General aspects of the Sumu communities of the RAAN

Abstract

This article is a partial survey of various socioeconomic features of the Sumu Indians in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region.  The overview is prepared on the basis of data collected in fieldwork conducted in late August 1992; and it is intended to provide insights on population, education, on-going projects, and other topics. Of all socioeconomic indicators, education has the most favorable outlook. On the contrary, health conditions remain distressing, thereby most Sumu communities are vulnerable to the cholera epidemic that is spreading throughout Nicaragua. From another standpoint, the present conditions are of economic stagnation, characterized by a decline in traditional activities that is partially countervailed by an increase in small scale mining and timber, and a reemergence of off­ community salaried employment. In the final analysis it seems that most Sumu believe that the solution to their problem is not withdrawing from the national society, but asserting their rights in all available channels. The struggle for a secure tenure of communal lands tops the list of claims.