This section contains declarations and statements from Indigenous representatives to the international community.
The Pu'uhonua Peace Pact
Date:
05/1999
Organization:
Indigenous Law Institute/The Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike/The Fourth World Center for the Study of Indigenous Law and Politics
Document Type: Paper
Link: HTML
This statement submitted to the Hague Appeal for Peace in 1999 outlines the basic foundations of colonialism, international law and U.S. Indian law and proposes remedies and recommendations to the people of the world to overcome the continuation of colonial practices and the threat they pose to peace.
50 Years of the World Bank, Over 50 Tribes Devastated by Oren Lyons
Date: 1995
Organization: Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Document Type:
Link: PDF
In this address to the World Bank on spirituality and ethics, Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper Chief Oren Lyons, draws attention to the negative impact World Bank development has had on Indigenous peoples’ lives and aboriginal lands. Whereas he commends the World Bank for undertaking initiatives to improve their approach towards indigenous peoples, he reprimands them for excluding indigenous peoples of North America. He claims that such an exclusive policy is uninformed, insensitive and debilitating to the efforts of American Indians nations’ needs and realities.
Declaration of Vision: Toward The Next 500 Years From The Gathering Of The 1003 United Indigenous Peoples At The Parliament Of The World's Religions, Chicago, Illinois
Date: 1994
Organization:
Parliament of the World’s Religions
Document Type:
Link: HTML
This declaration on behalf of 1003 indigenous people at the Parliament of the World’s Religions calls on Catholics to persuade Pope John Paul II to revoke the Inter Cetera Bull of 1493 (which calls for the subjugation of indigenous peoples and nations) to restore their fundamental human rights. They call on people of all religions to help put an end to human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples.
“The Year of Indigenous Peoples” opening address at the UN by Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper, Chief Oren Lyons
Date: 1992
Organization:
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Document Type:
Address
Link: PDF
In this address to the United Nations, Haudenosaunee Faithkeeper Chief Oren Lyons, speaks on behalf of the Indigenous People of North America to bring forth issues that have plagued First Nations and Peoples since European contact. Among the issues Lyons raise include: nuclear and toxic waste dumps poisoning Indigenous peoples and the environments they depend on for sustenance; treaty violations, the failure of U.S. federal law to recognize and support religious freedoms for Indigenous Peoples resulting in the desecration of Sacred Sites; indigenous land rights; and the political imprisonment of Leonard Peltier.
“A Basic Call to Consciousness” Haudenosaunee Address to the Western World
Date:
1977
Organization:
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Document Type:
Address
Link: HTML
This paper was presented to the United Nations in 1977 by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (also known as Iroquois or Six Nations). In this address they tell of the conditions of political, economic and legal oppression suffered by their people since the time of European contact. They outline several ways how the international community can help them to overcome their oppression.
The Redman’s Appeal for Justice address of Deskaheh of the Cayuga Nation to the League of Nations
Date:
1920s
Organization:
Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Document Type:
Paper
Link: [trying to locate document]
This was a leaflet circulated among members of the League of Nations after Chief Deskaheh of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was refused a chance to address the League directly. In this leaflet, Deskaheh advocates for the admission of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to the League of Nations. We are working on obtaining a copy of this leaflet for the library.
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