This thesis examines the potential of the indigenous right to internal self-determination as a framework accommodating the demands of the Niger Delta Peoples for Self-determination within the sovereignty of Nigeria. The unsustainable exploitation of crude oil in the Niger Delta resulted in the ecological devastation of the region and adversely affected the Niger Delta People's subsistent traditional mode of using their lands. The response of the Niger Delta People was originally to seek redress by instituting legal actions in Nigerian courts. The failure of the majority of these actions, and the combined factors of the exclusion of the Niger Delta People from the process and proceeds of the oil industry and their marginalization in the political and administrative structure of Nigeria resulted in the demand by the Niger Delta People that Nigeria recognize their right to self-determination. They justified this demand for self-determination with the arguments that:  Their dispossession from their lands by the government in Nigeria was akin to the exploitation of indigenous peoples in the Americas by colonial settlers.  The unsustainable exploitation of resources in their territory placed them in the same position as colonized peoples experienced under foreign domination in the era of colonization. In a bid to protect her sovereignty, Nigeria does not recognize the rights of self-determination or 'peoplehood' or even minority status of any ethnic groups within Nigeria. This thesis argues that the indigenous right to internal self-determination is a framework that has the potential to bring lasting solution to the conflict between the Niger Delta people and the government of Nigeria for the following reasons:  Indigenous internal self-determination prescribes a category of self-determination that is consistent with the sovereignty of states because it recommends inter alia autonomy with the territories of states. Indigenous internal self-determination provides a regime for sustainable development of resources as it recommends inter alia that states recognize the right of indigenous peoples to participation, consultation and free prior informed consent in the exploitation of resources in indigenous peoples' territory.

International bi-lateral agreements to support the conservation of rainforests in order to mitigate climate change are growing in prevalence. Through the concept of REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) these look to incentivise developing countries to maintain their natural forests. Guyana and Norway formed such an agreement in 2009, establishing Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). In this research I examine the extent to which the government of Guyana has achieved in facilitating the participation and inclusion of Guyana’s indigenous population within the LCDS. This is conducted through a single site case study, focussing on the experiences and perceptions from the Amerindian community of Chenapou. I conducted 30 interviews with members of the community, supporting this with participant observation and an analysis of relevant documents. I find that a deficit of adequate dialogue and consultation has occurred in the six years since the LCDS was established. Moreover, I identify that key indigenous rights, inscribed at both a national and international level, have not been upheld in respect to the community of Chenapou within the LCDS. These findings largely support prior research, identifying a consistent failure of the LCDS to achieve genuine participation and the distinct marginalisation of Amerindian communities. It is suggested that the status quo of marginalisation of Amerindian forest users in Guyana is reinforced within the LCDS. Critique is made of the LCDS model and the perceived failure to act on previous research. It is suggested that contextualised governance, which supports the engagement of marginal forest dependent communities, is required if the LCDS and REDD+ programmes are to be effective. Failure to do so can be deleterious for all interested parties.

This thesis examines the interactions of two non-indigenous algae, Mazzaella japonica and Sargassum muticum, where they co-exist and their impacts on native species in their recipient habitats. Field and lab experiments were conducted to determine if they impact native seaweed communities, marine invertebrates, and supralittoral regions. In situ studies conducted in areas where Mazzaella japonica exists without Sargassum muticum found that removal of M. japonica allowed for an increase of native seaweed abundance and richness growing in fully subtidal regions, but had no detectable impact on native seaweeds growing in intertidal regions. Additionally, at the intertidal site, removal of M. japonica resulted in the recruitment of S. muticum. In regions where the two non-indigenous seaweeds co-exist, removal of both non-indigenous seaweeds negatively impacted native seaweeds. The magnitude of this negative impact was greater in subtidal compared to intertidal regions. M. japonica removal had a greater impact on native seaweed recovery than did S. muticum removal in areas of co-existence. Removal of Mazzaella japonica also allowed for a significant increase in percent cover of Sargassum muticum at both sites where these two seaweeds co-exist. An increase in percent cover of M. japonica was found at the subtidal site when S. muticum was removed. Though both species increased when reprieved from competition with the other non-indigenous species, removal of M. japonica had a far greater influence on the increase in cover of S. muticum. This suggests that M. japonica is the dominant competitor in the ecosystem outcompeting S. muticum. Field surveys found Mazzaella japonica was the dominant wrack species washing up on beaches in Baynes Sound. Though Sargassum muticum is also a component of the wrack, it has a disproportionately large influence as a spatial subsidy on beach habitats. S. muticum decayed and decomposed at a faster rate than M. japonica and all native seaweeds tested except for Chondracanthus exasperatus. Additionally, S. muticum was colonized by significantly more invertebrates than either M. japonica or Fucus spp. Results from these studies are intended to provide information for resource managers making policy decisions regarding the fate of these two non-indigenous species. / Graduate / 0329

The purpose of this study was to explore whether Indian counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK practice in an indigenous way with their Indian clients. The aim was to find out more information about the different types of Indian indigenous interventions that may currently be used by these professionals. The study also bridges the gap in the literature about the lack of research on the practical uses and applications of Indian indigenous counselling skills in the UK.The study reports data from six face-to-face open-ended semi-structured interviews with Indian counsellors who have been trained in Western psychotherapeutic approaches and have knowledge of Indian psychotherapeutic approaches. The research was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Firstly, the analysis concluded the use of several Indian indigenous interventions used by the participants, such as Prekshadhyan which can be used for psychosomatic pain relief, Jain virtue of forgiveness which can be useful for working with sexual abuse, use of spirituality and cultural beliefs for bereavement, and so on. Secondly, the analysis identified some of the most common barriers to therapy (e.g. stigmas and taboos) experienced by Indian clients in the UK, and it provided suggestions on how to overcome these. Finally, the analysis suggested factors that therapists should pay attention to (e.g. client context and use of Indian languages) in order to maximise Indian clients’ engagement in therapy and to minimise their exclusion from it.

This thesis presents a rhetorical analysis of the Guerra del Gas movement in Bolivia from 2003 to 2005. It views the social movement and its major uprisings as emerging from a subaltern counterpublic that grounded its resistance in uniquely indigenous rhetoric. Chapter one provides a theoretical framework for understanding indigenous rhetoric as embodying a discourse of subaltern sensibilities and situating subaltern counterpublic theory within the historic-cultural situation of Bolivia to understand contemporary struggles over natural resources and against neoliberal politics within the country. The indigenous rhetoric of the Guerra del Gas movement provided a direct refutation of natural gas privatization and neoliberal hegemony. The second chapter is a case study that explores the indigenous rhetoric of the October 2003 and May-June 2005 uprisings that characterized the subaltern counterpublic sphere of the Guerra del Gas movement. In chapter three the theoretical frame of subaltern rhetoric is established to analyze Evo Morales’ inaugural address as an embodiment of a discourse of subaltern sensibilities. The conclusion chapter offers some directions for further research and considers how understanding indigenous rhetoric has implications for social struggle and organized resistance in a world of increasing globalization and neoliberal hegemonic policymaking. / text

In the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, many indigenous communities further their struggles for greater political and cultural autonomy by working with transnational non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Communication technology (what I call comtech) is increasingly vital to these intersecting socio-spatial relations of activism and advocacy. In this dissertation, I examine how comtech offer indigenous individuals and organizations with the means for visualizing their political-cultural agendas. Approaching the access and use of comtech, especially video technologies, as a partial and situated technoscience, I inquire into how and why these activities reconfigure the production and evaluation of authoritative knowledge about indigenous peoples, places, and practices. More specifically, I undertook an organizational ethnography of a small intermediary NGO comprised of individuals who self-identify as indigenous and others who do not, Ojo de Agua Comunicacin Indgena, which endeavors to place communication technologies (especially video equipment) at the disposal of indigenous communities. Through participation-observation and interviews, I explored this groups everyday strategies of networking in the name of assisting indigenous actors access and appropriation of visual technologies. I also pursued interpretive analyses of video-mediated articulations of indigenous knowledge and identity that were enabled by Ojo de Agua. My research indicates that Ojo de Agua has selectively built upon the ambitions and the socio-spatial connections of a government program that emerged from the initiatives of academic advocates, who sought to open new spaces of participation for indigenous peoples. Members of Ojo de Agua have, however, found their goal of service somewhat stymied by a situation that positions them within a flexible labor force of knowledge workers. Their livelihoods as media makers did not allow them (the time or money) to pursue as much altruism and advocacy as they would have liked. Nonetheless, Ojo de Aguas corpus of videos established the group as an alternative and yet authoritative source of visual knowledge of indigenous peoples, places, and practices. This relocation of advocacy is symptomatic of the creative destruction fueled by the neo-liberal economic policies that, for the last thirty years, have been reconfiguring spaces of cooperation and conflict in Latin America.

This dissertation reconstructs the settlement of the Middle Jubba Valley of Somalia by ex-slaves, their descendents, and other Somalis from 1850 to the present. It is an historical study of the construction of a social identity of the Jubba Valley agriculturalist population, and of the evolution of land tenure and land use patterns in the mid-valley. In examining the effects on valley farmers of new land tenure laws requiring registration of land, it shows how power dynamics are integral to the working of land tenure systems.

This dissertation explores the impact of multiculturalism on the relationship between ethno-racial social movements and the Venezuelan State. It assesses movements´s capacity to achieve recognition and redistribution within a State embracing anti-neoliberal multicultural discourses and policies.I conducted a comparative ethnographic study of two ethno-racial movements in northwestern Venezuela - the Ayamán-turero indigenous organization located in Lara state and the Afrodescendant movement in Yaracuy state. In order to explain the contemporary variations of these movements´s strategic capacities, I proposed the concept of mobilizing habitii - which I defined as the multilayered dispositions, practices, perceptions, and values orienting social mobilization. I argue that the mobilizing habitii of social organizations can be explored by examining their collective actions frames, strategic actions, and habitual practices. Historical evidence suggests that Ayamán mobilizing habitii have been characterized by strategies of avoidance, while Afroyaracuyan mobilizing dispositions have been shaped by their direct engagement with the State.My comparative research also suggests that Afroyaracuyan people from Veroes have managed to engage in successful territorial struggles, involving effective land redistribution. In contrast, Ayamán people have focused their efforts on reproducing State cultural performances and local ritual practices. However access to material resources, still remains limited for this indigenous population, and almost impossible to achieve through ethno-racial forms of mobilization.My comparative endeavor also shows how the Venezuela multicultural project represents a significant rupture with other Latin American neoliberal multicultural projects. Since 2006, the Venezuelan State has been indigenized, by representing indigenous peoples as the "seeds" and "holders" of the socialist project. The State has institutionalized some indigenous organizations by controlling their resources and by politicizing some leaders. Paradoxically, afrodescendant peoples have remained at the legal margins of this process, facing the ideological barriers of the myths of racial democracy and mestizaje.My conclusions suggest, that ethnic recognition in Bolivarian Venezuela ensures limited redistribution of material resources, while it simultaneously re-essentializes ethno-racial categories and produces new subjectivities. In other words, ethno-racial mobilization is limited for achieving substantial material resources, even in States which are implementing anti-neoliberal multicultural policies.

No description available.

The 306 kilometer Villa Tunari - San Ignacio de Moxos highway project was designed in 2008 as part of an interoceanic corridor to foster greater integration of the capitalist economy in South America. Despite its double status as a protected ecological and Indigenous Territory, this highway was designed to cut through the center of the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS). Construction began in 2011. The response was immediate; marches and protests were held both against and for the highway. Construction was then put on hold as consultations were held with communities who live within the borders of TIPNIS. Despite the existence of numerous documents regarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples, their operationalization has been deeply problematic. The TIPNIS highway project received wide spread international attention when members of the Eighth Indigenous March in Defense of TIPNIS were attacked and detained by police in September of 2011. This thesis will illustrate that this was not an isolated phenomenon. Rather this, and subsequent events, are deeply embedded within the colonial framework in which they are taking place. By highlighting the larger power structures that exist, as well as the strength and courage of Indigenous Lowlanders and those who stand in solidarity with them, questions such as, ‘Why is this highway project so contentious?’, become clearer. / Thesis (Master, Global Development Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-20 22:06:56.878