HELENA, Mont. - Recognizing the power of the Native vote, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are courting Indian Country in unprecedented ways. During multiple visits to Montana and other key states with large Native populations, they pledged to uphold treaty rights, increase funding for education and health care, and appoint Native people to high-level positions in the White House. They also developed Indian policy papers (featured on their websites) outlining their commitments to Native America.
The Crow Nation adopted Obama into the tribe, and Chairman Carl Venne publicly called on him to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007, contains 46 articles that include indigenous peoples' rights to self-government, culture, identity, languages, spiritual beliefs, traditional medicines, ceremonies, employment, health and education.
The Declaration was an important milestone for our legal team, some of whom worked on its development for 30 years. The only four countries to vote against it were the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, nations with the largest indigenous populations and land bases. We are now working to implement the Declaration to help protect the rights of more than 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide.
Some of the most significant articles in the Declaration include the right:
- to be free from discrimination;
- to not be forcibly removed from our homelands;
- to control development and resources in our lands and territories;
- not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of our cultures;
- to practice our spiritual beliefs and protect our sacred sites;
- to control our educational systems and teach our own languages; and
- to redress, including compensation, for lands and territories that have been taken without our free, prior and informed consent.
The rights contained in the Declaration constitute the minimum standards for treatment of indigenous peoples of the world to ensure the survival, dignity and well-being of our communities.
Though considered non-binding, the Declaration has considerable legal and moral force, and is already being used to protect land rights of Native peoples. The adoption of the Declaration is the first step toward the development of binding international law protecting indigenous rights.
The Declaration will help inform judges, lawyers, legislatures, and government officials that the rights of Indian nations and indigenous peoples must be respected worldwide.