This new book by geographer Gerald (”Jerry”) Riverstone explores the political ecology of indigenous land rights struggles in Caribbean Nicaragua.
The Rama Indians and Afrocaribbean Creoles inhabit southeastern Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast and islands, and one of the largest intact rainforests remaining in all of Central America. Despite the region’s designation as an International Biosphere Reserve, it is currently being affected by colonization and deforestation along Nicaragua’s advancing agricultural frontier, and is further threatened by tourism development and proposed oil pipeline, railway, and road-building projects.
Living in the Land of Our Ancestors covers ample ground, from the prehistory, history, and culture of Caribbean Nicaragua and its indigenous peoples to the present-day struggle by the Rama and Creoles to obtain the legal recognition of their ancestral land rights.
The book documents the current threats to Rama Territory, and describes the Rama and Creoles’ efforts to organize, build alliances, and resist these threats. The results of a participatory mapping project are also presented, providing a detailed overview of current land and natural resource use by the Rama and Creoles and zones of conflicts with outsiders. The book includes a chapter on Nicaragua’s new Indigenous Land Demarcation Law, and concludes with recommendations on how to proceed with indigenous land demarcation in Nicaragua.
A central message of the book is that indigenous land rights and tropical forest conservation are inseparable issues in Nicaragua, and that urgent action is needed to safeguard the country’s cultural and biological diversity.
The book is richly illustrated with full-color photographs, maps, and satellite images, and includes many quotes from Rama and Creole community leaders and elders.
The book costs $25 per copy, including shipping. Fifty percent of profits from the book’s sale will be donated to the Rama Territorial Government to assist in their land demarcation efforts.
To order, contact the Nicaragua Network, by emailing Kathy@afgj.org or by calling 202-544-9355. Or send a check for $25 to Nicaragua Network, 1247 “E” Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003, with “Rama Book” in the memo line.
