Report by Marie-Danielle Samuel, Yachay Wasi:

In October 2002, the Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the United Nations, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, introduced the resolution A/C.2/57/L.13 to the Second Committee. The General Assembly in December 2002 adopted this resolution proclaiming May 21 as the “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development”. Final Document is A/RES/57/249

UNESCO sponsored the first commemoration of this Day on 21 May 2003 at UN Hqrs, in collaboration with Yachay Wasi, as a side event to the Second Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (12-23 May 2003), which is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with a mandate to discuss Indigenous Issues related to inter alia culture and development.

Background of Yachay Wasi’s involvement - In May 2002 and on behalf of the NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Yachay Wasi organized a Panel Discussion at NY University, during the first Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and during the International year of Cultural Heritage, entitled: “Cultural Heritage and Sacred Sites: World Heritage from an Indigenous perspective”. Speakers included Dr. Jones Kyazze, UNESCO Rep. to United Nations, Dr. Sarah Titchen, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, representatives from OHCHR, Secretariat on Biological Diversity and Indigenous Nations, including Mr. Luis Delgado Hurtado, President of Yachay Wasi.

This, and previous collaborations with UNESCO since 1992, prompted Yachay Wasi to apply for official partnership with UNESCO. This was done in December 2002. Marie-Danielle Samuel, Yachay Wasi Vice President and Main Rep. to UN, subsequently mentioned by phone to a UNESCO Officer in Paris that, contrary to her desire to do a follow-up on the Sacred Sites panel, it seemed that she would not be able to do anything during this Second Session of the PFII. He then asked her to think about preparing an event with UNESCO for the May 21 first Commemoration of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development as a side event to the Second session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Before traveling to Paris as Observer to the Extraordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee in March 2003, Marie-Danielle Samuel approached Susan Byng-Clarke in UNESCO NY Office for the possibility of organizing this event. With Ms. Byng-Clarke’s positive consideration of working on this, Ms. Samuel was able to obtain UNESCO funding which was wired from Paris to UNESCO NY Office on April 4, 2003. She was then able to confirm the project with the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues who had reacted positively to the proposal. The Mayor’s office of the City of New York was contacted as this Day will be celebrated annually and to, hopefully make the month of May, in this “capital of the world”, synonym with international and traditional cultural diversity.

Highlights

A symbolic* 4 minutes DVD entitled “Machu Picchu, the Sacred City of the Inkas”, featuring photographs by Luis Delgado Hurtado, was shown.

It was indeed gratifying to hear the name of Yachay Wasi referred to several times by Dr. Jones Kyazze, UNESCO Representative to the UN, in his introduction to the program and in his featured speech, including his unexpected mention of the name of Marie-Danielle Samuel, Yachay Wasi, as co-organizer of the event with Susan Byng-Clarke, UNESCO; Luis Delgado Hurtado, President of Yachay Wasi’s greeting in Quechua, the haunting music by Wayno and the sights of Machu Picchu shown in this UN Conference room expressed for the members of Yachay Wasi a timely spiritual significance.

The speakers in panel were well chosen to convey the purpose of this Day.

Mr. Kevin Sanders, moderator, commented on a planetary citizenship celebrated as a mosaic of cultures and introduced H.E. Gert Rosenthal (Guatemala), President of ECOSOC, who mentioned the second session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and expressed his respect for cultural diversity. He referred to the excellent work of the World Commission on Culture and Development with its President Javier de Cuellar and having as a member Ole Henrik Magga, who is the current Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Dr. Jones Kyazze, UNESCO representative to UN, stated that since 1945 UNESCO has emphasized the importance of culture. Over the years, with the help of the United Nations, UNESCO has established culture as a key aspect of the life, actions and well being of the human race. He touched upon all the declarations and conventions, days, years and decades UNESCO has originated. He quoted from an appeal from the Director-General of UNESCO to Member States to commemorate the 21st of May as an excellent means to raise public awareness over the values of cultural diversity and promoting the art of living together. He quoted an appeal also to involve decision makers, but also and in particular Indigenous communities, …artists, associations and the media. “By associating Yachay Wasi people and Discovery Channel to today’s event, that is actually what I am trying to do this afternoon.” (Quote)

Ms. Njuma Ekundanayo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Vice Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, wished a happy Day to all members of the Human family. She stated that since the creation of modern countries, Indigenous peoples and their culture have always been marginalized and unknown. Some lost their lands, their sacred sites…She gave appreciation to the United Nations for their work on behalf of Indigenous Peoples but gave a warning that Cultural Diversity be utilized objectively by UNESCO toward a sustainable development with Indigenous participation.

Ms. Sayu Bhojwani, New York City Commissioner for Immigrant Affairs, spoke of the diversity of immigrants in the capital of the world.

”Endangered languages”, a co-production of UNESCO, UN Works and Discovery Channel, was screened

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* A symbolic 4 minutes DVD entitled “Machu Picchu, the Sacred City of the Inkas”, featuring photographs by Luis Delgado Hurtado, was shown.

This showing was symbolic as it is in opposition to the view expressed by the curators of the current highly publicized exhibit on Machu Picchu by Yale University. The following text was part of a handout by Yachay Wasi for this Day:

THE INKA CHALLENGE:

From desecration of human remains to Sacred Sites

Spirituality, which is expressed in religion, is at the core of the fabric of human beings.

Religions, especially ancient religions, are not evaluated for their true meanings and are denigrated by misconceptions carried thru centuries by clergies, universities, press, magazines, television, films etc…This is particularly the case with the religion of the Inkas*. (*Inka - Alfabeto Basico del Quechua Imperial (Revista Municipal del Qosqo, 1991))

One basis of racism and religious intolerance, propagated by Western scholars, has been to denigrate the pre-Columbian religions as pagan worship of "gods" such as sun god or mountain god in Inka religion. One of its consequences has been the desecration by scientists of Inka burial sites in the Andes and display of Indigenous remains.

The same ignorance is expressed in a current traveling exhibition which tries to demonstrate that Machu Picchu, the Sacred city of the Inkas, was nothing but a resort, a “Camp David” to the Inca elite. From NY Times, March 18, 2003: “Working with new evidence and a trove of re-examined relics, many of them recovered from the basement of a Yale museum here, archaeologists have revised their thinking about the significance of Machu Picchu, the most famous ''lost city'' of the Incas.”

TIME magazine, Feb. 16, 2003: “More than 90 years after Machu Picchu first landed on the scientific map, modern archaeologists are making a persuasive case that it wasn't a spiritual center at all. Machu Picchu, it turns out, may have been nothing more than a mountain retreat for the Emperor Pachacuti and his royal court, sort of a 15th century Camp David.”

The two curators in this case are funded by Yale University to promote their assumptions, but Indigenous organizations do not have resources to proclaim the views of the descendants of the Inkas. Assumptions, because no one can prove what really happened. But press and scholars should respect Indigenous peoples who do have an oral tradition and consider Machu Picchu a sacred site.

One positive outcome of this exhibition is that “Peru wants Yale University to give back Machu Picchu relics” Associated Press, Lima, Peru - March 6, 2003.

The INKA CHALLENGE when started in 1996 by Yachay Wasi was: “Will American scientists and their American non-profit sponsors respect Indigenous Peoples’ spiritual heritage in foreign countries?”

Prompted by a NY Times article May 8, 1996 “Archeologists in Peru oppose loan of Inca Mummy to US” announcing the May 21- June 19, 1996 exhibit of a 500 years old Inca young girl’s remains at Washington DC headquarters of National Geographic Society, Yachay Wasi started its Inka Challenge Campaign with a petition against the exhibit. It continued in 1998 against the Florida International Museum Exhibit in cooperation with the American Indian Movement of Florida and in 1999 against the unearthing of Inka children’s remains in the Andes. In June 2001, at the end of Yachay Wasi’s first Encounter of Indigenous Communities in the High Andes in Acopia, Peru, a statement was faxed to UNESCO World Heritage Centre asking that Machu Picchu be recognized and respected as a Sacred Site and that Indigenous Peoples have a say in its protection so that incidents such as the chipping of the ancestral stone of Inti Watana by a beer commercial crane in September 2000 can be prevented in the future.

A direct result was the funded invitation by UNESCO World Heritage Centre for Luis Delgado Hurtado, President of Yachay Wasi, to travel from Cuzco to participate in the Proposed World Heritage Indigenous Peoples Council of Experts (WHIPCOE) Winnipeg Workshop in November 2001. However, WHIPCOE was terminated as UNESCO World Heritage Committee turned down its implementation in December 2001.

In 2002, the Inka Challenge became:

“Will world governments, scientists, non-profit sponsors and tourists respect Indigenous Peoples’ spiritual heritage: religion, burial sites and human remains and will the International community respect and allow them to protect their sacred sites?”