Indigenous Issues and the United Nations
May 4, 2006
Bringing Indigenous Issues to the United Nations: Re-defining the Millennium Development Goals; Bolivian Water War Leader Oscar Olivera Collaborates in Film Project, Fundraiser Tonight!
Fundraiser for "Gringomobile Diaries: Bolivia", will show raw clips of the film and raise money for post-production costs. Also showing "Gringoton (Gringo-thon)" and other award-winning films and documentaries by Greg Berger, co-creator of "Gringomobile Diaries: Bolivia"
Where: Carlito's Cafe Lexington Avenue, between 106th and 107th Streets
When: 7 pm, Thursday May 4thThe Millennium Development Goals and Indigenous Peoples: Re-defining the Millennium Development Goals
Next week, thousand of Indigenous Peoples from all over the world will convene at the United Nations to bring their concerns and recommendations to the Permanent Forum, which is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council with a mandate to discuss Indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. There will be several side events organized by Indigenous activists during the two-week session that are open to the public, including "Water is Life," "Indigenous Peoples' Toronto Charter on HIV/AIDS", and "Papal Bulls, Manifest Destiny & American Empire." We speak with Kent Lebsock, Executive Director of the American Indian Law Alliance.
Visit the web site for more information, www.ailanyc.org, American Indian Law Alliance, or email - aila@ailanyc.org
March 9, 2006
Abortion Ban in South Dakota Draws Native Opposition, and Indigenous Peoples' Demands for UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights Continue into 11th Year
Native Women Unite in South Dakota to Fight Abortion Ban
Native American women are organizing at the grass-roots level to protest the bill that was recently signed by Governor Rounds of South Dakota that would ban virtually all abortions in the state. We find out how the abortion ban impacts Native women and communities and hear about efforts to combat it.
Charon Asetoyer, founder and executive director of the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center, a grass-roots women's health institute on the Yankton reservation in South Dakota.
Indigenous Peoples Demand Formal Rights Declaration at UN Session, and The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai'i
Indigenous Women and men from around the world convened in Geneva to demand a formal United Nations declaration of Indigenous rights. About 90 representatives of governments, specialists from indigenous regions of the world, non-governmental organizations, as well as scholars and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples participated in the 11th session of the working group of the Commission on Human Rights. The agenda included the crucial issues of the indigenous rights to self-determination, lands, territories and resources, with an emphasis on the fundamental right to restitution.
Anne Keala Kelly, Native Hawai'ian journalist and filmmaker. She is working on a documentary called "Noho Hewa Ma: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai'i." It chronicles how the American war machine took hold in Hawai'i, and how to the detriment of the Hawai'ian people it has expanded throughout the Pacific.
April 21, 2005
Indigenous Environmental Network makes a statement at the 13th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development
The Commission on Sustainable Development 13 Negotiations Lack an Ethical Framework for the Cultural Manifestations of Water Water is Life: the recognition, as a guiding principle, that 'water connects and regulates planet earth as the sacred mat of life' by nourishing the land and all living organisms, including human beings. An ethical framework based upon respect for life-giving water and its cultural manifestations is of critical importance for water, sanitation and human settlement policy. Humanity must declare all water sources as sacred sites. Underlying the global water crisis is not just a governance crisis, but also a cultural crisis. Water is a vital resource, having economic, ecological, social and spiritual functions. Relations between peoples and their environment are embedded in culture. Water is life, physical, emotional and spiritual. It should not be considered merely as an economic resource. Sharing water is an ethical imperative and expression of human solidarity. The intimate relationship between water and people should be explicitly taken into account in all decision-making processes. Cultural diversity, developed during the millennia by human societies, constitutes a treasure of sustainable practices and innovative approaches. Indigenous knowledge holders should be full partners with scientists to find solutions for water-related and human settlement issues. Education is necessary to learn about the sacredness of water as the inclusion of Indigenous and traditional laws are needed to 'protect water for the future generations of all plants and animals.' Statement presented by Tom Goldtooth, representative of the Indigenous Environmental Network. ien@igc.org
Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide
By Dr. Andrea Smith, Foreword by Winona Laduke
Smith highlights the connections between various forms of violence, perpetrated by the state and by society, and documents their impact on Native women. Smith's examination begins with the impact of the abuse endured at boarding schools from the 1880s to the 1980s. She connects these roots of violence to other forms of violence manifested in white appropriation of Native culture, environmental racism, and population control. Importantly, she includes radical and innovative strategies for eliminating gendered violence. Dr. Andrea Smith (Cherokee) is an assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a co-founder of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, the largest grassroots, multiracial feminist organization in the U.S. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz in History of Consciousness.