For Indigenous Peoples, land is an ancestral heritage that has existed long before the state was established. They do not need maps to know the boundaries of the forests, hills, or rivers they depend on for their livelihoods. However, administrative law often views unrecorded land as terra nullius or no man’s land—even further, the state can repurpose this land into concession areas for corporations—without looking closely to see if it is truly uninhabited. Without the legal recognition of Indigenous Lands, the living spaces of Indigenous Peoples are vulnerable to one-sided state claims. In this country, indigenous territories are not recognized. They haven’t been recognized since the beginning,
Annas expressed. Because any land in Indonesia where you cannot prove ownership becomes state property. You can’t process it, there is no certificate—how could indigenous territories have certificates, right? The basis is communal,
he added.
Based on this reality, Annas Radin Syarif positioned himself as a bridge between Indigenous Peoples and the government. For two decades, he understood that if Indigenous Peoples wanted to dialogue with the state, they needed to speak the language of administration, translating their spaces into territorial boundaries drawn on a map. Why maps? They (Indigenous Peoples) actually don’t need them. The need arises because we want to communicate with the government,
he explained. It’s impossible to bring the land to Jakarta. We have to show it, the language has to be their (the government’s) language, and the way we can communicate is through maps,
Annas asserted. For him, maps are diplomatic tools to compel the state to acknowledge the existence of living spaces that have been ignored all this time.
Annas’s experience in Indigenous Peoples’ advocacy began when he was active in international networks such as AIPP during the 2009–2011 period. He realized that the absence of administrative evidence is the root cause for the loss of indigenous communities’ living spaces. While involved in REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) research in 2010, Annas highlighted that environmental conservation efforts without the certainty of living space rights for Indigenous Peoples would remain weak when facing corporations holding state concessions.
This awareness pushed him to take a behind-the-scenes role. Annas focused on managing the flow of mapping data, ensuring that the generational memories of grassroots communities could be translated into valid claims in the eyes of the state through the verification of indigenous territories by the Indigenous Territory Registration Agency (BRWA).
Managing the Flow of Data at BRWA
Annas’s involvement in BRWA from 2010 to 2016 became a phase where he focused on translating the rights of Indigenous Peoples into the language of the state. At that time, various indigenous communities and supporting organizations in the regions had actually begun mapping their territories independently. However, these maps were scattered, had diverse production standards, and lacked consolidation. If simply submitted to the government, these documents risked rejection for failing to meet state administrative procedures. Because in the Indonesian government, there was no such thing as indigenous territories in the administrative system, we created the system,
Annas revealed.
This is where Annas took a more tactical role. He did not go directly into the forests to draw boundary lines. His position was as the Mapping Acceleration Coordinator, a role that required him to manage workflows from behind the scenes. Annas was tasked with organizing the data, conducting verifications, and ensuring every draft map submitted to BRWA met the administrative standards required by the government.
The challenges in this phase demanded particular diligence. Annas had to build communication with various parties, align perceptions, and harmonize diverse local mapping methods into a single, cohesive national-scale database of indigenous territories. Through this systematic work, piles of map documents from various corners of the archipelago were successfully consolidated. The data management carried out by Annas and his team at BRWA successfully transformed these independent maps into valid supporting documents, while simultaneously pushing the state to begin administratively recording the existence of indigenous territories.
Diplomacy Behind the Negotiating Table
Once the efforts to consolidate indigenous territory data at BRWA began to run smoothly, Annas’s focus started to shift. He realized that administrative recognition of land was not enough if unaccompanied by the protection of its cultural values. From 2016 to 2017, Annas expanded his scope into the realm of public policy by engaging in the Indigenous Village Revitalization program at the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud), as well as the National Education Standards Agency (BSNP).
At this negotiating table, Annas once again took on the role of a liaison. If he had previously aligned territorial boundary matters with state administrative procedures, this time he was tasked with communicating the values of local wisdom so they could be accommodated in national education regulations. He worked to draft and advocate for policies ensuring that the state education system would not disconnect the younger generation of Indigenous Peoples from their cultural roots.
His managerial and diplomatic skills were tested again when the pandemic struck in 2020. Annas was entrusted to lead the AMANkan COVID-19 Emergency Response Team. This crisis situation required him to formulate protection protocols and ensure the safety of indigenous communities across various regions. His extensive experience in managing networks and establishing communication with external parties proved invaluable in protecting the living spaces of Indigenous Peoples from the threat of a health crisis. This period showcased his versatility; navigating everything from land boundaries and education curriculum to disaster mitigation.
Grounding Economic Independence
Entering 2021, Annas took on a new mandate as the Deputy III Secretary General of AMAN for Economic Affairs. This position change aligned with urgent needs on the ground. Recognition of indigenous territories and cultural protection were deemed insufficient if not accompanied by economic strength. Without economic independence, Indigenous Peoples would be forced to become spectators on their own lands, relying on external parties who often arrive bearing exploitative interests.
