His Excellency Sidney Collie (second from right), Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, was included in OAS delegation led by OAS Assistant Secretary General Mendez Nestor Mendez (center) on a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian, 4th Street, S.W. & Independence Avenue S.W., on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Organization of American States (OAS) Assistant Secretary General Nestor Mendez led an OAS delegation on a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian, 4th Street, S.W. & Independence Avenue S.W., on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.
The museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution, is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of the native cultures of the Western Hemisphere.
From August 6 – 10, the OAS currently is celebrating the First Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples, with a number of activities designed to highlight the culture, traditions, languages and other contributions of indigenous peoples in several fields.
The activities include:
• From August 6 to 10, an Art Exhibition on Indigenous Peoples at the Marcus Garvey Hall of Culture at the Organization’s headquarters, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. The exhibition also includes paintings and crafts depicting indigenous life, culture and traditions.
• On August 8, a delegation comprised of Permanent Representatives to the OAS, Permanent Observer States, representatives of indigenous communities and senior staff at the General Secretariat visited the National Museum of the American Indian to raise awareness of the history and reality of the indigenous peoples of the region.
• On August 9, the OAS Permanent Council held a special meeting at its headquarters in Washington DC, to promote dialogue for advancing policies on the rights of indigenous peoples and promote their social inclusion in the Americas.
Speakers included Clément Chartier, representative of Métis Nation (Canada); Hector Huertas, Indigenous representative for Central America for the negotiations on the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Panama); Hugo Tacuri, representative of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Peru (CONAIP); and Alvaro Botero, representative of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
• On August 10, the OAS will host an Inter-American Forum on Indigenous Peoples of the Americas that will include prominent indigenous representatives of the Hemisphere and national authorities with responsibility for policy on indigenous peoples. Participants will address topics such as the Implementation of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Indigenous languages of the Americas; and Rights of indigenous women.
Expert panelists at the forum will include: Armstrong Wiggins, Director of the Indian Law Resource Center, Washington, D.C (USA); Brooklyn Rivera, Foundation for the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge (Nicaragua); José Víctor Estrada Torres, Technical Chief, Department of Intercultural Education, Ministry of Public Education (Costa Rica); and Rosa Iveth Montezuma, Miss Panama 2018, the first woman of Indigenous origin to win the pageant in Panama.
