Failed Attempt of Land Invasion in Ancestral Huancavilca Rural Town of Montanita, Ecuador (2011): Every year, Ecuadorian police groups, military groups, real estate agents, and even foreigners walk in the Huancavilca Town of Montanita to expropriate and invade Comunero land like its 1492 all over again. Comuneros of Montanita will never give up the resistance of these attempts. In this video, Comuneros tell police that in the Ecuadorian Constitution, they have the right to resist and fight if police or non-Comunero people attempt to enter their territory without permission. No matter how many times Comuneros tell Non-Comuneros that selling their land is an illegal operation, Non-Comuneros seem to not understand when they are turned away at their entrance or meet communal resistance. As a Comunero from my ancestral town of Data, it upsets me and my Huancavilca Comuneros that so much of our rights as Indigenous people are violated and disrespected because of our campesino identity. Also, Ecuadorians do not understand that a border exists between the State and Native nations on the Coast, and ours is a clear one with geographical barriers. Ecuadorians think Natives of the Manta, Huancavilca, Puna, and Chono Nations have disappeared with aggressive assimilation and due to the absence of exotic clothing and original languages (like the Kichwa People, for example), but this is a false assumption due to lack of Indigenous awareness in national education and media. Comuneros hold more than 515, 000 hectares of ancestral territory, preserve Native traditions, rituals, dances, stories, cuisine, architecture, hydrologic systems, and much more within the limits of our communities and townships. The fact that we do not walk around in plumes and body paint does not mean we gave up our identity as Mantas, Huancavilcas, Chonos, and Punaes. We recreate our identities in relation to the Ecuadorian State and Global society in order to promote efficient trading systems and create partnerships with other groups to secure our survival as people. This is what you call Sovereignty - the right to manage our culture and existence in relation to the world. The good news is we come a long way to secure our ancestral lands in spite of these attempts and the Comunero fervor, courage, and strength shows that Comunero Identities of Ancestral Indigenous Towns of the Southern Ecuadorian Coast will continue to ignite, inspire, and flourish with the new generation and so forth.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 17:12:18 +0000
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