|
|
|
||||||
 
WELEDEH DECLARATION
|
 | |
We, the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and our allies gathered here for the Tu Cho International Indigenous Water Rights Conference, having convened from June 21 to June 23, 2006, acknowledge the Dene wisdom of Dene Chàine “The path our people walk”, that teaches us to respect and care for the land and this includes all water, land, animals, plants and air and state the following:
Water is sacred and a gift from the Creator to be protected and preserved for future generations; and
Water is a source of our life; all things depend on safe and secure water to live; and
We are all dependent on mother earth for our collective health, energy and survival; and
We have talked amongst ourselves about our inherent Indigenous and Treaty rights, rights that have been enshrined in international covenants negotiated and concluded by Indigenous Nations; and
We have seen and heard stories over the last two days about the sickness of the earth and know from our first hand experience, our Elders’ traditional knowledge, and our allies’ scientific knowledge, that our waters are not well.
We assert jurisdiction and control over all waters and take responsibility as directed by the Indigenous laws as it was in the beginning;
Our future is embodied in our actions and engagement in the following commitments through the spirit and intent of coexistence:
- To develop integrated water basin management planning which brings together watershed management best practices and local commitments on our homeland;
- To share information amongst all Indigenous governments, and other responsible authorities and organizations, to improve the state of our waters;
- To create jurisdictional arrangements to make decisions in relation to the water and its environmental area; and
- To support and aid each other in our struggle, to build capacity at all levels of governance in order to assert jurisdiction, care and control over all waters around the world.
For as long as the sun shines, the river flows, and the grass grows.
Top
of page | |