Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

Chapter 2.1: Local Community Assistance
103
possible, to explain the relative importance of each. 3 This is
especially important if a colonial government has imposed its
own kind of “tribal” authority. Of course, the community as
a whole may later choose to modify these, in the same open
and transparent manner, but it is very important to stop secret
deals being enacted behind the back of the community. The
earlier this can be done, and without the pressure of an impending
project, the better.
The Subanon people of the Zamboanga Peninsula,
Philippines, provide an example of this type of activity. The
Subanon of Mount Canatuan had suffered a long-standing
conflict over the entry of Canadian mining company TVI
Pacific, where a new leadership, called a Council of Elders,
was imposed on the Subanon at the behest of the company
after their traditional leadership refused the company entry.
The regional Subanon leadership, called the Gukom of the
Seven Rivers, had been active in asserting the traditional leadership
in the community. Having learned lessons from this
experience, the Gukom decided that all the regional Subanon
leaders should come together to collectively confirm the traditional
leadership structure, and also the customary decision
making processes. This was needed despite the fact that the
Philippine government has a legal framework insisting on
FPIC for mining projects, which should already be taking account
of the traditional governance of the Subanon. In some
ways, perhaps it was precisely because of this, as the process at
Mount Canatuan had been in reality a shameless subversion of
Philippine national law. Having seen how the implementation
of a law that was meant to protect their interests could undermine
them, the Subanon were keen to have a collectively
agreed understanding of their traditional governance model
to insist any company follow in future situations. 4
Likewise the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First
Nation of Ontario, Canada, have been engaged in various conflicts
in defence of their lands and resources. The attempts of
the Canadian company Platinex to explore for platinum and
palladium on KI territory, near Big Trout Lake, have been
met by concerted resistance. This has included court battles
from 2006, and the eventual imprisonment in 2008 of six lead-