Advocates submit Statement to Protect Sacred Sites

Representatives for the Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites (APOSS) just came home after a week at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Below is the the official Statement submitted on Thursday last week:

Name: Mark LeBeau
Organization: International Indian Treaty Council and Indigenous Environmental Network and Western Shoshone Defense

JOINT STATEMENT
Intervention to the Seventh Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 2008
Submitted by the International Indian Treaty Council and Indigenous Environmental Network.

Additional supporters: Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites, IPKRC-IGU, Tonatierra, United Coalition to Protect Panhe.

Agenda Item 7: Special discussion on Indigenous languages

Protection of Indigenous Languages and Sacred Areas
Madame Chairperson, distinguished members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues of the United Nations (UN), delegates, ladies and gentlemen, youth and elders, and colleagues, I am Mark LeBeau from the Pit River Nation in California-USA and affiliated with the Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites and am hear to speak about the need for the Permanent Forum to work closely with Indigenous peoples on protecting Indigenous languages and sacred areas.

It is expected that in this century many Indigenous languages will become extinct. In the 2008 Report of the international expert group meeting on indigenous languages, the conclusions and recommendations section states that the protection of Indigenous languages is not only a cultural and moral imperative, but an important aspect of global efforts to address biodiversity loss, cultural loss, climate change and other environmental challenges. The report also states that Indigenous Peoples and Nations’ language rights include, but are not limited to, the right to maintain personal names, place names and the proper names of their languages. Indigenous peoples and their representative organizations have devoted and continue to dedicate a great deal of time and energy to developing and implementing effective strategies to protect Indigenous languages and sacred areas.

Within traditional songs, prayers, names and languages, the sanctity and the importance of these special places reflect the deep knowledge and spirituality of Indigenous cultures. Many Indigenous sacred areas are being destroyed or negatively altered by consumer mentality stemming from colonization.

Recommendation:

Indigenous Peoples and Nations call on the Permanent Forum to convene an expert meeting on Indigenous sacred areas before the next session in 2009.

Permanent Forum to designate a UN Special Rapporteur to work with Indigenous Peoples and Nations on identifying State desecration of sacred areas and sacred languages and on determining suitable remedies.

As part of the Forum’s ongoing work on the protection of Indigenous languages, the Permanent Forum expert meeting on Indigenous sacred areas would identify additional information on and clarify existing knowledge of Indigenous sacred areas and their statuses, as well as provide an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples and Nations to submit recommendations on methods to protect these areas. The Forum would then be well equipped to provide appropriate information to the UN on Indigenous sacred areas and urge this body to assist in remedying the harm being done to these areas.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted during the 107th plenary meeting on September 13, 2007, proclaims the Declaration as a standard of achievement to be pursued in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect. Article 12 of the Declaration states, among other provisions, that Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practice, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites. Article 13 states, among other provisions, that Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems, songs and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons, and that States shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected.

On behalf of all the creation, we submit this recommendation to you and ask that we work together to ensure the continuance of Indigenous song, land and life. We are walking in the prayers of our ancestors and in this work we set prayers for the Ancestors yet to come.

Toosi Sun Wee (In a good way)

Additional Co-Signatories:

Cultural Survival:
International Geographical Union: Indigenous Knowledge and Rights Commission
Laguna Acoma Coalition For a Safe Environment

Advocates Heading to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

This week members of the Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites will be traveling to the United Nations as a part of a delegation of Native People working to culture, water, land and life.

Stay tuned for Updates!