[E-rundbrief] Info 741 - Indigenous Water Forum and Peace

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 741 - Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace: The 
Pre-Planning Working Group Meeting For an Indigenous World Forum on 
Water and Peace, September 24-28, 2008; Indigenous Environmental Network 
(USA): Sacred Waters.

Bad Ischl, 13.10.2008

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Hilda Lini aus Vanuatu (Melanesien), eine der Teilnehmerinnen dieses 
weltweiten Treffens, hat uns die folgende Presseaussendung gemailt. Ich 
habe noch den Text "Sacred Waters" einer indigenen Umweltinitiative aus 
den USA angehängt und werde in einem weiteren Info zwei Ergänzungen 
nachliefern.

Matthias Reichl

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The Pre-Planning Working Group Meeting For an Indigenous World Forum on 
Water and Peace

September 24-28, 2008

MEDIA RELEASE

The Pre-Planning Working Group gathered on Coast Salish traditional 
territory, has affirmed that the Indigenous World Forum on Water and 
Peace can be a global alliance of indigenous peoples working on water 
issues.

At Glenairley - Center for Earth and Spirit, indigenous peoples from 
different parts of the globe working on water issues at the global level 
were privileged to share our stories about water. Our goal is global 
peace between humanity and with the natural world.

We formed an alliance of people and organizations to support the 
planning of an Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace. We established 
the Secretariat with appointed staff and we volunteered ourselves to act 
as an Advisory Group to provide the needed expertise.

One of the biggest gaps in water policy development is a denial of the 
spiritual aspects.  Our Elders tell us that water was our first 
medicine. We are concerned about pollution and degradation of our waters 
and the global issues that we collectively face.

Worldwide, billions of people still lack access to safe drinking water 
and adequate sanitation. Half of the world's lakes and rivers are now 
polluted, related illnesses kill 4,500 children per day of whom the most 
vulnerable victims are the indigenous children.
Privatization makes water more scarce.

We note that the theme of the next World Water Forum is about 'Bridging 
the divide for water' and finding innovative solutions to the world 
water crisis. New decisions will be made at the World Water Forum to set 
the global agenda for water. Indigenous Peoples need to make meaningful 
input and offer strategies and solutions. Our theme is simply 'Water and 
Peace'. We wish to gather on 13-15 March 2009 prior to the World Water 
Forum (March 16- 22, 2009) Istanbul, Turkey.

We acknowledge that much of the work has already been done about the 
spiritual and physical concept of water to indigenous peoples. We 
endorsed the following documents by indigenous peoples:

  	WATER IS LIFE: PROTECT WATER NOW! Indigenous Declaration
on Water, July 8th, 2001 Musqueam Territory

	INDIGENOUS PEOPLES KYOTO WATER DECLARATION
Third World Water Forum, Kyoto, Japan, March 2003

	Declaration of the Peoples World Water Movement New Delhi,
India January 2004.

A Report of the Indigenous Peoples Presentation on the Topic
of: "Spirituality and Sustainability- Water, the Common Element"
Presented to the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions'
2004 Goldin Institute for International Partnership and Peace
Annual Forum November 6-12, 2004, Taipei, Taiwan

	TLATOKAN ATLAHUAK DECLARATION, Declaration of the
Indigenous Peoples Parallel Forum of the 4th World Water Forum,Mexico 
City, Mexico,March 17-18, 2006

Recommendations for the World Peace Forum, Vancouver, Canada,
July, 2006

	INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ISSUES - LAND, TERRITORIES AND NATURAL 	RESOURCES, 
May 2007 "Water is Sacred, Water is Life, Water is Fundamental: 
Planning A World Indigenous Forum on Water and Peace, Requesting 
Support 	and Participation of the UNPFII. 6th SESSION OF THE UN 
PERMANENT 	FORUM ON (note: this recommendation was included as a 
recommendation in 	the final report)

	Collective statement: Intervention to the Seventh Session of
the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 2008
Submitted by the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development			Agenda 
Item 3: Special theme: Climate change, bio-cultural diversity and
livelihoods: the stewardship role of Indigenous peoples and new challenges

PROTECTION OF WATER

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Seventh Session New York, 21 April 
- 2 May, 2008, Item 9: Future Work of the Permanent Forum, Water is 
Sacred; A Collective Intervention from the World Indigenous Water Caucus

We want to thank the Coast Salish people for the privilege of meeting on 
their beautiful territory and for the gifts that they shared.

We wish to thank the Sisters of Charity, the Living Languages Institute 
Foundation, Wondertree Foundation, and the Glenairley - Center for Earth 
and Spirit for their generosity in funding this gathering.

For more information, please contact the Secretariat for the Indigenous 
World Forum on Water and Peace:

Darlene Sanderson, PhD
PO Box 37034
2401F, Millstream Road
Victoria, BC Canada V9B 0E8
email: indigenouswaterandpeace at gmail.com

Mona Polacca, MSW
P.O. Box 3146
Scottsdale, Arizona 85271-3146 USA
email: mpolacca at cox.net

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Sacred Waters

Indigenous Environmental Network

"As Indigenous Peoples, we raise our voices in solidarity to speak for 
the protection of Water. The Creator placed us on this earth, each in 
our own sacred and traditional lands, to care for all of creation. We 
stand united to follow and implement our knowledge, laws and 
self-determination to preserve Water, to preserve life." Indigenous 
Declaration on Water, July/August 2001, British Columbia, Canada

Indigenous traditional teachings recognize and respect water as a sacred 
and powerful gift from the Creator. Water, the first living spirit on 
this earth, give life to all creation. Our knowledge, laws and ways of 
life teach us to be responsible at all times in caring for this sacred 
gift that connects all life.

"There has been a lot said about the sacredness of our land which is our 
body; and the values of our culture which is our soul; but water is the 
blood of our tribes, and if its life-giving flow is stopped, or it is 
polluted, all else will die and the many thousands of years of our 
communal existence will come to an end" Frank Tenorio, Governor of San 
Felipe Pueblo

World Water Statistics

The Earth's surface is covered largely by water (over 70%), however, 
97.5% of that water is sea water, laving only a small fraction available 
for us to drink. Less than 1% of the world's water is available for 
human consumption.

World Water


Of the 2.5% fresh water, most is locked up in glaciers, permafrost, and 
groundwater that would be too expensive to retrieve.

"Not only is the level of water in the global well getting low, the 
water is also polluted sometimes to the point where it is no longer 
drinkable."Julie Sauffer, The Water Crisis

Over half of that 1% is polluted and unusable for for human 
consumption!! According to the United Nations, about 1.4 billion people 
lack access to clean water and 2.4 billion people lack adequate 
sanitation. Because of this, over 9,000 children die daily. Even in 
places where water is clean and abundant, water is an extremely vital 
resource, essential to every aspect of life.

Commodifying the Sacred

Water is sacred, yet in these modern times water has become a commodity; 
a property interest to be bought, sold and traded in the 
European-American economic, legal and colonial system. There exists now 
a manipulation of water rights for economic and political advantage - 
mostly by governmental bodies. Water is being depleted or converted into 
destructive uses. Through large dams, trans-boundary diversion projects, 
mineral extraction, energy production, recreational & agricultural 
industries, and even bottled water, this sacred element is being exploited.

Water is a Basic Human Right

All people deserve the right to a clean and accessible water source. 
However, throughout the world people are struggling for this basic human 
right. World trade agreements, industries, and corporations want to view 
water as a commodity, an item that can be traded and sold to the highest 
bidder, rather than acknowledge that water is a common and basic need 
for ALL life.

IEN's Water Campaign

Water is both a human rights and Native/Indigenous rights issue. We 
raise our voices in solidarity to speak for the protection of the 
sacredness of Water through the recognition and application of our 
traditional cultural and spiritual values to water. The Water Campaign 
strives to network and support grassroots Native/Indigenous peoples and 
tribal governments, as well as, non-Indigenous water activists and 
non-governmental organizations to protect the sacredness of water. IEN's 
Water Campaign was a funded project of IEN between 2004-2005 to focus on 
the concerns of water becoming privatized. Currently, IEN's Water 
Campaign is not funded, however all the water campaign work has been 
incorporated within the energy-climate, mining, toxics, IEN affiliates 
and other program and organizing work that IEN is involved with.

These IEN pages on Water are not meant to be comprehensive on the topic 
of legally reserved water rights and the body of U.S. federal law that 
recognizes that American Indian tribes have unique property and 
sovereignty rights on the water within their territories. In Canada, 
First Nations are just now beginning to have dialogue on determining 
what their strategy is on asserting their rights to water. 
Internationally, especially within the Global South, Indigenous Peoples 
are fighting for their customary rights to water.

For more information:

INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK
PO Box 485
Bemidji, MN 56619, USA
Ph:(218) 751-4967
Fax: (218) 751-0561
Email: Tom Goldtooth at ien at igc.org

or

Black Mesa Water Coalition
P.O. Box 613
Flagstaff, AZ 86002
Ph: (928) 213-5909
Fax: (928) 213-5905
E-mail: Eni Begaye at eneibegaye at mac.com

http://www.ienearth.org/water.html

-- 

Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
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