MAPUCHE POR LA AUTODETERMINACIÓN: EL ESTATUTO DEL GOBIERNO MAPUCHE.

 

MAPUCHE POR LA AUTODETERMINACIÓN

“NO CONSENTIREMOS”
LOS DERECHOS QUE HAN SIDO MUTILADOS, OMITIDOS Y RESTRINGIDOS POR LA PROPUESTA CONSTITUCIONAL CHILENA Y ASIMISMO, PRESENTAMOS FORMALMENTE ANTE LA COMUNIDAD NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL EL ESTATUTO DEL GOBIERNO MAPUCHE.

1.- El movimiento por la Autodeterminación Mapuche hemos realizado la IV Sesión del Proceso Constituyente Mapuche, iniciado en noviembre del año 2016. En esta oportunidad hemos presentado formalmente el “Estatuto” para la conformación de un Gobierno Mapuche al amparo del derecho internacional, en vista que la propuesta constitucional no reconoce nuestros derechos fundamentales.

 

2.- Apoyamos los derechos del Pueblo Chileno que están contenidos en la propuesta constitucional como es el derecho al agua, la salud, la paridad de género, la educación, la vivienda, la sindicalización, la seguridad social, entre otros derechos relevantes.

 

3.- A pesar de los limitados derechos que establece la propuesta constitucional Chilena con los derechos del Pueblo Mapuche, la derecha política Renovación Nacional RN, Unión Demócrata Independiente UDI, Republicados y la derecha empresarial han propiciados sus odiosidades raciales con los Pueblos Indígenas, para omitir su responsabilidad en la política de despojo con las tierras Mapuche,

 

4.- Lamentamos que los “Constituyentes del Pueblo Chileno” y los “Escaños Reservados de origen Mapuche”, en relación a los derechos del Pueblo Mapuche, no le entregan una herramienta al actual y futuros gobiernos para construir una nueva relación institucional bajo el principio de la “autodeterminación” y la “igualdad entre los Pueblos” para establecer la imperiosa necesidad de una paz firme y duradera en el Wallmapuche o Macrozona sur.

 

5.- Las organizaciones y comunidades Mapuche, hemos revisado la Propuesta Constitucional Chilena y en especial nuestros derechos fundamentales y a este respecto manifestamos los siguientes:

 

I.- Los Mapuche "No Consentiremos" la propuesta constitucional Chilena porque "diluye, restringe, limita, mutila y omite los derechos adquiridos de parte del “Derecho Internacional” y los derechos inherentes, imprescriptibles e irrenunciables que nos asisten como Pueblo previo al Estado Chileno.

 

II.- Nuestra posición política de “No consentimiento” va más allá del “apruebo” y “rechazo” y se fundamenta porque el Pueblo Mapuche es previo al Estado Chileno, tuvo y tiene soberanía territorial, ejerció y dispone del derecho a la libre determinación para definir su futuro como Pueblo, tanto, en el presente y las futuras generaciones.

 

III.- La propuesta constitucional Chilena, ha mutilado, cercenado y ha descaracterizado el derecho a la libre determinación Mapuche y tal como se ha establecido se aparta al reconocimiento que ha efectuado el derecho internacional.

 

IV.- Asimismo, se ha omitido el reconocimiento de la soberanía territorial, anexando el "territorio Mapuche" al "Estado Chileno" bajo la figura constitucional de la “unidad del Estado” que en el contexto de la "Pacificación de la Araucanía" se materializó por la "fuerza y la violencia militar" y ahora mediante un “Plebiscito” se pretende consumar la ocupación territorial, del cual “No Consentimos”.

 

V.- La Autonomía territorial Indígena, le quita a los Pueblos Indígenas y en particular al Pueblo Mapuche, el derecho a la autodeterminación y se la entrega al “Parlamento Chileno” que en dos siglos ha mantenido invariable su doctrina de la Negación y el actual “Parlamento” que determinará todos los asuntos relativos a las autonomías ha convertido en política permanente la militarización desde la Pacificación de la Araucanía hasta el día de hoy mediante el “Estado de Excepción Constitucional”.

 

VI.- Del mismo modo, se ha omitido el "Crimen de Genocidio" cometido en el contexto de la “Pacificación de la Araucanía” que actualmente se encuentra en completa impunidad y que todos los gobiernos lo han omitido. Este hecho representa una condición previa para restablecer la Paz en el Wallmapuche o Macrozona Sur.

 

VII.- La propuesta constitucional ha establecido la “Plurinacionalidad” de manera genérica, seguidamente impone la soberanía Chilena al Pueblo Mapuche y de esta manera quebranta el principio de la “igualdad entre los Pueblos”, lo que lo aleja del derecho internacional, por lo mismo, resulta completamente ambiguo e impreciso el concepto político de “Plurinacionalidad” que va en desmedro de los Pueblos o Naciones Originarias y sus derechos.

 

VIII.- El Estado de “Excepción Constitucional” que, en la práctica representa la militarización del territorio Mapuche, le resta toda "legitimidad al Plebiscito" en el Wallmapuche o Macrozona Sur, porque cuyo "acto soberano para su validez", debe estar exento de cualquier tipo de presión, amenaza, intimidación inminente de cualquier naturaleza. La militarización al mismo tiempo, es "un acto inamistoso con el Pueblo Mapuche y contrario a la Paz".

 

IX.- Los Mapuche, nos están llevando desde un Negacionismo de “Dos Siglos que hemos sido objeto, a un colonialismo Constitucional Chileno, nos dejan subordinados y amarrados institucionalmente al Estado Chileno tanto. a las presentes y futuras generaciones. La relación institucional con el Estado Chileno se debe determinar bajo el principio de la autodeterminación Mapuche. Por lo mismo, “No Consentiremos”.

 

X.- Finalmente los Mapuche anunciamos que seguiremos nuestra ruta por la autodeterminación, al amparo del derecho internacional, hasta conformar nuestro “Gobierno Mapuche” regulado por nuestro “Estatuto o Constitución Política” y cuyo Estatuto establecerá las formas y procedimientos institucionales en la relación entre el Pueblo Mapuche, el Estado Chileno y la Comunidad Internacional.

 

MOVIMIENTO POR LA AUTODETERMINACIÓN MAPUCHE

Wallmapuche, Pewuguen Küyen 31 Agosto 2022

MAPUCHE FOR SELF-DETERMINATION

“WE DO NOT CONSENT”

Wallmapuche, Pewuguen Küyen
31 August 2022

 

OUR RIGHTS HAVE BEEN MUTILATED, OMITTED, AND RESTRICTED BY THE CHILEAN CONSTITUTIONAL PROPOSAL.   THEREFORE, WE HEREBY FORMALLY PRESENT THE STATUTE OF MAPUCHE SELF GOVERNMENT TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.

1. The movement for Mapuche Self-determination has held the IV Session of the Mapuche Constituent Process, which began in November 2016. On this occasion we have formally presented the "Statute" for the formation of a Mapuche Government under international law, in view that the present constitutional proposal does not recognize our fundamental rights.

 

2.   We support the rights of the Chilean People that are contained in the present constitutional proposal, such as the right to water, health, gender parity, education, housing, unionization, social security, among other relevant rights.

3.   Despite the limited rights established by the present Chilean constitutional proposal with regards to the rights of the Mapuche People, the political right-wing Renovación Nacional RN, Unión Demócrata Independiente UDI, Republicanos and the business right-wing have promoted their campaign of racial hatred towards the Indigenous Peoples and omit their responsibility in the policies of dispossession with the respect to Mapuche lands.

4. We regret that the "Constituents of the Chilean People" and the proposed "Reserved Seats of Mapuche origin", in relation to the rights of the Mapuche People under the proposed constitution, do not provide a tool for the current and future governments to build a new institutional relationship under the principle of "self-determination" and "equality among all peoples" in order to establish a firm and lasting peace which is urgently needed in the Wallmapuche or southern Macrozone.

 

5. The Mapuche organizations and communities have reviewed the Chilean Constitutional Proposal and especially the references to our fundamental rights as Indigenous Peoples and in this regard we state the following:

I.   As Mapuche "We Will Not Consent" to the Chilean constitutional proposal because "it dilutes, restricts, limits, mutilates, and omits our rights recognized under "International Law" and the inherent, imprescriptible, and inalienable rights that we as Indigenous Peoples inherently possess prior to the existence of the Chilean state.

 

II.  Our political position of "No consent" goes beyond "approval" and "rejection" and is based on the fact that the Mapuche People predate the Chilean State, we have had and continue to have territorial sovereignty, we exercise and implement our right to self-determination to define our future as Indigenous Peoples, both in the present and future generations.

 

III. The Chilean constitutional proposal has mutilated, curtailed, and disregarded the Mapuche right to self-determination and, as such, it departs from the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples now established in international law.

 

IV. Likewise, the recognition of our territorial sovereignty has been omitted, annexing the "Mapuche territory" to the "Chilean State" under the constitutional configuration of the "unity of the State" which in the context of the "Pacification of Araucanía" was materialized by "military force and violence" and now through a "Plebiscite" that in effect intends to consummate this territorial occupation, of which "We Do Not Consent".

 

V. The proposed Indigenous Territorial Autonomy takes away from the Indigenous Peoples and in particular the Mapuche People, the right to self-determination and hands it over to the "Chilean Parliament" which in two centuries has kept its Doctrine of Denial unchanged. The current "Parliament" that will determine all matters related to indigenous autonomies has made militarization a permanent policy since the time of Pacification of Araucanía until today through the "State of Constitutional Exception".

 

VI. Similarly, the "Crime of Genocide" committed in the context of the "Pacification of Araucanía" has been omitted, an international crime which is currently in complete impunity and all Chilean governments have omitted it. This fact represents a precondition that must be addressed in order to restore peace in the Wallmapuche or South Macrozone.

 

VII. The constitutional proposal has established "Plurinationality" in a generic way, and then imposes Chilean sovereignty upon the Mapuche People and in this way violates the principle of "equality among all Peoples,” which violates contemporary international law.  Likewise, the political concept of “Plurinationality” is completely ambiguous and imprecise, which is in effect detrimental to the Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples and Peoples their rights.

 

VIII. The State of “Constitutional Exception” that, in practice, represents the militarization of the Mapuche territory, subtracts all “legitimacy from the Plebiscite” in the Wallmapuche or Southern Macrozone, because any “sovereign act for its validity”, must be exempt of any type of pressure, threat, or imminent intimidation of any nature. At the same time, militarization is "an unfriendly act with the Mapuche People and contrary to Peace."

 

IX. The Mapuche after enduring a Doctrine of Denialism of Two Centuries that we have been subjected to, are now facing a Chilean Constitutional colonialism, which would leave us subordinated and institutionally tied to the Chilean State as much in the present and to the future generations. The institutional relationship as Indigenous Peoples with the Chilean State must be determined under the principle of Mapuche self-determination, as peoples equal to all other peoples.  For this same reason, “We will not consent”.

 

X. Finally, we Mapuche announce that we will continue our route for self-determination under contemporary international law, until the formation of our "Mapuche Government" regulated by our "Statute or Political Constitution" whereby we shall establish the institutional forms and procedures of the relationships between the Mapuche People, the Chilean State, and the International Community.

 

 

MOVEMENT FOR MAPUCHE SELF-DETERMINATION

Wallmapuche, Pewuguen Küyen 31 August 2022

TRANSLATION:

TONATIERRA

 

 

Encuentro de Pueblos Indígenas de Abya Yala
POR LA LIBRE DETERMINACIÓN Y LA DESCOLONIZACIÓN
5 a 10 de Junio de 2022

 

YouTube:

Palabra de Aucan Huilcaman,
Consejo de Todas la Tierras Mapuche

7 junio 2022

 

Encounter of Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala

Self Determination – Decolonization

Comisión Continental Abya Yala

 

 

PRONUNCIAMIENTO DEL ENCUENTRO DE PUEBLOS INDÍGENAS DE ABYA YALA

Por la Libre Determinación y la Descolonización

05 – 10 de junio de 2022,

Territorios Ancestrales de las Naciones Tongva/Gabrielino

Los Ángeles, California, [EE.UU.]

 

 

 

AYOTZINAPA: Petition to IACHR - Complicity and Collusion of the US Government with the Violence and Impunity in Mexico

 

Petition for Comprehensive Review to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

 TONATIERRA

Human Rights Commission

 

PETITION TO THE INTERAMERICAN COMMISION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Complicity and Collusion of the US Government with the

Violence and Impunity in Mexico

August 26, 2022

Good greetings.   As a constituency of Indigenous Peoples living in the O’otham Jeved territories of the O'otham Nations also now known as the State of Arizona, and in recognition of the historical injustices that have been perpetrated via complicity and collusion among the governments of the colonizing settler states of the Americas since their assumption by succession of the precepts of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery of October 12th 1492:

In acknowledgement that these criminal actions of complicity and collusion are marked in particular regionally by the inter-relationship among the governments of the USA and Mexico, and the establishment of the international border between the two countries by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848;

In absolute denunciation of the regime of the narco-state that rules now in Mexico and the partnership with that criminal enterprise lent by the US Government in terms of policies, training, and supplies in particular by the Plan Mérida Mexico and the North American Free Trade Agreement;

On November 20, 2014 we met here in Arizona with a representative of US Congressman Matt Salmon to request that Congressman Salmon provide the names and particulars of the 5 individuals and trained by the US military involved in the Massacre of Tlatlaya, Mexico on June 30 where 22 youth were executed by the armed forces of the state of Mexico.  Congressman Salmon was most recently in Mexico on November 7th attending a meeting with the Procurador General de la Nacion, Jesús Murillo Karam.

We have become informed that on November 18th, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights entered into agreement with the Government of Mexico and representatives of the 43 Disappeared Students of Ayotzinapa which will allow for an Interdisciplinary Group of technical experts to work collaboratively towards the locating of the disappeared students, punishment for the responsible parties, and assistance for their families. Our understanding is that the essential aim of the agreement is to resolve the underlying structural problems in Mexico regarding forced disappearances, which are not limited to students of Iguala.

For this reason we now submit this Petition for Review before the Interdisciplinary Group that the issue of Complicity and Collusion by the US government's policies, training and funding of the operatives of the narco-state in Mexico be brought to light comprehensively, and the cause of justice be served.

###

Mexico in Crisis: U.S. Drug War Funding, Ayotzinapa and Human Rights Violations

 Plan Mérida in Mexico:

US Government Complicity and Collusion with Impunity and Violence in Mexico 

Background:

COMPLICITY and COLLUSION:

Violence, Death and Disappearances in Mexico due to U.S.Policies and Funding

The drug war is designed to perpetuate itself. The drug war is built to fuel the drug war, not to stop drug production, trafficking or consumption, not to address real public health issues, but to create these very forms of violence, which require further military intervention.

*******

Democracy NOW!

LAURA CARLSEN: Good morning. Yes, the United States has a fairly direct role in what’s happening today. And as the students begin and youth begin to analyze it, it’s becoming a major issue in terms of how far they’ll be able to change the model. Besides the nearly $3 billion that’s come through the Merida Initiative, there’s also Department of Defense money, and that money is going to train police forces and armed forces, that now we find are directly involved in attacks on the people, and particularly attacks on youth. We mentioned the case of Tlatlaya, where 22 youth were—now, it seems, by all evidence available—actually executed by the armed forces. And the State Department has admitted that in that battalion, although we don’t know because they won’t give us the names, there are five individuals that were trained in the United States. So there’s been a call for a long time to stop the Merida Initiative precisely for this reason, because of what John mentioned, that the state agents, at this point, in Mexico and organized crime are one in the same in many, many parts of the country.

###

 DEMOCRACY NOW! NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Mexico’s Youth Under Siege

The Law of Exceptions: NAFTA and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Open Letter to the Ministers of State and thePublic Societies of Canada-US-Mexico
******

 YouTube:
¡Vivos los Llevaron, Vivos los Queremos!
Arizona
************* 
1492-2014: The Context of the Battle of Mexico.
State Security Framework of European American Domination and Continued Colonization of the Continent - From Chiapas 1994 NAFTA to Guerrero-Sonora-Arizona 2014.

Mas claro no canta el gallo.

Eroding Democratic Freedoms: Building a New “North American Partnership” for the Future

"In order to further establish an overall continental agenda, the Task Force argued for the restructuring of the U.S. federal government by, “creating new North American offices within the National Security Council staff and U.S. State Department.” This includes, “designating a senior U.S. official as the North American ‘champion’ who will press for consistent policies across agencies and topics.” The Task Force also encouraged, “greater U.S. congressional engagement with the Mexican congress and Canadian parliament.” In addition, they proposed that, “the U.S. government support interactions and possible cooperation among governors, premiers, mayors, legislators, and other officials.” Throughout the report, the Task Force emphasized that, “The goal should be trilateral where possible, bilateral where necessary.” While they praised the progress that separate U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico initiatives have made, they also pointed out that the continued reliance on some of these bilateral efforts has in many ways, “inhibited the development of a broader vision of North America.”

 

 

Cicitlalmina Izkaloteka Matlactli Tochtli Xihuitl: IN ĪNEMATIYĀ ĀNĀHUAC The Sentiment of Anáhuac

IN ĪNEMATIYĀ ĀNĀHUAC

The Sentiment of Anáhuac

Cicitlalmina Izkaloteka Matlactli Tochtli Xihuitl

August 10-11-12-13,  2022

 

Sexto Sol - Sixth Sun

XINACHTLACALIZTLI 

 

On August 13, 2022, we once again call all upon all the surviving Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples of Anahuac to collectively reaffirm to each other and the world at large of Cemanahuac the following principles of legacy and commitment:

 

·      As Indigenous Peoples of Anahuac, we are not conquered peoples. We reject, refute, and challenge the Master’s Narrative that the claims that the colonizing invasion of the Spanish Conquistadors into our territories is anything more than simply that: an illegal invasion that continues until today in with multinational corporate armor and international trade agreements. Against this invasion of over 500 years, we continue to resist, rebel, and reassert our right of Self Determination as Indigenous Peoples, equal to all other peoples.

 

·      We repudiate, denounce, defy the violent imposition of the nefarious “Doctrine of Discovery of Christendom (1492)” via the Papal Bulls Inter Caetera (1493), et al as the legaloid basis which the Mexican state claims in order to usurp and violate our territories without moral or legal justification, embodied in the concept of Original Property of the Nation which was instituted nationally with the Constitution of Mexico in 1917;

 

·      We continue to stand in historical solidarity collectively and continentally recalling and reaffirming that the limits of our ancestral territories as Indigenous Peoples and Confederations of Indigenous Nations of Anáhuac are not prescribed under any colonizing or legaloid concept such as the Doctrine of the Discovery of Christendom, nor the international borders imposed with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848);

 

·      We proclaim the date of August 13, 2021, as the date of a definitive resolution and in the spirit of Self Determination as Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples of Anáhuac, we will take the necessary actions to realize justice for our Indigenous Peoples, with the purpose of not allowing the passing of yet another 500 more years of the destruction of our Sacred Mother Earth.

 TLAHTOKAN IZKALOTL

TONATIERRA 

YouTube:

IN ĪNEMATIYĀ ĀNĀHUAC

The Sentiment of Anáhuac

Cicitlalmina Izkaloteka Matlactli Tochtli Xihuitl

August 10-11-12-13,  2022

1894 Sioux Nation Treaty Council: Alternative Report to CERD

 

Sioux Nation Treaty Council

established in 1894 

PO Box 2003, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701 

Zumila Wobaga, Itancan               (Charmaine White Face, Spokesperson) 

An Alternative Report in response to

the Combined tenth to twelfth periodic reports

submitted by the United States of America (USA)

under article 9 of the Convention due in 2017

  

June 30, 2022

DOWNLOAD PDF

Table of Contents

                        Summary……………………………………………………..2

                         Introduction…………………………………………………..2

                        Eligibility for CERD and ICERD…………………………….4

 

                        Racist Practices of the USA…………………………………..5

 

                        Remediation…………………………………………………..6

 

                        Recommendation……………………………………………...7

 

                        Addendums…………………………………………………….8

Summary:

            The Sioux Nation is an Indigenous Nation in the middle of North America.  In 1894, after facing near annihilation at the hands of the United States, the Sioux Nation Treaty Council (SNTC) was established to fight for the enforcement of all the Articles in the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty.  The people of the Sioux Nation have endured nearly 150 years of racist treatment from the United States within the Treaty Territory.  The 1894 SNTC has been approaching the United Nations for forty years, continuing the quest for liberation and freedom through the enforcement of the 1868 Treaty.  The Treaty Council is presenting this Report as the International Covenant on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Resolution 48/7 of the UN Human Rights Council which was approved on October 8, 2021 advocate for the end of colonization of Indigenous nations.

 

Introduction:

            The Sioux Nation Treaty Council was established in 1894 to keep alive the nationhood of the Great Sioux Nation, a Native American Indian nation, after the United States, in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, began an organized and systematic invasion and colonization of the Sioux people living in the 1868 Treaty Territory.  (See Addendum No 1: The For Laramie Treaty of 1868, and Addendum No. 2: 1868 Treaty Territory Map)

            According to a Memorandum Opinion by William J. Bielecki, Sr. on Tribal Inherent Powers dated 5 October, 2008, pages 7 and 8, Mr. Bielecki states: 

 “Various historians has (sp) determined that the “Sioux Nation Treaty Council” formally formed in 1894, shortly after the Wounded Knee massacre.  The Sioux Nation Treaty Council represents all of the Sioux Tribes (Approx 49 Tribes), and all other Sioux Treaty Councils would be subordinate to it, regardless of the Treaty Council’s name.” 

The entire Memorandum can be found at  www.siouxnationtreatycouncil.org

             The 1868 Treaty Territory covered the entire western half of the state of South Dakota and parts of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska.  All of western South Dakota was called the Great Sioux Reservation. Article II in the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, specifically states that the Treaty Territory

 “shall be and the same is, set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians...and the United States now solemnly agrees that no persons,...shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article...”   

            However, gold was discovered in the sacred Black Hills in the middle of the Treaty territory and so began the invasion of the Treaty territory.  The economy of the Sioux Nation was destroyed (bison) and the remaining survivors were placed in Prisoner-of-war camps now called American Indian Reservations, the four largest in what is now called western South Dakota.

            After almost totally annihilating the Sioux Nation, a crime called genocide, the USA still today is illegally trespassing in the 1868 Treaty Territory and treating the Native American Indian people with racism, bigotry, and discrimination, thus causing irreparable harm.  This illegal trespass is in violation of not just the 1868 Treaty but also in violation of the U.S. Constitution Article VI which states that “treaties are the Supreme Law of the land.” The USA is also in violation of one of their own American laws, the March 3rd Act of 1871 which states:

“...That nothing herein contained shall be construed to invalidate or impair the obligation of any treaty heretofore lawfully made and ratified with any such Indian nation or tribe…”   [U.S. Statues at Large, 16:566.]

This clause means that any Treaty made with any Indian nation prior to 3 March 1871 would not be invalidated and the obligations met.  The 1868 Treaty was signed, ratified by the U.S. Congress and concluded three (3) years prior to the enactment of this law.  

 

            The Sioux Nation Treaty Council has been sending representatives to attend various meetings at the United Nations since 1982 after exhausting all remedies in the American courts.  The main purpose has always been to find a resolution of this International Treaty which would mean the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty would be enforced, the land title returned to the Sioux Nation, and the USA, with rare exceptions, removed from the Treaty territory.  The UN Decolonization process could be a way to stop the forced assimilation, racism, and bigotry that has been inflicting drastic harm to the Sioux people for more than 150 years.     

Eligibility for CERD and ICERD

            The reason for approaching the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is stated eloquently in the beginning paragraphs of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) where it states:

“...Considering that the United Nations has condemned colonialism and all practices of segregation and discrimination associated therewith, in whatever form and wherever they exist, and that the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples of 14 December 1960 (General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)) has affirmed and solemnly proclaimed the necessity of bringing them to a speedy and unconditional end,...”

            The USA is a signatory to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). All Native American Indian people in North America know only too well that the USA will not even uphold their own Constitution, Article VI, which states that “treaties are the Supreme Law of the land.”  Therefore, we need the help from the family of nations through the actions of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to insure that our now small nation will continue to exist and not be lost to genocide.

            In the International Convention,  Article 1 No. 3. states:

“Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as affecting in any way the legal provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship or naturalization, provided that such provisions do not discriminate against any particular nationality.”  

            However, the reverse of this can destroy a small nation such as the Sioux Nation.  The USA passed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, (43 Stat. 253, enacted June 2, 1924) declaring all Native American Indians to be citizens of the United States without their free, prior, and informed consent or the ability to vote.  This law is an aggressive act of war and would not be tolerated if the USA passed a similar law declaring all people living in Austria, for example, to suddenly be American citizens without the right to vote.  How can citizens have an International Treaty with the country where they are a citizen?  It is a deliberate act of war determined to negate the 1868 Treaty provisions and eliminate the Sioux Nation.

            Furthermore, it allows the USA to say they only have “domestic treaties” when there is no such concept.  In addition, in 1934 with the passage of the Wheeler-Howard Act (June 18, 1934), also known as the Indian Reorganization Act, the USA established “puppet governments” to do their bidding and with whom they “consult” and provide the funds needed by the Sioux people. So in their report, when the USA states that they have “consulted with the tribes”, it is with their own “puppet governments” that they have consulted. The IRA Tribal governments are not our traditional form of government.

Racist Practices of the USA

            The United States is currently unlawfully trespassing and occupying the illegal American states of South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska as these are all portions of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty Territory. All of western South Dakota is called the Great Sioux Reservation.  It would take volumes to present all the racist actions that continue to confront Sioux people on a daily basis in our own Treaty territory.

            As the USA does not give accurate information in their reports to all the people and the world, little is known of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and the fact that the USA is illegally occupying the Treaty Territory. A good example of invasion, occupation, and colonization would be if Russia was to stay in the Ukraine for the next 150 years and the Ukranian people live under forced assimilation, which they are resisting.  

            The racism and bigotry in the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty Territory is so egregious that the UN Civil Rights Commission in 2000 stated:

            “The expressed feelings of hopelessness and helplessness in Indian Country cannot be overemphasized. There is a longstanding and pervasive belief among many Native Americans that racial discrimination permeates all aspects of life in South Dakota and that prejudice and bigotry play out on many levels, including the workplace, schools, business, and public accommodations. Ample research exists to establish disparities in almost all indicators of social well-being, including income, health, education, employment, and housing. While some have overcome the obstacles and achieved great success, most American Indians have been left behind. For the most part, Native Americans are very much separate and unequal members of society. Thus, it is not surprising that they are underrepresented in terms of economic status and overrepresented in the population of the State's jails, juvenile facilities, and prisons. Systemic, institutionalized, and historic discrimination disadvantage Native Americans in many ways, and therefore the problems they encounter when caught up in the criminal justice system are wholly consistent with other forms of discrimination.

            “Despair is not too strong a word to characterize the emotional feelings of many Native Americans who believe they live in a hostile environment.”

(Native Americans in South Dakota: An Erosion of Confidence in the Justice System, South Dakota Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, March 2000,  A report of the South Dakota Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights prepared for the information and consideration of the Commission.  The full report can be found at Native Americans in South Dakota: An Erosion of Confidence in the Justice System (usccr.gov) )

            Separated by 22 years from 2000 to 2022, the racism and bigotry still remain the same.    The most recent examples are included in an article written May 28, 2022 entitled “Native Americans Confront Racism in South Dakota” by Cecily Hilleary in VOA, USA.

“South Dakota today is home to nine Indian reservations: the 2010 census shows it leads the nation in the percentage of Native Americans living below the poverty line” more than 50% of the Native Americans in Rapid City (the second largest city in the state) live in poverty.”

The article, which contains more information, is attached as Addendum No. 3.  It can also be found at Native Americans Confront Racism in South Dakota (voanews.com)

 

Remediation

            The UN Human Rights Council Resolution 48/7 passed on Oct. 8, 2021 whose title is “Negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights” specifically states:

“...Expressing deep concern at the violations of human rights of indigenous peoples committed in colonial contexts, and stressing the need for States to take all measures necessary to protect rights and ensure the safety of indigenous peoples, especially indigenous women and children, to restore truth and justice and to hold perpetrators accountable,

1. Stresses the utmost importance of eradicating colonialism and addressing the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights;

2. Calls for Member States, relevant United Nations bodies, agencies and other relevant stakeholders to take concrete steps to address the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights;

3. Reaffirms that persecution of members of any identifiable group, collective or community on racial, national, ethnic or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, and the crime of apartheid, constitute serious violations of human rights and, in some cases, qualify as crimes against humanity;

4. Urges States to refrain from the forced assimilation of persons belonging to minorities, including indigenous populations, and to work to ensure that educational curricula and other materials do not stereotype minorities and indigenous populations on the basis of their ethnicity;

5. Invites United Nations human rights mechanisms and procedures, in fulfilling their mandates, to continue to pay attention to the negative impact of the legacies of colonialism on the enjoyment of human rights; ...”

            By enforcing the legality of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, the United Nations (UN) would not be a party to the unlawful oppression, ethnic cleansing, and genocide of the Sioux Nation.  The UN, to have global legitimacy, needs to live up to its word, honor, ideals and resolutions.  The Preamble to the UN Charter specifically states:  

 

“WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and

to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and

to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and...”

            The UN must insure the survival of one of the smallest nations by simply listing the Sioux Nation in the UN Decolonization processes before it is too late.

 

Recommendation:

            We strongly recommend the Committee, in your report to the General Assembly, powerfully advocate for the inclusion of the Sioux Nation in the UN Decolonization processes for the enforcement of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty.  In 2015, Pakistan recommended this to the Human Rights Council calling us the Dakotas.  We are the Sioux Nation although some of our people speak the Dakota, one of three dialects of our language.

            Not to forget all the other Indigenous nations, and for the universality of our recommendation, we also recommend that ALL Indigenous nations with treaties or agreements with colonizing governments be given the same consideration in the Decolonization processes.  The UN also must establish a Decolonization process for those Indigenous Peoples without treaties or agreements but who also suffer under colonization and colonizing governments.

            Although the usual question will be, “What about secession?”   The larger question is:  “How can the Sioux Nation secede when we are a separate nation illegally being occupied?  We can’t secede when we are not a part of the USA.”  Therefore, advocating for the legal enforcement of an International Treaty is not promoting secession. It is only promoting what the Covenant stood for in the first place:

“Considering that the United Nations had condemned colonialism...”

            Thank you.  Wopila tanka.  Our deepest gratitude for your work and considering our recommendations.

Addendums:

Addendum No. 1:     Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868

Addendum No. 2:     1868 Fort Laramie Treaty Territory Map

Addendum No. 3:   VOA Article, May 28, 2022:  Native Americans Confront Racism in South Dakota

 

 

 

 

SoundCloud

October 12, 2021 - Interview with Charmaine Face, spokesperson of the 1894 Sioux Nation Treaty Council 

in conversation regarding the simultaneous proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day on October 12 by President Biden.

 

YouTube:

Defenders of the Black Hills:
Message from the Heart

An interview with Charmaine White Face - Defenders of the Black Hills, at the Black Hills Learning Center in 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty Territories [Rapid City, South Dakota] during the 2015 annual meeting of the North American Indigenous Peoples Caucus.