México Indígena
Encyclopedia
México Indígena is the controversial prototype project of the Bowman
Expeditions, an initiative of the American Geographical Society
to organize international teams of geographers to research potentially important place-based issues and restore the role of geographers as advisers to U.S. government foreign policy. The stated objective of the México Indígena project is to produce maps of the "digital human terrain," of the region's indigenous peoples. As asserted by Jeremy Dobson, the American Geographical Society's President
, and a key México Indígena project advocate and participant "much of the human terrain concept, however controversial, sits at the core of our discipline".
The México Indígena project began in 2005, and the bulk of its work will end in 2008. Led by a multinational team of Latin Americanist geographer
s, including Peter Herlihy
the Associate Director and Graduate Advisor, Latin American Studies, University of Kansas
, as well as Jeremy Dobson and Miguel Aguilar Robledo, it focuses on the geography
of Mexico's indigenous populations and the changes in the cultural landscape and conservation of natural resources resulting from the gargantuan land certification and privatization program called the Programa de Certificación de Derechos Ejidales y Titulación de Solares (Program for the Certification of Ejido Rights and Titling of House Plots or PROCEDE). The legal changes initiated by the PROCEDE program may eventually lead to the disappearance of the Registro Agrario Nacional (RAN) http://www.ran.gob.mx/ran/, Mexico's rural land registry for communal property (ejido
s and mainly indigenous comunidades agrarias).
México Indígena's primary method for obtaining and understanding geographic data is participatory research
mapping (PRM). In PRM, local investigators, chosen by the communities, are trained by the formal researcher in geographic data gathering techniques. Cognitive mental (individual) maps are converted to consensual (community) maps, including only features whose nature, name, and coordinates have been verified. These are then converted to standardized maps, which the communities may choose to use for educational, political, legal, or other, purposes. Participatory maps of resource-use areas, for example, have been used successfully for indigenous territorial claims in Panama (Herlihy 2003) and elsewhere. México Indígena's primary tool for joining data from different sources to produce maps and to analyze trends is geographic information system
s (GIS).
Sponsoring and collaborating institutions and participants of the México Indígena research project have included the University of Kansas
(US), the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí (Mexico), the Foreign Military Studies Office
, Radiance Technologies (US) http://www.radiancetech.com/, and the Mexican
federal environmental ministry SEMARNAT.
In many respects the México Indígena project is an example of military geography
.
"FMSO's goal is to help increase an understanding of the world's cultural terrain."
The National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges' International Development Project Database Survey notes that the México Indígena research project has received between $751,000-$1,000,000 from all sources external funds, including: U.S. Department of Defense, Foreign Military Studies Office; U.S. Department of State, Fulbright-Garcia Robles; the American Geographical Society; the University of Kansas' Center of Latin American Studies; Mexico's Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales; and the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí.
Imperial Geography: Geopiratería
The false attribution of location in the visual arts
has been deemed "geopiracy" by Vogel (2006) and rigorously defined in Vogel et al. (2008). México Indígena raises consequential questions when humans are not falsely
situated (located) in digitally-generated topographies of the human terrain. The ethical questions generated by the moral quagmire associated with efforts such as the México Indígena project have yet to be adequately addressed. While México Indígena's ethical guidelines explicitly assert "No information will be acquired through deception
or misrepresentation" significant concerns have arisen regarding the nature of the research, despite the project's embrace of a putatively participatory research
methodology
that ostensibly "empowers" the local community in geographic knowledge generation and manipulation. Naïve statements by team leaders of Mexico Indígena's controversial land titling
project designed to produce "digital human terrains," (for example, "Experience has proven that, when communities themselves give the world their understandings of their land, the world is better equipped to respect these alternative understandings"), underscore legitimate and deeply troubling questions that have emerged surrounding the ethical conduct of the US-based researchers involved in México Indígena. México Indígena project leader Peter Herlihy and the editor of "Participatory Mapping of Indigenous Lands in Latin America" a special Issue of the journal Human Organization of the Applied Anthropology Association initially explained to the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez
of Oaxaca
(UNOSJO, S.C.) that the proposed research objective was to assess the influence that the Mexican Government's PROCEDE program has had on indigenous people's communities. Nevertheless, Herlihy did not explain that the research initiative he led was financed by United States
Army
's Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO), nor did he mention that research findings would be given directly to FMSO. As the Zapotec's indigenous organization, the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez
of Oaxaca
notes, "Herlihy neglected to mention this despite being expressly asked to clarify the eventual use of the data obtained through research." Similarly, he failed "to acknowledge [to UNOSJO, S.C] the participation of Radiance Technologies, a company that specializes in arms development and military intelligence"
According to a statement released at the end of January 2009 by the Project leader, Peter Herlihy, "FMSO has financed the expedition to Mexico, as well as others to Colombia, the Antilles and Jordan, through the Radiance Corporation http://www.radiancetech.com/ that administers the contracts between FMSO, AGS, and the universities" ("The American Geographical Society's Bowman Expeditions seek to improve geographic understanding at home and abroad: Spotlight on México Indígena"). Managed under contract by Radiance Technologies, an Alabama-based military contractor specializing in intelligence and logistical services, Herlihy's research has been financed through FMSO, indicating for some that "the Mexico Indígena project is involved in gathering intelligence for the US Army."
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/class_homepages/geog_5722_s09/SelectedResponsestoAGS.pdf
According to the Independent Media Center "The researched [Oaxaca] communities knew nothing of this involvement and are left feeling like victims of geopiracy."
The Kansas City
based SmartPort Inc. http://www.kcsmartport.com/ is pushing forward with its project
to convert Kansas City into what is called an inland port
for Mexican shipments, and facilitating the free passage of goods across the Mexican
border
. One may question why Kansas City merchants may have an interest in maps of Mexico. Yet as SmartPort Inc. observes, "Located in the heart of America at the hub of the transcontinental and NAFTA trade corridors, Kansas City is a center of choice for warehousing, manufacturing and distribution". Herlihy has commented that his research in Mexico can can benefit SmartPort Inc. planners by offering them with information about the regions along Mexico's railways. He said, "They can take this information and use it for all kinds of things to really understand what they call the cultural terrain," Herlihy is reported to have also said. "You can't even predict all the uses"
Given the American Geography Society's long and intimate association with imperial agendas, it is perhaps no surprise that the AGS sponsored México Indígena project has been the source of fierce criticism from indigenous organizations in Mexico, not to mention from a student-based group at the University of Kansas
--the academic home of Mexico Indígena (see KUWatch.org). Student supporters of KU Watch's critique of México Indígena demonstrated at the University of Kansas to enhance awareness about research conducted at the University funded by the Department of Defense. In response to criticisms raised by the University of Kansas
student group KU Watch, Peter Herlihy, a leader of the Bowman Expedition, said that he was "proud to raise the flag and say look at what the government is funding," In addition, Herlihy reported that his research project "empowers indigenous people by putting intellectual property where it belongs." Moreover, he noted that "Geographical intelligence is needed for peace and prosperity just like it is needed for war and destruction," . Recently, a number of geographers have written to the AAG requesting that it conduct its own inquiry into the nature and consequences of Peter Herlihy's research in Mexico, which they "feel violated the ethical norms of our profession."
Meanwhile, Esteban Ortiz Rodea, the Mexican State representative for the Secretary for the Environment and Natural Recourses (SEMARNAT) has publicly acknowledged that no Federal funds were used to support the implementation of the "México Indígena" project in the communities of the Sierra Juárez. Moreover, Aldo González, the leader of the Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca (UNOSOJO) apparently only became aware of "México Indígena's" ties to FMSO very recently. González has since joined other Zapotec leaders and expressed grave concern regarding the actual intentions of the United States Department of Defense
-funded project. This concern culminated in mid January, 2009, when Juan Pérez Luna y Aldo González of the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez of Oaxaca (UNOSJO) released a press statement denouncing the México Indígena's lack of full disclosure regarding funding procured from the United States Army
Foreign Military Studies Office
. The full press release can be found at the following link:http://elenemigocomun.net/2059.
The Co-chair of the Indigenous Peoples' Specialty Group (IPSG) of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and Secretary of the Indigenous
People
s' Knowledge
s and Rights
Commission
(IPKRC) of the International Geographical Union (IGU), Renee Pualani Louis, lamented the release of UNOSOJO's declaration by noting how it was such a "sad day for geographers and anyone doing research with Indigenous communities especially in Meso-America."
As the Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca's press release indicates, Zapotec Indigenous Peoples in Mexico are demanding full tansparency from the U.S. scholar leading the United States Department of Defense
funded project. In their words, "Prof. Herlihy failed to mention that he received funding from the Foreign Military Studies Office of the U.S. Armed Forces. The failure to obtain full, free and prior informed consent
is a violation of the rights of indigenous communities as codified in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
adopted by the United Nations
in 2007." (according to UN Declaration Article 11/2, research must be conducted with free prior and informed consent). As noted by the website El Enemigo Común in their essay 'A Road to Hell', "The role of the Foreign Military Studies Office in identifying 'emerging and asymmetric' threats in Oaxaca, Mexico is chilling to say the least. Fort Leavenworth has a vast array of knowledge with regards to how neo-liberal changes in Mexico's property regime will affect indigenous culture and land use" http://elenemigocomun.net/1368. Data from the "México Indígena" project are disseminated monthly at Fort Leavenworth's Foreign Military Studies Office. It is reported that during a conversation between Gen. Petraeus and the project leaders of México Indígena, Petraeus observed that, "knowledge of the cultures is a multiplier of [military] forces…the knowledge of cultural ` terrain' can be as important, and at times more, than the knowledge of the geographic terrain". Accordingly, the project heads of México Indígena are reported to have stated that "the culture and local residents are then the 'decisive terrain'". So-called-participatory mapping PRM
is a technique
that fully capitalizes on local indigenous
knowledge
in the creation of "formalized" maps
necessary for the creation of neo-liberal property
regimes. According to an excerpt from 2006 Methodological Approaches Report of México Indígena: "The participatory mapping, or PM, methodology rests on the philosophy that local populations have some of the best and most detailed knowledge of their surrounding lands and resources and that can be collected and interpreted geographically.".
Neglecting to disclose funding sources to research participants violate the ethical principles of both the Association of American Geographers (AAG) as well as the Belmont Report
. Failure to inform participants about the potential risk
s or unintended consequences associated with the study abrogates the principal of informed consent, and hence violates the rights of the project participant's. México Indígena's military-funded investigations do in fact pose a risk in Oaxaca for individuals and communities, especially in light of the fractious and divisive nature of village and inter-village politics in Southern Mexico, not to mention the socio-political turmoil in this region that has been fragmented by international migration, political factionalism and economic marginalization.
Notwithstanding such critiques, in Peter Herlihy's estimation, México Indígena is a concerted effort to renew "society's commitment to inform the public and the United States government about world geography". The American Geographical Society
has been clear about the potential sanctions accompanying a breach of ethical conduct. According to an AGS document released on the México Indígena web site called "Developing Guidelines for Ethical Conduct of Foreign Field Research":
"Lead scholars and other members of AGS-sponsored expeditions must comport themselves in a manner that respects cultures in the host country while simultaneously adhering to widely held values of American culture. Their actions must not adversely affect the people or natural environments of host countries. A significant breach of this provision may result in recall of individuals or entire expeditions."
The Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca (UNOSJO) has reiterated its rejection of the University of Kansas
geographers associated with the México Indígena Project for failing to obtain informed consent
from the communities involved in the research. UNOSJO continues to maintain that research was conducted in a covert fashion. Moreover, the coordinator of the Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca Aldo González Rojas is reported to have said in Spanish that "the looting of traditional Zapotec knowledge about land and territoriality is tantamount to geopiracy (geopiratería), which is being conducted through the work of México Indígena in the indigenous communities of the Sierra. This in turn has generated an international debate over the ethical nature of social research conducted in indigenous communities."
Aldo González Rojas, speaking on behalf of UNOSJO, has indicated that it is necessary to determine if the information collected by "México Indígena" is for U.S. military or counter-insurgency purposes. As such, UNOSJO has called for complete disclosure of the institutions and corporations with privileged access
to the data collected by México Indigena. UNOSJO holds that the DOD
funded Bowman
expedition in Mexico
is dedicated to developing military
tactics
for application in zones of armed conflict. UNOSJO continues to claim that Mexico's Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) has financed the work of México Indígena through its support of the University of San Luis. SEMARNAT has previously disputed UNOSJO's claim, saying they have not funded the implementation of the "México Indígena" project in indigenous or mestizo communities in the Sierra Juárez. According to Esteban Ortiz Rodea, reports from the indigenous communities of Tiltepec, Yagavila, Ixtlán, Yagila and Guelatao suggest few indications of the actual communal collection of zapping information, despites "México Indígena" project's championing of PRM
.
Posted on the México Indígena web site is an image
of a "parcel sketch map
of part of community of La Pila, with request to PROCEDE authorities" from an ejidatario of the Pila—Municipio de Ciudad Valles, which provides digitized visual identification of families tying them to place (parcels).
http://web.ku.edu/~mexind/ In addition to mapping the region, the México Indígena team established a
database that includes the names of community members, the location of their plot(s) of land, the formal and informal use of their territories, as well as other data that is not accessible via the Internet. An egregious human rights
concern that emanates from the México Indígena project is the alleged deception
research
, not to mention the privileged knowledge associated with "digitally" tying people to place and then releasing this critical cultural terrain
intelligence
information
to immigration
and other border
security
personnel. To date, this vital ethical concern has not been addressed by the México Indígena team, while this concern was lauded by a recent apologetic analysis of the project which notes that, "PROCEDE's effects on the Mexican populace is a perfect example of salient GIS information untapped by the IC. The United States Department of Homeland Security
's Customs and Border Protection, based on hometowns or origins of detained illegal immigrants where PROCEDE has been enacted, could identify out-migration trends from Mexico
and enhance the deployment and effectiveness of border protection resources" (See the description of México Indígena in Batson, Douglas 2009 Registering The Human Terrain: A Valuation of Cadastre. National Defence Intelligence Press). The OaxacaLibre web site is clear in expressing regional apprehension regarding México Indígenas treatment of confidential data, asserting that the local community should control such sensitive data
: "El derecho a la información se maneja también dentro del derecho de la privacidad, el conocimiento comunitario debe ser controlado por la comunidad."
Araujo Saulo 2009. "Zapotec Indigenous People in Mexico Demand Transparency from U.S. Scholar" Anarkismo. January 22.
Avendaño, Olga Rosario 2009. "Denuncian que EEUU hace labores de contrainsurgencia en poblaciones indígenas de Oaxaca." Jan. 14 Olor de mi tierra. web site
Ávila Magdalena 2009 "Ejecutó EU trabajo contrainsurgente en la Sierra Juárez, acusa Unosjo" E-Consulta website January 15 ADN Sureste web site.
Betrán García, Hermógenes, 2009 "'Saberes indígenas' robados" 15 Feb ADN Sureste web site.
Briseño, Patricia 2009 "Financia ejército de los EU proyecto encubierto de investigación" Quadratín Jan. 15.
Briseño Patricia 2009. "Semarnat se borró del mapeo." EXonline. January 17.
Coordinación para el Diálogo y la Negociación en Chiapas 2009 "Personal militar de EU mapeó partes del país" Feb. 10.
Davies, Nancy 2009 "Geographic Survey Project of the Sierra Juarez Mountains Stirs Protests: In Oaxaca, Geographers Deny Surveillance Charges" The Narco News Bulletin February 21.
Dobson, J. 2006. AGS Conducts Fieldwork in Mexico. Ubique. Vol 26, No. 1.
Forte, Maximilian 2009. "Contemporary Colonial Scholarship and the Spreading Human Terrain System: AGS Bowman Expeditions, Zapotec Indians, and onto the Caribbean." Posted in COLONIALISM/IMPERIALISM OPEN ANTHROPOLOGY Jan. 29.
Herlihy, P. 2003. Participatory research mapping of indigenous lands in Darien, Panama. Human Organization. 62: 315-331
Herlihy, P. 2007 Mapas Comunales de La Lima, La Pila, Chuchupe, Kuatlamayan, Chimalaco, Tazaquil, Tacuime, and Santa Cruz, Mexico. México Indígena: Cartografía partícipativa, tenencia de la tierra, uso de los recursos naturales y conservación ambiental en comunidades indigenas de la Huasteca, Mexico:. Información obtenida a través de Etno-investigadores Locales.
Herlihy, P. and G. Knapp. 2003. Maps of, by, and for the Peoples of Latin America. Human Organization 62.
Herlihy, Peter H., Jerome Dobson, Miguel Aguilar Robledo, Derek Smith, John Kelly, and Viera, Aida Ramos 2008 "A digital geography of indigenous Mexico: prototype for the American Geographical Society's Bowman expeditions." (GEOGRAPHICAL FIELD NOTE). The Geographical Review.
Herlihy Peter H., and Miguel Aguilar-Robledo 2007 "The First Bowman Expedition: Methodology and Focus on Indigenous Mexico" Bill Wood Commemorative Session III: The New AGS Bowman Expeditions Association of American Geographer's Annual Meeting, San Francisco, April.
Herlihy, Peter, Derek Smith, John Kelly and Jerome Dobson 2006. "México Indígena: Mexican Open-Source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Project Final Report, Year One", Prepared by the Radiance Research Team for the Foreign Military Studies Office and the American Geographical Society June 5.
Hernández, Carlos Alberto 2009 "Aldo González actúa con fines electorales, alerta Semarnat La dependencia no financió ni conoció del proyecto México Indígena, afirma delegado estatal." El Imparcial Jan. 23 .
2008 jornada web site "Los geógrafos, el ejército estadunidense y el Procede" Saqueados, reprimidos, exiliados... y rebeldes.
Maines, Sophia 2006 "Expeditions touted as modern intelligence gathering" Exploring the world anew October 23
Matias, Perdro 2009 "Exigen se investiguen posibles violaciones a pueblos indígenas." Barricada de Oaxaca. Jan. 16
Matías, Pedro 2009 "Repudian en Oaxaca el proyecto México indígena" Proceso. Feb. 19 Oaxaca web site
MÉXICO INDÍGENA 2008 "Mexico Open Source Geographic Information Systems (MOS-GIS)" Project Status Reports February.
Oaxaca Libre 2009 "EXPEDICIONES MEXICO INDIGENA Y EL CONTROVERSIAL HUMAN TERRAIN SYSTEM." Feb. 3
Oaxaca Study Action Group 2009 "Fwd: Zapotec Indigenous People in Mexico Demand Transparency from U.S" Jan. 30 Oaxaca Study Action Group web site.
Observador Ciudadano 2009 "Exige Calderón acción ciudadana contra corrupción ¿Estados Unidos invadido por la corrupción y el narco mexicano?¿La Ruta de la Fuerza Militar? ¿La Ruta de la Democracia? ¿La Ruta de la Corrupción?" Prospectiva Política. Jan. 21.
Ribeiro, Silvia 2009 "Geo-Piracy in Oaxaca... and Much More US Academics Are Mapping Resources in Mexico; Corporations and the US Military Are the Beneficiaries of the Data" La Jornada. February 3.
Radiance Research Team (Herlihy, Peter H., Derek A. Smith, John H. Kelly, Jerome E. Dobson) 2006 "Overview and Preliminary Analysis of Nine Communities in the Huasteca Potosina" Prepared for the Foreign Military Studies Office and the American Geographical Society. June 5.
Stanton, John 2009. "Human Terrain System meets the Bowman expeditions: US Army/TRADOC Embroiled in Another Controversy." Jan. 29 Pravda website.
Public Policy News and Research web site.
Torrentera G. Lilia 2009 "¿Qué hacen las Expediciones Bowman en México?" Jan 15 Cuidadania Express web site
Torrentera G., Lilia 2009 "Permite gobierno mexicano espionaje de EU en zonas indígenas." Jan 15 Cuidadania Express web site.
"WKU Department Head To Participate In Forum On Global Human Terrain Analysis."
UNOSJO, S.C. 2009 PRESS BULLETIN FROM UNION OF ORGANIZATIONS OF THE SIERRA JUÁREZ OF OAXACA (UNOSJO, S.C.) Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico 14 January (Denouncing México Indígena Project and demanding that Peter Herlihy "honor his promise of transparency and that the Mexican public be made aware all his sources of funding and the institutions that received information on findings obtained in the communities.")
Vogel, Joseph, 2006. "The Economic Justification for Ecocritical Certification of Big-Budget Movies
(A Means to Finance a Center for Ecocriticism?)" Proceedings of the 2006 Meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico March 15–18
Vogel, Joseph, Janny Robles, Camilo Gomides, and Carlos Muñiz, 2008. "Geopiracy as an Emerging Issue in Intellectual Property Rights: The Rationale for Leadership by Small States" 21 Tulane Environmental Law Journal (Spring), 391-406.
Zavala, Juan Carlos 2009 "Espía Ejército de EU a Oaxaca." Diario Despertar Jan 14.
Grassroots International website
Mexico Indigena research project website
Open Anthropology website
Independent Media Center web site
Mens Journal website
KUWatch website describing México Indígena
Infoshop News web site
Geography and Geology Blog@WKU web site
deletetheborder.org website
Lawrence Journal World website
todo el poder al pueblo web site
Espía Ejército de EU a Oaxaca
"Comentario, vida y Obra: Inteligencia abierta usada para el control social."
Indigenous People's Issues Today web site
NASULGC International Development Project Database Survey web site
Democrata Norte de Mexico web site
El Blog de Frida web site
Pagina Digital web site
Anarkismo web site site
Oaxaca. Mexico Wire-Topix web site
Ukhampacha Bolivia web site
In Harmonium: Being in the main the musings of a Symbolic Anthropologist web site
KASONLARED.NET web site
Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources web site
The Map Room web site
Piensa Chile web site
El Mercurio web site
Narco News web site
The Seoul Times web site
Flash Gordon web site
Oaxaca Study Action Group web site
Oaxaca Libre web site
Noticias de la Rebelion web site
Aboriginal Leadership on Geographic Indications: The Geopiracy Exhibit in a Virtual Museum of Bioprospecting, Intellectual Property, and the Public Domain web site
"Después de la biopiratería, comienza la geopiratería." Sociedad Mexico web site
http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:bdx-gsLLRMMJ:elistas.egrupos.net/cgi-bin/eGruposDMime.cgi%3FK9D9K9Q8L8xumopxCdtlozmepCWPPXCvthCnoqdy-qlhhyCTRPWhfb7+%22Peter+H+Herlihy%22+AND+Mexico&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us Latin American Studies Guide to AAG-2006 web site.
http://agsg.binghamton.edu/barrysession.html web site of the Applied Geography Specialty Group detailing the 2007 AAG sessions sponsored by the AGSG.
http://www.calmit.unl.edu/aag/Program.php/ Association of American Geographers Joint Annual Meeting of the Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Division and the West Lakes Division Environmental, Social and Economic Transformations of the Prairies and Plains October 5–7, 2006 Lincoln, Nebraska
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=79147 Web site del Comunicado de la UNOSJO "Comunidades zapotecas denuncian ser víctimas de un acto de geopiratería."
Isaiah Bowman
Isaiah Bowman, AB, Ph. D. was an American geographer...
Expeditions, an initiative of the American Geographical Society
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the world...
to organize international teams of geographers to research potentially important place-based issues and restore the role of geographers as advisers to U.S. government foreign policy. The stated objective of the México Indígena project is to produce maps of the "digital human terrain," of the region's indigenous peoples. As asserted by Jeremy Dobson, the American Geographical Society's President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, and a key México Indígena project advocate and participant "much of the human terrain concept, however controversial, sits at the core of our discipline".
The México Indígena project began in 2005, and the bulk of its work will end in 2008. Led by a multinational team of Latin Americanist geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
s, including Peter Herlihy
Peter Herlihy
Peter Herlihy, University of Kansas geographer, the Associate Director and Graduate Advisor, Latin American Studies, University of Kansas and field director of the controversial U.S...
the Associate Director and Graduate Advisor, Latin American Studies, University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, as well as Jeremy Dobson and Miguel Aguilar Robledo, it focuses on the geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
of Mexico's indigenous populations and the changes in the cultural landscape and conservation of natural resources resulting from the gargantuan land certification and privatization program called the Programa de Certificación de Derechos Ejidales y Titulación de Solares (Program for the Certification of Ejido Rights and Titling of House Plots or PROCEDE). The legal changes initiated by the PROCEDE program may eventually lead to the disappearance of the Registro Agrario Nacional (RAN) http://www.ran.gob.mx/ran/, Mexico's rural land registry for communal property (ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
s and mainly indigenous comunidades agrarias).
México Indígena's primary method for obtaining and understanding geographic data is participatory research
Community-based participatory research
Community-based participatory research is research that is conducted as an equal partnership between traditionally trained "experts" and members of a community. In CBPR projects, the community participates fully in all aspects of the research process....
mapping (PRM). In PRM, local investigators, chosen by the communities, are trained by the formal researcher in geographic data gathering techniques. Cognitive mental (individual) maps are converted to consensual (community) maps, including only features whose nature, name, and coordinates have been verified. These are then converted to standardized maps, which the communities may choose to use for educational, political, legal, or other, purposes. Participatory maps of resource-use areas, for example, have been used successfully for indigenous territorial claims in Panama (Herlihy 2003) and elsewhere. México Indígena's primary tool for joining data from different sources to produce maps and to analyze trends is geographic information system
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
s (GIS).
Sponsoring and collaborating institutions and participants of the México Indígena research project have included the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
(US), the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí (Mexico), the Foreign Military Studies Office
Foreign Military Studies Office
The Foreign Military Studies Office, or FMSO, is a research and analysis center for the United States Army that is part of the United States Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth. It manages the Joint Reserve Intelligence Center there.-Mission:...
, Radiance Technologies (US) http://www.radiancetech.com/, and the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
federal environmental ministry SEMARNAT.
In many respects the México Indígena project is an example of military geography
Military geography
Military geography is a sub-field of geography that is used by, not only the military, but also academics and politicians to understand the geopolitical sphere through the militaristic lens...
.
"FMSO's goal is to help increase an understanding of the world's cultural terrain."
The National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges' International Development Project Database Survey notes that the México Indígena research project has received between $751,000-$1,000,000 from all sources external funds, including: U.S. Department of Defense, Foreign Military Studies Office; U.S. Department of State, Fulbright-Garcia Robles; the American Geographical Society; the University of Kansas' Center of Latin American Studies; Mexico's Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales; and the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí.
Imperial Geography: Geopiratería
The false attribution of location in the visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
has been deemed "geopiracy" by Vogel (2006) and rigorously defined in Vogel et al. (2008). México Indígena raises consequential questions when humans are not falsely
Falsity
Falsity or falsehood is a perversion of truth originating in the deceitfulness of one party, and culminating in the damage of another party...
situated (located) in digitally-generated topographies of the human terrain. The ethical questions generated by the moral quagmire associated with efforts such as the México Indígena project have yet to be adequately addressed. While México Indígena's ethical guidelines explicitly assert "No information will be acquired through deception
Deception
Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
or misrepresentation" significant concerns have arisen regarding the nature of the research, despite the project's embrace of a putatively participatory research
Community-based participatory research
Community-based participatory research is research that is conducted as an equal partnership between traditionally trained "experts" and members of a community. In CBPR projects, the community participates fully in all aspects of the research process....
methodology
Methodology
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
that ostensibly "empowers" the local community in geographic knowledge generation and manipulation. Naïve statements by team leaders of Mexico Indígena's controversial land titling
Land titling
Land titling is a form of land reform in which private individuals and families are given formal property rights for land which they have previously occupied informally or used on the basis of customary land tenure...
project designed to produce "digital human terrains," (for example, "Experience has proven that, when communities themselves give the world their understandings of their land, the world is better equipped to respect these alternative understandings"), underscore legitimate and deeply troubling questions that have emerged surrounding the ethical conduct of the US-based researchers involved in México Indígena. México Indígena project leader Peter Herlihy and the editor of "Participatory Mapping of Indigenous Lands in Latin America" a special Issue of the journal Human Organization of the Applied Anthropology Association initially explained to the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez
Sierra Juárez
Sierra de Juárez is a mountain range on the Baja California Peninsula, of Baja California, Mexico. It is part of the Peninsular Ranges. The Laguna Mountains of California lie to the north and the Sierra San Pedro Mártir lies to the south....
of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
(UNOSJO, S.C.) that the proposed research objective was to assess the influence that the Mexican Government's PROCEDE program has had on indigenous people's communities. Nevertheless, Herlihy did not explain that the research initiative he led was financed by United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
's Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO), nor did he mention that research findings would be given directly to FMSO. As the Zapotec's indigenous organization, the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez
Sierra Juárez
Sierra de Juárez is a mountain range on the Baja California Peninsula, of Baja California, Mexico. It is part of the Peninsular Ranges. The Laguna Mountains of California lie to the north and the Sierra San Pedro Mártir lies to the south....
of Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
notes, "Herlihy neglected to mention this despite being expressly asked to clarify the eventual use of the data obtained through research." Similarly, he failed "to acknowledge [to UNOSJO, S.C] the participation of Radiance Technologies, a company that specializes in arms development and military intelligence"
According to a statement released at the end of January 2009 by the Project leader, Peter Herlihy, "FMSO has financed the expedition to Mexico, as well as others to Colombia, the Antilles and Jordan, through the Radiance Corporation http://www.radiancetech.com/ that administers the contracts between FMSO, AGS, and the universities" ("The American Geographical Society's Bowman Expeditions seek to improve geographic understanding at home and abroad: Spotlight on México Indígena"). Managed under contract by Radiance Technologies, an Alabama-based military contractor specializing in intelligence and logistical services, Herlihy's research has been financed through FMSO, indicating for some that "the Mexico Indígena project is involved in gathering intelligence for the US Army."
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/class_homepages/geog_5722_s09/SelectedResponsestoAGS.pdf
According to the Independent Media Center "The researched [Oaxaca] communities knew nothing of this involvement and are left feeling like victims of geopiracy."
The Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
based SmartPort Inc. http://www.kcsmartport.com/ is pushing forward with its project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
to convert Kansas City into what is called an inland port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
for Mexican shipments, and facilitating the free passage of goods across the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
. One may question why Kansas City merchants may have an interest in maps of Mexico. Yet as SmartPort Inc. observes, "Located in the heart of America at the hub of the transcontinental and NAFTA trade corridors, Kansas City is a center of choice for warehousing, manufacturing and distribution". Herlihy has commented that his research in Mexico can can benefit SmartPort Inc. planners by offering them with information about the regions along Mexico's railways. He said, "They can take this information and use it for all kinds of things to really understand what they call the cultural terrain," Herlihy is reported to have also said. "You can't even predict all the uses"
Given the American Geography Society's long and intimate association with imperial agendas, it is perhaps no surprise that the AGS sponsored México Indígena project has been the source of fierce criticism from indigenous organizations in Mexico, not to mention from a student-based group at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
--the academic home of Mexico Indígena (see KUWatch.org). Student supporters of KU Watch's critique of México Indígena demonstrated at the University of Kansas to enhance awareness about research conducted at the University funded by the Department of Defense. In response to criticisms raised by the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
student group KU Watch, Peter Herlihy, a leader of the Bowman Expedition, said that he was "proud to raise the flag and say look at what the government is funding," In addition, Herlihy reported that his research project "empowers indigenous people by putting intellectual property where it belongs." Moreover, he noted that "Geographical intelligence is needed for peace and prosperity just like it is needed for war and destruction," . Recently, a number of geographers have written to the AAG requesting that it conduct its own inquiry into the nature and consequences of Peter Herlihy's research in Mexico, which they "feel violated the ethical norms of our profession."
Meanwhile, Esteban Ortiz Rodea, the Mexican State representative for the Secretary for the Environment and Natural Recourses (SEMARNAT) has publicly acknowledged that no Federal funds were used to support the implementation of the "México Indígena" project in the communities of the Sierra Juárez. Moreover, Aldo González, the leader of the Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca (UNOSOJO) apparently only became aware of "México Indígena's" ties to FMSO very recently. González has since joined other Zapotec leaders and expressed grave concern regarding the actual intentions of the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
-funded project. This concern culminated in mid January, 2009, when Juan Pérez Luna y Aldo González of the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez of Oaxaca (UNOSJO) released a press statement denouncing the México Indígena's lack of full disclosure regarding funding procured from the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Foreign Military Studies Office
Foreign Military Studies Office
The Foreign Military Studies Office, or FMSO, is a research and analysis center for the United States Army that is part of the United States Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth. It manages the Joint Reserve Intelligence Center there.-Mission:...
. The full press release can be found at the following link:http://elenemigocomun.net/2059.
The Co-chair of the Indigenous Peoples' Specialty Group (IPSG) of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and Secretary of the Indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
People
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
s' Knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
s and Rights
Rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
Commission
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
(IPKRC) of the International Geographical Union (IGU), Renee Pualani Louis, lamented the release of UNOSOJO's declaration by noting how it was such a "sad day for geographers and anyone doing research with Indigenous communities especially in Meso-America."
As the Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca's press release indicates, Zapotec Indigenous Peoples in Mexico are demanding full tansparency from the U.S. scholar leading the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
funded project. In their words, "Prof. Herlihy failed to mention that he received funding from the Foreign Military Studies Office of the U.S. Armed Forces. The failure to obtain full, free and prior informed consent
Informed consent
Informed consent is a phrase often used in law to indicate that the consent a person gives meets certain minimum standards. As a literal matter, in the absence of fraud, it is redundant. An informed consent can be said to have been given based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the...
is a violation of the rights of indigenous communities as codified in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly during its 62nd session at UN Headquarters in New York City on 13 September 2007....
adopted by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in 2007." (according to UN Declaration Article 11/2, research must be conducted with free prior and informed consent). As noted by the website El Enemigo Común in their essay 'A Road to Hell', "The role of the Foreign Military Studies Office in identifying 'emerging and asymmetric' threats in Oaxaca, Mexico is chilling to say the least. Fort Leavenworth has a vast array of knowledge with regards to how neo-liberal changes in Mexico's property regime will affect indigenous culture and land use" http://elenemigocomun.net/1368. Data from the "México Indígena" project are disseminated monthly at Fort Leavenworth's Foreign Military Studies Office. It is reported that during a conversation between Gen. Petraeus and the project leaders of México Indígena, Petraeus observed that, "knowledge of the cultures is a multiplier of [military] forces…the knowledge of cultural ` terrain' can be as important, and at times more, than the knowledge of the geographic terrain". Accordingly, the project heads of México Indígena are reported to have stated that "the culture and local residents are then the 'decisive terrain'". So-called-participatory mapping PRM
PRM
-Government:* Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration * Partido de la Revolución Mexicana ; a Mexican political party, successor to the PNR and immediate precedent of the PRI...
is a technique
Scientific technique
A scientific technique is any systematic way of obtaining information about a scientific nature or to obtain a desired material or product.Scientific techniques can be divided in many different groups, e.g.:# Preparative techniques...
that fully capitalizes on local indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
in the creation of "formalized" maps
MAPS
Maps is the plural of map, a visual representation of an area.As an acronym, MAPS may refer to:* Mail Abuse Prevention System, an organisation that provides anti-spam support...
necessary for the creation of neo-liberal property
Property
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
regimes. According to an excerpt from 2006 Methodological Approaches Report of México Indígena: "The participatory mapping, or PM, methodology rests on the philosophy that local populations have some of the best and most detailed knowledge of their surrounding lands and resources and that can be collected and interpreted geographically.".
Neglecting to disclose funding sources to research participants violate the ethical principles of both the Association of American Geographers (AAG) as well as the Belmont Report
Belmont Report
The Belmont Report is a report created by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Its full title is the Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research, Report of the National Commission...
. Failure to inform participants about the potential risk
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
s or unintended consequences associated with the study abrogates the principal of informed consent, and hence violates the rights of the project participant's. México Indígena's military-funded investigations do in fact pose a risk in Oaxaca for individuals and communities, especially in light of the fractious and divisive nature of village and inter-village politics in Southern Mexico, not to mention the socio-political turmoil in this region that has been fragmented by international migration, political factionalism and economic marginalization.
Notwithstanding such critiques, in Peter Herlihy's estimation, México Indígena is a concerted effort to renew "society's commitment to inform the public and the United States government about world geography". The American Geographical Society
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the world...
has been clear about the potential sanctions accompanying a breach of ethical conduct. According to an AGS document released on the México Indígena web site called "Developing Guidelines for Ethical Conduct of Foreign Field Research":
"Lead scholars and other members of AGS-sponsored expeditions must comport themselves in a manner that respects cultures in the host country while simultaneously adhering to widely held values of American culture. Their actions must not adversely affect the people or natural environments of host countries. A significant breach of this provision may result in recall of individuals or entire expeditions."
The Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca (UNOSJO) has reiterated its rejection of the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
geographers associated with the México Indígena Project for failing to obtain informed consent
Informed consent
Informed consent is a phrase often used in law to indicate that the consent a person gives meets certain minimum standards. As a literal matter, in the absence of fraud, it is redundant. An informed consent can be said to have been given based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the...
from the communities involved in the research. UNOSJO continues to maintain that research was conducted in a covert fashion. Moreover, the coordinator of the Unión de Organizaciones de la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca Aldo González Rojas is reported to have said in Spanish that "the looting of traditional Zapotec knowledge about land and territoriality is tantamount to geopiracy (geopiratería), which is being conducted through the work of México Indígena in the indigenous communities of the Sierra. This in turn has generated an international debate over the ethical nature of social research conducted in indigenous communities."
Aldo González Rojas, speaking on behalf of UNOSJO, has indicated that it is necessary to determine if the information collected by "México Indígena" is for U.S. military or counter-insurgency purposes. As such, UNOSJO has called for complete disclosure of the institutions and corporations with privileged access
Access control
Access control refers to exerting control over who can interact with a resource. Often but not always, this involves an authority, who does the controlling. The resource can be a given building, group of buildings, or computer-based information system...
to the data collected by México Indigena. UNOSJO holds that the DOD
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
funded Bowman
Isaiah Bowman
Isaiah Bowman, AB, Ph. D. was an American geographer...
expedition in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
is dedicated to developing military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
tactics
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
for application in zones of armed conflict. UNOSJO continues to claim that Mexico's Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) has financed the work of México Indígena through its support of the University of San Luis. SEMARNAT has previously disputed UNOSJO's claim, saying they have not funded the implementation of the "México Indígena" project in indigenous or mestizo communities in the Sierra Juárez. According to Esteban Ortiz Rodea, reports from the indigenous communities of Tiltepec, Yagavila, Ixtlán, Yagila and Guelatao suggest few indications of the actual communal collection of zapping information, despites "México Indígena" project's championing of PRM
PRM
-Government:* Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration * Partido de la Revolución Mexicana ; a Mexican political party, successor to the PNR and immediate precedent of the PRI...
.
Posted on the México Indígena web site is an image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
of a "parcel sketch map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
of part of community of La Pila, with request to PROCEDE authorities" from an ejidatario of the Pila—Municipio de Ciudad Valles, which provides digitized visual identification of families tying them to place (parcels).
http://web.ku.edu/~mexind/ In addition to mapping the region, the México Indígena team established a
database that includes the names of community members, the location of their plot(s) of land, the formal and informal use of their territories, as well as other data that is not accessible via the Internet. An egregious human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
concern that emanates from the México Indígena project is the alleged deception
Deception
Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment...
research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, not to mention the privileged knowledge associated with "digitally" tying people to place and then releasing this critical cultural terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
to immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and other border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
personnel. To date, this vital ethical concern has not been addressed by the México Indígena team, while this concern was lauded by a recent apologetic analysis of the project which notes that, "PROCEDE's effects on the Mexican populace is a perfect example of salient GIS information untapped by the IC. The United States Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
's Customs and Border Protection, based on hometowns or origins of detained illegal immigrants where PROCEDE has been enacted, could identify out-migration trends from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and enhance the deployment and effectiveness of border protection resources" (See the description of México Indígena in Batson, Douglas 2009 Registering The Human Terrain: A Valuation of Cadastre. National Defence Intelligence Press). The OaxacaLibre web site is clear in expressing regional apprehension regarding México Indígenas treatment of confidential data, asserting that the local community should control such sensitive data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
: "El derecho a la información se maneja también dentro del derecho de la privacidad, el conocimiento comunitario debe ser controlado por la comunidad."
Sources
Aguilar Robledo, Miguel and Peter H. Herlihy 2005 "Tierras, recursos naturales y mapeo comunitario en la Huasteca Potosina, México." CLAAG Instituto de Geografia Unidad Academica Morelia-UNAM.Araujo Saulo 2009. "Zapotec Indigenous People in Mexico Demand Transparency from U.S. Scholar" Anarkismo. January 22.
Avendaño, Olga Rosario 2009. "Denuncian que EEUU hace labores de contrainsurgencia en poblaciones indígenas de Oaxaca." Jan. 14 Olor de mi tierra. web site
Ávila Magdalena 2009 "Ejecutó EU trabajo contrainsurgente en la Sierra Juárez, acusa Unosjo" E-Consulta website January 15 ADN Sureste web site.
Betrán García, Hermógenes, 2009 "'Saberes indígenas' robados" 15 Feb ADN Sureste web site.
Briseño, Patricia 2009 "Financia ejército de los EU proyecto encubierto de investigación" Quadratín Jan. 15.
Briseño Patricia 2009. "Semarnat se borró del mapeo." EXonline. January 17.
Coordinación para el Diálogo y la Negociación en Chiapas 2009 "Personal militar de EU mapeó partes del país" Feb. 10.
Davies, Nancy 2009 "Geographic Survey Project of the Sierra Juarez Mountains Stirs Protests: In Oaxaca, Geographers Deny Surveillance Charges" The Narco News Bulletin February 21.
Dobson, J. 2006. AGS Conducts Fieldwork in Mexico. Ubique. Vol 26, No. 1.
Forte, Maximilian 2009. "Contemporary Colonial Scholarship and the Spreading Human Terrain System: AGS Bowman Expeditions, Zapotec Indians, and onto the Caribbean." Posted in COLONIALISM/IMPERIALISM OPEN ANTHROPOLOGY Jan. 29.
Herlihy, P. 2003. Participatory research mapping of indigenous lands in Darien, Panama. Human Organization. 62: 315-331
Herlihy, P. 2007 Mapas Comunales de La Lima, La Pila, Chuchupe, Kuatlamayan, Chimalaco, Tazaquil, Tacuime, and Santa Cruz, Mexico. México Indígena: Cartografía partícipativa, tenencia de la tierra, uso de los recursos naturales y conservación ambiental en comunidades indigenas de la Huasteca, Mexico:. Información obtenida a través de Etno-investigadores Locales.
Herlihy, P. and G. Knapp. 2003. Maps of, by, and for the Peoples of Latin America. Human Organization 62.
Herlihy, Peter H., Jerome Dobson, Miguel Aguilar Robledo, Derek Smith, John Kelly, and Viera, Aida Ramos 2008 "A digital geography of indigenous Mexico: prototype for the American Geographical Society's Bowman expeditions." (GEOGRAPHICAL FIELD NOTE). The Geographical Review.
Herlihy Peter H., and Miguel Aguilar-Robledo 2007 "The First Bowman Expedition: Methodology and Focus on Indigenous Mexico" Bill Wood Commemorative Session III: The New AGS Bowman Expeditions Association of American Geographer's Annual Meeting, San Francisco, April.
Herlihy, Peter, Derek Smith, John Kelly and Jerome Dobson 2006. "México Indígena: Mexican Open-Source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Project Final Report, Year One", Prepared by the Radiance Research Team for the Foreign Military Studies Office and the American Geographical Society June 5.
Hernández, Carlos Alberto 2009 "Aldo González actúa con fines electorales, alerta Semarnat La dependencia no financió ni conoció del proyecto México Indígena, afirma delegado estatal." El Imparcial Jan. 23 .
2008 jornada web site "Los geógrafos, el ejército estadunidense y el Procede" Saqueados, reprimidos, exiliados... y rebeldes.
Maines, Sophia 2006 "Expeditions touted as modern intelligence gathering" Exploring the world anew October 23
Matias, Perdro 2009 "Exigen se investiguen posibles violaciones a pueblos indígenas." Barricada de Oaxaca. Jan. 16
Matías, Pedro 2009 "Repudian en Oaxaca el proyecto México indígena" Proceso. Feb. 19 Oaxaca web site
MÉXICO INDÍGENA 2008 "Mexico Open Source Geographic Information Systems (MOS-GIS)" Project Status Reports February.
Oaxaca Libre 2009 "EXPEDICIONES MEXICO INDIGENA Y EL CONTROVERSIAL HUMAN TERRAIN SYSTEM." Feb. 3
Oaxaca Study Action Group 2009 "Fwd: Zapotec Indigenous People in Mexico Demand Transparency from U.S" Jan. 30 Oaxaca Study Action Group web site.
Observador Ciudadano 2009 "Exige Calderón acción ciudadana contra corrupción ¿Estados Unidos invadido por la corrupción y el narco mexicano?¿La Ruta de la Fuerza Militar? ¿La Ruta de la Democracia? ¿La Ruta de la Corrupción?" Prospectiva Política. Jan. 21.
Ribeiro, Silvia 2009 "Geo-Piracy in Oaxaca... and Much More US Academics Are Mapping Resources in Mexico; Corporations and the US Military Are the Beneficiaries of the Data" La Jornada. February 3.
Radiance Research Team (Herlihy, Peter H., Derek A. Smith, John H. Kelly, Jerome E. Dobson) 2006 "Overview and Preliminary Analysis of Nine Communities in the Huasteca Potosina" Prepared for the Foreign Military Studies Office and the American Geographical Society. June 5.
Stanton, John 2009. "Human Terrain System meets the Bowman expeditions: US Army/TRADOC Embroiled in Another Controversy." Jan. 29 Pravda website.
Public Policy News and Research web site.
Torrentera G. Lilia 2009 "¿Qué hacen las Expediciones Bowman en México?" Jan 15 Cuidadania Express web site
Torrentera G., Lilia 2009 "Permite gobierno mexicano espionaje de EU en zonas indígenas." Jan 15 Cuidadania Express web site.
"WKU Department Head To Participate In Forum On Global Human Terrain Analysis."
UNOSJO, S.C. 2009 PRESS BULLETIN FROM UNION OF ORGANIZATIONS OF THE SIERRA JUÁREZ OF OAXACA (UNOSJO, S.C.) Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico 14 January (Denouncing México Indígena Project and demanding that Peter Herlihy "honor his promise of transparency and that the Mexican public be made aware all his sources of funding and the institutions that received information on findings obtained in the communities.")
Vogel, Joseph, 2006. "The Economic Justification for Ecocritical Certification of Big-Budget Movies
(A Means to Finance a Center for Ecocriticism?)" Proceedings of the 2006 Meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico March 15–18
Vogel, Joseph, Janny Robles, Camilo Gomides, and Carlos Muñiz, 2008. "Geopiracy as an Emerging Issue in Intellectual Property Rights: The Rationale for Leadership by Small States" 21 Tulane Environmental Law Journal (Spring), 391-406.
Zavala, Juan Carlos 2009 "Espía Ejército de EU a Oaxaca." Diario Despertar Jan 14.