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CONSULADO GENERAL DE BOLIVIA
870 MARKET STREET, # 575
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94102
TEL: (415) 495-5173/74
Fax: (415) 399-8958
e-mail:
cbolivia@aol.com
San Francisco, May 3, 2002
CGB/VAR-USA-048/02
Ann Marie
Sayers
Tribal Chairperson
Costanoan Indian Research Center
Indian Canyon Nation
P.O. Box 28
Hollister, CA 95024-0028
Dear Ann
Marie Sayers:
I want to extend to you and
the Indian Canyon Costanoan Research Center a formal letter
of support not only for the work you are doing in your
educational programs for indigenous Ohlone Indian issues,
but especially for the Indian Canyon Village House project.
In
Bolivia, the communities I represent face very similar
issues of building strong communities emphasizing cultural
and ecological preservation with economic sustainability as
a major component.
We would
like to link with you a similar community development and
educational program in Bolivia. It is called “Universidad
Aymara”. The building is long constructed by the indigenous
community of Laja, near La Paz, Bolivia. They plan to
include solar technologies that will allow them to link up
with your Village House Project near Hollister, California
where Indian Canyon is located.
In these
challenging times, cross cultural links that educate local
communities on global issues are vitally important to
building mutual beneficial bridges. We can learn from
each others success and failures.
In my
various visits to Indian Canyon, I have been surprised by
the work you are doing, especially with young people giving
them a place to have hands on experience in environmental
restoration and to participate in cultural and educational
programs. The cultural preservation of the Ohlone
Indians and the knowledge systems of your people is vital to
us all. Thank you for your example. The work you are
doing to build strong local communities that embrace
principles of environmental and cultural restoration is
important to the global community. The Village House
in Indian Canyon will be inspiration to many other
indigenous communities around the globe who seek to embody
future technologies and to educate and empower their youth.
Kind
regards,
Manuel Helguero
CONSUL GENERAL OF BOLIVIA |
