The recent debates about Eska water’s ad (as reported in Globe and Mail) concerns representation, commodification, and cultural rights of indigenous cultures.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfNDFdZVDE8[/youtube]

The ad campaign has been well criticized by an indigenous activist Clifton Nicholas, as cited in the Globe and Mail article.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSggKIAShbM[/youtube]

The ad seems to show us how persistently stereotypes perpetuate and how persistently commercial interests commodify indigenous cultures.

Ky (Module 3: #5).

Mapuche International Link (MIL) is an organization that seeks for Mapuche self-determination and the right for their own development. It is inspired in the United Nations International Decade of World’s Indigenous Peoples (1994/2004) which was declared to focus world-wide attention on human rights violations, the destruction of environments and cultures, and the continuing struggle for recognition of indigenous people’s rights to their ancestral territories. Their goals are:

• To raise awareness of indigenous peoples and their struggle for survival.

• To use modern communications to inform the international community about indigenous cultures in particular Mapuche culture.

• To develop contacts between Mapuche and European organizations.

• To develop links between indigenous schools in Chile and Argentina , and schools in other countries.

• To encourage European people to get involved in Mapuche communities’ activities.

• To encourage sustainable tourism by providing up to date information on the culture, politics and economics of the Mapuche people.

• To promote public awareness of all universally recognized international treaties and conventions adopted by the United Nations and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), which have a bearing on humanity and the rights of indigenous peoples.

• To emphasize the contribution of the Mapuche to the rich cultural diversity of the world, through exhibitions, publications, regular visits to U.N conferences and other international forums.

• To develop and maintain communications with other Mapuche groups and indigenous peoples of the world.

Meli Wixan Mapu is an organization that intends to build urban Mapuche politics and culture, within the framework of a general process of rescue and protection of our identity and territoriality. This organization declares that Mapuche people of Santiago are sons of a forced migration that happened during the nineteenth century, in the process known as Occupation of Araucanìa. Their primarily goal is not to avoid this situation and express their will for self-determination and land recovery. The site provides the stories of Mapuche activists that are prisoners in Chilean jails, publications, poetry, and videos, all in Spanish.

Indigenous Voices is a monthly series held at Bluestockings Bookstore. On the last Thursday of every month, visitors can find a diverse group of folks gathering for a discussion, film screening, reading, workshop/skill share, performances, and music. Hosted by WBAI’s Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Indigenous Voices is a monthly series about ethnic identity, sovereignty, and the possibilities for Indigenous peoples to direct their own destinies.

• Aymara’s Podcasts This is a site that offers music from the Andes in order to revive Aymara culture, history and music. The site provide information about Aymara’s musical instruments, dances, carnivals, etc. Visitors can hear podscats of Aymara music and see photographs about their traditions.

• Andes.org contains information about American aboriginal cultures of The Andes. The site offers interesting information about poetry, dances and music. Visitors can access to songs, poems and dances explained in Quechua, English and Spanish.

• Aymara Uta is a web site that intends to promote and diffuse Aymara knowledge, reflect and defend Aymaraheritage. The site is licensed by Opensource and GNU software. It offers a list of resources and websites related to Aymara culture, and a discussion forum about topics related to this Aboriginal community. Most of the resources offered by the site are in Spanish, but it offers a number of sources in English.

• The “Institute of Aymara Language and Culture“, ILCA is a non-profit organization, founded by Juan de Dios Yapita (1972) to spread the Aymaralanguage and culture. It was legally recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture in La Paz (Bolivia) on November, 1972. The center has long been one of the lonely ramparts of the disclosure of the Aymara language. It has major publications. Most of them are in PDF format for download on that site.

• Marta J. Hardman-Bautista’s site. Marta J. Hardman-Bautista is an American linguist who is considered an authority on linguistic studies of  Aymara culture. During the 1960s, she began studying Jaqaru, a sister language of Aymara. Later, she founded the Aymara School at the University of Florida where she worked with brilliant disciples, some of them Aymara of birth. Aymara School  published many articles and important books about the Aymara culture.

Mapuche Documentation Center is a research program that provides resources, study material, and lines of research on social, political, cultural and intellectual life of the Mapuche people. Mapuche Documentation Center is organized on the basis of achieving the following objectives:

• Discuss sociological theories about development in relation to the problems facing indigenous peoples and the Mapuche people in particular.

• Providing mentoring and academic supervision for students who are interested in investigating the reality of indigenous peoples

• Encourage writing articles related to sociological research of indigenous peoples

• Assisting members of the network of collaborators and participants of Mapuche Documentation Center, Nuke Mapu in monitoring current debates and reflections by facilitating access to material from journals and updates on research.