The 15th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues took place May 9-20, 2016, at the United Nations. Photo from Facebook
Can changing the words we use change our reality? Steven Newcomb (Shawnee / Lenape) of the Indigenous Law Institute looks closer at the language used in documents like the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
The United Nations (UN) working definition of “indigenous peoples” follows the tradition of the papal bulls by using the idea that “indigenous” means peoples permanently existing under the dominance of “the state.” Once you learn to see the pattern, the imagery becomes very clear: Centuries ago, there were original, free, and distinct nations existing on the planet. Then our nations were suddenly invaded by the monarchies of Western Christendom. The fact that our nations were already existing free and independent before that invasion of our nations and our territories by Christian political powers is the basis for the UN working definition referring to our original free nations as being “pre-invasion.” The term “pre” acknowledges the original free existence of our nations prior to when our ancestors, our nations, and our territories were invaded by the monarchies of Western Christendom. Today, some of us still subscribe to the view that our original free nations have the right to live free from domination because the system of domination that invaded us has never been valid or acceptable. Our nations now live with a “post-invasion” claim of a right of domination. An invasion is “an invading or being invaded.” It is defined as “an entering or being entered by an attacking army.” To invade is “to enter forcibly or hostilely; come into as an enemy;…to enter in and spread through…” Invasion is part of colonization, which historian Samuel Morison defined as “a form of conquest [domination] in which a nation takes over a distant territory.” He adds that the invading nation “thrusts in its own people” and “controls or eliminates the native inhabitants.”Get the Story:
Steven Newcomb: Re-colonize, Re-evangelize, Re-conciliate, Re-dominate (Indian Country Toady 5/29)
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