Oxfam America

Background


INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES

Indigenous people enjoy special rights to their lands and territories. Regardless, governments do not always honor their commitments to guarantee these rights, nor do some indigenous communities understand them or know how to defend their land rights.

Oxfam's South America program makes assistance to indigenous organizations a priority, helping them get the training they need to not only understand their rights to control their lands, but also to ensure their rights are respected.

This area of work has become more essential in recent years, as governments and international corporations seeking minerals and petroleum resources step up their incursions into native lands in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.

Oxfam helps indigenous organizations better inform their leaders about their territorial rights, and the procedures they need to follow to demarcate their lands in ways the government will respect. Our partners communicate this information to the base communities as well, so that the largest number of indigenous people—women in particular—understand their rights to inherit and own land.

Tintaya Mine Can't Force Aniceta Magaño to Leave Her Land »

Her land was right in the middle of the Tintaya Copper Mine, but Aniceta Magaño held on, day after day. Through Mesa de Diàlogo, community leaders got the mining company to pay for a few hectares where Aniceta could be relocated.

Oil, Gas & Mining »

Countries that have natural reserves of oil, gas, and minerals rarely generate wealth for the people who live nearby. Instead, these persons suffer the costs: pollution, loss of their traditional ways of living and working, and corruption. Oxfam America seeks to ensure that industries respect the rights of the poor and contribute to the long-term reduction of poverty. We also believe that to protect and help their poorest citizens, countries should pursue environmentally and socially responsible forms of development.