Dear Relatives,
I was recently asked what major project WPLC is working on – my response was “fighting invisibility.” Here’s why.
In 1924, exactly one hundred years ago, Iroquois Cayuga Chief Deskaheh was turned away from the League of Nations because Indigenous Nations were not recognized as independent, sovereign Nations. Since then and before because of colonization, Original Nations have fought not only for existence and de-nationalization, but for the inherent sovereignty and self-determination of our peoples. We know well that self-determination is a praxis and an exercise of volition. It is why our elders and those that walked these paths before us, traveled again to Geneva in the 1970s until in 1977, the first UN conference was held with Indigenous delegates.
The theme for this year’s session was: “Enhancing Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination in the context of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: emphasizing the voices of Indigenous youth.”Our elders knew the importance of stepping “onto the world stage.” This is also why from April 15-26, 2024, the Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC) joined thousands of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) 23rd Session in New York. Held every year, UNPFII gathers Indigenous Peoples from around the world to provide testimony and recommendations to the Permanent Forum, which are gathered in a report to the ECOSOC Council, and ultimately member states.
What we heard from our relatives around the world was the critical and desperate need to address the invisible:
Impacts of climate change;
Threats from new forms of extraction via “Green Colonialism” that paints extractive projects for things like lithium and uranium as “clean energy” but still impacts Indigenous Peoples, lands, and waters;
Ongoing criminalization and repression of advocacy and protest by Indigenous Peoples on ancestral lands in the United States and around the world;
Indigenous leaders that speak at the United Nations risk their lives, experience reprisals and are targeted and often killed;
Continuing violence against women, girls, and Two-Spirit relatives in a worldwide pandemic of Missing and Murdered Relatives (MMIR);
Discrimination of cultural practices and traditional knowledge;
The need to end illegal occupation and decolonize, demilitarize, and de-occupy lands like Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. occupied “territories”
On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, our own Nizhoni Begay, youngest WPLC staff member and Communications Coordinator, presented WPLC’s statement on the importance of protecting Indigenous youth. Nizhoni’s impassioned statement urged immediate action necessary to address militarization, extraction and Green Colonialism to ensure a future for the next seven generations: “We must see an end to militarization, illegal occupation of our ancestral lands, and ongoing violence of colonization that brings about the pandemic of MMIR.” When speaking on MMIR, Nizhoni honored the memory of young Lakota relative, Cole Brings Plenty, who was recently found dead after his braids had been shorn off. The statement demanded an end to discrimination of our cultural practices and traditions. You can read other WPLC testimony provided at UNPFII here.
This is what I mean by “we are fighting invisibility.” This is the greatest challenge we have in the advocacy we do “at home” across Turtle Island and internationally. This is the challenge we face in legal courtrooms and in the law, where colonial legal systems are not built for Indigenous or BIPOC. This is why we continue to speak out and subvert the traditional systems of power and oppression through the law and through means of advocacy and community organizing, every chance we get. This is what we are dedicated to.
I was also recently asked, somewhat sarcastically, if now that we had been at the United Nations, if all of these issues would magically be addressed by the countries of the world and all things would be well for Indigenous Peoples. This misses the point. We are under no delusion that participating in the international arena or in the colonial legal system will bring about fundamental, radical change. But if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. We are seeing that with the student encampments for Palestine and Palestine itself today. One thing alone won’t bring about change, but the concerted efforts of many and the constant erosion of invisibility through education, advocacy, organizing, and yes, visibility on the world stage and in spaces of power that weren’t built for us, is a step forward. We are taking steps knowing our elders have walked before us and it is our sacred responsibility to continue that work.
Thank you for your continued trust, belief, and support of our work – it helps us fight invisibility every day – we (literally) couldn’t do it without you.
To make a donation to WPLC: www.waterprotectorlegal.org/donate.
Urpillay sonqollay,
From the heart,
Natali Segovia, Esq. (Quechua)
Executive Director and Senior Attorney
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