SPOTLIGHT ON SPECIAL EVENTS
Indigenous Peoples at the WTO
December 3, 1999
________________________________________________________ TITLE: Indigenous Peoples' Seattle Declaration AUTHOR: Indigenous Peoples' Caucus at the WTO Third Ministerial Conference (Seattle, 30 December - 3 November 1999) DATE: 1 December 1999 NOTE: If you support the proposals of the Indigenous Peoples' Caucus in Seattle, kindly email your name and address to tebtebba@skyinet.net or ien@igc.apc.org as soon as possible. ________________________________________________________
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ SEATTLE DECLARATION on the occasion of the Third Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization 30 November - 3 December 1999
We, the Indigenous Peoples from various regions of the world, have come to Seattle to express our great concern over how the World Trade Organization is destroying Mother Earth and the cultural and biological diversity of which we are a part.
Trade liberalization and export-oriented development, which are the overriding principles and policies pushed by the WTO, are creating the most adverse impacts on the lives of Indigenous Peoples. Our inherent right to self-determination, our sovereignty as nations, and treaties and other constructive agreements which Indigenous nations and Peoples have negotiated with other nation-states, are undermined by most of the WTO Agreements. The disproportionate impact of these Agreements on our communities, whether through environmental degradation or the militarization and violence that often accompanies development projects, is serious and therefore should be addressed immediately.
The WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), which promotes export competition and import liberalization, has allowed the entry of cheap agricultural products into our communities. It is causing the destruction of ecologically rational and sustainable agricultural practices of Indigenous Peoples.
Food security and the production of traditional food crops have been seriously compromised. Incidents of diabetes, cancers, and hypertension have significantly increased among Indigenous Peoples because of the scarcity of traditional foods and the dumping of junk food into our communities.
Small-scale farm production is giving way to commercial cash-crop plantations further concentrating ancestral lands into the hands of few agri-corporations and landlords. This has led to the dislocation of scores of people from our communities who then migrate to nearby cities and become the urban homeless and jobless.
The WTO Forests Products Agreement promotes free trade in forest products. By eliminating developed country tariffs on wood products by the year 2000, and developing country tariffs by 2003, the Agreement will result in the deforestation of many of the world’s ecosystems in which Indigenous Peoples live.
Mining laws in many countries are being changed to allow free entry of foreign mining corporations, to enable them to buy and own mineral lands, and to freely displace Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral territories. These large-scale commercial mining and oil extraction activities continue to degrade our lands and fragile ecosystems, and pollute the soil, water, and air in our communities.
The appropriation of our lands and resources and the aggressive promotion of consumerist and individualistic Western culture continue to destroy traditional lifestyles and cultures. The result is not only environmental degradation but also ill health, alienation, and high levels of stress manifested in high rates of alcoholism and suicides.
The theft and patenting of our biogenetic resources is facilitated by the TRIPs (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) of the WTO. Some plants which Indigenous Peoples have discovered, cultivated, and used for food, medicine, and for sacred rituals are already patented in the United States, Japan, and Europe. A few examples of these are ayahuasca, quinoa, and sangre de drago in forests of South America; kava in the Pacific; turmeric and bitter melon in Asia. Our access and control over our biological diversity and control over our traditional knowledge and intellectual heritage are threatened by the TRIPs Agreement.
Article 27.3b of the TRIPs Agreement allows the patenting of life-forms and makes an artificial distinction between plants, animals, and micro-organisms. The distinction between “essentially biological” and “non-biological” and “microbiological” processes is also erroneous. As far as we are concerned all these are life-forms and life-creating processes which are sacred and which should not become the subject of private property ownership.
Finally, the liberalization of investments and the service sectors, which is pushed by the General Agreement of Services (GATS), reinforces the domination and monopoly control of foreign corporations over strategic parts of the economy. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund impose conditionalities of liberalization, deregulation and privatization on countries caught in the debt trap. These conditionalities are reinforced further by the WTO.
In light of the adverse impacts and consequences of the WTO Agreements identified above, we, Indigenous Peoples present the following demands:
We urgently call for a social and environmental justice analysis which will look into the Agreements’ cumulative effects on Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples should be equal participants in establishing the criteria and indicators for these analyses so that they take into consideration spiritual as well as cultural aspects.
A review of the Agreements should be done to address all of the inequities and imbalances which adversely affect Indigenous Peoples. The proposals to address some of these are as follows;
(1) For the Agreement on Agriculture
a. It should not include in its coverage small-scale farmers who are mainly engaged in production for domestic use and sale in the local markets.
b. It should ensure the recognition and protection of rights of Indigenous Peoples to their territories and their resources, as well as their rights to continue practicing their indigenous sustainable agriculture and resource management practices and traditional livelihoods.
c. It should ensure the food security and the capacity of Indigenous Peoples to produce, consume and trade their traditional foods.
(2) With regard to the liberalization of services and investments we recommend the following:
a. It must stop unsustainable mining, commercial planting of monocrops, dam construction, oil exploration, land conversion to golf clubs, logging, and other activities which destroy Indigenous Peoples’ lands and violate the rights of indigenous peoples’ to their territories and resources.
b. The right of Indigenous Peoples to their traditional lifestyles, cultural norms and values should likewise be recognized and protected.
c. The liberalization of services, especially in the areas of health, should not be allowed if it will prevent Indigenous Peoples from having access to free, culturally appropriate as well as quality health services.
d. The liberalization of finance services which makes the world a global casino should be regulated.
(3) On the TRIPs Agreement, the proposals are as follows:
a. Article 27.3b should be amended to categorically disallow the patenting of life-forms. It should clearly prohibit the patenting of micro-organisms, plants, animals, including all their parts, whether they are genes, gene sequences, cells, cell lines, proteins, or seeds.
b. It should also prohibit the patenting of natural processes, whether these are biological or microbiological, involving the use of plants, animals and micro-organisms and their parts in producing variations of plants, animals and micro-organisms.
c. It should ensure the exploration and development of alternative forms of protection outside of the dominant western intellectual property rights regime. Such alternatives must protect the knowledge and innovations and practices in agriculture, health care, and conservation of biodiversity, and should build upon indigenous methods and customary laws protecting knowledge, heritage and biological resources.
d. It should ensure that the protection offered to indigenous and traditional knowledge, innovation and practices is consistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity (i.e., Articles 8j, 10c, 17.2, and 18.4) and the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources.
e. It should allow for the right of Indigenous Peoples and farmers to continue their traditional practices of saving, sharing and exchanging seeds, and cultivating, harvesting and using medicinal plants.
f. It should prohibit scientific researchers and corporations from appropriating and patenting indigenous seeds, medicinal plants, and related knowledge about these life-forms. The principles of prior informed consent and right of veto by Indigenous Peoples should be respected.
If the earlier proposals cannot be ensured, we call for the removal of the Agreement on Agriculture, the Forest Products Agreements and the TRIPs Agreement from the WTO.
We call on the member-states of the WTO not to allow for another round whilst the review and rectification of the implementation of existing agreements has not been done. We reject the proposals for an investment treaty, competition, accelerated industrial tariffs, government procurement, and the creation of a working group on biotechnology.
We urge the WTO to reform itself to become democratic, transparent and accountable. If it fails to do this we call for the abolition of the WTO.
We urge the member nation-states of the WTO to endorse the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the current text of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the ratification of ILO Convention l69.
We call on the peoples’ organizations and NGOs to support this “Indigenous Peoples’ Seattle Declaration” and to promote it among their members.
We believe that the whole philosophy underpinning the WTO Agreements and the principles and policies it promotes contradict our core values, spirituality and worldviews, as well as our concepts and practices of development, trade and environmental protection. Therefore, we challenge the WTO to redefine its principles and practices toward a “sustainable communities” paradigm, and to recognize and allow for the continuation of other worldviews and models of development.
Indigenous peoples, undoubtedly, are the ones most adversely affected by globalization and by the WTO Agreements. However, we believe that it is also us who can offer viable alternatives to the dominant economic growth, export-oriented development model. Our sustainable lifestyles and cultures, traditional knowledge, cosmologies, spirituality, values of collectivity, reciprocity, respect and reverence for Mother Earth, are crucial in the search for a transformed society where justice, equity, and sustainability will prevail.
Statement by the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus convened and sponsored by the Indigenous Environmental Network USA/CANADA, Seventh Generation Fund USA, International Indian Treaty Council, Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, the Abya Yala Fund, and TEBTEBBA (Indigenous Peoples’ Network for Policy Research and Education), 1 December 1999, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Other indigenous peoples’ organizations, NGOs and individuals who wish to sign on to this statement, send email to ien@igc.org or tebtebba@skyinet.net. _________________________________________________________
ABOUT GRAIN -- For general information about GRAIN, kindly visit our website
http://www.grain.org or write us at Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 08:30:57 -0500 [NOTE: I have fielded a few inquiries as to why a Native publication such as this is carrying news about the WTO..what does this have to do with Native News? The answer is sovereignty and the exploitation of tribal resources by transnational corporations such as Peabody Coal, Exxon, Daishowa, Rio Amalgam, Gold Stake Mining, Monsanto and the list goes on to read like Wall Street and the NASDAQ.
Occidental Petroleum was granted rights through the territory of the U'wa in the Amazon Basin..with no recourse. Pharmaceutical companies are being granted plant patents for indigenous medicinal plants that place village medical practitioners in the position of paying foreign corporations for their traditional plant usage.
A recent ruling (AUG 99) granted the Cheyenne River/Yankton Sioux tribe 400 acres of unsullied land in the Black Hills and WATER RIGHTS TO THE STATE OF SD in exchange for the land which had been contaminated by mining tailings from decades of Gold Stake excavation.
WTO seeks to grant sovereign type immunity to transnational corporations, force resource extraction on indigenous lands, place factories without accountability to any local environmental standards in third world lands (including tribal in North America).
The Tuscarora learned their roads had been paved with radioactive materials, ShipRock suffers from uranium tailing leaching into the water and recently a Texas company was held accountable for selling insecticide as a toothbrush sanitizer to the Head Start program on Rosebud. Under WTO they would be held blameless...perhaps sales to other third world countries have been with impunity and on Rosebud they just got caught.
We as First Nations have first hand experience with the exploitation of colonizers; under WTO the rest of the world's peoples face the 21st century as the "Indians" of the future.
Make no mistake...sovereignty IS the issue......Ish]
Join the Global Dialogue on the Impact of Curfew Imposed. National Guard in Seattle to Quell Protests Native America Calling continues its discussion on the World Trade
Organization with live reports and updates from Seattle from NAC
Director Joseph Leon and Associate Producer Valerie Taliman will be on
location in Seattle to bring you WTO updates.
Live Reports from Native America Calling Independent Media Reports on Battle in Seattle Indigenous Peoples Protest WTO Policies The World Trade Organization (WTO) will be in Seattle, November 29-December
3, 1999. This is their 5th anniversary. This WTO summit will lay the agenda
for WTO for the next 10 years. Trade ministers from 135 nations will be
welcomed by President Clinton who wants the WTO to begin a new round of
"free trade" negotiations. On Tuesday, November 30, from 12:00 noon to 2:00
p.m. a rally/march will take place in downtown Seattle with non-governmental
organizations (NGO's) estimating near 30,000 people to show up.
We are organizing for Indigenous Peoples to have a strong presence at this
historical meeting of the WTO which has become the main rule-making
bureaucracy of corporate lead economic globalization. This globalization has
diminished environmental, labor, public health, food safety, culture,
democracy and sovereignty of countries throughout world, let alone the
sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples in North America. Corporate rule has
increased patenting of traditional knowledge and intellectual property
rights of Indigenous Peoples, seeds, medicinal plants, and even the human
DNA of Indigenous Peoples. Protection of forests and water is becoming
threatened as these natural resources are defined as trade good items
protected under the trade rules of the WTO. Indigenous Peoples in North
America, the Americas and the world have foreseen the consequences of
economic globalization that danger the sustainable survival of Indigenous
Peoples. The WTO has not been open to the public or Indigenous Peoples. The
Indigenous Peoples Forum and Networking at the WTO is the first step towards
Indigenous Peoples to come together, educate ourselves, and develop strategy
on action to be taken on the WTO.
Indigenous Peoples Networking Office:
Seattle University
900 Broadway Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98122
Lemieux Library Room 108
(To be staffed starting November 28 and during the week of the WTO).
Tel: (206) 296-2288, 296-2289, 296-2290
Fax: (206) 296-2280
e-mail: ien@igc.org
Indigenous press and radio broadcasting ("Native American Calling") will be
scheduled.
Indigenous Peoples caucus meetings and briefings at (unless otherwise
noted):
Seattle University, Schaeffer Auditorium
900 Broadway Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98122
Unless otherwise noted, all Indigenous activities are sponsored by the
Indigenous Environmental Network, USA/Canada and Seventh Generation Fund,
USA. In alliance with International Indian Treaty Council, Indigenous
Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, the Abya Yala Fund, the Indigenous
People's Network for Policy Research and Education and many other Indigenous
organizations and nations throughout the Americas and the world. This
Indigenous networking promotes the principle that as Indigenous Peoples, “We
Speak For Ourselves" on issues that affect the future of our communities and
the world.
Please take under consideration that this may be subject to change.
Additional activities and events will be added. For more information about
the events and activities please check the Seventh Generation Fund website
at www.7genfund.org or contact us at (707) 825-7640 or office@7genfund.org
Or contact the Indigenous Environmental Network for updated information at
www.alphacdc.com/ien / (218) 751-4967/ ien@igc.org
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AGENDA AT THE WTO
Friday, November 26
7:00-10:00 p.m. International Forum on Globalization, "Teach-In: Economic
Globalization and the Role of the WTO."
Benaroya Hall, 3rd Avenue and University Street
Purchase $10 ticket to get in 2 hours before, not guaranteed to get in.
Speakers from throughout the globe with the following Third World/Indigenous
Peoples presentations: Martin Khor, Third World Network, Malaysia and
Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology,
India. Sponsored by the International Forum on Globalization. For more
information contact IFG at (415) 771-8094 http://www.ifg.org
Saturday, November 27
4:45-6:30 p.m. Indigenous Peoples Caucus on Globalization,
Seattle Art Museum Lecture Hall, 2nd and University Avenue
Get-together, alliance building, information on the week-long events of
Indigenous Peoples activities. Sponsored by Indigenous Environmental
Network, Seventh Generation with support of Abya Yala Fund, USA.
8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Continuation, International Forum on Globalization-Teach
In,
Benaroya Symphony Hall, 3rd and University Avenue
Day-Long Series of Panel Discussions - Speakers from throughout the globe
with some Third World/Indigenous Peoples presentations: Yao Graham, Third
World Network, Ghana, Hassan Sununu, Organization of African Trade Union
Unity, Ghana
8:00-11:00 p.m. Special Evening Event: Roundtable Discussion, 8:00 pm -
11:00 pm with presentations from NGO groups. Purchase ticket to get in.
Third World/Indigenous Peoples presenters: Victoria Tauli-Corpuz,
Indigenous Peoples' Network for Policy Research and Education, Philipines,
Martin Khor, Third World Network, Owens Wiwa, Movement For The Survival Of
The Ogoni People, Nigeria, Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science,
Technology and Ecology, India, and others. Sponsored by the IFG (415)
771-8091.
Sunday, November 28
3:30 Intertribal Briefing on Issues and Events
1305 and 4th Avenue, Suite 307
For more information contact: Center for World Indigenous Studies at (206)
224-4338 or (360)754-1990
Mainly for American Indian tribal governments, tribal protocol, tribal
membership in WTO, Indian governmental seats in United Nation sessions,
Organization of American States representatives, and American Indian Trade
and Development Council
4:30-8:00 p.m. Indigenous Peoples of the South and North in Dialogue on WTO
and Potluck Dinner
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church, 1531 Bradner Place
Delegates include: Zoila Jose Juan, Union of Indigenous Communities of the
North Zone of the Ithmus (UCIZONI), Mexico; Clemencia Herrera Nemerayema,
National Indigena Organization of Colombia (ONIC); Aucan Huilcaman, Council
of All the Land, Mapuche, Chile; Nilo Cayuqueo, Abya Yala Fund, Debra Harry,
Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism,
Sponsored by Indigenous Environmental Network and Seventh Generation Fund in
cooperation with Abya Yala Fund, USA.
Monday, November 29
8:30-10:00 a.m. Indigenous delegation briefing
Schaeffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
12:30-1:30 p.m. Rally For The Environment, Health and Animal Welfare
Washington Trade and Convention Center, 8th and Pike Street. Sponsored by
Sierra Club and other non-Indigenous NGO's. The following workshops are
sponsored by various non-Indigenous NGO's. These topics affect Indigenous
Peoples.
1:30 p.m. Indian Tribal governments meeting with the Fijian government
delegation
American Indian Trade and Development Council
1305 and 4th Avenue, Suite 307
Sponsored by the Center for World Indigenous Studies
4:00 p.m. Indian Tribal governments meeting with the Eastonian government
delegation
American Indian Trade and Development Council
1305 and 4th Avenue, Suite 307
Sponsored by the Center for World Indigenous Studies
The following workshops are sponsored by various non-indigenous NGO’s. These
topics affect Indigenous Peoples.
2:00-3:30 p.m. *Workshop: Fishing for Corporate Profit, Fisheries and WTO
Gethsemane Lutheran Church (Formal Lounge), 911 Stewart
*Government Proposals on Trade and the Environment Gethsemane Lutheran
Church (Sanctuary), 911 Stewart
*WTO: Hazardous to Your Health
United Methodist (Blaine Room), 1000 - 4th Avenue
*Hands Off My Genes! WTO vs. Bio-safety Protocol
Plymouth Congregational Church, 1212 - 6th Avenue
4:00-5:30 p.m. *North/South Dialogue: Trade and Sustainable Development
Gethsemane Lutheran Church (Formal Lounge) 911 Stewart Carol Kalafatic,
International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)
*On The Chopping Block: Forests Under The WTO Gethsemane Lutheran Church
(Sanctuary), 911 Stewart Street
*Trading Away Public Health: Toxins and the WTO
United Methodist (Blaine Room), 1000 - 4th Avenue
*WTO TRIPS Agreement and Access to Essential Medicines Plymouth
Congregational Church, 1212 - 6th Avenue
4:30-6:30 p.m. International Interfaith Service
First Methodist Church, 811 5th Avenue and Columbia Street: Indigenous
prayer, cultural activity and Indigenous participation. Procession at 6:30
pm (walk) to Safeco Field Exhibition Hall, between King Dome and Safeco
Baseball Field on Royal Broughman Avenue between 4th Avenue and Occidental
Avenue, 7:30 p.m. formation of non-violent human-chain. For more
information contact: Shelly Means at (206) 625-9790. Sponsored by Washington
Association of Churches and other interfaith groups.
Tuesday, November 30
8:30-10:00 a.m. Indigenous delegation briefing and preparation for noon
rally Schaeffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
Indigenous Peoples will meet right before the 12:00/noon Massive
March at a place to be announced this morning
10:00-12:00 noon Indigenous Women's Panel Session as part of "Diverse Women
for Diversity Forum on Globalization."
Plymouth Congregational Church, University and 6th
3:30-5:00 p.m. Session on Patents and Biopiracy
Debra Harry, Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, and other
Indigenous women throughout the day
12:00-2:00 p.m. The BIG MASSIVE Rally and March on the WTO, the streets of
Seattle.
4:00-8:00 p.m. Indigenous Peoples Strategy Meeting
Schaeffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
Wednesday, December 1
8:30-10:00 a.m. Indigenous delegation briefing
Schaeffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
6:00-11:00 p.m. Indigenous Peoples Globalization Forum
Piggott Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
Moderated by: Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network, USA/Canada
Presentations by: Chris Peters, Seventh Generation Fund, USA; Hereditary
Chief, Ed Moody, Qwatsinas, Nuxalk Nation, British Columbia, Canada; Sharon
Venne, Cree First Nations; Debra Harry, Indigenous Peoples Council on
Bio-colonialism, USA; Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Indigenous Peoples' Network for
Policy Research & Education, Philippines; Esther Nahgahnub, Great Lakes IEN;
Taira Stanley, Movimiento de la Juventud Kuna, Panama; Clemente (Ibe)
Wilson, Movimiento de la Juventad Kuna, Panama, Chief Stewart Phillip,
President, Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, Canada; Councillor Joan
Phillip, Canada
Thursday, December 2
8:30-9:30 a.m. Indigenous delegation briefing
Schaeffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
9:15-10:30 a.m. The Historical Context: TRIPS, part of the No Patents On
Life: Workshops on protection of plant knowledge, intellectual knowledge,
and indigenous knowledge.
Plymouth Congregational Church, 1212-6th Avenue
Numerous speakers including invited speaker, Alejandro Argumedo, Indigenous
Peoples Biodiversity Network (IPBN) on Indigenous Peoples' Rights and the
CBD.
12:00-1:00 p.m. Alternatives To Patents: What We Are Campaigning For in the
International Labour Organization, Convention 169: Rights of Indigenous
Peoples
Plymouth Congregational Church, 1212 and 6th Avenue
Antonio Gonzales, International Indian Treaty Council (IITC),
10:00-2:00 p.m. North American Indigenous Elders and Traditional Leaders
Voices
Schaffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
Janet McCloud, Tulalip, USA; Chet Kiyou Sr., Salish, Canada/USA; Tom
Sampson, Vancouver Island, Canada; Lee Piper, Eastern Band Cherokee, USA;
Vernon Lane, Lummi Nation, USA, Chief Johnny Jackson, Yakama Klickitat Band,
USA; Jim Main Sr., Gros Ventre White Clay Society, USA and others.
Schaeffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
5:00-10:00 p.m. Indigenous Peoples and People of Color Reception and Caucus
El Centro de La Raza, 2524 - 16th Avenue South (Beacon Hill). For more
information Call (206 329-9442
Sponsored by Indigenous Environmental Network, Seventh Generation Fund and
Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, USA.
Friday, December 3
8:30-10:00 a.m. Indigenous delegation briefing
Schaeffer Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
12:00-4:00 p.m. Indigenous Peoples, Forests, and the WTO:
Moderator: Chris Peters, Seventh Generation Fund, USA. Presenters: Chief
Arthur Manuel, Interior Alliance of First Nations, British Columbia, Canada;
Jeff Thomas, Puyallup Tribe, Washington, USA; Dune Lankard, Eyak
Preservation, Alaska, USA; Chaz Wheelock, Indigenous Environmental Network;
Wisconsin, USA; Chief Stewart Phillip, President Union of British Columbia
Indian Chiefs, Canada; Councillor Joan Phillip, Canada
8:00 p.m. Cuban Solidarity Rally, National Network on Cuba
New Hope Baptist Church, 124 and 21st Avenue
Keynote speaker: Fidel Castro, President of the Republic of Cuba
Indigenous speaker: Dennis Banks, Founder, American Indian
Movement
Saturday, December 4
All day Indigenous delegates depart
CONFIRMED INDIGENOUS DELEGATES
Alice Aguilar, Eyak Preservation, Alaska
Dana Arviso, Native America Calling
Cara Biega, Eyak Preservation Council
Nilo Cayuqueo, Abya Yala Fund
Brenden Cowan, Eyak Preservation Council
Victoria Tauli Corpuz, Tebtebba Foundation and Asian Women's Network
Steven Gone, Gros Ventre White Clay Society
Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network
Tony Gonzales, International Indian Treaty Council
Debra Harry, Indigenous Peoples Council on Bio-colonialism,
USA/International
Aucan Huilcaman, Council of All the Land
Chief Johnny Jackson, Indigenous Environmental Network
Minty Jeffries, Seattle University
Zoila Jose Juan, Union of Indigenous Communities of the North Zone of Ithmus
Carol Kalafatic, International Indian Treaty Council
Leilani King, Seattle Archdiocese
Javier Kinney, Seventh Generation Fund
Dune Lankard, Eyak Preservation Council
Joe Leon, Native America Calling
Jim Main Sr., Indigenous Environmental Network, International Indian Treaty
Council
Alvin Manitopyes, Strong Heart Environmental and Wellness Society
Chief Arthur Manuel, Interior Alliance of First Nations, British
Columbia
Janet McCloud, Tulalip
Shelly Means, Washington Association of Churches
Ana Maria Murillo, Abya Yala Fund
Esther Nahgahnub, Great Lakes Regional Indigenous Environmental Network
Clemencia Herrera Nemarayema, National Indigena Organization of Colombia
Lee Piper, Eastern Band Cherokee
Chief Stewart Phillip, Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
Councillor Joan Phillip, British Columbia
Chris Peters, Seventh Generation Fund
Ed Moody Qwatsinas, Hereditary Chief, Nuxalk
Priscilla Settee, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Women's
Network
Jimbo Simmons, Indigenous Environmental Network, International Indian
Treaty Council
Taira Stanley, Movimiento de la Juventad Kuna
Valerie Taliman, Native America Calling
Jonathon Two Bears, Eyak Preservation Council
Shelly Vendiola, Lummi Cedar Project
Sharon Venne, Canadian Cree First Nations
Chaz Wheelock, Indigenous Environmental Network
Ray Williams, Seattle Archdiocese
Clemente (Ibe) Wilson, Movimiento de la Juventad Kuna
Contact:
Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network
Tel: (218) 751-4967, Fax: (218) 751-0561
e-mail: ien@igc.org
http://www.alphacdc.com/ien
Javier Kinney, Seventh Generation Fund
Tel: (707) 825-7640
Jkinney@7genfund.org
From: ishgooda@tdi.net
Subject: NATIVE_NEWS: The WTO, ICANN, and the End of the Republic
Posted by ishgooda@tdi.net :
the WTO on Indigenous Peoples
December 2, 1999
Forums to highlight impacts on Treaty Rights, Biodiversity, Intellectual Property Rights, Forests, Agriculture, Border Justice & Human Rights
Date: Indigenous Peoples Forum, Wed, 12/01/99 - 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm Location: Piggot Auditorium, Seattle University, 900 Broadway Avenue
SEATTLE - Indigenous Peoples from the Arctic to the Amazon to Asian have gathered here to join protests against the WTO and to call attention to the impacts of WTO policies on Native communities that are at the forefront of environmental and cultural destruction.
Organizers say that economic globalization policies endanger their cultures, communities and traditional subsistence lifestyles by clear-cutting forests, destroying fisheries, displacing populations and undermining Indigenous Peoples power over their land and natural resources.
"The liberalization of trade policies and mining laws allows the free entry of corporations to take over Indigenous lands, evict Indigenous peoples and claim the rights over their resources," said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz of the Indigenous Peoples Network for Policy Research & Education, based in the Philippines. Representatives from Columbia and other South American countries say that the current WTO policies have encouraged murder, genocide and the dislocation of Indigenous populations.
In the U.S. and Canada, Indian tribes fear WTO trade policies will trample long-standing treaty rights and erode tribal sovereignty to protect Native land and peoples. The Clinton Administration's position on advanced tariff liberalization will increase forest destruction worldwide and destroy homelands and cultures of many Native Nations.
"This isn't just about trade and economic development. It goes beyond that," said Tom Goldtooth, coordinator of the Minnesota-based Indigenous Environmental Network. "We have grave concerns regarding free trade and its impacts on the environment, food safety and our treaty rights. The rights of all people to have a say in their destiny must be respected. We're concerned about the domination provided to corporations by the WTO that commodifies our water, forests, our genes, and theft of our intellectual property rights."
"We're issuing a call to action to all our tribal leaders to learn about these issues and to assert our inherent rights to protect those things that are sacred to our people," Goldtooth added.
On Wednesday evening, the Indigenous Environmental Network and the Seventh Generation Fund are co-hosting an Indigenous Peoples Forum at Seattle University focusing on Indigenous Peoples' rights to self-determination, cultural integrity and sovereignty.
Speakers include Chief Ed Moody, Nuxalt Nation, British Columbia; Priscilla Settee, Nuclear Free Independent Pacific,Canada; Chris Peters, Seventh Generation Fund; Sharon Venne, attorney, Cree First Nations; Debra Harry, Indigenous Peoples Council on Bio-Colonialism; Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Indigenous Peoples Network for Policy Research and Education; Esther Nahgahnub, Anishinabeg Treaty Office; Taira Stanley, Movimiento de la Juventud Kuna, Panama; Cipriano Jurapo, Border Justice Campaign, Cuidad Juarez, Mexico and Chief Stewart Phillip, President, Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.
On Thursday at Seattle University's Schaffer Auditorium, 900 Broadway Avenue, from 10:00 am to 2:00pm, traditional Indigenous elders from North America also will speak about the importance of protecting Native cultures, lands and values.
The panel "North American Indigenous Elders" will include Janet McCloud of the Tulalip Tribe in Washington; Chet Kiyou, Salish, Canada; Tom Sampson, Vancouver Island, Canada; Lee Piper, Eastern Band of Cherokee; Vernon Lane, Lummi Nation; Chief Johnny Jackson, Yakama Klickitat Band, and Jim Main, Sr., Gros VentreWhite Clay Society.
On Friday, a panel moderated by Chris Peters of the Seventh Generation Fund will examine "Indigenous Peoples, Forests and the WTO." Presenters include Chief Arthur Manuel, Interior Alliance of First Nations, B.C.; Jeff Thomas, Puyallup Tribe, Washington; Dune Lankard, Eyak Preservation Council, Alaska; and Chaz Wheelock, Great Lakes Indigenous Environmental Network, Wisconsin.
Position statements from an array of Indigenous groups are available and several North and South American Indigenous delegates are available for interviews. The Indigenous Peoples Networking Office has been established
at Seattle University, 900 Broadway, Lemieux Library, Room 108,
206/296-2288, 2289.
All contents are copyright 1998,1999 by INFOCOM Management-
a Native owned and operated company.
