Now in the 10th day of negotiations, the impending agreement from the UN climate change summit in Paris will impact the world for decades to come. Ambition in our new government runs high as Canada calls for targets to keep the increase in world temperature below 1.5 degrees. Canada also recognizes that this agreement must include the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in order to respect human rights and the rights of Indigenous peoples challenged by climate change.
Keepers of the Athabasca calls on other world governments, even those who may feel that in their countries they do not have a group of people who self identify as Indigenous, to support UNDRIP in any international agreement. Just as we are all Treaty people in Canada, the whole world owes much of our growing understandings about sustainability to Indigenous paradigms that have been shared with us. Additionally we call upon all governments to recognize the rights of Indigenous people to be specifically engaged in implementing the final version of this climate change agreement, as they are often directly affected by both resource extraction, and the impacts of climate change itself.
Coordinator Jesse Cardinal: “’it shocks me that we still, in this day and time of having our earths survival be in question, in this final hour, even still, we would rather burn than honor the Indigenous people and their ways. The Indigenous peoples have the knowledge to save this planet, this mother earth, but it will take meaningful acknowledgement, partnership, and not only to listen but to act on the knowledge that is shared.”
Currently two main bodies ask that UNDRIP be ‘annexed’, or not formally included in the agreement. The European Union may not be able to apply UNDRIP within its own territories, however we ask that they consider the benefits they have derived over many centuries through the exploitation of Indigenous peoples elsewhere, and reflect on their role in repaying this debt. The United States cannot stand on its poor record of engaging with Indigenous peoples as an excuse for not beginning the work of engagement and mutual learning with Indigenous Americans to benefit future generations.
Questions the Keepers of the Athabasca asks of the Canadian and other world governments:
– Will UNDRIP and the right to “free, prior, and informed consent” for Indigenous peoples be entrenched in our new climate agreement?
– Will governments truly engage with and learn from First Nations and Indigenous peoples in deciding how to implement this agreement?