On December 3, 2010 armed Chilean troops equipped with riot gear opened fire on unarmed Rapanui civilians refusing to be evicted from ancestral lands. The police started shooting pellet guns and tear gassing at the Rapanui people who for months now have been reoccupying their lands.
DATE
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20006
Dear President Obama,
I write to urge you to immediately endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The declaration is a set of principles that would provide Native Americans and Native Alaskans with greater security regarding their basic human rights, including their rights to equality and non-discrimination.
When the United Nations General Assembly voted to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, only four nations voted against it: New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and the United States. Since then, both Australia and New Zealand have reversed their positions and endorsed the declaration, and Canada also has recently indicated an interest in reversing its position in a qualified way. And now the United States has joined the trend toward enlightenment.
On November 12th, 2010, the Canadian government endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We urge the government to move ahead with the implementation of its provisions in a principled manner that fully respects their spirit and intent.
Mr. President, Honourable Ministers, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Distinguished delegates, Indigenous brothers and sisters; Today I’m speaking on behalf of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB).
After two weeks of continuous work, long discussions and many negotiations we reach the end of COP10. The IIFB representatives, including Indigenous women, have actively engaged in all these discussions with our proposals and deliberations.
President Barack Obama again named November as National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, asking Americans to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, November 26, as National Native American Heritage Day.
"The Obama Administration has once again exhibited that every day the federal government is paying more attention to the role of American Indian and Alaska Native nations as members of the American family of governments," said Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians.
On November 5 the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, examined the United States’ compliance with its international human rights obligations. The council comprises 53 member states and conducts human rights reviews of all 192 UN member states in a four-year cycle. In reviewing the United States, members of the council questioned a delegation of over 30 U.S. officials.
We are deeply saddened to report that Cultural Survival's executive director, Ellen Lutz, died on Thursday, November 4, after a long battle with breast cancer, surrounded by her husband, Ted Macdonald, and her children, David and Julia. She was 55.
A Message by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
New York, 18 October 2010
…Since 2007, the Declaration [on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] has become a key reference point, a pivotal document in national and international legal proceedings involving violations of indigenous peoples’ rights. In a few countries, mainly in Latin America, it has become a part of constitutional reform processes. This integration is so vital for building strong foundations for the political, social and economic future of indigenous peoples.
It’s one down and two to go in our campaign to revoke repressive laws in Panama that threaten the environment and violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples. If you sent letters or emails for this campaign, you’ve already helped bring about this first victory – thank you! But there’s more to do, so let’s keep up the pressure.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a case involving the right of the Kaltag Nation of Alaska to have its tribal court decide cases involving children. The case in question involved a Kaltag child who was being abused and neglected by her parents. After hearing the facts, the Tribal Court ordered the child to be removed from her parents and gave permanent custody of the girl to another tribal family.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
