Ambassador Chartier attends meeting of South American Indigenous Leaders

June 7, 2023

Ambassador Clément Chartier, who is also the President of the American Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) attended the II Meeting of the Indigenous peoples of Tawantinsuyu. Tawantinsuyu in Quechua means the "Realm of the Four Parts" originally forming the Inca empire or state. Tawantinsuyu in modern time falls within the counties of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Chile.

At the first meeting which took place in Lima, Peru in October 2022 during the Indigenous Leaders Summit of the Americas (ILSA), the delegates from Tawantinsuyu decided to form an organizing committee with the objective of forming an Andean organization which would be part of ACIP. The October 2022 ILSA was primarily funded by the MMF, the National Government of the Red River Métis. At that meeting, Ancizar Majin Tintinago leader of the CRIC organization in Colombia was appointed Chairperson of the organizing committee and asked to arrange a meeting where the Tawantinsuyu organization could be formalized.

This organizing meeting took place May 19 - 21, 2023 in Popayan, Colombia hosted by the Regional Council of the Indigenous Peoples of Cauca [Consejo Regional Indigena del Cauca (CRIC)] at their Autonomous Indigenous Intercultural University (UAIIN). The opening ceremonies took place at 4 pm on May 19^th with an official welcoming ceremony in the Tulpa which is the sacred/spiritual place on the UAIIN campus. This was followed by a meal and cultural entertainment.

The main organizational aspects of the meeting took place on May 20^th, with a review of their draft constitution, as well as reports by leaders of what is happening in their respective countries. After a long discussion it was decided that more time was needed to finalize the draft constitution and that over the next month the planned Executive Council members would consult their respective organizations and reconvene in Bolivia by the end of June to finalize its adoption. This consultation will take place virtually.

The morning of May 21^st was mainly dedicated to meeting with the students of the university to provide them with information about the need to organize on a regional basis in South America, as well as more broadly throughout the whole of the Americas through the American Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP).

Following the dialogue with the students, and joined by other Indigenous peoples from the area, the delegates proceeded to select their representatives to the first Executive Council of the "Governing Council of the Indigenous Peoples and Nations of Tawantinsuyu" who will serve for a two-year period and carry out the decisions of this meeting.

Ancizar Majin Tintinago of CRIC (Colombia) was elected the HATUN APUK (President) of the new organization, and Hugo Tacuri of Peru, Vice-President of ACIP was elected the PURIK SUYU APUK (Secretary of International Relations).

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