30.3 (Fall 2006) Two Countries, One People

New U.N. Human Rights Council Approves Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

In June, two historic transitions in international human rights took place at the United Nations’ Geneva headquarters. The first was the inaugural session of the new U.N. Human Rights Council. It replaces the U.N.’s discredited Human Rights Commission, the members of which, chosen by regional blocs, all too often were rights-violating states that used their positions to hijack effective UN action to protect human rights. The new council is made up of states elected by a majority of the members of the U.N.’s General Assembly.

Living in No-Man's Land

As the largest tribe in the United States that has land stretching across a border, the Tohono O’odham have struggled to maintain their traditional way of life as security along the U.S.-Mexico border has increased dramatically since the September 11 terrorist attacks. In response to the closing of several major ports of entry, illegal immigrants and drug traffickers have turned to Tohono O’odham lands for passage into the United States.

Indigenous People UNDER THE GUN

Altaquer, Colombia

Homeland Insecurity

In 1842 the Mohawk community of Akwesasne was bisected by the U.S.-Canadian border, severing their communal lands into two equal Canadian and American sectors. Today Akwesasne is a kaleidoscope of cultural and political elements in layered complexity. Traditional practices and law of the Mohawk nation coexist with the philosophies, policies, and regulations of one state, two provinces, two federal governments, and their respective officials. The result is a shifting design of interactions and tensions. Since the hardening of the U.S.

Enjoying a Low-fat Desert

The Tohono O’odham Nation encompasses nearly 4,600 square miles, the second largest Indian reservation in the United States, roughly the size of the state of Connecticut. Around 70 percent of the tribe’s 27,000 members have adult-onset Type II diabetes, the highest rate in the world. Tohono O’odham Community Action’s food program is working to promote physical and cultural health though traditional agriculture.

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