The Sacred Depth of Indigenous People
In modern times, Indigenous Peoples around the world are often labeled as “primitive.” Yet in truth, they are among the most spiritually enlightened. Their deep reverence for life—both human and non-human—is rooted in a profound awareness of the interconnectedness of all beings. They live in harmony with nature, embodying a consciousness that values unity, balance, and respect.
As USEC and Chairman of the Cooperative Development Authority for six years, I had the privilege of engaging with Indigenous communities both locally and globally. Their living cultures are not only life-nourishing but also grounded in dignity and a deep respect for all forms of life. These are ecological cultures that reject life-destroying consumption and production patterns, and oppose the exploitation and overuse of natural resources. Instead, Indigenous Peoples trust the economy of nature for their sustenance.
To them, nature is not a resource to be conquered, but a home to be cared for—a place where one is born, grows up, and is nurtured. As Mahatma Gandhi, the “Father” of the Indian nation, once said, “The earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” He further warned that “If man is to be saved from doom, development must be in harmony with nature, and not at its expense.”
Greed, however, was born and institutionalized in what we now call the “civilized world.” When colonialism spread, heavily armed imperial powers seized the lands of Indigenous Peoples. The British Empire, for instance, colonized India and began enclosing the commons—forests, land, water, and other natural resources—to fuel the consumerist appetites of the wealthy and powerful. The same happened in our country. When the Spaniards arrived, they subdued the Filipino people—first with the sword, then with the cross. What happened to our Indigenous Peoples? The answer is clear. Res ipsa loquitur—the thing speaks for itself.
Our Indigenous Peoples were once the rightful stewards of these lands—lands that no one owned. The concept of private ownership did not exist in their worldview, for they held a sacred belief: you cannot own the land, because the land will outlast you. In their wisdom, they asked, “How can you own something that will outlive you?” To them, the land owns us. Their ancestors passed down the principle of res communis—that land, like water and air, belongs to no one and is to be shared and used by all.
For thousands of years, they lived abundantly on lands rich in ecological wealth, guided by a spirit of mutual service and communal sharing. In the Mountain Province, the Indigenous Peoples even transformed the highlands into the world-renowned Rice Terraces—sometimes called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” These were built using technologies that respected and trusted the inherent processes of nature. They were so deeply in tune with their environment that they even read the stars to determine planting seasons. When the “Big Dipper” appeared tilted—as if water would pour out—it was their sign that the rains would come.
This wisdom, rooted in ecological harmony and ancestral knowledge, continues to challenge us to rethink our current path of unsustainable development and to return to a more balanced and life-affirming way of living. There were no pharmacies then—but that was never a problem. Indigenous Peoples knew exactly which herbs to use to treat any ailment. If they wanted fruits or meat, the land provided abundantly. The Philippines, home to countless endemic species found nowhere else in the world, was one of the richest places in terms of flora and fauna.
Then came the colonizers. They brought with them a flawed way of life—one rooted in the material pursuit of instant wealth, fame, and power. From that point on, everything changed… forever. The Indigenous Peoples awoke to a new reality: a system of private ownership that favored individuals and corporations. Haciendas and massive plantations began to emerge. What happened to our Indigenous Peoples? They became squatters on their own land—land they had lived on for thousands of years, but for which they held no legal papers. Were centuries of ancestral occupation not proof of ownership? Not in the eyes of neoliberal capitalists. And so, the Indigenous Peoples lost their ancestral domains—the most fertile and strategic lands. Today, many are forced to work as agricultural laborers, or are pushed into marginalized, less viable areas.
This is not history—it is happening now.
In Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon, around one thousand families from the Manobo-Pulangiyon Tribe have been illegally displaced from their 1,111-hectare ancestral domain. The Kiantig Development Corporation—owned and managed by the current Mayor of Quezon—has converted their land into large-scale plantations, earning millions of dollars in profit. Meanwhile, the tribe has spent the last eight years living in makeshift tents along the highway, surviving on one meal of sweet potatoes a day. All their children are malnourished and sickly. At night, some children are tied up while their parents sleep—five have already been struck by vehicles on the highway.
On April 19, 2022, when tribal families attempted to enter a vacant four-hectare area adjacent to their domain, they were fired upon for fifteen minutes by the corporation’s armed men. As they approached, crying out, “GUTOM NA PO KAMI, MAAWA PO KAYO!” (“We are starving, please have mercy!”), they were treated like pests—chased away by gunfire. Five were shot, including women and children. Two years ago, the tribe was finally issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) for their land. But to this day, they are not allowed to return.
The systematic seizure of Indigenous Commons in Bukidnon continues without pause.
In San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon, the 5,000-hectare ancestral domain of the Manobo Tribe—led by Bae Merlita Mayantao—was fenced off in 2016 by the powerful corporation Ramcar. When the tribe staged a protest, Ramcar’s Tagbagani Security Group opened fire. Three tribe members were killed on the spot, and three others wounded. The perpetrators are known, but have never been arrested.
In Mirayon, Talakag, about one hundred families of the Talaandig Tribe now live in a communal shelter—a tulugan—after their homes and farms were demolished by heavy equipment two years ago. The demolition was carried out by a former high-ranking military official and close ally of the former Mayor. Making matters worse, the tribe has been declared Persona Non Grata by the local government, and several chieftains have gone into hiding after being red-tagged.
What is deeply painful is what recently happening in Sitio Kibaritan, Malinao, Bukidnon. The area is now being claimed as part of a military reservation—an assertion refuted by the incumbent Mayor, Atty. Raymon Charl Gamboa, who officially testified that Sitio Kibaritan is merely adjacent to, but not part of, the reservation. In truth, Sitio Kibaritan has long been a peaceful, established community, with its own chapel, elementary school, and day-care center. A joint committee composed of government agencies and the local government unit (LGU) issued a statement affirming that the sitio should never be considered a military reservation, as doing so would endanger the lives of its residents.
But this official statement has been blatantly ignored. In 2016, three innocent children playing near the school fell victim to an explosion from unexploded ordnance (UXO). The pain of that tragedy is unimaginable—one father, desperate and broken, was seen competing with stray dogs to collect the scattered body parts of his two children. And yet, despite this horrifying incident, men in uniform have continued to fence off the area, destroy the farms of the local residents, and inflict violence on those who resist. Today, the residents live in hunger, fear, and misery. They are even being threatened with the demolition of their homes, in spite of the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) decision to award Certificates of Land Ownership to the indigenous residents—who have lived and farmed there for over fifty years and have rightful claims to the land.
One cannot help but ask: If only colonization had never happened in this country, could the Indigenous Peoples have been free to allow their spirituality to flourish? Could they have continued to live in deep reverence for the sacredness and divinity of life? Their worldview is rooted in the transcendental—a connection with the Universal Intelligence that governs all existence. For them, life goes beyond the physical form; what matters is the spiritual essence. They live with a collective belief that physical forms are fleeting, and that the spirit is what is truly eternal.
I realized that they are free from the clutches of the EGO—something that now dominates modern humanity, a humanity lost in illusion and collective insanity. We live in a world of delusion, buried in unrestrained materialism and consumerism. So-called “civilized” society has taught us to think in binary and superficial terms: beginnings and endings, birth and death, creation and destruction, good and bad. We chase instant fame, wealth, and power, driven by compulsive thinking and the relentless need for self-gratification.
Today’s civilization is obsessed with indulging in fleeting pleasures, with little regard for what is sacred or meaningful. The EGO—this devil within—now worships profit above all, and this mindset has infiltrated governments, institutions, universities, and even religious groups. As a result, genuine spirituality has been stripped away.
Controlled by the EGO, modern human beings—though created in the image and likeness of God—have become the most flawed of all species. In just one century, the 20th, humans killed 150 million of their own kind through two world wars, genocides under Hitler and Pol Pot, and other atrocities. We have built weapons capable of wiping out humanity many times over. Our cruelty is not limited to our own species; we have driven billions of life forms to extinction, sacrificing them at the altar of greed and profit.
Today, humanity is destroying Mother Earth. Thousands of scientists around the world have declared that we are “one minute to midnight”—on the edge of the Earth’s sixth mass extinction, the Anthropocene, which is entirely man-made. The deep spirituality once practiced by Indigenous Peoples—their reverence for life and their harmony with nature—is now disappearing. It is no wonder the late Pope Francis once asked for forgiveness from Indigenous Peoples in Canada. He said: “I beg for your forgiveness for the evil committed by Christians in attempting to assimilate the living cultures of Indigenous Peoples.”
Indeed, while Indigenous Peoples may be labeled “primitive” by modern standards, they are spiritually advanced. In contrast, those considered “advanced” by today’s society are, in truth, spiritually primitive.
