Lines from the past four days at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

This is our last day at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. There have been so many presentations, ideas, people, experiences that it is hard to synthesize in a meaningful way. What I am doing in today's post is to highlight some of the phrases I heard that shifted my thinking or perspective. Unfortunately I didn't always catch who was speaking, but I tried!


Oren Lyons - Indigenous peoples are those who know how to thank the earth."

Oren Lyons -"There is a need to educate others about how to respect the earth."

Unattributed - Adults are those who are responsible as stewards for the children. This involves keeping the earth for the next generations.

Youth presenter - "We are a reality, not an issue."

How does racism counter an affirmation of (Indigenous) identity by youth?

Indigenous Women's Caucus - What are the contemporary manifestations of the doctrine of discovery?

African Caucus - One Indigenous language disappears every two weeks.

 Ecuadorian Indigenous representative - "In our community, everyone is a mother, a father, an uncle. In an urban centre Indigenous people are alienated from relations." A greeting is an important entry to communication. In cities, this opening is gone.

Ecuador Indigenous representative - "We don't always know we live in an Indigenous space."

Indigenous people are those who carry the burden.

Guatamala Indigenous representative - "Democracy is not legitimate without the participation of Indigenous women and youth."

Mexican Indigenous representataive - "I would like our country to liberate itself from racial discrimination so we can arrive at mutual respect."

"At my child's school, the children run away when I pick up my child. Parents tell their children that if they don't behave, I will take them away."

Tarcila Rivera - "Education is necessary to develop critical awareness....We need to appropriate technology as a tool to build rights and confirm culture."

Uncredited - "There is the language of the state and there is the language of the people."

Youth reprentative from Canada - "Our bodies are an environment." "Our body is our territory."

Danika Littlechild - "Women are the forgotten framework." "Women are the motivators for environmental agreements, but when drafted women become passive subjects instead of partcipants."

Pueblo representative - "The standard for safety for nuclear mining needs to be a pregnant woman, and not the 'fake man' used in 1945."

German representative to World Bank - "Is the 'do no harm' principle enough or should it be 'commit good'?"

My general comment is that there was an ongoing thread regarding 'free, prior and informed consent' versus 'consultation' versus 'significant Indigenous partnership or control'. Some used the 'free, prior and informed consent' framework while others called for a much strong self-determination framework. It is interesting to see where people are at in this ongoing dialogue.

Brenda Small, Confederation College, Canada/Mocreebec Council of the Crees

Tom Goldtooth