FNUC goes to South America

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Organizations in South America working to achieve equal rights for Indigenous people are getting some help from the First Nations University of Canada.

The university has entered into a three-year partnership that will see it provide assistance to Indigenous organizations in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

"Overall, the goal of the program is to basically assist Indigenous peoples of the Andes to reach their full human potential and to achieve equal economic and social inclusion in the region," said Leonzo Barreno, director of the university's Indigenous Centre for International Development, which will administer the program.

"We will train people and assist the national organizations to negotiate for equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities. Right now Indigenous peoples are mostly considered second class citizens, but when you have a solid national organization that can assist them in their struggles for equal opportunities and rights, it really improves their standard of living. And that's where we come in."

Training will be provided for national, regional and community leaders in areas of negotiation, national and international law as well as communication.

"In terms of communication, we want to train people to operate community radios stations, local newspapers and making videos," explained Barreno. "These are all things that are very community oriented."

Barreno believes that strength in numbers makes the university very well suited for the task ahead.

"Saskatchewan has the highest number of Aboriginal peoples in the provinces so it is only natural that we partner with the region that has the largest Indigenous populations in the Americas. There is an approximate total of 45 to 50 million Aboriginal people in the Andes alone. That would be close to 25 million in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador," said Barreno.

"We are also looking at countries like Guatemala and other South American countries that have a large Indigenous population. But at this point in history, because of the needs that people have, because of the level of participation that people have achieved in that region, that's why we want to work with them."

Through the program it is hoped that the Indigenous people of South America will learn from the experiences of Aboriginal people in Canada and their struggle for equality, Barreno explained.

"One of the key experiences that Canadian First Nations have is the capacity for battle, to negotiate, to sit with other levels of government and negotiate different rights for the people. That is exactly the know-how that we expect to influence our partners in the South," he said.

"They will advance their human rights and rights to access communication outlets. We believe that Canada has that advantage, and we would like to show that advantage and also how that was achieved."

The university plans to send some of its staff to its partner organizations in South America to act as trainers and consultants, Barreno said, "And whenever possible, although it's not part of our plan, we will send our students to be part of those processes."

While for now the program will be focusing its efforts on Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, Barreno expects the program to expand in the future.

"With the university taking a national lead at a Canadian level, we anticipate we will be assisting with advising and assisting all other organizations in Canada to work in Central and South America and the Caribbean," he said.

"We believe that we have the skills to make things happen not only in assisting Aboriginal persons, but also to bring the world to Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan and I believe that our university is a national leader in that regard."