Indigenous Peoples Push for Permanent UN Seat and Other News and Events

Indigenous peoples are pushing to gain a permanent seat at the U..N. General Assembly, according to an article in the website Devex. It is a main focus driving this year’s U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The annual meeting started April 24 and ends May 5. According to the story:

Indigenous peoples make up just 5 percent of the world’s population — about 400 million people — yet also account for nearly 15 percent of the world’s extreme poor, and occupy some 22 percent of the Earth’s land surface. Their participation in the global development agenda is key, senior United Nations officials said this week, but indigenous communities and institutions still collectively lack the right to easily enter and participate in United Nations meetings…

Help Launch Water Summit in Minneapolis and Support a Lakota Family’s Trip to the UN

Healing Minnesota Stories invites you to support a local Lakota family who is traveling to New York to participate in the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and have its voice heard. Among other things, the family hopes to use the U.N. trip to promote and build support for a Minneapolis-based Mni ki Wakan Decade of Water Summit.

The LaPointe Tiwahe (Lakota for “extended family”) is doing important work in our community. Please consider making a contribution to this trip, even if it is just $10 or $20. There are more details on the family’s GoFundMe page.

Mni Wakan: Water is Sacred, an International Conference Planned for Minnesota

Bde Maka Ska

Members of the LaPointe family, other local Native leaders and their allies are working to launch an international conference next year called: Mni Wakan: The Decade of Water. It would be hosted in Minneapolis. Bde Maka Ska would be a focal point.

Bde Maka Ska is the original name for Lake Calhoun (it was the name the lake had before white settlers came.) The name Bde Maka Ska is in the process of being restored; that debate has received considerable attention. Less well known is the work going on behind the scenes to not only to change the lake’s name but to change the lake’s culture and hold up the sacredness of water.