PITFALLS AND PIPELINES

In the pending clash over large-scale prospecting, mining and drilling of their whenua, certain hallmark behaviours will be seen amongst some Iwi leaders which will give an accurate indication to their people of how far inside the belly of the beast they have crawled.  For Hapū mana whenua who have to deal with any Iwi-level sellout to the mining industry, there are lessons to be learned from the experiences of other indigenous peoples.

The comprehensive 2009 report Pitfalls and Pipelines – Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries notes that one of the main problems of mining for indigenous peoples is social division amongst themselves over land ownership, current livelihoods, intergenerational or gender-based conflicts, and contesting leadership claims between traditional and ‘elected’ leaders regarding their ‘free prior and informed consent’ (FPIC).

Often these divisions are based on already existing tensions, but the arrival of prospecting and mining increases them.  Companies can then deliberately exploit the divisions to claim they have FPIC from willing Iwi with whom they make deals, while excluding other Iwi and Hapū who refuse to do a deal.

One of the most illustrative examples of this kind of behaviour concerns the Subanon people of the Zamboanga Peninsula in the Phillipines. 

In 1994 the Canadian company TVI Pacific Inc arrived to mine Mount Canatuan, the Subanon’s sacred mountain.  After their traditional leadership refused TVI entry, a new type of leadership called a ‘Council of Elders’ was imposed on them at the behest of the company.  This Council made a show of exploring the pros and cons of mining, then gave TVI entry. 

Over the next thirteen years the Subanon did everything in their power to protect their land, including legal action.  But all their efforts came to nothing as TVI claimed it had their consent.  Additionally the Phillipines government, a major investor in the mine, allowed the company to damage Subanon personal property and to physically intimidate and attack Subanon traditional leaders.

Finally, in 2007 the Subanon turned to their own traditional judicial authority, Gukom sog Pito ko Dolungan, for a ruling.  After long deliberations, the Gukom ruled in 2009 that TVI Pacific had violated human rights and Subanon customary law, and it ordered the company to take part in a mandatory cleansing ceremony and pay fines to the Subanon for their actions. 

It took a further two years before the company finally accepted the ruling, recognised the traditional leadership, took part in the cleansing ceremony, acknowledged the desecration of the Subanon’s sacred mountain, admitted to other misdeeds, and paid the fines. 

Although largely symbolic (TVI has still not closed the Canatuan mine), the good news is that this victory shows Hapū that they too can overcome the huge power imbalances between themselves, exploitative companies, compliant Iwi, and complicit governments. 

However, if their Iwi opt for pipelines of mining company cash, Hapū will first have to deal with the resultant social division. And that’s just one of the pitfalls of large-scale mining they will face.