Endurance

Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter recently addressed the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs regarding Fulfilling the Federal Trust Responsibility. As Halbritter remarked, the failure of fulfilling its trust responsibilities has resulted in vilification of tribal leaders and communities exercising their sovereignty as guaranteed by the US Constitution. The failure to honor these obligations, says Halbritter, fuels the fire of backlash against tribal prosperity, and sometimes leads to efforts that undermine their sovereignty and the trust responsibility established by Congress and the Indian nations at the outset of the federal republic.

Writing at Indian Country Today, Karla E. General examines the conflict between the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and US law. In the wake of the Ninth Circuit decision that desecration of sacred Native sites does not represent a substantial burden to Native American religious practices, tribes like the Navajo Nation are seeking review from such bodies as the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. As General notes, there is a compelling need to bring US law into compliance with international human rights law. Given the bias of the US legal system, relief for the indigenous peoples within US boundaries requires international intervention.

In today's issue of The Dominion, Anna Luisa Daigneault discusses multimedia Indigenous language revitalization in British Columbia, as well as the spiritual healing of elders who survived the residential schools.

What do you do when you need to communicate in 22 Indigenous languages to an Indigenous population that is 60% illiterate and does not speak Spanish? TV Maya.

As Kurds from Turkey to Iran celebrate Newroz (Kurdish New Year), Kurds in Turkey support a referendum to decide the future of Kurdistan. As an Indigenous nation extending across Syria and Iraq, in addition to Turkey and Iran, Kurdistan has everything going but its own state. That may happen in the future, but for now autonomy over such things as language, education, policing, health and trade would be a good start.

Robert J. Miller, a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, has a new book out titled Reservation Capitalism: Economic Development in Indian Country. Professor Miller teaches at Lewis and Clark Law School, and is an engaging author and speaker. His earlier books include Discovering Indigenous Lands: The Doctrine of Discovery in the English Colonies, which has been the subject of discussion in recent years in international fora and religious institutions.

In 2007, four countries in the world opposed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. In 2008, the police and armed forces of the Government of Australia invaded Northern Territory Aboriginal communities with the intent of seizing control of their homelands.

In 2011, the story of The Intervention was exposed to the world in the dramatic award-winning documentary Our Generation. Amnesty International and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have since condemned the Australian government for its flagrant violation of international law.

As Australia seeks to expel indigenous peoples from Aboriginal territories in order to mine uranium and other minerals, the attention of the world is now on them. Thanks in part to the power of this http://www.ourgeneration.org.au film, the Children of the Sunrise are fighting back.