From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest) To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #127 Reply-To: abolition-usa-digest Sender: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk abolition-usa-digest Saturday, May 8 1999 Volume 01 : Number 127 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 10:58:34 -0400 From: ASlater Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Sign the petition to STOP THE WAR NOW! >I'm participating in an Internet campaign to stop the war in >Yugoslavia before ground troops are deployed, and I'd like to >invite you to join me. > >Please forward this message to any friends, family, co-workers, >neighbors, or other people you know personally who may be >interested. > >Then go to http://www.StopTheWarNow.com and sign the petition. >It will be submitted directly to your representative in the U.S. >House and to both your U.S. Senators. > >Every day that this undeclared war continues, it becomes more >likely that ground troops will be deployed, and that we will >find ourselves in another Vietnam-style quagmire. As the war >escalates, it will become increasingly difficult for politicians >to admit that they made a mistake, end the war, and bring our >troops home. > >The bombing of Yugoslavia is a textbook example of the folly of >foreign intervention: So far, the US-NATO air assault has >accomplished the exact opposite of what President Clinton >promised. > >Our bombardment has prompted more attacks on innocent civilians, >worsened the plight of refugees, caused the conflict to spill >over to neighboring nations, and inflamed anti-American >sentiments around the world. Bombing errors have resulted in the >deaths of refugees -- the very people we are supposed to be >protecting. > >We acknowledge the terrible human suffering of ethnic Albanians >in Kosovo -- suffering which has been exacerbated by our >reckless attack on Yugoslavia. However, that tragedy does not >justify American military intervention that puts our nation at >risk. > >The job of the American military is to defend the United States >and to keep Americans safe. Instead, our air assault on >Yugoslavia has reduced our military preparedness, reignited Cold >War tensions with Russia, and made us a more tempting target for >terrorists. > >If the American people don't speak out, the war will continue to >escalate, ground troops will be eventually be deployed, and >American casualties will rise. If we don't want that to happen, >we must persuade our representatives in Congress to stop the war >now. > >Please forward this e-mail to everyone you know who might be >interested in helping, but please don't send it indiscriminately >-- spam will only hurt our campaign. > >Then go to http://www.StopTheWarNow.com and sign the petition. > >Thank you. > >Robert E. Nordlander >nord@powernetonline.com >333 Lopas Street >Menasha, WI 54952 > >Telephone: 920 725 1864 > Alice Slater Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE) 15 East 26th Street, Room 915 New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 726-9161 fax: (212) 726-9160 email: aslater@gracelinks.org GRACE is a member of Abolition 2000, a global network working for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons. - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 12:17:57 -0400 From: "William F. Santelmann, Jr." Subject: (abolition-usa) De-Alerting petition drive in Lexington, MA A petition drive asking President Clinton "to initiate by means of an Executive Order a phased 'de-alerting' with all nuclear powers of all nuclear missiles, to be completed before the end of 1999" begins in Lexington, MA on May 18. Petitions will be circulated until July 4, when they will be collected and sent to President Clinton, with copies to all Massachusetts Senators and Representatives in Washington. The drive begins with a meeting on May 18 at which Lachlan Forrow, MD, President, The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Past Chair (1993-1996), International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War [1985 Nobel Peace Prize], will be the guest speaker to present the case for de-alerting and Abolition 2000. This meeting will be at 7:00pm at the Lexington United Methodist Church, 2600 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421-6798. Petition forms and fact-sheet brochures are ready for distribution then. The meeting is open and free to all. This petition drive is presented by the Metro-Boston Committee to De-Alert Nuclear Weapons. You may contact us by e-mail, either at dealert99@aol.com or at wsantelmann@peacenet.org. We would like to hear from other groups bringing de-alerting to the public, and will share our triumphs and failures with any group that will contact us. William F. Santelmann, Jr. Metro-Boston Committee to De-Alert Nuclear Weapons dealert99@aol.com wsantelmann@peacenet.org - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1999 14:06:42 -0700 From: "David Crockett Williams" Subject: (abolition-usa) The Electromagnetic Bomb - a Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Electromagnetic Bomb - a Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction Carlo Kopp Defence Analyst Melbourne, Australia Carlo.Kopp@aus.net http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~carlo/ High Power Electromagnetic Pulse generation techniques and High Power Microwave technology have matured to the point where practical E-bombs (Electromagnetic bombs) are becoming technically feasible, with new applications in both Strategic and Tactical Information Warfare. The development of conventional E-bomb devices allows their use in non-nuclear confrontations. This paper discusses aspects of the technology base, weapon delivery techniques and proposes a doctrinal foundation for the use of such devices in warhead and bomb applications. Full article http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/kopp/apjemp.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------- Global Emergency Alert Response http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000 ********************************************************* gear2000@lightspeed.net GENERAL AGENCY SERVICES David Crockett Williams 661-822-3309 20411 Steeple Court, Tehachapi CA 93561 USA ********************************************************* The Global Peace Walk 1999-2000 1999: 22APR Taos, NM, ---> Santa Fe 26APR 2000: 15JAN San Francisco --> New York 24OCT 12 OCT Washington, DC, Columbus Day Ceremony Rededicating The Washington Monument as a Symbol of Peace. October 24th is United Nations Day "GLOBAL PEACE NOW!" Global Peace Zone2000 Remove the scourge of war from future generations http://www.egroups.com/list/global-peace-walk FOR ONE HUMAN FAMILY: Love All, Serve All - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 14:33:33 -0700 From: Jackie Cabasso Subject: (abolition-usa) REPORT FROM US ABOLITION CAMPAIGN; JOIN A WORKING GROUP! Dear friends -- For those who were at the Feb. 12 - 24 Santa Barbara meeting, and for those who weren't, following are the notes from the April 13 Facilitators' Group conference call. Please note that after the introductory section you will find a list of Working Groups, descriptions and convenors. You are cordially invited to contact the convenors if you'd like to get involved.! (Or let us know if you'd like to convene a group on another topic). The Facilitators' Group has been meeting by conference call every few weeks. We are tentatively planning a follow-up meeting in August, and will keep you posted. Many of us are off to The Hague and the NPT PrepCom meeting in New York, so things will probably be on hold till the end of May. -- Jackie Cabasso - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------- US ABOLITION CAMPAIGN FACILITATORS GROUP CONFERENCE CALL 4-13-99 Present on call: Jackie Cabasso, Matteo Ferreira, Alan Haber, Jan Harwood, Sally Light, Pamela Meidell, Jo Peterson, Dave Robinson, Alice Slater, John Burroughs, Esther Pank, Andrew Lichterman, Robert Manning, Tad Daley Facilitator: Jackie Cabasso Note taker: Andrew Lichterman It was noted at the outset that two facilitators' group members, Gordon Clark and Clayton Ramey, were no longer receiving e-mails at their known addresses. Dave Robinson will get their new addresses if possible. As agreed at the end of the last call, the agenda was devoted mainly to how to move forward with discussion and formation of strategies. The group decided that the means for now should be the strategy working groups identified at the end of the Santa Barbara meeting, and that the first step would be circulation of working group descriptions, contact points, and a general invitation to participate in the working groups to the Abolition lists.-serves. The working group descriptions and contact people are listed following these minutes. In general, people thought that the conference calls were working as a means to exchange information, and thought that the working groups could extend and improve the network function of the Abolition campaign as it now stands. Several people expressed concern, however, that the campaign was not moving forward in terms of formulating common strategies which would make a national campaign visible. The view also was expressed that our next gathering should not be just a repeat of the general discussion at Santa Barbara, but instead that we would have progressed to the point of having a name, and some cohesive common strategies/activities, to propose, so that we could move forward with the launching of a campaign. The working groups were viewed as a first step towards this end. Tad Daley reported that the video Sleepwalking to Armageddon is nearing completion, and may be shown on 60 Minutes 2. The groups producing the video are considering either large town hall style viewings or distributing it for use in house parties, with the particular aim of reaching new people rather than just the existing constituencies of anti-nuclear groups. Tad asked for input on what we should be asking viewers to do as a follow-up action. Several people asked for preview copies or scripts of the documentary to determine whether their organizations would be interested in participating in this part of the campaign. At least a fact sheet is likely to be available, and in general the video makes the case that the danger of a nuclear conflagration has increased in some ways since the end of the Cold War, with a focus on Russian "loose nukes" and the dangers they present. Several people expressed concern that the particular dangers posed by the nuclear weapons policies of other nuclear weapons states might receive too little attention, and stressed again the desire for more information about the film's content. Next conference call: Tuesday, April 27, 10 am PDT/1 pm EDT. Jackie will set up the call and post an agenda. We will pick up our old business, report back on the working groups, and move forward with our other designated responsibilities. ================================================================== BELOW ARE THE ABOLITION CAMPAIGN WORKING GROUPS. PLEASE CONTACT THE LISTED CONVENERS IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH A GROUP OR OBTAINING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT IT. FOR THOSE GROUPS WITHOUT IDENTIFIED CONVENORS, PLEASE RESPOND TO THE LIST IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING FOR THE JOB. - -- STAR WARS/ABM WORKING GROUP This group was formed initially to respond quickly to the legislation pending at the time of the Santa Barbara meeting authorizing further research and limited deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system by the United States. Although there is currently no convener for this group, those on the conference call agreed that ballistic missile defense continues to be a key issue of concern for advocates of nuclear weapons abolition, due to continuing development of the system, its potential to revive a multilateral nuclear arms race, and the controversy over its possible extension in the Western Pacific. Conveners: To be determined. - --CIVIL SOCIETY CAMPAIGN TO ENROLL ORGANIZATIONS IN A BRIEF ABOLITION STATEMENT AND CITY DIALOGUES ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT WITH PROMINENT MOVERS AND SHAKERS WORKING GROUP This working group covers several related efforts aimed at mobilizing opinion via existing groups in civil society and campaigns aimed at elected officials in municipalities. It includes various efforts to get mayors and city and town governing bodies to endorse abolition statements, as well as similar efforts aimed at non-governmental civic groups. Campaigns represented within this working group include A campaign aimed at creating discussion forums among "opinion leaders" in major cities on nuclear weapons and their abolition; a campaign aimed at convincing a wide range of civic groups to endorse an abolition statement; and the campaign to obtain endorsement of the Abolition 2000 statement by municipalities. Conveners Pamela Meidell (The Atomic Mirror) pmeidell@igc.org; (805)985-5073; Ed Aguilar (Lawyers Alliance for World Security, Philadelphia)(610)668-5470 - --CONGRESSIONAL FOCUS (Originally Congress and Adminsitration, now split in two) This working group will focus on initiatives relevant to nuclear weapons abolition in the U.S. Congress. Examples include the pending Markey and Woolsey resolutions, aimed respectively at scaling back U.S. nuclear weapons research and production programs and at encouraging the Administration to engage in meaningful negotiations to achieve abolition. Its work encompasses grassroots efforts to mobilize widespread attention to particular measures and issues pending in Congress. Conveners: to be determined. - --ADMINISTRATION FOCUS This group will work to focus attention on the nuclear weapons policies and activities of the Executive branch, trying in particular to create forums for discussion and criticism of nuclear weapons policies. Its current initiative is a teach-in at the University of Michigan on nuclear weapons issues, with the organizers hoping to get administration officials to participate and to publicly debate critics of existing nuclear weapons policies. If the teach-in model works the hope is to extend it to other campuses. Convener: Alan Haber (Michigan Coalition of Peace and Environmental Organizations) od4life@aol.com; (734)761-7967 - --YOUTH/CAMPUSES This working group aims to raise the level of awareness among young people about nuclear weapons and efforts to abolish them. It will work on the teach-ins discussed in the Administration focus working group above. It will also attempt to gather and broaden the distribution of existing nuclear weapons abolition materials aimed at a youth and campus audience. Convener: Odile Haber (Michigan Coalition of Peace and Environmental Organizations) od4life@aol.com; (734)761-7967 - --DIRECT ACTION Nonviolent direct action long has been a central part of the movement to abolish nuclear weapons. Despite a lack of media coverage, direct action continues at weapons and government facilities around the country, from the Nevada Test Site, to the weapons laboratories in Livermore, California and Los Alamos, New Mexico, to Washington D.C. and the newly opened Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, also in New Mexico. This working group will be a place for people involved in particular direct action campaigns to raise national awareness of their activities and to exchange ideas and information. It also will try to provide resources which will be broadly useful, for example nonviolence training materials and lists of nonviolence trainers. Convener Matteo Ferreira (Shundahai Network) shundahai@shundahai.org; (702)647-3095 - --INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ORGANIZING AND CONCERNS The cycle of nuclear materials mining and nuclear weapons testing and production always has had a disproportionate impact on indigenous people world-wide. Nuclear weapons testing has occurred for the most part on the lands of indigenous peoples, without regard for their sovereign rights, and with devastating effects on people and their lands. Indigenous people have taken the lead in many parts of the globe both in making the connections between nuclear weapons and the effects of the entire cycle of nuclear materials, nuclear power, and nuclear weapons production, and in advocating for nuclear weapons abolition. This working group will provide a focus for making these voices heard both inside and outside the movement. Conveners: Michele Xenos (Shundahai Network), shundahai@shundahai.org; (702)647-3095; Pilulaw Khus (Coastal Band, Chumash Nation), pilulaw@jps.net; (805)771-8922; Richard Salvador (Pacific Islands Association of NGOs) salvador@hawaii.edu; (818)956-8537 - --NATO AND NATO 50TH ANNIVERSARY MEETING, APRIL 23 This working group initially focused on the upcoming NATO 50th anniversary meeting in Washington, D.C. and the likelihood that NATO nuclear weapons policies would be debated there. There has been interest in continuing this as a working group, since the controversy over NATO nuclear weapons policies, including a refusal to renounce first use, a potential counter-proliferation role for nuclear weapons, and the expansion of NATO's military scope to include broad out-of-area combat roles is likely to continue for a long time. Convener: Mark Mebane (Fourth Freedom Forum) mmebane@fourthfreedom.org; (219)543-3402 - --INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS AND ISSUES This working group aims at coordinating the abolition campaign in the United States with efforts world-wide, including Abolition 2000 and other efforts in particular nations and regions to eliminate nuclear weapons. With the emergence of a new nuclear weapons and ballistic missile race in South Asia, growing controversy over possible theatre and domestic ballistic missile deployments, and the stagnation of arms control negotiations, this working group will help the abolition campaign in the U.S. remain aware of the effects U.S. nuclear weapons and military policies have on efforts to achieve abolition in other nuclear weapons states and globally. Conveners: Alice Slater (Global Resource Action Center for the Environment) aslater@gracelinks.org; (212)726-9161; Richard Salvador (Pacific Islands Association of NGOs)salvador@hawaii.edu; (818)956-8537or 3691; David Krieger(Nuclear Age Peace Foundation) wagingpeace@napf.org; (805)965-3443 - --AFFECTED COMMUNITIES Communities across the country have been affected by half a century nuclear weapons research, testing, and production. They range from workers at DOE facilities to people who live downwind from those facilities to armed services veterans exposed to nuclear tests. Many of these groups already have organized to put pressure on the Federal government to clean up the environmental damage, to perform meaningful health and environmental studies, and to provide compensation. These groups share many of our concerns, and often already are committed to abolition of nuclear weapons. This working group will focus attention on the destructive legacy of nuclear weapons, and will work to integrate these communities and their concerns into the broader campaign. Convener: Joseph Gerson Jgerson@afsc.org; (617) 661-6130 - --RESEARCH FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF THE NUCLEAR WEAPONS COMPLEX This group will focus on the activities of the nuclear weapons and production complex, and will explore the impacts of continuing nuclear weapons research on the global test ban and nonproliferation regime and on efforts to achieve abolition. It will also examine the overlap between nuclear weapons research technologies and other emerging arms races which affect chances for abolition, including anti-ballistic missile technologies, spece weaponry, and possible next-generation nuclear weapons. The group will be both a means to coordinate research efforts and to distribute relevant information within the campaign and to a wider public. Convener: Jackie Cabasso (Western States Legal Foundation), wslf@earthlink.net, (510)839-5877 - --MEDIA/CAMPAIGN LAUNCH This working group will be a place to develop and share media strategies. An initial focus will be efforts to coordinate a campaign launch that is cohesive and nationally visible. Convener: Steve Kent (Kent Communications)kentcom@highlands.com; ((914)424-8382 - --BOTTOM UP ORGANIZING (local movement building and making the connection to other issues) Through discussing and organizing around the way nuclear weapons are connected to other social ills and injustices, from local ecological devastation, distorted government spending priorities, and a culture of violence which stretches from the state to the street to global inequality, we can deepen our own understanding of what must be done to achieve abolition of nuclear weapons, as well as the understanding of those we hope to persuade. We then open up the possibility that we will become part of a larger movement which can make the changes which could make abolition possible. This working group will explore ways to make connections on the local level with other organizing efforts which share some of our concerns, and by doing so to help create the social movement needed to achieve theabolition of nuclear weapons. Convener: Andrew Lichterman (Western States Legal Foundation), alichterman@worldnet.att.net 510-839-5877 - --DEMOCRACY, POWER AND NUCLEAR WEAPONRY DRAFTING COMMITTEE This working group has taken responsibility for following through on the commitment made in Santa Barbara to develop a carefully thought out statement on the relationships between democracy, power and nuclear weapons. A draft statement is currently being prepared, to be circulated for comment in the near future. Convener: David Krieger (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation), wagingpeace@napf.org; (805)965-3443. ****************************************************** Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director WESTERN STATES LEGAL FOUNDATION 1440 Broadway, Suite 500 Oakland, California USA 94612 Tel: +(510)839-5877 Fax: +(510)839-5397 E-mail: wslf@earthlink.net ****************************************************** Western States Legal Foundation is part of ABOLITION 2000 A GLOBAL NETWORK TO ELIMINATE NUCLEAR WEAPONS - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 17:25:11 -1000 From: Richard N Salvador Subject: (abolition-usa) Global Indigenous Movement and The Hague (fwd) fyi: Dear Abolitionists, the writer of the following, Tony Castanha, will also be a member of the Pacific delegation to The Hague Appeal for Peace. He is a descendant of Caribe/Taino indigenous peoples of the island of Boriken (Puerto Rico) as well as descended from the Puerto Rican migrations to Hawaii early this century as sugar plantation workers. There are some good historical information on Indigenous peoples' organizing that will provide some insights which are useful to understanding the Indigenous peoples' anti- nuclear struggles. Tony is also a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Hawaii and is a colleague. Thank you for your interest. Please delete if this is irrelevant to you, but thank you all for your kind support. Richard Salvador University of Hawaii at Mano Honolulu, Hawaii - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 16:32:14 -1000 From: Tony Castanha To: hap99@congres.net Cc: kanakamaoliallies-l@hawaii.edu, TAINO-L@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU, polisci-l@hawaii.edu, ohanakoa@gte.net, lcruz@hawaii.edu, lilikala@hawaii.edu, salvador@hawaii.edu, scott@aloha.net, alohamau@lava.net, cgnv@hawaii.edu, aumakua@aloha.net, meganhap99@igc.org, napua@gte.net, afsc@pixi.com, ulla@hawaii.edu, fboyle@law.uiuc.edu, kekula@aloha.net, petweiss@igc.org, daturner@ncen.org, tyh@att.net, snewcomb@carbon.cudenver.edu, santana@mills.edu, p_mccarthy@iprolink.ch, pacific@talent.com.au, jeb23@cornell.edu, majid@hawaii.edu, anelia.manova@usa.net, kwood@igc.org, pollard@hawaii.edu, dok@paradice.net, p.dussel@st.hanze.nl, SISIS@envirolink.org, nalanima@aol.com, summy@hawaii.edu, shapiro@hawaii.edu, kent@hawaii.edu, disarm@forusa.org Subject: Global Indigenous Movement and The Hague Writer's Note: The following paper provides general background information on the global indigenous peoples movement as recent phenomenon in conjunc- tion with the upcoming Hague Appeal for Peace conference. The paper was originally submitted for publishing to the Toda Institute for "Global Peace" and Policy Research. This version is slightly edited. The section titled "Indigenous Epistemology and Makiguchi" stresses that Soka Gakkai (a lay Buddhist organization from which the Toda Institute arose) founder Tsuneburo Makiguchi would surely have been a strong supporter of indigenous rights, unlike symbolic gestures rendered by some organizations today. The writer is a member of the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and a descendant of the Caribe/Taino indigenous peoples of the island of Boriken (Puerto Rico). *********** THE GLOBAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MOVEMENT: A CASE FOR EQUALITY AMONG ALL PEOPLES Tony Castanha (Copyright 1998) The Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research has introduced seven "megatrends" into its platform for Human Security and Global Governance (HUGG). These megatrends concern shifts in global power structures and distribution which could profoundly impact the world in the coming century. In a paper submitted to Toda last year titled, "The Toda Institute's Missing 'Megatrend': The Global Indigenous Movement ('Indigenism:' Spiritual vs. Material)," I proposed a missing megatrend within Toda's formula for global peace. This trend is already in motion and concerns the roughly 300 million indigenous peoples around the globe, over 5 percent of the world's population. This trend, or "fifth generation of human rights," is already acknowledged by Toda but, yet to be developed and articulated, that no longer speaks of rights, but of human caring, compassion, and love for all life forms. Emerging out of the most profound spiritual traditions of civility in the world, this generation of rights recognizes that human security cannot be ultimately achieved in its totality unless and until we see the individual as an integral part of the cosmos. (Tehranian, 1997) This paper proposes that the global indigenous movement could very well have a profound impact on humanity in the next century. Indeed, indigenous peoples have much to contribute to saving and preserving the earth. But the continued genocide against Native peoples and cultures today is not only a threat to indigenous peoples but to humanity as a whole. We are all on the brink of self-destruction as the present day capitalist world-economy usurps global resources, intensifies global assimilation and violates the human spirit. Thus, vibrant knowledge and practical skills from cultural, spiritual and metaphysical indigenous traditions can be applied to restoring the fundamental dignity and respect for the diversity of all peoples and for all life forms. (Minton, 1998) Who are the "Indigenous?" First peoples have a strong sense of their own identity as unique peoples, with their own lands, languages, and cultures. They claim the right to define what is meant by indigenous, and to be recognized as such by others. Some now live in cities, earning their living as, for example, lawyers and community workers--or in many cases strug- gling to make ends meet; others retain a traditional way of life. But they are united in their desire to maintain their identity and yet be able to adapt and survive. (Burger, 1990) The term "indigenous" or "indi'gena" is derived from the Latin term "indigena" which defines "the natives of a specific area in comparison to immigrants." (Siebert, 1997?) In the context of the "Americas" the word is colonial in origin, first used by the Spanish to describe the so-called "Indians" of the Caribbean Antilles. The term "indigenous" was first used as a self-definition by indigenous peoples in 1975, when the World Council of Indigenous Peoples was founded. Some indigenous peoples believe the word is less derogatory and offensive than other terms such as "aboriginal" or "native," and choose to use the term as a unifying mechanism for indigenous peoples at the inter- national level. (Siebert, 1997?) Nevertheless, many indigenous peoples naturally prefer to use their own names in their own languages, for instance Cree, Yanomami, Maya or Kanaka Maoli (indigenous Hawaiian), when identifying themselves and each other. In 1982, the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) adopted a working definition of indigenous peoples. It reads, in part: Indigenous populations are composed of the existing descendants of peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country wholly or partially at the time when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived there from other parts of the world, overcame them, and by conquest, settlement or other means, reduced them to a non- dominant or colonial situation; who today live more in conformity with their particular social, economic and cultural customs and traditions than with the institutions of the country of which they now form a part ... An emphasis on group or collective rights are fundamental to the protection of indigenous culture, language, religion, lands and natural resources. The use of the "s" in the term "peoples" refers to collective rights to be enjoyed by the indigenous peoples concerned, rather than merely individual rights as derived from the term "people." Since indigenous pre-colonial occupation within states is distinguished from minority or ethnic group existence, "indigenous rights" clearly differ from "minority rights." The "numbers of indigenous peoples, therefore, does not constitute a criterion in their definition." (Trask, 1993) The Indigenous Peoples Movement The indigenous voice in world politics calls for the admission of indigenous peoples to the world community as equals. It calls on the nation-state to come to terms with the continuing existence of indigenous nations as enduring and distinct communities with a right to self-determination. Perhaps most compelling of all, the indigenous voice in world politics suggests that the harm that is and has been done to indigenous peoples, the so-called dominant society has already done to itself--alienating human beings from the spiritual reality of their own inner world as well as from the natural world on which they depend for their survival. (Wilmer, 1993) The global indigenous movement is a recent phenomenon. At the first United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in 1968 the term "indigenous people" was not a part of the vocabulary of the conference. At this time indigenous peoples were basically considered no longer in existence, "a remnant of the past" inevitably assimilated into mainstream society. (Burger, 1993) However, indigenous peoples and nations such as the Maori of Aotearoa (New Zealand), Aborigines of Australia, and various indigenous nations of Canada had been advocating for rights and the resolution of conflicts at the international level since the late 19th century. (Morris, 1992) Typically denied recognition and rights within the countries they live in, indigenous peoples have joined together to voice their concerns and demand equality at the international level. In 1957, the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Convention 107 attempt- ed to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, but the document formulated soon met indigenous criticism for its "assimilationist and paternalistic" approach. (Burger, 1993) ILO Convention 169 in 1989 "updated the archaic provisions of 107 but was reviled by many native peoples as ignoring the legitimate aspirations of indigenous nations and continuing to protect states in their denial of native claims for self-determination." (Morris, 1992) During the 1970s, indigenous movements such as the American Indian Movement (AIM) began to grow and call for international recognition of traditional rights and practices. The 1971 and 1977 Declarations of Barbados, which were documents drafted by indigenous representatives and progressive anthropolo- gists, expressed the need for a global re-examination of the impact of colonialism on indigenous peoples, and recognized "the necessity of a hemispheric indigenous movement led by native peoples." (Morris, 1992) The 1982 establishment of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the only body of the UN where indigenous peoples, nations and organizations are represented, led to the 1993 Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This most comprehensive document recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples includes the indigenous right to self-determination. In addition, 1993 was the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, when the second UN World Conference on Human Rights asked the General Assembly to proclaim a decade of commitment in support of the rights of indigenous peoples. (Burger, 1993) And in 1992, a K'iche' Maya woman named Rigoberta Mench Tum was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to battle human rights abuses in Guatemala. Despite the gains, however, the Draft Declaration and indigenous rights in general are constantly being subverted. The Draft has been derailed on its way to the General Assembly. A group of states, led by the United States, have taken the liberty to determine what the Draft Declaration will imply as policy. (Morris, 1996) The U.S. intends that its own treatment of indi- genous peoples under "US Indian Law" be emulated by other nation-states, and "is attempting to create a broader, more encompassing hegemony that minimizes the possibility that indigenous peoples might actually be pro- tagonists of their own destinies." (Morris, 1996) So why is it that indigenous peoples have to constantly struggle to maintain rights and dignity? Why is it that nation-states constantly exploit indigenous lands and resources? Why is it that indigenous peoples, who have existed since time immemorial, must constantly present their case for equality among all peoples? Indigenous Epistemology and Makiguchi We are at a critical juncture in human history in which the forces of globalization can tip us toward either more humane forms of governance or growing global gaps that will turn the world into islands of riches in oceans of structural violence. The opening of a new century has always served as a symbolic turning point in human history. The twenty-first century is not an exception. The world stands at a historical juncture between the roads to self-destruction and self-renewal. (Tehranian, 1997) The global indigenous movement has everything to do with "self-renewal" within any future system of global governance. Indigenous peoples do not simply oppose modernization and progress but insist on defining and pursuing development consistent with their own cultural beliefs and practices. (Wilmer, 1993) For the indigenous world, technology is not only conceived of as "material technology," or as a way to overcome the natural world (the path traveled by the West), but as the application of knowledge to social, psychological and spiritual technologies. In contrast to the western view of solving "the problems" of the natural world, the indigenous view begins with the assumption that the limits of nature are ultimately immutable. In order to live within the limits of nature, their cultures have emphasized technologies of consciousness and ecosystem management. The technology of consciousness was necessary to the survival of indigenous peoples who chose to remain vulnerable to the natural world.... Western culture emphasized changing the natural world wherever it resisted human manipulation. Indigenous cultures, on the other hand, choose ways of adapting to the limits of the natural world. (Wilmer, 1993) There are at least two central areas where the indigenous peoples movement can benefit humanity in the coming century: 1) through ecological preserva- tion and subsistency; and 2) through increased levels of spiritual conscious- ness or awareness by less dependency on the material world. The latter area is basically contingent on success in the former area. That is, there will not be any possibility for heightened human spiritual development as long as humanity continues to worship the "money god," value excessive materialism, and exploit the natural world. This trend surely spells the demise of the human race. However, indigenous spiritual awareness and technology can contribute to the preservation of life on the planet. Franke Wilmer notes that in addition to the development of a kind of "inner technology" of heightened consciousness, indigenous peoples also acquired a different kind of knowledge about the natural world, a kind of knowledge that is unique to oral history and a philosophy of learning to live within the limits of the natural world.... Indigenous peoples' knowledge of the environment is based on information accumulated over hundreds, even thousands, of years. It is not a knowledge of the ecosystem that can be acquired in a laboratory in a matter of several decades. It can only be acquired over time if it is the sort of knowledge considered valuable. This kind of information was not deemed valuable to Western societies until very recently. (Wilmer, 1993) Indeed, indigenous knowledge of our ecosystem can be applied to help save the earth today. Deforestation, global warming, and the nuclearization of the planet are some of the major global environmental problems calling for urgent action. Surely Soka Gakkai founder Tsunesburo Makiguchi would agree that urgent action is necessary today. Makiguchi's profound belief in the oneness of humanity in nature and of the earth basically parallels indigenous philo- sophy and metaphysics. He observed within Japanese society how the pursuit of profits and the learning of "masses of fragmented, unrelated facts" in the classroom alienated children, youth and adults from traditional values and the natural environment. (Bethel, 1997) Human potential for goodness and greatness had been squandered because of the lack of direct observation and contact with the natural world. (Bethel, 1997) Makiguchi's reverence for life echos the indigenous spirit. In A Geography of Human Life, he writes that humankind should ... regard people, animals, trees, rivers, rocks, or stones in the same light as ourselves and realize that we have much in common with them all. Such interaction causes us to feel, if not consciously think, 'if I were in their (or its) place, what would I feel ... or do?' Sympathetic interactions occur, therefore, when you regard or feel another person or object that you are in contact with as a part of yourself or as one of your kind. You share experience with that person or object and are able to place yourself in the position of that person or object. (Makiguchi in Bethel, 1997) If Makiguchi were alive today, he would most likely be supportive of the indigenous peoples movement and an advocate for the protection of indigenous rights and dignity. This man, who gave his life for his belief in peace and unity on earth, would surely see that indigenous peoples and culture have much to contribute to global society, but are endangered. Thus, the Toda Institute's work concerning indigenous peoples must be more than symbolic. As Rigoberta Mench said before the UN Commission on Human Rights in 1993: I am convinced that peace is more than a symbol. It is at the heart of the entire society. And I insist, once again, that symbolic acts are not sufficient for indigenous peoples. Our civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights cannot wait any longer. *********** REFERENCES Bethel, Dayle, "Makiguchi's Philosophy of Peace and Human Security," A paper presented at the Toda Institute international conference on Human Security and Global Governance, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i, June 6-8, 1997. Burger, Julian, "The Gaia Atlas of First Peoples" (A Future for the Indigenous World), London: Gaia Books Ltd., 1990. Cultural Survival, "State of the Peoples" (A Global Human Rights Report on Societies in Danger), Boston: Beacon Press, 1993. Jaimes, M. Annette, ed., "The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonialism and Resistance," Boston: South End Press, 1992. Morris, Glenn, "US Model of Indigenous Rights Subverts Inter-sessional Working Group," Fourth World Bulletin, Spring/Summer, 1996. Siebert, Ute, "The Meaning of the category 'indigenous' within the United Nations: The politics of the debate on a definition," 1997? Tehranian, Majid, "Human Security and Global Governance: Power Shifts and Emerging Security Regimes," A paper presented at the Toda Institute international conference on Human Security and Global Governance, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i, June 6-8, 1997. Trask, Haunani-Kay, "From a Native Daughter" (Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i), Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1993. Wilmer, Franke, "The Indigenous Voice in World Politics" (Since Time Immemorial), Newbury Park/London/New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1993. m - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. 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