When the topic of indigenous people arises, it usually centers on the Maya and Garifuna communities and their land rights issues. Well, a group from the Canadian funded project entitled IMPACT Justice has organized a 3 day conference at the Biltmore. The main objective is to bring these groups together to discuss a way forward. The Regional Project Director, Professor Velma Newton explained that these same challenges the indigenous people of Belize face are common all across the region and there are ways to solve them. But Newton told us that all IMPACT Justice can do is open up the conversation. We also spoke to representatives from both the Maya and Garifuna communities and they told us how significant this conversation is.  

Prof. Velma Newton - Regional Director, IMPACT Justice
"As you see the indigenous people of the region they have similar issues and the attitudes of governments have not been this similar in that what the indigenous people are claiming certain rights that they have exercised memorial. One could say that they've been moves to kind of limit those rights when it comes to development of land. So we are hoping that this conference will lead to greater understanding especially since as you've heard in the Justice Burcher’s speech that was read by Professor McNeal. These issues are reason elsewhere and they've found ways of not only dealing with whether or not the claims of indigenous people are legitimate; either in terms of history, in terms of human rights but they've also found a way of solving the same issues in various ways. What we can do, they said bring people together and let them discuss and if there any studies they want us to do, we can help with those but primarily it's for the group and the governments to sit down and decide what is best for everyone."

Pablo Mes - Programme Coordinator, Maya Leader Alliance
"This of course if you look at the themes this cross right along the lines of what we as a country will need to find practical solutions to in order for us to really make the indigenous communities particularly those in southern Belize an integral fabric of Belize under the constitution, enjoying those protections, enjoying those rights as any other Belizean."

Joseph Palacio - Chairman, Barranco Village Council
"In the case of Belize as well as the rest of the region we have a necessity to fine tune what indigeneity is so that it isn't divisive and is more inclusive."

The conference ends on Friday.