What Makes Indigenous Rights Watch Distinct?

Indigenous Rights Watch joins a growing contingency of organizations that are concerned with human rights and Indigenous issues in the United States. IRW does not seek to repeat their work.

Instead, IRW compliments current efforts by systematically documenting and disseminating information on human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples in the United States--a task that has not yet been attempted.

In so doing, IRW fills a gap in social, legal and political awareness that hinders serious human rights issues from being addressed. At the international, national and grassroots levels, IRW answers the question: "What is the scope of human rights abuses against Indigenous Peoples in the United States?"

The answer to this question provides the case for 1) why the United States and international community should be seriously concerned about the state of Indigenous People's rights in the US; 2) why the United States should act in good faith concerning emerging international standards for indigenous rights at the United Nations and Organization of American States ; and 3) why the US has to make major systemic and structural changes to Federal Indian Policy in order to uphold the fundamental human rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Doesn't Somebody Already Do That?

The answer to this question is a resounding no. Whereas there are many sources of information about native issues and many of these sources of information might concern human rights, there is no federal agency, international agency or non-governmental organization that provides a regular and comprehensive gauge on the US State of Indigenous Rights.

What Does Currently Exist?

-Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both produce annual reports that document human rights abuses in the United States. Whereas both of the organizations focus on very important human rights violations in the US, monitoring indigenous rights falls outside of their program focus areas. Correspondents at both organizations say that this is due to: 1) the relative smallness of their US offices in comparison to their international offices; and 2) the immensity of the task. Correspondents from both organizations say that they feel a separate organization to monitor indigenous rights would fill a much needed gap.

-The United States Department of State also produces Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that they annually present to Congress. Whereas these reports formalize t he responsibility of the United States to speak out on behalf of international human rights standards , the report does not include a section on the United States itself. A correspondent from the State Department (while off record) mentioned that he thought an annual report on US Indigenous Peoples' Human Rights Practices would be very useful and beneficial for the US government in meeting its aspirations for the establishment of international human rights standards.

-In January of every year, the National Congress of American Indians delivers an annual State of Indian Nations Address where they report on the strides, setbacks, priorities and goals in Indian Country and call on Congress to respond to Tribal governments needs. Whereas this address works within the bounds of Federal Indian Policy, Indigenous Rights Watch focuses on international human rights standards and calls on the US government to uphold international law. Correspondents from the NCAI staff feel that such a scope would be a complimentary element to the State of Indian Nations Address by providing useful statistics.

-There are several national and international organizations that work on Indigenous Peoples' human rights concerns. These include the Indian Law Resource Center, Native American Rights Fund, American Indian Law Alliance, Association of American Indian Affairs, International Indian Treaty Council, Indigenous Environmental Alliance, Indigenous Law Institute and Honor the Earth among others. These organizations work in several ways to protect native rights. Monitoring indigenous rights violations falls outside of the scope of the important work that these organizations do. Correspondents from many of these organizations, however, feel that monitoring indigenous rights (especially where this raises awareness about the current human rights crisis), will greatly benefit their efforts.

-There are countless grassroots organizations and native media sources that directly or indirectly provide information on Indigenous Peoples' human rights throughout Indian Country and the United States. This information is communicated and addressed by these sources on a case-by-case basis through countless outlets. Analyzing this information on a national scope will allow identification of trends and roots of the problems in order to better be able to understand plausible solutions.