BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 21, 2022– The Honorable Words of Respectful Neighbors was signed by representatives from four Maya villages last Friday—thus establishing an inter-boundary agreement among Santa Teresa, Jordan, Aguacate, and Laguna in accordance with traditional Maya principles. The signing of the agreement by the four alcaldes of the four villages, was witnessed by villagers selected to represent the respective communities. This advancement is in line with steps 3 and 4 of the Delimitation: Principles and Methodology (DPM) agreed upon in 2020 by the Government of Belize, and the Toledo Alcaldes Association (TAA) and the Maya Leaders Alliance (MLA).
“The signing of boundary agreements is the culmination of a step in the Delimitation: Principles and Methodology (DPM) agreed between the Government of Belize and the Toledo Alcaldes Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance to auto-delimit, demarcate, and title the lands of the Maya villages of southern Belize. The identification and titling of Maya village lands is one of the orders of the CCJ Order and the Judgment,” the TAA/MLA informed Amandala.
The auto-delimitation process is led by the Maya villages, each appointing a community field guide with ancestral knowledge of the ways in which the land has been traditionally used by each village.
“The community field guides have ancestral knowledge of the use and enjoyment of their village lands. Once the village lands have been sketched, meetings with the neighboring villages are established to harmonize the boundary with the neighboring villages. Where disputes exist with neighboring villages, these are harmonized between the disputing villages. If it cannot be resolved, the disputing villages invite the Toledo Alcaldes Association’s boundary harmonization council to assist to mediate and harmonize the dispute. The council uses Mayas’ traditional forms of mediation to harmonize the boundaries,” the document states.
The TAA and MLA have indicated that the community field mappers which were nominated by the Maya villages possess years of continuous training from the University of Colorado’s Geography Department.
The twenty-two (22) Maya communities engaged in the auto- delimitation of their village land are currently at step 3, identifying community guides, and 4, harmonizing with neighboring villages. At this time, 10 villages have signed inter-village boundary agreements that now need verification from the Government of Belize.
It goes without saying that to commence the auto-delimitation, each village must consent.
All twenty-two (22) villages consented with a supermajority. The MLA and TAA have said that with the submission of the government’s “Map for the Implementation of the CCJ order” that was sent to the Caribbean Court of Justice with the proposed FPIC, “The Government of Belize, via the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, seeks to undo the DPM that is currently being used by the twenty-two (22) villages.”