Human rights work for indigenous people
Guest post by the Native American & Human Rights Action Group
December 10: International Human Rights Day. In Oslo, the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo receives the Nobel Peace Prize. The survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki also cooperate with indigenous victims of atomic bomb tests.
By Monika Seiller
International Human Rights Day
The theme of International Human Rights Day 2024 is “Our rights, our future, NOW”. The motto highlights the urgency of protecting human rights worldwide. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sees their observance in danger when he warns in his current statement: “Human rights are under assault.” (Examples can be found in the news and headlines every day. These include attacks against indigenous human rights defenders.)
When the Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948, it was rightly celebrated as a milestone in universal human rights, and Guterres proudly points out in his statement that it has been translated into 577 languages around the world. Today, in the midst of the UN Decade of Indigenous Languages, it is worth remembering that many indigenous languages are under threat. As are their cultures, their ways of life and their land - not least due to nuclearization. For decades, the USA tested its nuclear bombs on the land of indigenous peoples. And since last year, uranium has once again been mined at the Grand Canyon, not only for civilian use, but also for nuclear weapons.
Nobel Peace Prize
With the awarding of this year's Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 2024 to Nihon Hidankyo, the Hibakusha, the survivors of the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, will receive a long overdue recognition. For decades, they have been raising their voices as admonishers against nuclear madness. The organization was founded in 1956 to keep alive the memory of the victims of the atomic bombs - around 120,000 died - and to warn future generations of the dangers of nuclear armaments. It is both sad and shameful that it is only now - almost 80 years after the atomic bombs - that they are being recognized. Today, the topic is once again a hot one, especially as the destructive power of nuclear weapons worldwide is now many times greater.
Early on, the victims of the atomic bombs in Japan and the indigenous victims of nuclearization, including from the USA and Canada, sought to work together to remind the public of the dangers and call for peace without nuclear weapons. The victims of nuclear testing in the USA are still fighting for compensation - whether the bill to extend and expand the Radioactive Compensation Act will pass Congress is more than uncertain after the recent US election.
White House Tribal Nations Summit
On December 9, 2024, President Biden invited the representatives of the Tribal Nations to Washington for the last White House Tribal Nations Summit under his administration. The government's meeting with the representatives of the 574 recognized tribes was initiated by Biden's Democratic predecessors. Bill Clinton invited the tribes to Washington twice during his time in office, Barack Obama established the annual White House Tribal Nations Conference during his presidency in 2008, and Joe Biden emphasized the importance of the special nation-to-nation relationship by elevating the meeting to the status of a summit.
As this time it was a “farewell meeting” with the indigenous people, President Biden was looking to the past rather than the future, which will now be in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump, who simply suspended the meetings during his first term. The indigenous peoples fear that under the new administration they could lose the access to the various levels of government that they have gained in recent years and thus their influence. In particular, the increased presence of indigenous people within the administration - not least through the indigenous Interior Minister Deb Haaland and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) leader Bryan Newland - is likely to soon be a thing of the past, as interests diverge widely in many areas (resources, environmental protection and climate change).
In a White House press statement, Joe Biden announced some final decrees as President. He designated the infamous Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School in Pennsylvania as a national monument to commemorate the forced assimilation and suffering of the thousands of indigenous children who were forced to go through the boarding school system. Only recently, Biden apologized for this injustice to the indigenous people. A bill to address this devastating chapter in US history is currently pending in Congress. Above all, Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized during the conference the immense investments in infrastructure in “Indian Country” - 45 billion dollars in the past four years - and the numerous proclamations to protect indigenous land, e.g. at the Grand Canyon, Chaco Canyon or Bears Ears National Monument.
But the indigenous people had hoped in vain for one announcement: the pardon of Leonard Peltier.
Leonard Peltier
For decades, indigenous people and human rights organizations have been calling for the release of political prisoner Leonard Peltier, who has been behind bars for almost 50 years. The 80-year-old is seriously ill and suffers from the conditions of imprisonment in Florida, such as lock-downs and isolation. He is being denied urgently needed medical treatment. If he is not released soon, he is at risk of dying in custody.
We can still take action: President Biden can still pardon Leonard Peltier before he leaves office on January 20, 2025. Please sign the petition US President Biden: Europe asks for freedom for indigenous prisoner Leonard Peltier.
Or e-mail to: president@whitehouse.gov or via the web form on www.whitehouse.gov.
UN guidelines on combating human rights violations in nature conservation
As necessary as measures to protect nature are, conflicts between nature conservation organizations and the rights of indigenous peoples, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), occur time and again. This involves disregard for indigenous land rights, but also violence against indigenous people. John H. Knox, former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, was instrumental in drafting the principles that represent a milestone in the fight for the decolonization of nature conservation: “Core Human Rights Principles for Private Conservation Organizations and Funders”, which were presented on December 09, 2024.
The ten core principles include the recognition of indigenous rights, in particular their land and resource rights, as well as the FPIC principle, which is set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and stipulates that all measures require the “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC) of indigenous peoples. All measures for nature conservation areas must be carried out in accordance with human rights standards and norms. In a nutshell: Nature conservation that does not respect the land rights of Indigenous Peoples violates internationally recognized human rights. More information here.
„Project 2025“ / US election
Conservation projects are not a priority for Donald Trump, who already has the blueprint in hand for his inauguration as the next US president: Project 2025. The almost 1,000-page program, drawn up by the conservative Heritage Foundation, barely addresses the situation of indigenous peoples - except with regard to resources. While the Biden administration allegedly “cheated the indigenous people out of the revenue from the sale of resources on their land”, Trump wants to work with the tribes in precisely this area (“Drill, baby, drill”).
“Project 2025” is the road map for massive environmental destruction and climate catastrophe. The first goal on this path is the abolition of the Antiquities Act, which forms the basis for the creation of protected areas on “public land” and which President Biden used to protect the Grand Canyon, for example, from aggressive resource extraction. As in Trump's first term in office, not only are environmental laws to be undermined, but the responsible agency, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), is also to be disempowered. Trump's nomination of Lee Zeldin as the new head of the EPA makes it clear where the journey is heading. Zeldin is an ardent supporter of Trump and, together with Elon Musk, wants to push ahead with the dismantling of critical authorities that stand in the way of Trump's plans. The Republican congressman has made an inglorious name for himself by trying to restrict drinking water quality regulations, for example. Zeldin favors deregulation and is in favor of pulling out of the Paris climate protection agreement once again.
Resistance of the Wet'suwet'en
But it is not just the USA that is focusing on resource exploitation and disregard for indigenous rights. Shortly after Donald Trump's election victory, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a visit to the future president at his luxury resort in Florida. Canada's economy thrives on the resources of indigenous land and its exports, including tar sands oil, timber and gas. In 2023, 77.6% of Canadian exports went to the USA. The victims of this export economy are the indigenous peoples.
The Wet'suwet'en are resisting the Coastal GasLink pipeline of energy giant TC Energy Corporation on their traditional land in British Columbia, which transports gas from the northeast of the province as liquefied natural gas to the coast of the Pacific Province. Construction of the pipeline began in 2019, which the Indigenous people strongly oppose, citing their land rights, but also their rights to traditional governance and decision-making structures (in accordance with the UNDRIP). Their resistance, which is supported by the traditional hereditary chiefs, has since been criminalized and harassed with police attacks - not only by the federal police RCMP, but also by the specially created Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) and private security companies such as Forsythe Security. Activists have been personally attacked. So far, 75 activists have been arrested and taken to court.
Despite repeated accidents and serious violations of environmental regulations, British Columbia Premier David Ebe (NDP), who was confirmed in office in October 2024, is backing the pipeline despite all the lip service paid to indigenous rights and environmental protection. In November 2019, British Columbia was the first Canadian province to incorporate the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into law - and thus the principle of “free, prior and informed consent” of indigenous peoples to all projects affecting them. When the UNDRIP was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007, Canada - along with the USA, New Zealand and Australia - was one of the only four nations to reject the declaration. Finally, in 2021, the federal government of Canada also passed a law to implement the UNDRIP - but the reality reveals a lack of willingness at both federal and provincial level to truly implement the Declaration and thus the rights of Indigenous peoples.
Amnesty International has launched a new petition in support of the Wet'suwet'en.
Donations to support indigenous people
Human rights work is a 24/7 job. But there is obviously hardly any money for it. We have been supporting indigenous peoples in their right to self-determination since 1986, since 1989 we have been publishing COYOTE, the only magazine in Europe that deals exclusively with the situation of indigenous peoples in North America, and since 2017 we have been sending out a free monthly newsletter with up-to-date information on the situation of indigenous peoples.
All of this is done on a voluntary basis, i.e. we do not receive any money for our work. On the one hand, this gives us the necessary independence, as our work is not dependent on any donors. On the other hand, there is hardly any funding for projects that deal with the indigenous peoples of North America, as we fall through all the cracks. Environmental or animal protection is supported by many funding pots, but indigenous North Americans live in countries that belong to the First World, even if their living conditions are often similar to those of the Third World (today we would probably speak of the Global South). Who knows that in 2024, a third of the Dineh/Navajo in the USA will still have no running water. It is our task to draw attention to these grievances and contribute to overcoming them.
To achieve this, we give talks (usually free of charge), organize demonstrations and rallies, hold exhibitions and film weeks, finance trips by indigenous people and are also present at international conferences and UN meetings. Nowadays, many things can be done digitally - protest campaigns, submissions to the United Nations or letters of protest to corporations and governments, but events with indigenous people in particular cost a lot of money (flights, accommodation, fees, etc.). This year, for example, we financed the “Matriarchs of Wounded Knee” exhibition and invited Jackie Hookimaw to report on the trauma of residential schools, were present at UN meetings and financed countless events (and thus room costs).
In order to be able to finance all these activities and events in the coming year, we ask for your financial support! In addition to donations (tax-deductible), reliable income would also be in our mutual interest, e.g. through a subscription to our magazine COYOTE (28 euros/year) or a membership (120 euros). Please donate by bank transfer to our association account or directly via PayPal:
This text is from the Newsletter 2024-11 of the Action Group Indians & Human Rights and was first published in German. I have translated the text into English and added some links.
Guest posts do not automatically reflect the opinion of the blog owner.