Cutting-edge issues examined at conference

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The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and the University of British Columbia hosted three days of workshops dealing with issues of great interest to Indigenous people and peoples around the world from Feb. 24 to 26 at two sites on the Vancouver university's campus.

Protecting Knowledge: Traditional Resource Rights in the New Millennium, as the gathering was entitled, attracted experts in a variety of areas from around the globe.

Recent visitors to the UBCIC website will have taken note that it houses an impressive amount of scholarly work which pertains to Indigenous rights issues. In compiling this valuable research tool, the UBCIC staff have come into contact with a large and growing number of experts, many of whom made an appearance at the conference.

Madame Erica-Irene Daes, the United Nations chairperson/rapporteur of the working group on Indigenous populations, delivered the keynote address to open the three days. A decorated member of the Greek resistance movement during the Second World War, Daes was the recipient of the United Nations Human Rights Award in 1993 for her work as an advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples. After her distinguished military service in fighting the Nazi invaders, she graduated from the University of Athens law school and went on to work in government before beginning a 30-year career at the United Nations.

Reminding the audience that her Greek people have a long history of dealing with invaders and occupiers in their traditional homelands, Daes warned of the dangers she has seen as Indigenous peoples fight to reverse the colonial process.

""Colonialism teaches people to think that they are someone else," she said, emphasizing that respect for traditions and Elders is the only way to resist the forces of assimilation and cultural destruction.

Daes told the audience that the world was watching British Columbia because of the unique nature of the question of land ownership which exists in the province which has few treaties ceding title from Indigenous inhabitants to colonizers.

"We will all be very interested in your struggle," she said.

She said other Indigenous peoples in other parts of the world have not found relief from the destructive influence of colonialism because they lost sight of their traditional values even as they began to succeed in their legal fight for recognition as legitimate partners with nation-states and corporations.

"Remember, like all Indigenous peoples you have a different relationship with your lands," she said. "You may gain only power but lose the next generation."

Daes recommended three basic principles to keep in mind during the decolonization process. She said it is of great importance to guard the integrity of traditions because they define the relationships which make an Indigenous community function in a healthy manner.

She urged people to keep in mind that every peoples' territory is unique and that ancient Indigenous customs, which she called Indigenous laws, evolved for reasons that are complex and compelling and closely linked to a healthy relationship with the land. Daes said she believes, after decades of studying the issues, that Indigenous laws should take precedence over non-Indigenous laws because Indigenous laws respect the relationship of the people with their environment. The third principle is "effectiveness," the idea that Indigenous peoples must be alert and forceful to guard the gains they make, while continuing to advocate for responsible treatment and management of natural resources.

"Not just so many pretty words and promises," she explained.

In concluding her address, she reminded the audience that it isn't only governments that seek to prosper from the use of resources on Indigenous homelands.

"Most of us can vote for the leaders of our states," she said, "but few own shares in corporations."