Towards a national indigenous council

TRACY ASSING

THESE islands have enjoyed unbroken occupation by indigenous people.

We were not defeated. We were not decimated or wiped out. We assimilated.

Although we have suffered many losses, there are many of us who stay true to our way of life as part of our life practice, without fanfare or ceremony.

The indigenous community was fractured and traumatised by colonialism and has splintered into various organisational representations, some of whom seem to be led by folks more obsessed with the size of their headdress than with the work of bettering the lives of all our relations.

There are at least five individual indigenous organisations seeking recognition. One of these chiefs wants to develop a model village, one wants to ride a horse to town and another one wants to take his people to Grande Riviere to live in a cave.

It is not for me to say whose cause is most noble. Each path surely has its own merit for the person who is making the walk.

Of course, there has also been ongoing migrations of indigenous peoples from the South American mainland. Some newcomers are actually renewing family ties.

It has been clear for years that the indigenous community is larger than these organisations, and also that the goals of some of these organisations do not represent the consensus of the groups they are claiming to represent.

While some are working diligently to get their voices heard, there are some councils where the leader’s voice is the only one heard.

This dearth of leadership has led to stagnation.

It must be difficult for the government, funding agencies and other organisations to relate and to navigate this complex landscape, to make sure there is follow-through of their good intentions, to make sure their interventions meet the needs of the people.

There must be good governance, transparency, good record-keeping, accountability, succession plans and clear articulation of goals and ideals.

Real indigenous people care about the land.

We are talking about the forest.

We want to talk about water conservation.

We want to talk about the protection of our national heritage and our natural environment.

We want to talk about sustainable ways of living.

There is a wealth of untapped ancestral intelligence.

Some history books recorded the impression that indigenous people were lazy and seemed content to lie in their hammocks. Our ancestors knew medicine was growing out of the earth; they could sip from any river; and food was plentiful. Hammocks were the only real estate we needed.

The world has changed a lot, but we ourselves are still the biggest predators on the island.

We forget it seems that we are so blessed to share this space at the top of this mountain. We should be working together to preserve what we have before all is lost.

I propose the formation of an indigenous women’s working group. The purpose of this group in the first instance would be to strengthen our communities and work towards establishing a national indigenous council. These are steps toward equal representation and accountability to each other.

We cannot change the past, but let us hold space for each other, dream and move towards a future that is more sustainable and connected to our environment.

Who will join this cause?

Anyone interested can contact: tracyassing.com