CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE TRATADOS INDIOS

28TH ANNUAL

INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY COUNCIL CONFERENCE

RESOLUTION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE

AMERICAN INDIAN PRISONER’S SPIRITUAL RIGHTS

Pu’uhonua o Waimanalo Village, Oahu, Hawai’i

January 18TH – 22^nd, 2003

Whereas,  we, the International Indian Treaty Council invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to protect, preserve and perpetuate the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian Nations, rights secured under Treaties and agreements with the United States, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and

Whereas,  the International Indian Treaty Council is comprised of representatives from different Indigenous Peoples from North America, Central America, South America, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) since June, 1974 and received NGO (non-governmental organization) status from the United Nations since 1977; and

Whereas, there exists a continuing need to protect the free exercise of religious and spiritual practices by the American Indian prisoners and other Indigenous prisoners, as a fundamental human right and an important aspect of rehabilitation of the Native prisoners who will be returning to their respective communities upon release; and

Whereas, cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity training should be given and conducted by Native spiritual leaders and indigenous programs should be designed and conducted for Native prisoners by Native leaders recognized by Indigenous communities; and

Whereas, the Native prisoners have been denied equal access to; a) sweat lodge ceremonies on a consistent basis; b) equal access to spiritual leaders and spiritual advisors on a consistent basis; c) equal access to items and materials such as sage, cedar, sweet grass, tobacco, corn pollen, Pipe, drum, eagle feather and other feathers, medicine bags and pouches;  and gourd; d) denied having long hair for religious and spiritual beliefs; e) denied cultural and ceremonial foods such as buffalo, salmon, deer, mutton, moose, fry bread, corn, poi, wild rice and squash, etc; f) Native prisoners are transfer to facilities where his Native religious and spiritual practices and beliefs are prohibited and denied; g) Native prisoners on Death Row awaiting execution are denied equal access to Native Spiritual Leaders, sweat lodge and Pipe ceremonies for worship and denied their Last Rite; and

Whereas, spiritual and cultural programs designed by and for Indigenous peoples are the single most important hope and therapy for the healing, revitalization and rehabilitation of Indigenous prisoners, and through the development and implementation of such programs can the healing and recovery process begin; and

Whereas, the Indigenous prisoners be treated humanely and given appropriate and adequate medical care and legal representation in a timely matter and equal access to due process of international standards as stated in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the abolishment of the Death Penalty; and

Whereas, the International Indian Treaty Council requests that the Special Rapporteur of the United Nation Commission on Human Rights review and investigate the human rights violations regarding the denial of traditional worship in the United States Prison System; and

Now Therefore Be It Resolved; the International Indian Treaty Council does hereby recognizes the emergency need to protect and preserve the inherent spiritual and cultural rights and afford the Indigenous prisoners equal protection and due process of the law; urges the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to issue directives to the United States Prison System to enforce and comply with existing laws, statutes, and policies to all the free exercise of spiritual practices by the Indigenous prisoners; and

Be It Further Resolved; that the International Indian Treaty Council will continue to support ongoing efforts by the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to investigate human rights violations of freedom of religion and worship; and

Be It Finally Resolved; that this resolution shall be the policy of the International Indian Treaty Council adopted at Pu’uhonua o Waimanalo Village, Oahu, Hawai’i, Sovereign Hawai’i Nation, and 28th International Indian Treaty Council Convention on January 18^th – 22^nd, 2003.