PM Chuck Tanner wrote ...
Garcia says that "the Amazonian land belongs to you, to your children, they belong to the whole nation.” This languages is the mirror image of those anti-Indian activists and politicians in the United States who call for "one nation under one law" and attach tribes for possessing so-called "special rights". Colonialism lives in Peru and in the United States. "One nation" in these terms means no rights for indigenous nations.
24139702 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Friday, Jun 19 at 2:00 PM WalksNBeauty wrote ...
So they say, but the reality of it is that dehumanization was apart of our colonization and historical trauma continues to plague generations! Indigenous people continue to fight and stand-up to the oppressors for our sacred mother earth!! The concept of western progress is the coyote's trick, so stay true to your soul my relatives in the south!! I hope to be there to support efforts during the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in 2011!! The eagle and condor...will reunite!Hozho!!
24122102 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Friday, Jun 19 at 12:10 PM David Velarde Jr wrote ...
Same old rhetoric 200 years too late.
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