Some of the indigenous participants at the IIPFCC solidarity event for Standing Rock. Photo: Kailea Sonrisa
"In the shadow of a Trump presidency We the Indigenous Peoples Caucus condemn the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline" - Teanau Tuiono
At a special solidarity event and press conference at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion at the UNFCCC's 22nd Conference of the Parties being held in Marrakech, Morocco in an official statement released on the 10th, the IIPFCC affirmed that Indigenous Peoples from 7 geopolitical regions around the world "stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and all “water protectors” in opposition to this project."
The event was moderated by Teanau Tuiono from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and speakers included Roberto Mukaro Borrero (Taino) from the International Indian Treaty Council; Alberto Saldamando of the Indigenous Environmental Network; Jannie Staffansson of the Sami Council; and Tui Shortland of the Pacific Indigenous & Local Knowledge Centre of Distinction. Additional statements of solidarity were shared by IIPFCC Co-Chair Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, as well as by many representatives of Indigenous Peoples from around the world. Speakers provided an overview of the situation at Standing Rock, shared the full IP Caucus statement, and provided additional commentary linking the situation at Standing Rock to other struggles facing Indigenous Peoples around the world.
Jannie Staffansson, representative of the Saami Council’s Arctic and Environment unit, echoed Santi’s concerns about indigenous tribal sovereignty: “We all hear the call and we all share the same struggles,” she said. “We are doing everything we can in all the events and forums that we are taking part of, to support you.”
Staffansson, a citizen of Norway, denounced the fact that the state-owned Norwegian Oil Fund is invested heavily in the Dakota Access Pipeline Project. “Norway should be cautious about violating indigenous peoples’ rights,” Staffansson said. “The whole world knows what is happening in Standing Rock. Norway is trying to make profit out of those violations. We need to divest from this bad fossil fuel industry.”
IIPFCC Solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, November 10, 2016, Marrakech, Morocco