# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://www.facebook.com/vday/posts/10155668204938702/

TITLE: The Lumad (Indigenous People of Mindanao, The Philippines) rises against all forms of violence against women and children!
AUTHOR: V-Day
DATE PUBLISHED: February 16, 2018

They call an end to militarization in the countryside which only brings more and more human rights violations targeted to women and children! Defend ancestral lands!

Learner: Francis Tahadlangit

# data[].attributes.body
URL:
https://www.mindanews.com/special-reports/2020/07/special-report-asserting-the-lumads-right-to-education-learning-goes-on-despite-closure-of-schools/

TITLE: Special Report. Asserting the Lumads' right to education: Learning Goes on Despite Closure of Schools
AUTHOR: Amalia Bandolia Cabusao
DATE PUBLISHED: July 28, 2020

Mie said the presence of the Army takes getting used to even if the teachers question why they have to sign a logbook every morning.  She said this is intimidating because soldiers also check the teachers during classes. They are often asked why they chose to teach under such inhospitable environment when they could have practiced in more urban communities.

For Mie, this was the place where she wanted to be.

An established teacher continues to offer knowledge to the Lumad students despite the setbacks they have experienced during the lockdowns. They have hopes in which the educational gap between the indigenous community and the general population is finally resolved.

Learner: Alissandrea Alunen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SPECIAL REPORT. Asserting the Lumads' right to education: learning goes on despite closure of schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 28 July) - On clear and sunny weekdays, the activities of students break the silence of this small High School tucked neatly in the valley of Sitio Masicareg, Brgy. Anitapan in Mabini town, Davao de Oro (formerly Compostela Valley).

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://mb.com.ph/2018/02/05/do-more-lumads-deserve-a-up-education-yes/

TITLE: Do More Lumads deserve a UP education? Yes
AUTHOR: Restituto Cayubit
DATE PUBLISHED: February 5, 2018

A good number thus find the reaction of the militants and other detractors lacking, perhaps even hackneyed as it limited itself on protecting the protest rights of the Metro Manila-based students rather than the struggle of the lumad, or indigenous Mindanao peoples struggle (and indeed everyone else’s) for decent lives which includes opportunities for higher education.

It seems that Mindanao's indigenous people have reacted to the statements of President Duterte regarding the replacement of protesting UP students. Thus, raising awareness to the accessibility of higher education for the indigenous people.

Learner: Alissandrea Alunen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It seems that Mindanao's indigenous peoples or lumads have suddenly burst into the national conversation as a reaction to the statements of the president (https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/02/duterte-threatens-to-replace-protesting-up-students-with-bright-lumads/ ) reportedly seeking to replace protesting State University students who walk out of classes with bright Mindanao lumads.

While the statement was condemned by some militant groups, warning of more walkouts as they deem it an affront to the rights of students to expression, it was surprisingly supported by many netizens, who believe that indeed, more lumads are deemed worthy to partake of higher education opportunities compared to those "walking out" or dropping out of class.

A good number thus find the reaction of the militants and other detractors lacking, perhaps even hackneyed as it limited itself on protecting the protest rights of the Metro Manila-based students rather than the struggle of the lumad, or indigenous Mindanao peoples struggle (and indeed everyone else's) for decent lives which includes opportunities for higher education.

This issue also raises awareness on the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which gives full tuition subsidy for students in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges, and state-run technical-vocational schools. This enables free tuition in all the 112 state colleges and universities for all students and courses, including medicine. This is acknoweldged to be one of the major changes shaking up our education system.

Moreover, contrary to the image projected by certain quarters, the Department of Education (DepEd) has programs for IP education for the 1.2 million IP learners enrolled in public schools, as well learners enrolled in community and civil society organization-run schools.

DepEd is also currently facilitating the permits of about 200 schools established by private proponents and civil society groups for lumads, stressing on upholding their culture, while allowing learners to obtain higher education.

These specific programs on education for lumads also come amid the backdrop of the President's announcement of P260 million for long awaited programs that will have a positive impact on Indigenous Peoples, covering education and other assistance that targets the development of the ancestral domains.

Many netizens wondered if these student protesters will not "walkout" against free college tuition or current expanded programs for the lumads. Was their response a calibrated one meant to avoid discussing the larger benefits of recent reforms?

To add, a friend opines that this angry response was meant to downplay the assistance and frame the discussion to put the militants yet again at the "forefront" of the issue, in a bid to try and regain a dwindling political base among the lumads.

Whether they are right or not is for you to judge.

To be fair, lumads have always had a complicated relationship with Manila-based militants, and the national government, reflecting a long standing tension between the Manila-based leadership of many progressive organizations and their regional counterparts and a mistrust of government agencies.

Both often stand accused of paying lip service to their plight yet doing little to lower the high poverty numbers that reflect their reality more striking than than protest banners and effigies.

For one, as literacy rates lower than the general population, higher education opportunities are made more difficult by financial and geographic barriers that impose a lot of effort and cost on lumad families to send their children to school.

Of the 31 state higher learning institutions in Mindanao for example, many are located near urban areas making costs prohibitive for their families. Moreover, conflict situations persists in many of the hinterlands, further weakening access to school.

Thus, we hope that the announced assistance and expanded government efforts will not only provide an avenue for deeper discussion of lumad realities, but give flesh to programs that alleviate real concerns - far beyond ideology and slogans.

Many lumad communities have suffered enough due to poverty and conflict. They deserve the best that government can offer in order to cut chronic poverty once and for all.

The question of having more of them enter universities hopefully encourages us to cut through the ideology and politics, and talk more openly about their plight and the push the fulfillment of programs that will help them achieve a better quality of life that they, as we, all deserve.

For reactions: facebook.com/johntriapage

SIGN UP TO DAILY NEWSLETTER

CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Do more lumads deserve a UP education? Yes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It seems that Mindanao's indigenous peoples or lumads have suddenly burst into the national conversation as a reaction to the statements of the president (https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/02/duterte-threatens-to-replace-protesting-up-students-with-bright-lumads/ ) reportedly seeking to replace protesting State University students who walk out of classes with bright Mindanao lumads.

# data[].attributes.body
URL:
https://theowp.org/indigenous-women-in-the-philippines-fight-for-their-rights/

TITLE: Indigenous Women In the Philippines Fight For Their Rights
AUTHOR: Mary Mijares
DATE PUBLISHED: August 25, 2021

Different female community leaders highlighted issues various indigenous Filipino groups are facing, such as the “threats, disappearances, and killings” of activists who actively fight to defend “ancestral lands” from corporate and development-driven interests.

Despite national laws to prevent discrimination against these communities, such as the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, indigenous groups remain disparaged.

As a result, communities continue to have little access to funding, agricultural resources, education, and health services. This lack of accessibility, in turn, makes maintaining livelihoods more challenging for families to this day.

Learner: Jan Philippe Conarco

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Indigenous Women In the Philippines Fight For Their Rights

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On July 31st, the Philippine indigenous coalition LILAK, or “Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights,” organized an event called the National Indigenous Women Gathering. According to inde…

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://youtu.be/spBsCakTTcs

TITLE: One Mindanao: Land Grabbing
PUBLISHER: GMA Regional TV - One Mindanao
DATE PUBLISHED: July 9, 2020

70 armed people were caught by the authorities after allegedly harassing T'bloi Lumads in South Cotabato. A teenager lumad was also shot in the arm as he ran away from the scene.

The Baranggay Gagawad Melinda Atendido was also said to be the person behind the crime of harassing the T'boli tribe.

Learner: Zane Evangelista

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD-EEGmjUVk

TITLE: Philippines Indigenous defenders call for protection
AUTHOR: Al Jazeera English, Reporter Jamela Alindogan
DATE PUBLISHED: May 2, 2022

"They are from the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe, considered one of the very first inhabitants in the Southern region of Mindanao, but Datu Rolando Anglao and his clan have lived on the roadside for many years now. They hope to take back more than a thousand hectares of land, now privately owned, that once belonged to their ancestors."

"They were shot at by gunmen despite having written government permission to reclaim their land."

"According to the international group, Global Witness, the Philippines is the deadliest country for land defenders across the Asian continent, and Mindanao holds the highest number of recorded killings."

"When President Rodrigo Duterte was sworn into office in 2016, he vowed to defend the plight of Indigenous people and the environment but at least 160 environmental defenders were killed between 2016 and 2020."

Learner: Inna Reynoso

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Philippines Indigenous defenders call for protection

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://kyotoreview.org/issue-21/lumad-killings-philippines/

TITLE: Wars of Extinction: The Lumad Killings in Mindanao, Philippines
AUTHOR: Arnold P. Alamon
DATE PUBLISHED: 2017

The IPs in the Philippines represent the country’s poorest sector who suffer disproportionately in terms of access to health, education, and human rights.

National minorities in the Philippines such as the Lumad and the Moros of Mindanao reside in areas where poverty is deepest and most severe.

The progeny of the term "Lumad" betrays not just the history of marginalization of Mindanao, Philippines’ indigenous peoples but also their valiant resistance against these forces that sought to drive them away from their land and effect the erasure of their identity and culture.

The paramilitary groups that wreak havoc in indigenous communities also come from among their ranks coopted and corrupted to push for the appropriation of ancestral lands in favor of big logging, mining, and agricultural expansion.

The systemic attacks against indigenous leaders, schools, and communities should also be seen in the light of the economic value of the IP’s ancestral lands for prospective interests in the field of resource extraction.

Such valuable assets in the form of minerals and other natural resources happen to be located in Lumad or indigenous peoples’ ancestral lands thus fuelling the wars of extinction being waged by the Philippine nation-state and similar state-military-business nexuses against minority groups.

Learner: Inna Reynoso

# data[].attributes.headline
8) PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE OR PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

# data[].attributes.subject
8) PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE OR PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

# data[].attributes.body
URL:
https://indigenouspeoples-sdg.org/index.php/english/ttt/1146-lumad-women-their-inter-generational-struggle-for-self-determination

TITLE: Lumad women, their inter-generational struggle for self-determination
AUTHOR: Kath M. Cortez
DATE PUBLISHED: August 14, 2019

Like other women of society, the Lumad women have taken various roles in their society. From farming to raising children while their husbands go hunting, they have also taken a wider role of being the voice of their communities.

Such role is not new in the indigenous peoples’ communities, as they have recognized Lumad women in her place of the Lumad struggle through generations for their ancestral domain, rights and self-determination.

Learner: Samantha Montecalvo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Lumad women, their inter-generational struggle for self-determination
By KATH M. CORTEZ
DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Like other women of society, the Lumad women have taken various roles in their society. From farming to raising children while their husbands go hunting, they have also taken a wider role of being the voice of their communities.

Such role is not new in the indigenous peoples' communities, as they have recognized Lumad women in her place of the Lumad struggle through generations for their ancestral domain, rights and self-determination.
Bai Bibiyaon Bai Bibiaon Ligkayan Bigkay. (Ace R. Morandante/davaotoday.com)
In the mountains of Pantaron that traverse Bukidnon and Davao del Norte, the name of Bai Bibiyaon Ligkayan Bigkay is remarkably known as the living woman warrior and chieftain of the Manobo tribe. No less than Datu Guibang Apoga of Talaingod Davao del Norte sought Ligkayan Bigkay, who resides in the Bukidnon part of Pantaron, to unite against the Manobo against the expansion of the logging company Alcantara and Sons in 1994.

This staunch woman leader of the Manobo is conferred the name 'Bai', which is an honor given to Mindanao women of stature. "Bibyaon" is her title by acclamation as her tribe's chieftain.

She led her tribe, along with other community Datus, in defending the 12,600 square kilometer Pantaron Mountain Range, home to one of the largest remaining virgin forests in a country. Pantaron's watershed supplies the water of major rivers in Mindanao, mainly the Mindanao River, Pulangi River, Davao River, Tagoloan River, and major tributaries of Agusan River.

"The protection of the mountain, the protection of our ancestral domain means the protection all of humanity, so this is not only my struggle, but the struggle for my people and our struggle in defense of humanity," she said during one of the many forums she has spoken as a representative of the tribe.

She is also one of the Salugpongan tribal leaders who led the Manobo people when they fled their villages in 2014 and went to UCCP Haran in Davao City, as massive military operations affected their community.

As most elder Lumad do not know the year of their birth, people estimate that Bai Bibiyaon Ligkayan Bigkay is now at around 80 years old. Even at her age, she continuously stands at the forefront of the Lumad's struggle of asserting rights of the Manobo tribe to go back home to their community without intimidation.

"Until they force all of us to fall, nothing can force us to bow away from our stand for our ancestral domain. Until they crush the tribe of Salugpongan, cut off all the trees that stand in the forest, dry all our rivers, make Pantaron fall, then they can say the Salugpongan's struggle is over! As long as there are people who are aware of the truth and history of the Lumad, and as long as we continue with our struggle, we persevere and we stand. Onward with our struggle!"
The next generation of Lumad women leaders Bayan Muna Representative Eufemia Cullamat. (Kath M. Cortez/davaotoday.com)
At the 18th Congress of the House of Representatives, Eufemia Cullamat carries the voice of the indigenous peoples.

As the third representative of the party-list Bayan Muna, Eufemia delivered her first privilege speech in Congress. The neophyte congresswoman called attention on the Department of Education's suspension of 55 Lumad schools of Salugpongan Ta tanu Igkanugon Learning Center in Southern Mindanao based solely on reports that red-tagged the school.

In her speech, Cullamat said she only completed elementary school because of the neglect of government, and has no experience in lawmaking. But she said she will carry the same determination she has in bringing the indigenous peoples' voice in Congress about defending their rights and ancestral land.

"I have no experience in law-making and I am still learning. What is important is that I am certain of what my representation means in Congress. Our tiny voice, the voice of the indigenous peoples across the country should be heard by all means," said this Lumad leader from Lianga, Surigao del Sur.

Cullamat is one of the women leaders of Manilakbayan, before accepting the nomination to represent Bayan Muna Partylist for the 2019 elections, along with Atty. Carlos Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite.

Giving voice for the indigenous peoples has been her calling. Cullamat personally experienced numerous evacuations from her community in Lianga in the past years and experiences of bombings of her community in the late 1980s.

The struggle is also personal. Her husband was beaten by police on three different occasions. Her son was summoned by a military officer to show up at a detachment. There he was arrested and faced trumped up charges of murder and frustrated murder, and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

"My experience is not isolated as this kind of disrespect to us, our culture and tradition are everywhere. We face the same harassment, threat, intimidation, and attack every day while only a margin of people speak, stand, and fight for us".

For Cullamat, Congress is "a battlefield where the interests of the few are not in the picture". However, the House of Representatives is also an arena where small voices should be heard.
Lorena Mandacawan, member of the Parents-Teachers and Community Association (PTCA) of the Salugpongan schools and Sabokahan chairperson. (Kath M. Cortez/davaotoday.com)
She is a familiar face when the Lumad students and parents troop to DepEd every Monday to stage a picket supporting the Lumad schools.

Lorena Mandacawan, a Matigsalog Manobo, is the spokesperson of the Salugpongan Schools' Parent Teachers Community Association. She is also a barangay health worker (BHW).

Lorena and her family joined the exodus from Talaingod to UCCP Haran because of the direct threats from the paramilitary Alamara, who accuse her family for supporting the NPA.

As a BHW, Mandacawan extends her service to the tribe and leads a group of women inside the evacuation center to attend to the sick evacuees and ensure health and hygiene.

Lorena is vocal against the attacks on the Talaingod community.

"I can't sit still and watch my tribe suffer. Little by little, they are killing us as if we are worthless. I told myself there is nothing to be afraid of as many are willing to fight with us despite all the challenges along the way," she said.

Mandacawan's stand made her the chairperson of Sabokahan-Unity of Lumad Women. As such she carries the voice of the Lumad women in Southern Mindanao.

"We, the women, carry such grief, especially now that they're trying to close our schools. We always carry the weight of these challenges, like threats or sexual harassment from the military made against us women. That's why we women can't grow passive or weak. We have to stand up! That's our goal as Sabokahan! We will not stay the same as before when we were seen as just belonging in the kitchen. That's the view of us. Especially President Duterte who is saying we women have no use. That's his mistake! Because there is Sabokahan to stand up and struggle! To have our rights recognized as women! To raise the morale of women!"
Jennilyn Baguio, secretary-general of Lumad women's group Sabokahan. (Kath M. Cortez/davaotoday.com)
Another BHW in Arakan, North Cotabato faced the same threats like Lorena.

Jennilyn Baguio is a young mother, who aside from working for the BHW, has facilitated the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) - a conditional cash transfer program of the government under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

But all that changed when she was hospitalized to treat her cervical myoma, and the soldiers came.

"I was accused of being an NPA while I was lying in a hospital bed. They say I was injured in an encounter when in fact I was hospitalized due to cervical myoma."

Due to the threat on her life, she and her family also sought refuge in UCCP Haran.

Born a Tinananon Manobo, Baguio said their culture has huge respect for women. They believe that women are the source of life and that they bear the generations of Tinananon Manobo. Though they don't have the same status as men in the community, she chooses to be heard.

Recently elected as Sabokahan's secretary-general, she now carries the responsibility of speaking in behalf of the group.

"Since childhood, I am different among my siblings. I chose to speak up and reason out to my parents whenever something is not right. Up to now, I always believe that speaking is the most powerful arm that the indigenous people community should use to assert and defend our rights".

These women, from different generations, became leaders as they are confronted with social inequalities and attacks on their tribes. Despite the attacks and threats from the state, they choose to be at the front and not be silent, standing to defend their tribe, their culture, and their ancestral land.
Related to SDG 5: Gender equality and SDG 10: Reduced inequalities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lumad women, their inter-generational struggle for self-determination

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lumad women, their inter-generational struggle for self-determination By KATH M. CORTEZ DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Like other women of society, the Lumad women have taken various roles in their society. From farming to raising children while their husbands go hunting, they have also taken a wider role of being the voice of their communities.

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://up.edu.ph/poverty-war-and-peace-lumad-and-muslim-womens-issues-in-mindanao/

TITLE: Poverty, War and Peace: Lumad and Muslim Women’s Issues in Mindanao
AUTHOR: Ma. Arve B. Bañez
DATE PUBLISHED: May 28, 2019

Lumad and Muslim women in Mindanao bear the brunt not only of poverty but also of violence. A groundbreaking project aimed at empowering Muslim women as peace advocates, especially the aleemat or Muslim women religious scholars, was organized in partnership with women leaders from civil society, academe, government, youth, balik-Islam, and indigenous peoples. Former Senator Santanina Rasul, one of the prime movers of the project, said that the project aims to work for peaceful and clean elections, especially in ARMM, now known as the “cheating capital” of the Philippines. To realize this, they will focus on educating voters in time for the automated elections.

The Muslim women of Sulu are calling for the dismantling of the Police Auxiliary Unit, which is being used as private armies of political families. At the community level, they intend to restore the moral leadership of the ulama and aleemat to propagate Islamic values and peace education. To Dr. Amany Lubis, an aleemat from Indonesia, there is no sexism in Islam based on the Qur’an. Islam promotes gender equality and respect for human beings. But because of biased interpretations of this text, Muslim women are marginalized.

Every day, Lumad and Muslim women in Mindanao deal with poverty and violence. They strategize to survive and take concrete measures to attain peace and development in Mindanao.

Learner: Samantha Montecalvo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Poverty, War and Peace: Lumad and Muslim Women’s Issues in Mindanao

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
  Background Mindanao is home to diverse communities, with 13 ethno-linguistic groups and around 30 Lumad groups. Of its total population of 25.73 million, some 18 percent are Muslims and approximately 5 percent are Lumad; the rest are migrants and their descendants. Females comprise half of th…

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://nesawg.org/news/seeds-resistance-personal-account-lumad-struggle-land-sovereignty

TITLE: Seeds of Resistance: A Personal Account of the Lumad Struggle for Land Sovereignty
AUTHOR: Christiaan Delgado-Pfeifer
DATE PUBLISHED: Around 2017 onwards (No date specified)

“Revolution is based on land. Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice and equality." - Malcolm X

I speak of brave martyrs in the fight for freedom from state fascism, colonial occupation, and modern-day slavery on the land.

A determined student shares his story of planting seeds of hope as the Indigenous community yearns for freedom and justice for their homeland.

Learner: Alissandrea Alunen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Editors Note: Many people of diasporic communities maintain deep ties to their home countries. Jersey City, NJ resident, Filipino farmer/organizer Christiaan Delgado-Pfeifer is developing their skills as a student at Farm School NYC so they can share knowledge and support the sovereignty of young people in the Philippines. We're grateful to them for sharing their story here.

Seeds of Resistance: A Personal Account of the Lumad Struggle for Land Sovereignty

by Christiaan Delgado-Pfeifer

"Revolution is based on land. Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice and equality." - Malcolm X

A cool breeze washes through a starry night in Compostela, a deep stretching valley in the southeast region of Mindanao, Philippines. As I enter the green gates of Community Technical College of Southeastern Mindanao (CTCSM), I know I have arrived home. Several students approach me in the deep evening speaking Bisaya, the regional language. They ask me where I come from and about my new role as a volunteer teacher. I do my best to speak in broken Filipino languages. Despite my hardship we communicate in laughter, share home-made herbal medicines, and exchange simple lessons of their tribal languages.

I have come here to learn from and be in solidarity with the struggle of Lumad youth, the collective term for the 18 indigenous, non-Muslim tribes in the countryside and mountainside communities of Mindanao. Mindanao is the southernmost major island in the Philippines. It holds landscapes like the Pantaron Range, which contains the last remaining 1.8 million hectares of virgin rainforest in the country that provide a home to vast biodiversity, waterways, and indigenous communities. But despite it's natural wealth, Mindanao is home to 11 of the Philippines 20 poorest and most heavily militarized national provinces. In the rural hinterland communities of indigenous people, basic social services like education and health are severely limited, while the presence of large-scale mining and logging grows larger. The fact of both military and corporate presence in these lands is no coincidence.

This reality is the undertone of our new exchanges. Living in the breath of their excitement is a collective yearning for empowering knowledge-- tools to liberate ourselves and the ancestral lands on which we stand. Schools like CTCSM provide homes to new generations of land & water defenders, agriculturalists, and community organizers. It is one among hundreds of community schools built by Lumad activists and human rights defenders to address the real-life needs of poor indigenous and peasant communities. Most schools have their own farms for communal crop production, medicinal herbs, and demonstration areas to apply organic agricultural techniques. In the classroom, we study the actual history of Lumad struggles against colonialism, their collective rights as indigenous people, and global current events. Here, the students and their teachers come together to create deep knowledge and lasting action to defend the earth and struggle for justice in our homeland.

***

The sun rises each morning through the valleys-- steam lifts off the tall grasses, roosters crow loudly, and children harvest firewood to prepare our morning meal. Youth sing songs as they cook on the blazing fire-- embedded in the lyrics is our vision of a new culture of unity in defense of their ancestral lands. This school is a haven for young people to learn, who are often the first in their lineage of farmers to receive a formal education. And while this space meant to be a safe haven, the children also sing stories of death, stolen land, and forced evacuation from ancestral domains under the rule of Martial Law.

Several hours north in Caraga, Lumad children, teachers, and families evacuate their lands after months of bombing, drone surveillance, and occupation by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. A few hours west in Kidapawan, Lumad teenagers picket outside of the Department of Education, demanding to reverse the forced closures and red-tagging of their schools. An hour south in Tagum, Lumad families from tribes in Davao del Norte live in evacuation camps where teachers continue to educate their youth in makeshift classrooms. Lumad and peasant peoples make the most sacrifices under Martial Law in Mindanao, established by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 as a massive "counterinsurgency" effort throughout the country. His violent military tactics aim to suppress popular opposition to his military terror and rampant extrajudicial killings of peasant organizers and indigenous environmental activists. Schools have been targeted in Duterte's backlash against vast organizing occurring in Mindanao to educate youth, nourish the land, and resist corporate landgrabbing that has military backing.

In 2017, the Duterte administration claimed, "I will use the armed forces, the Philippine air force. I'll really have those [schools] bombed ... because you are operating illegally and you are teaching the children to rebel against government." In the eyes of the Duterte administration it has become illegal rebellion to teach children how to farm organically, how to defend the collective rights of indigenous people, and to speak out courageously against military terror. In this situation, who are the real criminals? Is it the Lumad who are sustaining and preserving the soil for future generations? Or is it the Duterte administration who has invested over 8 trillion pesos (roughly 418 million USD) from the World Bank and United States government to attract open pit mining, industrial agriculture, and large scale logging on Lumad and peasant ancestral lands?

***

The setting sun pours calm shadows through the palm trees and I walk with students at our farm. We harvest okra, lemongrass, taro, and other fresh herbs. We speak about the intimidating military checkpoints established nearby the farms. The more timid students express deep fear and terror; they worry if their families are ok in their more highly militarized countryside communities. And others, courageous and loud student leaders, remind classmates about their collective fire, why we farm, why it is our duty to fight. They remind each other that their schools still struggle with basic things like food security, that we must continue developing our farms so we can feed one another, that we can't let our oppressors have power over us. Some tell stories of where they come from, the struggles they've overcome, and what role they wish to bring to our movement for land and liberation. They speak simply, they laugh, they find bits of internal resolve. They remember that their individual fears pale in comparison to the strength they have in unity. They remember their commitments to one another.

We continue our harvest and bring it back to the humble kitchen of our farming instructor. We cut vegetables, pound herbs, and begin our cooking in the dimming sunlight. Each ingredient of the soup we make is like the distant communities from which we all come. And as is customary in Filipino cooking, with time, gentle fire, and the softening power of water, ingredients meld together. We become united- much richer, much more nourishing than the parts of the whole.

If I could boil my lessons as a teacher in these schools down to one thing, it is this. Unity built through hardship and collective struggle is a life force necessary to put an end to a system that steals each day from the farmers and workers That exploits the land of it's rich minerals, waters, and elements without returning anything to the soil. That murders those who dare to stand in defense of what is rightly theirs. Our principles of unity, self-determination, and interconnectedness of all beings, is the food of our struggle. In spite of the violence, poverty, and exploitation that our people face under Martial Law and in a colonial relationship with the United States, we unite to win. It is my belief, and of those with whom I struggle, that this is the only way forward in creating a new society, a more whole relationship to the land, waters, and one another.

***

"Asa ka muadto kuya? " (Where will you be going?).

"Mobalik nako US. Pero gusto ko magpuyo diri kuyog sa mga Lumad. Gusto ko matindog, makigbisog. Balik nako usa o duha ka taon pa."

(I'm going back to the US. But I want to be living here with the Lumad. I want to stand, I want to fight. I'll be back in one or two years.)

"Ah sige, kauban. Balik ka, oi. Hulat lang me nimu. Isulti man ka amung mga stories sa mga kauban nimu." (Ok, comrade. Make sure you come back. We'll be waiting for you. Tell our stories to all of your friends and comrades.)

My heart aches at my departure and I am equally full with the blessings of my community, the land, and the struggle we take part in to transform this world. I take very seriously their call to propagate their stories across the world, to all those with whom I cross paths.

They ask me to share especially their call to bring people to the Philippines with me to witness and take part in their struggle. They request that I galvanize material support for their schools like sustainable agriculture skill shares and financial donations for supplies. They tell me that these resources will aid in developing their farms and schools, especially in the wake of Martial Law. They fill me with determination that international solidarity is a crucial ingredient in our struggle to heal the land, provide free education, and fight to end Martial Law.

***

My feet land upon earth in indigenous Lenape territory, otherwise known as New York and New Jersey. The soils are cold, the wind is brisk. I wear bundled clothes and I place dried cayenne peppers in my socks to keep me warm. This land feels both familiar and foreign. Familiar because the touch of soil is universal; the struggles of farmers and indigenous peoples for land sovereignty are interwoven. Foreign because people in the US are not as quickly mobilized to tirelessly heal the earth and defend the rights of the people who work it. I feel the grief of these differences in my bones. And I remind myself that the land is what binds us in struggle and gives us strength to carry on. This is one of the many difficulties that diasporic people face.

In this place of internal struggle, I find deeper purpose in studying how to cultivate and heal the soil. As a student in Farm School NYC, I begin developing agricultural knowledge to exchange with farmers in the Phillippines. I remember the calls to action made by my comrades. So I heed their call to teach them what they wish to learn as we strengthen our struggle. In my classes, I delve into popular education pedagogies, seed saving of indigenous and ancestral plants, how to nurture crops in ways that honor the needs of the soil as we take from it. As I learn, like minded classmates inspire me as we exchange stories of how our communities are rising to take back what is rightfully ours.

Folks speak of the scarcity of land in New York, the violent gentrification of poor Black communities, the rising fascism of police brutality and growing prison systems. They remind me that we must be rooted in our communities, organize our people to action, and work the land by any means necessary in order to sustain our bodies outside of an exploitative food/labor system. I share stories of peasant farmers and indigenos people in the Philippines occupying their ancestral lands, I speak of brave martyrs in the fight for freedom from state fascism, colonial occupation, and modern-day slavery on the land. My classmates and I mirror one another - our only choice is to fight and create a new society. The land is the basis of all independence and revolution.

The seeds planted within me and my comrades here on Lenape territory and in the Philippines are ones of hope. They are sturdy trees and crops growing deep roots in an interconnected way. These are seeds that are sure to heal the soil despite devastation and bloodshed. I hope that my readers are moved by this story to get involved in the global struggle for land sovereignty, education, and modern colonialism. If you wish to donate to Lumad schools or visit Mindanao to integrate first-hand with peasant and Lumad organizations, email me at [email protected] . I'd be more than happy to find ways for you to connect your work on the land here in the US with those who struggle for land in the Philippines. It is in these connections that we find deep wells of power and solidarity.

FOR FURTHER STUDY:

Pangandoy: The Manobo Struggle for Land, Education, and their future

(19 mins documentary)

Context of Talaingod incident | The decades-old struggle of Lumad in Pantaron Mountain Range for ancestral land, right to self-determination

(short article)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Seeds of Resistance: A Personal Account of the Lumad Struggle for Land Sovereignty

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Editors Note: Many people of diasporic communities maintain deep ties to their home countries. Jersey City, NJ resident, Filipino farmer/organizer Christiaan Delgado-Pfeifer is developing their skills as a student at Farm School NYC so they can share knowledge and support the sovereignty of young people in the Philippines.

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://youtu.be/e2l7Nh8sikE

TITLE: MINDANAO TRIBE EXPERIENCE - Philippines Mountain Community - DRIVING BUKIDNON TO DAVAO ROAD

PUBLISHER: BecomingFilipino
DATE PUBLISHED: January 24, 2021

On August 1994, over 500 Ata-Manobo,
indigenous peoples from the mounta hous
region of Davao del Norte, fled from
militarization and sought refuge in United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Davao City, Southern Philippines.

"We are here because the lands has been taken over by the Alamara (paramilitary). They have eaten the pigs. We cannot work on our fields. We are here because we are asking for help. We really want to return. We hope this problem will be solved. We want to go home to our land.", said by their representative.

Learner: Julyahna Lapido

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
MINDANAO TRIBE EXPERIENCE - Philippines Mountain Community - DRIVING BUKIDNON TO DAVAO ROAD

# data[].attributes.body
URL: http://davaotoday.com/main/human-rights/infographic-why-are-lumad-students-protesting-against-deped/

TITLE: INFOGRAPHIC: Why are Lumad students protesting against DepEd?

AUTHOR: Mara S. Genovita
DATE PUBLISHED: November 23, 2017

The Department of Education (DepEd) is imposing layers upon layers of impossible standards that do not match the actual situation and needs of Lumad communities, including electrical wiring plans where grid power does not feed into their villages.

They also demand Briones revoke DepEd Memo No. 221 issued by former secretary Armin Luistro, which serves as a guide for the military to conduct activities within school premises.

In other words, the military, according to Valle, is allowed to enter schools and interfere in academic activities as “part of their counter-insurgency operations.”

Learner: Zane Evangelista

# data[].attributes.body
URL:
https://cda.gov.ph/updates/how-oppressed-are-the-indigenous-peoples/

TITLE:  HOW OPPRESSED ARE THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES?
AUTHOR: Orlando R. Ravanera
DATE PUBLISHED: October 4, 2020

In San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon, the more than 5,000 hectares of the ancestral domain of the Higaonon Tribe led by Bae Merlita Mayantao had been fenced in 2015 by  rich and powerful ranchers with well-armed security guards. When the Tribe stood firm to protect their Ancestral Domain right, there was this order to kill them.

The enclosure of the commons is not just limited to land-grabbing.  It also included the enclosure of the IPs’ water rights.  And when a lady datu named Bae Leah in San Fernando, Bukidnon led to stop such blatant violation of their water rights, she was murdered a year ago.

Learner: Jan Philippe Conarco

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
HOW OPPRESSED ARE THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES? | CDA

# data[].attributes.headline
14) NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION OR ACADEMIC INSTITUTION ARTICLE

# data[].attributes.subject
14) NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION OR ACADEMIC INSTITUTION ARTICLE

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://www.filipinaslibrary.org.ph/articles/the-lumad-of-mindanao/

TITLE: THE LUMAD OF MINDANAO
AUTHOR: Filipinas Heritage Library
DATE PUBLISHED: 2018

The Subanen also refer to a several ethnolinguistic groups found in the hills and coastal lowlands of Zamboanga. They are slash-and-burn farmers who fish, hunt, gather, and practice little trade.

The Minoritization of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago outlines “what the Lumads (sic) desire,” which can also be said to reflect the struggles of the lumad throughout history up to the present. According to the book, the lumad want:

the return of all lands taken from them through deceit, harassment, illegal manipulation, or simply grabbed;

the government to cancel permits secured by individuals and companies operating logging, mining, pastures, rattan gathering, and other agri-based industries within lumad territories. These businesses may operate within areas of ancestral domain only with the permission of individual “tribes”;

the migration of settlers into ancestral domain controlled;

their culture to be learned, respected, and taught as part of the DepEd curriculum;

the government to stop militarization in lumad territories, stop the recruitment of lumad into paramilitary units, and stop the improper use of the lumad pangayaw (revenge raids); and

the government to stop recognizing “fake Lumad organizations and fake datu which has become standard practice not only to foil or diffuse legitimate Lumad aspirations but also to advance selfish interests among government officials and their influential friends.”

Learner: Julyahna Lapido

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The indigenous cultural communities (ICC) in the Philippines are believed to make up about ten percent of the national population. Also known as cultural minorities, they had been pushed to the mountains and forests by lowlanders ever since towns and cities were built. Most of the ICC do not possess money or private property and, widely discriminated against, find it hard to integrate with mainstream society. With the destruction of the forests as well as with efforts of the lowland majority to assimilate them into Christian culture, the ICC struggle to protect their ancestral domain and cultural identity.

In 1986, fifteen of the more than eighteen ICC in Mindanao adopted the term lumad, a Bisayan word for "native" or "indigenous," to distinguish themselves from the Christians and Muslims in Mindanao. Republic Act 6734, enacted during Corazon Aquino's time, used the term to differentiate these ethnic communities from the Bangsamoro people.

Lumad are non-Muslim or non-Christian, although "the orientation of their cultural developments ... appears to be toward the Muslim groups" (Jocano, 1998). The anthropologist Felipe Landa Jocano stresses that "in most cases, language is the only differentiating element in ethnic cultures, particularly among those which occupy adjacent and contiguous territory." Most of the ICC in Mindanao speak languages belonging to the Manobo family of languages, except the Blaan, T'boli, and Teduray.

Broadly speaking, the ICC in Mindanao can be found in the following overlapping regions:

South Central Mindanao (esp. Davao, Bukidnon, Cotabato): Bagobo, Tagakaolo, Teduray, Manobo, Kulaman, Blaan, T'boli

Eastern Mindanao (esp. Agusan, Bukidnon, Davao, Surigao): Mandaya, Ata, Mansaka, Dibabawon

North Central Mindanao (esp. Bukidnon): Bukidnon/Higaonon

Western Mindanao and the Sulu Islands (esp. Zamboanga, Cotabato, Lanao): Maguindanao, Iranun, Maranao, Tausug, Samal, Yakan, Kalibugan, and Subanen

The lumad who live within the southern highland ranges are swidden farmers, and practice little trade. Like many of its neighbors, Bagobo society is ruled by a class of warriors known as magani or bagani. The Bagobo's elaborate dress and personal adornment are well known among anthropologists. The T'boli and Teduray are also known for their baskets, trinkets, bracelets, and earrings made of brass. The T'boli's t'nalak are prized fabrics believed to be inspired by the dreams of the woman weavers.

The Mandaya, Agusan Manobo, and Ata share numerous cultural traits and social institutions such as in clothing and religious rituals. They practice slash-and-burn farming and trade with neighbors. Warriors, headed by the datu, are greatly valued and respected.

On the mountains and plateaus of Bukidnon live a number of ICC collectively known as Bukidnon (from a Bisayan word for "mountain people") but who call themselves Higaonon, or "mountain dwellers." The mountains and ravines had separated them from their neighbors, and may account for why many of their traditions and practices have been maintained. In recent years, however, the Higaonon are slowly being assimilated into the prevailing lowland culture.

The Subanen also refer to a several ethnolinguisiticgroups found in the hills and coastal lowlands of Zamboanga. They are slash-and-burn farmers who fish, hunt, gather, and practice little trade.

The Minoritization of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago outlines "what the Lumads (sic) desire," which can also be said to reflect the struggles of the lumad throughout history up to the present. According to the book, the lumad want:

the return of all lands taken from them through deceit, harassment, illegal manipulation, or simply grabbed;

the government to cancel permits secured by individuals and companies operating logging, mining, pastures, rattan gathering, and other agri-based industries within lumad territories. These businesses may operate within areas of ancestral domain only with the permission of individual "tribes";

the migration of settlers into ancestral domain controlled;

their culture to be learned, respected, and taught as part of the DepEd curriculum;

the government to stop militarization in lumad territories, stop the recruitment of lumad into paramilitary units, and stop the improper use of the lumad pangayaw (revenge raids); and

the government to stop recognizing "fake Lumad organizations and fake datu which has become standard practice not only to foil or diffuse legitimate Lumad aspirations but also to advance selfish interests among government officials and their influential friends."

Photo caption: Teduray woman and child, Upi, Cotabato, 1972 References:
Jocano, F Landa. Filipino Indigenous Ethnic Communities: Patterns, Variations, and Typologies. Punlad Research House, Inc. Quezon City: 1998

Hamilton, Roy (ed). From the Rainbow's Varied Hue: Textiles of the Southern Philippines. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. California: 1998

Rodil, BR. The Minoritization of the Indigenous Communities of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao, Inc. Davao City: 2004

Ulindang, Faina. "Lumad in Mindanao." National Commission for Culture and the Arts. http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?i=189, accessed March 19, 2014

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Filipinas Heritage Library | The Lumad of Mindanao

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The indigenous cultural communities (ICC) in the Philippines are believed to make up about ten percent of the national population. Also known as cultural minorities, they had been pushed to the mountains and forests by lowlanders ever since towns and cities were built.

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8yZDA1NWIwNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/NTQ4N2U5ZGQtYThiYi00ZGUxLWIwMTktY2ZjNDJlNWQ0YjY5?hl=en-PH&ved=2ahUKEwi5h-vXpOP5AhXBEogKHdtOBzwQjrkEegQIAhAI&ep=6

TITLE: Kasinatian, Kasayuran, Kasaysayan, Kamatuoran - Lumad: Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao
AUTHOR: Ryan Dave Rayla, Cherub Daraman
DATE PUBLISHED: August 26, 2020

Cherub Daraman, a young advocate for the Lumad, joins Ryan Dave Rayla in this episode to discuss about why the Lumad matters and how we can help via the LumadAko Initiative.

Learner: Francis Tahadlangit

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kasinatian, Kasayuran, Kasaysayan, Kamatuoran - Lumad: Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cherub Daraman, a young advocate for the Lumad, joins us in this episode to discuss about why the Lumad matters and how we can help via the LumadAko Initiative.

# data[].attributes.body
URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR8QAD84tLM

TITLE: Investigative Documentaries: Lumad community, nakarehistro ba sa gobyerno?
PUBLISHER: GMA Public Affairs
DATE PUBLISHED: February 1, 2020
DATE AIRED: January 30, 2020

Indigenous people, already deprived of their community, face another adversity: members not having "Birth Certificates."

Most Lumads, if not all of them, were still mystified over the eminence of having a birth certificate.

A strong-willed young volunteer teacher decided to illuminate the once gloomy lives of young Lumads who were adamant that they were going to be educated.

When they try to get educated by fresh graduates volunteering, they easily get associated with being terrorists. Both the former and latter are on the receiving end, and as a result, both parties are red-tagged by people who find the aforementioned a source of their euphoria.

Learner: Jan Philippe Conarco

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Investigative Documentaries: Lumad community, nakarehistro ba sa gobyerno?

# data[].attributes.body
URL: (1:04:04) https://facebook.com/nqc2021/videos/1031790854134211/

TITLE: Local History PH Episode 7: Mindanao Part 1
AUTHOR: National Quincentennial Committee, Republic of the Philippines
DATE PUBLISHED: May 26, 2022

As Lumads have the fewest or most limited access to education, students find it difficult to understand language outside their scope, also given the fact that there are over 30 dialects or languages revolving around the lumad community. For this reason, every language is used in a classroom for the students to understand the topic and because of this, they became more confident about themselves.

Learner: Zane Evagelista

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
National Quincentennial Committee, Republic of the Philippines

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Local History PH Episode 7: Mindanao Part 1 | 26 May 2022 | Local History PH Episode 7: Mindanao Part 1 | 26 May 2022

Join us on 26 May at 10 AM for the seventh and penultimate episode of Season 1 of Local... | By National Quincentennial Committee, Republic of the Philippines | Facebook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
8.1K views, 5 likes, 3 loves, 5 comments, 5 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from National Quincentennial Committee, Republic of the Philippines: Local History PH Episode 7: Mindanao Part 1 | 26 May...

# data[].attributes.body
URL : https://vdoc.pub/documents/a-mountain-of-difference-the-lumad-in-early-colonial-mindanao-1vch9ujh7nag

TITLE: A Mountain Of Difference: The Lumad In Early Colonial Mindanao
AUTHOR: Oona Paredes
DATE PUBLISHED: 2013

The second expediente relates to comparable demands put forth by a different group of datus representing six different communities in Misamis in 1838, a little over a century after the first letter described above. In this document, the Lumad request conditional incorporation into Spanish dominion, principally through an explicit request for the intervention of colonial officials in local politics, as they ask for justices of the peace to be appointed among their datus "according to the example of the Christian settlements." As in the first expediente, this second one outlines an attempt by Lumad leaders to secure major concessions in terms of fulfilling obligations related to tribute and corvee labor that was expected by Spain of all its native Philippine subjects. And, as in the first expediente, this letter includes an impassioned plea by concerned officials that Spain accepts these costly demands because the Lumads and Lumad territories have become critically important to Spain's efforts to contain the piracy of the neighboring Moros.

Learner: Francis Tahadlangit

# data[].attributes.body
URL: https://smujo.id/aje/article/view/4453/3657

TITLE: Importance of indigenous communities’ knowledge and perception in achieving biodiversity conservation: A case study from Manobo tribe of Southern Mindanao, Philippines
AUTHOR: Florence Roy P. Salvana & Shane Love T. Arnibal
DATE PUBLISHED: November 2019

In terms of educational attainment, 60 (60%) out of 100 were high school level,  21 (21%)  were at the elementary level and  7 (7%) were at the college level.

This result indicates that even at the lower educational level, the importance of biodiversity has been discussed and taught.  In addition, respondents with lower educational levels have been involved in some activities related to biodiversity conservation which may have contributed to their perception.  It is also possible that the perception of the importance of biodiversity is a result of traditional knowledge transfer from elder Manobos.

Learner: Julyahna Lapido

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
View of Importance of indigenous communities' knowledge and perception in achieving biodiversity conservation: A case study from Manobo tribe of Southern Mindanao, Philippines

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Return to Article Details Importance of indigenous communities' knowledge and perception in achieving biodiversity conservation: A case study from Manobo tribe of Southern Mindanao, Philippines