3 years ago
1
ARTICLE AD BOX
Alliances the world over are crucial to achieving one’s agenda and goals. They can help strengthen the possibility of progress. The opposite is also true, however, as the incorrect alliance could ensure regress. Choosing an alliance is therefore quite interesting when noting geopolitics through the local indigenous lens.
Within the local indigenous movement, one can still observe indigenous peoples’ battle to find the correct alliances. As politics dominates media content and discourse in the country, this tends to be the focus among indigenous communities as well.
Which political party do we align with? Should we launch our own?
Even when forming a party, and with enough votes to participate politically, with whom do we go into coalition partnerships?
Embarrassingly, the Republic of SA still grossly marginalises its indigenous peoples, and choosing alliances has thus far reaped benefits not worth mentioning really. We are part of a global community though. Thanks to modern technology, we are able to effortlessly gain access to events and actions occurring on the international stage.
From this, we have the opportunity to observe, learn then improve the choices we make, resulting from the successes and failures of others. The |Xam and Khoe are not the only indigenous peoples on the planet. SA is not the only country that endured colonialism and continued exploitation by foreign (non-indigenous) forces after gaining “independence”.
Our expectations, therefore, of all three levels of government need a drastic update by indigenous peoples.
In its simplest form, one could argue the global stage is set around the West vs the rest. To a South African, an example of this is our relationship with the West vs our partnership within the Brics formation.
As a person indigenous to to these lands, my interest in these dynamics is shaped by what this all means to the |Xam and Khoe nations. In our engagements with the state, we often refer to progress on the international stage, with the intention to implement the same locally.
It is therefore intriguing to note developments from the perspective of “the West vs the rest”. As it stands, we refer to West-aligned states far more often when referencing indigenous progress. States such as New Zealand, Canada, Australia and the US have not only adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), they have adopted and implemented policies that allow for the inclusion of indigenous peoples, especially when it concerns indigenous affairs.
This has directly affected the advancement of the indigenous economies in these states. It has inspired the public and private sectors now addressing reconciliation through adopted policies. Commendable from the West, indeed. Through the indigenous lens, one could easily argue the SA government need only look at the “Western” example and implement similar practices.
This is amplified when noting that, in comparison, the Brics formation falls well short in addressing indigenous matters, so it was exhilarating to observe this changing in the last half of 2022.
Not being content with leading the acronym for the formation, Brazil undoubtedly leads the rest of the member states in addressing its indigenous peoples and affairs. During his campaigning, newly elected president Lula da Silva made a point to include the indigenous peoples in his vision for the way forward.
After winning the national elections in October 2022, Da Silva again displayed his commitment for the indigenous cause the following month. At COP27, held in Egypt, Brazil’s leader addressed the international indigenous delegations, echoing his commitment to indigenous causes. From observations, no other state’s leader received as welcome a reception from the indigenous delegates as Da Silva.
The reception at COP27, and from indigenous peoples across the globe, was earned and deserved. Da Silva has since followed on his campaign promises by delivering. Through urgently needed action, he has created a ministry in his government on indigenous affairs.
A staunch defender of the Amazon has been chosen as the country’s first indigenous minister, heading the new department. He is delivering on his promise to prioritise indigenous peoples.
The UN has since the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic been urging the international community to include indigenous peoples in work to solve the planet’s multitude of challenges.
This though is mostly focused on primary challenges such as pandemics and climate change, which are two areas that have directly affected billions across the globe over the past few years. What does this all mean to SA’s indigenous peoples?
Well, it sadly reveals that local thinking is confined to the realms of absurdity. This country’s government, dominated by what they refer to as “Africans in particular”, decided to legislate a policy known as the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Act (3 of 2019).
This is an act that can comfortably be contested in the courts, as it indisputably violates multiple indigenous peoples’ rights, as per UNDRIP, and therefore should, as a matter of principle, receive no support from any of the indigenous peoples. How does one then choose a political alliance within the republic?
No other governing party, whether also municipal or provincial, has adopted policies that are inclusive of indigenous peoples. Broadening that to the international arena, one needs to be cognisant too of those we seek to align with, as there’s clear evidence of their actions, and how an alliance with any of them might affect you and your peoples.
* |Khaeb is an advocate of indigenous affairs and an indigenous business leader
English (US)