August 8, 2008 by Rudolph Ryser.

There are usually three ways people think about the Olympic Games no matter which state government hosts: Power Politics, Athletics and Corporate Greed. Athletics is the purest of these with a motive uplifting to humanity. The vast majority of athletes engaged in Olympic contests have worked to achieve excellence…the kind of excellence one imagines achievable by the very best. Each seeks to achieve perfection. Peoples throughout the world are inspired by the individual commitment, strength of character and mark of perfect success that athletes in the Games make their goal. Like dancers, musicians, sculptures, painters, composers, writers, and spiritual explorers, athletes have one primary goal: the perfect.

The “Games” have their roots in the nations of Macdeonia and Greece, but lest we forget the Mayans in their time invented “Games” too. A game similar to soccer or football has been played for more than three thousand years. The Uygurs of East Turkestan invented games involving perfection in horsemanship; and the Houdenousaunee invented the exacting and strenuous game: Lacross. The nations of the northern Pacific Coast have canoe races for which participants train for years to achieve the highest and best.

The Peoples’ Republic of China hosts the Olympics in Bejing amid considerable controversy over its power politics: Treatment and invasion of Tibet, Treatment and invasion of Uyguristan (East Turkestan), Treatment of genocide in the Darfur region in the Sudan, and Treatment of Biafrans over Nigeria’s oil policies. the PRC is deeply responsible for serious problems in places that benefit its economy such as in Indonesia, and Burma. Should these matters be ignored and set aside while the games go on? No, I don’t think so.

Corporations like Exxon and Nestle benefit enormously from the Games when they shield their indiscretions behind the contests that inspire.

Should we all appreciate the virtues of atheletic achievement? Certainly. Should be ignore the hurt and desctructon policies caused by the Peoples’ Republic of China that undermine the life and cultures mainly Fourth World nations? Definitely not.

Should we ignore the indescretions and greedy behaviour of corporations while the Games proceed? Absolutely not.

We must praise those who are praise worthy and condemn those who bring misery to the lives of our fellow human beings.

(c) 2008 Center for World Indigenous Studies

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August 8, 2008 by Jay Taber.

The Indigenous Movement is a term used to describe original peoples whose culture is still extant, that continue to perceive themselves as a distinct nation or tribe in opposition to the dominant structures and narratives of state-centric and market-oriented systems of social organization. One characteristic these ancient political entities share are systems of governance, cosmology, and economics that precede modern states, religions, and other such institutions.

At the 1999 UN Development Programme workshop on indigenous peoples, Fourth World participants observed that as long as Western society doesn’t understand their need to protect the environment from capital interests still exploiting their natural resources, no resolution on development is possible. To illustrate their common philosophy, indigenous representatives from around the world made presentations highlighting indigenous peoples’ spirituality and the special relationship that exists between spirituality and the environment—the spirituality that makes indigenous peoples particular as a group.

The sacredness natural resources hold in their communities and the constant threat by government sponsored economic interests, they noted, is what motivated the indigenous movement to work in partnership with the UNDP, explaining to the international institution how to own things collectively, “because it is the owning and the becoming rich that has been destroying the earth for the last few hundred years.”

With the resurgence of indigenous leadership in North and South America in recent years, the critical mass of the world’s unrepresented ancient nations and original peoples is finally beginning to dismantle the 500-year-old wall of denial. And despite all the distortion and deception mustered by modern states like Russia, China, and the US, the authentic message of peoples close to nature is getting through. That message — that they, as the ancient seed of later migrations, are the proprietors of a natural consciousness vital to the survival of mankind, and perhaps more importantly, are ready to share this knowledge with anyone willing to treat them with respect — comes none too soon.

As we witness the collapse of the planetary ecosystem and the breakdown of modern states built on foundations of aggression, this act of generosity by the Fourth World is one we would be wise to accept. But whether or not we enter into this new relationship with the world’s 7,000 surviving aboriginal societies, depends largely on our willingness to listen attentively to their stories and to learn to navigate the sacred dimensions of human relationships summarized by author Jamake Highwater as follows: “Freedom is not the right to express yourself, but the far more fundamental right to be yourself…The abiding principle of tribalism is the vision of both nature and a society which provides a place for absolutely everything and everyone.”

For the Maori, Saami, Bushmen and Basques, the World Indigenous Movement — catalyzed thirty years ago by First Nations in British Columbia — is now gaining recognition in international fora like the EU, UN, and International Criminal Court; how we respond to this moral challenge will determine whether our future is one of rapprochement and coexistence, or one of violence and misery.

The World Indigenous Movement is now fighting what Fourth World nations perceive as the final battles to protect their lands, knowledge, and ways of life from total annihilation. All the world’s natural resources, governing institutions, and economic structures are involved in this conflict. Absent satisfactory resolution of this fundamental disagreement, no modern societies will long be able to meet their basic needs in terms of mobility, energy, security, food, or water.

(Jay Taber — recipient of the Defender of Democracy award — is an author, columnist, and research analyst at Public Good Project.)

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