ANTHROPOLOGY 213: HUMAN RIGHTS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

COLBY COLLEGE       SPRING 2007      MW 1:00-2:15        DIAMOND 153

INSTRUCTOR: JEFFREY D. ANDERSON

E-MAIL:

OFFICE:

CONF. HRS.:

PHONE:

PROFESSIONAL PAGE:

jdanders@colby.edu

Diamond 304

T 3:30-5:00 & W 2:30-4:00

859-4708

http://www.colby.edu/profile/jdanders/ANTH

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Throughout its history, anthropology has been committed to and active in maintaining the rights of indigenous peoples against the destructive global forces of nation-state power, racist ideologies, assimilation, and industrial resource appropriation.  To develop an informed, up-to-date, and critical understanding of these issues, the course will offer an overview of the contemporary state of indigenous peoples and then guide students in pursuing on-line research of Internet sites established by indigenous peoples themselves, anthropological groups, international human rights organizations, world news services, national governments, and the United Nations.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. The course critically examines the cultural and political meanings of concepts used to talk about human rights, especially considering the universalist versus relativist debate.

2. Equally important, discrimination, prejudice, genocide, coercive assimilation, and other patterns of domination will be placed in their cultural and global contexts of understanding.

3. The contradiction between globalization and local ethnic identity is thus examined at a broader level of analysis.

4. Both the unique and general historical and social conditions of the exploitation, destruction, disenfranchisement, and underdevelopment of Fourth World peoples by globalization processes of colonialism and industrialization.

5. A survey of indigenous peoples in crisis throughout the world will be offered. Areas will include North America, Central America, South America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

6. The concept of "human rights" will be discussed at an inter-cultural level of analysis in order to move toward a culturally contextualized, pluralistic definition.

7. Also to be critically examined are various strategies available to indigenous peoples for organization, political action, and legal mechanisms for resisting, reversing, and attenuating the destructive effects of globalization.

COURSE TEXTS:

LaDuke, Winona. All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life. Cambridge, MA: South End Press. 1999.

Gedicks, Al. Resource Rebels: Native Challenges to Mining and Oil Corporations. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.  2001.

At the Risk of Being Heard: Identity, Indigenous Rights, and Postcolonial States, B. Dean and J. M. Levi, eds. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 2003. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:      

1. Attendance & Participation                                         20%

2. Responses/Assignments (12 MAX/10 MIN)             40%

3. Final Project                                                                    40%

(NOTE: To download or print assigned library journal articles you must be logged into the campus server somehow.)

ATTENDANCE POLICY:  Two absences are allowed without penalty. The instructor must be informed at least one week in advance to be excused for any foreseen absences due to travel for or participation in extracurricular activities. No excused absences are allowed for practices, rehearsals, or other preparatory activities for extracurricular events. No excused absences are allowed for assignments or examinations required in other courses. Absences due to illness or healthcare appointments are excusable if the instructor is informed within a reasonable amount of time.

READING SCHEDULE:

2/5  INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

2/7  DEFINING "HUMAN RIGHTS"

TEXT READING:

P. Shipton, “Legalism and Loyalism: European, African, and Human “Rights,” IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp.45-79)

WEBSITES:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights           http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

An Introduction to the Human Rights Movement http://www.hrweb.org/intro.html

A Short History of the Human Rights Movement http://www.hrweb.org/history.html

2/12  INDIGENOUS PEOPLES & HUMAN RIGHTS

WEBSITES:

Who Are the World’s Indigenous Peoples?    http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/010-000a/Year_Worlds_Indig.html

United Nations Guide for Indigenous Peoples http://www.unhchr.ch/html/racism/00-indigenousguide.html (READ: Leaflets 1-7)

U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples  http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/declaration.html

University of Minnesota Human Rights Center.  Study Guide: The Rights of Indigenous Peoples  http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/studyguides/indigenous.html

2/14  DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY

WEBSITES:

The Bull Inter Caetera (Alexander VI), May 4, 1493: http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/indig-inter-caetera.html

The Papal Bulls as Pertaining to the Americas. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/40/061.html

The Christianization of the Americas http://www.utexas.edu/courses/wilson/ant304/projects/projects98/carterp/carterp.html

Bartoleme de Las Casas http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/203.html

2/19  ANTHROPOLOGY & HUMAN RIGHTS

WEB READING:

Messer, Ellen. Anthroplogy and Human Rights. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 22 (1993), pp. 221-249. (On-line through JSTOR)

2/21  NATIONALISM & POSTCOLONIAL IDENTITY

TEXT READINGS:

B. R.  Anderson, “Nationalism and Cultural Survival in Our Time,“ IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp. 165-190).

R. B. Lee, “Indigenous Rights and the Politics of Identity in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa, “IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp. 80-111).

2/26  INTERNATIONAL LAW AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS

TEXT READING:  J. M. Levi and B. Dean.  “Introduction,” IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp. 1-44)

WEB READING: Brysk, Alison. "Turning Weakness into Strength: The Internalization of Indian Rights," Latin American Perspectives 23 (Spring 1996), 38-57. (On-line through JSTOR)

WEBSITE: 

2/28   INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:

TEXT READING:  D. Maybury-Lewis, “From Elimination to an Uncertain Future: Changing Policies toward Indigenous Peoples, IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp. 324-334).

WEBSITES:

Center for World Indigenous Studies

NativeWeb

Aboriginal Law and Legislation

Honor the Earth

Links to Aboriginal Resources

Cultural Survival

Survival International

Indigenous Environmental Network

3/5  WORLD BANK/IMF AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

WEB READINGS:

Share the Resources:  The IMF, World Bank, and WTO  http://www.stwr.net/content/view/717/

World Bank and Indigenous Peoples  http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/sdvext.nsf/63ByDocName/AboutUs   (READ THIS PAGE AND ALL THE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE)

World Bank Evaluation Team Requests Written Input From Indigenous Peoples and NGOs http://www.globalexchange.org/wbimf/inputRequest.html

3/7  THE UNITED STATES: TRIBES TREATIES, & TRUST RESPONSIBILITY

WEBSITES:

A Brief Historical Overview of the Relationship between the Federal Government and American Indian:
From Colonial Times to the Present http://sorrel.humboldt.edu/%7Ego1/kellogg/NativeRelationship.html

U. S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8 http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html

American Indian Sovereignty: Now you See It, Now You Don't," by Peter d'Errico:  http://www.umass.edu/legal/derrico/nowyouseeit.html

Tribal Sovereignty by Mark A. Chavaree http://www.ptla.org/wabanaki/sovereign.htm

3/12  MOHAWK & SEMINOLE STRUGGLES FOR LAND AND LIFE

TEXT READING: All Our Relations, pp. 1-45.

3/14  STRUGGLES FOR LAND & LIFE IN NITASSININ & AT WHITE EARTH

TEXT READING: All Our Relations, pp. 49-70; 115-134.

3/19  NORTHERN CHEYENNE VS. COAL; WESTERN SHOSHONE VS. NUCLEAR WASTE; BUFFALO VS. CATTLE

TEXT READING: All Our Relations, pp.75-111; 139-162

3/21   MAINE INDIAN NATIONS RIGHTS

WEBSITES:

Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point  http://www.wabanaki.com

Penobscot Nation http://www.penobscotnation.org/ (Focus on "ISSUES" links)

Aroostook Band of Micmacs  http://www.micmac-nsn.gov/

Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode25/usc_sec_25_00001724----000-.html

4/2  RESOURCE EXTRACTION VS. INDIGENOUS RIGHTS

TEXT READING: Resource Rebels, pp. 15-89.

WEBSITES:

Background Material on the Ogoni http://www.halcyon.com/pub/FWDP/Africa/ogoni.txt

Analysis of the Current Fighting and Its Relation to Famine http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/d5ebf4873782d33085256a0d0077de9b?OpenDocument

The Challenges of Peace, Mr. Steven Wondu, SPLM http://www.usip.org/research/rehr/sudanconf/wondu.html

Millions on Brink of Starvation http://www.peacelink.it/afrinews/60_issue/p3.html

4/4  WEST PAPUA

TEXT READING: Resource Rebels, pp. 90-126.

WEST PAPUA:  WEST PAPUA INFORMATION KIT: http://fandom.net/InfoKit/#Advocatism

WEB VIDEO PROGRAM:  CWIS: West Papuan Self-determination vs. genocide  http://www.cwis.org/media/video/yoman16-03-2005.rm

4/9  MOLE LAKE SOKAOGAN CHIPPEWA VS. EXXON/CORPORATE STRATEGIES VS. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

TEXT READING: Resource Rebels, pp. 127-199

4/11  INDIGENOUS RIGHTS VS. NONINDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTALISM

WEBSITES:

Social Environmentalism and Native Relations by D. Orton  http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/25b/005.html

My Path to Left Biocentrism: Part IV - Aboriginal Issues and Left Biocentrism  by D. Orton  http://home.ca.inter.net/~greenweb/GW71-Path.html

The Makah Whale Hunt  http://www.cnie.org/NAE/cases/makah/  (READ: all article links under “TABLE OF CONTENTS”)

Information on Makah Whaling (READ:all links)

Winona LaDuke Position on Makah Whaling http://www.globalcircle.net/winonamakah.htm

Internet Guide to International Fisheries Law:  Aboriginal Whaling http://www.oceanlaw.net/netpath/page5-abo.htm#General%20information  (Surf)

Activism: Watching the Fur Fly  http://www.highnorth.no/Library/Movements/General/ac-wa-t.htm

4/16 CULTURAL PROPERTY RIGHTS/LANGUAGE RIGHTS

WEBSITES:

SOME OBSERVATIONS AND CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS ON THE PROTECTION OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES Prof. Dr. Erica-Irene A. Daes http://www.wipo.int/eng/meetings/1998/indip/daes.htm

Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/rights.html

NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES PROTECTION AND REPATRIATION ACT http://www.cast.uark.edu/other/nps/nagpra/DOCS/lgm003.html

National NAGPRA Database http://www.cast.uark.edu/other/nps/nagpra/

Natives Divide Shamanism http://www.arctic.net/~theblade/TOP8.HTM

Lakota Declare War Against "Shamans" & "Plastics" http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/articles/ladecwar.htm

4/18   HAWAI'I

TEXT READINGS:

All Our Relations, pp.166-182.

WEBSITES:

Aloha! http://hawaii-nation.org/index.html

The Hawaiian Kingdom http://www.hawaiiankingdom.org/

4/23  AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL RIGHTS & MAORI OF NEW ZEALAND 

I. S. McIntosh, “Reconciling Personal and Impersonal Worlds: Aboriginal Struggles for Self-Determination,” IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp. 293-323)

The High Court Recognition of Native Title - The Mabo Judgement and Its Implications http://home.vicnet.net.au/~aar/aarmabo.htm

NATIVE TITLE ACT 1993 - SECT 4 Overview of Act http://bar.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nta1993147/s4.html

National Native Title Tribunal http://www.nntt.gov.au/

The Treaty of Waitaingi http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/category/tid/133

Quick Guide A and Brief History of the Treaty of Waitangi http://aotearoa.wellington.net.nz/back/quick.htm Bennett,

Maori Independence Site http://aotearoa.wellington.net.nz/back/intro.htm

Maori People of Aotearoa http://maaori.com/

4/25  MEXICO/CHIAPAS

TEXT READINGS: 

L. Stephen, “Indigenous Autonomy in Mexico,” IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp. 191-216)

J. Levi, “Indigenous Rights and Representations in Northern Mexico: The Diverse Contexts of Rarámuri Voice and Silence.,” IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp.255-292)

WEBSITES:

Acción Zapatista http://www.utexas.edu/students/nave/

Break the Chains of Neoliberalism http://www.utexas.edu/students/nave/neolib.html

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador http://conaie.nativeweb.org/brochure.html

4/30  ECUADOR, PERU, & COLOMBIA

TEXT READING:

J. M.  Levi, “At the Margins of Power: Gender Hierarchy and the Politics of Ethnic Mobilization among the Urarina,“ IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp.217-254).

WEBSITES:

CONAIE   http://conaie.nativeweb.org/brochure.html

CONFENIAE: THE CONFEDERATION OF THE NATIONALITIES INDIGENOUS TO THE AMAZON OF ECUADOR http://www.applicom.com/confeniae/english/

Amazon Watch Mega-Project Alert: The New Heavy Crude Pipeline in Ecuador http://www.moles.org/ProjectUnderground/downloads/AW_OCP_Report_Screen.pdf

Asylum sought for 2,500 Colombian Indians http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~delacova/colombia/asylum.htm

The Urrá hydroelectric project http://www.igc.org/colhrnet/newsletter/y1999/summer99art/urra.htm

Statement from the Great Councils of Río Sinu and Río Verde http://www.igc.org/colhrnet/newscont/999urra.htm

COLOMBIA'S U'WA TRIBE AND SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE OXY'S FAILURE TO FIND OIL http://www.moles.org/ProjectUnderground/drillbits/6_06/2.html

5/2  SIBERIA &  MALAYSIA

TEXT READINGS:

M. M. Balzer.  “Hot and Cold: Interethnic Relations in Siberia,” IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp.112-141).

K. Endicott. “Indigenous Rights Issues in Malaysia” IN At the Risk of Being Heard (pp.142-164).

5/7  AFGHANISTAN, KURDISTAN

Kurdistan Information Network http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/kurdish/htdocs/index.html

Afghanistan Ethnic Sites  http://www.afghan-network.net/Ethnic-Groups/

Assyrians: Indigenous People of Iraq http://www.nineveh.com/IndigenousPeopleinDistress.html

5/9  BURMA & TIBET

WEBSITES:

History of Myanmar (Burma) http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54/index-b.html

Karen Human Rights Group: Latest Reports http://metalab.unc.edu/freeburma/humanrights/khrg/archive/latestreports.html

Human Rights Violations Against Ethnic Minorities in Burma http://www.halcyon.com/pub/FWDP/Eurasia/si_karen.txt#

The Mon Information Home Page http://cscmosaic.albany.edu/~gb661/  

The Government of Tibet in Exile http://www.tibet.com/

Why Tibet? http://www.tibet.org/Why/

 

FINAL REPORT ASSIGNMENT

In a report of 12-16 pages, either (A) analyze a contemporary human rights issue faced by indigenous peoples globally; (B) investigate the main issue(s) faced by and strategies for solving them used by a particular indigenous peoples; (C) examine the configuration of indigenous rights issues in one nation-state context (e.g., Ecuador, Burma, China, etc.); or (D) analyze the structure and progress of a major global NGO involved in indigenous rights (e.g., UN, AI, OAS, etc.).  Evidence is to be collected from published sources and accepted internet sites.  At least ten substantive sources are required.  Some questions to consider: What forces or powers (e.g., nation-state, dominant group, or corporation) or organizations are presently involved in this issue?  What concepts or theoretical approaches from readings in the course are relevant for understanding the situation?  How is the issue of identity involved?  How are the human rights issues defined and articulated?  What is the historical background to the issues?  What strategies have been used to address them?  What contradictions or conflicting interests are entailed?  What can an anthropological perspective add to understandings of the problem?  What strategies have been or will be most effective or least effective in resolving these?  Why?

All students must confer with the professor on a topic before March 15.  An emailed abstract and revised copy, if needed, of a half to one page will count as one of your ten required responses.  Rough drafts can be submitted for review until May 12.

The final product is due Wednesday, May 16 by 4:00 p.m. in Diamond 304. 

Include a list of sites (a webliography) and bibliography you have used in this report.

(NOTE: An in-class written final examination may be substituted for the project).