Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1997 — Indigenous peoples treaty conference in Kona [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Indigenous peoples treaty conference in Kona

A treaty bringing indigenous peoples across the world together is in its early stages. The fourth conference of the Pacific Northwest Treaty was held in Kona last month, hosted by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Ka Lāhui Hawai'i. Both Hawaiian organizations are signatories of this treaty whieh first sparked in 1989 when native American tribes and first nations met to discuss management and conservation of their natural resources. These tribes and first nations worked together to create a treaty called the Pacific Northwest Treaty, whieh they signed in 1994. Present at the first signing was an aboriginal Ā representative from Australia, and in 1995 representatives from OHA and Ka Lāhui Hawai'i fl signed the treaty also. fl

The three-day conference last month in Kona addressed amendments to the treaty and the joining of new signatories. The title of the treaty was amended from

"Pacific Northwest Treaty" to "Treaty of Indigenous Peoples International." The new title allows for

a broader spectrum of peoples to sign and be valuable eontributing members. " "Together we ean aeeomplish what we cannot aeeom- i plish alone," said Simon Lucas, a chief of the Tzeachten First Nation, B.C. Canada. Discussions on Hawaiian concerns and resources ranged from fishing, access rights and the establishment of the recent whale

sanctuary. Uther concerns touched on biodiversity of resources, sovereignty and the value of a cultural lifestyle among native peoples. "The government's responsibility for Hawaiian people should be responsibility for the environment and the resources," said Palikapu Dedman, the newest member of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission. "We don't need to wait for nations to tell us how to take care of our home; we gotta do it now so we have something to be a nation with," he said. Damien Kennison, a throw net fisherman from Miloli'i, said the government is unable to enforce eonservation regulations and that the hoa'āina are the most qualified to manage these resources. An example of the government's inability to protect native Hawaiian access rights is the recent whale sanctuary, said Bill Mossman, a panelist. He said the sanctuary is a violation of the ceded lands trust. More than 50 First Nations and Tribes have signed this treaty to acknowledge the need to preserve cultural resources and plan for future generations use of those resources.

Preamble lnāian Nations, Tribes, First Nations, Indigenous Nations and Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Basin, hereafter referred to as Nations, signatoty to this Treaty in mutual recognition ofour inherent sovereign powers, hereby re-establish political, sociaī and eeonomie relations, and cooperative control of natural resources essential to the eul- ; tural, spiritual and religious rights ofour peoples. Signatories to this Treaty shall include, but not be limited to, all interested Nations located in the Pacific Basin.

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