The Drum Beat 118 - Indigenous Communities

Below are some examples of communication programming activities initiated by indigenous communities, communication projects that address issues specific to such communities, organisations which aim to network and document indigenous knowledge, and a few events and publications that relate to and expand these issues. For more information, click on the links included.

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PROGRAMMES

1.Wila Kasta - Bolivia - A radio soap opera addressing aspects of reproductive health including the relationship between reproductive health and traditional customs and medicine. The target audience included youth of the Aymara, people indigenous to the Bolivian highlands. Wila Kasta, meaning "Line of Blood" in Aymara, was broadcast in several installments reaching the high plains through popular radio stations. Several music concerts promoted the programme regionally. Contact psibol@caoba.entelnet.bo

2.Fertilizer Bush Drama - Nigeria - A play which used drama to communicate new and improved farming techniques to Nigerian men and women farmers. A 5 member team of villagers were brought together to develop and participate in the play. The drama used a combination of catchy tunes and good scripts to improve farming knowledge and practices. The play made use of indigenous communication patterns and styles to better communicate the new ideas.
Contact CIKARD@iastate.edu

3. HIV/AIDS: Afro-Brazilians - Brazil - Religious Support Against AIDS (ARCA-ISER) launched this initiative to address HIV/AIDS through examination of techniques used in traditional ceremonies. Many rituals performed by the indigenous people involve blood, and thus can cause the spread of HIV/AIDS. Religious leaders and traditional healers were consulted to determine what was being done about HIV/AIDS in their areas and to implement strategies to communicate to people the dangers of specific religious ceremonies, and other modes of contracting HIV. Religious-cultural traditions were used as the medium for understanding new practices and concepts. 3 Candomble stories in comic strip form were created: 50,000 were distributed to priests and priestesses; 200,000 to their followers. Contact layoli@ax.apc.org

4. Community Based Drama - Tanzania - 2 short community based plays were designed to sensitise the Barbaig community (a nomadic ethnic group in northern Tanzania) on the negative impact of female circumcision (FGM), domestic violence and the importance of sending girls to school. A 3 week creative session was held among The Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Dar es Salaam, along with HAWOCODE (Hanang Women’s Counseling & Development Association) to produce the plays. The plays were performed and then discussed with the community. Key question asked after the performance: What positive alternative can be suggested to this cultural activity (FGM) rather than simply telling them it is bad and should be stopped?
Contact Dr. Augustin Hatar hata@twiga.com

5. Ardicom - Canada - In the Northwest Territories, a region serving 10.4 million square miles with isolated inhabitants, an aboriginal based company Ardicom Digital Communications is connecting 58 of the Arctic’s population centers with terrestrial and satellite nodes. This will deliver high-speed Internet access, videoconferencing, telemedicine, and distance education to this region isolated by its geography. Youth produce local programming for television and distribution on the web. Most of the computers will be distributed to schools for educational purposes.
Contact Greg Fandrick gfandrick@ardicom.ca

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6. Manuel Santí - Ecuador - A comic book initiative addressing community development and empowerment designed to reach hard-to-reach indigenous groups in Ecuador. 4 issues of the popular Manuel Santí series were produced. The series featured a principal character, Manuel Santí, who faced adventurous challenges which brought out the social development messages of the project. The distribution system was unique. A network of commercial comic vendors was cultivated; these vendors bought the comics from the project and then sold them at a slight mark-up to their regular customers. For a copy of the full report, contact the US hotline at 1-800-656-4533 or email webmaster@kff.org

7. Centro de Mujeres Comunicadoras Mayas (CMCM) - Guatemala- The Center for Mayan Women Communicators functions primarily as a place for indigenous women to unite, communicate and develop skills in communications technology to enable better representation in the world and in the media. Activities are determined by the indigenous women who participate. Workshops and training are offered in skills of video, photography, computer use and internet communication. Production services are also offered in multimedia, web pages and video. Contact cmcm@rds.org.gt

8. People's Forum for Human Rights, Bhutan (PFHRB) - Nepal - established in exile in Nepal, PFHRB advocates for the human rights of the Bhutanese people. In 1988, the Bhutanese Government passed and implemented a series of laws denying the nation's ethnic groups the right to freely practice their culture and religion. PFHRBs members are comprised almost exclusively of refugees who were forced out of Bhutan after 1988. They work to secure, protect, and safeguard the rights and dignity of individuals in Bhutan irrespective of ethnicity, caste, sex or religion. Their goals include increasing knowledge about human rights in the Bhutanese community and 'working for a peaceful resolution of the ethnic crisis'.
Contact D.P. Kafley rizal_pfhrb@jhapa.info.com.np

ORGANISATIONS

9. Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture & Rural Development (CIKARD) - to preserve and use the knowledge of farmers and rural people around the globe to facilitate participatory and sustainable approaches to development. Its goal is to record indigenous knowledge and make it available to local communities, development professionals, scientists and scholars.

10. HANND (The Horn of Africa NGO Network for Development) - a collaboration of some 40 indigenous organisations and civil society leaders in the countries of the Horn of Africa.

EVENTS

11. Zimbabwe Traditional Medicinal & Cultural Expo 2001 was held Oct 25-28 2001 in Harare - Aims included: promotion of indigenous knowledge systems invested in various cultural forums that are linked to medicinal practices such as sculptors, curios, traditional dressing, literature and traditional music; and, promotion of research that contributes to indigenous scientific knowledge system thus correcting the dominant official scientific view. Contact fpoint@mweb.co.zw or inter@samara.co.zw

12. Indigenous Peoples & The Free Trade Area of the Americas - An Alternative Summit was held Apr 19-21 2001 at Salle Kondiarionk, Huron Reserve, Quebec City, Canada - Highlighted the issues in and around the relationships of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas to the proposed FTAA. Contact Tony Hall hall@uleth.ca or Linda Sioui linda.sioui@sympatico.ca

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MATERIALS

13. Images of the World: Globalisation & Cultural Diversity - This is an edited selection of the speeches that took place during 'Images of the World,' a festival held in Denmark during Aug and Sept 2000. Includes: "Dominance, Minorisation, Linguistic Genocide & Language Rights"; "When the Market only Wants 'Acceptable Exotism'"; and, "Indigenous Memory & Traditional Belief in a Globalised World".
Contact images@images.dk

14. The Paradox of Africa's Poverty: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge, Traditional Practices & Local Institutions - The Case of Ethiopia, by Tirfe Mammo - The author argues that the root cause of Africa's poverty lies in the neglect of the indigenous knowledge, traditional practices and local institutions of the continent's peoples.

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