CONTACT: Jennifer Gasperini
612-641-2855
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY TO HOST INDIGENOUS RIGHTS EVENT
On Tuesday, October 12, 1993, Hamline University will host
indigenous leaders from around the world in a series of events to
bring attention to indigenous rights. The event will highlight the
1993 Year of the Indigenous Peoples and the new book State of the
Peoples, to be released by Beacon Press of Boston in October.
Jules James of the Lumi Tribe in Washington State and Louisa
Benson representing the indigenous women of Burma will be joined at
Hamline University by indigenous leaders of Minnesota in two
events. At 11:00 a.m., the leaders will speak at a public lecture
at the Hamline Methodist Church, Englewood Avenue.
On Tuesday evening, from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., a panel of
indigenous peoples, including the visiting leaders, will be on hand
for a public discussion at Sundin Music Hall, 1536 Hewitt Avenue.
Both events are free and open to the public. The 11:00
lecture will be followed by a luncheon for middle and high school
teachers and students. A moderated discussion will be held for
teachers on indigenous issues and techniques for including such
issues in classroom discussion. Middle and high school students
will also be invited to join in discussion moderated by local
experts. Teachers may reserve space for themselves and up to five
students by calling 612-641-2855.
The event is part of the Indigenous Rights Tour presented by
Cultural Survival of Boston. Working in partnership with several
dozen national and local Native American, human rights,
environmental, student and other groups, Cultural Survival is
committed to bringing the concerns of indigenous leaders to a broad
range of audiences.
- more -
For two and a half weeks in October, Cultural Survival will
bring indigenous leaders to seven U.S. Cities, including Boston,
Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC,
and New York City.
Indigenous peoples and their concerns had a major presence at
the UN World conference on Human Rights in Vienna in June. The
final conference statement incorporated some indigenous demands,
calling for a UN Decade for Indigenous Peoples, and for completing
the draft Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. The UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva
approved the final Universal Declaration in July, after eight years
of consultation with indigenous leaders from around the world. The
declaration now must pass the next meeting of the UN Human Rights
Commission in February 1994; yet, few government representatives
appear ready to accept the declaration's primary demands: the
right of indigenous peoples to self-determination and control over
their lands and resources.
"Last October's 500-year anniversary of Columbus's voyage to
the 'New World' brought special public attention to the history and
concerns of indigenous peoples," explains Rob Leavitt, director of
education at Cultural Survival. " The events planned for this
October are expected to build on that momentum and to make 1993 a
year of further advancement in the rights of indigenous peoples."
For further information on the Indigenous Rights Tour, call
Marcel Wisaw at Cultural Survival, 617-621-3818; fax: 617-621-3814.
For more information on the events at Hamline, call Jennifer
Gasperini at 612-641-2855; fax: 612-641-2489.
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