Thirteenth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
12-23 May 2014, UN Headquarters, New York, NY
May 14, 2014
Agenda Item 3: "Discussion on the Special Theme for the
year: "Principles of good governance consistent with the UN Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: articles 3 to 6 and 46"
Intervention by the Haudenosaunee, Confederacy of Six
Nations
North America
Presented by Chief Oren Lyons (Onondaga Nation)
Principles of Good Governance
1. Thank you madam chair, congratulations as the 2014 Chair
of the Permanent Forum. We bring you greetings from our Chiefs, Clanmothers,
men, women and children of the Haudenosaunee. We hope this message finds you in
good health and good spirits.
2. The Haudenosaunee is a federation of six original nations
in Turtle Island known as the Western Hemisphere: from East to West - the
Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora, also known as the Six
Nations Iroquois Confederacy. The Haudenosaunee are a constitutional democracy
that has existed long before the creation of Canada and the United States of
America. Over a thousand years ago on the shores of Onondaga Lake, in present
day central New York, democracy was born, making ours one of the world’s
earliest and longest functioning democracies. We are governed by an ancient
constitution known as Gayanashagowa, the Great Law of Peace, complete with a
sophisticated system of checks and balances, our system influenced the early
government of the United States as confirmed in a 1988 United States Senate
resolution (H.CON.RES.331) which recognized Haudenosaunee influence on the US
constitution. As affirmed in Article 3 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, affirming our right to self-determination and our right to
determine our political status, we continue to maintain our traditional
governance structure and we have never sold or otherwise relinquished our lands
or rights to self-determination.
3. As Chiefs of these Nations, it is our duty to deal with
international relations with other Nations and their organizations. We have
been involved with dialogue with the various member nations and bodies of the
United Nations over the decades and with the League of Nations before the UN
existed. We have maintained these nation-to-nation relationships as an active
expression of our right to self-determination and our position has always been
and continues to be that we are equal to all peoples and nations.
Our Right to Self-determination and the Seventh Generation
4. The Haudenosaunee continue to operate under our own set
of laws as best we can in order to push forward traditional law and
understanding for the benefit of the seventh generation to come. This type of
exercise of our right to self-determination is affirmed in Article 4 of the
UNDRIP and is consistent with other international conventions and treaties that
promote the right to self-determination.
5. We were prominent during the development and the
deliberation for adoption of the UNDRIP. We fought very hard for the inclusion
of Article 3 which states, “Indigenous peoples have the right to
self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their
political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.” This wording is identical to the language of Article 1 of both
Human Rights Covenants (A/RES/2200). We knew we were human beings however the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights (A/RES/217) did not apply to us, we were
not considered a ‘peoples’. Article 4, the right to self-government, is what we
have been conducting for millennia, and we continue to maintain our traditional
governance structure. Article 5, the right to maintain our distinct political,
legal, economic, social and cultural institutions is how we have always
conducted ourselves. Article 6, the right to a nationality, is based on our
final determination of who is a citizen and who is not a citizen in our
respective Nations. We have this system in place under our constitution.
Territorial Integrity of Indigenous Nations and
Permanent Observer Status
6. We wish to respond to Article 46 of the UNDRIP, part of
the special theme of this year’s Thirteenth Session of the UNPFII. As
Indigenous Nations and Peoples, we have our own territorial integrity. We
continue to exercise our inalienable and inherent right to self-determination
by traveling freely through our own traditional territories. This is our
collective right as Indigenous Nations and Peoples as affirmed in Article 36,
and addressed in the Permanent Forum’s report of the ninth session from the
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 2010 (E/2010/43-E/C.192010/15) paragraph
98 which states: “ The Permanent Forum recommends that the Governments of
Canada and the United States address the border issues, such as those related
to the Mohawk Nation and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, by taking effective
measures to implement article 36 of the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states that Indigenous peoples divided by
international borders have the right to maintain and develop contacts,
relations and cooperation, including activities for spiritual, cultural, political,
economic and social purposes, with our own members as well as other peoples
across borders”. We take note that neither of the state parties has addressed
the recommendation made by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2010.
7. In December 2010, a 15 page statement entitled
“Announcement of U.S. Support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples.” In this document the U.S. presented a new form of the
right to self-determination, which they referred to as the right to “internal
self-determination.” The right to self-determination is a unitary one that has
not been sub-divided into internal and external components in either
conventional or customary international law. This notion of a lesser degree of
self-determination for Indigenous Peoples is in violation of the Charter of the
United Nations and other UN conventions and treaties.
8. In line with our inalienable right to self-determination,
as affirmed in UNDRIP Article 3, we note that since 1923 and 1977, the
Haudenosaunee and other traditional governments have pioneered the Indigenous
presence at the United Nations and other international venues, leading to the
adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 by
the UN General Assembly. Throughout these decades of work traditional
Indigenous governments have been advocating for a proper status within all UN
processes. It should be noted that the same traditional governments never
referred to themselves as NGOs or domestic dependent nations.
Doctrine of Discovery
9. We take note of “A Study on the impacts of the Doctrine
of Discovery on indigenous peoples, including mechanisms, processes and
instruments of redress, with reference to the Declaration, and particularly to
articles 26-28, 32 and 40” (E/C.19/2014/3) authored by our friend and relative
Grand Chief Ed John, North American Representative to the UN Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues.
10. We recognize the Doctrine of Discovery and its long-term
effects on our peoples led to the atrocities we faced in residential and
boarding schools, both in Canada and the U.S. We take note of the upcoming
report and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Canada, including the leadership of Chief Wilton Littlechild (Cree), former
North American Representative to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
and current chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
We further take note of the apologies extended to Indigenous Peoples by
Australia, Canada and New Zealand regarding their implementation of boarding
schools within their respective countries.
11. The installation of the Carlisle Indian Industrial
School in Pennsylvania, USA in 1879 was the initiative of Richard H. Pratt, a
U.S.A. Colonel in the U.S. Army who promoted the philosophy of, “Kill the
Indian and save the man”; this idea of social engineering would be called brain
washing by today’s standards and has yet to be addressed by the U.S.
government. Therefore, we request a study on the boarding schools of Indigenous
children and youth in the United States.
12. We also wish to bring attention to the "Preliminary
study on the impact on indigenous peoples of the international legal construct
known as the Doctrine of Discovery" (E/C.19/2010/13) presented at the
Ninth Session authored by Tonya Gonnella Frichner, Esq. (Onondaga Nation),
former North American Representative to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues. We recognize the legal construct known as the Doctrine of Discovery has
global implications. As established in the preliminary study and reaffirmed in
the more recent study, the Doctrine of Discovery has been invoked as a
justification for the ongoing exploitation of our lands, territories and
resources and directly violates Article 7 paragraph 2 of the UNDRIP.
Extractive Industries & Our Responsibility to Mother
Earth
13. Indigenous cultures and identities are synonymous with
our lands. We recognize that our Indigenous relatives are struggling against
the extraction of resources on their lands, including mega-projects such as
hydroelectric dams, hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking), the Keystone XL pipeline
and other pipelines and the contamination of the tar sands in Alberta, Canada.
These threats are in direct violation of the UNDRIP.
14. We also recognize the global threat of climate change
and we affirm the recent fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) “Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change.
Working Group III Contribution to the IPCC 5th Assessment Report - Changes to
the underlying Scientific/Technical Assessment” (WGIII: 12th/Doc. 2a, Rev.2) Climate
change is already negatively affecting Indigenous Peoples globally. As we
stated in 2000 at the UN Peace Summit, “The ice is melting in the north.”
Furthermore, In yesterday’s New York Times front page, “Scientist’s Warn of
Rising Oceans From Polar Melt.” Two independent studies by two groups of
scientists find Global Warming fuels loss of Ice Sheets in the west Antarctic.
According to the studies “a large section of the mighty west Antarctic ice
sheet has begun falling apart and its continued melting now appears to be
unstoppable…” These two scientific papers released yesterday by the journals
Science and Geophysical Research Letters came to similar conclusions by
different means.
15. In Haudenosaunee territory we continue to work for the
cleanup of our territories as affirmed under Article 3 of the UNDRIP. We are
working for the cleanup of Onondaga Lake and Onondaga Creek to restore them
back to their pristine condition. Onondaga Lake, located northwest of Syracuse,
NY, in our traditional territories, is a sacred site for our peoples. Onondaga
Lake is severely polluted and is listed by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as a highly contaminated superfund site. It is one of
the most polluted bodies of water in North America. The actions and the
non-compliance of the industries responsible for this destruction are in direct
violation of our rights affirmed in UNDRIP.
16. The Onondaga Nation has begun to pursue the cleanup
unilaterally, without the assistance of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) or the industries responsible for this toxic
destruction.
17. We wish to remind states of Article 29 of the UNDRIP
which establishes that Indigenous Peoples “have the right to the conservation
and protection of the environment.” We draw upon the “Follow-up report on
Indigenous Peoples and the right to participate in decision-making, with a
focus on extractive industries” (A/HRC/21/55) authored by Professor James
Anaya, Special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. ‘In many cases,
industry and government regulators have refused to take responsibility for
their participation in the contamination of Indigenous lands, territories and
waters and must be held accountable for their actions.’
Onondaga Land Rights Action
18. We take note of the “Study on best practices and
examples in respect of resolving land disputes and land claims, including
consideration of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (Philippines)
and the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission (Bangladesh)
and the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities of the African
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights” (E/C.19/2014/4) We support the
emphasis on “the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the Indigenous
concerned” as required under Article 26 (3) of the UNDRIP, as referenced in
paragraph 41.
19. We would like to present our own Onondaga Land Rights
Action as an example of best practices in good governance of Indigenous Peoples
seeking protection of our lands, territories and resources.
Petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
20. In particular, we highlight our Petition recently filed
with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of
American States, filed April 15, 2014 after having exhausted all legal remedies
within the U.S. Federal judicial system and the last step in this process was
the denial of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court. We were advised by the U.S.
District Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit on 12 October 2010, that it is
‘too late’ for our Land Rights Action. The archaic concept of ‘laches’ was
applied by the court, claiming we waited too long and it is too late to seek
justice and our claim would be ‘disruptive’ on our neighbors, the
non-Indigenous community. However the claim that it would be ‘disruptive’ is
untrue and not an adequate rationale. In reality the Haudenosaunee protested
the taking of our lands since the beginning of the illegal thefts of our lands
and territories as is our right. We ask if it is ‘too late’ for a healing
between our people? Too late to cleanup the waters, lands and air? Too late to
save the birds and animals that are dying? We hope not, because we’ve always
believed that we can have healing between our people and others. It’s time to
let the history be known and acknowledge what happened between our people.
21. Concerning our inherent rights to our lands, territories
and resources, we wish to comment on “A study on an optional protocol to the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, focusing on a
potential voluntary mechanism to serve as a complaints body at the
international level, in particular for claims and breaches of indigenous
peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources at the domestic level”
(E/C.19/2014/7). Paragraph 30 of the study concedes that the Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples has a “non-treaty status.” The Declaration is by
definition also not a Convention. This study cites no historical precedent for
the approval or the application of an optional protocol for a Declaration, such
as the UNDRIP. The possible implications for Indigenous Peoples need further
discussion and deliberation. Of additional concern for indigenous peoples is
that optional protocols are voluntary mechanisms, which exist for Conventions
under the UN system. An optional protocol for the UNDRIP, without any
historical guidelines or precedents, may allow procedures for states to move
disputes regarding lands, territories and resources from international
processes to domestic judicial and political forums.
Protectors of Mother Earth
22. For the Haudenosaunee, mandates regarding our
environment are ancient laws handed down from one generation to the next. These
teachings are basic principles of respect, conservation and appreciation. We
recognize other forms of life inhabiting the earth have a reason to be here
just as much as we, each has duties that keep the rest of creation in a
reciprocal balance. Humans are but a part of the natural world and Mother Earth
is a relative, not a resource. For this reason, we continue to operate under
our traditional mandate to be protectors of Mother Earth, and to preserve the
land, water and our fellow creatures for the seventh generation.
Therefore; we make the following recommendations:
23. We request a study on the boarding schools of indigenous
children in the United States and around the world. The removal of Indigenous
children from their families and communities was legislated through the
authorization of the state with its root in the Doctrine of Discovery. As
described by Chief Ed John, who personally experienced this as a child. These
children suffered injustices, violations and persecutions. Recognizing the
impact of the Doctrine of Discovery and the specific impacts on Indigenous
Peoples, in particular we take note of its effect on Indigenous youth, which
includes high rates of youth suicides, the apprehension of indigenous children
from their families, and poor access to education.
24. Regarding extractive industries, we recommend that
international industries, corporations and business enterprises, operating or
seeking to operate in Indigenous territories, endorse the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and operate in accordance with
its principles. That states insures stringent regulations of international
corporations, regarding extractive practices, policies and processes to protect
the health of peoples, flora, fauna, water, air and lands that are crucial to
our survival as a species.
25. Regarding the Onondaga Nation’s unilateral cleanup of our
territories, we recommend the cleanup of Onondaga Lake and Onondaga Creek be
viewed as a best practice of Indigenous governance and we recommend other
Indigenous Nations and Peoples look at the cleanup as a possible model for
cleanups in other Indigenous territories.
26. Regarding the implementation of the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and recognition of the
universal right to self-determination, we recommend that the claim that
self-determination is somehow different for Indigenous Peoples, as asserted by
some member states, be strongly rejected as untrue, discriminatory on its face
and inconsistent with the United Nations Charter and established international
law. Indigenous Peoples are equal to all other peoples.
