Dr. Lottie Cunningham Wren, a Nicaraguan lawyer, law professor and Miskito Indian, will present the full story of the struggle for land rights by the Mayagna Indians at 7 p.m. tomorrow in 175 Knight Law Center.
This presentation is a part of the “Human Rights for ALL” program, organized by Professor Svitlana Kravchenko and hosted by the law school.The film “Children of the Sun” will be shown at the presentation, giving background about the land the Mayagna are reclaiming, their culture and beliefs, and the relationship the people have with the land.
Land is very important to the culture, religion and customs of the Mayagna people. The land is considered sacred and is treated with great respect. When the Nicaraguan government wanted to sell logging concessions, the Mayagna people were strongly opposed, and they filed a lawsuit to stop the sale.
The Mayagna people use a lot of the land surrounding the areas where they live. When members of their community go out to hunt, they may take a 15-day trip to ensure they are not overusing the resources in one area.
They use different parts of the land for farming, religion, medicinal purposes, burial, hunting and fishing.Cunningham said that western farmers are coming in and cutting down areas they would use to get medicine. This is one of the human rights for which Cunningham is fighting.
“Human rights is a term often used to mean only political freedoms,” said Dr. Kravchenko, who will be giving opening remarks at the presentation tomorrow night.
“But social, economic and environmental rights are equally important,” she said.
In 2001, the Mayagna people won their suit in the Inter-American Court, and they are now engaged in negotiations for a demarcation of traditional lands.
While the court ruled that the state must carry out the demarcation and titling of the land within 15 months, it has done nothing so far.
Cunningham became involved with this case to help the indigenous people get the rights they deserve. She felt connected with these people.
“I am an indigenous woman,”
she said.
This community didn’t have the resources to fight for their rights because they are so poor, Cunningham said. Also, many community members are illiterate. Cunningham helped organize workshops
in the community to keep the people informed and to come up with conflict resolutions.
She then acted as a mediator to make sure the community was represented in negotiations with the government. However, the government tried to make deals with the community leaders behind her back, she said.
The decision of this court case is a victory not only for the Mayagna Indians, but also for human rights in general.
“This kind of leadership is what saves the world,” environmental law Professor John Bonine said.