Acknowledging Oromo Indigenous rights and culture
Article by Hussein Watta, ROBA with contributions from project artists, Sylvia Grace Borda, J.Keith Donnelly
Oromo peoples have lived for thousands of years lived in the area of the horn of Africa. Oromo culture is complex. It has its own worldviews involving indigenous spirituality, well-being, balance, as well as laws of governance (Gaada) and celebrations around community care, clans, and Nature. Within this arena Oromo peoples have and remain active agro-pastoralists incorporating traditional Indigenous knowledge as part of daily life and hold these values in balance with also being devout and practising Muslims.
As part of 'Trees for Life,' Hussein Watta at ROBA support by former Ethiopian Women4Climate leader, Nura Beshir, and youth media specialist and trainer, Geleta Aman, have worked and collaborated together with artists, Borda and Donnelly, as well as organisational partners (Dundee City council, Scotland and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Canada) to ensure that Oromo Indigenous and Muslim worldviews have been expressed and respected throughout this project.
The artist and wider team from the start of this endeavour well understood that every aspect of arts development must pay respect to Oromo Indigenous world views and values. For example, Oromo community consultation was extensively taken by the artists in order to ensure the depicted living (satellite earth observation) artworks of the Ethiopian (Black) Lion, Tree Circles and Tree sapling were appropriate forms to represent on the land and did not conflict with indigenous or Muslim values. A central idea to this project is that trees and art are integral to everyday life. Both trees and art can incorporate traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge and care as well as be part of actions needed for climate action. In finding this balance between art, trees, and ecological knowledge - all the collaborators have been committed to make Oromo cultural values part of climate action and part of the vocabularies incorporated into the creation of the contemporary living artworks.
Both Oromo Indigenous and Muslim worldviews offer different perspectives as to what is appropriate in terms of visual depiction for living artworks. The act of representing Nature or certain symbols can be problematic across both cultures - some representations can be too specific or too sacred in an Indigenous context. While the representation of Nature as visuals in an Islamic world and according to the principles in the Qu'ran, conflicts with the concept of representing Allah's—or God's—divine world, Allah can be the only creator of Nature. Islamic art as a result is typically characterized by an absence of figures, using instead geometric and abstract floral patterns. Both Islamic and Oromo cultures highly value art that seeks to portray the meaning and essence of things, rather than just presenting its physical form. As such these cultures seek artworks where the overall aesthetic appeal transcends time and space, as well as differences in language and culture. Thus such artworks can be better understood metaphorically and more widely interpretted by viewers.
Trees for Life Oromo and project partners truly hope this endeavour can illustrate to global communities that biodiverse, circular, healthy, and resilient places for both Nature and people are possible when we empower and support each other and honour Indigenous cultures. There is an urgent need to mobilize and to optimize planting that can be deployed at both small and large scales. A transition to culture and Nature driven spaces is paramount. It requires a respect that traditional ecological knowledge is an equal part of all stages of development. If respect for Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge is at the forefront of development we can truly work together to strengthen climate rehabilitation work in a meaningful and impactful way. A few partner quotes further re-iterate this idea:
Hussein Watta, Director of ROBA
More people will come to see the wisdom in this approach of culture as integral part of project development. If more people understand the traditional ways of knowing this can further inspire more and other Indigenous communities to learn about their ancestral and clan ways. All of these efforts by ourselves plus acknowledgement by partners of our ways can help us realize our place within global efforts. By putting all these elements together and respect for each other at the heart of these processes, we can possibly save the world. We can work (non and Indigenous) together and make it a better place.
J.Keith Donnelly, Project artist:
We're all working and sharing our different knowledge systems - Indigenous and Western and making something that is much more dynamic and powerful.. Working and understanding each others values and needs is so key to problem-solving our futures.
Sylvia Grace Borda, Project artist:
From our collective experiences as artists and observers - we realised that communities: Elders, educators, students, and community participants - all thrive when strong and respectful partnerships are built. It's critical to respect culture, local values and histories as these are central to identities and places that we call home. .
There are many strengths within Indigenous knowledge and art systems that our world desperately needs to embrace, and needs to use in order to help revitalize our Planet for everyone's benefit. We need to use these multiple perspectives and vision points to become the basis of our communities - wherein culture from stories, songs, art and literature continue to help illustrate and guide us more carefully about community care, generousity, and kinship. We need to re-affirm our kinship and respect for the Natural world.
The planting of living artworks has become a model of how ecosystems care and traditional wisdom can become an integrative and intergenerational approach to climate mitigation. Such work can be done by others, too. It is about understanding how to use local resources and how to enable communities to scale action. We hope our project can act as an example that if one is willing to invest the time and is ready to listen, learn, and support Indigenous partners - real action can be accomplished. 'Trees for Life' project is a true collaboration of partnerships and knowledge systems. This is the root of its successes.
Lastly as a the daughter of an uninvited settler family based in Vancouver, Canada - I would like to extend my gratitude for having an opportunity to live, work and learn on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. It is also by hearing and realising the on-going struggles of Coast Salish peoples as well as Indigenous communities in Canada and throughout the world that I have been able to reflect on the impacts of colonialism and what is needed. We need to be accountable to Indigenous people, to empower those who are responsible for this land, to honour and to be thankful for their work as well as those past, present and future generations to come. Again we, in the Northern or Western hemisphere, need to be good allies and partners and to respect Indigenous traditional knowledge systems and peoples.
Decolonizing strategies - some further project guidance notes:
To support Indigenization - 'Trees for Life' project partners supported ROBA to incorporate Indigenous worldviews, knowledge, perspectives, and languages. Project partners also ensured and respected Indigenous values were held as equal and where appropriate were recorded on the project website for further learning.
By respecting Indigenous values and working towards building sustainable livelihoods 'Trees for Life' offered Oromo Ethiopian young women and men opportunities to work together as equal partners. Intergenerational learning of participants with Elders further improved their understanding and practices of local ecological and traditional knowledge processes. Related to this, the project team also ensured traditional knowledge holders were both acknowledged and compensated for their contributions. It is important to compensate traditional knowledge holders. The insights of traditional knowledge holders has truly brought this project alive and made it much more resilient, sustainable, and manageable for the benefit of current and future generations.
The 'Trees for Life' team and artists are committed allies, offering support to introduce this project to others who may not be familiar with Oromo cultural values, agro-pastoralism, or even climate art. When appropriate the team outside of Ethiopia will speak about the Indigenous context of the project (with Oromo consent) but understands that not all indigenous knowledge or values can be shared with wider non-Indigenous peoples and communities. The act of sharing and learning about Oromo traditional ecological knowledge across this project is a gift. It is a privilege to collaborate with traditional ecological knowledge holders and the team realise it is not a project right nor should it ever be exploited.
The team outside of Ethiopia acknowledges information shared across the website about Indigenous culture and values comes from millennia of knowledge of living on the land by Oromo peoples. Ethno-botanical knowledge, traditional songs, and dances are to be respected. The information presented online is used with permission from Oromo project colleagues as well as a from other cited subject experts and scholars. Where possible further resources (URLs) are included to assist the reader to learn more about ideas and topics discussed. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) is an excellent reference document to help understand steps to support Indigenization.
Ultimately Western use and co-opting of any Indigenous knowledge without permissions becomes a colonial endeavour. All 'Trees for Life' partners and project artists have worked together to move beyond expected horticultural, science, earth observation or art outcomes. Ultimately, by all collaborators respecting Oromo Indigenous rights and knowledge and being in dialogue as colleagues and as equals, the team has achieved balance and unity. The team has become a community. While project guidance notes are included - these can only offer readers an overview as to what might be accomplished. It is important to be honest, to hear and listen from the heart when working together. 'Trees for Life' processes are difficult to articulate. They may or may not satsify how you or other communities would work towards Indigenization. For readers looking to understand Indigenization processes - these guiding points may also assist in understanding some of the questions that the team posed of itself.
To understand colonialism within the context of Indigenous communities - one must ask:
What privileges do I have on this or other land(s) due to colonialism and/or trade here and elsewhere in the world?
Who lived on this land before? What traditions, cultures, peoples, and Nature are associated with the land?
What can I do to better in order care for the land and/or that of other places?
What personal or organizational practices do I have in place to work towards reconciliation?
What can I do strengthen Indigenous rights and learning systems. How can I be a good ally?
How can I think differently about land rather than as an object? How can I speak, action and/or offer subjecthood and support to Nature - flora and fauna, Water, and/or the Heavens (skies) - Earth?
Oromo peoples have lived for thousands of years lived in the area of the horn of Africa. Oromo culture is complex. It has its own worldviews involving indigenous spirituality, well-being, balance, as well as laws of governance (Gaada) and celebrations around community care, clans, and Nature. Within this arena Oromo peoples have and remain active agro-pastoralists incorporating traditional Indigenous knowledge as part of daily life and hold these values in balance with also being devout and practising Muslims.
As part of 'Trees for Life,' Hussein Watta at ROBA support by former Ethiopian Women4Climate leader, Nura Beshir, and youth media specialist and trainer, Geleta Aman, have worked and collaborated together with artists, Borda and Donnelly, as well as organisational partners (Dundee City council, Scotland and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Canada) to ensure that Oromo Indigenous and Muslim worldviews have been expressed and respected throughout this project.
The artist and wider team from the start of this endeavour well understood that every aspect of arts development must pay respect to Oromo Indigenous world views and values. For example, Oromo community consultation was extensively taken by the artists in order to ensure the depicted living (satellite earth observation) artworks of the Ethiopian (Black) Lion, Tree Circles and Tree sapling were appropriate forms to represent on the land and did not conflict with indigenous or Muslim values. A central idea to this project is that trees and art are integral to everyday life. Both trees and art can incorporate traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge and care as well as be part of actions needed for climate action. In finding this balance between art, trees, and ecological knowledge - all the collaborators have been committed to make Oromo cultural values part of climate action and part of the vocabularies incorporated into the creation of the contemporary living artworks.
Both Oromo Indigenous and Muslim worldviews offer different perspectives as to what is appropriate in terms of visual depiction for living artworks. The act of representing Nature or certain symbols can be problematic across both cultures - some representations can be too specific or too sacred in an Indigenous context. While the representation of Nature as visuals in an Islamic world and according to the principles in the Qu'ran, conflicts with the concept of representing Allah's—or God's—divine world, Allah can be the only creator of Nature. Islamic art as a result is typically characterized by an absence of figures, using instead geometric and abstract floral patterns. Both Islamic and Oromo cultures highly value art that seeks to portray the meaning and essence of things, rather than just presenting its physical form. As such these cultures seek artworks where the overall aesthetic appeal transcends time and space, as well as differences in language and culture. Thus such artworks can be better understood metaphorically and more widely interpretted by viewers.
Trees for Life Oromo and project partners truly hope this endeavour can illustrate to global communities that biodiverse, circular, healthy, and resilient places for both Nature and people are possible when we empower and support each other and honour Indigenous cultures. There is an urgent need to mobilize and to optimize planting that can be deployed at both small and large scales. A transition to culture and Nature driven spaces is paramount. It requires a respect that traditional ecological knowledge is an equal part of all stages of development. If respect for Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge is at the forefront of development we can truly work together to strengthen climate rehabilitation work in a meaningful and impactful way. A few partner quotes further re-iterate this idea:
Hussein Watta, Director of ROBA
More people will come to see the wisdom in this approach of culture as integral part of project development. If more people understand the traditional ways of knowing this can further inspire more and other Indigenous communities to learn about their ancestral and clan ways. All of these efforts by ourselves plus acknowledgement by partners of our ways can help us realize our place within global efforts. By putting all these elements together and respect for each other at the heart of these processes, we can possibly save the world. We can work (non and Indigenous) together and make it a better place.
J.Keith Donnelly, Project artist:
We're all working and sharing our different knowledge systems - Indigenous and Western and making something that is much more dynamic and powerful.. Working and understanding each others values and needs is so key to problem-solving our futures.
Sylvia Grace Borda, Project artist:
From our collective experiences as artists and observers - we realised that communities: Elders, educators, students, and community participants - all thrive when strong and respectful partnerships are built. It's critical to respect culture, local values and histories as these are central to identities and places that we call home. .
There are many strengths within Indigenous knowledge and art systems that our world desperately needs to embrace, and needs to use in order to help revitalize our Planet for everyone's benefit. We need to use these multiple perspectives and vision points to become the basis of our communities - wherein culture from stories, songs, art and literature continue to help illustrate and guide us more carefully about community care, generousity, and kinship. We need to re-affirm our kinship and respect for the Natural world.
The planting of living artworks has become a model of how ecosystems care and traditional wisdom can become an integrative and intergenerational approach to climate mitigation. Such work can be done by others, too. It is about understanding how to use local resources and how to enable communities to scale action. We hope our project can act as an example that if one is willing to invest the time and is ready to listen, learn, and support Indigenous partners - real action can be accomplished. 'Trees for Life' project is a true collaboration of partnerships and knowledge systems. This is the root of its successes.
Lastly as a the daughter of an uninvited settler family based in Vancouver, Canada - I would like to extend my gratitude for having an opportunity to live, work and learn on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. It is also by hearing and realising the on-going struggles of Coast Salish peoples as well as Indigenous communities in Canada and throughout the world that I have been able to reflect on the impacts of colonialism and what is needed. We need to be accountable to Indigenous people, to empower those who are responsible for this land, to honour and to be thankful for their work as well as those past, present and future generations to come. Again we, in the Northern or Western hemisphere, need to be good allies and partners and to respect Indigenous traditional knowledge systems and peoples.
Decolonizing strategies - some further project guidance notes:
To support Indigenization - 'Trees for Life' project partners supported ROBA to incorporate Indigenous worldviews, knowledge, perspectives, and languages. Project partners also ensured and respected Indigenous values were held as equal and where appropriate were recorded on the project website for further learning.
By respecting Indigenous values and working towards building sustainable livelihoods 'Trees for Life' offered Oromo Ethiopian young women and men opportunities to work together as equal partners. Intergenerational learning of participants with Elders further improved their understanding and practices of local ecological and traditional knowledge processes. Related to this, the project team also ensured traditional knowledge holders were both acknowledged and compensated for their contributions. It is important to compensate traditional knowledge holders. The insights of traditional knowledge holders has truly brought this project alive and made it much more resilient, sustainable, and manageable for the benefit of current and future generations.
The 'Trees for Life' team and artists are committed allies, offering support to introduce this project to others who may not be familiar with Oromo cultural values, agro-pastoralism, or even climate art. When appropriate the team outside of Ethiopia will speak about the Indigenous context of the project (with Oromo consent) but understands that not all indigenous knowledge or values can be shared with wider non-Indigenous peoples and communities. The act of sharing and learning about Oromo traditional ecological knowledge across this project is a gift. It is a privilege to collaborate with traditional ecological knowledge holders and the team realise it is not a project right nor should it ever be exploited.
The team outside of Ethiopia acknowledges information shared across the website about Indigenous culture and values comes from millennia of knowledge of living on the land by Oromo peoples. Ethno-botanical knowledge, traditional songs, and dances are to be respected. The information presented online is used with permission from Oromo project colleagues as well as a from other cited subject experts and scholars. Where possible further resources (URLs) are included to assist the reader to learn more about ideas and topics discussed. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) is an excellent reference document to help understand steps to support Indigenization.
Ultimately Western use and co-opting of any Indigenous knowledge without permissions becomes a colonial endeavour. All 'Trees for Life' partners and project artists have worked together to move beyond expected horticultural, science, earth observation or art outcomes. Ultimately, by all collaborators respecting Oromo Indigenous rights and knowledge and being in dialogue as colleagues and as equals, the team has achieved balance and unity. The team has become a community. While project guidance notes are included - these can only offer readers an overview as to what might be accomplished. It is important to be honest, to hear and listen from the heart when working together. 'Trees for Life' processes are difficult to articulate. They may or may not satsify how you or other communities would work towards Indigenization. For readers looking to understand Indigenization processes - these guiding points may also assist in understanding some of the questions that the team posed of itself.
To understand colonialism within the context of Indigenous communities - one must ask:
What privileges do I have on this or other land(s) due to colonialism and/or trade here and elsewhere in the world?
Who lived on this land before? What traditions, cultures, peoples, and Nature are associated with the land?
What can I do to better in order care for the land and/or that of other places?
What personal or organizational practices do I have in place to work towards reconciliation?
What can I do strengthen Indigenous rights and learning systems. How can I be a good ally?
How can I think differently about land rather than as an object? How can I speak, action and/or offer subjecthood and support to Nature - flora and fauna, Water, and/or the Heavens (skies) - Earth?
Oromo cultural struggles and the right to language - an example of past suppression:
Oromo Language Facts:
Of note writing the Oromo language in written form was banned by Ethiopia's government during the rule (1930-1974) of Emperor Haile Selassie. Under the Emperor many Oromo speakers were prohibited from having their own cultural names and were forced to have assimilated or given names in the Amarhic language. Traditional and cultural Oromo names were not to be used as part of official government documentation or recording. It was only after 1974 and the end of Emperor Selassie's rule that a cultural revolution started and enabled many ethnic minority languages in Ethiopia to be written, spoken freely and heard or seen again in print or broadcast on the radio.
The ability for the Oromo community to write and draw their own names, clan animals (Black lion) and symbols on the land for next generations to see and experience has been extremely powerful and impactful in the 'Trees for Life' project.
- 37 or more million native speakers
- Spoken by 0.46% of the world population
- Language spoken in Ethiopia and Kenya
Of note writing the Oromo language in written form was banned by Ethiopia's government during the rule (1930-1974) of Emperor Haile Selassie. Under the Emperor many Oromo speakers were prohibited from having their own cultural names and were forced to have assimilated or given names in the Amarhic language. Traditional and cultural Oromo names were not to be used as part of official government documentation or recording. It was only after 1974 and the end of Emperor Selassie's rule that a cultural revolution started and enabled many ethnic minority languages in Ethiopia to be written, spoken freely and heard or seen again in print or broadcast on the radio.
The ability for the Oromo community to write and draw their own names, clan animals (Black lion) and symbols on the land for next generations to see and experience has been extremely powerful and impactful in the 'Trees for Life' project.
