Reposted from Defenders of the Land.
Dear Friends & Supporters,
I have the privilege to forward this public Call Out on behalf of the “Defenders of the Land” for support and action regarding Canada hosting the G8/G20 on June 24, 2010. The Defenders are a movement of independent indigenous bodies that defend Aboriginal and Treaty territories from destructive commercial and industrial development.
The G8/G20 does impact on Aboriginal and Treaty Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Aboriginal and Treaty Rights are the underlying proprietary ownership and jurisdiction of land, water and resources in Canada. The failure of Canada to recognize Aboriginal and Treaty Rights economically forces Indigenous Peoples to live in poverty.
Canada’s economy has been established on the morally bankrupt and racially motivated concept of the Colonial Doctrines of Discovery and terra nullius, which dehumanize Indigenous Peoples. These economically motivated concepts, that legitimize stealing of land, water and resources from Indigenous Peoples have been repudiated by Canadian courts, WTO, NAFTA and UN international human rights bodies.
Indigenous Peoples have a legitimate voice to speak on macroeconomic matters that affect the ecological biodiversity that our culture depends on. Indigenous Peoples have always been consistent in challenging major commercial and industrial developments that affect our way of life. The capacity of this planet and the capacity of Canada must be considered in terms of what will be left for future generations. The G8/G20 need to realize there is a limit to growth.
Canadians who respect human rights and want to protect our environment need to realize that Aboriginal and Treaty Rights are the only legitimate means of challenging big government’s and big business’ unconditional monopoly on decision-making. The G8/G20 framework is the mechanism through which globally structured companies will consolidate money and power at the expense of domestic and Indigenous economies. The G8/G20 is a top down approach to decision making.
People need to take mores responsibility for the economies we depend on. The failure of big government and big business to come up with any agreement on controlling their economic activities to reduce “Climate Change” is an alarm bell we need to hear. We need to be extremely sensitive to the irreparable ecological damage that so called development in sensitive areas like the Far North can have. Canada has learnt nothing from why the climate in the North is changing.
The Defenders of the Land are working towards building a broad support base for changing the economic parameters of western economies to include Indigenous Peoples in the decision-making and benefit-sharing. We are experiencing exactly what the planet does when Indigenous Peoples are not included in the decision-making and benefit-sharing.
Indigenous Peoples especially those who practice their traditional life styles have always been a legitimate and dependable voice against rampant development. Indigenous Peoples and the environment must be factored into the economy if we are to address the loss of ecological biodiversity and climate change that can destroy us.
Please join us on June 24, 2010 and let us make a difference. Let us tell Canada, the G8 and G20 that we want decisions that are from the bottom up and that include a strong voice from Indigenous Peoples to speak as a counter-balancing voice to big business. The signatories of this Call Out likeKitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug demonstrate the level of commitment that the Defenders of the Land have to protect our water from mining activities.
We are at a crossroads let us send a strong message to the G8/G20 that we do not support their top down approach to the economy because we are talking about more than jobs and consumerism but addressing our responsibility to our link to the land. Let us take non-violent action as Indigenous Peoples and Supporters on June 24, 2010.
Arthur Manuel