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OAS Closes Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Photo: OAS

The Organization of American States (OAS) today closed the second annual Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, celebrated with a number of activities that highlighted the cultural diversity, traditions and contributions of indigenous peoples of the region.

On Wednesday, August 7, the OAS Permanent Council and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) held a special joint session to commemorate the week and the International Year of Indigenous Languages. The session featured presentations on the preservation, promotion, and revitalization of indigenous languages of the Americas from experts and national authorities with responsibility for policy on indigenous peoples.

OAS Assistant Secretary General, Nestor Mendez noted that the session provided “the opportunity to hold a political dialogue on the need to implement good practices, policies and laws that allow for the preservation, promotion and use of indigenous languages in the Americas.” Ambassador Mendez added that the session and the “Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples give us the possibility of strengthening the issues related to indigenous peoples in the political agenda of the Organization and its Member States.”

For her part, the Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Grenada to the OAS, Ambassador Yolande Yvonne Smith recalled that “through their languages, indigenous peoples have been able to preserve their history, customs, world views, and wisdom,” adding that “indigenous languages contribute to our rich cultural diversity as countries and as a Hemisphere”

Ambassador Rita Claverie de Sciolli, CIDI Chair and Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the OAS acknowledging the historical challenges that indigenous peoples continue to face today, highlighted that the joint session served to “enrich us and enlighten us to become aware and work for the preservation, promotion and use of indigenous languages in the Americas.”

Speakers at the meeting included:

• Diego Pary, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia (via video);
• Esther Kuisch-Laroche, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Office for Central America;
• Luis Felipe Duchicela, Senior Advisor for Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) (Ecuador);
• Petita Ayarza, first woman from the Guna indigenous community of Panama elected as a Representative in the National Assembly (Panama);
• Juan Gregorio Regino, Director General of the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (Mexico);
• Patricia Velásquez, Embajadora de Buena Voluntad de la OEA para los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas (Venezuela, via video).

On August 8, the OAS hosted a forum on “Globalization and the Preservation of Indigenous Languages and Cultures: the Role of Youth & Technology.” The event included panel discussions with prominent indigenous representatives of the Hemisphere, national authorities, and experts on the issue, as well as musical performances.

Panelists at the forum included:

• Luis Felipe Duchicela, Senior Advisor for Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID);
• Dr. Mary S. Linn, Curator of Cultural and Linguistic Revitalization, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage;
• Dr. Miguel G. Vilar, Senior Program Officer, Human Journey, Lead Scientist, Geographic Project, National Geographic Society;
• Video presentation by Gabriela Badillo, Creator of 68 VOICES México.

The forum concluded with entertainment from Miguel Angel Pellao, a tenor from Chile, and Yahaira Tubac Toj, pianist from Guatemala, both Indigenous persons.

Other activities held during the week included an Art and Book Exhibition on Indigenous Languages, as well as a guided tour of a featured exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian for representatives from OAS Permanent and Observer Missions, and senior staff from the General Secretariat.

Reference: FNE-97232