UN expert group meeting held over three days at University of Colorado
BOULDER, Colo., – The Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA) will present a press freedom intervention during the 23rd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) at UN headquarters in New York April 15-26.
IJA obtained consultative status as a non-governmental organization (NGO) through the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2022 and participated in the UNPFII session in 2023.
In advance of this year’s permanent forum, IJA Associate Director, Francine Compton observed the UN expert group meeting “Indigenous Peoples in a Greening Economy” Jan. 23-25 at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Tribal Chairman Manuel Heart (Ute Mountain Ute) opened the three-day meeting in the university’s law school by introducing the audience to his tribe’s history, connection to the land and their creation story. IJA encourages journalists to consider this context before reporting on Indigenous communities. Full reporting guidelines are available in the Tribal Nations Media Guide.
Participant Angele Alook (Big Stone Cree Nation in Treaty 8 Territory), York University, Canada, stressed that Indigenous people should have agency in choosing their work, access to educational systems, universal child care, and public health care; principles that she says are laid out in her book, The End of This World: Climate Justice in So-Called Canada.
One of the meeting’s moderators and Chairperson of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Sheryl Lightfoot (Anishinaabe), spoke at length about Canada’s action plan to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Lightfoot also explained how she’s on a joint sub-committee reviewing and re-writing the province of British Columbia’s mining act to align with the declaration.
Attorney Jennifer Weddle (Northern Cheyenne), Co-Chair of the American Indian Law Practice at Greenberg Traurig, discussed the American code that informs decision-making connected to Indigenous people in the United States and how many contain a disclaimer that these laws are not intended to create or protect rights.
After 14 presentations, including by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Francisco Calí Tzay, and general discussions, participants worked on recommendations to prepare for the UNPFII, ensuring the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the transition to a more sustainable economy.
IJA is also working on its recommendations to the UNPFII and will offer free media training to Indigenous delegates in attendance. IJA’s Share Your Story: Communicate Effectively with Journalists training program launched in 2023 at both the UNPFII and EMRIP meetings.
There is no cost to participants to attend the Share Your Story – UNPFII training and registration information will be available soon at www.indigenousjournalists.org.
