With the aim of deepening the understanding of Indigenous Peoples on matters of autonomy and self-determination, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) successfully launched its ten-day training course on “Realizing Indigenous Peoples’ Autonomy and Self-Government” under AIPP’s School of Participation in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last 01 November to 10 November, 2024.

This training course gathered over 21 Indigenous Peoples’ participants from ten countries all over Asia including Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, and Northeast India.

Participants shared experiences of their communities’ struggle for autonomy and self-determination. All were advised to conduct an assessment of their peoples’ history, their current situation and their imagined future.

Lerma Diagone, a 29-year old B’laan Lumad Teacher, cultural worker and spokesperson for Save Our Schools Network – Mindanao, agreed with other participants that the process of understanding the past is necessary to achieving a better, fair, and just future. 

However, critically assessing the past proves to be a challenge for many Lumad Indigenous communities as the Lumad schools were bombed and forcibly shut down by the government while Lumad teachers, students, youth, and advocates are being persecuted by state forces.

Mindanao, one of the three major islands in the Philippines, is home to the Lumad, the largest IP group in the Philippines, accounting for 61% of the total Indigenous population in the country. The term “Lumad” is used to collectively refer to the non-Moro Indigenous Peoples groups in Mindanao. 

The Lumad of Mindanao experience the most extensive cases of human rights violations in the Philippines. Land grabbing and militarization are the common causes of displacement and violent attacks against the Lumad since many of their ancestral lands, which are also biodiversity hotspots, contain large amounts of mineral resources targeted by large-scale mining operations and businesses. 

Global Witness reports that “[t]he military has been linked to the highest number of documented killings and detentions of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines over the past decade.” From 2011-2018 alone, around at least 112 environmental defenders were killed in Mindanao, according to news reports. Many of these environmental defenders were also IP leaders who resisted the encroachment of large-scale mining operations, agribusinesses, illegal logging in their ancestral lands.

“Lumad schools are necessary because it helps us understand our history, preserve and develop Indigenous knowledge and cultural systems,” said Ms. Diagone during the training session.

During the discussion, Lerma shared her experiences regarding the lack of proper documentation of her community’s history, including its traditions, cultural practices, and values. She noted that scholarly research on the history of the Lumad is often written in technical academic language, making it inaccessible to the Lumad themselves.

She also noticed how mainstream education is severely lacking in its accurate depiction and representation of the history of Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines and their participation in the making of Philippine history, particularly the Lumad of Mindanao.

The establishment of Lumad schools was and remains to be crucial to the defense of the rights of the Lumad Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao and their rightful assertion of their right to self-determination.

Through their collective defense of their lands, their forests, rivers and mountains, their ways of living and their communities, the Lumad put the concept of self-determination to practice while resisting militarization of their lands, environmental destruction and disasters.

Entry of large-scale mining operations, illegal logging and aggressive and destructive forms of development projects into the ancestral lands of the Lumad put them at risk of losing their identities and their lives. “Our identity, our lives, are deeply intertwined with our land. Once we lose our land, we lose our identity, we forget our history – our dance and music no longer holds meaning and we forget who we are,” Ms. Diagone added. 

The discussion on autonomy and self-determination tried to address the historical injustices and social inequities our Lumad brothers and sisters experience. And during the session, participants have shared that in many cases, the defense of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, which are taken up in many forms –  including building of international solidarity movements to strengthen networks and alliances, are often met with violent resistance by state forces and institutions that seek to prioritize profit over people and profit over environment. 

Recent news of environmental disasters across the world, including the uncontrollable fires in Southern California, have scientific researchers and environmental defenders restating that Indigenous knowledge systems are crucial to mitigate such disasters and avoid widespread destruction and loss of lives. The question remains, how do we preserve and revitalize Indigenous knowledge systems if the knowledge-bearers, Indigenous Peoples, are often attacked and targeted for their lands and their right to education, autonomy, and self-determination are violated and unrecognized by state actors? 

Our struggle continues 

After the ten-day training seminar, much remains to be discussed and acted upon. Yet, the seeds of solidarity have been sown in the hearts and minds of the participants. Despite coming from different countries and backgrounds, Indigenous Peoples across the world share a profound and unifying language—the language of resistance and the defense of human rights and the right to environment and self-determination. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn from our Indigenous brothers and sisters in Asia and for their unwavering support for the Lumad peoples’ rights to education, land, and life.

Our fellow Indigenous brothers and sisters have inspired us to go back to our communities and strengthen the grassroots movement. Lerma has shared her hopes of going back and teaching again once the Lumad schools are reopened. She hopes to return to her community and share her experiences and how Indigenous Peoples from different parts of Asia have shown their support and solidarity with the struggles of the Lumad. 

“We are inspired by your stories and we hope to continue the struggle with more determination until we successfully defend our lands and our rights,” said Lerma. 

The Mindanao Climate Justice Resource Facility (MCJ) is also thankful for the extended invitation from the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact to be part of the seminar and to offer its support as interpreter for Lerma Diagone. MCJ is committed to supporting the Lumad and other marginalized communities in Mindanao in the defense of their right to life, environment, and climate.