What are linguistic rights for indigenous peoples?

Linguistic rights are fundamental human rights, are transversal in human rights because they allow the exercise of other rights such as adequate health care, education, access to information and due process, among others, among others.

As is known, language is inherent in our human condition and distinguishes us from other species, allows us to develop all our cognitive, creative capacity and manifest our condition of being social, spiritual, express physical, emotional, intellective needs, giveexistence to the world and things.Language capacity is done in languages or languages, so it is very important and needed their protection, mainly the language of girls and boys that acquire in the family, which is the basis for learning.When a language is imposed that is not that of speakers, human development capacity is blocked, cognitive, social, spiritual development is what has happened with indigenous peoples who have been imposed by the language of the conqueror, this case this case the Spanish.

According to the General Law on Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico, the linguistic law, “is the right of every Mexican to communicate in the language of which it is speaking, without restrictions in the public or private sphere, in an oral or written way, inall its social, economic, political, cultural, religious activities and any others ”, Article 10.

The project of linguistic rights of the indigenous peoples of Chile that is in Parliament defines as linguistic rights:

Linguistic rights are the collective and individual rights of a linguistic community, of the native peoples of Chile and the people:

Languages constitute the expression of the greatest cultural diversity that houses the human species, the death of one of them either leads us to the world of silence and the loss of our specificity as diverse beings, in addition to deeply injuring the human rights of the human rights of thecommunity or people who lose their tongue.

On October 9, the IV of the word of the ancestors was held, they are forums promoted by the network of linguistic and educational rights of the indigenous peoples of Chile, with the sponsorship of the Ragintu Lewfu collective and the Selk'nam indigenous communityCovadonga Ona.This time the forum addressed the issue of educational linguistic rights and the new Constitution.The event was attended by the Cantora and educator Aymara, Rosa Quispe, who was in the Tamarugal Pampa.Rapa Nui participated Virginia Haoa and Ariki Tepano who were in the same territory of Rapa Nui.From the Quechua town, Jeannette Pacheco, Santiago and, from the Mapuche town, the singer -songwriter Joel Maripil of Isla Wapi and Elisa Loncon today in Santiago today in Santiago.The forum was moderated by Belén Villena, a linguist committed to the assessment of Mapuzugun.In the event, artists and singersjoél Maripil and Rosa Quispe sang in their respective languages.

The linguistic rights were addressed from three perspectives: a) the demand of the peoples, b) proposal of two key concepts in the original language and culture that express the original thinking not decible in Spanish and that due to their importance for the diversity of thoughts mustbe in the Constitution and, c) a dream that participants have with their respective people and language.What follows is summarized by what is addressed by each participant.

On the people and language Rapa Nui, Virginia Haoa, teacher, living human treasure and promoter of the language on the island, recalled that Rapa Nui was prohibited by the Chilean State until 1975, the year in which the school could be incorporated as a subject as a subject as a subjectwith 4 hours weekly;By then 77% of Rapa Nui children were speakers of their language.This initiative did not have the expected fruits as for the maintenance of the language due to the lack of an adequate methodology for teaching and because most subjects were taught in Spanish.The Castellanized school and Rapa Nui was disused.In 1997 HaoA made a proposal to the Ministry of Education to authorize the Rapa Nui (PIR) immersion program as a pilot project, the request accepted the program the program operated for 8 years.Unfortunately, the experience was impacted by the Simce that in the school meant reducing the hours of Rapa Nui to increase the Spanish, this weakened the pir.In that then and as a measure in favor of the native language by the community, Rapa Nuipero Language was installed at school, the language continued to decrease its use and the group of students of the NUI Rapa subject was increasingly lesscompared to those who opted only for the Spanish.

Today Virginia already retired has designed and launched the Nidas Rapa Nui program, to reinstall the language in younger children, in the community and the family.The work is done autonomously without institutional dependence, with the support of the parents and institutions that collaborate economically and provide pedagogical, didactic resources (literary and dynamic texts of groups).From this experience, his desire is that he can be expanded to the gardens and schools.

Ariki Tepano When children participated in the PIR, today an adult is a language promoter;A year ago he was in charge of the Rapa Nui Linguistic Strengthening Plan of the Ministry of Education.He maintains that although the Ministry of Education recognized the PIR, he did not give him the relevance that this implied, “it cannot be that something as important as the right to be educated in his own language is at the will of the school director, if he wants wellAnd if not, too ".After 20 years that the PIR began, it has turned to the same point: seek recognition of the State for the recovery of the language and also for the educators who teach it, who are speakers without a professional title.On the other hand, it considers that its own education is possible but still financial, curricular human resources are needed that today do not exist.

They demand education in Rapa Nui true non -symbolic.The State has not complied with guaranteeing the rights to peoples, the Mineduc sends professors from the continent who do not know the language or rapanui culture, this does not favor the language or the rights of children.

They aspire that the Rapa Nui language as a polynotic language has the same standard as Hawayano and Maori in the other polynest territories;They are related languages and both are official languages in their countries where they guarantee the rights to speakers to study and use it from early childhood to university.

The proposed Rapa Nui concepts are: Mo'a that refers to respect in all its senses and Tapu, the establishment of norms, rules and laws that enforce this respect, be it the body itself as a temple, to another person, animal, to the earth, nature and the same thoughts, words and actions that affect our environment.

The Mapuzugun language is presented by Elisa Loncon.He maintains that the Mapuche language is in the heart of the Mapuche who speak it, with her walks as the ancestors to continue being Mapuche.

Last year the network for linguistic rights had on its agenda the IV Congress of Indigenous Languages, but the social outbreak came and the activity was postponed.However, a constituent meeting of indigenous languages was held on December 5, 2019 at the University of Santiago, there participated people speaking to different languages, including Quechua, Aymara, Rapa Nui, Selknam and Mapuzugun.Among the agreements achieved:

- Demand seats reserved for indigenous participation in the definition of the new Constitution.

- Guarantee to indigenous peoples political rights to decide matters related to their peoples, considering that today they do not decide for peoples.

- Ensure the exercise of educational and cultural linguistic rights of peoples and have linguistic policies that allow the uses of native languages in society.

- The State will have to repair the violation of rights, linguistic, cultural and cognitive violence suffered by peoples by forced Castilianization.

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- Recognition of the right to territory because without territory there is no language.

- Plurinational, intercultural and multilingual constitution.

The demands filed not only benefit the original peoples but also 87% of the Chilean population.Non -indigenous people may be multilinguals adopting communicative skills necessary to live in a world interconnected by diverse cultures and languages;Today the Chilean population is mostly monolingual, a condition that puts them in disadvantages in the knowledge society that requires understanding more languages, more cultures and enriching themselves with differences.

The recognition of languages is also demanded as living entities not isolated from people and communities, because languages are produced by people, their brains their voices and will live while the peoples are alive;Because the death of languages cannot be declared while the peoples live or refer to them as dying languages, because people as language beings can recover them under certain cultural, political and social conditions.

On the concepts in Mapuzugun to be incorporated into the Constitution, in addition to the KVME Mogen 'Good Living', the concept of azmapu, a philosophical concept that explains and orders the coexistence, the balance between human beings and nature, time, space, space, human life and nature.It has two branches, Azmogen and Normogen, Az Mogen contains all the lives of earth, culture, values, knowledge, experiences and nor mogen the norms of coexistence.A plurinational state must reflect the plurality of thoughts, languages, visions of the world and first of all avoid the imposition of philosophies, languages, cultures that oppress people's freedom but even more, their being and their soul.

Keyuk Yanten, member of the Selk’nam Community, Covadonga Ona.It reaffirms the need to conceive of languages linked to people and community, it reflects that languages are not separated from speakers, languages "belong to our being" and their defense serves to mobilize culture, tradition and other rights.The Selk`nam people are a deeply violated people, to whom the genocide from the State was applied.In the Constitution, the patrimonial defense should also be installed because the original peoples are often objects of cultural appropriation and this has been naturalized in society since there are no mechanisms for the protection of indigenous heritage;At present, anyone outside the people can take words and register them as brands.In Magallanes, Selk’nam ancestral territory overexploitation is overexploitation and trade drives the people to a forced link with tourism that does not benefit them but transforms the people into exotic and this leads to impoverishment, reductionism of their culture.Spirituality and hain ‘initiation ceremony’ is exploited, two categories that minimize, being selk’nam is much more than that.

Intercultural education must be transverse and influence from curriculum with the knowledge and values of all peoples, this will allow us to get to know and overcome the prejudices, present in the system today.

The languages of Patagonia are extremely violated, the Yagan has a native speaker 5 learners, the Kawesqar 7 speakers, the selknam 5 neo speakers;Therefore it is necessary to have linguistic policies that give impulse to linguistic strengthening.

As the concept of the Selk`nam people for the new Constitution, the word Hoyken is proposed, which means living the movement according to the circularity of the world and in freedom, they are not only the movements of nature are also linked to self -government to autonomy.The respect and assessment of their own original authorities must also be established and educational institutions will have to promote collective, territorial cultural development of the respective peoples

Rosa Quispe reflects on the teaching of native peoples and recognizes the responsibility that each generation has in the transmission of language and culture at home, there are generational duties that cannot be forgotten and calls to become collective awareness of this role.It is true that the city does not offer good conditions for traditional teaching but in the field are the tools to be able to teach, you can experience learning, live and direct.

The new Constitution will have to guarantee respect for peoples, not supplant their cultural, religious manifestations, no one who is not Aymara can make a ceremony El Aymara because their people would never do a Mapuche ceremony for example and unfortunately this usually occurs, it is not respectedThe right to self -representation of the people.The Constitution must guarantee linguistic and cultural rights because language and culture are inseparable, including recognizing the values of peoples, in the Aimara case: being a worker, not being lazy, not stealing, not lying and respecting the elderly

Jennette Pacheco, a speaker of Quechua points out the need for a linguistic policy and that is also including the other types of languages, not only the oral, but the symbols and designs, because the languages are present in all indigenous chores.Heritage also contains a language, there is language in the carving of stone, in clothes;iconography is a type of language that must be taken care of.Today the mining relae Petroglyphs and geoglyphs, there is no respect for indigenous records, although they compensate the communities for damages, the ancestral works destroyed in the territory will not recover, so they must be careful, because they are the heritage ofOur peoples.

The recognition of the dialect variants is also pertinent, in the case of Quechua de Santiago and nearby territories they use Pentalinguistic writing.In the educational system it is necessary to eliminate 20 % of demand for the application of the subject of indigenous language, end folklorization and reductionism of indigenous knowledge and cultural appropriation.He comments that "When I only met the Diaguitas for the Pato Jug" the educational curriculum has postponed all the wealth of the peoples.

The concept of its language for the new Constitution is the sum Kawsay, which means the relationship of spiritual link with nature, being in harmony with nature;This recognizes the life of living beings and interdependence between human beings and animals.Also include Pacha Mama as a subject of law, the spiritual being of the Pacha Mama, territoriality, animal trees, air, ocean seas, subsoil soil

Among the dreams that participants have for their peoples, they point out: the Rapa Nui people want the principles, values Rapa Nui, to live well, share the territory with our language, our way of being, that the spirituality of being Rapa NuiDo not remain excluded."The Congress was discussing the name of our island, an unbush discussion, this is a tremendous disrespect, our root of polynest people must be respected, and that is part of our dream". Por otro lado, es fundamental el derecho al territorio, la lengua integra a la persona y es inherente al territorio, “el territorio es el útero materno, kaiŋa en lengua rapa nui, donde se desarrolla el niño, nos alimentamos de nuestro territorio”

Ariki says that grandchildren again live as our grandparents lived, without overexploitation of our brothers and nature.

For Jeannette, from La Voz Quechua, the dream is to be among brothers Quechua and Tratrsebien, that the name of brother and sister is not used in vain.On the other hand, the Andean are all members of the Tawantinsuyo people, "we have no borders and we can go to help the other territories of the same town, without borders".A Quechua Bolivian can help its people from another territory.

The Mapuche dream is for children to speak Mapuzugun and run free through the territory without the police repression in front;May the future be Mapuche, Elisa expresses it.

Keyuk, his dream is to be able to live according to the cultural precepts of his people.Struggle for cultural and linguistic rights;His people, even if it is raw to say that they hunted the indigenous people, is the story that Chile must know so that it does not happen again.Living the spiritual connection is a reason for living and this needs the territorial bond.

For Rosa, his dream is that Aymara culture and language never die, that grandchildren feel proud to be Aymara, live without fear of being discriminated, that they are respected as such and that perceive music and dance Aymara.

The conversation closes and leaves a great agenda and pending questions, including: What strategies will the peoples follow so that the linguistic, cultural and educational demands lead to the future Constitution?.With what methodology each people will collect the concerns, needs of the different territories regarding linguistic rights, the feeling of the people and the contents?And who are the greatest allies (personalities, political parties, groups, others) for the recognition of indigenous and linguistic rights in particular?.The last two were formulated by the outstanding academic Margarita Canio.Elizabeth Antilef also pointed out that linguistic rights must be incorporated not as a principle of good parenting but as binding rights and norms, the State has to fulfill a guarantor role of such rights.

The participation of indigenous people in the new Constitution is still uncertain, it is still necessary to seek mechanism to strengthen proposals and collectivize demands between peoples.