My Indigenous Land, My Homeland

Image Source : Aliansi Solidaritas Besipae

Who doesn’t know the United States? As a superpower country, the United States can be said to be a reference for developing countries in determining their public policies. The great economic progress of the United States is also an example that is often presented when their economy wants to be built. However, these developing countries forget that in order to become a superpower, many have to be sacrificed at the start of planning. For example, in the 15th century, when European explorers were colonizing the Americas, they carried out a lot of genocide against Indian tribes.

The struggle for territorial power became one of the reasons for the genocide of the Indian tribes; even for those who were still alive, European explorers forced them to forget their ancestral customs. Starting from the prohibition of the use of the native languages of the Indian tribes, the use of Indian tribal languages led to the destruction of the traditional territories of the Indian tribes and their replacement by European rules, which at that time aimed to exploit America’s natural wealth. The loss of the customary rules of the Indian tribes is because these rules are considered too soft on nature, thus eliminating the economic potential that can be obtained from America’s natural wealth. Even in 2021, there are still human rights and environmental activists of Indian descent who are demanding their rights from the US and Canadian governments for exploiting the customary lands of Indian tribes that do not pay attention to protecting the environment. It is this fact that is often forgotten by developing countries about the bad effects of excessive coercion on development due to being enticed by investment and economic gains without regard to the values of the customs of their respective regions.

In Indonesia itself, there have been many state policies in the name of economic development and investment that ultimately damaged the environment, especially local customary land. The Dayak tribe in West Kalimantan is one of the tribes that has suffered losses because their customary territories have begun to be eroded due to mining activities. Their customary laws are unable to match the legal force of Regional Regulations (Perda) issued by the local government, which provide access for mining companies to customary territories. Dayak tribe. Even though the power of customary law has been recognized by the Constitution as a basic guideline in managing natural resources that are safe for the environment of the surrounding community, However, who wants to ignore customary law if regional regulations have been represented as “the presence of the state” in deciding issues?

The Province of East Nusa Tenggara (ENT) was also one of the provinces that was under the spotlight during President Joko Widodo’s administration, starting with its natural resources and economic development, so it is not surprising that ENT began to experience massive infrastructure development. However, such massive infrastructure development is not accompanied by cultural literacy. ENT is a province that is still strict in carrying out its own customs. In contrast to the city of Kupang, other areas in ENT are still experiencing culture shock due to massive development, including differences in perceptions of customary territory. The ENT government sees customary territory as an area that can be fully authorized if it refers to the 1945 Constitution article 33 paragraph 3, but indigenous peoples also persist in the 1945 Constitution article 18B paragraph 2. However, there is a gap in Article 18B, paragraph 2, where the rights of indigenous peoples are limited by the interests of the state or general welfare, such as infrastructure and economic development.

Since the reign of President Soeharto, which was hailed as the era of development, ENT sandalwood plants have been widely exploited for economic interests, and farmers have been threatened if they use sandalwood for personal gain. Though sandalwood has become part of their activities. Feeling aggrieved and exploited, it is said that ENT farmers began to destroy sandalwood plants secretly because, according to them, these native ENT plants did not provide any benefit to them during the Soeharto government. It turns out that the end of the Soeharto government did not necessarily stop the exploitation of natural resources for economic purposes. Exploitation still exists, for example, in the management of manganese mining and the takeover of private lands and customary customs without considering the customary aspirations of the people.

Indigenous peoples are always afraid of poverty if they do not hand over their customary lands to be managed by the state or the private sector for economic development. Something very funny happens when the people who are the main component of the establishment of a country are threatened with the main task of the state, namely the welfare of the people. Isn’t the welfare of the people the goal of the state? Why does the state have to show its inability to achieve its goals in front of the people? Returning to the issue of expropriation of customary lands, on the island of Timor (Timor Tengah Selatan Regency) itself, the incident of expropriation of the community’s customary forest in Besipae is still a long-standing crisis, where the government considers that customary forest is an asset belonging to the ENT provincial government, while according to customary rules in force among indigenous peoples in general in ENT, forests, land, or customary land are assets that are tabooooooooo to be traded because they are “homeland” for indigenous peoples. Even if they want to use it, the forest, land, or other land can only be leased by the heirs to the government for the common good. The reason why there is a delay in development in the eastern region is not because indigenous peoples are too “cute” in defending their customary lands but because of the government’s inability to translate customary regulations into infrastructure development. In contrast to development in urban areas, which tends to be easy, development in rural areas is quite complicated because the issue of land is not only about the economy but also about the symbol of “homeland”, self-esteem, trust, and moral responsibility.

1. Symbol of the Motherland

Long before independence, the people’s homeland was only around their hometown. The place where he was born and raised is the place where the people he loves live. The place also taught him how to live side-by-side with nature. In every traditional culture, the general principle of nature is that of give and take. Nature will provide for all human needs if humans want to preserve nature. For example, according to the tradition of the Kajang people, who value their forest very much, it is taboo for them to cut down trees, but if they have to, they will plant new trees to replace the trees that have been cut down. An example of a simple sense of nationalism displayed by the Kajang tribe In ENT itself, the Kolana tribe in Alor district also respects “homeland”, abstaining from selling their ancestral land, even though they were offered a sum of money by the government because the government’s original intention was to buy a piece of land intended for the construction of a junior high school in one of the villages in the Pureman sub-district, Alor (Kolana tribe). The heirs’ intention to purchase the land was rejected because one’s hometown cannot be traded for any reason, but as a form of obedience to the government (state), the land is leased out for the construction of a school without collecting a penny from the government.

2. Pride

Land is not just an "economic" asset or the main capital for the primary needs of indigenous peoples or villages. Land is a measure of power or hierarchy within a traditional group. The wider the land owned or inherited, the more respectable one's position. This is the reason why, on average, tribal chiefs or leaders of the "customary warehouse" own more land than members of other tribal communities. This also sometimes makes the issue of expropriation of customary lands much more complicated because money for village communities is not everything, bearing in mind that primary needs are very easily met in rural areas.

3. Belief and Moral Responsibility

The intended meaning of belief leads to the myths or taboos of local indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples believe that customary land is classified as something that is "alive" and always lives side by side with the heirs. It is said that every customary land is guarded by the ancestors, who will continue to bind the heirs or guardians of the customary land. If the customary land is traded, a disaster will befall one member of the indigenous community, whether it be the heir or the people who bought it. Meanwhile, moral responsibility is the responsibility to maintain the sustainability and existence of customary lands for future generations. It is a shame for indigenous peoples if, in the future, their children and grandchildren are guests in their own ancestral lands. In my opinion, these three factors should be the concern of the government when carrying out infrastructure development. There is nothing wrong with the government's intention to provide infrastructure for the people of Indonesia, but there is also nothing wrong with indigenous peoples defending their rights as individuals and as customary groups. This was also one of the risks that Bung Hatta feared: that one day cultural differences would become a rift for conflict, a big risk for a country that consists of various ethnic groups. The interests of the state or the public cannot negate the rights of individuals or groups of indigenous peoples within the state and society. Why pursue development if you have to crush cultural values? If traditional values are capable of humanizing humans, why does modernity trample on human rights?

Written by : Defrida Lukuaka