Constitutional Amendment to recognize the First Peoples

Published in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian April 2nd 2024

The Constitution is the Supreme law that provides for the Rule of Law and the formation of the three branches of government , the Parliament , Judiciary and Executive. Sections 4 and 5 of our Constitutions enshrine fundamental rights and freedoms that protect citizens from oppressive state power.

The drafting of a Constitution helps determine the fate of a nation and it ought to be done in the best interest of all citizens. The goal of Decolonization ought to be considered when drafting new amendments to the Constitution.

In light of recent discussions concerning constitutional reform , the developments in Comparative constitutional law and International law regarding the rights of Indigenous peoples ought to be considered.

The Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago lacks sufficient provision for the recognition of the right to Self-Determination of both First Peoples and the people of Tobago. Many nations guarantee rights to it’s minorities and subsidiary states and T&T ought to consider following this example.

The Norwegian Constitution is one of the oldest constitutions still in force in Europe dating back to 1814.

Article 110a of the Constitution, which was adopted in 1988, reads as follows:

”It is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to create the conditions enabling the Sami

people to preserve and develop its language, culture and way of life.”

Approximately 65,000 Sami people live in Norway, about 1.38% of the total Norwegian population of approximately 4.7 million. Despite being such a small minority the forward thinking Norweigans saw it fit to protect the rights of the Sami Peoples in particular their language and culture.

Canada , New Zealand, Ecuador and Bolivia also have constitutional recognition of Indigenous peoples. Canada recognized Indigenous rights in Part II of the Constitution Act of 1982 ‘Rights of Aboriginal Peoples of Canada’.

Dr Gussen of the University of Southern Queensland wrote on the Indigenous Constitutional rights of Ecuador as follows:- “The widening of the constitutional recognition of Indigenous Ecuadoreans culminated with the current Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador 2008 . This 2008 Constitution not only makes explicit reference to ‘collective rights’ and to Indigenous mythology, in ‘Pacha Mama’ or ‘Mother Earth’, but also gives special recognition to Indigenous legal practices in areas where Indigenous peoples constitute a majority of the population. For example, art 57 ‘recognize[s] and guarantee[s], in conformity with the Constitution and human rights agreements, conventions, declarations and other international instruments’, 21 collective Indigenous rights. These include the rights to ‘strengthen their [Indigenous] identity’, ‘[t]o keep ownership of ancestral lands’,116 and ‘[t]o create,

develop, apply and practice their own legal system’ — provided the system does not ‘infringe [other] constitutional rights’.”

Bolivia seems to have the most radical recognition of indigenous rights, which is expected since over 40% of it’s population is Indigenous. Dr. Gussen states the following on Bolivia’s Constitution:

“ Nevertheless, the Plurinational State of Bolivia Constitution 2009 granted important self-determination to Indigenous groups, including polycentric reforms such as recognising Indigenous systems of justice alongside conventional courts (art 192(III)). Bolivia was the first country in the world to incorporate the UNDRIP into its Constitution”

When compared to first world nations such as Canada , New Zealand and Norway Trinidad and Tobago is lagging behind in failing to recognize Indigenous rights in it’s constitution. Trinidad is home to both members of the Kalina and Warao tribes and many thousands of people have Indigenous ancestry though they may present with features of the dominant ethnic groups of Trinidad and Tobago.

As discussed in a previous article , allowing the First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago the Right to Self determination and self governance may be a boon to the economy and to social development. The Kalinago Chief of Dominica has his own diplomatic passport and gets access to foreign aid specifically for his community. His Kalinago territory is a tourist destination and produces agricultural goods for the wider economy.

Economics aside, there is also the moral argument to be made. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago still acts as the successor to the British Crown which seized over 1320 acres of Indigenous lands in centuries past. During the colonial period European settlers killed 56 million indigenous people in South, Central and North America and looted their lands for resources.

Dr Keith Rowley’s supports the call for reparations for the trans-atlantic slave trade, which myself and the Indigenous community do support. However in the interests of righting historical wrongs the First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago ought to get their own reparations in the form of their ancestral lands and the right to develop and govern them subject to the wider laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Right to Self Determination is not a right to secede or redraw national boundaries, it simply promotes human development and protects the freedoms of people groups to choose their own destiny.

It is submitted that there should be a Constitutional amendment to recognize the First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago and their right to Self-Determination. This can then be used as a basis for further reparations work to remedy the injustices of colonialism.