SIT helps Mapuche delegates attend Protecting Mother Earth conference
July 17th, 2018 | SIT, SIT Study Abroad
Recently, SIT International Honors Program Human Rights staff in Chile led a fundraising effort to send a delegation of indigenous Mapuche聽leaders to the聽聽near Seattle, Washington.
鈥淎t SIT, we talk a lot about reciprocity, and the importance of building meaningful two-way relationships with our host communities. 鈥� Now it鈥檚 our turn to return the hospitality through a shared commitment to support Mapuche activists to advance their movements.鈥�
-Chris Westcott, Program Director, SIT IHP, Human Rights: Foundations, Challenges, and Advocacy
The conference was organized by the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). The IEN, founded in 1990, is an effort by and for indigenous people 鈥渢o address environmental and economic justice issues.鈥� IEN鈥檚 goal is to aid indigenous people worldwide in building economically sustainable communities and protecting sacred sites, land, and natural resources.
The delegates:
Leonardo Sim贸n Cris贸stomo Loncop谩n was raised in a Mapuche community with his grandparents. He is a spokesman for the Mapuche communities and lecturer on Mapuche ancestral philosophy.
Ruben Sanchez Curihuentro, is the son of the Lonko (head of the local Mapuche community), and speaks the Mapuche language. He represents communities resisting hydrolectric plants in Chile.
At Protecting Mother Earth, the Mapuche delegates joined hundreds of indigenous activists for four days of workshops and events.
SIT鈥檚 program visits Chile, Jordan, Nepal, and the United States to study human rights movements and the roles of culture, identity, political economy, and international law.