World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release: 13 May 2009


Indigenous peoples seek political affirmation


"Being indigenous peoples is not about wearing colourful garments but about being engaged in the political struggle towards an alternative to the current, crisis-laden model of civilization", says María Chávez, an indigenous person from Bolivia who is a consultant for indigenous issues at the World Council of Churches (WCC).

María Chávez belongs to the Aymara people, a native group from the mountain regions of South America. As the person in charge of the WCC Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples project, she will be coordinating the participation of an ecumenical delegation at the 8th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to take place in New York City, 18-29 May.

One of the issues on the forum's agenda is to review the progress made in implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2007.

Jointly sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation and the WCC, a 12-person ecumenical delegation will bring input from their contexts into the discussions. "Indigenous persons who are also members of churches are sometimes looked at with suspicion," says Chávez. "We want to show not only that churches are supportive of the cause of indigenous peoples, but also that there is an indigenous church."

For Chávez, who is a Methodist lay theologian, it is crucial that regional realities and local struggles are brought into the discussion at the global level, in forums like the UN. In order to achieve that, she believes "indigenous peoples have an ally in the ecumenical movement".

"Some brothers and sisters say: 'We just cry for being heard'," says Chávez. "For that to happen, we need to go beyond the romanticization of our image and become real protagonists; we do have an alternative lifestyle to offer to humankind, one that is based on a holistic worldview and spirituality," she adds.

WCC work in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3247

UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.