Chief
Lyons speach to the United Nations December 10, 1992
Speech
transcription from audio tape by: Craig Carpenter
Haudenosaunee
Faithkeeper, Chief Oren Lyons addressing delegates to
the United Nations Organization opened "The Year
of the Indigenous Peoples" in the United Nations
General Assembly Auditorium, United Nations Plaza, New
York City, December 10, 1992.
For
all of us. I am Oren Lyons,
Hau de no sau nee, and speaking on behalf of the Indigenous
People of North America, this Great Turtle Island. Mr.
President, distinguished delegates, Chiefs, Clan Mothers,
Leaders and Members of the World's Indigenous Nations
and Peoples, we thank you, The General Assembly, for the
recognition and the proclamation of "1993, The International
Year of the Indigenous Peoples," for the theme of,
"Indigenous Peoples, a New Partnership."
We
thank Madam Chairman Repal Chur of the Working
Group for Indigenous Populations for consistent, enthusiastic
support, and Diaz. And at this time, we recognize the
inspiration and spiritual force of Augusto Williamson
Diaz, for his vision of such a day as this, and our gratitude
to those leaders of Indigenous Peoples and people who
also had the vision of this day for our people, who put
their blood, their sweat and their tears into this moment.
And to those who are no longer here, our profound gratitude
and appreciation.
This
proclamation brings home inspiration and renewed
dedication to our quest for self-determination, justice,
freedom and peace in our Homelands and our Territories.
Indeed, the quest is a renewal of what we enjoyed before
the coming of our White Brothers from across the sea.
We lived contentedly under the Gai Eneshah Go' Nah, The
Great Law of Peace. We were instructed to create societies
based on the principles of Peace, Equity, Justice, and
the Power of Good Minds.
Our
societies are based upon great democratic principles
of the authority of the people and equal responsibilities
for the men and the women. This was a great way of life
across this Great Turtle Island and freedom with respect
was everywhere. Our leaders were instructed to be men
of vision and to make every decision on behalf of the
seventh generation to come; to have compassion and love
for those generations yet unborn. We were instructed to
give thanks for All That Sustains Us.
Thus,
we created great ceremonies of thanksgiving for
the life-giving forces of the Natural World, as long as
we carried out our ceremonies, life would continue. We
were told that `The Seed is the Law.' Indeed, it is The
Law of Life. It is The Law of Regeneration. Within the
seed is the mysterious force of life and creation. Our
mothers nurture and guard that seed and we respect and
love them for that. Just as we love I hi do' hah, our
Mother Earth, for the same spiritual work and mystery.
We
were instructed to be generous and to share equally
with our brothers and sisters so that all may be content.
We were instructed to respect and love our Elders, to
serve them in their declining years, to cherish one another.
We were instructed to love our children, indeed, to love
ALL children. We were told that there would come a time
when parents would fail this obligation and we could judge
the decline of humanity by how we treat our children.
We
were told that there would come a time when the
world would be covered with smoke, and that it would take
our elders and our children. It was difficult to comprehend
at the time, but now all we have to do is but to walk
outside to experience that statement. We were told that
there would come a time when we could not find clean water
to wash ourselves, to cook our foods, to make our medicines,
and to drink. And there would be disease and great suffering.
Today we can see this and we peer into the future with
great apprehension. We were told there would come a time
when, tending our gardens, we would pull up our plants
and the vines would be empty. Our precious seed would
begin to disappear. We were instructed that we would see
a time when young men would pace back and forth in front
of their chiefs and leaders in defiance and confusion.
There
are some specific issues I must bring forward
on behalf of our Nations and Peoples.
North
America. The issue of nuclear and toxic waste
dumps on our precious lands; the policy of finding a place
for the waste with the poorest and most defenseless of
peoples today. This brings the issue of the degradation
of our environment by these waste dumps, over-fishing,
over-cutting of timber, and toxic chemicals from mining
processes throughout our lands.
Treaty
violations. We have with the United States and
Canada 371 ratified Treaties and Agreements. The Ruby
Valley Treaty of the Western Shoshone is a prime example
of what the violation of treaties brings: human rights
violations, forced removals, disenfranchisements of traditional
people with confiscations of their property and livestock.
The refusal to recognize and support religious freedoms
of our people and the decisions by the [U.S.] Supreme
Court which incorporates this attitude into Federal Law.
This translates into the violation of Sacred Sites. Mt.
Graham in the Apache Country is now a project site for
an observatory, causing great stress to the Apache People
who have depended upon the spiritual forces of this mountain
for survival. Ironically, a partner in this project is
the Vatican. And even further, it has proposed to name
this project `Columbus.'
The
appropriation of our intellectual properties
is continuous and devastating. Land is the issue. Land
has always been the issue with Indigenous Peoples. Original
title is a problem for all of you. We must try to reach
an agreement on a more level playing field that allows
us to, at least, a chance for survival.
Out
brother, Leonard Peltier, has been too long in
prison, In 1993, to signal a new attitude -- and what
better than his release after 16 years -- symbolic of
the exercise of dominion over our Peoples.
All this has come from across the seas. The catastrophes
that we have suffered at the hands of our brothers from
across the seas has been unremitting and inexcusable.
It has crushed our people, and our Nations down through
the centuries. You brought us disease and death and the
idea of Christian dominion over heathens, pagans, savages.
Our lands were declared `vacant' by Papal Bulls, which
created law to justify the pillaging of our land.
We
were systematically stripped of our resources,
religions and dignity. Indeed, we became resources of
labor for goldmines and canefields. Life for us was unspeakable,
cruel. Our black and dark-skinned brothers and sisters
were brought here from distant lands to share our misery
and suffering and death.
Yet
we survived. I stand before you as a manifestation
of the spirit of our people and our will to survive. The
Wolf, our Spiritual Brother, stands beside us and we are
alike in the Western mind: hated, admired, and still a
mystery to you, and still undefeated.
So
then, what is the message I bring to you today?
Is it our common future? It seems to me that we are living
in a time of prophecy, a time of definitions and decisions.
We are the generation with the responsibilities and the
option to choose the The Path of Life for the future of
our children. Or the life and path which defies the Laws
of Regeneration.
Even though you and I are in different boats, you in your
boat and we in our canoe, we share the same River of Life.
What befalls me, befalls you. And downstream, downstream
in this River of Life, our children will pay for our selfishness,
for our greed, and for our lack of vision.
500 years ago, you came to our pristine lands of great
forests, rolling plains, crystal clear lakes and streams
and rivers. And we have suffered in your quest for God,
for Glory, for Gold. But, we have survived. Can we survive
another 500 years of "sustainable development?"
I don't think so. Not in the definitions that put `sustainable'
in today. I don't think so.
So
reality and the Natural Law will prevail; The
Law of the Seed and Regeneration. We can still alter our
course. It is NOT too late. We still have options. We
need the courage to change our values to the regeneration
of our families, the life that surrounds us. Given this
opportunity, we can raise ourselves. We must join hands
with the rest of Creation and speak of Common Sense, Responsibility,
Brotherhood, and PEACE. We must understand that the law
is the seed and only as true partners can we survive.
On
behalf of the Indigenous People of the Great
Turtle Island, I give my appreciation and thanks. Dah
ney' to. Now I am finished.
(Oren
Lyons received a standing ovation and shouts of approval
from Indian spectators.)
Oren
Lyons, född 1930 är
en amerikansk professor och indianhövding och aktiv
som representant för de nordamerikanska urinvånarna.