DANIELA M.

SAMSON
XI- ST. JOHN BOSCO HUMSS

She is Arabelle Segundo, she is not one of my family

members I consider her as one. A true friend is that
you can rely on regardless of the circumstances. She
give me the advice that I don't want to hear from
time-to-time, a friend will never lead you purposely
down the wrong road. A friend will always encourage
you to do the right thing.

Can you tell me a story or a memory about your sisters and brothers?
- When my sisters and I were arguing last month because her rabbit died
because the dog bite the rabbit of her but we're okay now because she bought
rabbit again.

Was there any fashion that you liked the most?

-Yes, wearing a aesthetics clothes.

What is your favorite school memory?

- My favorite school memory was going to all the school dances with my best
friends.

What was your favorite subject in school and why?

- Mathematics because it's my weaknesses but I want to challenge myself
that's why I love Math now.

Was there a meeting place where you liked to spend time?

-yes, the beaches because beached makes me calm and I can relax and also
there's no problem.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Of the 60 million Filipinos [in 1991... Eds.], seven million are indigenous. They are all over the
Philippines: in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. One of the six major tribal groups is the Negrito or the Aeta
tribe. There are 130,000 Aeta found all over the country. Hence we are called the "scattered" or
"nomadic" tribe.

Due to foreign conquest, we suffered continuous displacement from our lands and the subsequent
destruction of our culture. Unlike the Igorots of Northern Cordillera and the Lumads of Southern
Mindanao, our tribe lost its ancestral lands and, with it, our culture. The wanderings and scattering of
our tribe were not inherent to our culture. Rather, we were driven into it by the necessity of looking for
food.

Sad to say, in the Philippines, the indigenous people are called the "cultural minorities" or the "little
natives". This nomenclature came from the Spaniards. Under the Spanish government, the natives who
refused to be baptized were marginalized and classified as the "cultural minority" a name deemed
unworthy of the baptized Christians. The term "minority" was reserved in a derogatory fashion for the
"pagans", the unbelievers, the untutored and the illiterate, the voiceless and the powerless.

Most of our indigenous peoples have a low self-image in spite of the fact that we were the original
inhabitants of the Philippines. This is the result of a long history of oppression. We have been victims of
various types of exploitation and have been driven from our lands countless times. Our ancestors once
lived by the riversides and along the seashore. Now we have been pushed to the summit of the
mountains. Coupled with our anxieties caused by the endless waves of displacement was our difficulty in
procuring food. We live by the produce of our farms, but many of us still survive by hunting wild boar,
deer, birds, and also by fishing in the rivers. We have a council of elders who settle disputes in the
village.
Learning to read and write enhanced our self-confidence. Now we are no longer subject to the
deceptions of the middlemen and the military. We now control the prices of our products. Gradually we
are moving from the barter system to cash economy. Slowly we are being liberated from the clutches of
middlemen and from the pitfall of eternal debts.

We grew in critical thinking and analysis. Organized, we ceaselessly seek the truth. We courageously
uphold our rights and human dignity and strive to improve our livelihood. We struggle for political, social
and cultural freedom. And we constantly abide by our principle: "Oppress no one and let no one oppress
you."