The UUA Board of Trustees (BOT) met in New Orleans in late January; news of our deliberations and decisions will be in my March column.  In September, 2011 the BOT was asked by partner organization with whom our UUA is working Arizona to educate UU congregations about the Doctrine of Discovery and to ask the 2012 GA delegates to repudiate this Doctrine. This column is a continuation of the January Trustee Tidbits.

In 2007, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted as an annex to the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights. There are forty-six articles in this Declaration that recognize and promote the rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples without discrimination.  Indigenous peoples from around the world are asking all religious faiths to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery and related documents, and to call for the U.S. to fully implement the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples without qualifications.

In part, the Articles state indigenous peoples have a right to exercise self-determination and autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs. They have a right to a nationality, to live in freedom, peace and security as distinct peoples and shall not be subjected to any acts of violence, and cannot be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture or their land. This Declaration indicates the states shall seek to enable the access and/or repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with the indigenous peoples concerned.

Article 14 states the rights of indigenous peoples in regard to educational systems and institutions including teaching in their own languages, appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning. Children, especially have the right to all levels and forms of education of the State without discrimination. Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own indigenous decision-making institutions. Article 26 deals with indigenous peoples’ legal rights regarding the control of lands, territories, and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied/used or acquired regarding conservation and protection of the environment. This includes not permitting storage or disposal of hazardous materials without their informed consent.