wayfinders circle governance report english - Flipbook - Page 3
Introduction
Created in 2019, the Wayfinders Circle was established to amplify
Indigenous leadership that manifests a time-tested understanding of the
interconnectivity between humans and Mother Earth, and our collective
responsibility to Earth and each other. As of 2021, Wayfinders Circle
currently includes 12 Indigenous members from around the world who are
doing just that. In the following pages, you will learn the story of the
Wayfinders members, their lands, and their contributions towards each
others’ shared learning and efforts in Indigenous guardianship.
The focus of this report is to demonstrate a diverse spectrum of governance
systems and bioregional contexts in guardianship among the Wayfinders.
Governance systems vary greatly among the Wayfinders, as do their
ecosystems. It includes a diversity of tropical forest communities such as the
Mayangna people in Nicaragua, the Achuar people of Ecuador, the
Wampis people of Peru, and the Sungai Utik community in Indonesia. This
diversity is found in temperate boreal forest communities such as the Udege
People in Russia as well as the Heiltsuk in Canada; and in oceanic island
communities such as the Rapa Nui in the Pacific. Other Wayfinders
communities are situated in semi-arid areas, such as the lands managed by
the Native American Land Conservancy in the United States, and by the
traditional owners of the 36 different clan groups that manage the
Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area in Arnhem Land, Australia.
Wayfinders live in grasslands and mountain communities such as those
occupied by the Blackfoot Confederacy in North America, as well as in
pastoralist and herding communities such as the Gabbra people in Kenya
and the Sámi in Sweden. In each case, the Wayfinders practice a broad
array of self-governance formations rooted in their respective bioregions
and in full realization of their own self-determination.
This document was prepared by the Wayfinders Circle host organizations
Pawanka Fund and Nia Tero, with guidance from the World Union of
Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners, and with input from each of the
Wayfinders. It includes the following: a brief overview of the Wayfinders
Circle and its members; a review of differences, similarities, and shared
knowledge about governance from the Wayfinders Circle members; and
considerations for a path forward, as well as annexes that include varying
levels of detail about each Wayfinders Circle members’ territorial
governance. Our hope is that it may lead to mutual inspiration among
Wayfinders Circle members to learn from and celebrate each other, and
share their experiences with other Indigenous peoples and allies interested
in supporting their own work towards self-determination. Beyond the Circle,
our hope is that the Wayfinders inspire individuals, communities, and world
leaders alike to look to Indigenous guardianship as a much-needed source
of knowledge and inspiration, as a path forward through the ways climate
change forces all of humanity to rethink our roles and deeply interconnected
relationship to planet Earth.
GOVERNANCE REPORT
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APRIL 2022
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