Natives score victory against Ottawa

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Canadian Natives have scored a victory against Ottawa during the United Nations' World Conference on Human Rights.

Austria announced June 23 that it would support Natives in their fight to have the term 'Indigenous peoples' incorporated in the Vienna Declaration, the human rights document expected from the conference.

Canada successfully lobbied to have the term "indigenous people'- sans the 's' - used in the declaration during a pre-conference meeting in May. Under some international declarations and instruments, a peoples are entitled to the right to self-determination.

The UN committee drafting the declaration agreed to use the term 'Indigenous people' despite opposition from several Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Indigenous groups from around the world.

Austria's decision to support the term 'Indigenous peoples' came one day after Indigenous NGO representatives met with conference president and Austrian foreign Minister Alois Mock to discuss their concerns over the missing 's'.

The paragraph referring to Indigenous people was approved on Sunday, June 19,

a day when UN officials knew none of the NGOs would be at the conference, Panamanian NGO member Alencio Plescia said.

"The elimination of one single letter from the text means the negation of our rights to self-determination."

Their demands also focussed on the recognition of Native religious and cultural traditions. A meeting between Canadian delegate Anne Parke and Canadian Native NGOs was scheduled for June 22, but was later cancelled.

The news of Austria's support of the term peoples came as a surprise to Canadian officials. Austria made the announcement at a press conference before Canada had even been told.

Canada has continued to lobby against the use of the term peoples during the conference. At a news briefing June 22, External Affairs officials warned that groups like the Northern Cree of Quebec would use their recognition axs a peoples to declare their sovereignty.

But Natives have no plans to secede from the federation, said Rosemarie Kuptana of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. And Canada is only trying to use scare tactics to block the recognition of Indigenous peoples' right to self-determination.

Bob Epstein, advisor to the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec, also said the federal government is deliberately blocking the use of the term peoples because it could give Natives additional powers to control resources.

UN analysts at the conference said they doubt any changes would be made to the declaration before the document is finalized.