SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, California (April 16, 2018) - Infused
with the spirit of their ancestors and unwavering determination to seek
accountability and justice, an Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegation
will travel to Switzerland and Germany from April 20th to 28th, 2018.
Despite rights violations and dangers to the health of the
global climate, some of Europe's most powerful banks and financial
institutions continue unethical financing of fossil fuel projects. The
Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegation is highlighting human rights
and Indigenous rights violations, requesting divestment and
accountability from companies responsible for these harms.
The
Delegation of Indigenous women leaders from across North America and
allies will engage with political leaders, representatives of financial
and insurance institutions, civil society groups, and
members of the media to share stories, data, and calls to action for
immediate movement towards fossil fuel divestment, and a transition to a
just, clean energy future.
While obstacles are many, previous delegations have illuminated the power and potential for successful results,
as Indigenous women leaders meet eye-to-eye with representatives of the
entities responsible for immense cultural and ecological devastation in
their home regions.
Spotlighting
destructive projects such as Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access
and Bayou Bridge Pipelines, Kinder Morgan's TransMountain Pipeline, and
Enbridge's Line 3 Pipeline, advocacy efforts are aimed at accountability
and divestments by Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and other companies that
are endangering rights and neglecting Indigenous People's right to
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as outlined in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
There
will be a special event in Zurich, during which Swiss elder women
activists will formally welcome the Delegation to Switzerland,
strengthening alliances and solidarity between women's networks, and
between nations to bring well-being to the world.
Spring 2018 Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegates
comprise both frontline community leaders, and tribal officials who
serve or have served in official capacities for their Tribal Nations,
including - Charlene Aleck (Elected councillor for Tsleil Waututh Nation, Sacred Trust Initiative, Canada); Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle (Oglala Lakota and Mdewakantonwan Dakota pediatrician, living and working on the Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota); Michelle Cook (Diné/Navajo, human rights lawyer); Wasté Win Yellowlodge Young (Ihunktowanna/Hunkpapa of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Former Tribal Historic Preservation Officer); and Monique Verdin (Member of south Louisiana's United Houma Nation Tribal Council and the Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative) - with Osprey Orielle Lake (WECAN International Executive Director and Delegation organizer). [Full speaker biographies are available here].
Efforts
are centered in Switzerland and Germany, two countries which house
several of the world's largest financial institutions supporting
dangerous extraction projects across Indigenous territories in the U.S.
and globally - despite purportedly high ethical and human rights
standards.
The
Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegation is facilitated by the Women's
Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International in partnership
with Indigenous women leaders and their directives, as part of a
growing movement pursuing institutional divestment as an effective
strategy to hold banks and fossil fuel related companies accountable to
Indigenous rights and protection of land, climate and water. Coverage of
previous delegation efforts is available via Cultural Survival, Yes! Magazine, and top news outlets in Norway and Germany.
Members of the media are encouraged to reach out for
in-person, phone, and email interview requests. A public event will be
held in Zurich on April 26th with short films and panel discussion.
"Kinder
Morgan investors need to know there is great uncertainty in the
TransMountain pipeline expansion project. I am traveling with the
Delegation to share the immense risks we are asked to bare and how
committed we are to oppose this project." explains Charlene Aleck(Elected councillor for Tsleil Waututh Nation, Sacred Trust Initiative, Canada)
"Everyday we live wondering when the day will come that
our people will not have access to drinking water -- pipelines leak.
We are trying to plan for that day. In the midst of poverty and a
legacy of oppression, we fight to live, to love, and to ensure our
sovereignty. When the businesses and banks you invest in, are funding
the poisonous Dakota Access pipeline flowing under the Missouri River,
so are you. Know where your money is going." explains Dr.
Sara Jumping Eagle (Oglala Lakota and Mdewakantonwan Dakota
pediatrician, living and working on the Standing Rock Reservation, North
Dakota)
"States in the U.S. are imposing laws and severe
punishments to criminalize those who protest harmful resource
extraction. Despite, the abuses which occurred at Standing Rock, many of
these banks continue to sign on and renew their financial commitments
to the companies involved . Our goal is clear, there must be justice and
accountability for banks and corporations. Due to legacy of colonial
laws in the United States which fail to recognize and adequately protect
indigenous rights we must humbly appeal to the international community
for their intercessions. Indigenous peoples are in danger, we need
Europeans to act, to divest, to organize within their respective nations
to make their banks accountable for indigenous human rights abroad. We
need Europe to stand and fight alongside us. Together in unity, acting
as one, in the spirit of mutual aid and defense, we will achieve peace
and security for our climate and collective future." explains Michelle Cook (Diné/Navajo, human rights lawyer)
"Our
Delegation's presence puts a face to the indigenous communities and
lives who have been displaced, abused, and adversely affected by
extractive industries throughout the world. We are here to call for
accountability for the destruction of our way of life and rights
violations that at occurred with the Dakota Access Pipeline and other
ongoing pipeline projects funded by European financial institutions such
as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank." explains Wasté Win
Yellowlodge Young (Ihunktowanna/Hunkpapa of the Standing Rock Sioux
Tribe, Former Tribal Historic Preservation Officer)
"I
come from a place just south of "Cancer Alley", just north of the "Dead
Zone." This is in Louisiana and it used to be known as Balbancha in our
language. My Houma ancestors have inhabited the Yakne Chitto (Big
Country) for thousands of years. We are surrounded by a web fossil fuel
pipelines, a culprit responsible for contributing to some of the most
rapid land loss in the world, in an area with a unique and high level of
biodiversity. Yet, the risks and vulnerabilities have not deterred
Energy Transfer Partners or Phillips 66 in their ultimate pursuits to
push dirty crude through precious territories. It is with a heavy heart
but also hope, that I am journeying with the delegation across the sea
to remind and re-warn the European banks funding and facilitating the
pipelines about the devastating damage, bad practices and false promises
of these companies. They are gambling with the sacred waters and life
source for the Houma Nation, indigenous communities, and everyone tied
to the Mississippi River Watershed , from North Dakota to the Gulf of
Mexico, and they must be held accountable." explains
Monique Verdin (Member of south Louisiana's United Houma Nation Tribal
Council and the Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative)
"Divestment from dirty fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure demonstrates a commitment to our collective future and the web of life. What is needed from financial institutions now is a show of leadership and dedication to ecological sustainability, and human and Indigenous rights, as we face the unprecedented challenges of a world plunging into climate chaos. Indigenous women have long bore the brunt of extractive industries, and despite this, shine powerfully with solutions to the harms that come from these destructive practices. Banks need to listen to Indigenous women and adhere to their demands, which are founded on requests for basic respect for obtaining free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous communities, as required under international law. WECAN International stands with the representatives of the Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegation and is calling for justice and accountability from financial and insurance institutions engaged in fossil fuel extraction. Business as usual cannot continue. Now is the time to move forward towards a clean and healthy future for all." explains Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International
