Assessment for Indigenous Peoples in Nicaragua

View Group Chronology

Risk Assessment | Analytic Summary | References

Risk Assessment

Indigenous in Nicaragua have several risk factors for rebellion, in particular the indigenous Miskitos. They are territorially concentrated, have relatively high levels of group cohesion. However, several factors are also present that inhibit rebellion, including the democratic nature of the Nicaraguan government, efforts at negotiation and reform, and the lack of serious armed conflict in neighboring countries. The status of the Miskito and other indigenous peoples of Nicaragua improved following the 1989 repatriation of refugees in Nicaragua – guerrilla activity virtually ceased.

The likelihood of protest is much higher than that of rebellion. Miskito still struggle to implement autonomy plans that have not been fully supported by the central government. Moreover, unemployment in the Mosquito region is over 50 percent, though this statistic is complicated by the fact that many indigenous communities are involved in subsistent farming, fishing, and mining on the Atlantic Coast. YATAMA members are very politically active – reaction to perceived government discrimination has included non-violent takeovers of government offices and airport. No physical violence as been reported since 2004, but death threats against human rights workers advocating on behalf of the indigenous surfaced in 2006. Unless the Nicaraguan government makes a serious effort to address their concerns, sporadic protests seem likely. This is especially true for autonomy issues, around which mobilization is highly likely to continue.

top

Analytic Summary

Nicaragua's Atlantic coast, divided into the "Mosquitia Reservation" and the "Departamento Zelaya", is inhabited by the descendants of the Miskito, Sumu and Rama tribes as well as immigrant mixes of Creoles (African-American) and Mestizos (Indian and Spanish decent). While the Miskitos are the largest group in the Mosquitia region (c. 150,000), there are also Sumu and Rama peoples resident (GROUPCON = 3). The Sumu number approximately 9,000 with most living in the northeast section of the Mosquitia. The Rama number less than 1,000 and live in the Bluefields area of southeast Nicaragua.

The Miskito Indians, constituting more than half of the ethnic makeup of the Atlantic region, is the culturally and politically dominant group in the region. Because of the efforts of American Moravian missionaries who arrived in the mid-1800s, the Miskito population is largely Protestant (BELIEF = 1) and speaks both English and their native tongue, Miskitu (LANG = 1). This differentiates the inhabitants of the Atlantic Coast from the dominant Spanish-speaking peoples of Nicaragua. Miskitu has been reported to be the most frequently utilized indigenous language; the bible, hymm books, prayer books, dictionaries, and grammar books are available in Miskitu. Religious and grammar books also exist in the Sumu and Rama languages.

In 1687, the governor of Jamaica established an English protectorate over the area and named a Miskito chief the leading authority over the Miskito reserve. The British relinquished protection over the reserve in 1860 to the Nicaraguan government under the premise that it would be a self-governing region; this established the "Mosquitia Reserve." During the late 1800s, the region integrated with English-speaking Creoles, living in relative autonomy until the reserve was occupied by Nicaraguan troops in 1894 (AUTLOST = 1). The ensuing Nicaraguan "modernization and state building" efforts prompted Miskito and Creole resistance in the region. At the Nicaraguan government request, U.S. and British troops were sent in to end the resistance. By 1905, Indian villages had received communal land grant titles.

From 1936 to 1979, Nicaragua was ruled by the Somoza family, a dictatorship whose main interest was economic control over the Atlantic Coast. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Atlantic Coast was utilized for projects of deforestation, commercial fishing, and farming. The Miskitos benefitted through employment by these governmental policies and supported President Somoza. Very few Miskitos supported the Sandinistas, a Marxist populist group that ousted Somoza and established control over Nicaragua in 1979. After assuming power, the Sandinistas launched modernization and educational campaigns (e.g., Spanish literacy programs) to incorporate the Atlantic Coast. They also nationalized untitled lands and refused to recognize the independent cultures of the Miskito and other indigenous groups in the region.

Nicaraguan indigenous peoples organized to protect their rights and traditional lands through the organization of ALPROMISU (Alliance for the Progress of Miskitos and Sumus) in 1974 under the leadership of Steadman Fagoth and Brooklyn Rivera. Replacing ALPROMISU in November 1979, MISURASATA (Mascot, Rama, and Sandinista United) was formed to represent the indigenous populations' more serious grievances to the Sandinista government. Over 80 percent Miskito, MISURASATA supported claims for indigenous communal land grants and the promotion of language and culture. When the Sandinistas banned it as a rebel movement in 1981, the group began launching attacks on the Sandinista military from Honduras, with funding from the CIA (REB80X = 6). The Sandinistas responded by forcibly relocating 8,500 Miskitos, destroying as many as 100 villages.

Eventually, more than 20,000 escaped into Honduras and were often placed into UNHCR camps. MISURASATA relocated to Costa Rica. In 1984, the Sandinistas began to make peace with the indigenous, releasing rebels who had been jailed and offering amnesty to all still fighting. Gradually, refugees began to return to their homelands. The government also began replacing Sandanista officials in the Atlantic region with Miskitos. MISURASTA, then based in Costa Rica, began negotiating for regional autonomy; negotiations concluded in September 1987.

Language rights were among the earliest priorities in the Autonomy Project of the Atlantic Coast; the right to be educated in Nicaragua in one's own language was decreed in December 1980 and indigenous languages have been given official status in the Nicaraguan Constitution. The first bilingual program for the Miskitu language began in 1984 and was followed by programs in Sumu and Rama. Four additional government efforts have been developed to recognizing indigenous languages: basic linguistic research; applied research (translation, education, etc.); native-speaking personnel living within the communities; and general education for all Nicaraguans on the languages and cultures of the Atlantic Coast.

The successor to MISURASATA, YATAMA (Yapti Masrika Nani - Descendants of Mother Earth) was founded in 1987 to unify fractious indigenous organizations. Its main constituents were former contras and other MISURASATA members. This group primarily represents the Miskito, but has made efforts to include the Sumu and Rama people. Factions of the group were still very militant until 2003(GOJPA03 = 3); however, no evidence of group rebellion was found for 2004-2006 (REB04-06 = 0). YATAMA strives for further autonomy and protection of Indian cultural and land rights (POLGR04-06 = 3; ECGR04-06 = 2), and for the elimination of corruption within their regional councils and administrations. In the past, YATAMA militants discontented with the alleged corruption of the present council members have violently seized government offices and villages. After the candidacy of many YATAMA representatives were invalidated in the 1998 elections, 1,500 supporters attacked a military post, killing three and abducting six (REB98 = 1). When the government again blocked YATAMA candidates from municipal elections in 2000, large protests and an election boycott developed (REB00 = 1; PROT00 = 4). In an effort to control the protests and quell violence, military troops occupied the city of Puerto Cabezas. A conservative mayoral candidate was assassinated in the northeast town of El Ayote. In 2003, YATAMA filed a lawsuit suit before the Inter-American Human Rights Court against the Nicaraguan government, for having been excluded from the past municipal elections. In 2005, the court ruled in YATAMA's favor. Protests between 2001 and 2003 focused on international development projects (PROT01-02 = 3; PROT03 = 2), but since 2004 mobilization has been around autonomy issues and perceived discrimination in central government decisionmaking processes (PROT04 = 3; PROT06 = 3).

The Atlantic region is now divided into two autonomous regions, North and South. Each was given its own 45 member council which in turn elects a governor. The North and the South are also represented in the National Assembly with three and two representative respectively. In theory, the two autonomous regions should jointly participate with the Nicaraguan government in ruling over their economic, cultural and environmental affairs. This would guarantee the preservation of their cultural heritage, including linguistic rights, and establishes regional control over natural resources.

top

References

Amnesty International. 10/2002. "Americas: Indigenous peoples -- Second-class citizens in the lands of their ancestors"

Andrews, Penelope. 1988. "Autonomy and the Miskito Indian Community of Nicaragua." Aboriginal Law Bulletin. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLB/1988/31.html, accessed 7/21/2007.

Decker, Ken and Andy Keener. 2001. "A report on the English-lexifier creole of Nicaragua, also known as Mískito Coast Creole, with special reference to Bluefields and the Corn Islands." SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2001-004. http://www.sil.org/silesr/2001/004/.

Hale, Charles R. 1987. "Inter-ethnic relations and class structure in Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast: A historical overview." In CIDCA/Development Study Unit, ed. Ethnic groups and the nation state: the case of the Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua. Stockholm: University of Stockholm.

Minorities Rights Group. 2008. "Nicaragua: Indigenous Peoples." World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples. http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=2579, accessed 7/24/2008.

Muñóz, Betty. 1992. "Comunidades indígenas del Caribe nicaraguense: el caso de barrio El Cocal, Puerto Cabezas." In Germán Romero, ed. Persistencia indígena en Nicaragua. Managua: CIDCA-UCA.

Lexis-Nexis. Various news reports. 2001-2006.

Nica-Net. 2002. "Report of the Indigenous Rights Delegation to Nicaragua, August 8-17, 2002."

Perry, Pamela. 1991. "The politics of identity: community and ethnicity in a pro-Sandinista enclave on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast." Berkeley Journal of Sociology 36:115-135.

U.S. State Department. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nicaragua. 2000-2006.

World Bank. 2001. "Second Rural Municipalities Development Project."

top