Sunday, November 16, 2014

Circle of Purpose


In the summer of 1990, a small delegation of Indigenous Peoples living in the O’Odham Jeved territories of Arizona traveled to Quito, Ecuador to participate in the First Continental Encounter of Indigenous Nations, Pueblos and Organizations.  There the legend and the prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor was revealed among all our relations gathered around the sacred fire, and to the entire world.  At that historic gathering, the trajectory of the continental indigenous movement of Abya Yala was set in motion, which led to the convening of a Second Continental Encounter of Indigenous Nations, Pueblos and Organizations in Temoaya, Mexico in 1993, followed by the First International Indigenous Summit of the Continental Commission of Indigenous Nations and Organizations (CONIC) in the year 2000 held at Teotihuacan, Mexico.

It was Staff keeper Gerald One Feather and the representatives of the Oceti Sakowin Seven Council Fires Dakota Nakota Lakota who in 2000 led the ceremony at Teotihuacan that established the Treaty of Teotihuacan as a mutual commitment at the hemispheric level among the participating Indigenous Nations and Pueblos, an act of collective self definition and self determination in accord with the protocols and principles of jurisprudence of the Nations of Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala.

The Second Continental Summit Abya Yala returned to Quito in 2004, followed by the Third Continental Indigenous Summit Abya Yala in 2007 held at Iximche, Guatemala and hosted by the Maya Nations.  A Fourth Continental Indigenous Summit convened in Puno, Peru in May 2009.

The Fifth Continental summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nations was realized on November 10-16, 2013 in the Cauca Territories of Colombia.

In these moments of collective reflection as Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples of the continent Abya Yala, a full cycle becomes complete to form a Circle of Purpose that is indomitable, which resonates on to the future generations of Ixachitecameh, the Nican Tlacah of Ixachitlan:

We, the Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala.

In this trajectory of memories and history, it has been an honor and privilege, a responsibility and great sense of fulfillment to have been consistently accompanying this continental process of Indigenous Self Empowerment and Self Determination from Quito in 1990 up to the event in Colombia November 2013. A sixth summit in now in planning, whose location was named as Honduras in the summit of 2013. 

We have come far, and we have far yet to go, but in the end we always turn and return, homeward bound towards the Horizons of Tradition and Liberation.


In the spirit of Self Determination of the Nations of Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala and the Continental Confederation of the Eagle and the Condor.

Declaration of Quito 1990
Declaration of Temoaya 1994
Declaration of Teotihuacan 2000
Declaration of Kito, 2004
Declaration Iximche
Declaration Puno Pero
Declaration of Maria Piendamo, Cauca