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Indigenous Resources

United Nations: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

  • The Declaration is a comprehensive statement addressing the human rights of indigenous peoples. It was drafted and formally debated for over twenty years prior to being adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007. The document emphasizes the rights of indigenous peoples to live in dignity, to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their self-determined development, in keeping with their own needs and aspirations.
UNITED NATIONS: DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Canada

First Nations Consultation & Aboriginal Title:

  • Unlike in the United States, the Indigenous peoples of Canada — First Nations — have been afforded some greater rights under the country’s constitution and its interpretation by its Supreme Court, relative to the U.S., in the form of relatively more meaningful consultation with the government over how their lands may be accessed or utilized, compared to how Native American Tribal Nations are consulted by the U.S. government. Still, Canada has not fully implemented requirements laid out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
    • The concept of “Aboriginal Title” to lands in so-called Canada has been established by Supreme Court precedents after various First Nations filed suit seeking true free, prior, and informed consent for development projects like pipelines.

United States

Indigenous Free, Prior & Informed Consent; Consultation & Environmental Justice:

  • Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a specific right that pertains to Indigenous peoples and is recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It allows them to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories. Once they have given their consent, they can withdraw it at any stage. Furthermore, FPIC enables them to negotiate the conditions under which the project will be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated. This is also embedded within the universal right to self-determination. [source]
United Nations: Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Manual

 

United Nations: Statement on Standing Rock Protests (Aug. 31, 2016)

Statement from Mr. Alvaro Pop Ac, Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and Ms. Dalee Dorough and Chief Edward John, Members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on the Protests on the Dakota Access Pipeline (North Dakota, USA).
Statement from Mr. Alvaro Pop Ac, Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and Ms. Dalee Dorough and Chief Edward John, Members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on the Protests on the Dakota Access Pipeline

Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association: Resolution: Opposition to Keystone XL Pipeline (September 2011)
Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association: Resolution: Opposition to Keystone XL Pipeline (September 2011)

Memo from Oglala Sioux Tribe re: Keystone XL Pipeline (2014)
Memo from Oglala Sioux Tribe re: Keystone XL Pipeline (2014)

Tribal and Treaty Rights Impacted by the Proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline
The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline’s proposed route violates basic tenets of Federal Indian Law and South Dakota law. The pipeline would infringe upon treaty-protected lands and waters, especially in the Great Plains. TransCanada has also failed to properly consult with tribal leaders — as representatives of government units — on plans for the pipeline’s construction which is a requirement of South Dakota pipeline permitting law. The federal government, as trustee for the tribes, has a duty to ensure that tribal resources of land and water are protected from encroachment and pollution.
Tribal and Treaty Rights Impacted by the Proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

Fact Sheet: Treaty Rights and Pipelines: What you need to know (Honor the Earth, 2016)
Honor the Earth Fact Sheet: PIPELINES AND TREATY RIGHTS

 

Pipeline Fighters Hub