IPS-English BRAZIL: Indigenous Peoples' Conference at Odds Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:46:49 -0700 ROMAIPS LA DV PR IN MD=20 BRAZIL: Indigenous Peoples' Conference at Odds with Government Mario Osava RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 19 (IPS) - The first National Conference of Indigenou= s Peoples in Brazil made little progress on defining specific policies an= d was sharply criticised by some leaders, but it opened up new possibilit= ies for dialogue between the government and indigenous peoples. Some 800 representatives of Brazil's more than 220 ethnic groups took par= t in the conference that ended Wednesday in Brasilia. However, its legiti= macy was called into question by a motion approved a week earlier by 550 = leaders at the =94Indigenous April=94 Camp, also held in the capital. =20 The conference, which began on Apr. 12, was convened by the National Foun= dation for Indigenous People (FUNAI), the government agency in charge of = indigenous affairs. The motion accused FUNAI of organising the conference= solely in the interests of maintaining its own paternalist position as '= guardian' over indigenous people.=20 But the participation of important leaders and members of the country's n= umerous indigenous communities led the two largest associations =FB the C= oordenac=E3o das Organiza=E7=F5es Ind=EDgenas da Amaz=F4nia Brasileira (C= OIAB) and the Articula=E7=E3o dos Povos Ind=EDgenas do Nordeste, Minas Ge= rais e Esp=EDrito Santo (APOINME) - to tone down their criticism, and con= frontation was avoided.=20 The conference deliberations have not been rejected out of hand, but will= be evaluated at COIAB's eighth general assembly, which may or may not ap= prove them, the organisation's general coordinator, Jecinaldo Cabral, tol= d IPS.=20 The COIAB assembly will take place Apr. 21-25 in the Raposa Serra do Sol = indigenous reserve, demarcated one year ago after three decades of strugg= le, in the northern state of Roraima. The venue was chosen because it is = =94a symbol of the struggle of Amazonian and Brazilian indigenous peoples= ,=94 Cabral said.=20 The main criticism of the =94FUNAI Conference=94 is that it is being held= in the last year of President Luiz In=E1cio Lula da Silva's term, rather= than in his first year, 2003, as promised and agreed with the indigenous= people's movement, Cabral emphasised. Instead of a debate that would hav= e set guidelines for his administration, the government has left it to th= e end, =94a deplorable situation, causing division amongst indigenous peo= ple,=94 he said.=20 In spite of the question as to how representative it was, the conference = ended with some =94positive gains,=94 according to Ricardo Verdum, advise= r on indigenous and environmental policies at the non-governmental Instit= ute of Socioeconomic Studies.=20 The conference ratified the creation of a National Indigenous Policy Comm= ission, to discuss policy approaches with wide participation by indigenou= s representatives. And it was agreed that an indigenous 'parliament' will= be established as a representative forum of all the peoples, which will = be able to enter into dialogue with Brazil=B4s national legislature.=20 The conference also wanted FUNAI to be strengthened, and an indigenous pe= rson to be made president for the first time in the history of the agency= . A proposal to expand FUNAI and raise it to the level of a ministry did = not achieve consensus, and is an idea that needs =94maturing,=94 said Ver= dum, who was present at the debates.=20 The meeting created a =94new space for discussion and interaction among i= ndigenous people,=94 many of whom are dispersed and not organised, he com= mented. For example, participants began to discuss forming an organisatio= n of indigenous peoples in the south of the country, he said. But one decision that was important to the government was not taken: an = agreement to support a draft law to regulate mining on indigenous lands. = Conference participants decided to postpone the debate for a year, so tha= t their communities can analyse the proposal and suggest additions or ame= ndments.=20 This was an intelligent move, exercising the =94precautionary principle a= nd demanding time,=94 said Saulo Feitosa, vice president of the Indianist= Missionary Council, linked to the Catholic Church. Opening up indigenous= lands to extractive mining would only benefit mining companies, which ha= ve been lobbying for this for decades, he said.=20 The proposal to regulate mining has been under debate for two years, foll= owing the killing of 29 diamond miners by Cintas Largas Indians, whose la= nd they had invaded. Mining companies are interested in many areas, and t= he state mining regulator has around 38,000 requests pending for licences= to explore on indigenous lands, Feitosa said.=20 In spite of the questions raised about the way it was organised, the conf= erence ended in a =94triumph for indigenous peoples,=94 showing the gover= nment that it cannot base its indigenous policy =94on general, uniform pr= inciples,=94 since it is =94dealing with separate, specific cultures,=94 = he said. The differences between indigenous leaders with respect to the conference= did not ultimately cause a rift, either, because indigenous peoples =94a= re opposed to divisions=94 that would accentuate their vulnerability as m= inorities, and in the final analysis =94they are all related to one anoth= er,=94 he remarked.=20 However, some fundamental questions, such as the security of their land r= ights, the autonomy they aspire to, and the issue of health care, which i= s in =94a chaotic state,=94 have remained unresolved, Feitosa added.=20 The conference was =94a new experience=94 for Brazilian indigenous people= , because the system whereby representatives make decisions, as delegates= , for the rest of the people is alien to their traditions, which do not r= ecognise such delegation of powers, said Marcos Terena, president of the = Inter-Tribal Committee.=20 The Lula administration made =94yet another mistake=94 in asking a few hu= ndred =94delegates=94 to legitimise a proposal on mining that runs counte= r to indigenous rights, he argued.=20 FUNAI has estimated the indigenous population of Brazil at 450,000 people= , not counting urban dwellers who described themselves as indigenous in t= he national census taken by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Stat= istics in 2000. According to the census results, there are 734,000 indige= nous people in Brazil, out of a total population of 186 million.=20 ***** + National Foundation for Indigenous People -in Portuguese (http://www.fu= nai.gov.br) + Coordenac=E3o das Organiza=E7=F5es Ind=EDgenas da Amaz=F4nia Brasileira= - in Portuguese (http://www.coiab.com.br) (END/IPS/LA PR DV MD IN/TRASP-VD-SW/MO/DCL/06) =20 =3D 04200136 ORP003 NNNN