News

Sacred Sites

Rapa Nui culture and heritage are recognized around the world. The iconic statues – the Moai – are a part of the cultural heritage of humanity. The moai, along with other sacred ceremonial and ancestral sites of the Rapa Nui, have been incorporated into a Chilean...

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Rapa Nui Island (Easter Island)

Rapa Nui lies roughly 2,200 miles west off the coast of Chile. The small island has been inhabited since time immemorial by a Polynesian people, the Rapa Nui, who have their own distinct language and culture. Currently, the Rapa Nui are organized into 36 clans. Chile claimed control of the...

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Quilt Walk — Demanding Justice for Native Women and Children
On December 7, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST, hundreds of supporters will rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court as oral arguments begin in Dollar General Corporation v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a case that threatens the safety of Native women and children... read more
Tribal Law and Order Act at Five Years

On Wednesday, December 2, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held an oversight hearing: “Tribal Law and Order Act – 5 Years Later: How have the justice systems in Indian Country improved?”
Center and partners seek permanent status for indigenous governments at the UN

On September 22, 2015, the Human Rights Council held a half-day panel discussion on follow-up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.
Center delivers recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council to stop violence against indigenous women

Urging action to stop violence against indigenous women is a top priority for Center staff attending the UN Human Rights Council's 29th session from June 15 to July 3, 2015 in Geneva.
Participation of Indigenous Peoples’ Governing Institutions in the United Nations
September 2015 | The best way to implement the Declaration and safeguard indigenous peoples’ rights is for indigenous nations and peoples, represented by their own governments, to be able to participate fully and permanently in the work of the UN.
Creating a permanent body in the UN system to monitor and encourage implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
September 2015 | Nothing would do more to achieve the objectives of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples than institutionalizing a permanent body in the UN with the authority and responsibility to promote compliance and monitor implementation of the Declaration.
Actions to Address Violence Against Indigenous Women in the Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Council
September 2015 | We recommend the Commission address the “empowerment of indigenous women” as an emerging theme at its 60th session in 2016.
Recommendation for Action by the World Conference to Protect Indigenous Peoples’ Sacred and Cultural Places
International human rights law recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples to their sacred places and to their cultural, religious, and spiritual practices. Yet, development projects and extractive industries, often with the support of states, frequently affect indigenous lands and desecrate... read more

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