Statement of the Consultation on
"Journeying Together with Indigenous Peoples
in Their Search for Life"

The theme "Journeying Together with Indigenous Peoples in Their Search for Life" brought 24 participants from different parts of Asia and Australia. We are grateful to the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), for providing the platform for this important consultation.

We, the Indigenous Peoples from Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, and Myanmar, came together at Cairns, where we were welcomed by an Elder of the of the IRUKANDJI Aborigines, to share our stories of struggle, and our hopes, to see how God is being involved in our struggle for new life together in Jesus Christ.

We affirm the Indigenous Peoples' rights to recognition and self-determination.

As each participant unfolded their stories in their journey of hope, we found many common rich spiritual heritages and how God has been travelling with us since the beginning of time, deepening our faith in God through Jesus Christ. The sharing of myths, stories, dances and songs in worship and in consultation, helped us to discover that there is hope in the midst of despair. We experienced the power and hope of the human person within the Yarrabah community, which strongly demonstrated to us the similar sufferings of all Indigenous Peoples worldwide.

The Indigenous Peoples are the original inhabitants of the land and although we are the minority group of the general population, we continue to struggle to preserve our cultures. It is our right to develop ourselves as Peoples in accordance to our cultural patterns, social institutions, legal systems and spiritual heritages. Our spirituality is a holistic one. We uphold a spirituality where nature, human beings, and spirit are dependent on each other as organisms and are inseparably interrelated. Land is the greatest gift of God to us. It is our mother and sustaining power. Land is sacred and the sustainer of life. It is the land that owns us and gives us our identity. It is through the land that we become one with all living creatures, our ancestors and spirits, and our Sacred Power. Land is our identity and spiritual foundation. We find spiritual strength, hope and liberative power by maintaining harmony and justice with God, the land, and all of Creation. We recognise in Indigenous cultures and spiritualities the potential to further human development and to save the earth from destruction.

The Indigenous Peoples' history in Asia and Australia is one of survival despite ongoing suffering and oppression. Since colonial times, we have suffered discrimination, genocide, exploitation and alienation in different stages of our history. As a result of many years of slavery and subjugation, many Indigenous Peoples have lost homelands, traditions, languages, customs and cultures. The loss of our self-esteem and confidence has developed into a feeling of inferiority.

Modern independent nations have reinforced more injustices and afflictions on Indigenous Peoples. In the name of development, progress and tourism, the inalienable rights of Indigenous Peoples over land and resources have been forcibly taken away. Repressive laws have resulted in our people being uprooted, dislocated and evicted from their ancestral homes. Our lands, rivers and seas are being polluted, and forests lay wasted. Our sacred areas have been destroyed, resulting in some disconnection with our culture and spirituality.

Today, in the name of national integration, Indigenous Peoples are denied their basic human rights to use their languages and cultures, while in other countries the existence of Indigenous Peoples is simply ignored with the policy of homogeneity. With the accelerating deterioration of the global economic and political situation, Indigenous Peoples face further marginalisation and graver threats to their cultural future. The rights and existence of Indigenous Peoples are completely ignored. Furthermore Indigenous Peoples are becoming increasingly vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation such as sexual violence, child labour, forced labour, trafficking of children, drugs and substance abuse, armed conflict, violence, state terrorism, and lack of legal protection mechanisms.

Justice, Peace and Hope Have Gone.

Therefore,

#  We, the Indigenous Peoples, affirm to journey together in building a better future for our communities, families and the World through Jesus Christ our Lord.
#  We appeal to the churches, national councils of churches, CCA and NCCA to recognise the existence and place of Indigenous Peoples in the world, and to affirm their rights to self-determination.
#  We appeal to the Churches, National Councils of Churches, CCA and NCCA to continue the struggle with the Indigenous Peoples in their journey in faith with God through our rich spiritual heritages.
#  We appeal to theological seminaries in Asia and Australia to promote theology from the context of Indigenous Peoples' search for life.
#  We appeal to the churches, national councils of churches, CCA and NCCA to stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples' search for life by empowering and coordinating a network of Indigenous Peoples in Asia and Australia.
#  We appeal to governments to restore basic human rights such as justice, land rights, languages, cultures and spiritualities.


Cairns, Australia
28th September to 6th October 2002