Presentation on Indigenous rights from a Garifuna perspective.

1. 12/31/2018 Adele O. Ramos 1

2. A brief historical sketch of the Garinagu1.
a.
• Africa to
Yurumein
b.
• Yurumein
to
Honduras
c.
• Honduras
to Belize
d.
• Belize to
the
Diaspora
12/31/2018 Adele O. Ramos 2

3. AFRICA YURUMEIN HONDURAS BELIZE
1635 1797 1802
Pre-
1635
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4. CORE
CONFLICT
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5. 500 migrate to
Southern Belize
Photo: Re-enactment of 1823 arrival to Southern Belize. (For more info see: https://adeleramosbz.com/life-arts/garifuna/)
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ALMOST 2 CENTURIES AGO…

6. GARINAGU DO NOT ENJOY
SPECIAL PROTECTION OF
INDIGENOUS LANDS IN BELIZE
GARINAGU HAVE ENJOYED
FREEDOM OF SETTLEMENT IN
BELIZE. HOWEVER…
1
8
2
3
2
0
1
8
Barranco | Dangriga | Georgetown | Hopkins | Seine Bight
195 YEARS
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7. Importance of Garifuna migration and
settlements to Belize's territorial integrity.
2.
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a.
• Historical Timeline
in context of Anglo-
Guatemalan Treaty
b.
• Archival Maps of
the area now
known as Belize
c.
• Implications for
Garifuna rights

8. BATTLE OF ST.
GEORGE’S CAYE
SETTLEMENT AT
YARBOROUGH,
BELIZE CITY
MASS ARRIVAL
– SOUTHERN
BELIZE
ANGLO-
GUATEMALA
TREATY
1802 1823 18591798
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BRITISH LEVERAGE INFLUENCE OVER TERRITORY

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This 1856 map of Central America was created by the
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Maps sourced from: https://ambergriscaye.com/maps/
1850s1750s
Prior to 1859, Belize was presented on maps as less than
half its current size.

10. 12/31/2018 Adele O. Ramos 10
“When we established our settlements, we
established our settlements south of the Sibun
River which at that time was the southern
boundary of the settlement. So in 1859, when
the southern boundary of the settlement was
extended from the Sibun to the Sarstoon we
were already here. So we can say that Belize
came after us. We were already established, you
check it out, all the Garifuna communities,
traditional Garifuna communities are established
south of the Sibun River. In case you don’t know
why, I expect you know by now.… There are
implications for our rights in this country.”
-- E. Roy Cayetano, Garifuna Activist,
2016 Press Statement
http://amandala.com.bz/news/219-years-
genocide-attempt-garinagu-celebrate-survival/
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4vtf0p

11. Indigenous Rights: What rights exist and
what rights have been affirmed by the State.
3.
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a.
• What makes
Garinagu
indigenous
b.
• What particular
rights emanate
from having
indigenous
status: land and
fishing rights, key
c.
• What
declarations
have been made
by the
Government
d.
• What legal
precedents exist
for the
affirmation of
those rights

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GARINAGU
SELF-IDENTIFY
AS INDIGENOUS

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UB Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Voices Factsheet
• Self- identification as indigenous peoples at the individual
level and accepted by the community as their member.
• Historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler
societies
• Strong link to territories and surrounding natural
resources
• Distinct social, economic or political systems

14. 12/31/2018 Adele O. Ramos 14
UB Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Voices Factsheet
• Distinct language, culture and beliefs
• Form non-dominant groups of society
• Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral
environments and systems as distinctive peoples and
communities.

15. 12/31/2018 Adele O. Ramos 15
SOME
KEY
RIGHTS
traditional lands,
territories, and
natural resources.
right to practice and
revitalize their
cultural traditions
and customs
collective right to
live in freedom, …
and shall not be
subjected to any act
of genocide
right to establish
and control their
educational systems
and institutions
providing education
in their own
languages
UN Declaration on
the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples

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STATE AFFIRMATIONS
Photo: Protest in Belmopan (Amandala, April 2018)
“It should be noted that The Government
of Belize accredited Mr. Augustine Flores,
President of the National Garifuna Council,
to represent Indigenous people of Belize
on Fondo Indigena, implicitly
acknowledging the identification Garifuna
people as indigenous. No less worthy of
note is the fact that Ernest Castro of the
National Garifuna Council was appointed
by Government…
BARRANCO ASSERTS LOGGING RIGHTS

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STATE AFFIRMATIONS
Photo: Protest in Belmopan (Amandala, April 2018)
…to represent the indigenous people on
the Political Reform Commission and that
in relation to Recommendation 6, which
called for the Exclusion of Reference to
Indigenous People in the Constitution, he
authored a dissenting view with which the
Government concurred, that being one of
the recommendations that the
Government rejected outright.”
– NGC Website
(Accessed 28 Dec 2018)
BARRANCO ASSERTS LOGGING RIGHTS

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UN AFFIRMATIONS
2001: UNESCO proclamation that Garifuna
Heritage and Culture is a masterpiece of
the Intangible Heritage of Humanity
2007: United Nations Declaration of the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples
2011: United Nations Resolution A/66/460
proclaiming 2012‐2022 as the first Decade
of Afro‐Descendants

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LEGAL PRECEDENT
Hon. Denys Barrow as legal counsel for Government back in 2015 had spoken of the “need to
undertake nationwide consultations so that the Maya, on a national scale, can say to the people of
Belize, this is what they want; and others can say this is what they want and what they think the
Maya should get. There has to be a discussion process
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) decision of April 2015:
“Maya customary land tenure exists in the Maya villages in the Toledo
District and gives rise to collective and individual property rights … The
Court accepts the undertaking of the Government to adopt affirmative
measures to identify and protect the rights of the Appellants arising
from Maya customary tenure….”

20. Peaceful coexistence between
Maya and Garinagu.
4.
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a.
• Solidarity amid
pursuit of
indigenous rights.
b.
• Confronting
conflicts between
Indigenous
groups
c.
• Pursuing
common causes.

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GARIFUNA ACTIVIST
AND WRITER, JEREMY
ENRIQUEZ, SEEN
BEHIND CRISTINA
COC, STANDING IN
SOLIDARITY WITH THE
TOLEDO MAYA
(2007 Maya Land Rights Case for
Conejo and Santa Cruz)

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“We will hear from everybody - all
parties in Toledo and elsewhere
before we can come to a decision
as to what their rights ought to be.”
-- Prime Minister Dean Barrow,
June 2015

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In 2016, a dispute emerged in Toledo between
the Garifuna community of Barranco and the
Maya community of Midway. The dispute was
on what the Maya community claimed to be
ancestral lands. The chairman of Barranco said
that the monument was being built on private
lands at the boundary between the villages.

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PETROLEUM
EXPLORATION
(2007-2016)
ROSEWOOD
HARVESTING
(2012)

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UBAFU