A Tiwahe Return Journey to the UN
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A Tiwahe Return Journey: Fundraiser to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 16th Session
Mitakuyapi, dear relatives,
Please regard this letter as a respectful request for your invaluable support and financial help to get our 7-member indigenous peoples delegation to New York City for the upcoming 16th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. This year’s theme is “Tenth Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: measures taken to implement the declaration.” It will be conducted from April 24 thru May 5, 2017.
My relatives, on May 19, 2016, indigenous peoples from around the world listened intently as a member of our delegation presented her intervention and invitation upon the floor of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City stating, in part, “…indigenous peoples and Nations must be seen as central to all activities involving water, at all levels, in that they provide the traditional ecological knowledge which is the last remaining frontline for the protection of water.” In her concluding remarks, she invited UNPFII participants to the 2017 Mni Wakan Ki: Decade of Water summit to commence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Since last year’s UNPFII intervention stated above, particularly in relation to our invitation, we have begun preparation to host international members of the indigenous peoples’ community in a 2-day conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, to help envision and prepare a proactive water preservation and protection agenda for the next 10 years. The summit will be conducted on an annual basis, the first-annual water summit will be held in August, 2017 (date to be determined). The planning of future summits will be largely indigenous-led and youth-oriented. It will be open to all people. Currently, we are partnering with non-indigenous allies and stakeholders to prepare for the opening summit. Crucial preparation tasks remain.
Your contributions to the Go Fund Me account will help cover costs associated with roundtrip flight fares, food, lodging, printing of invitations to the water summit and PFII side-event, and local mobility expenses in New York City area, as well as rental of space in which to host a UNPFII side-event, food for side-event participants, and such.
As a delegation with approved observer status, our father will represent the hereditary obligation of our Tiwahe to protect the validity of the Lakota Nations’ 1868 Treaty, a “supreme law of the land” document to which our Sicangu Lakota great-grandfather was a signer and designated enforcer; our sister, a 2016 Sundance Film Institute invitee and 2016 Knight Foundation Fellowship recipient, will capture the concerns and efforts of indigenous delegates through film; our mother, who has dedicated over 20 years of her life to eliminating all forms of discrimination against indigenous women, will participate in forums of the Indigenous Women’s Caucus alongside her daughter; and us (Thorne and Wakinyan LaPointe), who are college students aspiring toward degrees in indigenous law, will engage in the international indigenous diplomacy network, workshops, and lead on-the-floor presentations at the forum.
A Tiwahe Journey
Today, 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide continue to be the living repositories, in humble and profound ways, of stories and practices that possess the potential to save a world in peril. Collectively, the enduring wisdom that emanates from these enduring ways of life provides the guidance necessary for recovery. We live in a time when indigenous peoples and communities continue to face their most daunting and dangerous challenges. Despite the genocide and ecological self-destruction, the living spirit of our indigenous ancestors speaks through us. Their balanced relationship with all things penetrate, with rays of hope, a contemporary world increasingly overcast with trouble and adversity. We are still here.
Today, the Tiwahe (extended family) represents the foundational unit of the oldest and eldest Nations on Earth, those of indigenous peoples. It is in tribute and commemoration to this understanding that our Lakota Tiwahe (extended family), once again, looks toward participation in the 16th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City. The theme of the 2017 forum, “Tenth Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: measures taken to implement the Declaration”, aligns well with our mission to protect and preserve the sanctity of water. Whether it be in the arctic, in the forests, in the desert, in the plains, or in the mountains, water is life.
Since the dawn of time, indigenous peoples continue to instruct mankind as to its relationship with Mother Earth, guiding them to the understanding that ‘we do not separate the creator from creation,’ and in this light, our Tiwahe continues to respond to the calls of this great spirit with the gifts and strengths of our forefathers and mothers for future generations to come. We respect your consideration of our request for support. Contributing to our tiwahe return journey to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 16th Session in New York will enable us to directly invite Indigenous Peoples to the Mni Ki Wakan: Decade of Water summit, August 2017, in MN. Engage interested indigenous peoples and stake holders in face-to-face engagement in the side event. In addition, it will help us to enrich our collective contributions to Unci Maka, the Indigenous World, all global communities, and the protection of waters.
Mitakuyapi, dear relatives,
Please regard this letter as a respectful request for your invaluable support and financial help to get our 7-member indigenous peoples delegation to New York City for the upcoming 16th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. This year’s theme is “Tenth Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: measures taken to implement the declaration.” It will be conducted from April 24 thru May 5, 2017.
My relatives, on May 19, 2016, indigenous peoples from around the world listened intently as a member of our delegation presented her intervention and invitation upon the floor of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City stating, in part, “…indigenous peoples and Nations must be seen as central to all activities involving water, at all levels, in that they provide the traditional ecological knowledge which is the last remaining frontline for the protection of water.” In her concluding remarks, she invited UNPFII participants to the 2017 Mni Wakan Ki: Decade of Water summit to commence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Since last year’s UNPFII intervention stated above, particularly in relation to our invitation, we have begun preparation to host international members of the indigenous peoples’ community in a 2-day conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, to help envision and prepare a proactive water preservation and protection agenda for the next 10 years. The summit will be conducted on an annual basis, the first-annual water summit will be held in August, 2017 (date to be determined). The planning of future summits will be largely indigenous-led and youth-oriented. It will be open to all people. Currently, we are partnering with non-indigenous allies and stakeholders to prepare for the opening summit. Crucial preparation tasks remain.
Your contributions to the Go Fund Me account will help cover costs associated with roundtrip flight fares, food, lodging, printing of invitations to the water summit and PFII side-event, and local mobility expenses in New York City area, as well as rental of space in which to host a UNPFII side-event, food for side-event participants, and such.
As a delegation with approved observer status, our father will represent the hereditary obligation of our Tiwahe to protect the validity of the Lakota Nations’ 1868 Treaty, a “supreme law of the land” document to which our Sicangu Lakota great-grandfather was a signer and designated enforcer; our sister, a 2016 Sundance Film Institute invitee and 2016 Knight Foundation Fellowship recipient, will capture the concerns and efforts of indigenous delegates through film; our mother, who has dedicated over 20 years of her life to eliminating all forms of discrimination against indigenous women, will participate in forums of the Indigenous Women’s Caucus alongside her daughter; and us (Thorne and Wakinyan LaPointe), who are college students aspiring toward degrees in indigenous law, will engage in the international indigenous diplomacy network, workshops, and lead on-the-floor presentations at the forum.
A Tiwahe Journey
Today, 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide continue to be the living repositories, in humble and profound ways, of stories and practices that possess the potential to save a world in peril. Collectively, the enduring wisdom that emanates from these enduring ways of life provides the guidance necessary for recovery. We live in a time when indigenous peoples and communities continue to face their most daunting and dangerous challenges. Despite the genocide and ecological self-destruction, the living spirit of our indigenous ancestors speaks through us. Their balanced relationship with all things penetrate, with rays of hope, a contemporary world increasingly overcast with trouble and adversity. We are still here.
Today, the Tiwahe (extended family) represents the foundational unit of the oldest and eldest Nations on Earth, those of indigenous peoples. It is in tribute and commemoration to this understanding that our Lakota Tiwahe (extended family), once again, looks toward participation in the 16th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City. The theme of the 2017 forum, “Tenth Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: measures taken to implement the Declaration”, aligns well with our mission to protect and preserve the sanctity of water. Whether it be in the arctic, in the forests, in the desert, in the plains, or in the mountains, water is life.
Since the dawn of time, indigenous peoples continue to instruct mankind as to its relationship with Mother Earth, guiding them to the understanding that ‘we do not separate the creator from creation,’ and in this light, our Tiwahe continues to respond to the calls of this great spirit with the gifts and strengths of our forefathers and mothers for future generations to come. We respect your consideration of our request for support. Contributing to our tiwahe return journey to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 16th Session in New York will enable us to directly invite Indigenous Peoples to the Mni Ki Wakan: Decade of Water summit, August 2017, in MN. Engage interested indigenous peoples and stake holders in face-to-face engagement in the side event. In addition, it will help us to enrich our collective contributions to Unci Maka, the Indigenous World, all global communities, and the protection of waters.
Organizer and beneficiary
Wakinyan Lapointe
Organizer
Eagan, MN
Nancy Bordeaux
Beneficiary
