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Protecting our maíz civilizations: autonomy, reparations, and restorative justice Text of Strategy Brief  |   Protecting Maize Biocultural Diversity  |   17th Session UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)   La Morenita-La Mujer Grande, Xilonen, Santa Xilonen La Madre del Maiz Moderator's Note: We are pleased to share this strategy brief prepared for the  17th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)  in April 2018. The brief was the collaborative work product of dozens of meetings and gatherings over the past 5 years involving indigenous corn farmers, seed savers, and landrace progenitors. The Acequia Institute,  Asociación Andes,  Alianza Milpa, and allied indigenous maize farmers were involved in the preparation and presentation of the brief. There are three major strategic recommendations: (1) a UN fund for biosafety protection and in situ/in vivo conservation of maize landr...

Indigenous Corn Farmers Issue Declaration at 13 th COP of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cancún, Mexico NATIVE GROWERS EXPOUND PRINCIPLES TO PROTECT THE SACRED IN CORN Devon G. Peña | Seattle, WA | January 3, 2017 The world’s indigenous corn growers gathered together in the Mayan village of Ek Balam this past December 1-3 (2016) for a spiritual and political retreat to address the threats posed to native maize. The group of native corn farmers addressed a wide set of threats ranging from dispossession of farmers from their ancestral lands, the decline of corn culture among younger generations, and the introduction of genetically engineered (GE) crops that can damage the genetic integrity of land races and damage ecosystems and wildlife including vital pollinators.   Corn spiral. The gathering centered around this spiral consisting of all the varieties of native corn brought to the meeting by all 54 participants. Photo by Devon G. Peña. The participants included native c...