International Indian Treaty Council

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International Indian Treaty Council
Location
  • San Francisco, California
    Tucson, Arizona
    Palmer, Alaska
    (United States)
ServicesResponding to threats and violations of Indigenous Peoples' rights
MethodsCommunications, Outreach, Networking, and Alliance building
Executive Director
Andrea Carmen
Websitewww.iitc.org

The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) is an organization of

Indigenous Peoples
and the recognition and protection of Indigenous Rights, Treaties, Traditional Cultures and Sacred Lands.

History

The IITC was formed at a gathering on the land of the

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, in South Dakota, June 8–16, 1974. This gathering would later be known as the First International Indian Treaty Conference. This gathering, and the IITC which resulted from it, was called for by the American Indian Movement,[1]
and was attended by delegates from 97 Indian tribes and Nations from across North and South America.

IITC held the Second International Treaty Conference on the land of the

Yanktonai Dakota people in Greenwood, South Dakota in June 16–20, 1976.[2]

In 1976,

Aboriginal Australian activist and poet Lionel Fogarty addressed a meeting of the IITC.[3]

Organized by IITC in 1977, the International NGO Conference on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations in the Americas was held from September 20-23, 1977, in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. The conference is also referred to as the United Nations Conference on Indians in the Americas.

Since 1977, the IITC has been recognized by the

Consultative Status
with the UN Economic and Social Council, making it the first indigenous NGO to gain such status.

Objectives

The IITC's work includes supporting grassroots Indigenous struggles for

Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, UNESCO and the Commission on Sustainable Development. In recent years, IITC has also participated in the International Labour Organization, U.N. World Conferences, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
and the World Archeological Congress to systematically address concerns vital to Indigenous Peoples.

The IITC cite their objectives as the following:

  • To seek, promote and build participation of Indigenous Peoples in the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agencies, as well as other international forums.
  • To seek international recognition for Treaties and Agreements between Indigenous Peoples and Nation-States.
  • To support the human rights, self-determination and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples; to oppose colonialism in all its forms, and its effects upon Indigenous Peoples.
  • To build solidarity and relationships of mutual support among Indigenous Peoples of the world.
  • To disseminate information about Indigenous Peoples’ human rights issues, struggles, concerns and perspectives.
  • To establish and maintain one or more organizational offices to carry out IITC's information dissemination, networking and human rights programs.[4]

The IITC also disseminates information about opportunities for international activism and involvement in grassroots Indigenous communities and tribes, and educates and builds awareness about Indigenous struggles among non-Indigenous Peoples and organizations. With the aim of facilitating indigenous participation in struggles for indigenous justice at the U.N. level, the IITC published a guide outlining how to write a shadow report.[5]

Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The IITC was a major player in the process of drafting of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (passed in 2007), and working towards its adoption by the United Nations. In 2004, during the 10th session of the Intersessional Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the IITC helped to coordinate and carry out a hunger strike, protesting for the rights of indigenous peoples threatened by loss of land, environmental racism, toxic dumping, globalization and theft of mineral and water rights.

The Indigenous Peoples Sunrise Ceremony

Since the mid-1970s, IITC has organized the

Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay, in the United States of America. Observed on the United States Thanksgiving holiday in November, this gathering and ceremony is held to honor the feast, held on Thanksgiving Day, on Alcatraz Island in 1969 during the Occupation of Alcatraz.[6]

Treaty Council News

In 1977, the IITC began compiling and publishing the bulletin Treaty Council News. This periodical was one of the original indigenous news publications in the United States. The IITC continues the publication of this bulletin in electronic format, via the IITC website.

Notable people

The International Indian Treaty Council was founded in 1974 by Bill Means (Oglala Lakota). People who have been involved with the IITC over time include

Sac & Fox), Hinewirangi Kohu Morgan, Bumpy Kanahele
and Executive Director Andrea Carmen.

References

  1. ^ LLC, Earth Web Technologies. "IITC | International Indian Treaty Council". IITC- International Indian Treaty Council. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "Second International Indian Treaty Conference". Spirit of the People - Special Treaty Conference Pullout. 1 (7). St, Paul Minnesota: Native American Solidarity Committee: 1. July 1976.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ "Lionel Fogarty". AustLit. November 13, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About How to Write a Shadow Report—Indigenous Reports to the UN on Human Rights, Racism in US". Archived from the original on February 7, 2012.
  6. ^ Strickland, Eliza (November 23, 2005). "Feast of the Survivors | Culture | Oakland, Berkeley & Bay Area". East Bay Express. Retrieved August 21, 2019.

External links

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