Context:
Indigenous communities carry on the work of renowned Honduran activist, Berta Cacéres, by defending nature and health care in Honduras. Peace Science shows the unique power of indigenous civil resistance.
In The News:
“Carrying torches, Cáceres’ supporters marched to the city center of La Esperanza to demand justice for her 2016 assassination. The march was made up of students from the Honduran National Autonomous University, families from the communities organized by the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, or COPINH, which Cáceres founded in the early 1990s, as well as international supporters of the late environmental activist”.
Since the founding of COPINH in 1993, the organization has gained international notoriety for their work to defend the environment from the advancement of capitalist development that favors extractive industries. But the group has also worked diligently to build autonomy for the Lenca people and defend the Lenca territory from the expansion of energy and mining projects in the region.
Support From Peace Science:
- Indigenous civil resistance movements build connections with other Indigenous allies globally and with non-Indigenous settler allies locally, who can support Native-led civil resistance movements in various ways, including as a protective presence at actions or protests.
- Indigenous civil resistance—which affirms the sovereign rights of Native communities as nations—is unique among other forms of civil resistance insofar as it can leverage treaty rights in its struggles for justice.
- Common issues at stake in Indigenous civil resistance movements include treaty rights, environmental protection, tribal health care, law enforcement, borders/boundaries, tribal dignity, consultation (on various policies affecting tribes), and basic sovereignty.
References:
- “Indigenous Communities Carry On Berta Cacéres’ Work By Defending Nature And Health Care In Honduras” By Jeff Abbott For Waging Nonviolence. March 21, 2018.
- Peace Science Digest Volume 2, Special Issue: Nonviolent Resistance. “Indigenous Civil Resistance and Treaty Rights”.
