May 13, 2009

"Being indigenous peoples is not about wearing colourful garments but about being engaged in the political struggle towards an alternative to the current, crisis-laden model of civilization," says María Chávez, an indigenous person from Bolivia who is a consultant for indigenous issues at the World Council of Churches (WCC).

María Chávez belongs to the Aymara people, a native group from the mountain regions of South America. As the person in charge of the WCC Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples project, she will be coordinating the participation of an ecumenical delegation at the 8th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to take place in New York City, 18-29 May.

One of the issues on the forum's agenda is to review the progress made in implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2007.

Jointly sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation and the WCC, a 12-person ecumenical delegation will bring input from their contexts into the discussions. "Indigenous persons who are also members of churches are sometimes looked at with suspicion," says Chávez. "We want to show not only that churches are supportive of the cause of indigenous peoples, but also that there is an indigenous church."

For Chávez, who is a Methodist lay theologian, it is crucial that regional realities and local struggles are brought into the discussion at the global level, in forums like the UN. In order to achieve that, she believes "indigenous peoples have an ally in the ecumenical movement."

"Some brothers and sisters say: ‘We just cry for being heard,'" says Chávez. "For that to happen, we need to go beyond the romanticization of our image and become real protagonists; we do have an alternative lifestyle to offer to humankind, one that is based on a holistic worldview and spirituality," she adds.

WCC work in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3247.

UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/.

World Council of Churches