Oren Lyons
Faithkeeper, Turtle
Clan, Onondaga Nation, Haudenosaunee
Address to the United
Nations General Assembly
as the appointed
speaker for the North American socio-cultural region at the
UN General Assembly
high level meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the passage of the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
During the Sixteenth
Session of the United Nations
Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
UN Headquarters, New
York
April 25, 2017
Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the United Nations,
Distinguished Leaders and Representatives of Indigenous Nations and Peoples, nya wenha ska nonh (thank you for being
well.) Ska nonh is our word for peace, and it is the same word for
health. I greet you on behalf of the
Indigenous Peoples of the Great Turtle Island – North America.
2017 marks my 40th year of attendance in the great halls of
the United Nations, both in Geneva and New York, representing the interests and
issues of our peoples and the natural world.
Understanding that our tenure as the human species on this earth is completely
and totally dependent upon the resources of Mother Earth. Not the least of which is water. Our mandate is inclusive of all life, the
welfare of future generations and the common good. I remind you as we did in
the year 2000, and again in the year 2014, that the ice continues to melt in
the north. We squandered time.
The ice of course, has its own leader. And it is ultimately
our leader as well. We have learned over these forty years of interaction in
these great halls about the importance of terminology. We have had to learn the
very special terminology of the United Nations.
Territorial integrity is one of those terminologies that reflects the
confines of States. It establishes boundaries, and also ideas. I remind you
again that the territorial integrity of Mother Earth binds all of us, in a much
larger context.
The laws of that
territorial integrity are absolute. There is no habeas corpus, there is no
court, there is only the law. You abide, or suffer the consequences. And the consequences of that is, our human
species have brought us to a point where there is a question of our survival as
a species on this earth. More than a
question: serious observations, dependence on discussions in these great halls.
Peace is possible. Peace is here. It has always been here. Peace is within the
mandates of these halls, to exercise it.
To best serve the interest of the Indigenous Peoples of
North America in this short time, I must express to you our consternation, that
on the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, we are presented with “enhanced participation” purporting
to “enable our participation and meetings with the UN bodies,” but the proposed
procedures seem to violate most of the articles of the Declaration. In particular, our rights to
self-determination; free, prior, and informed consent; consultation; and many
more.
After forty years of discussion, it seems to me that we
should move on. I would say that in this short time probably the most important
thing we could do is move the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples to a United Nations Convention. Let’s get on with it.
And so with that, on behalf of Turtle Island, North America
– Nya wenha (I thank you). Ska nonh (peace). It is in this room.
It’s up to you. Dah ney’ to (Now I am
finished).
April 25, 2017
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