By Candela Palacios (CS Staff)
“Dad, tell me again, why did you have to go so far away?”
“We hoped that way the claim for our land would finally be heard, my son.”
“But is the land not already ours?”
“Yes, son. It always has been. But some people want this fact to be forgotten, as we ourselves have been.” *
On June 15, 2023, the Constitutional Convention of the province of Jujuy, in the north of Argentina, approved a constitutional reform that severely rolls back achievements made at the national level in terms of human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The reform also criminalizes the act of protesting.
For centuries, the Indigenous Peoples who live in the north of Argentina in the province of Jujuy have maintained their culture and ways of life differently from people from other parts of the country. In Jujuy, there are more than 400 Indigenous communities, a majority of whom are Kolla Peoples, but also Guaraní and Oclolla.
After years of pressure from students and community groups, in April 2017, Harvard University announced that it will “pause” its investments in certain fossil fuel interests - including minerals, oil, and gas - citing the pressing problem of climate change as a reason to reevaluate their investment portfolio.
On November 27th, a group of organizations representing local farmers, Indigenous communities, and environmentalists gathered to protest in the Capital of Corrientes, Argentina, to demand an end to the land-grabbing by foreign investors in the province.
Across Argentina, Corrientes has the highest percentage of its land being sold to foreign investors, leaving communities unable to continue their traditional agricultural practices, animal grazing, and with diminishing levels of fresh water.
In October, a protest broke out in the village of Chavarria, in Corrientes, Argentina, bordering the Iberá wetlands, one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world and currently under threat by vast mono-cropped pine plantations in which Harvard University invests. While investing millions into plantations in the Iberá wetlands of Argentina, Harvard University continues to ignore concerns voiced by community members about their right to access their traditio
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
