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Indigenous people march calling for rights in Americas
Demonstrators took to the streets in cities from Bolivia to Argentina on Tuesday to mark the Day of the Race.It’s a day also called Columbus Day and indigenous protesters were out to rally against what they describe as oppression towards their communities. People of all ages waved the multicolored Wiphala flag a symbol representing native peoples of the Andes. Since the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, many indigenous communities have decried the discrimination, poverty and displacement of their people.In Argentina, it was about recognising the proud indigenous identity of the country and defending indigenous rights:”How do we fight the governments to make them understand? By fighting, by generating conscience, by not forgetting our languages, by being in unity and not allowing any community to say: ‘I’m from Bolivia, I’m from Chile, I’m Mapuche, I’m Cochala’. No, we are indigenous people who have our identities in the land where we live and we defend the Pachamama (Mother Earth).”In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro gave a speech demanding that Spain should apologise for killing indigenous people during their conquest and colonial rule in the Americas.