381:. Construction for the canal began in December 2014 and the project is expected to be completed by 2019. Indigenous populations are protesting the building of this canal on the grounds that they were not consulted prior to a contract being negotiated with HKND by the Nicaraguan government. Construction of the canal would require the relocation of 80% of the indigenous Rama population and would destroy traditional communal life for many other indigenous communities. International groups are protesting construction of the canal because they fear the environmental impact that the project will have on Nicaragua's endangered species and delicate ecosystem. Despite controversy surrounding the project, the Nicaraguan government is going ahead with the canal's construction, hoping the infrastructure and revenue that the canal brings in will lift the nation out of poverty.
290:. The missionaries worked with the different ethnic groups and became a firmly established colonial institution on the Caribbean coast. The first Moravian mission was established on Rama Cay in 1858 and contributed to the shift away from traditional practices and the use of the Rama language. The Rama people initially resisted the efforts of the missionaries because the church's values conflicted with traditional Rama culture; however, as they dissociated from their traditional identity, the Rama became more receptive to outside influences. Today the Rama people predominantly practice in the Moravian Church. Individuals in the southeastern portion of Nicaragua alone make up 96% of the membership of the Moravian Church in Nicaragua.
344:(RACCN) were established with the 1987 Constitution and Autonomy law. These statutes recognize collective forms of indigenous land ownership and establish terms for natural resource management. Implementation of indigenous autonomy has proved to be difficult due to internecine conflict and lack of government support. The RACCN and RACCS make up approximately half of the nation's landmass, while Caribbean coast inhabitants make up only ten percent of the nation's population.
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assistance is an important practice in Rama communities and is relied upon for cultural and economic stability. Sexual division of labor exists among the Rama, with males responsible for hunting, fishing, and planting, while the females partake in gathering and domestic duties. Prior to the arrival of missionaries, the Rama population on Rama Cay reportedly lived in homes lacking exterior and interior walls.
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families displaced by the war are migrating east to renew their former lives and engage in subsistence farming. Due to the poor quality of rainforest soil and increasing social unrest on the
Pacific coast, more individuals move east each year and come into contact with indigenous communities. Much of
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and the
Autonomy Statue. These government initiatives recognized indigenous existence in Nicaragua, the right of indigenous peoples to determine their own ethnic identity, and the right of indigenous communities to offer intercultural education in their traditional language. Due to political conflict
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Nicaragua is one of the poorest nations in the
Western Hemisphere, and Nicaragua's Caribbean coast suffers from an exceptional amount of economic underdevelopment and poverty. Rama who reside in urban areas such as Bluefields suffer from discrimination and unemployment due to their ethnic identity.
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The Rama culture is dependent upon traditional self-sufficient strategies in order to obtain desired substances. While some Rama engage in small-scale commercial fishing, a majority of the population still practices traditional occupations such as subsistence fishing and subsistence farming. Mutual
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of portions of the
Caribbean coast. The Miskitu assisted the British pirates in raiding Spanish ships and resisting Spanish control of the region in exchange for guns and other resources that allowed them to exert control over other indigenous groups like the Rama. According to Rama oral tradition,
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In 1985 the Rama
Language Program (RLP) was launched in response to requests to "save the Rama language". Initial efforts to locate and communicate with native speakers proved challenging for linguists because the inhabitants of Rama Cay still rejected any use of the Rama language. In recent years
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since less than 30 elders can still speak the language fluently. Playing an important role in colonizing the region, the
Moravian Church was a major force behind the loss of the Rama Language on Rama Cay. The Church taught English to the natives and influenced the formation of a negative attitude
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in the 1980s sought to nationalize all private institutions, which resulted in a reduction of private investment on the
Caribbean coast. Many indigenous groups resented the government for its interference in the indigenous economy and regional autonomy. The Rama people were one of many indigenous
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in the nation, the regulation terms of the
Autonomy Statue were not ratified until 2003. Implementation of the Autonomy Statue continues to remain a challenge, because the national government and regional councils disagree over the level of autonomy the Caribbean communities should possess.
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language revitalization efforts have achieved some success, as the Rama people move increasingly to associate their traditional language with their identity. This movement by the indigenous Rama to reclaim their language has led many speakers to label the language as "rescued".
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efforts have been made in recent years and have achieved early success in Rama communities. Rama territory is currently being threatened by the
Nicaraguan government and foreign investors, who are seeking to develop a transoceanic canal and to extract resources from the region.
133:. Since the start of European colonization, the Rama population has declined as a result of disease, conflict, and loss of territory. In recent years, however, the Rama population has increased to around 2,000 individuals. A majority of the population lives on the island of
360:, yet the government lacks the resources to halt the extensive environment destruction associated with the recent migrations. The advancing agricultural frontier is responsible for large amounts of deforestation and ecological devastation in the region.
315:. Only two individuals are thought to still speak traditional Rama on the island. The Rama language had previously been preserved in mainland communities; however, modern developments are threatening the loss of traditional customs and the language.
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Poor soil conditions in the rainforest do not allow for extensive agriculture, so like other indigenous populations in the region the Rama cultivate small fields along river banks. Crops harvested by the Rama include bananas,
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towards traditional speakers, resulting in the reference to Rama as the "Tiger language". As a result of this animosity, the population that inhabits Rama Cay today speaks a unique version of Rama-Creole which is similar to
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and will be able to accommodate larger size ships and the growing demand for inter-ocean passage. The canal is expected to run from Punta Gordon on the
Caribbean coast to Brito on the Pacific coast, traveling through
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The Nicaraguan government has long sought out investors to finance the building of a Nicaraguan interoceanic canal. The Chinese company Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (
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Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean coast came to rely upon private investment and enterprises for socio-economic stability. In adherence to
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The Rama people are descendants of a combination of indigenous communities that occupied the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua at the time of European contact. Following
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Riverstone, Jerry (2004). "Living in the Land of Our Ancestors: Rama Indian and Creole Territory on Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast". ASDI (Swedish Development Agency).
372:) was contracted in 2013 to build the canal for the cost of $ 40–$ 50 billion. Investors and the Nicaraguan government hope that the new canal will rival the
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The vast majority of the indigenous Rama population inhabit the island of Rama Cay. Sumu Kaat, Tiktik Kaanu, Wiring Cay,
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the Miskitu gifted the island of Rama Cay to them in the 18th century in recognition of their help in fighting the
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in the 1980s has advanced colonization along Nicaragua's agricultural frontier. Former combatants and
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Due to centuries of colonial suppression the Rama people’s native language is facing extinction.
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In an effort to return peace to the Caribbean coast, the Nicaraguan government established the
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817:"NICARAGUA'S PROPOSED INTEROCEANIC CANAL: A THREAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES"
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Unemployment levels are especially high for women and youth in this Caribbean coast region.
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797:"Defending Rama Indian Community Lands and the Southeastern Nicaragua Biosphere Reserve"
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Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues
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259:. Hunting is practiced primarily on the mainland where important game animals such as
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759:"The Revitalization of a 'Treasure Language': the Rama Language Project of Nicaragua"
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508:(1992). "Language Shift and Language Death: the Case of Rama in Nicaragua".
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Indigenous Nations and Modern States: The Political Emergence of Nations
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214:, a group of anticommunist guerrillas, some of whom were backed by the
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831:"Nicaragua Constructs Enormous Canal, Blind to its Environmental Cost"
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Sex Roles and Social Change in Native Lower Central American Societies
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and for their reputation of being the best navigators on the coast.
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Keeping Languages Alive: Documentation, Pedagogy and Revitalization
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Language Shift and Language Death: the Case of Rama in Nicaragua
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of the region, British pirates formed an alliance with the
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247:, corn, rice, beans, coconuts, pineapple, breadfruit, and
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Indigenous Peoples: Resource Management and Global Rights
583:"Appendix 2.3 The Atlantic Coast Autonomy Law (Extracts)"
605:"From Conflict to Autonomy in Nicaragua: Lessons Learnt"
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CALPI an organization of Nicaraguan Indigenous peoples
714:. International Journal of the Sociology of Language.
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554:"Poverty among the Indigenous Peoples of Nicaragua"
510:International Journal of the Sociology of Language
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406:"International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs"
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780:. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 259–260.
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757:Grinevald, Colette; Pivot, Benedicte (2013).
440:"Current Indigenous Communities of Nicaragua"
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778:Language Documentation: Practice and values
356:central and eastern Nicaragua is protected
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661:. Eburon Uitgeverij B.V. pp. 219–220.
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457:. Cambridge University Press. p. 191.
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150:Language revitalization
930:Ancestry and ethnicity
288:Bluefields, Nicaragua
220:Nicaraguan Revolution
207:Nicaraguan government
103:Related ethnic groups
888:by Rudolph C. Ryser.
839:. February 11, 2015.
744:"One Year One World"
603:Brunnegger, Sandra.
261:white-lipped peccary
227:Constitution of 1987
175:Spanish colonization
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819:. October 31, 2014.
426:"Cultural Survival"
210:groups to join the
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488:|url=
385:References
358:rainforest
203:Sandinista
192:Costa Rica
190:people of
139:Bluefields
934:Nicaragua
667:cite book
530:146343915
349:civil war
245:plantains
234:Lifestyle
199:socialist
131:Nicaragua
70:Languages
64:Nicaragua
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479:cite web
308:moribund
294:Language
281:Moravian
275:Religion
249:pejibaye
143:Greytown
135:Rama Cay
97:Moravian
90:Religion
32:Rama Cay
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998:Chinese
993:African
955:Nicarao
950:Miskito
880:. 1905.
802:. 2001.
746:. 2014.
628:. 2008.
411:. 2014.
353:mestizo
253:cockles
212:Contras
183:control
179:Miskitu
169:History
125:are an
109:Miskito
80:Spanish
1042:Portal
1023:Jewish
1018:German
528:
323:Status
269:dories
188:Teribe
61:
34:, 2010
1008:White
800:(PDF)
730:(PDF)
526:S2CID
409:(PDF)
265:tapir
257:snook
1003:Roma
965:Sumo
960:Rama
673:link
514:1992
492:help
370:HKND
298:The
123:Rama
121:The
113:Kuna
76:Rama
20:Rama
932:in
518:doi
216:CIA
141:to
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