For ecumenical representatives of indigenous faith communities who attended the U.N. conference, held in New York on Sept. 22 and 23, and other side events, the six-page outcome document is significantly lends motivation and teeth to a movement that has sought to secure the rights of Indigenous People's around the world.
More than a quarter of Colombia’s 1.4 million Indians have been forced to flee their tribal lands in recent decades, the head of the government’s program to protect indigenous peoples has said, highlighting the threat that some tribes may disappear entirely.
While the situation in Guatemala represents a clear setback for communication rights in the region, two other more positive events took place in Latin America to mark 2012 as the year of Indigenous communication.
Communication lies at the core of the increasing social and political “protagonism” (leading role) of Latin America’s Indigenous People. This is one of the conclusions of a research project on “Indigenous communication as a driving force for social change.”
Participants in the World Council of Churches' Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) pre-assembly event bring conconcerns of the marginalized, including women, young people, Dalits, indigenous peoples and other minorities into the heart of the debate about mission and evangelism.
In a recent meeting, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee denounced the “Doctrine of Discovery,” which has been used to subjugate and colonize indigenous peoples. The Executive Committee issued a statement calling the nature of the doctrine “completely opposed to the gospel of Jesus.”
Churches in India have been urged to stand up for indigenous peoples who have been affected by such development projects as dams and mines.