Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 7, 1 July 2009 — Indigenous voices at the United Nations [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Indigenous voices at the United Nations

By Nara Cardenas Community Dutreach Specialist The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held its eighth session May 18-29. The theme of this year's session was "Climate change, biocultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges." It also addressed implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 13, 2007. Delegates gathered at the Permanent Forum called upon all members of human society to recognize the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a necessary instrument to address comprehensively both the global climate crises and the global eeonomie crises as an effective mechanism of world peaee. The United States has yet to adopt the

Declaration. The Permanent Forum, is an advisory body to the Eeonomie and Social Council with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to eeonomie and social development, culture, the environment, education, heakh and human rights. Climate change is a high priority for

the forum, as an estimated 300,000 indigenous people die every year due to climate change. Forced migration of indigenous peoples because of elimate change and eeonomie factors is devastating - severe cultural degradation occurs when indigenous peoples are displaced, including loss of language, traditional foods and customs. This year's session also featured a half-day discussion on the Arctic to address the urgent situation of the melting iee caps, whieh is swiftly and drastically changing indigenous peoples' lifestyles as the flora and fauna of the region are affected. The Paeihe Caucus noted the close relationship of these changes to rising sea levels, a serious problem for many small Paeihe Islands that are "sinking" into the oeean. Some other topics discussed at the forum this year included indigenous peoples' rights to traditional land tenure, food security, the particular hardships faced by indige-

nous women and the dangers posed to indigenous peoples when state borders within their traditional territories are militarized. The delegation from South America, suffering from the adverse effects of development on their lands, emphasized the need to protect Mother Earth and elean water, saying that greed and the privatization of land is causing the destruction of the Earth; some 30 indigenous peoples in Peru were recently massacred when they refused to vacate their traditional lands for the extractive oil industry. Going through all the interventions (testimonies) given by attendees is a sobering experience. This year, some of the best news was about the University of Hawai'i. The Pacific Caucus reported on recent actions taken by the University of Hawai'i, including action by UH president David McClain and the senior administration to implement Strategic Outcome No. 1, making UH an indigenous-serving university especially serving Native Hawaiians. The Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, at UH Mānoa under the direction of professor Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa, takes a group of students to the Permanent Forum every year. She has been instrumental in bringing awareness of the Declaration to the university. Kame'eleihiwa says, "As Hawaiians we know that we have great challenges, but there are many things we ean do." She started sending copies of the draft Declaration to the president of the university in 2001. "It framed the way they've been thinking," she explains. "It's not unreasonable for any people to want to save their language and their eulture. That's a basic human right." She adds, "So for every university in the world, why not start with the indigenous languages in your area?" She

points out that indigenous languages hold the key to biodiversity, and that by saving indigenous languages we save knowledge of how to live sustainably and save the vast array of unique flora and fauna that are the life of the land. "We want to honor David (McClain) and all the things that he has done," Kame'eleihiwa says. "The whole senior management team under president McClain has been really supportive." The professor is now looking forward to using the Declaration to inform curriculum development at Kamakakūokalani and beyond. In its draft report on the session, the Permanent Forum is recommending that other universities around the world follow UH's lead in supporting indigenous peoples, languages and knowledge, especially for the indigenous peoples in their respective areas. Hawaiians, like Mililani Trask, were instrumental in drafting the Declaration and now Hawaiians at the university have set an example for the world to follow on its practical implementation. In addition to benefitting Native Hawaiians, the changes made locally at our university will benefit countless people far beyond our shores by our example. "I think coming together for a greater cause is something that is ingrained in our eulture," says Kame'eleihiwa. "That's what the makahiki is all about, giving up ho'okupu for the greater good, giving mana to the greater good. That's what Lono is about, fertility and peaee." Dr. Iames Anaya, professor of law at the University of Arizona and the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, said in his remarks: "We are in a new era, an era that holds out new hope for forward-looking dialogue and action to see these rights realized." ■

HO'OULU LĀHUI ALOHA ■ T0 RAISE A BELDVED NAĪION —

— KA WAI OLA | ĪHE LIVING WATER 0F OHA

Voices at the U.N. Permanent Forum on lndigenous lssues included, from left, Catherine Davis of Aotearoa, Dr. Lilikalō Kame'elehiwa of Kamakūkuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies ūt the University of Hawai'i ūt AAānoa, and Dr. Margaret Mutu of Maori Studies, University of Auekland in New Zealand. - Photo: Courtesy of Lilikalā Kame'eleihiwa