Indigenous Leaders Say ‘We Want to Be Part of Conversations’

A network of Indigenous leaders from across the country recently convened for a dialogue to amplify their voices and address environmental issues in their indigenous spaces. Supported by the University of California, the event was held both online and in person at the Sir Colville N. Young Building in Belize City on Tuesday, featuring leaders from the Maya and Garifuna groups. The event highlighted the importance of including Indigenous voices in environmental policy discussions and urged policymakers to listen and involve them in decisions about their lands and resources. Here’s more from one of the leaders who attended. Garifuna Leader, Cynthia Ellis, told us more.

 

Cynthia Ellis, Garifuna Leader, Indigenous People’s Network

“This gathering is to presence the indigenous voices, the people whose voices that are often not heard, you know? The thing is that these people have for long been living in the on these lands and in these communities, and they have woken up sometimes and seen different projects and programs that are being developed in our space. And we have not been involved in the planning and implementation of these projects. So we are just presencing ourselves. Plan recommend themselves, and these plans say, Here I am to participate in my own development. We are having an indigenous peoples network, which includes Maya, Garifuna, Creole, and all these people who have an interest in upgrading and uplifting the spaces of our people. I’m talking the forest. I’m talking about Barranco, Hopkins, and Seine Bight; all these coastal communities where we have the situations of intense development, high-rise resorts, and all that kind of development, which often compromises the situation of our cultural way of life.”