English Essays
Indigenous people all around the world have different traditions, forms of communication or different expressions of art like traditional dances or music, and beliefs, which are all a part of their culture, and the culture of a whole region. Culture is really important, because it is the manifestation of the personality and thoughts of a society, which represents a community in a unique way, creates their lifestyle and their personality. When biodiversity is lost, it is directly or indirectly linked to these cultures and its loss, which does not only represent us as a community, but has our ancestral knowledge, and our roots. The harmful activities produced by man cause biodiversity loss, and in consequence, indigenous groups lose their culture, too. Planting genetically modified organisms near them, or even mining and fumigating in their territories, impact their lifestyle and the flora and fauna. However, some people may think that these two topics are not related in an important or significant way.
Some indigenous communities have their own alimentation systems, in which they plant and produce their own food. These aspects make them more independent, and help them recognize themselves as a group that maintains their ancestral knowledge and lifestyle. According to an article released by a seed corporation in Colombia (Coorporación Grupo Semillas), the politics and determination of the Colombian government is violating the rights of the indigenous by allowing the planting of genetically modified seeds near them. They are constantly trying to make them buy modified seeds of corn, which is a really important crop for communities like the Zenú, the Pijaos, the Koguis, the Aruakos, among others. It is also a representative and significant crop for Mexican indigenous. Indigenous communities use this crops to make their society sustainable, but also to keep their ancestral knowledge by planting natural and creole corn. The genetically modified seeds are not fertile, so indigenous communities would have to buy them constantly, making them dependent of the government and seed-producing companies that genetically modify them. That is exactly what they do not want to happen. They are also worried about their creole corn being biologically affected by the modified organisms, because they could lose their original and ancestral crop, making them lose an important part of their culture.
Illegal mining is a world-wide problem or issue, which is often damaging and fragmenting the ecosystems, causing cultural loss, because in these activities, the rights of indigenous people are not respected, and in countries like Colombia, the guerrillas force the indigenous people to migrate, because they might be looking for a territory in which they can find crops to produce and sell drugs, or to start mining or oil-extracting activities. When this situation happens, indigenous communities lose a part of their culture, like their ancestral territory, or the crops they use to make their traditional celebrations, or even use for medical purposes. Illegal mining usually uses chemicals like mercury, that contaminate the environment, contributing to biodiversity loss, which is also a part of our culture. In Colombia, out of every 14.000 mining activities, only 37% is legal, or has a mining title, according to the Colombian Republic Senate. Another conflict took place around 1990, according to a book released in 2009, called “The Struggle for indigenous rights in Latin America”, when oil-extracting companies like Oxy and Ecopetrol, wanted the indigenous and ancestral territory of the Uwa´s community to make oil-extracting activities, but they could stop it with the help of a Harvard University study and article. This type of activities harm and change the lifestyle of the indigenous people, and they are in the need of finding a way to tell and make everyone respect their human rights.
The Impact of our Actions in Indigenous Groups Ancestral Lifestyle, and in our Own Culture
By Sophía de la Rosa González