The Sacred Staffs of the Confederacy of the Eagle and the Condor arrived at the United Nations headquarters this morning and were
received by the traditional leadership of the Haudenausaunee Confederacy. The
Haudenausaunee, also known as the People of the Longhouse, are here in New York
along with Indigenous Peoples from around the world attending the second
session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, an advisory body to the
Economic and Social Council.
Mr. Wilton Littlechild of the Cree Nation and also member of
the Permanent Forum led the legation which took the Sacred Staffs into the UN
Headquarters where they were acknowledged and received ceremonially before the
assembled delegates of other Indigenous Confederations from around the world.
The Sacred Staffs were given the honor of being placed at the forefront of the
Permanent Forum platform throughout the day where they were guarded by the
Peace and Dignity runners.
During the forum, Mr. Littlechild reported to the United
Nations of his visit as rapporteur of the Permanent Forum to the traditional
gathering of Aztlan Indigenous Nations held in Izkalotlan in March of this
year. The Declaration and Plan of Action of this Tlahtokan Aztlan submitted to
the Permanent Forum is now an official UN Document and is available at
www.tonatierra.org and at:
United Nations
E/C.19/2003/CRP.2
Archive of Aztlan
The act of international recognition, acceptance and
establishment within the protocols of the United Nations system of the Archive
of Aztlan fulfills the need for a reference system of indigenous international
law wherein an archive of Treaties, Accords, and constructive agreements shall
serve to define the relationship between the Indigenous Nations and the states.
Until this point, the only official references have come from the systems
established by colonization and subjugation to regimes of domination of the
Indigenous Peoples and territories which is now illegal under international
law.
Called upon to address the morning session of the second
session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues the Confederation of the
Eagle and the Condor made the call to other indigenous confederacies of nations
from other continents and regions of the world to join efforts in mutual
support and recognition.
"We have made this journey to the door of the United
Nations headquarters as an assertion of our self determination, our right to
self definition and spiritual fulfillment as Indigenous Nations of the Earth.
The government states of the United Nations system may have status as
internationally recognized governments, states, or government states, but we
are the Nations," said Gustavo Gutierrez, coordinator of the Peace and
Dignity Journeys for North America.
The Indigenous Peoples Peace Initiative is one such global
campaign being coordinated from the Nahuacalli, an embassy of Indigenous
Peoples located in Phoenix, Arizona. The Indigenous Peoples Peace Initiative is
an expression of the resistance of the Indigenous Nations to the calls to war
by the government states of the world.
During the today's session the delegation of Tlahtokan
Nahaucalli submitted the Map of Aztlan for incorporation in the now established
Archive of Aztlan here at the UN.
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