January 2023 Newsletter
Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace
As snow drifts pass from barren tree to open field in the brief hours of daylight for our sisters and brothers in the north and the highlands, and as the longer and hotter days invite gifts of growth, renewal, and harvest for our sisters and brothers in the south, we welcome all into this space to join us in the moments of reflection, pain, exploration, and celebration which make up this newsletter.We honor the strength and resilience of Indigenous women in our communities who have kept our people grounded when bodies know only chaos; who have the unwavering bravery to demand accountability and justice from the outsiders who see only profit in Indigenous peoples and lands; our women leaders whose courage have kept us in strength when our people falter. We honor the strength of our mothers, our sisters, our daughters.
Arambam Bijaya is an Indigenous woman weaver and a survivor of domestic violence from Manipur. She was a part of several trainings and workshops conducted by the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network, among other local women led networks. When the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network established a weaving center in Langthabal, Manipur, Bijaya took on a leadership role in the facility training and working with other women survivors. In the past 7 years, Bijaya has risen to the position of master weaver and has worked tirelessly to maintain critical market linkages between weaving centers supporting Indigenous women survivors and distributors, such as Rangsutra and FabIndia. In 2021, she was recognized by the National Handloom Council of India and inducted into their Hall of Fame.Arambam Bijaya is not just a leader in her community, but stands as a symbol of strength for Indigenous women across Northeast India who are survivors of sexual assault and ongoing conflict in the region.
The Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace stretched its wings and began an exciting journey in 2022! Throughout 2022, the Global Alliance advocated for Indigenous Peoples’ rights through lectures, webinars, and exhibitions, we facilitated dialogue and research surrounding the militarization and health of our communities through online convenings, we celebrated Indigenous stories and knowledge through Our Indigenous Stories, published in October, 2022, and we began a humanitarian effort to empower displaced Indigenous women in Northeast India, many of them refugees from violent conflict still persisting across the Indo-Burma border in Myanmar. We thank all of our sisters and brothers around the world who have contributed to all of these efforts. We are taking a moment to remember some of the activities and events which made 2022 so special for our organization and our partners.
After the military coup in Burma in February 1st, 2021, and the ensuing violent conflict which has threatened the safety and security of pro-democracy Myanmarese advocates and Indigenous Peoples, an influx of refugees have surged across the Indo-Myanmar border. Most Burmese asylum seekers are currently taking refuge in the Northeast Indian States of Mizoram and Manipur. There is also a growing population of refugees looking for shelter in New Delhi. The Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace is working to empower women survivors and those displaced by the conflict in Indo Burma region, and ensure support in education, shelters, and healthcare for survivors. As a priority of the Global Alliance, the assessment of need, as well as the administration of aid, is all led by local Indigenous women, many of whom are survivors themselves.
On October 10th, 2022, the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace, in partnership with the New York Universal Publishing House, published and launched Our Indigenous Stories. The book brings together Indigenous stories from the seven socio-cultural zones of the world: Africa; Arctic Regions; Asia; Central and Eastern Europe, Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia; North America; Central and South America and the Caribbean; and the Pacific Islands.Indigenous stories, as they have been passed down from generation to generation, seldom find their way onto the bookshelf. For Indigenous peoples, stories from their own culture, let alone other Indigenous cultures, can often feel distant and inaccessible. Yet these stories shed light on important land and cultural knowledges, while also offering insights into our own humanity.In publishing Our Indigenous Stories, we hope to share the special and the sacred of Indigenous Peoples with the world. Volume II is on its way in 2023!
On February 9th, 2022, the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice, and Peace hosted a convening to discuss how our communities have been affected by conflict. Presenting at the convening, we were joined by Lisa Natividad, Avexnim Cojti, Panti Gonmei, Elifuraha Laltaika, Mariam Aboubakrine, Lucy Mulenkei, Vera Solovyeva, Amy Juan, Reynaldo Morales Cardenas, and Lori Johnston.A summary of significant recommendations from the convening were as follows:
On April 13th, 2022, Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace, gave a lecture at Harvard University articulating the importance of preserving our Indigenous histories. In her lecture, titled Documenting Indigenous Nations, War, and Peace: Discovering and Preserving the Stories, Struggles, and History of Manipur, Nepram discussed the importance of protecting Indigenous knowledges, histories, and stories, all of which are essential if Indigenous Peoples are to maintain our intergenerational knowledge flows.Globally, many Indigenous cultural texts are disappearing or at threat of being destroyed by nation-states invested in the erasure of Indigenous narratives. Nepram’s lecture focused on preserving the Puyas of Manipur, which are the cultural foundation of Indigenous Manipuri peoples.In all of it’s work, the Global Alliance prioritizes maintaining and strengthening the Indigenous knowledge flows which lay at the foundation of our Indigenous identities.
Tarcila Rivera Zea and Lucy Mulenkei, both Board Members of the Global Alliance, participated in COP27 in Cairo, Egypt. They were critical voices in talks about climate and environmental justice, the stakes for Indigenous Peoples, and the demands of Indigenous nations moving forward.
As sparrow bore sand downsongs clamored. Abstruse:black-leaf Russian tobacco;felt through her/my fingers.The sill of the window chipping,opacity-shade, with rice paper-blinds, newspapers with no dates.Convulsing on the concrete,our opaque, thick-heart, expels—the darting demon sick; embodiedin my baptized breasts—exorcise me, where 4 valvesblood-a-beat.By Dg Nanouk Okpik
In Andean Quechua communities, the potato holds a sacred importance to Quechua culture and diet. Over thousands of years of cultivating potatoes, Quechua peoples have developed over 2,800 varieties, all of which are native to Peru and have their own specific purposes. For every illness and disease that a Quechua person may encounter in their lifetime, there is a potato variety which delivers the medicinal properties needed for the sick to regain health. The potato is a staple within Quechua cuisine, and also builds the backbone of the Andean Quechua economy through trade. Potatoes are also honored in many Quechua ceremonies and cultural practices.Such a large variety of potatoes also helps protect communities from famine. Disease that may affect one variety of potato won’t spread through to other varieties. There are four main Quechua techniques used to preserve potatoes. Chuño, one of the four methods, uses a freeze-drying technique during the coldest winter months. In the creation of Chuño potatoes, one places potatoes outside to freeze in the over night frost, then places them in direct sunlight during the day, repeating the process until the potatoes are completely dehydrated. After using the Chuño freeze-drying technique, the potatoes can last for 10-15 years!
Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace P.O. Box 27 New York, NY 10032, USA
