As Indigenous people representing a rich diversity of cultures and traditions, we envision a world where Indigenous communities are empowered to direct the course of their own HIV prevention, care, treatment and support. We are able to do this based on a shared a worldview that affirms “indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the right of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such” 1.
The worldview that we share cannot be defined by the particular story of any one Indigenous society. Every Indigenous group or clan has a story of their beginnings, of a Creator Being or Beings who rose to create the landscape; while there are numerous variations of the story, the theme remains the same 2. Perhaps above all, an Indigenous worldview holds that the land is sacred and is the “great mother of all humanity” 3. The land is the great teacher, suggesting the notion of caring for something that is outside ourselves and that exists for all time 4.
In the Mesoamerican worldview there is a powerful connection with the landscape. One researcher says, “Their reading of the natural environment as a divine realm propelled them to locate their urban settlements and shape their public buildings–aligning them to the main topographic “characters”–to generate a powerful link with it. The natural environment’s symbolic value, interlocked with their urban settlements, constituted a semiotic system” 5.
Another researcher articulates the effect of this fundamental view: “Because land is sacred and must be looked after, the relation between people and land becomes the template for society and social relations” 6. According to an Indigenous Worldview of Bolivia, Pachamama (Mother Earth) is a living being who is connected to the human world through a system based on interdependent relationships 7.
However, this relationship no longer exists in all too many Indigenous societies around the world. In Africa, for example, “the overall characteristics of groups identifying themselves as indigenous peoples are that their cultures and ways of life differ considerably from the dominant society, and that their cultures are under threat, in some cases to the point of extinction. A key characteristic for most of them is that the survival of their particular way of life depends on access and rights to their traditional lands and the natural resources thereon” 8. As a result of cultural genocide, colonialism, racism, war and other atrocities, Indigenous peoples—not just in Africa but on all continents—have lost the right to determine their own fate.
A poignant statement from Indigenous Peoples in Africa: The Forgotten Peoples? speaks loudly to this reality: “This land alienation and dispossession, and dismissal of their customary rights to land and other natural resources, has led to an undermining of the knowledge systems through which indigenous peoples have sustained life over the centuries and it has led to a negation of their livelihood systems and deprivation of their resources” 9.
This affects all aspects of life for Indigenous people the world over. Again, from the same research: “The health situation of indigenous peoples is often very precarious and receives very limited attention from the health authorities responsible. This has to be seen in relation to the general marginalisation from which indigenous peoples suffer economically and politically. On top of this, indigenous peoples often live in remote areas where they are easily forgotten. As indigenous peoples receive little political attention and prioritisation, and as they to a large extent suffer from impoverishment and low literacy rates, their health situation is in many cases extremely critical” 10.
In an Indigenous worldview, community strategies to promote the collective well-being of society are based on values such as reciprocity, consensus building, equity, intergenerational solidarity; there is value in the community’s ability to determine its own fate 11. The collective as represented by the community has historically been prioritized over individualism. Individuals of course have the freedom to make choices based on their own well-being, but it has always been understood that those choices have an impact on the community as a whole and affect everything else in the surrounding environment. The environment is part of the web of creation, and humans are but one element in that web. One Aboriginal consulting group sums up this dynamic as follows: “Interconnectedness with all of creation leads to accountability, which leads to personal responsibility. Since Indigenous societies were, and sometimes still are, dependant on the land, this sense of responsibility is key to keeping Indigenous cultures alive” 12.
The priority Indigenous people place on collective impact is seen today in many mechanisms such as restorative justice and models for health care 13. This shared Indigenous worldview propels us to create an international voice and structure that links Indigenous peoples with their Indigenous leadership, varying levels of governments, AIDS service organizations, cooperatives, and others in a global collective action to lower the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS experienced by Indigenous peoples. As stated on our Mission page, we do this by:
- Empowering Indigenous people to reduce the spread of HIV and increase the quality of life by strengthening collaborations between international Indigenous communities, while respecting their autonomy and diversity;
- Increasing culturally appropriate prevention, care, treatment, and support for HIV and AIDS through collective advocacy, education, and sharing of wise practices and socio-culturally relevant evidence;
- Creating opportunities for networking, collaborative advocacy, and resource brokering amongst Indigenous communities; and,
- Creating a global voice and hope for an ideal future for Indigenous people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Footnotes
- (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)
- (from Some Thoughts about the Philosophical Underpinnings of Aboriginal Worldviews, by Mary Graham, Australian Humanities Review, Issue 45, November 2008)
- (from Some Thoughts about the Philosophical Underpinnings of Aboriginal Worldviews, by Mary Graham, Australian Humanities Review, Issue 45, November 2008)
- (from Some Thoughts about the Philosophical Underpinnings of Aboriginal Worldviews, by Mary Graham, Australian Humanities Review, Issue 45, November 2008)
- (from FROM THE MESOAMERICAN WORLDVIEW TO CONTEMPORARY “NEW AGE” BELIEFS Teotihuacan, a Paradigmatic Case; ILAN VIT-SUZAN, pp.2-3)
- (from Some Thoughts about the Philosophical Underpinnings of Aboriginal Worldviews, by Mary Graham, Australian Humanities Review, Issue 45, November 2008)
- (from Inter-American Development Bank website blog, http://blogs.iadb.org/vivasustainability-en/2015/08/07/how-to-reach-the-middle-ground-between-indigenous-worldviews-and-development-practice/)
- (from Indigenous Peoples in Africa: The Forgotten Peoples? The African Commission’s work on indigenous peoples in Africa, p.10)
- (from Indigenous Peoples in Africa: The Forgotten Peoples? The African Commission’s work on indigenous peoples in Africa, p.17)
- (from Indigenous Peoples in Africa: The Forgotten Peoples? The African Commission’s work on indigenous peoples in Africa, pp.19-20)
- (from Inter-American Development Bank website blog, http://blogs.iadb.org/vivasustainability-en/2015/08/07/how-to-reach-the-middle-ground-between-indigenous-worldviews-and-development-practice/)
- (http://dragonflycanada.ca/resources/aboriginal-worldviews/)
- (http://dragonflycanada.ca/resources/aboriginal-worldviews/)