Indigenous Links Page
[This page was last updated 27
February 2023]
Center for World Indigenous
Studies
This institute,
based in Washington State, is a terrific source of information regarding
indigenous issues at the international level. Their Fourth World Documentation
Project is the best source for United Nations documents, especially
concerning the Working Group on Indigenous Populations.
UN
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples
In 2001 the
Commission on Human Rights first appointed a special rapporteur
on the rights of Indigenous peoples. The first Special Rapporteur
was Dr. Rudolfo Stavenhagen
of Mexico (2001-2008) who served the maximum allowable two three-year terms. He
was succeeded by Dr. James Anaya
of the United States (2008-2014). Next was Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
of the Phillipines, who was Special Rapporteur from 2014 to 2020 and previously served as the
Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The current mandate holder
is Francisco
Cali Tzay, who is Mayan Cakchiquel
from Guatemala.
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues
The PFII -- a
16-member forum whose members are 50-50 Indigenous/Nation State representatives
-- was created in 2000 and met for the first time in 2001. An offshoot of
ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council), PFII holds
meetings in New York every March on a wide range of policy issues. With the
demise of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations after 2006, PFII is the
central forum in the UN system for consideration of Indigenous issues.
Survival: The Movement
for Tribal Peoples
Survival is an
organization that supports tribal peoples worldwide through education, advocacy
and campaigns. They also offer tribal peoples a platform to address the world.
International Work Group for
Indigenous Affairs
In
the IWGIA's words" "IWGIA is an independent international membership organisation staffed by specialists and advisers on
indigenous affairs." The organization "... supports indigenous
peoples' struggle for human rights, self-determination, right to territory,
control of land and resources, cultural integrity, and the right to
development." In particular, check out their “Indigenous
World” that gives an annual status report regarding Indigenous Peoples
on every continent.
The Union has
NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United
Nations and has played a significant role in British Columbia and Canadian
politics since its initial formation in 1969. The Union has a splendid resource
page including press releases and commentary on issues of the day.
Listed
below are some articles that might otherwise prove difficult to obtain or that
were published in open journals. You are welcome to download copies of any
paper you wish as long as (a) you do not make money from its distribution; and
(b) you acknowledge the original source whenever the ideas are referred to or a
quote is used. They are listed in reverse chronological order.
Michaela McGuire (Jaad Gudghiliwah) and Ted Palys (2022). Grappling with
the state: Self-determined Indigenous justice. Invited address to the
BC Nurses Union Annual Human Rights Conference, Vancouver, BC, 30 November.
Michaela McGuire (Jaad Gudghiliwah) and Ted Palys (2020). Toward sovereign
Indigenous justice: On removing the colonial straightjacket. Decolonization of Criminology and Justice,
2(1), 59-82.
Ted Palys (3 March 2015). Indigenous Justice: A
Long and Winding Road. Speaking notes for an invited keynote address to
community consultation meeting hosted by Circle of Eagles Lodge (COEL) at the
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre giving legal/historical background to
the COEL's planned submission to create an Aboriginal Healing Centre in the
Vancouver area under Section 81 of the Criminal Code.
Ted Palys, Richelle
Schaefer, and Yana Nuszdorfer (2014). Lessons from a Case
Study of Aboriginal and Canadian Justice Coexistence in Vancouver. Justice as Healing, 19(4), 1-8.
Ted Palys (2014). A Programme Evaluation of Vancouver Aboriginal
Transformative Justice Services Society (VATJSS). Report prepared for
VATJSS with funding from the Department of Justice Aboriginal Justice Strategy
Capacity Building Fund.
Ted Palys (2013). Be Careful What You Wish For: Reconciling Indigenous and State interests at the UN.
Speaking notes for an invited paper presented at Stó:lō
Nation Conference 2013: "Bridging the Milennia,
Bridging Cultural and Legal Traditions." June 1-3.
Ted Palys (2013). Is the Government of
Canada Living Up To Its Responsibilities Regarding Indigenous Justice Systems
Under the UN Declaration? A report prepared on the occasion the October,
2013 visit to Canada of Dr. James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Ted Palys, Richelle Isaac,
and Jana Nuszdorfer (2012). Taking
Indigenous Justice Seriously: Fostering a Mutually Respectful Coexistence of
Aboriginal and Canadian Justice. Research report prepared for
Vancouver’s Downtown Community Court and Vancouver Aboriginal Transformative
Justice Services.
Ted Palys and Wenona Victor (2007). “Getting to a Better Place”: Qwi:qwelstóm, the Stó:lō and Self-Determination. Pre-publication draft
of a paper prepared under a Law Commission of Canada award within its
Indigenous Legal Traditions initiative that appeared in an edited volume of
papers published by UBC Press. See the UBC Press
web site for more information.
Ted Palys and Wenona Victor (2005). Aboriginal
Justice: Taking Control and Responsibility. Paper presented as part
of a Law Commission of Canada symposium at the 30th Annual Congress
of the Canadian Criminal Justice Association. Calgary, Alberta; 28 October.
Ted Palys and Wenona Victor (2005). "Getting to a Better Place": Qwi:qwelstóm, the Stó:lō Nation and Self-Determination.
Paper presented as part of a Law Commission of Canada symposium on “Indigenous
Legal Traditions” at a conference on “Law’s Empire” hosted by the Canadian Law
and Society Association with the collaboration of the Association for Canadian
Studies in Australia and New Zealand and the Australia and New Zealand Law and
History Society. Harrison Hot Springs, BC; 27 June.
Ted Palys (2004). Resolving
Conflicts Involving Indigenous Peoples: Lessons From
the Search for "Indigenous Justice" in Canada. Intervention
to the U.N Working Group on Indigenous Populations at its 22nd Session; July
19-23; Geneva, Switzerland.
Ted Palys (2004). Ten Years After:
Has Anything Changed During the Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples?
Invited paper presented at the Stó:Lō Nation Justice
Conference held in Mission, BC, March 22-24.
Ted Palys (2001). Are Canada and BC Meeting International Standards
Regarding the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? Stó:Lô Nation and its Search for Justice. Paper presented at Stó:Lô Nation
Conference 2001: Bridging the Millennia, Bridging Cultural and Legal
Traditions, April 5-7, 2001
Ted Palys (1999). Vancouver's
Aboriginal Restorative Justice Programme: The Challenges Ahead. Aboriginal
Justice Bulletin, 3(1), 2-3.
Barry Warhaft, Ted Palys and Wilma Boyce
(1999). “This is How We Did
It”: One Canadian First Nation Community's Efforts to Achieve Aboriginal
Justice. In a special issue of The Australia-New Zealand Journal of
Criminology, entitled Crime, Justice and Indigenous Peoples, 32(2),
161-81.
Ted Palys (1997). Fifty years of human
rights: The Universal Draft Declaration on Human Rights and its Legacy.
Invited address to the Human Rights Fiftieth Anniversary Conference
Celebration, held by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the United Nations
Association, and Kla-How-Ya,
at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 8 December 1997.
Ted Palys (1996). Histories of
Convenience: Understanding Twentieth Century Aboriginal Film Images in
Context. Paper presented at an international conference regarding Aboriginal
peoples and film entitled Screening Culture: Constructing Image And Identity, held in York, Great Britain, by the
Aboriginal Studies Circle of the British Association of Canadian Studies.
Ted Palys (1993). Considerations for
Achieving "Aboriginal Justice" in Canada. Paper presented at
the annual meetings of the Western Association of Sociology and Anthropology.
Ted Palys (1993). Prospects for
Aboriginal Justice in Canada. A position paper written for myself.
Ted Palys (1990). Ideology,
Epistemology, and Modes of Inquiry: Aboriginal Issues, Trajectories of
Truth, and the Criteria of Evaluation Research. Paper presented at a meeting of
the West Coast Law and Society Group.