Music as Discourse to Inform Rural Policy: A Case Study of the Mayangna Artistic Initiatives in Nicaragua

The conflicts that have recently intensified around land access by indigenous communities and extractive industries have highlighted a need for the development of rural policy that incorporates diverse perspectives. In North America, this has been exemplified by issues around the construction of oil pipelines which threaten resources that are considered sacred components of indigenous cultural heritage as well as their means for sustenance. Similarly, in Latin America, indigenous people face insecurity as their environments are taken by corporations and colonists whose practices are less sustainable. Community activists have responded by carrying out sit-ins and artistic and ceremonial performance, hoping to inform the creation of policies or enforce existing ones. From a performance theory and discourse analysis perspective, this presentation considers that such conflicts emerge out of clashing discourses on social justice and the relationship between humanity and nature. It also posits that artistic expression is an embodiment of these perspectives and suggests that an analysis of the discourse of music performance allows stakeholders to identify sustainability principles that are essential to Indigenous peoples. Through an in-depth case study focusing on the current struggle for land in which the Mayangna indigenous communities of Nicaragua are engaged, I argue that artistic performance remains a key example of discourse whereby communities express and concretize relationships. Understanding this process of knowledge exchange is critical for fostering collaborative relationships with Indigenous people. The outcomes of this research will inform rural policy and development that may be applicable to Ontario or other rural development environments.