Indigenous Peoples affirm that their food sovereignty and relationships with their traditional foods cannot be separated from their cultures, languages, social life, spirituality, and total identity. In 2002, over 140 Indigenous Peoples, including traditional food producers and knowledge holders from all regions of the world, met in Sololá, Guatemala, adopting The Declaration of Atitlan. The Declaration defines food sovereignty as a collective and intergenerational right based on traditional knowledge and practices and the lands, waters, seeds, plants, animals, and natural cycles that sustain them.
Indigenous Peoples have identified climate change, along with environmental contamination, loss of traditional knowledge, and lack of access to traditional lands and resources as urgent threats to their food sovereignty. They are increasingly asserting their rights to control, protect, and restore their traditional food systems and sources to assure their future survival.
On August 12–13, 2016 in Shiprock, New Mexico, the Shiprock Chapter of the Navajo Nation and the International Indian Treaty Council co-hosted a gathering for Food Sovereignty and Climate Change Resiliency focusing on protecting, defending, and restoring traditional knowledge, seeds, and practices. There were 127 registered participants from the Diné, Yaqui, Opata, Southern Ute, Taino, Pueblo, Hopi, San Carlos Apache, and other Indigenous Nations who shared traditional knowledge and seeds, affirming their commitment to the health and wellbeing of future generations.
Among the focus of presentations and discussion were ongoing concerns in the Shiprock community about the long term impacts of the massive toxic mining waste spill that reached Shiprock’s primary water source, the San Juan River, almost exactly a year before. The discussion focused on the current and continuing threats to Indigenous Peoples’ lands, waters, inter-generational health, and ways of life by extractive industries, including thousands of other abandoned toxic mining waste sites located on waterways throughout the United States and beyond.
The following Declaration was adopted by consensus of the participants on August 13, affirming the rights of Indigenous Peoples to preserve their lands for food sovereignty by keeping them free from genetically modified seeds and plants and all forms of chemical contamination and toxic pesticides “so that our natural world is protected, nurtured and shared.” Presented by the Shiprock chapter’s president, Duane Chili Yazzie, the declaration was also endorsed and adopted by consensus at the 42nd Anniversary Conference of the Treaty Council in Waimanalo, Hawai’i by Indigenous Peoples from 38 Nations around the world on September 11. It will be a basis of work for the survival and well being of Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
— Andrea Carmen (Yaqui) is executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council.
IITC thanks Navajo Nation Shiprock Chapter President, Duane Chili Yazzie, and members of the Shiprock Chapter, the AgroEcology Fund, the Christensen Fund, and the Marisla Foundation for their generous contributions to this important gathering
DECLARATION OF THE INDIGENOUS FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCY GATHERING
“nihimá nahasdzáán nihee iiná dóó nihi sihasin at’é”
(Our Earth Mother is our Life and Hope)
SHIPROCK, SW DINÉ NATION – 13 AUGUST 2016
from the east we are blessed with the dawn
we are given the divine gift of nitsáhákees-thinking
we are made to be holy surface peoples of the Earth
our souls are one with the souls of living beings of all time
we were placed here with the four sacred plants to guide us
our original instructions teach us that corn is a root of our lifeways
our songs and prayers resonant with the heartbeat of our Earth Mother
with the south we are given the teachings to make our life plan
we are given reasoning to set our path of life with nahat’á-planning
in our early times we were happy living the Original Intent of the Creator
with the great intrusion of the invader our world became a life of hardship
our original instructions gave us resilience to make our way through difficult times
we are told we don’t own the land, but we belong to the Earth and she belongs to us
no earthly power or law has the authority to deny us our relationship with our Earth Mother
by the west we journey with the sacredness of living
we have been given the precious opportunity for iiná-living
we have profound and troubling concern for the state of the world
where powers of government and business compete to destroy the Earth
where we continue to suffer the consequences of the Doctrine of Discovery
where our life struggle is to rise above the conditions of colonization and dependency
where we must decolonize our policies and practices of food, water and land to live to survive
from the north we seek wisdom through our reflections
in humbleness we pray for blessings of unyielding sihasin-hope
our struggle to live is one of resistance, resilience and determination
in our wisdom we know we have the roots, songs and courage to survive
our strength and power is in our Indigenous identity, history, culture and politic
in healing from our intergenerational, historic unresolved trauma we also heal the Earth
we accept our life responsibility to remain Warriors uncompromising, to defend the sacred
we touch our sweet Earth Mother as we honor her life
we thank her for her life and beg her to have courage for our life
we feel and live her pain, we stand against unrelenting exploitation of her
we demand our Tribal Nations that our home lands be GMO and pesticides free
we stand strong to fight climate change and rally the cry of “Leave it in the Ground”
as Defenders of the Earth we stand together for Indigenous unity to defend our ground
it is of utmost urgency to protect the life of the Earth Mother as it is the future of the children
we pray the heavens to bless us with impeccable principles
as we walk strong to live our chosen lifeways the Creator set for us
as children of the Great Creator and the Earth Mother we demand justice
for our human rights to life, food, water, culture, health and clean environment
we challenge our Tribal leaders to protect our sacred medicines and our natural foods
it is an absolute that to be sovereign and self-determined, we must have food sovereignty
we call out our Tribal leaders and Warriors to defend our Indigenous lifeways, our Earth, our life
the Shiprock Chapter and International Indian Treaty Council were honored to host the Gathering to
provide this opportunity where relatives from the SW Diné Nation and other Indigenous Nations
could come together to share our traditional food knowledge and our leadership thoughts
about how we can work to restore and protect our traditional knowledge and lifeways
to preserve our seeds, foods and to defend our lands and waters that sustain all life
to grow our grandchildren to be strong in the future to face myriad challenges
our life work is to assure their wellness in spirit, culture and physical health
we commit to one another to continue learning and sharing in these ways
we commit to pass this knowledge on to our children for their survival
as our prophesies teach that future times will not be kind to all life
we were blessed with our traditional ways of planting, gathering, and caring for our animals
blessings which were passed to us through our songs, stories, prayers and ceremonies
these lifeways contain answers that are to help the world address climate change
to restore healthy foods and help institute green sustainable energy production
we fight land theft, deforestation and other threats to our food sovereignty
we are committed to protect and defend our remaining Indigenous lands
to educate and preserve our lands for Indigenous Food Sovereignty
our lands must be free from genetically modified seeds and plants
and all forms of chemical contamination and toxic pesticides
so that our natural world is protected, nurtured and shared
we proclaim our Indigenous human rights and our right to self-determination as sovereign free Peoples
we affirm our inherent rights recognized in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
we honor the life sacrifices of our ancestors as we carry on the sacred responsibilities
to our Peoples, our future generations and to our sweet sacred Earth Mother,
we thank the land, water, our relations with the plant and animal worlds
who give their beings and souls to give us all we need for our lives
we affirm our commitment to the Creator and to one another
to protect our Earth Mother, so that life can continue
it is urgent that we rise and sing the drum
the life of our Earth Mother is our life
adopted on 13 August 2016
Shiprock, SW Diné Nation
“Indigenous peoples have the right
to maintain and strengthen their distinctive
spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or
otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and
other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.”
-- Article 25, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
